When Quinn stepped out of the room, she had completely forgotten about the visitor who had slept in the living room couch. She hadn't realized she was down to her underwear until she saw him – sitting on the couch, slightly messy hair and sleepy eyes. Tommy politely looked away.
Quinn then walked inside her bedroom again to put some more clothes on, before coming out again. It wasn't as if she wasn't used about people looking at her in her underwear – she was a model – but it was her house and it was her fiancé's brother.
"Good morning" he then greets, still sitting unusually straight in the couch.
"Good morning. How did you sleep?" Quinn asked, conversationally, even though her tone was slightly reserved, maybe even cold.
"Great" he answered, politely.
"Great" she repeated, as she came inside the kitchen "are you hungry?" she asked, raising her voice for him to hear.
"Hum… sure" she heard him answer.
Quinn started making them pancakes. If he's anything like his sister, he will love that. She was surprised to see him coming inside the kitchen. He carefully leaned against the kitchen counter and stared at Quinn hesitantly, cross-armed.
"Do you like pancakes?" Quinn decided to ask, because the silence is unsettling.
He seemed to wake up from his train of thought "hum?... oh, sure. Absolutely. Love them".
"Good" Quinn commented, at lack of something else to say. Tommy is the one breaking the silence that had settled between them.
"I guess I haven't properly congratulated you. On the engagement" Tommy started "I'm really happy for Rachel".
"I appreciate that" Quinn replied, concentrated on the pancakes.
"I haven't really had the chance to thank you either" he says, thoughtfully.
"About what?".
"About… making my sister happy. About taking care of her. I love Rachel to death and it kills me that I can't be around her and protect her, all the time. I find it slightly comforting that she has you" Tommy explained, scratching his elbow and looking down to the floor.
Quinn didn't say anything.
"And… I'm aware that, first, it was kind of a shock to me. Well, not really a shock, but it was surprising… I mean, when you started dating my sister. Because, you know, she had never dated a…"
"Woman?".
"Before, no. But I've never seen Rachel so happy as when she's with you. There's not a doubt in my mind that you two should be together. And that's why I can't even express how ecstatic I was when Rachel told me you were engaged".
There was another silence.
"I guess that's what I wanted to tell you" Tommy finally finished, shifting his weight from one leg to the other uncomfortably "that you have my blessing".
Quinn looked up at him – for the first time since he started speaking – with arched eyebrows. He seemed intimidated and hurried to correct himself "not that you need it, of course. I'm just saying you have it".
Quinn softened, concentrating again on the pancakes "I appreciate that" she repeated.
Rachel appeared inside the room. She touched Tommy warmly as she passed by him, but she was directing herself toward Quinn. She hugged her waist from behind, kissing the corner of her mouth.
Tommy could see has Quinn practically melted there. He liked that his sister was with someone who cared that much about her. All of the tension Tommy had created seemed to ease out of the blonde's body.
"What are you guys chatting about?" Rachel asked, curiously looking at what Quinn was making "pancakes!" she shrieked.
~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~~w
There was a gentle knock on Finn's office. Finn instinctively knew who it was – nobody bothered knocking but her – and he jumped to his feet "Rachel, come in".
He was right. Rachel waited for him to open her the door and she smiled friendly – causing his heart to stop – before stepping inside "do you have already the profit estimation from last night?" she asked, as she curiously looked around the room.
"Yes, of course, is right on top of my desk" Finn replied, gesturing the furniture. Rachel approached his desk and sat behind it. She took one simple curious look at Finn's estimation, before her eyebrows raised in a surprised – and pleased – way.
"Wow".
"I know. We've been having the best week in a long time" Finn mumbled, slightly shrugging, and approaching the desk.
"Firstly I thought it was just a coincidence, but it's been like that every day since the… happening. People really are sick" Rachel commented, as she licked her lips, eyes still focused on the paper.
"I agree" Finn chuckled "listen, do you have the number of Agent Abrams? Because I got a message from Pucky Puck saying that he was going to stop by tomorrow, and I think he should know".
"Sure" Rachel said, as she yanked a piece of paper from the pile Finn had over his desk "do you have a pen?" before Finn could answer, Rachel opened his desk drawer.
The air was knocked out of her lungs when she found herself staring at a gun. She froze, as if making sure she wasn't hallucinating. Then she looked up. Finn was staring intensely at her, frowning slightly. It was obvious he wasn't happy that she had seen that.
"Finn, why do you have a gun?" Rachel asked, carefully.
Finn got around the desk and closed the drawer, in a clear gesture that Rachel wasn't supposed to have seen that. Rachel got up and walked away, waiting for his answer.
"You don't need to worry about it" he mumbled, gruffly.
"What do you mean I don't need to worry about it? You have a damn gun in your drawer!".
"Rachel, is no big deal. I've had it for a couple years, now" he explained, patiently.
"For a couple of years? Why do you have it?".
Finn sighed. Then he threw a sardonic stare at her "can you blame me?" he asked.
Only then Rachel realized what he was insinuating "Finn…" she sighed "did you get that because of me?".
"Rachel, I said you don't have to worry about it!" Finn snapped, for some reason highly annoyed "you can just concentrate your head on wedding flowers and guests and sitting charts, and let me worry about this type of things".
The way how he brought the wedding up seemed to Rachel that it was intended "are you mad at me?" she asked slightly revolted.
He seemed to freeze with the question "why would I be mad at you?" he asked, wearily.
"I don't know, but you have kind of giving me the cold shoulder since… you know".
"It was a mistake, and I'm sorry to put you in that position" he replied, immediately "but this has nothing to do with it. It's just, honestly, none of your business" he said.
"Seriously? Because this is my club and that makes it my business. Especially because you apparently have that gun because of me".
"Rachel, is really no big deal. When the mob first came for you, I got this, just in case. It's not really meant for anything else but that. It's about protection. I haven't even used it, ever".
Rachel was slightly more comforted "so you wouldn't use it in any other occasion?" she asked, frowning suspiciously "you wouldn't use it if you were, like, working late and someone broke inside the club? Because that's not okay with me".
"Of course not" Finn assured her.
~~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~w~~~~~~~~~~w
"Look at this" Puck said, as he opened his arms as if embracing the room, closing his eyes "can you feel the magic?".
Quinn rolled her eyes, and let herself stay back, leaning against the bar counter, as Rachel and Finn followed Pucky Puck to the stage.
The rapper was wearing a cream suit, with a burgundy tie and dark sunglasses, even though it was around 8pm. He climbed to the stage, exploring it.
"Can you feel it, baby?" Puck asked to Rachel, who was standing there, leaning her head to the side, with an amused tiny grin "this place it's magic".
"That's an urban myth" Rachel replied, serenely.
"Then how do you explain that any new artist that performed here ascended to fame faster than that guy can get a girl to dump him?" Jacob was walking across the room, oblivious to the remark.
"Maybe it's because we have good taste?" Finn asked, cynically, his arms crossed in a non-very friendly way.
"Hey, I let you know that Jacob Ben Israel is a very nice catch for any woman who…" Rachel protested, but Puck ignored her, concentrating on Finn.
"If you had good taste, you would book me and then each one of my protégées to perform here. And, if you don't, I honestly can't be held responsible for what my brother would do…"
"Yeah, let's get something clear, Puck" Finn spitted, dryly "I won't book you or any of your… protégées, because of your brotha".
"So you're just abrasively racist, is that it?" Puck asked, gesturing.
"You're not even black!" Finn cried, but Rachel gestured him to calm himself down.
"Look, what Mr Hudson is saying is that he is concerned with your gang ties, which, as I understand, it isn't really you, but it is your brother Dash".
Puck sighed "look. There's Puck and there's Dash. I'm handsome, ain't I?" he asked directly to Rachel, throwing her one of his charming smiles "which means I'm Puck".
"We cannot risk a gangs' fight bursting inside the club" Rachel explained, patiently "it's not safe".
"Says the woman with a dead guy in the bathroom" Puck noted, ironically.
"For all we know your brother did it" Finn threw back.
Puck looked at him, slightly amused "when my brother pops someone, he doesn't muffle the shot. If he had been the one doing it, he made sure you knew so".
Quinn, who was still quietly observing the scene from distance, picked up the call from her phone "hello?".
It was Agent Abrams voice "can you meet me at Leo's Diner?".
"Sure. Rachel's just finishing something and we'll be on our way".
"No, I meant just you. I need to talk to you alone".
No big developments in this chapter, I know. next one will have, I promise you.