Glee and its characters belong to Fox Network.
Actually I wanted to post 36 and 37 together in one chapter, but I had some minor reworks to do in this part. And since I didn't want to let you wait for an update more than a week, I had decided to split the chapter into two. But I hurried up with my refinements and here we go with the second part!
Many of you commented on Santana's, Kurt's and Blaine's present. I have two of those brass bowls at home and these things really have a wonderful sound and the vibrations feel so great! If you ever get the chance, try it out!
Summer1234, thanks again for the insights you shared with me!
Sole's stories, again I am very grateful for your beta-reading and your thoughts! Still excited to write that one chapter we talked about, soon!
Chapter 37
They rode silently through the streets of the city and Rachel watched the tall buildings fly by. Once they neared Central Park she turned to look at Quinn.
"Are we going skating?" she asked torn between excitement and worry. "I should have brought a thicker jacket."
Quinn shook her blonde locks.
No honey. Don't you think I would have told you to bundle up if I had planned to spend the afternoon outside?
Their destination loomed ahead and Rachel still did not catch on. Once the cab stopped, they got out and the brunette raised her head, looking at the tall building with the four huge columns flanking the arched entrance above the stairs. The whole structure was really beautiful and it was one of the first public buildings she had visited once she had settled down in New York.
"Are we going into the Museum of Natural History?" She turned and asked Quinn who joined her on the sidewalk after having paid the cab driver.
Quinn smiled. Not quite.
She took Rachel's hand and tugged her along.
Rachel threw her other hand into the air and huffed: "Ok, I give up."
Quinn quickly turned and placed a kiss on Rachel's lips, smiling, absolutely raveling in the cluelessness of her girlfriend. With a jerk of her head she moved off again, pushing Rachel forward with a hand on the small of her back. The brunette started moving again, but not without giving off another comment.
"You are lucky that I trust you. That I don't think you're a serial killer who's gonna drag me off into the dark corners of the park to finish me off. Or that I think…" Rachel's rambling was interrupted by Quinn spinning round again, standing in front of the smaller woman, blocking her path. Her movement was so quick that Rachel could not stop in time and bumped into Quinn.
"Ooomph. A little warning would have been in order. What now?" Rachel asked with a frown.
Quinn ignored the question.
To finish you off? She asked with a smirk, repeating Rachel's earlier words.
Rachel shrugged casually with one shoulder, throwing a challenging look at Quinn.
I'd like to finish you off, but in a different way than you think, the blonde commented nipping then at Rachel's lips, letting a finger slowly trace along her girlfriend's jaw and throat. The tender touch caused the brunette to grasp and she involuntarily closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, she saw Quinn sign another comment.
But here is neither the right time nor the right place, and I have a present to deliver. So let's go! And she tugged again at Rachel's hand.
Rachel was still caught in the sensation of feeling Quinn's finger slide down her skin and her teeth on her lips. She let herself be pulled along, unable to say anything.
They passed the entrance of the museum and rounded the building entering 81st street. Before Rachel could ask any more questions, Quinn pointed to the glass encased structure. Underneath the glass façade loomed a huge sphere, around three stories high.
"The Planetarium? That's where we're going?" Rachel asked excited. "Oh, I love it! I haven't been there for ages. Even as a kid I have always loved the show about the stars, you know, the one where you sit in that round theater and they display the whole night sky above you on the ceiling?"
Quinn had to smile at the excitement Rachel exuded, short of skipping along the sidewalk next to her.
You like the surprise?
The smaller woman bobbed her head not taking her eyes off the building.
Then all of a sudden she stopped and turned to Quinn, her eyes dark as if a light had been switched off.
"Oh, but …what will we be doing there? It's not like … it's not like I can listen to the tour guide or to the descriptions of the star constellations in the movie theater."
The blonde gently cupped Rachel's chin and lifted her head. "Look at me," she said. When Rachel's eyes focused on her, she continued signing.
Do you think I'd let you run through a normal tour?
"No, I guess not," Rachel had to admit in a small voice. "Sorry, I was just … I guess, I was remembering last time I was there and I loved it so much."
Quinn placed a gentle kiss on her girlfriend's forehead.
I promise you'll like it again.
At that moment a white flake settled on Rachel's nose and coaxed a smile out of the brunette. "Look Quinn, it's snowing! I had expected it to snow earlier this year, but it didn't until today! Oh! I love it!"
Rachel's joy about the snow was contagious and Quinn looked skywards and let the flakes fall onto her face. Sticking out her tongue she caught some and let them melt in her mouth. Laughing, the pulled on Rachel's hand and motioned towards the building.
"Right. Planetarium. Here we come!" Rachel smiled. "I hope it won't stop snowing in the meantime!"
They walked under the wide arch that marked the entry of the Rose Center for Earth and Space which hosted the Hayden Planetarium. Every time either woman stepped into the building they were impressed with the futuristic architecture of the whole construction. It almost felt like stepping into a space station looking out for the next ship to leave into orbit.
After depositing their coats at the wardrobe counter and collecting their tickets, Quinn and Rachel met an official guide who took them on a tour through the Space Center and Planetarium. There were another handful of visitors joining them in the excursion.
The guide – his name was Ben as his name tag indicated – talked and used sign language in parallel. Rachel was truly surprised; she had not known that the Space Center offered such a service. She understood most of the interpretations, but some of the specific terms were unknown to the brunette and she had to ask a few times to get an explanation.
Carmen had taught her the basic "space" vocabulary, but they had only covered the topic superficially. Rachel knew the signs for some planets, and basics like eclipse, orbit and universe, but anything else was still unknown to her.
Ben was very patient and finger-spelled the signs she had not understood or sometimes pointed at the respective word on a board behind him. There were high quality illustrated fiberglass boards with pictures and explanations hug at the walls or placed in front of the exhibits.
Rachel eagerly soaked up each new sign she learned and Quinn had to smile when she noticed Rachel repeat each one for herself, silently voicing the corresponding word with it. Quinn was not sure how much Rachel actually understood. Getting to know both ways of communication, she had the advantage of being able to compare the actual spoken words and the interpretations. As they walked from one exhibit to the next, she lightly pulled on Rachel's sleeve. The brunette turned towards her and Quinn posed her question:
Can I ask you something?
Rachel arched an eyebrow. "Yes, but why do you need my permission?"
Quinn bit her lip, and then cautiously formed the signs. How much do you understand of what our guide is explaining?
Rachel searched Quinn's face, wondering where that question came from.
"I get the context, most of it, anyway." She answered slowly. "Though I don't understand everything. The technical terms are a bit difficult to figure out and I don't want to keep asking all the time. It helps reading the explanation boards. That kind of fills the gap. Why?"
Quinn shrugged. Just … wondering.
She saw the big brown eyes looking at her with an quizzical expression, trying to find the real reason behind the question. Then the blonde looped an arm around Rachel's shoulders and squeezed her lightly to reassure her before she started signing.
I just don't want this to be too much of a burden, Quinn frowned slightly while her hands moved through the air.
Rachel looked confused. "What do you mean by that?"
I mean that this should not be a work out or a sign language lesson. I just wanted this to be something fun and relaxing for you. And now I just realized that it's not. That you still have to work to figure things out. I'm sorry that I didn't think that far.
Quinn dropped her hands with a weary look on her face.
Now Rachel knew what was really eating Quinn.
"Quinn, for me every situation is like that. Every interaction with another person still costs me a lot of concentration. The more people the more difficult it is. Yes, it is exhausting at times, but please don't let that spoil the mood for today ok? Because I actually really love that stuff here and I still think this is a wonderful surprise taking me here."
Rachel kissed Quinn softly and with an imploring look she coaxed an "okay" from Quinn's lips. Then she noticed the group moving further away and indicated for them to follow.
"Come on, let's go."
A little later the tour ended in front of the doors of the sphere. Afterwards, Rachel had to admit that the best part was the film in the round theater where everything was projected above their heads onto the round cupola ceiling.
Rachel looked around and was surprised to see that despite it being a weekday in the early afternoon, the theater was still quite full. There was a school class with seventh graders who communicated in ASL amongst each other. Apparently, they had had another tour guide as the kids had not been in Quinn's and Rachel's group.
Settling back into the slightly reclined chairs, Rachel took Quinn's hand and laced her fingers through her girlfriend's. She had no idea how she was going to follow the explanations, when she saw subtitles appear at the lower part of the ceiling. Apparently, this belonged to the guided sign language tour. Gratefully she squeezed Quinn's hand.
"Do they always have the subtitles or is this just now?" She whispered in Quinn's direction.
Quinn made the sign for "now", moving both hands down in parallel, palms up, fingers bent, hoping Rachel could see it in the dark. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed her girlfriend nod and settled back into her chair.
Rachel followed the whole show with interest and was again captivated by the great display of the starry night sky that was projected above her head. It was so fascinating to watch the dusk and dawn in a time wrapper, to see how the stars shifted their position – well, she knew that it was actually the earth that moved – and was sometimes so lost in staring at the ceiling that she forgot to read the subtitles.
Quinn threw a glance at her girlfriend from the side and found it endearing how Rachel tried to soak up everything that was being shown.
At one point, Rachel remembered that they also used to play music in the background and asked Quinn if they still did it. She guessed so, because she felt some vibrations once in a while through the chair and in her chest.
Quinn nodded and Rachel thought that the audio visual track was probably not separated, so they would just run the "normal" film and add the subtitles if needed.
The movie lasted about twenty minutes and was over too quickly for Rachel's taste. But the best part happened at the end. Just before the lights came on, the cupola lit up again in the star sign of the Sagittarius and below appeared a text that most definitely did not belong to the original program.
Remember the gold star.
Happy birthday, Rachel!
Rachel gasped and let out an "Oh no! You didn't!"
Quinn laughed and nodded to say yes, I did. And she was sure that Rachel was blushing.
The brunette leaned over and kissed Quinn, which caused some of the kids behind them to hoot and the blonde had to laugh, explaining to Rachel the reason for her mirth.
Then the lights were switched on and washed away the last trace of the night sky that just minutes ago had filled the air above their heads.
"Oh Quinn, that was great! I loved the show and the whole explanation of the constellations. On the next clear night we definitely have to check for some of the star pictures that can be seen now on the winter sky!" Rachel exclaimed as they walked towards the exit.
Rachel's enthusiasm lit Quinn's face up with a genuine and grateful smile. She was relieved and happy that her idea had been conceived with so much excitement, despite her worries.
I'm glad you liked it! The blond answered modestly.
"Liked it? I loved it!" Rachel corrected her. She stopped and laid a hand on Quinn's arm. When the blonde turned around, Rachel pulled her into a tight embrace. Half whispering into Quinn's ear she said:
"Thank you for this wonderful present! But how on earth did you get them to display that text?"
Quinn shrugged. One of the guys who works here - we met at Yale - still owed me a favor. And I thought that was the right time to cash it in.
"Oh, and you did it for me? That's so sweet!" And Rachel searched her girlfriend's lips again with her own to share a tender and loving kiss.
Rachel thought back to the birthdays that she had celebrated with one or the other boyfriend and even though the degree of personalization in the presents varied, none of them had come even close to what Quinn had given her. Yes, most of the presents had been nice, but not one of the guys had really thought beyond offering something that was just "nice". Was it because they had not loved each other enough to bother for more thoughtful presents or was it just a guy thing? Rachel did not want to generalize this as a gender thing; there were probably enough men out there who made beautiful presents. It was just that with her ex-boyfriends it had not 'clicked' as is had with Quinn.
Everything seemed to fall into place with her.
"Where did you get the idea of taking me to the planetarium?" Rachel asked. She could not remember that they had talked about it before. So she was genuinely curious what had made her girlfriend come up with this idea in the first place.
Quinn laughed and joked: As obsessed as you were with putting a gold star behind your name every time you signed something, I figured you must like it here.
"I wasn't obsessed," Rachel mumbled.
Yes, you were! You alone must have kept that little company alive that produced those little stickers, Quinn retorted.
"Oh, puh, yeah. Maybe. Okaaaayyyy... I was a teeny tiny bit obsessed with that."
Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Ok, a lot! There I said it." Rachel then admitted chuckling. "At least I know I did a good deed and secured some people their jobs," she then stated and jutted out her chin.
Quinn had to laugh at that while Rachel started smiling and patiently waited for the real explanation.
"Sooooo…." She prompted her girlfriend again after Quinn would not offer anything further.
The blonde smiled bashfully before she took a breath and started signing again.
Maybe it's a bit… She paused and then asked: How do you spell c-h-e-e-s-y, using the finger alphabet for the last word. Rachel thought for a moment, then shrugged.
"I guess you just use the sign for cheese? Not sure. But I get what you want to say."
"Ok," Quinn answered and started signing anew.
Anyway, I recently looked through some old high school stuff with Santana and we remembered how you always put a small gold star next to your name. So I just thought that... Quinn paused for a moment, before continuing, …you know, you shouldn't lose faith in your dream. And after telling me that you would like to stay in the show business and try acting again, well, I thought a little reminder of "your star" would not hurt, metaphorically speaking. Told you it was a bit c-h-e-e-s-y. She added.
Rachel stepped forward and cupped Quinn's face with both her hands.
"I ... Quinn, that is so sweet and so thoughtful and," she laughed, "yes, a bit cheesy, but such a unique present. Thank you so much!"
And she rose on her toes to place another kiss on Quinn's lips.
The blonde eagerly answered, relieved that the thought was so well received. Making their way towards the exit, the blond could not wipe the happy grin off her face. She absolutely liked how the day had progressed and how Rachel had loved all of her ideas so far. But most of all she liked the happy smile on her girlfriend's features.
When they left the building, the ground was covered in white and the flakes were still coming down, bigger and heavier than before. Rachel buttoned her coat and pulled on her gloves. There were already a good ten centimeters of snow on the ground. Every year, she was amazed at how quickly the snow accumulated within a relative short time frame once it started snowing. The petite woman let her feet slide through the white mass and then looked up at the sky with a wide smile.
"The first real snow this year!" She exclaimed excited spreading her arms, holding her palms up in the air. Blinking into the white swirling mass she laughed as it tickled her eyelashes.
Quinn thought in that instant that she had the most beautiful and gorgeous woman as her girlfriend. Rachel seemed so carefree at that moment, completely entranced by the snowflakes landing on her hands and face. It was a precious moment and all Quinn could do was soak it up and store the picture in her memory. She was glad that she could actually see Rachel so genuinely happy. Quickly, she fished her phone out of her pocket and snapped a photo to capture the moment.
After dropping the phone back in her bag, Quinn stepped closer and wrapped her arms around the smaller woman and kissed her passionately on the lips. Then she watched a large and perfectly shaped snowflake land on her lover's cheek which the former cheerleader could not resist to kiss away. Rachel crinkled her nose and smiled while ice crystals accumulated in her dark hair that peeked out from under the bonnet. The white snow against the dark hair created a beautiful contrast. Quinn could see the perfect shapes of the flakes and marveled at the beauty of what nature was able to create, even in small sizes.
Again, Quinn captured the brunette's lips in a loving kiss.
Rachel leaned back laughing, one hand holding her bonnet to prevent it from sliding off her head.
"What was that for?" Not waiting for an answer, she pulled Quinn at her hand and skipped a couple of paces until they were further away from the entrance. The blonde let herself be swept away and followed, giggling with her girlfriend like small school children.
Rachel looked on the ground and noticed what she was looking for. Carefully, she stepped off the path onto the patch of untouched snow and tread from one foot to the other.
Looking up she asked Quinn: "Does it make a noise? You know that crunchy sound when you first step on fresh snow. Can you hear it?"
The blonde joined her girlfriend in the untouched snow and mimicked her treading footsteps. Her head slightly tilted to one side, she listened. Meeting Rachel's expectant gaze with big brown eyes, she raised her hands.
Yes, it crunches a little bit. Do you… do you remember that sound? She dared to ask.
Rachel nodded. "Yes, I do. I started to notice that I sometimes automatically allocate the respective sound in my head to something I see."
Quinn thought about that for a moment. Like what? What do you remember, besides music? She then asked curiously.
Rachel shrugged. "For example rain drops falling on the window, the sound that cars make when they drive on a wet street, the sound of a subway train when it arrives, the crunching of snow," she then smiled.
Quinn stepped a bit to the side where more untouched snow lay and slowly pressed her foot down. Looking back over her shoulder she saw Rachel watch her with her head tilted to the side, and expectant look on her face.
Yes. It definitely has that crunchy newly-fallen-snow-sound when you step on it, Quinn stated smiling.
"Oh, good!" Rachel watched her girlfriend stomp around in the white mass a little more. "Can we take a morning stroll tomorrow if it will snow through the night, please? I'd love to take a walk in the snow, especially when it is still fresh and white!"
How could Quinn say no to those eyes that held her gaze and radiated such joy, excitement and happiness? She stepped forward and enveloped her girlfriend in an embrace, lifting her slightly, twirling her in a circle.
Rachel held on to Quinn and let out a small yelp before she started giggling again.
Landing safely back on her feet she gazed at Quinn. Those hazel eyes were full of love and at that moment, Rachel felt that no matter what, Quinn loved her truly and deeply. She placed a hand on Quinn's neck and pulled her close for a kiss.
"Oh god, I love you so much, Quinn. I love you so, so, so much!" Raising on her toes Rachel kissed girlfriend with undenying passion. She let her tongue explore, intensifying the contact more and more, showing her through that kiss how much she loved her; loved her for planning such a great birthday, loved her for accepting her, loved her for sharing silly moments in the snow, loved her for answering her questions honestly and caring.
Quinn answered eagerly in the same fashion, again being mesmerized by how much one kiss could communicate if shared with the right person, with your soul mate, when all kisses she had shared before, had merely been just that, kisses. With Rachel, they were so much more. They were promises, confessions, consolations, encouragements, means of communication and most of all proof of their love.
"Thank you for this day," the blonde heard a husky whisper close to her ear and it sent goose bumps along her skin.
Quinn leaned back a little, so Rachel could see her lips. "You're welcome," she answered simply, at a loss for more words, still being caught in the moment. She felt that Rachel understood that there was so much more behind those three words. As they held each other for a long moment in their embrace, the snowflakes were slowly drawing a white polka dot pattern on their clothes and hair.
Finally, they let go of each other.
Let's go home, before you catch another cold, sweetie, Quinn suggested.
"'kay," Rachel agreed and took Quinn's hand in hers, walking side by side towards 81st street.
Reaching Central Park Avenue, they saw a traffic jam already forming due to the falling snow.
"Looks like we either have to walk back or take the subway." Rachel stated.
"Hm." Quinn looked pensive. Guess so. But as I have something else planned for today, I want you to conserve your strength, so let's take the sub.
Rachel arched an eyebrow. "Planned something else? That sounds interesting, but you have already done so much for me today."
Is there a limit on how many presents Rachel Berry can receive on her birthday? Quinn teased.
"No, never!" Rachel laughed.
Thought so!
They arrived at home safely, snuggled up on the couch with a hot tea and warmed their cold hands on the cups.
"Sooooooo, what else have you planned for us today?" Rachel wanted to know, watching Quinn, who was carefully blowing on her tea to cool it down, from the side.
The blonde looked up and debated with herself what and how much to tell her. Then she decided that it might be only fair – considering the circumstance – to give Rachel at least a hint. She did not want her to feel uncomfortable and after all she was not a complete hundred percent sure if her idea would be good or not. Especially not after Rachel's comment at the Space Center that afternoon about having to make an effort in every situation.
Quinn bent forward and placed her cup on the table, before turning slightly towards Rachel. She looked at her for a moment, trying to find the right words.
"What? Is it that difficult to describe?" the brunette smiled.
Quinn slowly shook her head. No.
"Then what? Come on, Quinn, I won't bite you, whatever it is. I promise!"
"Oh," the blonde stated almost disappointed. I like biting, and nipping and licking and sucking she then added signing with a little smirk.
Rachel slapped her on the knee. "Pervert! Now tell me!"
Ok. I want to take you out. A special place.
"Another special place?"
Yes.
"And you're not sure about that why exactly….?" She dragged out the last words and let her voice trail off in a question.
I'm not sure because I don't know how you'll feel about that.
Rachel studied her girlfriend for a moment. She noticed the insecurity in her lover's eyes, but also the hope that she would like whatever the actress had planned. And she knew that Quinn would never deliberately try to harm or hurt her. Rachel placed a hand on the blonde's knee.
"If you think I might like it, then I won't ask anything else. I trust you."
Big responsibility, Quinn sighed and swallowed.
"Yes!" Rachel laughed. "What do I need to wear?"
Jeans, anything casual and nice.
"Nice? Nice as in sexy-nice or nice as in prude-nice?"
Nice as in I want everyone to envy me for my beautiful girlfriend but don't want them to see too much of her best assets, Quinn described, trying to divert from the fact that she was still trying to figure out if all of it really was a good plan or not.
Rachel seemed to catch on to her uneasiness. Sometimes it was really creepy how she picked up on the smallest vibes, when Quinn was so sure she hid all her thoughts and emotions behind her schooled mask. But there was no fooling her girlfriend; much less that she was developing such good skills at observing and reading people.
"Listen, if you are so worried that I might not like it or feel uncomfortable, either you tell me about it now, or we agree that whenever I should get the feeling I want to leave we immediately do so. Would that work for you?"
Quinn nodded, then smiled shyly and a bit relieved. Funny that you have to assure me about the whole thing, if it should be the other way round, actually.
Rachel shrugged. "You can't always plan for all eventualities, Quinn. I'll try and we see how it goes. As long as I know I theoretically have the possibility to bail at any given moment, I'll go wherever you are taking me."
In retrospect Rachel was surprised about herself and her answer. It seemed again that she had grown a little more, had gained a little more confidence and trust in herself to manage a new situation as well as in the people around her to support her.
Quinn nodded slowly. "Okay." That sounds fair enough.
"Good. Now wipe that frown off your face and smile!" Rachel ordered, gently wiping her fingers across her girlfriend's brow.
The blonde managed to erase the doubts from her mind and leaned into Rachel. She pushed a little with her hands on her girlfriend's shoulders while kissing her, until the other woman fell sideways on the couch, chuckling. Quinn noticed that Rachel smiled and laughed a lot that day. And it was not forced or false, it seemed genuine and honest. For the first time in a long time she seemed truly happy and almost carefree.
And that made one Quinn Fabray very, very happy.