Really Kind Of Wonderful

Quinn could still be seen walking the halls of McKinley with Sam on Wednesday since they hadn't gone public with their breakup yet. She really should do something about that, but the truth was that she wasn't quite ready to give up the safety net. The whole beard idea had some definite appeal. A lot of people were already looking at her strangely for being friendly to Rachel, and she didn't want to think about how much worse it could be if not for Sam's presence as a buffer.

She wouldn't have that buffer at lunch today because Finn had pouted about being abandoned and Sam had placated his bro with an offer to work out. "You probably don't want him sitting there staring longingly at Rachel anyway. You can do that all by yourself," Sam had joked, earning him a slap on the arm. It was truer than Quinn liked to admit, because she knew Finn wasn't exactly over Rachel and she really didn't want to revisit that triangle again, even if the dynamics had changed dramatically. Or at least, she hoped they had. After yesterday, she couldn't be sure what Rachel was feeling anymore.

The girl's attempt at evasion was really doing a number on Quinn's self-confidence. She didn't know what to expect today, or even if Rachel would have suddenly manufactured another excuse to get out of spending time alone with her tonight. She kept jumping back and forth between preparing herself to accept rejection and plotting ways to make Rachel fall in love with her—and she was leaning pretty heavily toward option number two.

Her mood didn't improve much when she saw that the girl in question was missing from her usual table, as was Kurt. The sight that greeted her instead was Mercedes and Santana sitting across from one another having some kind of staring match.

Well, that can't be good.

She slid onto the bench next to Santana and smiled at Mercedes, greeting them with a soft "hi," which Mercedes at least echoed. "Um…where are Rachel and Kurt?" Quinn asked with as much nonchalance as she could muster.

"Probably off singing show tunes," Santana grumbled, still glaring at the girl across from her.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Kurt said they had some psychology project to do."

"Okay," Quinn drawled, a little disappointed, but more curious about what she'd interrupted. "Care to clue me in on your little love-fest?"

"No," Santana spat.

Mercedes snorted, "Ms. Lonely Hearts is being extra bitchy 'cause Brittany still hasn't forgiven her for trying to sleep with Artie."

"What!" Quinn shrieked, turning to scowl at Santana. "Is that what you did to piss her off?"

"It's not like he went for it."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you seriously feel the need to have sex with everyone in this school?"

"Please, I'm not that indiscriminate," Santana fired back. "I wouldn't do Aretha here if she begged me."

"Like I'd ever beg for scraps," Mercedes sassed.

"Couldn't tell by your dress size, Big Momma."

Mercedes snickered, "See…that insult doesn't even bother me. You're losing your touch, girl."

"Can you both just stop?" Quinn said, frustrated with their bickering. "Why would you do something like that to Brittany?" she asked Santana. They were supposed to be friends…or not friends…or not dating…or whatever they were calling themselves this week.

"Gee, I don't know, Q. What could I possibly have to gain by breaking up Brittany and Wheels?" Santana asked sarcastically. "He's such a good boyfriend, what with the talking down to her and treating her like she's stupid and then still expecting her to ride his little gimpy di..."

"Woah," Mercedes cut in with a frown. "You need to stop talking right now! I don't want to hear that stuff about Artie. He's a really good guy."

"Right, good guy—that's why Tina dumped his ass," Santana reminded them.

"I thought she fell for Mike's abs," Quinn asked absently. She had thought it seemed kind of shallow at the time, but then, she didn't have much room to judge.

"Boy does have a nice six-pack," Mercedes agreed.

"If you're into that sort of thing," she mumbled, chewing on her lip and absently wondering if Rachel's abs were as toned as her legs.

"Which you are, right, Quinn?" Santana asked with a smirk. "I mean, you're all into your body-obsessed, bleached-out boy wonder."

"I wasn't dating him for his looks," Quinn snapped.

"But are you now?" the girl asked pointedly, calling Quinn out on her slip of the tongue.

"No." Short, sweet, and completely open to whatever interpretation Santana chose.

"Where is Sam, anyway?" Mercedes wanted to know.

Quinn sighed, "He's off bonding with Finn."

The girl nodded in understanding. "You know he got into it with Puck again this morning."

"Sam?"

"No…Finnsolence," Santana sneered with a roll of her eyes. "He was all up in Puck's face about Berry. He's so not over her dumping his lame ass."

"Too bad she's so over him," Quinn said, more for her own piece of mind than anything. Rachel seemed over Finn, anyway. She'd admitted that they just didn't work as a couple. There was no way she'd ever consider taking him back again. Right?

Oh, God. What if she is? What if that's why she's blowing me off?

If Finn Hudson thought he was just going to snap his fingers and have Rachel running back to him, then he could damn well think again. Quinn wasn't going to let that happen. Even if Rachel didn't want to be with her, she wasn't about to let the girl settle for some selfish guy who just got off on being mindlessly adored and didn't even bother to make his girlfriend feel like the beautiful, amazing woman that she was.

"Yeah, well, I guess we'll see about that," Santana challenged with a knowing look.

Quinn met her eyes without hesitation. "I guess we will."

•••

"Are we making a habit of this?" Rachel asked with a soft smile as Quinn settled into the chair next to her in class.

Quinn didn't pretend to misunderstand. She'd spent most of middle school and freshman year avoiding contact with Rachel as much as possible and insulting her whenever it wasn't. Things had changed to a degree when Quinn had joined the glee club, but she'd still never intentionally sought out Rachel's company—although apparently her subconscious had a tendency to do just that. She'd ended up standing or sitting next to Rachel so many times that she'd lost count. Quinn was definitely counting now, and she planned to be in Rachel's space at every opportunity.

"You tell me," she dared.

"Hmm, I think we might be," Rachel decided, her dark eyes sparkling with promise, and Quinn caught her breath. Her expression radiated confidence in a way that it hadn't yesterday, and she looked truly comfortable in her own skin.

Quinn licked her lips, noticing the way Rachel's gaze zeroed in on the action and didn't shy away. "So, we're still on for after school?" she asked to be certain.

Rachel's lips curved a little more, and she nodded. "That is, if Sam doesn't mind me stealing you away."

Oh, the irony in that statement… And really, Rachel didn't appear overly bothered by the possibility. In fact, she was wearing that little look of determination that meant she intended to win. Quinn couldn't stop the grin from forming on her own face at finally having that look directed at her. "He doesn't mind at all," she said honestly, curious how far Rachel would be willing to go if she thought Sam was still an issue. Not that Quinn intended to find out, even if her vanity thrilled a little at the idea of having Rachel pursue her. She was planning on telling the girl everything tonight, and damn the consequences.

Full out rejection was seeming less likely, but that didn't automatically mean that things were going to work out in Quinn's favor. They had so much bad history between them, and so many issues to sort out. Sure, the flirting was nice, but if they were actually going to have a chance at a relationship, there were some pretty hard truths they'd both have to deal with—like the fact that the McKinley High student body (and half the faculty) would never accept them coming out as a couple, and Quinn wasn't really prepared to give up her status again.

She could hardly concentrate through class for thinking about what tonight would bring. Instead, she kept sneaking glances at Rachel, who was diligently taking notes, seemingly unaffected by Quinn's presence, but Quinn couldn't claim the same. She kept noticing the way Rachel tucked her hair behind her ear every so often, and played with her pen when she wasn't writing, and especially how many times her tongue would peak out to run over her upper lip—that would be eight so far. Hello, oral fixation. She shifted in her chair to try and alleviate a little of the discomfort she was feeling, but only succeeding in making it worse.

So this is what sexual frustration feels like.

When the bell finally rang, Quinn followed Rachel out of class, taking the time to enjoy the enticing view of her ass in that skirt. Oh yeah, she was so very gay. How had she never noticed it before? Rachel turned to address Quinn as she cleared the doorway and raised her brows when she realized where her attention was directed. Quinn snapped her eyes up to a more respectable place, only to encounter the equally nice view of cleavage revealed by the tight red blouse, and she felt her face heat. "Ah, see you in glee, Rach," she mumbled and hurried off to the restroom to cool herself off before her last class.

An hour later, she walked into the choir room with her libido firmly in check and smiled warmly at Sam when he waved her over. "You seem happy," he observed.

"It's been a pretty good day," she said with a grin that only got bigger when Rachel walked in talking quietly with Kurt.

Rachel returned her smile, but it clearly grew a little bit guilty around the edges when she noticed Sam. Okay, so maybe Quinn shouldn't have waited to tell her that there really was no reason to worry about the boy.

Brittany skipped in pushing Artie's wheelchair, and paused beside Rachel to give her a quick hug. "Hi, Rach!"

Rachel looked a little embarrassed by the show of affection but returned the friendly greeting with a little blush. Quinn wasn't overly bothered by the hug—Brittany was very affectionate when Santana wasn't influencing her—but she instantly frowned at the shortening of Rachel's name.

"What the hell?" Santana grumbled from behind her, and she turned to look at the girl.

"Sucks to be on the receiving end," she taunted, unable to resist the dig.

Santana glared down at her with arms crossed. "You suck."

Quinn giggled, "Wow, Mercedes is right. You are losing your touch."

Mr. Schuester sailed in with a smile on his face. "Okay, guys, I asked you all to bring me some suggestions for possible duets, so let's hear them."

Rachel's hand shot up, and more than a few groans echoed around the room. Quinn frowned in irritation. They could at least let her talk first before they automatically protested. Maybe they'd discover that Rachel actually had some really good suggestions.

"Mr. Schuester, I have taken it upon myself as captain to compile an extensive list of Broadway standards and popular top forty classics that I feel would be suitable for us to perform."

"That's admirable Rachel, but I'd kind of like for this to be a group exercise," he admonished. "If you want to suggest a song or two, that would be great."

Rachel huffed a little, but she didn't argue the point further—she just made her top two suggestions, and let everyone else do the same. She really was trying to be more of a team player, but it was clear that her ambition was still very much intact, and Quinn didn't really mind that at all. She actually kind of admired it.

The time passed by fairly quickly with Mercedes and Tina taking turns on ballads and Puck trying out a little rock. Quinn spent most of her time watching Rachel and anticipating what might happen when they were finally alone.

"So, do you want to follow me home?" Rachel quietly asked after practice was over, and Quinn nodded shyly, thinking that she'd never really wanted anything more.

•••

Twenty minutes later, she was walking through Rachel Berry's front door with butterflies dancing in her stomach. "Are your dads home?" she asked nervously, belatedly realizing that they might not be pleased to have the girl who'd given their daughter so much grief inside their home.

"Dad's working a nightshift at Lima General, and daddy typically doesn't get home from the college until after six."

"He's a teacher, right?" Quinn asked, trying to remember the few details she knew about the misters Berry.

"A professor of sociology at OSU Lima," Rachel clarified with pride in her voice, and Quinn nodded in acknowledgment as she took in the photographs scattered around the living room. They all looked so happy in every picture, unlike the formal portraits that had been on display in the Fabray household throughout Quinn's childhood.

"Are you hungry? I'm afraid we don't have much on hand, and most of what we do have is vegan friendly and requires little to no preparation," Rachel explained, "but we do have an excellent selection of take out menus."

Quinn smiled. "It's okay. I'm not really hungry."

Rachel nodded, suddenly looking a little nervous as she pulled at the hem of her shirt self-consciously. "Then I guess we should…talk."

"Yeah."

She sat down on the couch, and Quinn followed, angling her body toward Rachel while still being careful to keep a respectable distance between them for her own piece of mind. She was far too tempted to touch the other girl lately, and they really did need to talk before they possibly did…other things.

"So, I broke up with Sam," she blurted out with no preface.

Rachel's eyes widened and she breathed out, "Really?"

"Monday night," she added with a nod.

Rachel frowned. "But you've been together at school."

"Yeah, turns out he can be a really good friend," Quinn confessed.

"Oh. That's good," Rachel said quietly, twisting her hands anxiously in her lap.

Quinn shook her head and laughed a little. "So, this isn't awkward at all."

"I think it's a natural result of nerves."

"Do I make you nervous, Rach?" she breathed.

Rachel exhaled slowly and nodded, her eyes meeting Quinn's as she admitted, "You always have."

"You never really let on. In fact, you've been pretty much frustrating the hell out of me since we were in middle school with how much you don't react to me."

A little smile pulled at Rachel's mouth. "I'm very good at pretending."

"So am I, apparently," Quinn drolly observed. Closing her eyes, she took a breath and plunged headfirst into the unknown. "I've spent so much time hiding behind this image. Perfect daughter, perfect student, good little innocent Christian girl-next-door…and God knows I'm none of those things." She looked at Rachel again, seeing nothing but understanding and encouragement shining back at her. "As hard as I tried to make everything fit, it just never did. And when I…when I got pregnant last year, I had nothing left to hide behind."

Quinn swiped at the unshed tears that were forming, and Rachel reached over take her free hand and tangle their fingers together. "I felt so…exposed and weak…"

"You're not weak, Quinn," Rachel argued passionately. "I think that you're one of the strongest people I've ever known."

She smiled gratefully, but shook her head. "But I'm not. As soon as I had the chance, I put this uniform back on, kicked Santana out of my spot, and picked the perfect, bland boyfriend to hide behind again. And then you kissed me, and everything just came crashing right back down." Rachel frowned a little, so Quinn squeezed her hand and admitted, "I can't seem to hide from you, and I wanted to hate you for that, but I just can't. I mean, you know who you are and you speak your mind, and you never let what anyone else says stop you. And you're…really kind of wonderful, Rachel."

Rachel's mouth parted slightly, and her eyes started to sparkle with moisture. "No one's ever said that to me before," she whispered.

"I've thought it for awhile now," Quinn confessed, reaching out to gently wipe away Rachel's tears with the pad of her thumb. "I just…couldn't admit to myself that I did. I'm not supposed to feel this way, Rach. I shouldn't feel like smiling every time I see you or hear your voice…and I really shouldn't want to touch you all the time."

Brown eyes disappeared behind fluttering lids as she allowed Quinn to continue stroking curious fingers across her cheek and down her throat. "But you do?"

"I really do," she murmured breathily, inching ever closer to the other girl. "And I'm not even completely sure that I'm ready for what that means, but I can't keep denying it anymore." She waited until Rachel opened her eyes again before continuing, "I…like you. I'm attracted to you. And I think…I think I really want to kiss you right now."

Those tempting lips curved ever so slightly. "You think?"

"Know. I know," she admitted, already leaning in as her fingers delved into Rachel's silky hair.

That first, almost hesitant brushing of lips immediately sparked a desire for more, and Quinn pressed back more firmly, opening her mouth to suckle on Rachel's plump lower lip. If she ever had any doubt in her mind that kissing Rachel a second time would affect her as strongly as it had at Puck's party, she now knew with complete certainty that the first time had only been a taste of what a kiss should feel like.

Needing to be closer, she slipped her arm around a slender waist and moaned in bliss when Rachel responded by parting her lips and allowing Quinn to deepen the kiss. Their tongues met, shyly at first, then more boldly as they danced together—exploring, and tasting. She felt the insistent hum of arousal begin low in her belly and move down to her center.

And, oh, sweet heaven…Rachel's tongue is as talented as the rest of her.

She seriously never wanted to stop kissing this girl…well, maybe only to feel that tongue in other places…and oh, lord it was still too soon to think about that. Quinn reluctantly pulled her mouth away, panting heavily as she met Rachel's dark eyes and saw her own passion reflected back at her.

Rachel looked a bit dazed, but a pleased little grin was forming on those perfect, delicious lips. "Oh, yeah," she breathed, "I definitely like girls."

Quinn echoed the sentiment wholeheartedly. "Wait…girls? Plural? Should I be worried?" she joked.

Rachel's smile dimmed and her arms slipped from Quinn's shoulders. "No…but in the spirit of complete honesty, I feel that I should make a confession."

A sliver of apprehension burrowed into Quinn's chest as she looked at Rachel's serious expression. Drawing a fortifying breath, she attempted to keep her tone light. "As long as you're not going to tell me that you kissed Santana."

Rachel dropped her gaze, mumbling, "Brittany, actually."

"What?" Quinn growled, letting go of the girl in her arms and jumping up from the couch. She'd been tearing herself to pieces for weeks over her attraction to Rachel—not even able to kiss her own boyfriend for want of the girl—and all the while Rachel had been kissing another blonde cheerleader behind her back!

"It was purely for scientific purposes," Rachel insisted earnestly, "an experiment if you will."

An experiment. What the hell?

Quinn narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Explain," she ordered.

"I'm… attracted to you Quinn, obviously."

"Obviously," she scoffed, crossing her arms.

Rachel sighed and pushed frustrated hands through her hair, tucking it behind her ears. "But I was also attracted to Finn, and Noah, and Jesse…"

"You can stop anytime now," Quinn mumbled testily, not exactly wanting to rehash all of Rachel's past crushes.

"I care about you. Very much. More than…more that I thought was possible, considering our colorful history," Rachel confessed softly as she reached up to pry one of Quinn's hands free of her defensive posture and urge her back down onto the couch. She didn't let go, even after Quinn was sitting beside her again. "You're intelligent, and talented, and resilient, and so very, very beautiful. And when it seemed like you might actually consider exploring this mutual awareness that we've discovered…I needed to know that…that my attraction to you is real, and not just another infatuation that could potentially burn itself out. I felt that I owed it to you to reach some sort of resolution on the nature of my own sexuality before I could offer you any kind of relationship deeper than the friendship that already means so much to me. Brittany was kind enough to help me determine whether or not I am legitimately attracted to women."

Quinn frowned, realizing how logical and very Rachel-like that all sounded. "And?" she prompted, wanting to hear the final decision.

"I am."

"So you're gay?" Quinn wanted to clarify.

"I prefer not to define my sexuality based on normative classifications, but I suppose if I have to use a label, it would be bisexual, with a strong leaning to women."

Okay…not exactly what Quinn was hoping to hear, but she'd take it. "You're using the plural again," she pointed out. "I should warn you that I'm kind of possessive."

Rachel smiled beatifically. "I don't really mind."

Quinn gazed at that gorgeous face and attempted to let go of her unwarranted jealousy. Technically speaking, she hadn't had any claim on Rachel when she'd kissed Brittany, so she wasn't going to let the unfortunate experiment stop her from getting what she wanted now. "Just don't kiss anyone else," she warned just short of playfully.

"I won't," Rachel promised, brushing the backs of her fingers over Quinn's jaw. "Only you," she breathed out against Quinn's throat before planting a tiny kiss on her pulse point.

Quinn moaned in pleasure at the combination of soft lips and warm breath before dropping her head to capture Rachel's mouth once again and discovering that it just got better every time. Every stroke of Rachel's tongue against her own tightened the coil of desire in Quinn's belly, and she ghosted her fingers over deceptively supple curves, fighting the sudden urge to slip under fabric and touch more of that perfect, bronzed skin.

Rachel's inquisitive hands wandered over her back, learning the muscles and curvature. Quinn growled a little as she shifted closer and half-straddled Rachel on the couch, leaning them both back into the arm rest and aligning their bodies in the most pleasant way imaginable. Rachel arched up slightly and Quinn shuddered, dragging her mouth away with a gasp of pleasure.

"Oh, wow. I am such a lesbian," she mumbled breathlessly into Rachel's throat.

"Are you okay with that?" Rachel asked, stroking her hand over the back Quinn's neck.

She sighed, and untangled them just enough to stop herself from acting on her new-found addiction. "Honestly? Not really," she admitted, and at Rachel's frown, she clarified, "Not yet. I don't…I don't think I'll be able to walk down the hall holding your hand, but I really want to be with you, Rachel." It was best to get it out there now, before they set themselves up to get hurt with unreasonable expectations. "I want to get to know you better and see where this relationship goes."

Rachel smiled when she said relationship. "I'm agreeable to that plan."

She studied the girl's expression carefully. "Are you?"

"Believe it or not, Quinn, I'm really not ready for public displays of affection either. I think we both have enough to deal with already without adding the narrow-minded homophobes that grace the hallways of McKinley to our list of obstacles."

Quinn nodded, "I don't want you to ever think I'm ashamed of you."

"It's okay," Rachel promised with a smile. "At least we really won't have to hide our new-found…closeness in glee."

"What do you mean?" she asked with a frown.

Rachel gave her a look. "Half the club already knows."

"No, they don't," Quinn denied, sitting back against the cushions. "Well, Sam does," she admitted, "and Santana has a good idea."

"Santana? Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I suppose that would account for her sudden interest in me," Rachel mused, then she blushed. "Brittany knows, too, obviously," and Quinn frowned at the reminder. "As do Kurt and Mercedes."

"You told them?" Quinn asked, not really surprised. She'd kind of had the feeling for the last few days that the two knew more than they were letting on.

"I didn't have to. Kurt already knew."

"Which means so did Mercedes," Quinn finished with a chuckle.

"And I think they've actually been attempting to play matchmaker." Rachel confided.

"That…" Quinn opened her mouth to refute that ridiculous theory, but then thought better of it, "actually explains a few things," she realized.

"Like our 'accidental' shopping trip," Rachel pointed out, forming imaginary quotation marks with her fingers.

"Did you just use air quotes?" Quinn asked.

"I thought I'd try them out since you obviously do not approve of the verbal representation."

Quinn grinned widely. "You're really kind of adorable."

Rachel blushed prettily. "I'm glad you think so. You're actually kind of perfect."

"Hardly," Quinn scoffed.

"Perfect for me," Rachel added, leaning over to kiss the corner of her mouth.

Not satisfied with the little peck, Quinn cupped Rachel's jaw and gave her a real kiss, sighing happily when they finally parted. "So…I guess we've been kind of obvious." She wasn't really certain how she felt about so many people already knowing. "I think even Tina figured it out," she speculated.

"Our friends are entirely too invested in our interactions."

"Do you want to mess with them?" Quinn asked with a raised a brow and a wicked smile on her lips—one that Rachel instantly returned.

"What did you have in mind?

A/N: So, it only took them twenty-one chapters. Hope it was worth the wait. Thanks for reading and commenting.