Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the shows/books/films quoted.
I hope you'll enjoy! (Also, if you want, review so I will now what you think about the story! Constructive criticism is also appreciated as long as it's polite and helpful)
Here we are with the second part of the Christmas chapter.
And surprisingly, the chapter title is not from Friends, but it's from a song from the musical Les Misérables. The song is Do you hear the people sing?, if you have the chance, I truly recommend you to watch the movie, because it's amazing. (Also, I kind of wished they did a Les Mis episode in glee, and Santana would totally play Eponine.)
Manonvm3: you're totally right, and my point is exactly that Rachel doesn't want to "cure" Quinn's autism, but she loves her because of that; nevertheless, Quinn feels more relaxed and she can be herself in Rachel's presence. I appreciate your review, thank you for reading! :)
Once again, enjoy! ;)
-Chapter ten-
Do you hear the people sing?
Rachel Berry's gigantic Christmas pajama party was relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, and almost everyone was already asleep. That was a first. In fact, Rachel could recall Santana saying: 'Oh, dios mio, we're aging so bad!'
Of course, a few of them were drunk. Santana wasn't that drunk, because she wanted to stay sober for her first engagement night, but she did start crying and rambling when Quinn had told her, with all the innocence she had, that she thought Santana could sing Back to Black better than Amy Winehouse herself.
Now, they were all laying in the big living room, like they were a group of teenage girls during a pajama party – Rachel had locked her bedroom, just in case Brittany and Santana had decided they wanted to celebrate the engagement with their sweet lady kisses. – Quinn and Rachel were curled up together on the beanbag. Rachel was cuddled up against Quinn's chest, her head ducked in the space between Quinn's chin and collarbone. The blonde was holding her tightly, like she always did. Rachel was honestly surprised by how Quinn managed to be delicate and sweet, while she was holding her that tight. Rachel, as always, was intoxicated by the familiar scent that she was inhaling, with her nose and lips pressed softly against the pale neck. It was sweet, but with a hint of chlorine. She loved it.
Rachel wasn't sleeping, and she knew Quinn wasn't too, because her fingers were tapping their usual jingle on Rachel's back. Rachel snuggled closer to her, and she lightly kissed Quinn's neck. The blonde shivered a little, and Rachel giggled. She loved taking by surprise the blonde.
"Y-you're a-awake?" Quinn murmured, trying to not talk too loudly.
"Barely" Rachel admitted softly, tilting her head up to place a kiss on Quinn's cheek, on the corner of her mouth, "I don't know if you noticed, you probably did, but it's almost three in the morning."
Quinn nodded and smiled. Of course she noticed, her personal clock was always ticking in a corner of her brain.
"Happy Christmas, sweetie" Rachel mumbled, kissing gently Quinn on her lips. She felt her gorgeous blonde smiling against her mouth. "I can't wait for tomorrow morning, you know? Even if I celebrate Hannukah, my parents managed to celebrate Christmas too, and every Christmas' morning I used to run downstairs with a red pajama and Daddy was waiting with his camera, while Dad was making hot chocolate for everyone."
Quinn's nose scrunched a little, because she didn't quite like the association between Rachel, the person she loved, and the red color, the thing she hated, but the thought of an overexcited little Rachel Berry was just pure.
"H-happy Christmas, R-Rae" Quinn mumbled back. "Did y-you know that S-Santa Claus actual c-costume was d-diffused by the C-Coca Cola C-Company?"
Rachel wanted really badly to just kiss Quinn more, maybe until the sunrise, but the alcohol in her body was begging her to go to sleep. She pecked her blonde once more, nodding and whispering a blurred 'didn't know', then she just rested her head on Quinn's chest, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Goodnight, Quinnie" Rachel with a blurred voice. Quinnie. Rachel called her that when she was exhausted and about to fall asleep, and Quinn loved it.
"Goodnight, R-Rae" Quinn tenderly replied. R-Rae. Rachel loved being Quinn's R-Rae.
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve was going to be celebrated at Kurt and Blaine's new home. They moved in there a few weeks earlier, and they wanted to accommodate everyone in their 'Diva obsessed kind of loft, I mean, is that really a Madonna's autograph?', as Santana had said.
Rachel was intentioned to look gorgeous for her Quinnie's first midnight kiss, but she ended up wearing two sweaters, one jumper and a scarf, as everyone else, since Blaine and Kurt's loft was frozen. There wasn't a heating system yet, and the group was freezing.
"Next year, we're staying at Berry's again" Santana growled, wrapped in Brittany's arms, both of them nested into a big blanket.
"Don't be mean, San, they're trying to be nice" Brittany reproached her fiancée like she wasn't some snarky kid.
"And besides, do I have to remember you when you basically forced us all to go diving in the ocean and the next they we were all feverish?" Blaine snapped.
"So this is your personal revenge, Warbler?" Santana growled "And we had lots of fun that time, didn't we?"
"Seeing sharks swimming three meters away from you is not fun" Tina replied, still shivering at the thought.
"But we did saw dolphins too" Brittany added, trying to defend Santana, "Dolphins were cute."
While the group continued chatting, Quinn turned to see Rachel with wide eyes and her jaw fell a little.
"What?" Rachel asked slightly worried by Quinn's face. The girl was snapping her fingers, a thing that she only did when she was incredibly happy or just curious. In the other hand, she was holding a blue Gatorade popsicle, and Rachel's face twisted every single time a blue drop risked to fall in her lap.
"D-did you s-saw d-dolphins?" Quinn asked, the corners of her mouth were curling up in an astonished smile.
"I was a little terrified by the sharks, but yes, we did saw dolphins too" Rachel relaxed, caressing Quinn's cheek. Just because she could. The blonde looked like she was about to literally drop her jaw, and Rachel could see sparkles in her magnificent hazel eyes.
"H-how were th-they?" Quinn asked adoring.
"You know…" Rachel took on purpose a lot of time to go on, because she wanted to see Quinn's curiosity grow. Just cute. "I will not go diving anymore in my life, that was terrifying, but… there is a place outside the city, called the Aquarium were you can swim with dolphins." Rachel chuckled when she saw Quinn's hazel eyes go wide. "I was thinking that maybe, if you want to, we could go."
"A-are they, l-like… prisoners?" Quinn asked, suddenly worried. That was one of the reasons why she never went to the zoo: she didn't like see animals in small cages.
"No, sweetie, I've already checked. They were found injured and kind people took them at the Aquarium yo help them recover. Sometimes, they can even come back to the ocean, if they rehab properly."
"Y-you're sure th-they treat the d-dolphins well?" Quinn asked unsure.
"I'm totally sure, Quinnie" Rachel said, "But if you don't want to, we can totally…"
"Y-you would r-really do th-that? F-for me?" Quinn asked. She wanted to go so badly, but she also knew that swimming and animals weren't exactly Rachel's favorite things.
"Of course, sweetie" Rachel chuckled, and Quinn threw her arms around the brunette's shoulders, squeezing her so tight that she couldn't breathe. But Rachel didn't care, as long as Quinn was happy. Rachel could feel Quinn snapping her fingers and tapping them against the brunette's shoulders.
"I-I love y-you" Quinn murmured softly into Rachel's neck, kissing her cheek and then her lips. It was meant to be just one peck, but then Rachel cupped her girlfriend's face with her hands, her fingers tangling in Quinn's golden locks.
"Love you too, sweetie" Rachel hummed.
"Asqueroso, get a room!" Santana said, who was currently sitting in Brittany's lap, her hands laced behind Brittany's neck, their lips only inches from each other.
"Says who" Rachel grumbled, but she sat back next to Quinn, laying her head against her shoulder. "Three minutes until midnight, fellas!"
Blaine stepped out of the kitchen with Sam and Kurt. The boys were holding champagne flutes and a champagne bottle.
"We need raisin!" Brittany squealed, running to the kitchen, and Santana just looked at her adoring, while the others were a bit confused.
"H-have you ev-ever… kissed s-someone at mid-midnight?" Quinn asked quietly, her cheeks were apple red. Rachel chuckled and moved Quinn's blond bangs from her forehead.
"I have" Rachel nodded, "But never with a person I love. You know, you're supposed to spend the new year how you spend New Year's Eve."
Quinn nodded shyly. She knew it.
Rachel stared at her intensely, while everybody around them was frenetically moving around to reach their loved ones and their champagne flutes, the two of them were just staring at each other. Rachel's hands travelled softly on Quinn's bare arms – she never understood how the blonde could not freeze – and her deep and gentle eyes were running on Quinn's face.
"Good intentions for the new year?" Rachel whispered.
"M-manage to t-tell a whole t-tongue-t-twister without st-stuttering" Quinn honestly said, and Rachel couldn't help but burst out giggling at the cuteness. Quinn frowned interrogatively.
"You'll do it, Q, I promise" Rachel said, "I'll help you."
"P-publish my b-book" Quinn blurted out, and the look on her face was just priceless, with her hazel eyes widely open and her mouth open in an adorable 'o'. She didn't mean to say it out loud, she was only thinking it. Rachel was seriously messing with her head. In a good way, though.
Rachel was a bit confused. Publish? What book? Was Quinn writing a book? Was Quinn writing at all? She opened her mouth as to speak, but the words didn't come, and before she could formulate a question, she heard her friends starting the countdown.
"Fifty-six… fifty-five… fifty-four…"
"You're writing a book?" she finally asked. Time slowed down for Quinn. She didn't mean to say it out loud, no one, absolutely no one knew about her Prussian blue notebook filled with sketches and drafts. For a second, before Quinn could actually hear what Rachel was going to say, she thought the tiny diva was going to tell her that was impossible, the dream of a child, or…
"That sounds amazing, Quinn" Rachel honestly said, with the warmest smile Quinn ever saw. The blonde barely heard Santana and Blaine shout 'twelve… eleven…ten…', because the brunette was talking fast, "I didn't knew it, but you're so good with words, I remember when you made me read that thing you wrote in High School…"
Quinn shushed Rachel with a deep kiss, holding her tightly and keeping her close wither hands, which were firmly cupping Rachel's cheeks. All around them, everyone was cheering the new year, and fireworks started. Fireworks started in Quinn's stomach as well.
Rachel was left breathless, but she wrapped her arms around Quinn, standing on her tiptoes to catch the blonde lips. They eventually parted a little, their noses brushing against each other.
"I love you, Quinn" Rachel murmured, caressing Quinn's cheek and jawline, lost in those incredible hazel eyes.
"I l-love you too, R-Rae" Quinn replied softly.
"Happy new year, bitches!" a very drunk Santana run towards them, forcing the two girls to separate from each other, because the Latina was almost falling from her heels, and she needed some kind of support.
"Happy new year, San" Rachel chuckled, while Quinn called Brittany to come and pick up her drunk fiancée.
"D-did you know I'm getting- getting married?" Santana asked, with slurred voice, holding high her champagne flute, as for cheer with some invisible person.
"I very much do" Rachel said, and Brittany helped her laying Santana on a couch. "You're lucky we're sleeping here, Britts." Rachel commented, still grinning.
"Next time, I'll forbid her to drink more than two glasses of wine" Brittany murmured, "Lord Tubbington said I could let her drink as much as she wanted, but you know, taking advices from an ex-alcohol addicted is not the best."
A few minutes later, they were all leaned over the window, watching a group of volunteers singing some Christmas' song in the crowded streets.
"Oh, I wish so bad we were there!" Rachel said, "Next year, we'll totally do that."
"On my dead body, Berry" replied Santana, and Rachel just scoffed.
Later that night, Quinn and Rachel were almost asleep, like everyone else in the Hummel-Anderson loft. Quinn couldn't really fall asleep, even if Rachel's embrace was warm and comfortable. She was listening to some people in a street that must have been a few houses away from there, singing We wish you a Merry Christmas.
"Why are you still awake, sweetie?" Rachel whispered, feeling Quinn's fingers tapping on her shoulders. Two taps, one tap, five quick taps.
"Do y-you hear the s-singing?" Quinn asked.
"Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men… okay, sorry, just habit" Rachel chuckled, humming softly the song, "Yeah, I hear them. Are they bothering you? Because I'm quite sure I could go down there and make a mess if…"
"I-it's fine, R-Rae" Quinn smiled lovingly at her, even if the brunette couldn't see her in the dark room.
"Ugh, can you two just shut up?" Noah snorted from his place on the camping mattress on the ground.
Quinn giggled and closed her eyes, inhaling Rachel's scent and squeezing her a bit, just because she could.