Authors Note:

I have purposefully written the lyrics of the song in between the text of this chapter as i want to convey the emotion of some scenes the best through the use of the music...

I hope that you can play Christina Perri's ARMS once the prompt appear in the story because i truly believe that the song can maximize your reading experience... The song is available on youtube.

I felt my heart flutter and ache at the same time while writing this chapter since i tried to differentiate between a love that was starting and one that was ending...

I'd love to hear how you feel about this chapter and do share if ever you felt the same emotions i felt while writing this as you read through the chapter...

Enjoy!


CHAPTER TEN

ARMS

With a sigh of relief, Rachel closed her eyes tiredly as she leaned her head against her living room couch…

Groaning as if she can't move another muscle, she puts her stocking clad feet on top of her living room coffee table before giving out a big yawn that perfectly depicts how exhausted she's suddenly feeling…

Opening her eyes with the greatest of difficulty, Rachel surveyed the chaos that she still had to clean up which was left behind by her guests after they have left…

Well…All of them except for one who was left behind and who took time out to go to the restroom probably just to give her time to collect herself …

Thank goodness for small measures…

Ever since the kiss happened between her and Noah, the easy comfort that they have felt with each other had been compromised…

Sure, they still appeared to be friendly and at ease with each other in front of her guests but the stilted and awkward atmosphere that she was so familiar with when they first met seemed to have returned right immediately after…

The kind of tension that ruined the pleasant vibe that they've set at the start of the evening and which seemed to have brought them back to the reality that in fact, they are not anything to each other at all but partners in crime in an elaborate charade that seemed to have gotten out of hand and which seemed to have lulled them into a false sense of security for the time being…

Rachel jerked up hastily from her seat and scrambles for her shoes as she heard the slamming of her bathroom door …

Pretending as if she was busy cleaning up all along and not racking her brains about the events of the evening, she puts on a nonchalant expression before starting to pick up the glasses that were littered all over the room…

There was not a trace of worry or confusion that was present on her face just a few minutes ago but only the poised, carefree attitude of someone who had already forgotten what transpired yesterday evening between her and the man standing before her …

From a distance, Noah puts his hand in his backpocket awkwardly as he watched Rachel silently…

Pretending that she's only seen him just now, Rachel brings her head up to look at him while making sure that her expression remains neutral…

"Oh… you're there? Are you about to head home?"

She asked casually like everything was normal between them and that he didn't just ravaged her lips just a few hours ago…

Rachel's hands trembled a little as she remembered… thankfully, he didn't notice…

"Sorry…"

Rachel frowned in confusion… her eyebrows knitted together as she thought hard what he's being sorry for… Is he sorry about the kiss?

Noah gave a small chuckle…

"Sorry?"

She asked him… He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at her sheepishly…

"For staying… Kurt can be very stubborn once he sets his mind to it…"

Rachel does not know why but she felt her heart lifting a little at the thought that he is sorry for an entirely different thing and not the kiss at all …

With genuine laughter, she rolled her eyes in exasperation… …

"Tell me about it… I should be the one saying sorry since he practically forced you to stay…"

There was a note of embarassment to Rachel's voice as he remembered how Kurt has almost steamrollered Noah into staying…

He practically forced him to stay behind amidst his and Rachel's protest citing the fact that they were such wonderful hosts that they now have to make some time for themselves…

What else could they say to that?

If only he knew…

Noah waved his hand at her…

"It's no big deal… It's cool… I swear…"

He puts up the same hand that he was just waving at her as if to show his sincerity…

Rachel nods before their eyes met for a moment…

She felt herself becoming breathless…

With much difficulty, Rachel drags her gaze away from his… fluffing up her throwpillows as she organized her living room back to its original state to keep her mind off of him and his overpowering presence…

"Ummm… you can go home now… it's late… you still have to drive a long way and…"

Rushing forward, Noah starts picking up cutlery and glasses from the room while Rachel protests…

"Ummm… I'd just help you out… there seems to be a lot to… "

"NOOOO!"

Rachel protested much too loudly as she almost jumped on him in panic…

Not wanting to bear the tension of having him alone in her house another minute, she wrestles the bread knife that he's currently holding away from him without giving much thought to what she's doing until her eyes met his chest and she suddenly became aware how close she is to him and that her hands were on his…

Their eyes met again… hers, nervous and wide… His, seductive and smoky…

Rachel bows her head and lets go of his hands immediately as if he were diseased… making sure to put some distance between them as she turned her back on him to anxiously begin straightening up again to cover up the restlessness that she's suddenlly feeling… …

"AWWW!"

Noah hollered in pain… the knife clattering to the floor as he held up his index finger…

Rachel whips her head around in concern as she saw Noah's face contorted with pain… She immediately jumps to his side with worry… all thoughts of keeping her distance forgotten as her eyes fill with care while checking his hands for any sign of injury…

"Are you okay? HUH? Are you alright?"

She asked while turning his hands around tenderly, bringing it very close to her face as she checked for injuries… She felt Noah shaking and she lifted her eyes to him… But instead of a face full of pain, Rachel saw an expression full of mirth as he lets out a chuckle…

Rachel stares at him with her mouth wide open in surprise but before long, his infectious laughter rubs off on her and she was chuckling along with him…

Throwing his hand jokingly aside, Rachel looks at him sternly…

"You think you're charming, huh? You think that's charming?"

She said in a tone that was more sweet than admonishing…

Noah covers his face with his hand before speaking…

"I just want to break the ice…we're like two polite strangers who just met each other it's driving me insane… HELL!"

He said emphatically as if he really can't stand it…

Rachel looks at him for a moment… a slight smile playing on her lips as she turned her back on him…

"And there you have it folks… charming… definitely charming…"

She muttered under her breath…

"What did you say?"

Noah asked in confusion as Rachel faced him…

"Nothing… if you really wanna help, I said just bring those glasses to the kitchen…"

Almost bounding in excitement like a newly praised puppy at this sudden turn of events, Noah picks up the rest of the dishes in the living room as he followed Rachel to the kitchen…

Rachel stood with her back to him… her hands on her waist as she surveyed the mountain of plates, pots, pans and glasses that she had to wash…

Groaning in agitation, Rachel puts on her dishwashing gloves as Noah watched with amusement…

"Can't you just leave that until your cleaning lady comes tomorrow?"

"NOPE!"

She shouted out and shudders in disgust as if the thought has never even crossed her mind…

"I can't go to sleep knowing that there are dishes left unwashed in the kitchen or that my living room is a mess…"

Noah nods his head in understanding all the while looking at her pensively…

"You're really the type who can't sit still until things go according to the way you want it, right?"

Rachel looked at Noah with a confused expression…

"Are we still talking about cleaning?"

Noah gives out a chuckle as he walked up next to Rachel in the sink…

"Nah… forget I said anything… what if you wash and I'd dry?"

Rachel stares at him doubtfully…

"YOU? Have you dried dishes before?"

He shrugged…

"Well, there's always a first time for everything… "

Rachel chewed on her lips as if she is making a major decision…

Noah marvels at this other quirk of hers… the part where she has people carefully pegged into certain stereotypes and if you don't fit then she has to think really hard about it…

Noah crosses his arms over his chest, tapping his feet on the floor as he waits for Rachel to make a decision…

"Oh what the heck!"

She throws her arms up in the air before throwing the dishtowel at him which he deftly catches…

With a wide grin on his face, Noah stood beside Rachel as she plunged her hands into the water, drying the first piece of plate that she handed to him as if his life depended on it…

They stood like that for a couple of moments… her, washing and him drying… The silence unbroken with only the gushing water and the tinkling of the utensils heard across the room… They stood with their shoulders almost touching… Each lost in their own thoughts as mechanically they worked together…

"I can't imagine you as a child… "

Rachel said unthinkingly… Unsure why she's asking Noah that question but just voicing out the first thing that came to her mind…

Noah looks at her in surprise… a glint of amusement in his eyes as she seem to just be saying things from out of the blue…

"And why is that?"

She gave a nonchalant shrug…

"I don't know… I just can't imagine you trusting someone easily… Children are supposed to believe in anything their folks tell them, right? Santa claus, the Easter Bunny, fairytales…"

She let her words trail off…

Noah raises an eyebrow at her before she continues in a whisper…

"Love?"

Noah does not answer her question but turns to her instead…

"And I bet you're the exact opposite… the kind who'd write letters to Santa Claus and wait with cookies and milk to have him come down your chimney or the kind that would leave your tooth under your pillow hoping that the tooth fairy would come in the middle of the night and turn it into a dollar… "

Rachel gave a smile at that… Remembering the countless times during her childhood when she had done exactly what he had just described…

Of times when Finn would be the one to fish out her gifts from her stockings and make such a grand gesture of acting all surprised that Santa gave her exactly what she wants or the times when she would cry about her teeth falling out but then he told her all about the tooth fairy and suddenly it was not so bad… Then there were the times when boys started liking her in school and then he'd scare them off… or that time when she thought she would flunk high school and she whined about it so much while he listened patiently to her on the other side of the phone… or of the time her parents died and he just laid beside her quietly not saying a word… putting her hands on his chest as he brushed her hair away from her face while she cried into the night and he hummed her to sleep…

Rachel felt her throat closing up…thinking to herself how all these time Finn had been there for her during those times…

But now? Now he was not… And all she had was this man beside her who was looking at her with so much curiosity and whom she can't fully trust the way that she wants to trust…

"Remember… remember how I asked you before how you should try falling in love and you said maybe you will? Do you… do you mean that?"

She asked tentatively, hesitantly… Knowing that she's walking on eggshells and that Noah is not someone who would just share his innermost thoughts and feelings with someone randomly…

To her surprise, he answered her with all sincerity…

"I hate complications Rach…"

"But… but life is not worth living without falling in love… that feeling that makes you want to die if you're not together with that person… that intense need to feel his skin on yours because you just can't get any closer… the kind that makes you go crazy and do stupid things because you want to be with him?"

Noah gave Rachel a wan smile… the kind that does not reach his eyes…

"And that's precisely the reason why we're doing this, right? Because you already found that kind of love?"

Rachel does not understand why but her answer seemed to have gotten stuck in her throat when before she would have easily said yes…

However, miscomprehending her silence as an agreement , Noah nods in understanding as he continued on…

"That kind of thinking is not for cynical people like me… it might suit somebody like you but to me, love is THE fairytale… in the beginning, it might make you feel all warm and relevant but in the end love leaves you weak, dependent and well…"

He paused for great measure as if he's finding the word to describe it…

"lonely…"

He looked at Rachel meaningfully as if to cite her case as a perfect example…

"No offense…"

"None taken…"

Rachel shook her head as she passed on one more piece of glass for him to dry…

Wanting to stop herself from saying more, Rachel deliberately keeps quiet for a couple of seconds but then bursts out in the end…

"But that's even more lonely…"

He shook his head…

"No… it's lonelier to find yourself hoping to be loved back only to be let down…"

"So you're just coasting along?"

She asked incredulously… once again, the mirthless smile appears on his face…

"Yeah… you can call it that… Coasting along…"

He said the words as if he's found something new to improve his vocabulary before shrugging his shoulders casually as if to say he's really used to this kind of life and that nothing will change his mind about the whole thing…

Rachel scoffs at him and says jokingly…

"Gosh! How did your father raise you? I bet he thinks you're a disappointment…"

Noah paused midstroke… his shoulders tensing for a second before he relaxes again…

"Well, in fact, he does… he thinks I'm a son of a bitch that cramps his style… he didn't raise anybody… he just sort of sat around all day at home moping and drinking… Blaming everyone in his life from his father, to my mother and me to the reality that his existence is a living hell because he is married to a woman he can't stand who bore him a son that he also can't stand while my mother was too much preoccupied about making more money that she doesn't even give a damn… "

He was staring far off into the distance when he was saying that… as if realizing how much of himself he's opening up to her… Noah bows his head and starts drying the glass that he's holding in his hand vigorously, making sure to keep his gaze away from Rachel as he concluded his story…

"so you see? I pretty much raised myself…"

He had on a self deprecating smile once he finished… Rachel almost tearing up as she imagined a lost little boy who has everything that he can ask for except the love and affection that he's been longing for all his life… No wonder he's built walls… and some pretty tall ones at that…

"And that is the reason why I don't believe in love because I have none to give… it's better this way… I don't want to complicate anybody else's life the way that mine is…I'm not that confident that I can give them what they want… "

Trying to make light of the situation, he asked teasingly…

"So does that make me weird? Screwed up? A nut job?"

However, Rachel's reply was again unexpected as she looked at him tenderly…

"Is that the reason why you didn't call or gotten in touch with me this whole week?"

Dammit! Rachel thought… she sounds like a whining girlfriend… a girlfriend who's asking for an explanation for something that she has absolutely no right to be asking…

A little taken aback by her reaction he paused for a second before looking at her intently…

"Maybe… "

And there was a wealth of meaning behind his words…Rachel wants to crawl inside his brain to pick it apart and see how he really feels about this whole thing… to climb inside his walls and tear it down but she knows that it would take more time before she can even begin to understand what makes him tick…

Gathering up her courage, Rachel ventures out to open up a topic that they've been avoiding the whole night…

"About that kiss…"

She began tentatively… Noah cuts her off… his voice coming out more sternly than he intended it to be…

"I'm just doing my part… I don't do things in a half baked way Rachel… When I put my mind into something I give it all I've got…so I hope you won't read too much into the things I do or see it for more than it is… let's…. let's just do things the way we agreed on and forget about it, shall we?"

Rachel felt a twinge of pain pinch her heart… a reaction that she couldn't hide as she gave a small, fake laugh while she kept her gaze averted from his…

"Oh… oh… yeah… of course…"

(Play Christina Perri's Arms)

Noah's eyes softened up… his voice getting softer too as he addressed her again…

"I may not be able to offer you anything more but I know how to be a friend… a real friend… a good friend… the kind that goes beyond what this agreement is all about…"

I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart
But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start

Rachel turned her head slowly to look at him… a wide grin making its way into her face as she thought how much of a sucker she is that only this much would ease all of her worries and uncertainties about where this is all heading and what their future would be like…

He stood beside her with an awkward expression… swaying on his feet as he waited for her answer nervously as if it was the first time he asked someone to be friends with him like this…

Not getting an answer, he teasingly asks…

You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go

"So what? Want to coast along with me?"

He said with a wide grin as Rachel grinned back…

You put your arms around me and I'm home

"I'd like that…"

She answered in a whisper as Noah flicks a handful of bubbles on her head while she jerked in surprise making him laugh… Rachel turned towards him with a look in her eyes that can only spell revenge which makes Noah's eyes widen… he raises his hands defensively as he slowly backed off while Rachel scoops up a huge pile of bubbles from the sink causing him to run around the counter while she chased him all around the kitchen, the both of them giggling and shouting like schoolkids…

How many times will let you me change my mind and turn around
I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown

As the days wore on, Rachel and Noah's relationship became even closer…It was as if the moment they reach the agreement to become friends, they opened a whole new dimension to their relationship that was left unexplored before and both of them were breathless with the wealth of their discoveries about each other…

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

They frequent coffeeshops, often staying there until the wee hours of the early morning just talking about everything and anything under the sun… Rachel would be talking animatedly, her arms wrapped around her knees as she sat barefoot trying to fit herself in those one of those huge lounge armchairs… Noah would be sitting opposite her… an entranced expression on his face as he sat staring at her while she laughed uproariously over something that was not exceptionally funny or gesture wildly while telling a story…

He had also taken to picking her up from the theater… Most of the time watching her quietly from a corner, as she studies her script with so much seriousness before lifting her head up from her work to look and smile at him for just a few seconds that makes the hours that he sits there waiting for her worth it… As if they have a secret world of their own where he can wash away the tiredness of her day just by his presence while Kurt stood looking at the both of them to one side, hugging himself with a dreamy smile and sighing enviously…

The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved
I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone

On weekends, they'd have little out of town trips where Rachel would take him to a place that is special to her or sometimes he'd take her to a place that he wants her to see… Rachel would often respond to everything with so much excitement that he can't help but feel good about it…Then on the drive home, she would often fall asleep… Almost always nodding off while in the passenger seat as he try to find the nearest rest stop just so he can steady her head and not have it lolling around to make sure she sleeps comfortably…Most of the time he'd spend minutes to just watch her sleep as she make those cute little noises and scrunch up her face unwittingly… Those cute little gestures that are certified hers that never fail to bring a smile to his face…

You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go
I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

Then there are their DVD evenings where Rachel would be the total slob and go to meet him at her home in her pajamas and her glasses, her hair put up haphazardly while he looks at her disgustedly and lecture her about how a woman should always be dressed up and elegant… Most of the time his efforts are met with a rolling of the eyeballs and a loud WHATEVER before she puts up the humungous bucket of popcorn while they watch the movie in silence inside her dim living room and he will wait whether she'd cry, laugh outrageously or scream like a banshee depending on the film their seeing… He can read her emotions now like clockwork and deep inside he thinks that whatever she wears, she is still pretty…

He's also now quite adept at texting… Who'd have thought? They text almost every day… Sometimes it could be about something as trivial as to remind each other about the schedule of a tv program that they're both waiting for and then there are the more unexpected ones like when she's about to go to bed and she'd send him a text to say good night complete with a smiley or when he has an important meeting at work and she'd wish him luck… His inbox is almost full because of it… all of the messages bearing only her name…

Last week, her Broadway Play premiered and she was officially launched as the new Evita…

For the first time ever, she got to sing Don't Cry for me Argentina…

She is wracked with nervousness… not just for her debut but also because she wanted the play to be a success…

As a supportive friend, Noah sat in the audience… The moment, she appeared though, there was no trace of that nervousness at all as she hit the high notes and acted her little heart out looking every bit the successful Broadway actress …

Noah had never been prouder as he applauded and hooted from the audience, earning him a smile and a wink from her during curtain call which made him laugh and it was as if they were alone and not among a crowd of people…

I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth
And I've never opened up
I've never truly loved 'Till you put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go

They go grocery shopping often arguing about brands that they'd buy like an old married couple, most of the time feasting on samples and making a meal already out of that while the promodizers look at them with disapproving glances, dissolving them both into a fit of giggles…

I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home

They were featured everywhere together… the Society pages love them… the new it couple as they say… Lifestyle programs would go into endless debates about how dreamy they both are together or how much positive change they brought upon each other and as Finn watches from home, he'd always have on a bittersweet smile on his face… His eyes full of sadness as Quinn stare at him staring at Rachel onscreen and she'd hug him closer to her only to feel him growing colder and slipping further away… It seems like the closer Noah and Rachel get, the further away Finn and her drift apart…

You put your arms around me and I'm home

And that's how the month and a half passed by… a fact that Noah is aware of as he stared at his calendar… marking the x's on it with a heavy hand as the days flew away… but if before he can't wait for the day till this charade is over, now he counts the days that Rachel and him still has left…


Straightening her dress as she got out of an airport cab… Rachel blew her bangs out of her face nervously as she stared at the humungous house in front of her where her great aunt lives…It had been years since Rachel had met with her relatives…

Ever since her parents died, the visits had been few and far between and though they were her only living guardians during the time when she was orphaned and alone, Rachel chose to stay in New York rather than return to Ohio where they all are, much to their dismay…

Majority of Rachel's relatives are traditional and old fashioned… Having come from an ancestry of politicians, they have almost sworn off modern living as they dedicated their lives to being outstanding citizens and serving the town where their ancestors used to live before them…

Rachel's family is big on public service…Her father going into mainstream politics was quite a feather in their cap and a source of pride to them… However, the dirty tactics that his rivals took most of the time by slinging mud unto the family name was something that they just can't take and since then they just took the easier route out to resolve the issue which is just to stop reading the papers…And this is precisely the reason why Rachel had been nervous eversince the moment that she stepped into the plane taking her there this morning… No one from her family knows that Finn and her had broken up… It would have been a lighter burden for her if they've known through someone else or through the media but the fact is, the responsibility to break the news to them now lies on her shoulder…

Not an easy task in fact since Rachel's relatives especially the elder ones absolutely worship the ground that Finn walks on… and who can blame them? They practically raised them together and Finn was just such a charming, quiet, pleasant man that everyone were just pinning their hopes on having future great grandchildren from the two of them together…

Taking a deep breath and psyching herself for what is to come, Rachel pastes on a smile on her face as she enters her ancestral homes' grounds…

The party is in full swing… there were tents erected on the vast front yard and everywhere was the sound of laughter and singing as people partake of a sumptous lunch that the army of servants that her aunt has had prepared…

"Oh… it's Rachel!"

A shout greets Rachel as she entered the front yard and she gave a jovial wave as her relatives all rush forward and fawn all over her...

Rachel hugs them back and does her greetings while shouts of "So Beautiful" and "We Miss You" ring continuously in her ears… Overwhelmed by the outflowing of excitement, Rachel allows herself to be dragged forward as her other aunts brought her to her grandmother in order for her to give her greetings…

Sitting on a chair in a room that has a view of the front yard, Rachel's grandmother sat regally… For a woman who's supposed to be turning 85, her eyes still retain the sharpness that it always had even in her youth and with a stern look at Rachel she gestures for her to give her a hug…

Rachel felt like she was 10 again as she did what was asked her…

"Happy Birthday Grammy…"

She said jovially while her grandmother clears her throat in response… A reaction that was expected from someone who is as austere as she is… Grandmother looks at her sharply…

"Have you heard the news?"

So there you have it… no hi's nor hello's but a threatening possibility of a reprimand in her voice… Rachel's heart started to slam in her chest… Hoping against hope that she had not heard about her breakup with Finn without Rachel telling her first otherwise, she'd really get it…

"A-about wh-what Gramma?"

Her grandmother made a face… her eyes only flicking once towards her direction before she looks out into the front courtyard again…

"Beth is getting married next month… to a doctor no less and she's only 22… That's 3 years younger than you…"

Beth is the daughter of their neighbor and Rachel could not care less about the status of her marital condition… However, to Rachel's relatives, her marriage with Finn had always been a touchy subject since they've been pushing them to tie the knot ever since she was 20…

Rachel gave an internal groan as she once again put on a bright expression on her face, however she was saved from making an excuse as Finn arrived in the doorway, a bowl of fruits in his hand, signifying that he might have been already there for awhile even before she got there…Rachel gives a sharp intake of breath… Her eyes meeting with Finn's for a moment as he paused awkwardly by the doorway upon seeing her before putting on a smile and addressing her grandmother brightly…

"Grandma… are you at it again? You're embarassing Rachel..."

Finn's lighthearted response seem to pacify her as she only scoffed… Finn takes the opportunity to pierce some peeled apples for her while asking her to eat some of it…

The gesture earns a small smile from grandmother as she took the fork from Finn and ate obediently while Rachel looks on at them in silence…After ensuring that Grandma was in a better mood, Finn addresses her politely to ask her…

"I hope you don't mind ma'am, but Rachel and I have only seen each other this time today… Is it okay if we go out and mingle with the other guests?"

That earned another wide grin from Grandmother as she totally dropped the whole tough grandma act as she looked at them dotingly…

"Of Course… it's been two years since we've last seen the two of you… your aunts will be looking forward to seeing you two…"

"Thanks grandma…"

Finn gave her a peck on the cheek before taking Rachel's hand in his and pulling her outside…

Once, they were alone and in a mostly secluded area, Rachel shakes his hands off her as she addressed him angrily…

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

He took a deep breath, his eyes apologetic as he replied to her…

"I'm sorry… Your aunt called me directly to ask me to come… "

Rachel expels a deep breath as she imagined how she must have badgered him… Calming down a little, Rachel remained quiet as Finn looks at her curiously..

"Why didn't you tell them that we're no longer together?"

Rachel averts her gaze away from his… not having the courage to tell him that when they broke up she had the highest hopes that they'd get back together again…. Hiding behind the façade of anger, Rachel replies to him irritably…

"Have you seen how she treats you? Do you want my grandmother to die if I tell her?"

Finn does not know why but he finds himself smiling… a fact that did not escape Rachel's attention as she tried to make sense of how she's feeling at that given moment as their gazes locked together…

"Look if it isn't little Finn Hudson…"

Gushing and fawning all over him, a crowd of Rachel's aunts suddenly comes over to join them… Breaking the tension that was present between the two of them as Rachel and Finn once again put on bright, happy faces…

"Rachel… I'm telling you that you got quite a catch… how can this boy grow more handsome as time goes by?"

Finn smiles shyly as one of Rachel's aunt look at him affectionately as another aunt barges in…

"So true… When are the two of you getting married? Don't you want to be bride and groom and walk down the aisle?"

Finn and Rachel gave out nervous laughter…

Thankfully, they were not given the chance of answering as another one of the aunts prodded the two to stop pestering them so that they can take their lunch as it was already ready…

As the crowd dissipates and Rachel and Finn were left standing together, Finn offers his arm to Rachel to hold on to…

Tentatively, Rachel stares at him for a second as if wanting to know what he's thinking… uncertainly Rachel hooks her arms around his as they walked towards the front yard… An unspoken truce falling between them after all the months that they have purposefully stayed away from each other if only for that given moment…

As the afternoon wore on and Rachel's relatives crowd around Finn, her uncles asking him to drink and her aunts feeding him non-stop, Rachel had a thought of how this is the picture of exactly what she wanted… This is what she imagined their future to be like with the two of them together … but why is it that now that this moment is here, she can't even put a finger on how she feels?

There is just a huge ache inside her heart and a sense of loss… Of a feeling that she mislaid someone dear to her and now that she's found him, she does not know what to do with him at all…

Finn lifts his head up for a moment from across the room as if seeking her and their eyes met.. Rachel can almost drown from the tenderness she sees in his eyes but all she can give him is a sad smile… A smile that up until now, even without words Finn can understand…

As the afternoon wore on and the number of guests dwindled, the crowd around their table eventually thinned until it was only Finn and her left together… With a covert glance, Rachel tried to sneak a peek at him from the side of her eyes, looking at Finn staring off into the distance, a small smile playing on his lips…

"I'm sorry…"

Rachel whispered as Finn turned to look at her with a confused expression on his face…

"For this… for putting you on the spot… My relatives can be quite a burden…"

Finn gave her a wider smile before staring whimsically at one of her aunt and uncles slowdancing drunkenly in the front courtyard…

"Don't be… I've always loved being around your family… Whenever we go here, I can make believe that they're mine and that I belong somewhere…"

Rachel stares at Finn and for a moment, it was not him seated there but the seven year old boy whom Rachel first met… The one who would not speak nor meet anybody else's eyes because of loneliness and it's funny how after all these years, somehow, that little boy is still present even if he had made so much out of himself…

"Why did you cheat on me?"

The words just came out of Rachel's mouth… unthinkingly… like it had been at the back of her mind all along…her voice full of the pain that she had repressed for the longest time…

Finn looks at her… his eyes full of things that he wanted to tell her… like how sorry he is for hurting her… how he's regretting his decisions… how Quinn and him seem to be headed for separation and how leaving her was the biggest mistake he's ever made but instead he just smiled sadly…

"It… it just happened… there's no excuse for it…"

He took a deep breath, staring off into the distance again before he once again looked at her…

"If I could only undo it, I would… sorry… I guess I was just a jerk after all…"

A thoughtful silence enveloped the two of them as Rachel pried her gaze away from his sincere eyes… both of them quiet as they stare once more into the distance…

"I'm glad you could come…"

She said in a whisper… She turned her head to look at him once more…

"Is Quinn….ummm… you're getting along alright?"

Finn gave a weak chuckle… giving her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes…

"We have not seen each other for the longest time… She's always busy…"

A pregnant pause greeted that sentence… Rachel not knowing how to respond to it…

"Puck and you seem to be getting along well…"

Rachel smiled back.. feeling guilty all of a sudden but not knowing the reason why…

"Ummm…"

She nodded…

"Be careful of him… Don't let him break your heart again…"

Rachel turned her head around to look at Finn, wanting to know what he meant by that but that was also the time when her aunts decided to call her …

As Rachel walked away from Finn, she realized that at this moment, right now, she had freed herself of her hatred and that she had forgiven him with all her heart

While Finn on the other hand is lost in the memories of the times that they have spent together as being in this place right now reminds him so much of how it felt when they were still a pair…

Of the time when he was eight and she was seven and she first approached him looking like Little Miss Sunshine in pigtails as he sat by himself in that playground swing…

Of the first time at 9 when she had coaxed him out of his shell by playing the drums so atrociously that he just had to teach her how to do it correctly…

Of the time at 13, when she told him she liked him and how she ran away so shyly that he can't help but smile at her…

Of the time at seventeen when they officially became a couple and how she cried when he asked him if she'd go out with him…

Of the time three and a half months ago when he broke her heart so badly and how he wishes right now that heaven would grant him a second chance to correct his mistakes if only he can have her back again…