A/N: Sorry for any mistakes I've made and if it seemed really out of place. Please enjoy regardless.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just Rain and her family.
Rain let out a sigh when she finally parked her car in her parents' driveway. The three-story home was about half an hour from Boston itself. The family had moved from the city after Rain had graduated, but they all still insisted that she had her own room to come home to. It was a nice gesture, and she was glad that she had a space for herself rather than having to use the guest room. After taking in the sight of the house, she turned to look at her companions with a smile.
Quinn and Rachel had passed out about an hour ago, allowing Rain to take solace in silence for the remainder of the journey. The Yale duo had left New Haven early to accommodate for the unpredictable traffic as well as stopping in New York to pick up Rachel. Rain was glad that they had spare time because most of it was spent being teased about her thick glasses. She had learned from the last road trip that driving continuously with contacts on were killer on her eyes, so she opted out of them this time around. Santana had a field day with the fact and didn't stop until everyone was in the car. It didn't bother Rain though since it was something to expect from the Latina.
Once in the car, Rachel had taken control of "vehicle entertainment," as she so eloquently put it. But after several failed games, the trio ended up just singing the rest of the way to Massachusetts. Rain took it in stride at first, but after a while of idiot drivers and traffic jams, being halfway through "Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall" had begun to grate on her nerves a bit. Not that Rain would say it out loud, mind you. It had done wonders to helped take Quinn's mind away from the driving and the Asian wasn't going to do anything to take that away.
Now sitting on the driveway, Rain stole a quick picture of the sleeping pair before waking them up. Rachel's head laid on Quinn's shoulder while the Quinn's head laid on top of Rachel's. The brunette was curled up slightly at Quinn's side, an arm loosely around the blonde's waist. Quinn's arm had found it's way around Rachel's body, hugging her close. Rain couldn't help but find it utterly adorable, but she had to get them up and moving. Groggy from their nap, Quinn and Rachel got out of the car, helped Rain unload their luggage from the car, and trudged up the patio steps towards the front door.
The tallest of the three allowed the others time to wake up a bit more before ringing the doorbell. After a moment, running footsteps could be heard from inside the house.
"Uh oh. You two should back up a bit," Rain warned. The former Lima residents looked at each other and backed up slightly, just in time to see the door swing open and someone nearly tackle Rain to the ground.
"Jie jie! You're home!"
"Xiao! I missed you!"
Rain swung her sister around and hugged her tightly. When she finally put her down, Quinn was surprised to see that Xiao was shorter than herself, though not by much. She had seemed taller through the computer. The blonde looked over at the brunette next to her and cracked a smile when she saw that Rachel was pouting slightly, knowing that she was the shortest of the group.
The Asians turned to look at the other two, one with a fond smile, the other with one of polite surprise. Rain raised her arm and gestured to her friends.
"Xiao, this is Quinn, my roommate," she said as she swung an arm around the blonde. "And Rachel." She swung her other arm around the brunette.
"Girls, this is my little sister, Xiao."
The girl before them was very slim, making it obvious that she had a very high metabolism. Where Rain had slight muscle mass from running, Xiao had almost seemingly nonexistent muscle mass. Like her sister though, she had side-swept bangs, but that's where the similarities end. She had light brown, long hair that would've handed on her lower back if weren't for the fact that it was currently in a side ponytail. She was also very feminine compared to her sister. There was light makeup on her face and she donned shorts and a tank top that slightly hugged her figure.
With a smile, Xiao bowed to her sister's friends and greeted them.
"It's nice to finally meet you both. Rain told me a lot about you." She looked up at Rain. "Ma ma is waiting so we should get you guys inside."
With a nod, everyone gathered their things and made their way into the home. Quinn and Rachel were surprised with how homey, yet foreign it felt.
"We can leave our things by the stairs for now. We'll bring 'em up when we head up there," Rain stated. "Gotta say hi to my mom first."
As instructed, the two guests left their belongings and followed the sisters to the kitchen where various enticing aromas flowed from. Various voices could be heard as they neared their destination. Rain made it first, resulting in happy exclamations and greetings. Rachel and Quinn lingered behind, waiting to be introduced. From what they saw, there were three other women in the kitchen. They assumed that the one hugging Rain at the moment was her mother.
Rain's mother was a short woman. Possibly shorter that Rachel. Her hair was jet black and currently held up in a messy bun. To them, she couldn't have looked older than her early thirties, but they were sure that she was much older, especially when her eyes turn towards them and they saw the age and wisdom behind it.
"Ma ma, these are my friends, Quinn and Rachel," Rain introduced. "Girls, this is my mom, Qian."
The two both bowed slightly and offered a smile.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mrs. Song," Quinn said. The woman just smiled and pulled the girl into a hug, startling her.
"No need to be so formal," she said, a Chinese accent evident in her voice. "When you are here, you will be like family." Mrs. Song broke from the embrace and turned to look at Rachel. "Same for you. Treat this like your home."
After pulling the brunette into a hug as well, she allowed Rain to introduce the other women, who happened to be her aunts. Greetings were passed around before the three college students finally went up to their rooms located on the third floor which incidentally was also the attic.
It seemed that the girls had the entire floor to themselves. It consisted of four main rooms. Rain and Xiao's rooms were across from each other, down a mini hallway that branched out from the main one. Down the end of the major hallway, past the bathroom was the guest room. Quinn and Rachel were surprised to see that it was the largest of the three bedrooms. It even had a separate bathroom they could use.
Despite this, Rain and Xiao brought the luggage to Rain's room. The Lima duo were confused and questioned the two.
"Family's planning a get-together since Rain's back home," the youngest of the group stated. "These tend to get wicked huge and go on for a while. People stay over and all that jazz."
"So, since the guest room is the biggest room on this floor, we're gonna let the family use it for tonight," Rain added. "Let them cram as many people as they can in there. It's just for tonight, so don't worry. You'll get some time on your own, without me to pester you."
Rain's wink and grin caused Quinn and Rachel to blush at the implication that resulted from the comment. They glanced at each other before making their way into Rain's room.
The room was the smallest of the three bedrooms, but it was still able to accommodate the three of them easily. It was fairly bare, with a queen-sized futon on the floor, a desk in the corner and a t.v by the west wall. Her dresser was built into the east wall, which went up to Rain's waist before continuing the rest of the way in a slant. Though the white walls weren't adorned with posters, it was filled with drawings and random words, like graffiti. Quinn and Rachel looked at it all in awe.
"My friends would come by and we'd draw on the walls before I left. My parents were cool with it as long as there wasn't anything crude." Rain smiled contently as her eyes traveled along the walls, looking at the various doodles and names. She pulled out her basket of writing utensils and handed it to her friends.
"How 'bout it? Go ahead and make your mark."
Rachel let out a little squeal before grabbing a black sharpie and a yellow marker. Finding a spot, she signed her name and drew a big yellow star next to it.
"There. Now you can say that Rachel Berry signed your wall before she became a star."
Rain laughed and thanked the girl before holding out the basket for Quinn. The blonde looked up at the wall thoughtfully before shaking her head at her roommate.
"Let me think about it. I promise I'll have something by the end of the week." The Asian shrugged and set the basket down on her desk.
"It's there when you need 'em. In the meantime, let me give you a tour of the rest of the house."
Rain lead the girls through the entire house, including her and her sister's room of achievements which held their trophies and instruments. Where Rain had preferred the piano, Xiao preferred the violin. Rachel made a mental note to have the two perform together before they left. Eventually, they made their way to the basement, where they would be spending the majority of their time according to the tour guide.
"This is where the younger generation tend to congregate. The adults take over the main living area and they stay out the way." Here in the basement, there were various things to keep everyone entertained. A ping pong table was off to the side and near it was a drum set. What took up the majority of the room was the entertainment system. A big screen t.v took its spot at the widest wall, surrounded by a couple of different game systems and an impressive sound system. In the cabinet under it, there was a large collection of various movies.
"Xiao uses the basement when she has sleepovers. Sometimes, she'll even use it when she wants to be alone and shoot people via Call of Duty."
It was at that moment where Rachel caught sight of the karaoke machine.
"RAIN! We must sing tonight! I require it to be a mandatory activity!"
"Rachel..."
Rain just let out a laugh while Quinn held her face in her hand.
"Rach, that's definitely gonna happen. We Asians like our karaoke."
The brunette just let out a "yay!" and clapped her hands together before following Quinn and Rain back upstairs.
"Alrighty. I'm gonna stay down here and help Mom with the food prep. You two take a break and get some relax. We're in for a LONG night."
And she wasn't kidding.
-x-o-x-o-x-
At nightfall, the calm house erupted with energy. Rain and Xiao's father had come home in time to greet the first guests. After a quick introduction for Quinn and Rachel, the rush began. It was something that the duo had never seen before. Within the hour, the house was full of people.
Dozen of cars parked at the Songs' small acupuncture center next door, allowing free space in the driveway for the picnic set up that they had. The children were running around in the small field by the house under the watchful eyes of the adults and the older teens were glued to their phones. There was so much going on, it started to make Quinn's head spin. Rachel, on the other hand, looked as though she was about to burst with the amount of energy she was drawing in from everyone. The two of them were situated on the porch, away from the crowd, while Rain was making her rounds. They had gotten inquiries about who they were from the other guest, but otherwise they were left mostly on their own. Eventually, Rain found her way towards the duo with three plates in her arms.
"Finally! God, it's like everyone wants to talk to me. They all say the same thing too. It's annoying!" Rain handed her friends their plates before settling down next to Quinn. Rachel picked through her food when she got her plate. Rain watched in amusement before speaking up again.
"It's all vegan, I swear. Mom actually set up a table just for you."
"Wait, there's actually vegan food for once!? I can actually eat here?"
Everyone's eyes shot up to one of Rain's cousins who happened to pass by. She was the embodiment of a preppy girl from what Rachel could see. After getting a nod of affirmation, she strode off towards the food.
"That was..."
"Johanna," the Asian finished for Quinn. "She's the same age as Xiao. She thinks she's the shit because she's dating the star quarterback. Obviously, Xiao doesn't get along with her."
"So, do you normally not have vegan food at these events? Even though you have family members who are vegan?" Rachel asked.
"We normally don't because Johanna's the only one who's vegan. She's the pickiest eater out of all of us," Rain explained. "The only reason we have vegan food now is because I requested Mom to make some for you."
The other two nodded before eating. Rachel was pleased to know that they were going out of their way to allow her to maintain her diet. It was strange though because she was sure that she didn't mention it to Rain at all, which meant that Quinn had told her. It warmed her heart to know that Quinn cared enough to remember that fact about her life.
As each person passed them, Rain gave a quick explanation of who they were.
"That's Uncle Henry. His actual name literally means 'Twelve.' The guy next to him is Kai. He moved here recently from Beijing and is taking classes here. And that lady coming toward us i- Oh! Auntie Devon!"
Rachel noticed Quinn freeze at the sound of the woman's name. Rain stood up and hugged the woman before them.
The older Asian was as tall as Rain with her heels on. Long, straight hair framed high cheek bones and elegant features. Her dark brown eyes held a mystery behind them, making it seem as though she knew all of your secrets. Naturally, Quinn tried to shrink into herself and hide when that gaze was turned onto her.
"Auntie, this is Rachel," she pointed to the brunette. " and Quinn."
The diva stood up to greet the woman, but Quinn lingered back, trying to make herself disappear but to no avail. Devon walked up to Quinn, eyeing her.
"So, you're Quinn. I've heard a lot about you, dear."
She held out her hand for her to take. Quinn was hesitant at first, but squared her shoulders and took the offered hand and shook it.
The brunette was confused. She hadn't known that Quinn knew someone in Rain's family but considering the blonde's reaction, she was sure that there was a bit of bad blood. Rain also noticed Quinn's reaction and rolled her eyes. She bumped her shoulder against her aunt's, gaining her attention.
"Stop that. You're gonna give my roommate a heart attack."
Right away, Devon's eyes softened and a wide smile graced her face.
"I'm sorry, dear. I couldn't help it but you pick up little fun habits after living with a Psychology professor."
She pulled Quinn's hand and wrapped her into a tight hug. This threw Quinn for a moment before she tentatively returned the embrace.
"Don't worry about the whole thing with my ex-husband," Devon whispered into Quinn's ear. "He's a snake and a charmer. I don't blame you for falling for it. I made the same mistake."
She pulled away with a smile, leaving Quinn speechless. Rachel looked over at Rain, hoping for any clue about what was going on. She just shrugged and shook her head. Afterwards, the older woman took her leave to mingle with the adults, leaving the three girls alone.
"She's... nothing like I thought." Quinn managed to say.
"She likes to do that. It's a pain at times."
"So, how do you know her, Quinn?"
Rain and Quinn just looked at Rachel, then each other. The tallest of the three just stood up and walked away with her hands in the air.
"That's your story to tell. I ain't touching it."
"Rain! Don't you dare! She's your aunt! You're a part of this too!" Quinn hastily got up and chased after her roommate, leaving a bewildered brunette to slowly follow suit.
-x-o-x-o-x-
Sounds of screams and explosions filled the basement as small children ran around while games were being played. It was about to drive Quinn insane.
Once it had become dark and the mosquitoes began to appear, the party was moved indoors. It started out good, but eventually, all of the energy in the house erupted. The blonde even had some of the younger kids climb on her as they chased each other. By this point, she just allowed it. She was much too terrified to sit alone since she was cornered by one of Rain's drunken uncles and got the "be a good girl and stay in school" speech she had heard so much about. At least she had Rachel sitting next to her, even if she was playing with one of the calmer kids. She also had a great view of Rain's intense ping pong match that had been going on for the past twenty minutes.
Loud thuds startled everyone as they all looked up to see an angry Xiao storm down the steps. The match forgotten, Rain made her way to her sister and asked what was wrong. The young girl didn't answer. She only looked around until she caught sight of Rachel and pointed at her.
"Rachel. Come with me. I need you to show up that bitch of a cousin of ours."
"Xiao, what's going on?" Rain managed to ask as Rachel made her way towards them, eager as always to show her skills. Quinn followed close behind.
"Johanna was talking shit about the 'white girls invading our house,'" she air-quoted. "I came to their defense, but when I mentioned Rachel's singing, she just scoffed and said that she was better."
"Is she a good singer?" Quinn asked. A few people around her let out a collective snort, including Rain and Xiao.
"Johanna thinks she can sing," said Rain. "But she really sounds like a dying cat."
"My sister's not that bad." One of the cousins, John, piped up. When everyone looked at him, he shrank back slightly. "Well... not anymore at least. She's been getting better over the years."
"But she doesn't have Rachel's years of training." Rachel beamed at Quinn, causing the blonde to wrap an arm around the shorter girl's shoulder in a brief hug.
"Point is, Rachel is a million times better than Jo," the blue-eyed Asian said. "And it's about time she gets put in her place. C'mon everyone! Let's head up to start karaoke!"
With a cheer, the group made their way upstairs to the living room. Once there, Xiao locked eyes with Johanna and everyone could feel the intensity in the air.
"Oh, what do we have here? Coming back to grovel at my feet? Beg for forgiveness?"
"You bi... Ugh!" Xiao was trying hard not to curse in front of the adults. Rain placed a hand on her sister's shoulder before taking over the situation.
"So I hear that you think you can sing better than Rachel."
"I don't think, Rainy," Johanna said. "I know. There's no one better than me." Rachel had to hold back a scoff and crossed her arms. Her back straightened, slightly peeved that she was being challenged.
"Well then. I'm sure you wouldn't mind a little contest, hm?" Rain offered. "One song each and the one with the most applause wins. How 'bout it, Jo?"
"And what do I get when I win?"
"Bragging rights for the rest of the year, plus I'll be your personal assistant." Rain looked over at her sister to make sure it was all right. Xiao shuddered at the thought of being a slave to Johanna, but she stuck to her decision.
"And if I lose?"
Rachel responded this time. "Then you apologize to Xiao and you'll be her slave for the duration of the year."
Johanna just smirked and nodded, agreeing to the wager. The two shook hands, sealing the verbal contract.
"So it's settled." Rain walked towards the entertainment system and pulled out a thick binder, setting it on the table near Johanna and Rachel. "Ladies... choose your song."
A/N: I apologize again for the long wait. Thanks to everyone who endured.
Read, review, criticize constructively. It's all appreciated :3
