Pairing: Quinn/Rachel
Spoilers: Anything up to…Silly Love Songs I think.
Rated: R for language
A/N: Well…still Unbeta'd.
A/N Thank you all again for your reviews, the ones that always are kind enough to review and the ones that made me feel like last one was a pretty decent chapter. Thanks! They definitely make me think and want to write more, thank you! They were lovely. Hopefully this will also be such a pleasing chapter… : ) It is certainly a long one! Oh, as for the Spanish? It has been ages since I took it…so, yes, I threw it into Babelfish, blame them if it's completely off! ;) My favorite phrase (besides mas cerveza of course) was Tengo un delor de cabeza. It might be related to the mas cerveza. Maybe.
Also, thanks to all you anonymous reviewers I can't thank personally! :)
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Quinn: Maybe you could swing by my house after studying. We could maybe talk?
Quinn: If you're not too tired that is.
Rachel bit her lip and smiled at the text. Just this morning she'd been so certain she should be stoic and do the honorable thing and take some time away from the other girl. Mere hours later why did that seem so laughable?
She stared another few seconds. Just seeing her name on the screen did weird things to her, it was ridiculous. She fingered the keys on her phone for a moment before she typed out a positive, but relatively neutral text.
Rachel: That might be good. I'll see what I can do.
She smiled and nodded to herself, pleased with her restraint. Especially considering what she really wanted to do was leave Finn to fend for himself on the Spanish. What she really wanted to do was drive at unwise speeds through populated neighborhoods to the other girl's house, burst inside, grab said girl —
The phone buzzed quietly again.
Quinn: Okay, great. I'll be home soon. FYI, mom is home. You're safe from me… ; )
And…give her a big friendly…hug? Damn. After she said hello her mother of course. Her shoulders dropped in disappointment. It was probably for the best anyway, since it appears she would now be forced to abide by her earlier, stupid, honorable plan.
She tapped her phone, trying to decide if she should leave it at that. She definitely needed to get back downstairs and attempt to focus on helping Finn.
Rachel: What if I think safe is sometimes overrated?
She grinned, thrilled with her own daring. She finished straightening up in the bathroom. She was really just killing time as she waited on pins and needles to see if she got a response. She was not disappointed and she continued to grin like a mad woman as her phone vibrated.
Quinn: : ) Wow. Never thought I would hear Rachel Berry say that. I kinda like it. Now, go study. I'm sure he needs it.
She read it one more time, loving that Quinn had no problem realizing that Rachel wasn't the one that needed to be studying. She snapped the phone shut. She had been exhausted just a few minutes before, and now she was coiled up with energy and good humor.
Kurt tilted his head at an angle and squinted a bit at her as she bounced out of the bathroom. She waved at him and grinned.
He shook his head and picked up his phone. Something so very definitely up with that girl.
Kurt: I hope you have gathered sufficient intel. I don't what's up, but it's something.
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Studying turned out to be less of a chore than it had appeared it was going to be earlier. Not that she paid attention, really. She was prepared already. She didn't need to do a lot for herself. Her mind wandered.
Abrazar, abstenerse, confiar, acostarse, descender… While Finn's pencil eraser tapped out a rhythm as he muttered verbs to herself, Rachel ran through phrases in her mind, entertaining herself with her irregular verbs. Abstain. Embrace. Confide. To go to bed. To descend.
I don't want to abstain. / No quiero abstenerme.
I want to embrace Quinn. / Quisiera abrazar a Quinn.
Should I confide in Kurt. / ¿Debo confiar en Kurt?
Okay, no conjugating those last two, she told herself sternly. You will NOT sit here, with your sweet but dumb as a box of rocks, something less than terrific kisser boyfriend conjugating those last two. Do not do it. No.
She took a noisy breath, determined to get a grip. The word grip itself, caused her to convulsively clasp her hands at the sleeves of her sweater, images of blonde hair between her fingers jumped into her brain, and she bit down on her lip. Hard. A completely inappropriate urge to giggle bubbled up from her gut.
Really she was just torturing herself now. She seriously needed to exert some self-control here. She whacked herself in the head suddenly, startling Finn out of his studying.
She looked up at him and he was looking at her with wide eyes. "You alright? I thought this stuff was easy for you. I'm sorry, don't get so frustrated, Rach. I can help you."
She smiled at him weakly. "Oh, no I'm fine I was just… trying to memorize 'destruir' and 'dolor'. You know…'to destroy' and 'to hurt.' You know, just using a visual, or physical aide if you will."
He looked at and raised his brows in consternation. "Okay…well, don't hurt yourself over there." Then he smiled his lopsided smile that she had always found so endearing. He shook his head and ground his fists into his eyes. "Jeez, really Rach. How do you know all this?"
She half-smiled back at him. "I'm used to memorizing music Finn. That probably helps."
She was amazed that she suddenly found it so easy to be kind the sweet tall boy. Just half and hour ago she was ready to absolutely throttle him.
"Yeah, but I memorize football plays. You'd think I'd be better at this, right?"
Yeah, you'd think. She kept her uncharitable thought to herself.
"Well, you're tired Finn. That makes it harder. I should probably get going. Just stick with this list. I'll leave you my notes, okay? I can look at them during lunch tomorrow?"
He looked at her and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, yeah, sure." He stood up. "You can stay for dinner if you want? I think Kurt is making something. I'm supposed to help I think. I mean, we haven't really seen each other much lately."
He craned his head around watching her as she stood and started gathering her things. She stood next to him, now shouldering her bag. She stood straight and dropped her hand to squeeze his shoulder. She bent over and kissed him next to his ear.
"I appreciate it Finn, and I'll thank Kurt and your dad on the way out. I do still have a test on Mary Shelley and Frankenstein to study for."
"Oh, okay. Uh, I forgot. Oh hey? Are you coming over after Thanksgiving? I don't think we have any Tofurkey, but there will be other…stuff you can eat. Or are you going anywhere with your dads this year? Don't you go…do something?"
She straightened up and squeezed his shoulder again.
"Yes, Finn. But I'll see if I can get away on Thursday. I'm not sure though. Maybe in the afternoon if I can, okay?"
He started to push away to stand up. She remembered that sometimes he could actually be a gentleman. But today? She didn't really want him to be today. On the one hand she didn't want to be fighting with him, and on the other, she didn't want him being any of the nice things she had grown to appreciate in him. The slightly nauseous feeling in her stomach increased the nicer he was. She forced her smile wider.
"No, don't get up. Get back to work, mister. You know you can ace this, Finn. I'll…text you later, okay?"
He stayed in the half standing, half sitting position for half a second before he slumped back down. "I know, I know."
"An A or even a B in Spanish will help negate the C you're pulling in Chemistry, right?"
He let his pencil drop and he cracked his knuckles. "That is the plan, right? C if I'm lucky that is." He let his head drop to his chest sullenly before he continued. "Okay, Rach. I guess I'll talk to you later. I'm sorry about earlier. It's just that Quinn…well, I don't like you hanging out with her. I just—"
And we're back to square one she thought darkly. She took an even breath. "Finn. She is a teammate. She has changed. In a lot of ways. And while I agree you had a legitimate complaint, I would like to point that you have buried the proverbial hatchet with Noah over this. And I believe you need to do the same with Quinn. Otherwise you are subscribing to a pretty heinous double-standard in regards to what you find acceptable behavior when it comes to promiscuity."
He gripped his pencil hard and stood up and frowned at her. "What? What does that even mean?"
She tried not to roll her eyes and was only marginally successfully. "Promiscuity?"
He shook his head bitterly. "No. I'm not an idiot, Rachel. I know what that means. I've been in the Celibacy Club after all. I mean the double-standard. I don't get it!" The volume of his voice increased with his frustration.
She crossed her arms annoyed and defensive again. "It means, Finn, that apparently it's acceptable and permissible, and more importantly forgivable for MEN to be promiscuous as far as you're concerned. But you think, what? That Quinn should be wearing some scarlet letter? THAT is the double-standard. You forgave your male best friend, but you can't forgive Quinn. And before you say anything else, you know I'm all about second chances and forgiveness. You forgive one? Then you forgive the other as far as I'm concerned."
He just looked at her, breathing hard through his nose, like a bull she thought. "I don't understand you Rachel. She's hurt you. She's hurt me. Hell, she's hurt Puck. She even tried to take down the Glee club."
She held up her hands. "Finn. Let's stop this right now. We are going to have to agree to disagree on this. I think it's best if we leave it at that. I'm not going to tolerate anyone bad-mouthing Quinn." She stopped. "Or any other members of our team. If you're going to be a good co-captain, then I think you need to examine what kind of example you are setting."
He squinted at her, like if he squeezed his eyes enough he could see the Rachel he wanted to see there. He clenched his hands again for a moment. She couldn't decide if she should storm out, or wait and see what effect her words had.
He flopped down heavily on the couch, his hands unclenching. She was glad to see he wasn't going to punch any pillow or throw something. He waved his hand in her direction. "Whatever. Sometimes I just don't get you Rachel. But…whatever."
"I know Finn. But thank you for considering what I have to say. I'll text you later, if you'd still like that is."
She hoped she wasn't giving him too much credit. It was a habit of hers.
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." He mumbled. He looked at her again and tilted his head. She nodded and smiled stiffly. She could see he was still trying to figure out why this was happening to him. He had the wounded look he had perfected. As someone who had spent an inordinate amount of time wondering 'why me' as slushie after slushie was thrown at her, she had little patience for Finn the star quarterback's 'poor me' attitude that he whipped out occasionally.
She nodded curtly and turned to go up the stairs, taking her unspoken thoughts with her. She found she couldn't quite keep the stomp out of her step.
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She had certainly indulged in bouts of self-pity for parts of last year, and the year before. But after awhile, she just accepted she couldn't change it for the time being. High school would end one day, and she'd get out of Lima. And until then? An extra set of clothes in the locker was how she dealt with things. She knew that feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to change anything. It wasn't going to change the once daily slushies, it wasn't going to change her relationship with Shelby, it wasn't going to change the sad and embarrassing way things had ended with Jesse. It wasn't going to make her less of a target.
Her therapist and her dads had helped her see that.
She had seen that Finn the Star Quarterback had always been at a loss when dealing with the negative aspects of being further down on the social ladder than he was accustomed to. And lately? She was finding she was starting to want to tell Finn the Boyfriend to go fuck himself.
She reached the top of the stairs, half-wondering, half-hoping in a way that he would call after her. He didn't. She really shouldn't have expected him to. And she really didn't want him to, she conceded. It just hurt her ego a bit that he let her leave angry and didn't seem to care. She opened the door with a rough twist of her wrist.
She slipped out her phone and with less weighing on her than she thought, and sent the text she had saved as a draft.
Rachel: Are you still at Mercedes? I'm through here. Still want me to come by?
Another deep breath and she schooled her features as she stopped by the kitchen. Kurt looked up with quick eyes.
"Ms. Berry? Is our boy ready to ace his test?"
She cocked her head. "I'm sure he'll do fine."
He let his eyebrow quirk just barely as he turned back to the cabinet and retrieved a casserole dish. Clearly, that was a fun hour of studying, but he didn't let the comment out. He went with a neutral comment.
"So? Are you staying for baked chicken with cauliflower mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus?"
"No, but thank you Kurt. That sounds lovely, and very heart healthy as well." She had great admiration for the job the boy was doing taking care of his dad and making sure he ate correctly.
Kurt made an exasperated noise. "Well, try telling dad that. At least with Finn, I just tell him it's healthy and will help him play better football and develop better muscles. Oh, and I told him I got the recipe from Sam." He shook his head and smirked. "Boys."
She smiled at him. "Indeed. Also, thank you for the tea and…the talk. It was much appreciated. Really."
He nodded as he rinsed the pan and dried it and set it out to use. "Anytime." He looked over at her. "Anything else you want to lay on me?"
Her lips curved at the edges just barely. "You are far too clever by half, Kurt. Not at the moment though. You might use it against me in our divorce in…what? 2025?"
He snickered a little. "I see. Yes, well, let's make it 2020, shall we? I don't want Orlando to wither before I get to him."
She laughed and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Okay, I'm going to say good bye to your dad, unless he's napping?"
"I think he's awake. The game is still on and all. And I hear him muttering in there. Smart money says Finn will be up here watching the end of it any moment."
She rolled her eyes. "Not a bet I'd take."
"Smart girl. As for talking? Well, anytime. I'm here."
She jumped a little as the phone in her pocket buzzed. She ignored it, and tried to ignore the uptick in her pulse. His eyebrow almost met his hairline as he watched her. "Uh, If I'm not mistaken, you have a message. While I appreciate your decorum, feel free to check it."
She raised her eyebrow back and smiled a little slyly. "I'll get to it. I couldn't forgive myself if I were that rude." She wasn't about to give him any more information than he had. At least not at the moment.
He shrugged his shoulders expressively. "Well I guess we're even then. As I certainly couldn't forgive myself for being so rude as to call 'bullshit' on that. Just for instance."
She put both hands in her pockets and nodded a little. "Touché." They looked at each other silently, Kurt trying to get a rise. When it wasn't forthcoming, he sighed. "Can't blame a guy for trying, right?"
She smiled graciously, and sighed with relief feeling mildly victorious for not spilling her guts to her persistent friend. "Of course not. Thanks you Kurt. I'll see you tomorrow."
She strolled quietly down the hall to the living room and poked her head in. Burt Hummel was quietly watching the game.
"Goodbye Mr. Hummel. I hope you enjoy Kurt's dinner. It sounds lovely."
The older man removed his ball cap and scratched his head as he turned to look at her. "Oh Rachel, hi. I thought you might be staying? There should be plenty."
She smiled and shook her head. "Oh thank you, but I've got to get some other studying in as well."
He nodded at her. "Right. Well, have a good one. Think happy thoughts for the Bengals." He turned back quickly. "Dammit! Where the hell is the blocking?" He looked back again. "Oops, excuse me. Pardon my language."
She smiled as she pulled on her pea coat and her scarf. "Not to worry Mr. Hummel, I've heard much worse, I assure you. One of my dads is a fan. He is probably watching now. How are we doing?"
He sighed. "Well, I guess I'd say be extra nice to your dad when you get home. It's not looking promising."
She shook her head in sympathy, and gave him a genuine smile. "Will do, Mr. Hummel. Take care of yourself."
"I'm trying, I'm trying…" he smiled at her and waved. He wondered where Finn was and why he didn't see his girlfriend out. He must be taking this test really seriously. Alternatively, he was just being an idiot.
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The bright day and the brisk air brought back the invigorated feeling that had filled her up when she was exchanging texts with Quinn. The last five minutes with Finn had squelched it out of her. But now it was back. She turned on her car and rolled down the window. She didn't realize how stifled she'd felt for the past hour. She pulled out her phone, nervous to see what it said. She wanted to see the other girl, but it made her anxious too.
Quinn: Good. I'm home of course. And I'd like that.
She resisted the urge to crank the heat before the engine could warm the air up. She didn't resist the urge to grin like an idiot as she texted back.
Rachel: Be there in 15. If I don't get lost.
Quinn: Use your Sixth Sense. Even better, GPS? Dork ; )
She grinned, wondering when she started thinking that Quinn Fabray calling her a dork was a good thing.
Rachel: Kidding. I remember how to get there. Leaving now.
She turned the dial from NPR to music, still grinning like a fool. She stopped when she hit the Motown station when caught the Nina Simone's version of 'O-o-h Child'. Her dads had played it for her when she was younger, just like they had 'Brown Eyed Girl.' Her thoughts flickered to the night before, Quinn singing along with her daddy. She couldn't describe the feeling in her stomach just then, but it was a good feeling.
Fifteen minutes and a few more Motown songs, and she was pulling up to the still impressive, but less formidable Fabray residence. She shut down the motor, and looked at the house. She thought she saw movement in the upstairs window. Looking at the front door, she wished she'd thought to ask which door to knock on. It was all fine to come to the side entrance when it had just been Quinn, Mercedes and Kurt involved. But if her mother was home, then she somehow felt like she should come to the front door, out of respect.
She got out and stood outside the car as she pondered the dilemma.
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Quinn peeked out of her bedroom window. She'd only been home half an hour, and felt like she'd barely had time to freshen up after leaving Mercedes' house. She'd promised to text her or call if she needed to. And Mercedes' had reiterated her pledge to keep her mouth shut and help keep Kurt reeled in if necessary. She was glad she'd been able to share some of what had happened. It had lifted a huge weight off her chest and heart, one she'd barely even had time to gauge the true weight of yet. She had also had noticed a slight drop in frequency of appearances of her inner snark monster. She was suspicious of that development. But…again, less crazy is good.
Oh, I'll be back. Enjoy your furlough.
Awesome. As always.
She looked at her watch and looked out again. Just as she finally saw Rachel's car pull up, she heard her mother calling up to her. "Quinn? Tell me, does your friend like tea? Or juice? We have tea, but I'm picking up more juice at the store."
That was another change itself. Russell Fabray had made sure his castle was a quiet one. Unless of course he was on a tear. Then it wasn't so quiet.
She took a great pleasure in calling loudly back to her.
"Rachel likes tea fine mom, don't worry about it!" She let the curtain drop a little as she looked through day curtains. She saw the brunette in the car, but she hadn't exited it yet. She smiled a little. Maybe she was a little nervous too. Finally she got out.
She was wearing the same jeans and sweater of this morning, with a cute blue pea coat and scarf. Jeans, she repeated to herself and her pleased grin blossomed.
So, looks like she didn't change for Frankenteen after all. She still looks hot, does she not?
She looks worried. Or confused.
Well go get her, Tiger.
So much for furlough from crazy. It was nice while it lasted.
She watched her from the window still. The other girl looked somehow uncomfortable, Quinn thought. Finally it dawned on her that knowing Rachel she probably couldn't decide if she should use the side entrance off the mud room like yesterday or the front door. It didn't matter one way or the other, but she could see Rachel being worried about that sort of thing. She knew her own father would have had a fit if a boy came 'courting' and didn't come to the front door.
So now you see Rachel, and think she's come a'courtin' eh?
Okay. Which language do I need to learn how to say 'fuck off' in exactly?
Well you could try using hand gestures. But then everybody would know about the crazy.
…
She bounded down the stairs to head off the indecision. She opened the front door quickly and stepped out into the cold. The tiny girl turned pivoted towards her, and turned red.
"Hey Rach, either door is fine. Come on in the old-fashioned way if you want though."
She smiled sheepishly, grateful. "Oh, okay, thanks. I wasn't quite sure what to do here."
"No, I get it. You do your fathers proud. My father, not that you should care, would also be impressed." She arched her eyebrow and backed into the entrance again beckoning. "Come on in. Don't be shy. I didn't know you did shy." Her eyes twinkled a bit and she smiled.
Rachel rolled her eyes, chagrined and acknowledged the oddity of Rachel Berry ever acting shy. Quinn reached for her hand and dragged her inside without any self-consciousness. It was perfectly normal for her to grab a friend's hand after all. She might have given it an extra squeeze though.
"You look cold. Mom's in the kitchen. Come on." She gave what she hoped looked like an encouraging smile as she jerked her head towards the more cozy back area. She leaned down close by the shorter girl's shoulder near her ear and whispered. "My mom is nothing like my dad. Don't be intimidated."
The diva smiled and jerked her neck a little. "Ears. Watch the ears."
Quinn barely covered the smug look that wanted to creep over her. She managed to look innocent. Which was feasible, as it had been an accident after all. A happy accident maybe. She leaned in again anyway, happy to have an easy excuse to do it again. "She's going to want you to call her Judy, fyi, not Mrs. Fabray."
Rachel pulled up short and attempted to give her a hard look and the she looked down at her arm meaningfully. The taller girl pressed her lips, trying to stop the smile as she saw the goosebumps. The smaller girl gave her a look that clearly said 'I told you so.' Quinn eyed her and started to lean in again. Rachel tilted her head away. "Ah ah."
The blonde smirked a little as she whispered. "I was just going to say…I'm glad you came. I…missed you."
Before Rachel could react, Quinn shrugged her shoulders matter-of-factly and pulled her along. As they rounded the corner. Quinn squeezed her hand before she released it, leaving Rachel's head reeling, and her heart thumping. Where had all the control from this morning gone?
"Hey mom, you may not have met Rachel before, I'm not sure. But I know you've heard her sing at our performances."
Judy turned to face them. "I have. I have indeed. You have the most lovely voice Rachel."
The older woman looked cheerful, if a little tired. Not at all what Rachel had pictured. "Oh thank you much Mrs.—"
The woman stopped her. "Oh, please. Call me Judy."
Rachel nodded, grateful that Quinn had warned her. "Well, thank you so much Judy. It's a pleasure to meet you. Your daughter also has a lovely voice, and her dance moves really contribute, just…so much to Glee."
Quinn crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the breakfast nook. She was almost shocked that the diva had edited out any references to being sharp on certain notes.
"Oh Rach. Mom knows Brittany is the dancer. Sure, I hold my own with the dancing and singing. But mom, everyone knows that Rachel is, well, pretty much top of the Glee pyramid if you will. With Mercedes and Kurt as strong contenders."
Rachel flushed under the compliment. This was just so weird. Forget all the obvious admittedly wonderful strangeness of the weekend. Quinn Fabray complimenting her in front of her mother was almost too much for her to take.
Judy turned on the water at the sink. "Well, Quinn said you two had some assignment to discuss or a test to study for. I'll fill the kettle here, just turn it on when you're ready. I'm afraid I now have to attend to the odious chore of running to the store the weekend before Thanksgiving."
Rachel made a sympathetic hiss. "I feel for you. I believe we'll be doing that as well maybe tomorrow. So I hope it isn't too bad for you Mrs…Judy." She smiled her most winning adult pleasing smile.
"From your lips to God's ears. I'll leave some turkey for your family to pick up. Oh, wait, Quinn said you're vegetarian. Do you eat that soy… what is it called?"
"Tofurkey? Yes, we, or I should say I do. My dads go for the more…traditional option." Quinn held her breath. Rachel had just casually inserted the fact that she had two dads in with another something less than traditional view. She eyed her mother surreptitiously. The older woman had a thoughtful, surprised look on her face.
"Well, if this Tofurkey thing is cheaper than a real one, I may be right there with you next year Rachel." Quinn subtly released her breath. Judy looked at her and the tiniest quirk of her eyebrow and smiled knowingly. "How about it Quinnie, shall I pick some up this year?"
The blonde's eyes got wide. "Uh, maybe next year mom. I kinda had my heart set on some dark meat this year? Sorry Rach."
"Hey, that's between you and your conscience and the turkey." She said it with good humor though.
Judy and Rachel both laughed. "I'm afraid that Quinn isn't used to change. And there has been a lot of it around here lately. Maybe I'll just keep with the status quo as far as Thanksgiving this year. I want to make sure she and her sister have enough to eat."
Quinn looked at her, surprised. "Is Em coming? Really?"
Judy took a deep breath and sighed. "I honestly don't know. She said she might."
Quinn smiled at her mom. "Huh. Okay, that would be…nice." Judy nodded and smiled back. Then she turned and went to the mudroom.
She pulled her coat on and picked up her keys and purse and smiled at the girls. "You two study hard. I'll be back…eventually." As she pulled the door almost shut she called back to her daughter. "I'll pick up some fruit if the prices aren't highway robbery."
Quinn smiled tightly. "Only if it's not sky high, okay mom?"
Rachel waved at Judy as she pulled the door shut without answering.
The door shut and they were alone.
"So." Quinn held out her hands.
"So…" Rachel tilted her head.
At a loss now, Quinn fumbled. "Well, shall we?"
Rachel crossed her arms, and answered slowly. "Shall we what?"
She wasn't making this easy, Quinn realized with a mental sigh. "Well, I thought we might go upstairs. To my room? And talk?
Rachel pursed her lips and nodded and her lips quirked. "Talk. Talking is good."
She could see and feel the effort it was taking both of them not to smile at each other, and it buoyed her just a little. She bit her lower lip and held it with her teeth. She dared a wink. "Yes, talking is good. Come on. I don't bite."
Very nice, Q.
Yeah, somehow I thought you'd like that.
Rachel raised her eyebrow at her, as her mind filled with thoughts other things that Quinn had done with her teeth. She shook her head and tread carefully behind the girl up the stairs.
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Rachel entered the room, Quinn's sanctuary, trying to gather her thoughts. And all thoughts were now leading to the girl casually motioning for her to enter, smiling at her. She stepped inside, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
The abnormally silent brunette took a big breath like she was going to say something. Instead, she just looked at the other girl, taking her in. She looked gorgeous, just in her jeans and earthy green sweater. Her face and eyes were a combination of confidence and shyness. Probably because of the way Rachel had left her hanging just this morning. Her honorable declarations of honorable-ish intentions. That all seemed absolutely ridiculous now.
They'd been, well frankly, flirting all afternoon over texts. Hazel eyes held hers for a bit, then dropped. Rachel watched her toy with her lip, probably biting it again.
Enough was enough. The diva dropped her bag abruptly, and turned and shut the door firmly, keeping her hand on the door and back to Quinn for a moment. The cheerleader watched her, not sure what was coming next from the suddenly agitated looking girl.
Quinn took a deep breath and started to walk towards her speaking soothingly, pleading. "Rachel, hey, talk to me. That's why we're here, right?"
The hand Rachel held to the door smacked it suddenly and she turned around, her eyes were filled with something a bit wild, a bit out of control. It was not something the cheerleader had seen before. At least not in daylight. She stopped and waited for the suddenly feisty looking girl to continue. She felt like Rachel held all the power right now anyway. She held her breath when she finally spoke.
"We can and will talk. I promise you. We need to. I know we need to. But right now? Right now I feel like if I don't kiss you, I'm going to just explode." Quinn had the decency to look at least a little surprised. The taller girl took another tentative step forward, but the diva kept talking. "I don't know what I was thinking this morning, I'm so sorry if I made you feel like you were being worse than me somehow because I was trying…to I don't know."
Quinn moved quickly to her, catching the smaller hands that had become so animated and agitated. She stilled them. "Hey, hey. Stop it Rachel. Just…you? Again with the talking too much."
Dark brown eyes looked up, full of apology and guilt all at once. Quinn wanted to want to be more honorable, but she didn't have it in her, not as she looked down at those eyes and those lips. Rachel pulled her hands free gently, and Quinn felt one of them at her cheek and one at the back of her head, pulling her down to those warm soft lips. There was a whimper and a groan as their lips slid together with new found familiarity.
After a moment, she felt teeth nipping at her lip and she groaned again; she pulled away a bit and her head spun, and the room swam a bit around her. That wouldn't do, so she reached out behind the shorter girl, hoping to feel the solidity of the door behind her. Thankfully, it was there. Quinn put her other hand to a narrow hip and moved forward, pushing Rachel inexorably, backing her up to the door with a thud. Rachel groaned and tightened her grip, pulling Quinn down again, kissing her fiercely.
It wasn't a sweet kiss, and it wasn't gentle either, but it was explosive, sending blood rushing everywhere again. Small hands fisted at her sweater down by her waist bunching it up to get to the skin beneath. Warm hands on her abdomen ghosted upwards and sent those damn goosebumps everywhere again. She pulled back and away, breathing hard. Her hands were fisted into Rachel's v-neck sweater at her collarbone. She moved one of her hands from the death grip there to cup the other girl's cheek gently. Then she leaned in and kissed the soft lips as gently as she possibly could. When she pulled away, Rachel smiled and leaned into the hand cupping her cheek. Something rustled next to her and she looked at it.
Quinn had to work hard to focus her eyes, and then giggled. Rachel started to giggle too, unable to help herself. It was just an extra clean Cheerios uniform, but it somehow struck them both as funny in the moment.
When the giggling subsided after a moment, they both took deep breaths and slowed their breathing.
Quinn looked serious after a moment though. She murmured her admission. "I…missed you. This. You. Kissing you. Which seems…"
"Impossible?" Rachel offered it meekly. Then she looked up. "Me too."
Quinn's lips curved a little and she whispered and she looked up at the ceiling. "Now what?" She felt the tip of a nose prodding her chin. She smiled and looked down into her earnest face.
"Well, I hate to be practical right now, and so do…other parts of my body. But, your mom will be home at an undetermined time, yes? So I think maybe we had better maybe actually talk or study. Or, something besides this. Because…yeah, this is doing things to me."
Quinn chuckled. "You and me both." But she nodded reluctantly. And moved her hands back to the gently hold the now very rumpled sweater. She tried to straighten it, with little effect.
"So…talking or studying are acceptable." She looked down at the chocolate eyes.
"Talking and studying." Rachel confirmed. Quinn released her hold and started to back away.
Rachel held her in place though, as she took her own hold of Quinn's sweater. Her eyes twinkled. "In a minute. Your mom's hardly had time to even get to the store."
"This is true…"
Quinn found herself turned around and it was her turn to hit the door with a slightly harder thud and a louder involuntary groan. Smiling against lips straining a bit to reach hers, she bent her knees just a little; immediately the petite body slipped into the gap, pressed fully against her.
I have led you to the land of milk and honey, have I not, chica?
Clearly I'm busy here. Shoo.
She pulled back a bit and grinned, Rachel looked a little dazed. "God you're beautiful, Quinn." Then she grinned back, eyes bright and shiny.
The smell of vanilla and something different than yesterday wafted around her. She spared a millisecond to feel eternally grateful it wasn't some mix of Rachel scent and Finn's cologne.
"You're gorgeous, Rachel." Then she wasted no time as she pulled her diva in again, running her tongue across plump lips, losing herself in the taste and smell and feel of the girl, intent on enjoying herself for at least the next few minutes.
The land of milk and honey? God it felt like it.
No, no, no need to thank me Q. Really.
Five minutes? Can't I have five minutes?
Like I have a damn snooze button…
A/N: Go Liverpool! It's a tough weekend at the Liverpool homestead, as its derby day…We play Arsenal, and gf is a Gunner fan. Boo hiss. Well not really. I just hope it's a good game. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and that things look more like they're going in an acceptable direction at this point…? : )