Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, or any of the movies/lyrics included in this story.
"I have died every day waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years; I'd love you for a thousand more. And all along I believed I would find you. Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years, I'd love you for a thousand more."
-from 'A Thousand Years'
I apologize for the short chapter. Pure Fluff ahead.
"Achoo!"
Rachel wiped her raw, probably red nose with the tissue, and then tossed it into the trash can beside her bed. It was just her luck that she would be sick on the day that she and Finn were finally supposed to have their first date.
Finn and Rachel had decided together to wait until they came back to school to have their date, using the time apart to test the relationship, and just talk. In turn, Christmas break had been like a dream. She went home to spend the much needed time with her fathers and friends, while he stayed back with his own family. In spite of the distance between them, they maintained their steady communication as she'd hoped; calling back and forth, and even falling asleep on Skype together a few times. He really was showing her a side to him that she had yet to see, a sweet, open side that she was quickly falling in love with.
Unfortunately, along with all of the love and gifts Rachel had received from her family at home, she also managed to pick up the 'slight cold' that her Papa was recovering from. She had spent the entire day that she had been back on campus in bed with a box of tissues, a mug of tea, and a thermometer. Though her temperature wasn't terribly high, after checking it every thirty minutes to find that it wasn't budging, she finally accepted that she would have to cancel. It was for the best, even though she hated to admit it. She hadn't looked in the mirror but she was pretty sure, that a red nosed, dry eyed, crazed haired her wasn't exactly appropriate for their first date. Rachel pulled her phone off of the nightstand grudgingly composing the text message.
I'm so sorry Finn, but I'm not going to be able to go out tonight. I'm sick…Raincheck?
Rolling her eyes, she dropped her head back into the pillows, awaiting his response. The movement didn't exactly help matters, as the drop only resulted in giving her a slight headache. She moaned aloud somewhat dramatically, wishing that Brittany were around to fetch her some medicine. She sighed as she felt her phone buzz against her belly, then opened the message.
Okay :(
Rachel frowned down at the message, cursing her weak immune system. She laid the phone back in its place on her nightstand, and rolled over into her sheets, dreaming of what their first date would be like when it finally happened.
Knock! Knock!
It had only been about an hour since Rachel had attempted a nap, her stuffy nose and cough preventing her from succeeding. Slightly confused, but happy with the distraction she pulled herself out of the bed, snatching up the handkerchief from her drawer to serve as a block between her germs and her visitor; it was probably just Brittany though.
"Brit, did you forget your keys again?" she called to the door, opening it wide and freezing when she saw Finn. He had on her favorite gray t-shirt under a black jacket, and soft denim jeans. He looked like a model, whereas she looked like some sort of creature in her mismatched pajamas, untamed hair, and red face.
"Whoa" he said lowly, his eyes widening slightly as he took her in before he smirked. "You look hot."
"Finn, you shouldn't be here, you might get sick" she scolded, eying the large bag in his hand.
"I made you a promise, and I'm here to keep it" he declared, walking past her and into the room. "You said you couldn't go out, so I'm bringing the date to you."
She smiled at his words, fighting to keep the cough brewing in the back of her throat at bay. "That's very sweet Finn, but you didn't have to do this. I'm sick, I could get you sick" she said, pulling the handkerchief around her nose and mouth, and attempting to tie it in place. "And I look horrible."
"Don't do that. You look beautiful...like always" he responded quietly, reaching out to untie and pull the handkerchief down. As soon as he had successfully removed the garment, the deep cough made its way out of her throat loudly. "On second thought" he said, scrunching his nose up playfully, replacing the handkerchief over her entire face.
"Ugh" she rolled her eyes, snatching the fabric down and swatting him with it. "You're terrible."
"You'll be singing a different tune when you see the goodies I brought you" he said smugly, drawing a big smile out of her as he held the over sized bag out enticingly.
"Ooh Gimme" she squealed hoarsely, reaching out for the mystery bag.
"Uh-uh, you sit" he instructed, pointing to her bed.
Following his instructions, she walked over and climbed up onto the tall bed, placing her hands in her lap as she waited. She smiled sweetly at him and dangled her feet over the side of the bed, amazed at how much better she felt already. She watched fondly as Finn set the bag on her desk and started to pull out its contents.
"My mom made you some soup. It used to always make me feel better when I was sick and these too" he stated, pulling out a six pack of coca cola's in glass bottles. "They were like, a magic combination or something."
"Thank you Finn" she smiled, as he brought the bowl, a spoon, and a chilled bottle to her. "And please, tell your mother I said thank you as well, this was really too kind of her."
"She wanted to do it…She really likes you, they all do" he mumbled, shoving his hands down into his pockets. "You have no idea how hard Kurt fought to plan this date for us when he found out. I'm pretty sure he would've liked to have chaperoned, or take pictures or something."
"I wouldn't have put it past him" she grinned. Now that she knew Kurt, she had no problem believing he wouldn't do either of those things, and probably drag Blaine along.
"Me either. I had no idea how much it would mean to them, for me to start dating" he started, shaking his head. "My mom didn't seem all that surprised though, she said it was only a matter of time with you" he smiled, making her cheeks redden and not from the sick. "But, I wanted to plan this myself you know, prove that I could get it right" he said, nodding his head. He was now wringing his hands together, rocking back and forth on his heels. It was obvious he was nervous, and she knew it probably wrong of her to think so, but it was adorable.
"So what did you come up with" she questioned, raising a delicate eyebrow at him.
"Well, we're always doing things that I like to do, or that I'm good at" he explained, walking back over to his goody bag. "So I figured, maybe we should do something that you really enjoy. Your recital was pretty kick ass, and you really looked like you were in your element there, so I got us tickets to the Little Regional Theater. They're putting on Phantom of the Opera."
"Oh my God, Finn that would have been perfect" she squealed, the surprised smile stretching across her face. He really had put a lot into this. A few months ago she couldn't have dreamed of getting him to go to a musical, much less for him to plan it himself.
"I was hoping for that reaction. But, since you can't get out, I went and rented it from the library" he continued, pulling the DVD out of his bag. "I know it's not the same, but it's the thought that counts right? And then" he went on, pulling another stack of DVD's out behind that one, "I didn't know if you'd still want to go watch that play when you got well, so I rented some other choices too. You can pick." Finn walked over to lay the stack of movies in her lap, the titles ranging from Sound of Music, to Rock of Ages, to Rent. "Kurt gave me some recommendations" he said, predicting her question even before she could ask it.
"This is quite the collection" she said, more than impressed with his dedication. "But which one would you like to watch?"
"Doesn't matter, whatever you choose is fine with me" he said with a smile, pulling the chair up to place beside her bed while she ate.
"But if you had to choose" she pushed, taking another delicious spoonful of the soup.
"I don't know, I'm not really familiar with any of them."
"Hmmm" she thought, squinting her eyes as she studied him. He was sweet enough to do all of this for her, she wanted to make sure that he would enjoy it as well. Using what she knew about his taste so far, she finally decided. "I think we'll go with Rock of Ages, I have a feeling you'll like this one" she said thoughtfully, handing the movie to him to place in the DVD player.
She waited patiently while he fiddled with her system, then walked to his bag yet again. "Have you taken any medicine Rach?"
"Umm...herbal tea and a multivitamin."
His answering frown made her sink down slightly as he pulled out a new bottle. "Good thing I brought these then" he said brightly, popping open the multi-symptom cold medicine and handing her the small pills. She wordlessly took them, washing them down with the cold coca cola that was actually seeming to make her feel better. Or maybe it was just Finn.
"Thank you, again" she smiled up at him, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"No problem. The quicker you get better, the quicker we can cuddle again" he said with a small smile, reaching out to tickle her side.
"What do you know, I feel like a million bucks already" she chirped, placing the lid back on the bowl and handing it to him. Once he'd placed it along with the spoon on her desk and returned, she patted the space beside her in invitation. "Cuddling please."
Finn kicked off his shoes, and hopped up onto the bed beside her. She should have felt guilty about exposing him to her germs, but she just wanted to be close to him, and apparently he wasn't afraid. She sighed in contentment as he stretched his arm around her, scooting down so that she could comfortably rest with her head against his chest. When they were finally settled he pressed play on her remote, and the music began to play.
"What did you think? Be honest" Rachel asked once the last credit had rolled.
"That was actually really good" Finn said, pressing stop on the remote control.
"I thought so, you were singing along with like every song" she grinned, more than happy that he had actually enjoyed the experience.
"I know, I didn't even know I knew all of those songs."
"I figured you would like that kind of music" she said with a cocky smile. "You seem like the classic rock type."
"Yeah, I guess I am" Finn answered.
"What's your favorite song?"
"From the movie" he asked.
"No, just in general" Rachel said, cuddling closer into his side, thrilled when his arm tightened around her.
"Umm, I don't know? Maybe...'Still haven't found what I'm looking for'? Though I'm not so sure about that now" he said softly, his cheeks pinking as he glanced down at her then looked straight ahead. Her own cheeks hurt from her answering smile before he finally looked back into her eyes. "I'm going to be completely honest with you from now on, no matter how hard it is. I want us to be open with one another."
She smiled widely at his new goal, and the steps that they were taking in their relationship. She was definitely more than eager to quiz him, there were answers she was dying to know, but she'd start small. "What's your favorite food?"
"Pizza" he answered automatically, of course she knew that.
"Favorite candy?"
"Sour patch kids."
"South Park, or Family Guy?"
"Family Guy" he answered with a grin, using his Peter Griffin voice and making her roll her eyes. That was a perfect in to her next question, he better get this right.
"Kevin Hart or Katt Williams" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him playfully.
"Kevin Hart, definitely" he grinned, rolling his eyes.
"Alright, alright, alright" she recited in her best Kevin Hart voice, giggling madly when Finn joined in. "Boxers, or briefs?"
"Boxers" he smirked. "You're probably familiar with that though."
Rachel blushed slightly, but continued on. "Do you like my hair up" she asked, piling her hair on top of her head, "or down" she released it, letting it flow down her shoulders.
"Either way is perfect, usually. You know, when it doesn't look like a bush springing out of your head like today" he joked, taking her slap to the chest like a man. "It's cool though, I've seen you look like a raccoon and still liked you."
Rachel rolled her eyes, but finally caved at his hearty laugh. In spite of his words though, his eyes were shining at her like she was the most beautiful girl in the world. "What did you think when you first saw me?"
"Nice ass."
"Finn" she whined, narrowing her eyes at him and nudging his side.
There was a slight pause after his chuckle, and he looked down at their feet taking a deep breath before finally responding. "I hadn't even walked into the Playground when I saw you through the door window. You had on a white collared short sleeved shirt, a little black skirt with a belt, flat shoes, and the shiniest, most beautiful brown eyes I'd ever seen. Your hair was down, and curled at the ends" he smiled. "I couldn't remember what I was going in to do, or to talk about, all I knew was that I had to get to you; it was like some sort of weird trance" he recalled, a far away look in his deep eyes. "Then...I saw the guy with you, holding onto you smiling, and I snapped out of it. You were taken, and honestly, it was really freaking scary how quick and how strongly I was drawn to you. After that, I made a point of keeping you at arms length, making you just one of the boys. I figured that would be the easiest thing, convincing myself that's all you were."
Her heart seemed to double in size as she stared at him, absorbing his words. It felt like only yesterday that she had met Finn, 'the most beautiful boy she had ever seen'. She remembered all of the feelings, so intense even then, the trance that he'd mentioned, she felt it too. Looking back then, to where they had come now really seemed like such a long journey, an incredible one.
"You had me convinced too for a while...especially after, well, that night..." she whispered, looking up and into his eyes bravely. The hurt wasn't as raw as it had been. She found that she could talk about it now that she understood so much better. She still needed to hear it though.
"I'm so sorry Rachel, I was so stupid then" he sighed, wiping a hand down his face.
"Why did you leave Finn?"
"I've been with a lot of girls in my past" he started, his eyes dropping down slightly, "but never in my life had I felt anything like what I felt that night in here with you. I spent so much time blocking girls out, keeping a wall up between me and them, that when you slipped in, I kind of..freaked out I guess. I didn't know what I was feeling, or how to deal with it, so I just kind of bolted. I took the easy way out and decided not to deal with it at all, pretend like it didn't happen" he confessed, the guilt written clear across his face.
"But you know how you feel now" she finished, reaching out to entwine his hand with hers.
"I do" he answered, his eyes boring down into hers, offering her a silent promise.
"Have you been with anyone else...like that...since me" she questioned, looking down to toy with the sheets on her bed. She had wondered as much since it happened, it actually kept her up some nights, but she never asked. She was always afraid of the answer.
"No. I didn't see how anyone could compare to you after that" he whispered back before dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "I still don't."
"Good...because I hate sharing" she grinned, wrapping both arms around him to squeeze his torso in a hug. It felt like she was floating on air when both his arms came to wrap around her as well, holding her against his firm chest. She had everything she wanted.
"So...batman or superman?"
"Really? We go from that, to this" he chuckled, dropping yet another kiss to the top of her head as she nodded. "Batman."
"What are my chances of getting you to stay and watch another movie" she tried, pulling back to bat her eyelashes at him.
Finn smiled then swung his legs over the side of the bed, hopping down. "There's always tomorrow Rach. I should probably get going now though, we both have classes tomorrow."
"I'll walk you to the door" she offered, taking his hand and sliding down after him. She purposefully took slow steps, dreading the moment that the eye-opening night would officially end. "I really had fun" Rachel said, when he turned to face her at the door.
"I did too, even though things didn't go exactly as planned."
"I didn't mind, it was a lovely first date if you ask me" she grinned back, clapping her hands together as he bowed dramatically. "Only one more thing would make it perfect" she said with a smirk, exaggeratedly puckering her lips.
"What do you take me for? I don't kiss on the first date, I'm a lady" he said, raising his chin and looking down his nose at her.
"I think I could argue that one, you have different parts" she giggled, scrunching her nose up at him.
"You like my parts" he teased back with a wink.
"I am extra fond of certain ones" she allowed, rubbing her chin. "Mostly those dimples...and your ass" she finished with a devilish grin.
"Rachel Berry, are you objectifying me" he gasped, laying a hand over his heart.
"You love it" she laughed, pushing his chest lightly.
"I do. That's one of the boyfriend duties too, being objectified by the girl and liking it, right?"
"Boyfriend" she repeated, her eyes widening slightly.
"Well...yeah. I'm your boyfriend" he said slowly, testing the words out. Her heart soared when the bright smile graced his face and he looked to her expectantly. "If you want me to be, I mean. I'm not really sure how this thing works..."
"I'll think about it" she winked, "but just to let you know...I really like the sound of that."
"You know what, I do too" he said, the bright smile glued to his handsome face. "Goodnight Rachel, I hope you feel better" he continued, tucking her wild hair behind her ear before he backed out of the doorway.
"I"m sure I will. Goodnight Finn" she answered, closing the door behind him. About two seconds later there was a knock, and she swung the door back open.
"Changed my mind" he breathed, cupping her face in his hands and dipping down to finally kiss her. His lips moved against hers gently, tenderly, making her skin tingle in the best way. "Now I can tell you goodnight" he whispered, his eyes twinkling when he finally released a now slightly dizzy Rachel. He placed one more gentle kiss to her forehead, then turned around, disappearing down the hall humming.
Thanks for reading! I hope you are all still enjoying!