Disclaimer: Glee is not mine :(
"I think it's time to put a ring on the finger I'm wrapped around."
- Brad Paisley, "Wrapped Around"
"Hey, you ready?"
Finn jumped at the sound of Artie's voice, quickly minimizing the website he'd been looking at. "Ready for what?"
Artie wheeled closer to Finn's desk. "The wing eating contest? Remember you and Mike bet Puck that he couldn't finish two whole baskets of the atomic hot wings without crying? Today's the day he's going to do it."
Damn. He'd forgotten about that bet. No way in hell could Puck eat two of those baskets and he really wanted to see Puck cry like a baby when the heat hit him. He'd be the proud recipient of a hundred bucks the second a tear fell.
"Is that today? I can't go." He maximized the screen again once he realized that Artie wasn't going to come closer to the computer screen.
"Why not? It's lunch time."
"I…I have a meeting," Finn stammered, his eyes drifting back to the screen.
"Without me? What's going on? What are you looking at?" Artie demanded, wheeling closer. "Does it have anything to do with you taking the afternoon off?"
"How'd you know about that?" Finn asked; looking up at him as he quickly minimized the screen again.
"Will mentioned it. Why do you keep minimizing your screen?" Artie asked, cocking his head to get a better view of the screen.
Finn sighed. He'd really wanted to keep this a secret, but it was bound to get out eventually. "What I'm about to tell you, you cannot tell anyone."
"Not tell anyone what?" Mike asked, strolling in. "You ready? Puckerman's gonna be sorry he called us pussies for having our eyes tear from those wings."
"Finn's not coming. He's got a big secret he's about to tell, but you can't tell anyone," Artie announced, turning back to Finn, who'd blanched at yet another person knowing before he was ready.
"That right? What's so important that you'd miss Puckerman crying like a girl?" Like Artie, Mike looked at Finn expectantly.
For the second time in less than five minutes, Finn sighed. "Like I said, neither of you can tell anyone, especially Brittany or Tina. Oh, and definitely not Kurt." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm going to ask Rachel to marry me."
"That's awesome!" Artie cried. "Don't worry your secret's safe with me."
"Congrats, man," Mike replied fist bumping Finn. "That why you're not coming today? You gonna do it now?"
"No. I don't even have a ring yet. I'm just going up to Westchester to talk to her dads."
"Really? You're going to ask her fathers?" Artie asked, impressed.
"Rachel thinks she's been subtle lately by only wanting to watch wedding themed movies, during which she comments on what she would do if it was her wedding. She conveniently let it drop that she thought it would be romantic if I asked her fathers, so that's what I'm doing."
"How are you going to propose?"
"Well, I was thinking about this." Finn turned the computer screen so that Artie and Mike could see what he'd been looking at. "I'm just waiting for it to come."
"Dude, that's awesome!" Mike cried, peering at the screen. "That's perfect for you two."
"You're really setting the bar for the rest of us, Finn," Artie commented.
Finn smirked. He knew it would be a good idea. He'd really wanted to plan as much as possible before Kurt found out and tried to take over. This was something he wanted to do on his own.
He stood up, gathering his backpack. "Somebody record Puck losing the bet for me? Oh, and don't tell him either."
"Why not?" Artie asked, surprised. "He's going to know when you get the ring."
"Yeah, but he's got a big mouth. I can just see him coming over and asking Rachel how she enjoyed the engagement sex. She'll be furious if it's ruined for her."
"What, the proposal or the sex?" Mike asked slyly.
"Both." Finn checked around his office, making sure he had everything.
"So when are you and Kurt going to go get the ring?"
Finn shrugged as he headed towards the door. "Kurt's not coming with me, it's just a ring. How hard could it be to pick one out? Later guys."
He walked out the door, ready to take the first step towards making Rachel his wife.
Finn adjusted his tie for the umpteenth time as he waited for the door to open. He'd been to Rachel's childhood home hundreds of times, but he'd never actually been here alone. Rachel normally just walked in, but he wasn't sure if he was allowed to do that, so he decided to play it safe and ring the doorbell.
"Finn! How nice to see you! We certainly weren't expecting you, come in," Hiram gushed, moving aside to let Finn in. "Can I get you something to eat or drink?"
"Hey, Hiram," Finn greeted, as he stepped inside. He smiled, relieved that Hiram had answered the door and not LeRoy. Hopefully, LeRoy wasn't home and Hiram could just say yes for both of them.
"Where's Rachel?" Hiram asked, peering out the door towards the driveway.
"It's just me. Rachel had meetings with her editor and then I think she was going out with Mercedes. I, uh, wanted to talk to you and LeRoy."
"Oh, well in that case, LeRoy's just finishing up a call in his study. We were just about to sit down to lunch. Why don't we-"
Hiram was cut off by a nearby door opening and LeRoy himself looking out.
"Hiram? Is lunch-" He paused when he saw Finn. "What are you doing here, Finn? Where's my Rachel?"
"Finn wants to talk to us, LeRoy," Hiram explained, ushering Finn into LeRoy's office.
LeRoy settled back into his chair behind the desk, Hiram standing next to him, leaving Finn to take the uncomfortable arm chair across from them.
Finn glanced around nervously. Like the rest of the Berry house, LeRoy's office was a shrine to Rachel. Photos of Rachel in various dance recital costumes or Halloween costumes, riding a bike or pretty much any other childhood moment jammed the shelves, while her elementary school artwork graced the walls. He peered closely at a picture of a naked toddler Rachel playing in the bathtub, wondering if he could convince adult Rachel to take a picture like that. His mind instantly went dirty as a grin spread on his face, thinking of adult Rachel in a bathtub.
"Son, are you ok?" LeRoy asked, snapping Finn out of his reverie. He focused his eyes on them, both of whom were staring at him with concerned looks on their faces. "What did you want to talk to us about?"
Shit. They'd caught him being a perv.
Finn flushed red. He'd come to symbolically ask for their daughter's hand in marriage and instead he's fantasizing in front of them about what he wanted to do to their daughter naked.
"Maybe I should get him a drink," Hiram fretted.
"No! I'm…I'm fine. I just wanted to ask you something," Finn blurted out.
"What is it?"
"Did you know that Rachel inspired my ad slogan for Puckerman's?" he asked slowly. "You know, from the day before you to never a day without you."
He waited for them to nod affirmatively before continuing. "Well, I think that was the moment that I first started to realize Rachel was it for me. It was nothing special, we were just walking down the street, talking and we'd only known each other for a few days, but it felt like I'd known her for years. The slogan stemmed from that moment and it's always been true of our relationship."
"Finn, what are you trying to say? You got a promotion?" LeRoy asked.
Hiram seemed to understand where this was going, because he started looking suspiciously misty eyed, his hand on his chest.
"What? No. I didn't get a promotion," Finn replied, looking from one father to the other.
"So what is it, Son? I have a conference call to London in five minutes."
"I'm…I'm trying to say that…" Finn stammered. He wasn't expecting LeRoy to act like this. Ever since the first time they'd met, he'd always been a little scary, but he'd thought that after all this time LeRoy finally liked him. Although, he'd never been to see LeRoy without Rachel, so maybe it was just an act for Rachel's sake? He hoped not.
"Out with it. I really don't have time for stammering."
"I want to marry Rachel. I'm going to ask her to marry me soon and I'd like to have your blessing," Finn blurted out.
Hiram gasped, clapping his hands excitedly. "I knew it! I knew that's why you were here!"
"No."
Finn, who'd just allowed himself to smile at Hiram's reaction, stared at LeRoy in surprise. Did LeRoy just say no? He recovered enough to stammer out a response. "Ex…excuse me?"
"You heard me, son. I said no." He folded his arms across his chest. Beside him, Hiram stood in shock.
"But…but why?" Not that it really mattered, he was planning on marry Rachel either way, but it would be a hell of a lot easier if LeRoy would cooperate, since his saying no would upset Rachel.
"I don't like you. Never have. You don't deserve my Little Star."
Finn felt like he'd been kicked in the teeth. He looked down at his hands, trying to figure out how the hell he was going to explain this to Rachel.
He looked up, prepared to tell LeRoy that he intended to marry Rachel anyway, only to find LeRoy smiling at him.
"I'm just kidding, Finn. I knew what you wanted as soon as I saw Rachel wasn't here. Of course you have our blessing."
Finn exhaled, feeling liked he'd aged twenty years in the span of five minutes. "That really wasn't funny, LeRoy."
LeRoy shrugged. "You're taking away my baby girl. I think it's allowed."
"When are you going to do it, Finn? Have you and Kurt gone to get a ring?" Hiram asked excitedly. "Rachel left a few pictures with me to give to you."
Finn bristled. Why did everyone assume he needed Kurt to pick out a ring with him? "Not yet. And I don't think I need Kurt for this. I've bought her enough jewelry, I know what Rachel likes."
"Oh. Well let me give you those pictures anyway." He hustled out of the room, stopping to give Finn a quick hug.
"It's about time you made an honest woman out of her and stopped living in sin together," LeRoy commented, shuffling some papers on his desk. "Have you told Carole?"
"Not yet. I wanted to wait until I have a ring because I know she's going to want me to use her engagement ring. And while it would be awesome, I want her to keep that memory of my father."
"Here they are!" Hiram came rushing in, happily thrusting some photos at Finn. He glanced down at the photos, surprised at the rings in them. They were all so different. The first drop of doubt started to form in his mind as his cell phone went off. The fact that his cell phone was singing Brown Eyed Girl meant only one thing.
Rachel was calling.
He mouthed Rachel to Hiram and LeRoy, who both froze. "Hey, babe!"
"Where are you? I went by your office after my meeting and you weren't there. And then Noah just called saying something about you being a pansy and not showing up because you were afraid you'd lose. What is he talking about? Where are you?"
He could hear the worry in her voice, but it's not like he could tell her where he really was. "I had an important meeting."
"Oh." The relief in her voice was evident. "But what was he talking about? Lose what?"
Finn rolled his eyes, not wanting to explain about the bet in front of Rachel's dads. Puck had been claiming for weeks that he'd be able to eat those wings with no problem, ever since he'd seen Mike and Finn tear up after eating them while they'd watched the Knicks game at Hooters and he could just see the eye rolls it would get from her fathers.
Finn sighed. "I was supposed to meet Artie, Mike and Puck at Hooters for lunch because we had a bet that Puck couldn't eat two baskets of the atomic wings without crying. Did he say if he won?"
He glanced at Rachel's dads out of the corner of his eye. Yup, there were the eye rolls.
"He didn't say. How was your meeting?"
Finn smiled. "It went very well."
"Good. I'm going to go then. I have to call Daddy quick before Mercedes gets here."
Crap. He glanced at Hiram, who was glancing at the pictures he'd given Finn, a huge smile on his face as he whispered wedding ideas to LeRoy. Hiram was totally going to blow it for him, since he was so excited. He quickly hung up with Rachel, wanting to speak to Hiram before the phone started ringing.
"She's calling you now. Are you ok to talk? You don't know anything, remember?" Finn pleaded, just as the phone started ringing.
LeRoy seemed to be thinking the same way Finn was, since he lunged for the phone and answered. Finn listened carefully; relieved to see that LeRoy was acting like his normal scary self, smoothly telling Rachel that Hiram was out doing his volunteer work and that he'd be gone all day.
"Why don't we go have lunch and you can tell us how you intend to propose," Hiram announced once LeRoy had hung up. "I can't wait to call Carole and discuss this!"
He headed out of the room, almost talking to himself in his excitement. LeRoy grabbed Finn's arm before he could follow. Finn looked down at the arm inquisitively.
"Finn, you better propose and fast. I can only hold off Hiram for so long."
Finn followed Hiram and LeRoy out of the study, wondering if this was going to be harder than he thought.
One lunch and a train ride later, Finn found himself walking down the busy streets of Manhattan, heading back towards Schuester's. Not wanting to share his proposal plan with Hiram, he maintained his mantra of I don't know how I'm going to propose (even though he totally did), hoping that would calm Hiram down. It had the opposite effect, since Hiram had simply conjured up all sorts of ways for Finn to propose to Rachel, most of which were far flung. Yeah, hiring a sky writer would be cool, but with his luck, there'd be another Rachel watching who'd think she was getting proposed to. It would totally suck if some other guy got engaged because of his idea.
His eyes fell on a Puckerman jewelry store window display. He'd taken the whole afternoon off, but it had taken him less time than he thought to ask for Rachel's dads blessing, so he figured he'd head back and catch up on some work. He stared at the window, thinking maybe he should start looking at rings. He could easily pick one out, buy it, and be back at the office in plenty of time.
And all without Kurt.
He pushed his way into the jewelry store, letting his eyes adjust to the light as he headed over to a display of rings.
"May I help you?"
He looked up to see a young girl looking at him expectantly, a smile on her face as she checked him out.
"Yeah, I want to look at the engagement rings," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck and not noticing how her face fell at his words.
"Oh. Well they're over here." She gestured to a nearby case, and he peered down. Some of the rings had empty settings, while others contained diamonds. He frowned, studying them.
He didn't think there'd be so many.
"What kind of diamond are you looking for?" the salesgirl, whose nametag read Amy, asked.
"Uh…the engagement diamond," Finn responded, not knowing what the hell Amy was talking about.
Amy giggled. "No, I mean, what cut?"
"Huh?"
"Well why don't we start with something easier. How many carats?"
"I…I don't know."
"Do you want a solitaire or pavé setting?
"I…I don't know." Finn looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language. He wanted an engagement ring, that was it. Why the hell was she asking him all this other crap? He pointed a ring off to the side. It was a simple band, devoid of a diamond. "I like that one. Can you put a diamond on that?"
Amy gave him an odd look. "Um…that's a men's wedding band."
"Oh." He flushed crimson, trying to figure out how he could get out of the store with what little dignity he had left. To his relief, help came in the form of the manager, who'd called Amy over to ask her something.
"I'll be right back," Amy promised, flashing him a smile before she scampered off to see what her manager wanted.
Not wasting a second, Finn hightailed it out of the jewelry store, not pausing until he was far away from the store.
Holy shit. Who knew buying an engagement ring could make his vocabulary consist of three word phrases? For that matter, who knew that engagement rings had so many options? He needed back up and fast. He couldn't ask his mother, since like he told LeRoy; she'd want to give him her engagement ring and he just couldn't take that memory from her. Artie and Mike would be just as clueless as he was and he knew that Burt and Blaine would have no idea. Puck would be very familiar with the jewelry, but his inability to keep a secret eliminated him automatically. That left one person.
Kurt.
He pulled out his cell phone, knowing he was going to regret this, but not seeing any other way around it. Quickly, he typed out a text message, knowing Kurt would understand its meaning immediately.
It's time.
As he'd expected, Kurt had responded instantly, directing Finn to come over immediately, which was why Finn was now standing outside Kurt and Blaine's apartment, ready to knock. He didn't even get a full knock in before the door was flung open by an incredibly excited Kurt.
"It's about time! Come, we have a lot of work to do," Kurt said by way of greeting, grabbing his brother and pulling him into the apartment.
"Why couldn't we just meet at a jewelry store?" He settled onto the couch Kurt had directed him to.
"Because dear brother, you are nowhere near ready for a jewelry store. You go in there now; you'll just end up running out."
Finn stared at him. Did Kurt know?
"What you need is preparation. I've prepared a few things to help us." He pulled several large presentation boards out from behind the couch, placing them on easels he'd set up before Finn's arrival.
"Seriously?" Finn asked, looking in horror at the closest board, which was labeled 'The 4 C's.' "Kurt, what the hell is this?"
"Kurt Hummel's Engagement Boot Camp. We take hopeless cases like yourself and help you give the girl the engagement of her dreams," Kurt announced proudly. "Past graduates include Dad, although he got a modified version since he'd done it before. You're getting the full Kurt Hummel experience."
"Engagement Boot Camp? Don't you think you're being a little ridiculous?" Finn asked skeptically.
"Each word out of your mouth just proves that you have no idea what you're getting into. Shopping is like war, Finn. I suppose you think your father just went into battle without any preparation?" He tapped the pointer he'd pulled out from behind the couch against his palm, waiting for Finn's answer.
"Well no, but-"
"Exactly. You need to be prepared both mentally and physically."
"Physically? You mean for the endless just got engaged sex I get that night? Cause I think I'm ok in that department," Finn replied, grinning at the thought.
"Ew. I meant physically as in the idea that we're going to be spend long amounts of time at jewelry stores. I can't have you whining about being bored or tired like you do when we go clothes shopping for you."
"That's because you drag me from store to store. We're just going to Puck's jewelry store, I won't get tired."
"You really think that's what this is? You just go get a ring? I bet you think there's only a few styles too," Kurt replied, one hand across his chest supporting his other arm as it waved in the air.
That was exactly what Finn had thought, but he wasn't about to tell Kurt that since his little foray into the jewelry store had proven him wrong. "Fine. What do I have to do?"
"Let's start with the basics. I assume you've set aside at least three month's salary?" Kurt queried.
Finn nodded, glad he knew that much. Dropping one of her not so subtle hints, Rachel had started watching Platinum Weddings before bed, reading aloud the tips that were shown on screen to him. "More actually."
Kurt's eyes lit up. "Excellent. I took the liberty of taking a peek at your tax return from last year when I was at your apartment, just so I'd have an idea of what we're working with."
"Kurt, what the hell? You looked at my tax return?" Finn cried.
"Relax. Rachel showed it to me when we were discussing ring designs." He moved over to the board closest to Finn, the one labeled The Four C's. "Now let's move onto the ring itself. You'll notice that I've placed several boards around the room. We'll start with The Four C's of buying a diamond, otherwise known as cut, clarity, color and carat, before moving onto the board I've cunningly called Does size matter? Finally, we'll take a look at rings Rachel likes."
"Does size matter?" Finn read aloud, interested. He knew it. He'd totally always wondered about that and it had been a consistent topic at the poker table over the years. It had never really been an issue for him, but he'd be curious to know what the official answer was, since he doubted that Puck's declaration that women want a sausage not a cocktail frank was a confirmed scientific fact, no matter what Puck said.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Finn. It refers to the size of the diamond, not male genitalia. Although in both cases, I think the answer's the same."
"So what's the answer?" Finn asked, wanting to report back to the poker table.
"Patience, Finn. You'll find out the answer when I say you're ready to move onto that board. For now, let's start with the various types of cuts." He pulled another board out from behind the first board, this one showing various cuts of diamonds. He pointed to the first one. "Now, this one here is the traditional round cut, which incidentally is the one favored by Rachel and worn by stars like Natalie Portman and Brooklyn Decker. Next, we have the princess cut-"
"Wait, if the round stone is the one Rachel likes, why are we wasting time with the others?" Finn demanded, more than ready to just go out and buy a round stone ring.
"Rachel only favors it. She's not married to it." He paused, chuckling at his little joke. "She likes other ones too, depending on the setting."
"Oh. What difference does the setting make?"
"Don't ask stupid questions, Finn," Kurt snapped, annoyed at having been interrupted. He'd been waiting for months to do this and wasn't about to let Finn ruin it for him. "I hope you're taking notes, Finn. I have test prepared for when we're done. You'd better score perfect on it because then and only then, will you be ready to go into a jewelry store. Now getting back to the cuts. Next we have the Princess-"
Finn sighed, leaning back onto the couch. This was going to be a long day.
"You're finally home!" Rachel called out in greeting from living room when she heard Finn's voice greeting Vlad in the hallway. "Did you eat? I left you some dinner in the fridge."
"Awesome," Finn called back, making a beeline for the kitchen, Vlad hot on his heels. He was starving. He put the plate in the microwave, impatiently staring and willing the food to heat faster as he banged a fork and knife against the counter in a standard drumbeat.
Stupid Kurt and his stupid boards. Kurt had refused to let him take a break and eat, claiming he hadn't shown sufficient enough progress to have a break, which resulted in Finn breaking one of Kurt's boards. That had resulted in Kurt calling Carole to let her know that not only had Finn neglected to let her know he was planning on asking Rachel to marry him, but that Finn was the one who'd broken Carole's beloved Waterford vase when he'd thrown a football at Kurt and missed.
Kurt's deliberate attempts to get Carole mad at Finn backfired, since Carole heard nothing after asking Rachel and marry. Finn had grinned at first, until he realized that it meant Carole wanted to talk to him. Nonstop.
He'd had to listen to his mother crying on the phone the entire way home, offering her ring every other sentence. To top it all off, he'd only scored an 82 on Kurt's test, which meant he wasn't allowed to go within ten feet of a jewelry store according to Kurt, who'd quickly pointed out that Burt had scored a 98 when he'd taken it. As a result, Kurt had given him homework.
The microwave finally dinged, causing Finn to stop drumming as he yanked his food out and headed for the living room. He paused at the doorway, shoveling food in his mouth. Rachel was lounging on the couch; her eyes glued to the TV, watching Access Hollywood discuss the latest celebrity wedding. "Hey babe."
"Shh! I want to hear this."
Carefully, he settled down next to Rachel on the couch, balancing his plate on his lap as Vlad jumped in between them, rubber steak in mouth. He glanced at the screen and back at Rachel, who was staring at the screen mesmerized. The reporter was currently talking about the engagement and wedding rings the stars had chosen, so maybe he could get some information.
Rachel gasped when she saw the ring, a stunning emerald cut flanked by yellow diamonds on either side. Finn stared at it, trying to apply anything from Kurt's boards to the ring and coming up empty.
"Are they serious? He paid $650,000 for a ring?" Finn commented between bites.
"Finn, it's seventeen carats!" Rachel exclaimed. "That's a really big ring. It must be really heavy."
"Oh. That's not normal?"
"If your incredibly rich maybe. When I worked at Maquillage, I tried on a three carat ring for an article. I think that's a perfect size."
Finn nodded, storing that information away for whenever Kurt let him go shopping.
Almost as if he knew Finn was thinking about him, Finn's cell phone beeped, announcing a text from Kurt.
Taking tomorrow off. Will be at your office at 7:30 sharp. Bring wallet and any ideas you have.
730? Was Kurt insane? He wouldn't even be at his office at 7:30 sharp! Quickly, he texted Kurt back.
No way. I don't even get to the office until 9. Why don't you just come at lunch time?
The response came quickly, earning the attention of Rachel. "Who are you texting?"
Finn glanced down at the response, rolling his eyes as he answered. "Kurt."
Finn, this is important. What's the big deal about coming in at 7:30? And no to the lunch plan b/c we have to meet Carole at the train station at 12.
Crap. His mom was now involved. He knew he shouldn't have asked Kurt for help. Just for that, he typed back a response sure to piss Kurt off and gross him out.
The big deal is that at 7:30 I plan on getting some hot shower sex.
As he'd expected, his phone was silent for a while, which he assumed meant that Kurt was bitching to Blaine about him. The silence allowed him to clean up his dinner, walk Vlad, and even commence a mini make-out session with Rachel.
They'd just gotten to the good stuff when his phone went off again. And again. And again.
He sighed against Rachel's chest, wondering how Kurt always knew when he was about to get lucky. He certainly didn't have that intuition about Kurt, nor did he want it.
Rachel climbed out from under him, adjusting her shirt. "I'm going to take a bath anyway. You're welcome to join me, if you want."
Finn grinned, thinking of the images he'd had earlier of Rachel in a bathtub. "I'll be there in a minute."
"Don't be too long." She smiled coyly at him as she sauntered off. Finn stared dumbly after her, sorely tempted to forget about Kurt and his text messages.
Once Rachel was out of his line of vision, he snapped back to reality, knowing that if he ignored Kurt's texts, he'd start calling in a few minutes or worse, show up here at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Sighing he opened the first message.
I'm going to ignore that. But just so you know, I will be outside your office at 9AM sharp.
Rolling his eyes, he moved onto the next one, from Mike.
Check it out! Video proof of Puck crying like a baby! He claims it was allergies.
Chuckling, he watched the video Mike sent. Allergies, his ass. He knew Puck wouldn't be able to eat those wings. He scrolled onto the next message.
Wear your dark gray Kenneth Cole with navy (that's blue, Finn) shirt and tie tomorrow. I won't have you looking poor when we shop.
He rolled his eyes yet again. He wasn't that stupid. He'd taken his fair share of abuse at the office for his expensive suits, since everyone thought he was high maintenance and a metrosexual, but in all honesty, every suit he owned had been personally picked out by Kurt. Even when Rachel came on the scene, Kurt had refused to relinquish dressing rights to Rachel, claiming she couldn't dress herself, let alone Finn.
Refusing to answer Kurt, he headed off into the bathroom. Rachel was stretched out in the tub, her eyes closed while her left hand rested on the ledge. He grinned, picturing that hand wearing his ring.
"Are you coming in?" she asked without opening her eyes, snapping Finn out of his reverie.
"Oh, yeah."
Rachel opened her eyes in time to watch him shed his clothes, sitting up in anticipation. She scooted forward in the tub, making room for him. Gingerly he stepped in, wishing for the thousandth time that they had a bigger bathtub. Rachel may be able to stretch out, but he most definitely couldn't. It took a bit of maneuvering on both their parts before Rachel was able to lie back against him.
"Next apartment we get must have a huge bathtub," he grumbled. "I'm sick of folding myself in here with you."
"I agree," Rachel replied, turning her head to look at him. "Did you talk to your mom today?"
"What? How did you know she called?" Finn stammered nervously.
"She called last night when we were out, remember?"
"Oh, right," Finn replied relieved that Rachel didn't know why he'd spoken to his mother. "She wants us out there for dinner on Saturday for Burt's birthday, along with your dads."
This information was unknown to everybody, including his mother, but he'd tell her tomorrow.
"Finn! It's already Wednesday! I didn't even get a birthday present for Burt yet!" Rachel fretted.
"So? It's not like Saturday's his actual birthday. It's not until the Tuesday after," Finn pointed out, not needing to be reminded about what day of the week it was.
His whole proposal plan hinged on one thing, something that should have arrived in the mail two days ago. He'd ordered it last week and even paid for the express delivery, only to find out that the spelling was wrong. He'd sent it back, and once again paid for the rush delivery. The only problem was; it still hadn't come. He was trying hard not to panic, but he only had two more workdays left, and since he was having it sent to the office, it was kind of imperative that it came within the next two days.
"True. Maybe I'll go shopping with Kurt tomorrow."
"No, he's busy tomorrow," Finn replied without thinking.
"Really? How do you know that?"
"He just texted me. We were going to have…lunch. We were going to have lunch, but he…canceled because he's busy," Finn stammered. Knowing Rachel was going to want to know why Kurt was so busy, he tried to think of something to distract her. His mind came up empty, so decided to distract Rachel the same way she always distracted him: with sex. Slowly, he let one hand drag down Rachel's arm while the other turned her head towards him. "I don't want to talk about Kurt anymore."
He brought his lips down to hers, letting his tongue work its way into Rachel's mouth while his hands got busy working their magic on her chest. He smiled against her mouth, knowing he'd successfully distracted her when he heard a soft mewl escape her mouth.
"Yo, Hudson, the fuck are you?"
Puck's voice rang out about two seconds before Puck himself appeared in the open doorway of the master bathroom. "Aww, am I interrupting Cuddle Time? Where's your rubber duckies?"
Finn and Rachel both jumped at the noise. They'd been so engrossed in each other that they hadn't heard Vlad's growls as the door opened, nor had they heard Puck come down the hall into the bedroom and then their bathroom. Quickly, Finn scrambled to use his hands to cover Rachel's chest, realizing too late that her lower area was still uncovered. He decided to wrap his arm around her chest, using his other hand to cover Rachel's lady parts.
"Noah!" Rachel screeched, trying to reach for the shower curtain by her feet and maintain the coverage Finn was offering her at the same time. "Get out!"
"Dude, don't you knock?" Finn cried; trying valiantly to keep Rachel covered.
"I did knock. I can't help it if you two are so horny that you didn't hear it." He strolled into the bathroom, closing the toilet lid and sitting down, either blissfully unaware of how much his presence wasn't wanted in the bathroom, or else just not caring. "Didn't think you'd be one to go bare down there, Berry. Can you lean back a little? I'm getting a little too familiar with Finn Jr."
"Noah, get out!" Rachel screamed, throwing the first thing she could get her hands on, which happened to be a small bottle of body wash. She took aim, letting it fly towards Noah, who ducked a second too late causing him to get hit on the cheek. "Get out!"
"The fuck, Berry?" Noah exclaimed as another bottle flew towards his head. He jumped off the toilet, ducking yet another bottle. "It's not like I've never seen boobs before. I'm more concerned with seeing Finn's fucking twig and berries, which by the way are on view again."
"Dude, just get out!" Finn cried, unable to throw anything at Puck without exposing Rachel. She seemed to doing just fine on her own, launching everything she could get her hands on at Puck, who finally took the hint and headed towards the door.
"Fine. I'll be waiting outside."
Rachel waited until the door shut before turning as best she could in Finn's arms to bury her face in his chest. "I'm humiliated again."
"It's not like he's never caught us before. Remember the kitchen counter when we first started dating? Or that time he was watching the movie with us and caught you with your hand in my pants?" Finn pointed out, kissing her head for reassurance. "Or when we went on vacation together? And don't forget the night we got back together."
"Yes, but we were dressed, or at least in our undergarments those times. And the night we got back together, he only heard us, he didn't see us. We're naked, Finn. He's never going to let us forget it." She stood up, giving Finn an excellent view of her ass as she reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself, climbing out at the same time. "Of all people to catch us. Why did we give him a key?"
"You two better not be getting freaky in there! I'm fucking waiting out here!"
She held out a towel for him. "Better get out before he comes charging back in here and sees you on full display, Finn."
Obediently Finn stood, accepting the towel Rachel offered, smirking when he noticed Rachel checking him out. He wasn't too upset about being caught, so long as it didn't happen Saturday night after they were engaged. He had plans, big plans, for after Rachel got her ring and if Puck ruined them, Finn would be throwing a lot worse than a shampoo bottle at him.
Rachel dropped her towel, replacing it with her bathrobe. She waited until Finn had his towel securely wrapped around him before opening the door and stomping past Noah, who was currently sitting on her side of the bed, holding Vlad's newspaper above the little Chihuahua's head while Vlad growled at him.
"The fuck's your problem?" Noah asked as Rachel slammed the bureau drawers shut, getting pajamas for herself and Finn.
"Out, Noah." She pointed to the bedroom door, one hand on her hip.
"Fuck no. I've got important business with Finn." He stretched out on the bed, placing his hands behind his head. Rachel huffed before storming past Finn and slamming the bathroom door shut behind her.
"Dude, what the hell?" Finn asked, pulling on a pair of boxers under his towel.
"I think Vlad needs to go out," Puck replied.
Finn glanced at Vlad, who was snoozing peacefully on Finn's pillow, his newspaper next to him. "He's fine. Why the hell are you here cockblocking me?"
"I really think Vlad needs to go out," Puck responded cryptically.
"Dude, he's f-" Finn started to insist, stopping when he saw Puck hold up his left hand and point to his ring finger.
Finn understood immediately, throwing on jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt before knocking on the closed bathroom door. "Hey babe? Vlad needs to go bye-byes, so I'm gonna take him out."
"Take Noah with you!" Rachel called back.
Finn grabbed a sleeping Vlad off his pillow, quickly making his way through the apartment, making sure to grab Vlad's leash on the way out the door, Puck following closely behind.
He waited until they were safely in the elevator to question Puck. "What's going on?"
"Bye-byes?" Puck smirked in response.
"Shut up. That's the word Rachel trained him with, so that's the word he knows. Now what's going on?"
"You tell me. Why the fuck did I not know you were officially planning to hand over your balls to Berry?" Puck demanded as he followed Finn and Vlad out of the elevator and outside.
Finn sighed as he placed Vlad on the ground. The Chihuahua seemed confused as to why he was outside and not sleeping on a comfy pillow, promptly parking himself on the ground and refusing to move. "No one was supposed to know until Rachel did. Artie and Mike only found out because I forgot about the bet. Where's my hundred bucks by the way?"
"Fuck you," Puck muttered as he pulled out his wallet. "I come over to help you and all you can do is demand my money?"
"Yup," Finn replied, pocketing the money. "Now seriously, why are you here?"
"If you're going to insist on being chained to Berry for the rest of your life, I thought you'd like to know that my uncle just got the first of a new line of engagement rings. If you want, stop by the Fifth Avenue store and you can see the styles before they're available. There's one in particular that screams Berry. When are you gonna do it?"
"Saturday at my parent's house, if the thing I'm waiting for finally comes," Finn replied. "I was planning on going ring shopping tomorrow, no matter what Kurt says."
"What's Kurt got to do with it?" Puck asked curiously.
"I failed my diamond cuts and styles test, so I'm technically not allowed to go within ten feet of a jewelry store," Finn muttered. "Shut up! It's not funny!"
Puck doubled over laughing. "Hummel gave you a fucking test?"
"Yeah. Not only that, he's going to be at my office tomorrow at 9AM and then he's coming shopping with me and bringing my mom."
Puck gave a low whistle. "No backing out then. Berry putting the screws on you to get engaged is really going to impact me. Once Q sees Rachel's ring, she's gonna want one."
"So get her one. Just don't do it before Saturday."
"Fuck no. Quinn may have gotten me to stop dating other women, but I'm not there yet."
Finn shrugged. "There is an awesome place to be. I usually go to lunch around 12. Will that work?"
"Sounds good to me. Just make sure you're wearing clothes next time I see you," Puck replied smirking, as he held out a hand, hailing a cab. "Gotta go bye-byes. See you tomorrow."
Finn watched him go, wondering how someone so infuriating could be one of his best friends at the same time.
Vlad must have decided he'd had enough, because he stood on his hind legs, scratching at Finn to be picked up. Finn obliged, heading back up to the apartment and a still furious Rachel.
"What did he want that was so important that he needed to storm into our bathroom? Honestly, he can be so rude," Rachel said crossly, sitting on the bed and brushing her hair with great force.
"He's not so bad," Finn replied, peeling off his clothes. He pulled back the blankets, climbing in as Rachel did the same next to him.
"He barged into my bathroom and saw me naked!" Rachel cried, letting herself be pulled towards Finn, who wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her temple repeatedly. He could feel her relaxing with each kiss, so he continued kissing her temple until she snuggled into him, a sign she was no longer angry.
"I know, baby, but at least we weren't actually having sex. You know he would have tried to critique us or give us a score," Finn pointed out. "Besides, I don't think he saw that much."
Rachel turned in his arms to stare at him in disbelief. "He commented on my bikini wax."
Finn waggled his eyebrows. "That's cause it looks awesome. Any chance I could see it?"
"Are you kidding? Noah just walked in on us naked and you still want to have sex? I don't think so." She turned back, facing away from him.
"Fine. Night, baby." He kissed the back of her head, not too upset about getting shot down.
After all, at this time on Saturday night, he'd be getting all the engaged sex he wanted.
He couldn't wait.
"Round, Emerald, Oval, Pear, Princess, Heart, Asscher, Radiant, Cushion cut," Finn recited to Kurt as they sat outside Penn Station waiting for their mother. "Want a hot dog?"
"No. What else?" Kurt demanded.
"Diamonds are graded for clarity, F being perfect," he continued.
"Very good. What about color?"
"We're looking for one rated G through I, D is the highest and most valuable. Can I get a hot dog now?"
"No. Now what does Rachel like?"
"Round is the cut Rachel favors, followed by princess and emerald. Nothing less than three carats, and no side stones because it takes away from the main stone, she feels. Now can I get a hot dog?"
"Fine. Go get your stupid hot dog. I don't know how you can eat those things," Kurt snapped.
Not needing to be told twice, Finn took off towards the hot dog vendor, anxious to get away from Kurt.
As promised, Kurt had appeared in his office at 9AM, new charts and diagrams in hand, setting them up around Finn's office. Finn attempted to ignore him, starting his workday, but Kurt was undeterred, simply conducting his boot camp in between phone calls and meetings. Realizing resistance was futile, Finn gave in and started paying attention, finally passing Kurt's stupid test, although he still hadn't surpassed Burt's score.
He may have passed Kurt's test, but that certainly didn't stop Kurt from grilling Finn as they waited for Carole. Fortunately, Finn was holding his own, which was why he was allowed to go get a hot dog.
"Hey Kurt? What do you think I should do if it doesn't arrive?" he asked as he settled back on the ledge Kurt was perched on, hot dog in hand.
He'd had to tell Kurt his proposal idea, since Kurt watched him tear frantically through his mail, hoping his package had arrived and asked him what was wrong. He'd reluctantly shown Kurt his idea on the computer, expecting Kurt to say it was stupid or unromantic. To his surprise, Kurt had thoroughly approved, offering some advice about how to fine tune it.
"It'll arrive tomorrow, I'm sure. If it doesn't, we'll think of something else tomorrow night. Or you could just wait," Kurt suggested. "Honestly, I don't know how you could eat those things."
"No. I'm not waiting. Too many people know now. Besides, I think I've waited long enough," Finn said firmly, finishing off his hot dog. "Oh, Mom's here."
"Finny!" Carole cried, ignoring Kurt and throwing herself in her son's arms. "I can't believe you're engaged!"
"I'm not engaged yet, Mom," Finn replied, hugging his mother. "I have to get a ring first and Rachel still has to say yes."
"She'll say yes," Carole declared. "And as for a ring, what are we waiting for? Let's go, Kurt."
Kurt nodded eagerly, linking arms with Carole, who grabbed Finn's arm pulling him along with them as they walked the two blocks over to Fifth Avenue. He listened as they excitedly discussed ring designs and the actual proposal, making him wonder who was getting engaged, him or Kurt.
"You ok, Finny?" Carole asked. "You're very quiet."
"I'm fine, Mom." He placed an arm around Carole's shoulders, more than ready to take the second step to making Rachel his wife.
"How about this one?"
"Nope, that's not it," Finn declared firmly. Kurt shook his head in disgust, since Finn just rejected yet another one of Kurt's choices. They'd been at Puckerman's for over an hour and had yet find the ring. Finn wasn't totally sure what he wanted, but he knew what Rachel wanted and he knew he'd know the ring when he saw it. So far, none of the rings were screaming "Rachel" to him.
Kurt had immediately launched into bossy shopper mode, demanding the attention of a salesperson, commandeering several chairs and even getting the salesperson to bring them champagne. He'd rejected several rings immediately, declaring he was ready to walk out of here if they weren't going to be taken seriously. Finn was strongly reminded of the shopping scene in Pretty Woman, the one where Richard Gere has the whole store at his beck and call. They'd even had to switch salesgirls after the first one burst into tears after Kurt declared her incompetent.
"Bout fucking time you got here, Hudson. Hey Hummel. Mrs. Hummel, you're looking lovely as always," Puck greeted the three of them as he came out of the back, a box in his hands.
Finn rolled his eyes at Puck's altered behavior around his mother. He was a model of perfect behavior, making his mother think he was such a nice boy. While his mother often chastised Finn for his mouth, Puck's cursing was excused, since he could do no wrong in her eyes, ever since he'd gotten Finn and Rachel back together.
"Hello, Puck. I guess you've heard the wonderful news?" Carole bubbled, still incredibly excited about the engagement.
"I did. I stopped by during bath time last night to talk to Finn about it." He smirked at the memory as he placed the box on the counter.
"Where are these new rings you were telling me about last night?" Finn asked, anxious to get Puck away from the subject of what he'd seen last night. Given his mother's affection for Puck, he could probably tell her exactly what he'd seen Finn and Rachel doing last night and his mother would probably yell at him for not being dressed when Puck came over, rather than Puck for barging in.
"Right here. Like I said, some of them scream Berry." He opened the box, revealing the rings inside. Carole and Kurt both gasped when they saw them. Finn's eyes fell on one in particular, feeling as if a light was shining down on it.
"That one. I want to see that one," Finn demanded.
"Told you," Puck replied as he handed Finn the ring.
It was perfect. The large round stone was set on a thin eternity band, making the ring look like an endless circle of smaller diamonds underneath the one large stone. The ring sparkled as he held it up, turning it all different ways to examine it. The ring was gorgeous and he knew Rachel would love it. Best of all, it was one he could totally picture Rachel wearing forever. "This is it."
Carole started tearing as he held it up. "Oh, Finny."
Beside her, speechless and just as teary-eyed, Kurt nodded in agreement.
The salesgirl clapped excitedly and even Puck nodded; a smile on his face. "That ring is from our new collection. It's 3.5 carats set in platinum. I think it'll be Berry approved."
Finn smiled, thinking of what Rachel's reaction would be when she saw it. He knew she was going to love it.
"What's her ring size?" the salesgirl asked.
"Uh, here." Finn handed over one of Rachel's rings, glad Kurt had made him steal it as part of his Engagement Boot Camp homework. His other homework, writing a speech to recite as he proposed, wasn't going so well. He'd tried thinking of things to say as he lay in bed last night, but he'd forgotten everything when he'd woken up this morning.
The salesgirl smiled at Finn. "Looks like this was meant to be your ring. It's exactly the right size. We can box it up for you right now."
Finn smiled back as he handed her his credit card, trying not to notice the price.
"Here you go," she announced as she handed him a small jewelry bag. "Congratulations!"
"Yeah, man. Congratulations. You deserve it, taking on Berry full time," Puck added.
Carole said nothing, simply hugging her son tightly, while Kurt did the same.
Finn hugged them back, slightly shell shocked. He'd just bought an engagement ring. This was really happening.
He had the ring, now all he needed was to finish his proposal speech and get his stupid package and he'd be all set for Saturday.
Finn sat at his desk, trying desperately to write his proposal speech. Why was this so hard? He knew how he felt about Rachel, so it should be easy to write it down.
Wrong.
Everything he wrote just seemed stupid and it definitely didn't seem like those big speeches the guy gives the girl in the movie. He knew that's what Rachel would want and he was determined to give her that.
Rachel hadn't been home when he'd gotten home yesterday, so he'd tried using Rachel's technique of reading out loud to Vlad, seeing if he liked what he'd written once he'd gotten back from ring shopping. Ever helpful, Vlad had simply yawned and stretched, abandoning Finn to nap in his castle.
He'd been distracted by the ring's journey with his mom, worrying that something would happen to it. They'd all agreed that the ring couldn't go home with Finn, since Rachel's heightened wedding sense was bound to know there was an engagement ring in the apartment as soon as she walked in, so it was decided that it would be best to send it home with Carole. He'd stressed the whole way home until he'd gotten a call from this mother letting him know that the ring had arrived safe and sound. Rachel had come home soon after, and he'd been unable to work on the speech for the rest of the night.
Which was why he was sitting at his desk today, trying to figure out what to write. Maybe he should use a poem? He opened the internet, googling "proposal speeches." He started sifting through the websites, quickly realizing that they were all really cheesy.
Clearly, he was on his own. He was the only one who could tell Rachel exactly what she meant to him. He glanced at a picture of them on his desk. It had been taken at a New Year's Eve party Mike and Tina had thrown. Rachel, a Happy New Year tiara on her head, had her arms wrapped around Finn's shoulders from behind as they both smiled for the camera. He smiled at the memory of that night.
Inspired, he began to write.
"Mail's here," his secretary announced, interrupting Finn as he strolled in and handed Finn his mail.
"Awesome!" His speech forgotten, he jumped up. Eagerly, Finn tore through the stack, stopping when he got to one envelope in particular.
It was here.
He tore open the envelope, checking the contents. This time it was perfect.
He was ready.
"We're here!" Finn called as he walked into his parent's backyard. No one was outside, so he headed into the kitchen, Rachel and Vlad following closely behind.
They were obviously the last ones here, since his mom, Burt, Kurt, Blaine, Hiram and LeRoy were all gathered around the kitchen table talking. The talking stopped as soon as they walked in, making Finn positive that they were talking about the proposal.
Rachel didn't seem to notice anything, since she placed Vlad on the ground and went over to hug her fathers. Finn watched closely, hoping Hiram wouldn't give anything away. To his relief, Hiram seemed normal, as did everyone else.
"I'm going to go put our bags in our rooms, Finn," Rachel announced.
"Finn, we saw the ring. It's just perfect," Hiram babbled as soon as Rachel was out of earshot.
"Where is it? And does everyone know what to do?" Finn asked, relieved when everyone nodded. His mother handed him the ring box and he quickly shoved it in the pocket of the sweatshirt he was holding. "Just act totally normal."
Rachel came back down just then. "Are we playing Uno? Because I'm about to pass Finn in the standings, so I'm excited to see my name at the top of the leader board."
"You're not gonna pass me," Finn replied, smiling.
"That's what you think," Rachel called over her shoulder, dragging Kurt and Blaine outside. Hiram, LeRoy and Carole all followed, leaving Burt alone with Finn.
The older man placed a hand on Finn's shoulder. "You ready? You got your diploma from Kurt?"
Finn rolled his eyes. "I failed the written test, but yes, I'm ready. I've been ready for a while."
He pulled something out of his pocket showing it to Burt. "What do you think?"
"I thought it was perfect as soon as your mom told me about it. She's gonna love it."
"I hope so. I thought it was a cute way to propose." He glanced out the window, a smile on his face as he watched Rachel talking with his mom, laughing at something she'd said.
Burt followed his gaze. "She's a keeper. I said that as soon as I saw you two together that first weekend. Your mom's thrilled, she's been planning the wedding since that weekend, you know."
Finn chuckled. "I know."
"I remember proposing to your mom and to my first wife. Forgot what I was going to say both times, but it doesn't matter. All that matters is you and her."
"Finn! Come on! Are you ready?" Rachel called from outside.
"Well? You ready?" Burt asked.
"Yup." Finn walked outside, Burt following behind.
This was it.
"Oh good. Finn brought out the cards," Rachel announced, looking at Finn's hands. She pointed to the chair across from her. "Sit and deal, Finn."
Finn glanced at the chair. This wouldn't do. In order for his plan to work, he had to be sitting next to Rachel, who currently had his mother on one side, and Kurt on the other. Not about to kick his mother out of her chair, he opted for Kurt, yanking him out of his chair by his designer shirt, ignoring Kurt's protests. He placed the sweatshirt containing his ring behind him on the chair.
"Finn! That's not nice!" Rachel chided. "Although I'm flattered you want to sit next to me." She leaned over to give him a kiss. Finn responded eagerly, thinking it might be their last one as boyfriend/girlfriend.
"Enough making out, let's play," Kurt interrupted from his new seat on the other side of Finn. "Are you ready, Finn?"
Finn fingered the deck of cards in front of him. To Rachel, this looked like any other deck of Uno cards, but everyone else at the table knew otherwise. While all the standard Uno cards were there, there was one extra card. In addition to the Draw Fours, Skips, Draw Twos and Reverses, this deck now contained a card that read Rachel, will you marry me? He'd found it on the internet one day while searching for a trick poker deck to use on Puck, and the second he'd found this company that would print any type of Uno cards, he knew it was the perfect way to propose.
"Finn?" Kurt prompted.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready." Finn gulped. This was the hand. Trying to control his trembling hands, he shuffled all the cards, keeping track of his special card. Carefully he dealt the cards, trying to figure out the best moment to do it. Should he put the card down right away and get it over with? Or should he wait?
He picked up his cards, shuffling through them and intending to hide the card behind his other cards.
It wasn't there.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Where the hell was it? He'd purposely dealt it to himself. Frantically, he shuffled through his cards again, hoping he'd missed it the first time. No such luck. Which meant only one thing.
Someone else had it.
But who? He couldn't exactly ask with Rachel sitting right there. He snuck a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. He was fairly sure she didn't have it, since she was sorting her cards, a normal reaction on her face. He glanced around the table. Everyone else seemed to have normal looks on their faces too, which meant the card could be in the draw pile. Either that or somebody had a damn good poker face on right now. He could feel the panic rising in him. He needed to find that card and fast.
Which meant Rachel had to go.
"Babe? Can you go get my jacket upstairs?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"You have a sweatshirt on the back of your chair," Rachel pointed out.
Damn.
"I…I don't want this one. Kurt says I look stupid in it."
"So? Since when has that ever stopped you before?" She looked around the group. "Are we ready to play?"
"No!" Finn cried. "Baby, please? This one sucks."
"Fine. You're lucky I have to go to the bathroom anyway." She threw her cards down on the table as she pushed her chair back and stormed off into the house.
Finn jumped up, waiting until he heard her stomping up the stairs. "Ok, who has it?" he hissed as he stomped back to the table.
"Have what?" Blaine asked, looking up from his cards.
"This isn't funny. Someone has it." He grabbed Rachel's cards, relieved to see that his suspicions had been right. She didn't have it.
He looked up to see LeRoy of all people holding out a card. "Son, I know gay marriage is now legal in New York and I'm flattered, but I think you're a little young for me. I do know a girl who might be interested though."
Shit. He'd just proposed to LeRoy.
Mortified, he took the card, placing it securely among his own just as Rachel came back outside, holding his jacket. "Here. I still don't see why you couldn't just wear the sweatshirt on your chair."
"Thanks, babe." He leaned over to kiss her temple. "We waited for you to start. I dealt, so it's your turn."
"Oh." She placed a yellow nine down, letting the game move onto Carole. His mind raced wondering once again when to put the card down. He needed to make a decision soon. It was almost his turn.
He made up his mind to do it and get it over with, placing his fingers on the card, ready to put it down as soon as Kurt put his card down.
"Skip."
"Rac-" he started and then paused. What the hell? Kurt, who'd been in on this plan from the beginning, had just skipped him?
He threw a nasty glance at Kurt, throwing in a good elbow jab as Rachel placed a card down. Ok, he could do this. He'd regroup and just put the card down next time.
Once again, it was almost his turn. Just Hiram, then Kurt, then him. He watched anxiously as Hiram put his card down. "Reverse."
As Puck would say; what. The. Fuck.
Were they trying to kill him? Because if they were, they were doing a pretty damn good job. The game was now going backwards, which meant Rachel would put down a card before he would. He couldn't put the card down until the order was switched, or else he'd be asking Kurt to marry him.
He really didn't want to marry Kurt.
He eyed the table, begging someone, anyone to reverse the order. No one did, the bastards. Nervously, he shuffled through his cards, more to do something with his hands than anything else.
Hold on.
He had a green Reverse.
He didn't need them to change it, he could change it himself. And the best part was; he could do it this turn, since the cards being played were currently green.
Rachel smiled at him as she placed her card down. "Sorry, babe, but I don't a choice. And I'm making it red."
Draw Four.
She'd given him a fucking Draw Four and made him lose his turn, effectively ruining his chance to change the rotation. Frustrated, he picked up four cards, watching the cards being put down by Kurt, Hiram, Blaine, LeRoy, and Burt, none of whom put down a Reverse.
Ok, not a problem. His mom had just put down a green two, all he had to do wait for Rachel to put her card down and he was home free.
"Draw Four, Finn. And blue."
His mouth dropped open. She'd made him lose his turn again. Did she not want to be proposed to?
The game made it all the way back to Burt before Finn's luck changed.
Finn had never been gladder his mother had married Burt than when he saw his step-father put down a Reverse. The game was heading back his way, and this time he was ready, nothing could screw it up.
Except for Kurt.
"Draw Two, Finn."
"Kurt! What the fuck, man? How could you do that to me?" Finn asked angrily as he took two cards. This was unbelievable. Here he was, ready to propose, and he had yet to put a card down, let alone the card asking her to marry him.
"Finn! Language!" Rachel chided as she placed a card down. "Besides, Kurt blocking you is a good thing for me."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Finn muttered. If it wasn't for his stupid brother, he could've been engaged already and Rachel would be wearing the ring that he'd been waiting to give her.
The ring.
Where did he put it? Oh God, had he remembered to even bring it outside? He patted his pockets frantically before he remembered that he'd put it in the pocket of the sweatshirt on his chair so Rachel wouldn't feel it if she hugged him.
The whereabouts of the ring being settled, he leaned over to whisper lowly in Kurt's ear. "I swear to God, if you put down anything other than a numbered card, I will personally see to it that you're not involved in any aspect of the wedding planning."
"You wouldn't do that," Kurt whispered back.
"Put down that Draw Two I know you have and find out," Finn threatened.
The game came around to Kurt, who hesitated before choosing a card and placing it on the pile.
A red six.
This was it. He was really about to propose. Hiram and Burt both discreetly pulled out video cameras, not wanting to miss a moment.
His hands shaking slightly, he pulled out the card and placed it on the pile, waiting to see Rachel's reaction.
Rachel, intent on sorting her cards, didn't notice at first. Nor did she notice Kurt pulling out his phone and recording her.
"Rachel, I think it's your turn," Carole prompted, seeing as Finn was unable to talk.
"Oh, is it? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What did you put down, Finn?" she asked, her eyes focused on her own cards and still not looking at the damn card he'd put down.
"Look and see," Finn said quietly, reaching for the ring box behind him and pushing his chair back.
"What's the big deal? Why couldn't you just say-" She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes wide as she picked up the card. Clutching it in her hand, she turned to stare at Finn. "Finny?"
Finn took her hand in his, pulling her out of her chair. Her free hand came up to cover her mouth, still clutching the Will you marry me card. "I need to ask you a question, Rachel."
Huh. He should propose more often, since it seemed to have rendered Rachel speechless. Slowly, he got down on one knee, holding out the unopened ring box, prepared to recite the speech he'd spent days working on. He opened his mouth, ready to start.
Nothing.
Holy shit. He forgot his speech. He forgot his speech. The speech that was supposed to show Rachel how much she meant to him. How he never wanted to live without her. How he loved every moment he spent with her. What the hell was he supposed to say now?
He stared up at her, her eyes following his every movement, waiting for him to speak, and he suddenly realized that it didn't matter. Burt was right. It didn't matter that Kurt kept cockblocking him tonight or that he forgot his speech. What mattered was that he was here with Rachel. Once again, he looked into her eyes.
"Marry me, Rachel?" he finally blurted out. He barely got the words out before Rachel lunged for him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she knocked him onto his back, kissing his face all over. Her lips finally found his and he kissed her deeply, forgetting that they were being filmed or even that there were other people around.
"My ring. Where's my ring?" she demanded, pulling away from him and standing up. He grinned as he tried to stand up, only to be pushed back down by Rachel. "On your knee."
Obediently, he got back down on one knee, once again holding the box out to Rachel, who happily grabbed it and opened it. She gasped when she saw the ring, her eyes tearing. Smiling, he took the box back from her, reaching for her hand. He was confused for a moment as to why Rachel pulled her hand away, until he realized that he'd grabbed her right hand. She held out her left hand to him, letting him slide the ring onto her finger.
He stood up, pulling Rachel towards him and picking her up once she'd wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you," he whispered once they were eye level and her legs were securely around his waist.
"I love you too, Finn, so much." She pulled his face towards hers, kissing his lips repeatedly and whispering I love you between kisses.
Unable to wait any longer, a teary eyed Carole threw herself at the couple, almost knocking Finn over with Rachel in his arms. She squeezed both of them tightly as best she could. "My baby boy's engaged!"
Rachel grinned as she slid down Finn's body. Engaged.
She was engaged. They were engaged.
For the first time, she noticed the other occupants of the table watching them. Kurt and Burt were both recording them, as was her father, while her other father was grinning from ear to ear. Blaine stood nearby, already pouring glasses of Champagne.
"Daddy! I'm engaged!" Rachel cried as she hugged her father.
"I know, Princess! I've been dying all week!" Hiram announced.
"You knew?" Rachel asked as she moved onto LeRoy.
LeRoy nodded. "Finn came to see us the other day. Almost had a heart attack when I told him no."
"Dad! You didn't!"
"He did. Not only that, you called while I was there," Finn added, accepting a glass of champagne from Blaine and a handshake. "Actually, everyone knew except for you."
Rachel stopped her hugging temporarily to put the pieces together. "That was your special meeting, wasn't it? And I couldn't go shopping with Kurt the other day because you were, right? Was that why Noah came over?"
"Yes, yes, and yes," Finn responded, laughing as his mother hugged him yet again before making a beeline for Rachel.
"Welcome to the family, Rachel! I've always wanted a daughter," Carole blubbered, hugging Rachel tightly.
Kurt joined them. "We get to plan a wedding Rachel!"
"I know!" she squealed, jumping up and down with him.
Burt cleared his throat. "I think we should make a toast."
He cleared his throat. "Several years ago, Finn brought home a girl for the first time ever. I think within a few minutes it was obvious that this girl was different from his other girlfriends, since he'd actually brought her to meet us, but if we weren't sure, it became even more obvious when we played cards. Finn, trying to impress Rachel, sat right there and told her he plays to win. Unbeknownst to him, he'd met his match, since not only did Rachel also announce she plays to win, but she took him down. Over the weekend it became clearer that they were made for each other, and I think we've all been waiting for this day since then." He held up his glass, waiting until everyone else did also. "To Rachel and Finn. What the hell took you so long?"
Finn gulped his champagne, wondering that same question.
"Morning, baby."
Finn awoke to the sight of Rachel straddling him, wearing only her ring as she ground herself against his groin.
As he'd expected, Rachel was more than willing to celebrate their engagement with endless amounts of sex, which he hoped would continue today. Luckily for them, Kurt and Blaine's engagement gift to them was a room at a local hotel, although Kurt claimed it was the gift that keeps on giving since it meant that the rest of the family wouldn't have to hear them celebrating.
His hands came up to rest on her hips, smiling as Rachel admired her ring yet again. "I take it you like your ring?"
Rachel's smile grew even wider and she leaned down to kiss him. "I love it. I already took pictures on my phone and sent it to Tina, Mercedes, Quinn and Brittany."
"So you do want to marry me then?" Finn asked, looking up at Rachel, ready to say something that had been bothering him ever since Kurt had pointed it out last night.
"Of course, I do." Rachel looked down at him. "Why would you even ask?"
"You never said yes. All you said was my ring. Where's my ring?" Finn parroted, secretly worrying that she was swayed by the ring.
"Did I?" Rachel laughed, pulling him into a sitting position. "I was so excited."
"Kurt made me write a speech as part of Engagement Boot Camp, but as soon as I was down on one knee, I forgot every word of it," Finn admitted.
Rachel smiled as she slid the ring off and handed it to him. "Ask me again."
He grinned. "You want to be proposed to naked?"
She shrugged. "We've had many of our finer moments naked, so it's only fitting. It would be perfect if Noah walked in right now."
Finn laughed. "In that case, I'd better say this quick." He looked Rachel in the eye as he took a deep breath. "Rachel Barbra Berry, will you marry me?"
"Yes, Finn," Rachel replied smiling as she watched him slip the ring back on. "Always yes."
She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him as she pushed him backwards on the bed. Finn grinned as he felt her start to kiss her way down his body.
His mind traveled back to what he'd told Puck the other night. He was wrong when he'd told Puck that being there in a relationship was awesome.
Being there in a relationship was amazing.
A/N: I totally intended my next update to be an update to Serendipity, but BlameSmellycat campaigned for proposal Finchel with a side of Carole. It was funny because I sometimes get confused between my stories, and I had to think for a moment if this Rachel knew Carole before remembering that they'd met over Uno. The second I thought that I was like he's GOT to propose during Uno, and this was the result. Next update WILL be Serendipity. I will not be distracted anymore BlameSmellyCat and Gleeky4LC! :)
Also, if anyone wants to see Rachel's ring, I posted it on my twitter account mida212