Chapter 11

"Thank you so much Mr. Dunphy," Rachel said as she shook the café owner's hand enthusiastically.

"I have to thank you," Mr. Dunphy replied. "I'll see you next week then. Oh and if you want, you can order a drink before you go. It's on the house." He smiled before he retreated into the kitchen to prepare the cafe's small selection of sandwiches.

Feeling proud of herself, Rachel exited the café with a cappuccino in one and her phone in the other hand.

"Quinn?"

"Hey Rachel, how did it go?" Quinn said through the phone. She sounded sleepy even though it was already 10 am. Maybe she had been working all night again.

"I got a job!" Rachel squealed in excitement.

"You got it?" Quinn replied. "I knew they'd hire you! You're like their best customer after all! Congratulations, Rachel. I am really proud of you."

Rachel's heart fluttered when she heard the blonde's compliment.

"Since I'll be making money from next week, I'd like to buy you dinner today. If you have time for me that is," Rachel suggested. "We could go to that Vietnamese place you told me about the other day."

Quinn thought about it for a moment before she replied: "That sounds lovely. How about we meet there around eight?"

"Great," Rachel smiled. Finally, she'd be able to pay for their date. It really bothered her that Quinn had to bear the majority of their date expenses so far, but she was about to change that.

"Also, Rachel?" Quinn interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"I always have time for you."

Rachel swooned and felt like a pair of tiny wings would grow out of her shoulders and lift her off the floor. Life was finally starting to get better.

"I'm delighted to hear that," Rachel giggled into the phone. "I'll see you later then."

"Later," Quinn replied and hung up.

Walking more upright than usual, Rachel made her way back towards her apartment. She felt relieved because she finally managed to achieve something, even though it was only a part-time work at her favorite café. She had visited it with Quinn last week and the blonde had noticed the announcement saying they were looking for new staff. Rachel had never thought she'd work there one day, but seeing the shockingly low number of zeros behind the '2' on her bank account balance combined with some encouraging words by Quinn, she had eventually decided to apply for the job.

Life was still far from perfect and so was her relationship with Quinn, but Rachel finally felt more optimistic. She not only managed to land this job, but she had also not gotten into any fights with Quinn over the last two weeks.

There were still many things left unspoken between them, but Rachel felt more confident about opening up to the blonde. Her trust in Quinn was building slowly and so were her feelings. The diva still could not clearly define the nature of her feelings for Quinn, but she knew for sure that it was something way more than friendship. Nobody had ever made her feel those infamous butterflies in her stomach with their kisses. Even Finn had only scratched the surface in that regard.

When Rachel opened the door to the apartment, she heard Mrs. Green's voice from the living room. Hopefully she was just on the phone. But then a second voice joined in and Rachel rolled her eyes. Mrs. King, Mrs. Green's younger sister, must've come to visit.

She hesitated a moment, pondering whether she should just turn around and go spend the day somewhere else. But since she needed her laptop, she had no choice but to enter. She sighed and walked into the apartment.

"Rachel, is that you?" Mrs. Green's voice came from the other room.

"Yes!" Rachel called, hoping she could just walk into her room without having to talk to the two old ladies.

"Why don't you join us for a while?" Mrs. Green asked.

Rachel rolled her eyes once more and stuck her head through the door leading into the living room.

"Oh Rachel dear. How are you?" Mrs. King asked. She sounded friendly, but Rachel knew that she was pretty much a clone of her sister who loved to talk about the decay of society and the world without respecting anybody's feelings but her own.

"Fine," Rachel replied conscientiously and forced a smile on her face, which was easier than usual, since she was still in a good mood from earlier.

"Why don't you sit down with us?" Mrs. Green gestured towards the free seat on the sofa. "There is still some coffee left."

"I'd like to, but I have to do some research about the new productions opening in fall," Rachel tried to excuse herself. "You two have probably a lot to catch up on about, so don't mind me."

"Alright dear. We have to leave soon for our lunch reservation anyways."

Rachel nodded and retreated into her room. As soon as the door had closed behind her she flopped on the bed and closed her eyes.

"She's still a little strange, don't you think?" she heard Mrs. King's dull voice say through the wall.

"Well, no wonder with parents like that," Mrs. Green replied.

"This is why those people shouldn't be allowed to raise children. Nothing good can come out of it," her sister agreed.

Rachel reached for her phone and turned on some music so that she wouldn't have to hear them anymore. So much for being in a good mood.

XVXVX

Quinn had arrived a couple of minutes early, so she pulled out a cigarette and lighter in order to have a quick smoke before Rachel would join her.

She leaned back against the brick wall next to the restaurant and inhaled deeply. She was happy for Rachel even though her career would be starting far from what she had imagined. She smiled as she thought about walking into the café and giving Rachel a surprise visit. Maybe she'd do that next week.

Quinn was about to run her fingers through her hair when she remembered that she had put it into a short ponytail today. So instead, she turned on her front camera and checked whether everything was still in place.

"Like what you see?" a voice suddenly asked from her right.

Quinn flinched and turned around. "Rachel!"

"So do you?" Rachel chuckled.

"Mh, I prefer staring at you rather than at myself" Quinn grinned.

Rachel blushed, but countered: "I know I'm sexy, so stare all you want."

Now it was Quinn's turn to blush. However, she couldn't help but admit that Rachel looked stunning in her hot pants and black blouse.

"Okay" Quinn mumbled before she threw away the cigarette stub. "Let's go inside."

They entered the small restaurant and a waiter showed them to a table in the back where they ordered drinks and two bowls of pho along with a set of spring rolls.

The two women spent a good two hours at the restaurant, talking about Rachel's new job and Quinn's decision to take on a new project for a B-movie production, which might be another step for her to enter the real big business one day.

There were still awkward moments between them when they weren't sure what to say or whether they could ask a certain question or not, but these moments were becoming less and less. Even holding hands over the table had become a totally natural action to both of them.

When the restaurant was about to close, Rachel paid for both of them and they exited the building.

"I don't want to go home yet," Rachel said, voicing exactly what Quinn was thinking.

Quinn took Rachel's hand in hers and smiled. "How about I invite you for a drink? Since you paid for dinner."

Rachel looked into Quinn's eyes and nodded. "I'd love that." She tiptoed and placed a chaste kiss on the blonde's lips, which caused Quinn to smile a little sheepishly. Even though she had kissed Rachel more than once by now, she was still amazed when the diva took the initiative.

She leaned forward and hugged Rachel tightly. 'I love you,' was what she thought. "Let's go then," was what she said.

XVXVX

Since the bar Quinn had in mind wasn't far from the restaurant, they decided to walk. Especially since the weather was quite warm since the beginning of June.

For a while, both women didn't speak, each lost in their own thoughts. Absentmindedly, Rachel let her hand slip into Quinn's, who gave it a light squeeze. To Rachel, it felt as if it had always been that way, which was weird since the time they had spent apart had been so much longer.

They passed by a couple kissing at the corner of a street and Rachel wondered whether she and Quinn looked like they were in love to people around them.

But were they even in love? It looked like Quinn was, but she wasn't sure. What if she was in love with old Rachel and not her current self? Rachel wanted to ask Quinn about it, but she couldn't. Not yet. Quinn would inevitably ask a counter question which Rachel couldn't answer yet. She liked Quinn very much. But did she love her?

She glanced at their joined hands and then at Quinn's face as if the answer was written somewhere in her features.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Quinn said and Rachel blushed because she had been caught staring at the blonde.

"I just thought that this hairstyle looks very pretty on you," Rachel mumbled.

"Thanks," Quinn smiled, but the look in her eyes told Rachel that she knew that that wasn't what she had been thinking about.

Rachel didn't look at Quinn again and they spent the remainder of the way in silence. Their hands, however, remained intertwined until they reached their destination.

Quinn had led them to a bar whose entrance was hidden behind an Italian restaurant. Pink neon letters above the door said 'Labris' and a couple of women were standing in front of it, some of them smoking. According to Quinn, the place wasn't really special in any way – average drinks, average prices and average music – but she had told Rachel that she liked the place because it had several secluded corners where they could talk and rest and it even had a small dance floor. But there was one thing she hadn't mentioned.

"Is this a lesbian bar?" Rachel whispered as soon as they entered, because the first thing she saw was a pretty blonde woman near the entrance who checked out Quinn.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that," Quinn apologized. "I hope that's okay for you?"

"Yes of course, I just haven't been to one in a long time," Rachel assured her.

The last time she had been in a bar like this had been during her junior year in college, when her then-friend Jessica had convinced her she needed some experience to prove her bisexuality. Rachel had known that she didn't need any experience, because she was certain about her sexuality ever since she, well, met Quinn, whose attractiveness she had never been able to deny. And now here she was with exactly that blonde, who was being checked out by a bunch of women as she followed her into the bar.

They settled in a corner from where they had a good view on the small dance floor and, after she had instructed Rachel to stay where she was, Quinn went to order them something to drink.

Rachel looked after the blonde as she made her way to the counter. She didn't miss the looks some of the women were giving her and especially the bartender seemed more than happy to see the blonde. Rachel huffed in annoyance when she saw her leaning over way closer than necessary to take Quinn's order.

'You're jealous," a voice inside her said.

"Oh shut up," Rachel mumbled

XVXVX

"Do you know the bartender?" Rachel asked when Quinn returned with two gin tonics in her hands.

"Oh you mean Danielle?" Quinn said while sitting down next to Rachel. "Yeah I met her here a long time ago. We, uhm, we dated for a while actually, but it didn't last longer than a few weeks." Quinn glanced at Rachel wondering how the brunette would process the information.

"You did?" Rachel asked. She looked over at the barkeeper and tried to imagine her with Quinn, but as soon as the image entered her mind, she pushed it away. She didn't really want to know.

Quinn noticed the conflicting emotions on Rachel's face and leaned over to the smaller woman. "You're not jealous, are you?" she teased.

"No, of course not!" Rachel replied way more resolutely than necessary. "I just wish she wouldn't stare at you like you were her prey," she grumbled.

"Why? Is it bothering you?" Quinn grinned. Rachel being jealous was not only utterly adorable, but also showed her that she must harbor at least some feelings for her.

"Of course it is" Rachel said and glared at Danielle, who didn't even notice it, because she was serving another customer.

"Why?" Quinn asked raising an eyebrow. She thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and didn't want to let go of the topic easily.

Rachel turned towards Quinn and looked at her. Since Quinn was still leaning forward, their faces were mere inches apart and Rachel's gaze dropped on Quinn's lips for a moment before she managed to bring it back up to her eyes.

"Because you're mine now," she mumbled barely audible over the music.

Quinn's teasing smile changed into an expression of complete surprise. If only high school Quinn had known that she'd hear those words one day. Maybe she would've been a little less heartbroken the day she got rejected.

Before Quinn could reply she felt Rachel's soft lips on hers and all thoughts left her mind. She shifted closer to the diva and cupped her cheeks. Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's back and sighed into the kiss.

Quinn didn't care whether she kissed her because she wanted to show Danielle who Quinn really belonged to, or because she just felt like kissing her. It didn't change anything about the blissful feeling spreading in her insides she got whenever they kissed. If there was a heaven that must be it.

Rachel let out another sigh when Quinn sucked her lower lip into her mouth and bit down softly. When she let go, Rachel used the fraction of a second when Quinn's lips were parted to slide her tongue into her wonderfully warm mouth. The taste of gin tonic mixed with the mango flavor of their dessert and a slight note of tobacco intoxicated Rachel more than the alcohol ever could.

While Quinn unsuccessfully tried to gain dominance over Rachel's tongue, she let her hand wander up and run it along Rachel's exposed thigh. She secretly thanked God that the brunette had decided to wear hot pants, because it made the action all the more enjoyable.

When Rachel let out a quiet moan, Quinn finally gained control and seized her chance to explore the diva's mouth. She loved the feeling of being this close to Rachel. Feeling her lips and tongue always made Quinn realize that she indeed was with Rachel and that all of this was real and not just a product of her imagination. After all, Quinn wouldn't have been surprised if all those years of one-sided crushing on Rachel Berry wouldn't have caused some mental dysfunctions. But Rachel letting out a hot breath into her mouth was real and Quinn found it increasingly difficult to control the pulsating sensation in her lower abdomen.

Therefore, the blonde switched to placing chaste kisses on Rachel's lips and cheeks before she eventually pulled back and looked at the woman in front of her.

Rachel gave Quinn a blissful smile and Quinn could've sworn that her eyes had somewhat darkened. She felt relieved to know that apparently, she wasn't the only one with X-rated thoughts flashing through her mind.

"You look so beautiful right now," Quinn said and smiled.

Rachel ducked her head and giggled and for a moment she looked like high-school Rachel who had been told that her singing was better than Barbra Streisand's.

The two women reached for their drinks and took a few small sips. Rachel glanced at Danielle, who appeared to be in a bad mood. Quinn could almost hear her thinking 'Ha, take that, bitch!', but maybe she was just imagining the triumphant look in her eyes.

"Thank you, by the way," Quinn spoke up.

Rachel turned her head and looked at her. "For what?"

Quinn placed her hand on Rachel's, which was resting between their thighs. "For being mine," Quinn replied shyly.

Rachel turned her hand around and laced her fingers with Quinn's. How was it possible that their hands matched so perfectly as if they had been made for each other?

"Of course I am yours," Rachel said. She looked up at Quinn again and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm your girlfriend now, if I understood correctly."

Quinn nodded enthusiastically and placed her now empty drink on the table. "Do you want another one?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shook her head. "I'll wait until you finish yours."

"Okay." Rachel picked up her drink and took a sip. "Actually, I cannot say that I like this, it's really bitter," she said. "But at least this one doesn't give me headaches."

"I see," Quinn said while her thoughts had drifted entirely elsewhere. "Can I ask you something?" she asked after some silence while she used the plastic straw to stir the remaining ice cubes in her glass.

Rachel didn't answer but gave her a slight smile, which Quinn interpreted as a permission to continue.

"Do you remember when I asked you whether you loved Finn? Back then on our graduation day?"

Rachel nodded, her hands clenched around her glass as if she had to hold on to something.

"Did you really love him?" Quinn asked, dying to finally get the answer from Rachel she had wanted to hear so badly back then.

Rachel bit down on the straw before she raised her eyes to look at Quinn. "No," she said quietly.

"So why were you still with him?" Quinn asked. 'When you could've been with me instead,' she added in her thoughts.

Rachel let go of her drink and put it on the table in order to reach out for Quinn's hand.

"I guess being with him made me feel kind of safe," she replied. "He was easy to read, likable enough and even though I fell out of love with him at one point, I liked the image of him at my side me when I go to receive my first Grammy and him being there for me when paparazzi are waiting for us in front of a restaurant. I know it sounds selfish, but back then, this was what I thought my future had to look like. Get a perfect role to kickstart my career, rise to fame, having a perfect husband and kids. Everybody knows that's what the media loves. I already pictured what I'd show them when they'd ever come visit for a home story." She chuckled slightly but without any humor.

Quinn nodded. From an adult perspective, it seemed pretty stupid to stay with someone for profane reasons like that, but for a teenage mind, it was pretty plausible. And she was sure there were enough adults even who stayed with someone out of reasons far from love. She couldn't accuse Rachel of anything, because essentially, she had not done anything wrong.

"So why did you break up then?" Quinn asked.

Rachel bit her lips while she pondered over the question. "Well, I eventually realized that we were never going to work out. Our plans for the future couldn't have been more different. And my feelings weren't strong enough anymore to really invest my emotional strength in the relationship, so I decided to end it. It was pretty soon after I had moved to New York."

Quinn squeezed Rachel's hand. "Thanks for telling me," she said. There was so much more she wanted to ask, but she decided to give the brunette a little break, since she didn't want to scare her off again by asking too many questions about the past. The music had gotten louder anyways and the bar was slowly transforming into a club. A couple of women were on the dancefloor already, some in pairs, some alone, waiting to be approached.

"I'll get us another drink," Quinn said over the music.

"No, let me do it," Rachel said and grabbed the empty glasses before Quinn could protest. She had already made half the way over to the bar when she noticed she hadn't asked Quinn what she wanted to drink.

"I'll have whatever you're having," Quinn chuckled when Rachel had returned to the table. When she took off again she was still grinning because she knew exactly that Rachel was jealous of Danielle and wanted to keep her away from her.

While Rachel waited for their drinks, she once in a while shot the barkeeper an angry stare which soon turned into a contest of evil glaring between the two. "Here you go," Danielle said through gritted teeth when she handed Rachel the two long island ice teas.

"Thank you so much," Rachel replied and smiled one of her famous big fake smiles.

She walked back to where Quinn was waiting for her and the two sipped on their drinks while they observed the increasing number of people enjoying themselves on the dance floor.

"Want to dance?" Quinn asked suddenly.

Rachel hesitated for a moment because there seemed to be more people on the dance floor than would've been appropriate, but when she noticed Quinn's expectant expression she couldn't help but nod.

Quinn smiled and leaned over to kiss Rachel's cheek. Then she got up from the seat and reached for the diva's hand to get her to go with her.

Rachel took a last sip from her drink which was still quite full and placed it next to Quinn's empty glass.

Quinn led Rachel through the crowd and it took them a few minutes until they found a space where they could actually stand upright without people bumping into them every few seconds.

Rachel looked around and seemed a little intimidated by all those unfamiliar people around them, but when Quinn pulled her closer, she started to relax.

"Is this okay for you?" Quinn asked.

Rachel nodded and smiled before she slung her arms around Quinn's waist. The DJ was playing an upbeat electro tune, but neither Rachel nor Quinn cared about whether their dance moves matched the music. They just held each other close swaying to their own rhythm.

Quinn had her arms around Rachel's neck and every time someone bumped into her from behind she used it as an excuse to get a little closer to the brunette.

The whole situation seemed so surreal to her. Here she was in one of her favorite bars slash club, dancing with Rachel. Her girlfriend Rachel. In the past she had only come here with Lola, got drunk and flirted with a bunch of women in order to chase the thought of the diva out of her head. If only she had known back then that she would actually come here with Rachel one day. But even if she had known, she most likely wouldn't have believed it.

"What are you thinking about?", Rachel asked. Even though they were so close to each other, she had to raise her voice because the music had got quite loud now.

"Just you," Quinn replied and smiled. She was well aware that her smile must look stupid - long island ice tea always got her wasted pretty fast - but she didn't care because she just felt happy in this moment and wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

"But I am right here!" Rachel chuckled.

"I know," Quinn smiled before she lowered her head and placed a soft kiss on Rachel's lips.

XVXVX

"I'm not drunk!" Quinn protested when Rachel pulled her out of the uber that had just stopped in front of Quinn's apartment building. Rachel rolled her eyes as she kept pulling Quinn's arm. The blonde had told her that at least fifty times by know, but after Rachel had witnessed her missing her chair when she wanted to sit down and instead landed on the floor of the bar with - admittedly - a very cute expression of utter confusion on her face - Rachel had figured it'd be better to leave.

Rachel felt quite intoxicated as well but Quinn's condition was probably worse. Responsible as she always was, she didn't want to send Quinn home by herself, so she had the uber going to Quinn's address first.

"Just a moment," she told the driver before she pulled Quinn towards the entrance.

"Can you go upstairs by yourself?" she asked and stroked a loose streak of blonde hair behind Quinn's ear.

"Are you going somewhere?" Quinn asked confusedly. "Are you running away again?" Her eyes widened and she suddenly looked close to tears. "Are you leaving me?"

"No!" Rachel cupped the blonde's cheeks, surprised about her sudden mood swing. "I will just go back to my place," she tried to explain.

"No, don't go! Please stay with me," Quinn pleaded and her lower lip started to quiver. "Please," she added and looked at Rachel with a desperate expression.

Rachel hesitated a moment. Even though their level of intimacy was slowly progressing they still had not slept at each other's place yet. Also, they had not talked about the things that might happen if they were to share the same room. Or the same bed…

"I…" Rachel uttered, not sure whether Quinn just wanted to have her around or actually do stuff with her. Considering the type of kisses they had just shared on the dance floor, there was a pretty high chance Quinn was feeling the same tension as her.

"Are you coming or what?!" the angry voice of the uber driver let Rachel flinch.

She glanced once more at Quinn, who still looked like she could burst into tears any second, before she turned around and yelled: "You can take off. I changed my mind!"

The driver let out a stream of words she luckily couldn't understand, and took off with roaring motors.

Rachel turned back towards Quinn and gave her a smile. "I'm staying."

"Really?" Quinn's sudden change in expression from total despair to utter contentedness must have been the cutest thing Rachel had ever seen.

"Really." Rachel tiptoed and pressed a kiss on Quinn's cheek. After she had successfully managed to push Quinn towards the building, they finally reached Quinn's apartment.

"What about you roommate?" Rachel whispered while Quinn unlocked the door.

"Don't worry about Lola. She's used to me being noisy at night," Quinn chuckled.

Rachel blushed when she thought about the double meaning behind what Quinn had just said, but she probably wasn't talking about that. She must be talking about her music, right?

Lola appeared to be sleeping in her room, because the apartment was dark and quiet when they entered.

"You can use the bathroom first," Quinn offered. "I'll get you something to wear."

Rachel nodded in relief when she realized that Quinn didn't expect her to be naked. Not that she didn't want to get intimate with Quinn at some point - they were girlfriends after all, weren't they? - but she didn't feel quite ready for it yet. Not until she had figured out Quinn and her feelings.

After Rachel washed and changed into a set of Quinn's short pajamas, which unfortunately didn't smell like the blonde since they were freshly washed, she slipped into Quinn's queen-sized bed and waited for the blonde to come out of the bathroom.

When Quinn joined her under the covers she still smelled a little like gin and vodka. Rachel hoped she wouldn't suffer from too much of a hangover the next morning.

"Quinn, are you okay?" Rachel whispered when the blonde had settled next to her.

"No," Quinn whined.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked.

Instead of answering, Quinn shifted on the bed until she lay flush against Rachel, her head on the brunette's shoulder.

Rachel slung her arm around her and carefully stroked her head.

"Now I am okay. Actually, I am great," Quinn mumbled already half asleep. "And I'm not drunk, just so you know."

Rachel smiled and tightened her embrace. She was sharing a bed with Quinn for the first time but it felt like she had done it all her life. She pressed another kiss on her forehead. A few diffuse rays of light falling through the window illuminated the room enough for Rachel to catch a general idea of Quinn's features. Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. Judging from her breathing, she was already asleep.

Rachel reached out with her other hand and traced Quinn's nose, her cheekbones and her chin.

She wondered what would happen to them when the three months ended. Rachel wanted to be with Quinn, she was sure of it, but there were still so many things unspoken, so many secrets to be revealed. She sighed and was about to remove her hand from Quinn's face when the blonde stirred.

"Rachel," she mumbled with her eyes still closed. Then she mumbled some more, but Rachel had no idea what she was saying. Then she stirred once more before her breathing evened out again.

While she watched her sleep, her thoughts wandered back to their night out and the question Quinn had asked her. Why had she broken up with Finn? Rachel felt guilty when she had to admit that what she had told Quinn was only part of the truth. There had been another reason she had not been able to bear being with Finn any longer. That reason was lying right next to her right now.

Ever since Quinn had admitted her feelings to Rachel, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about the what ifs. What if she had told Quinn she also had some kind of feelings for her? What if she were Quinn's girlfriend now instead of Finn's? What if she had wasted her one and only chance to find out whether she and Quinn could work out? What if she had let go of the possible love of her life?

While Quinn had been on her mind constantly, she had started forgetting about Finn more and more. After she had noticed she hadn't texted or called him in over three days during her first year at college, she knew that she had to end things with him.

Rachel looked at Quinn while her heart started beating faster. She pulled the blonde closer against her as a tear escaped the corner of her eye.

"I'm so sorry," Rachel whispered into the dark. She could only imagine the heartbreak and hurt she had inflicted on Quinn. As she listened to Quinn's quiet breathing, she stared at the dark ceiling unable to fall asleep right away.

"I think I'm in love with you Quinn," she whispered into the dark room before she finally closed her eyes and sleep overcame her.

A/N: Thanks everyone for following and reviewing! Also, this story is on AO3 and Wattpad as well should you prefer reading elsewhere.