Chapter 4: The Park

Saturday morning blew by, and Fae stood in Central Park alone. Clouds flooded the sky, with a chill breeze blowing by, sweeping the leaves across the concrete pathways. Fae checked her phone, 9:15 am. God this is so early. Fae was nervous, flipping through her bag to pull out a vape. After a long inhale and exhaling her anxieties, Fae checked her phone again.

"Hey, running late, will be there in 5!"

Without thinking, Fae took another hit. Why was she so nervous this time? I guess this was their first official date, no kids, no blaring club nights, no alcohol. Just sober Quinn and Fae. That was it. This was the true test of compatibility.

Fae threw the vape into her bag as exactly 5 minutes passed. To her surprise Quinn was walking up the path, waving her arms at the pink-haired girl.

"Fae!"

Fae smiled, walking over to meet her date. The two threw their arms around each other, the warmth from the body heat much needed in the colder weather.

"Shall we walk?" Quinn held out her arm for the shorter girl to hold onto.

Fae linked her arm through, sticking her hand in her pocket. She hummed a sound of agreement and the two marched on.

/

"What brought you to New York?" Quinn faced forward. "I mean, why would you even leave Canada in the first place to come down here."

"I got a job offer." Fae kept it simple. "I met some people back home, they liked what I did, and then boom, I sold my condo and was on a plane to New York City." Fae turned her head up towards Quinn. "What about you?"

"Well," Quinn cleared her throat. "I was running away from an ex."

Fae's eyes widened. "Wasn't expecting that answer"

Quinn laughed. "I know, it sounds really stupid, but that's the reason." Quinn's smile died as she shook her head. "She was perfect for me, or so I thought. She was beautiful, funny, smart…"

Fae huffed in jealousy. "I see."

"Don't be like that, trust me." Quinn looked over to Fae in reassurance. "She turned to god. She turned away from me and our family."

"Our family?"

"She had Hazel with me."

"Oh-"

"Yeah. She just walked away from it all just a year after she was born. Hazel barely knows her." Quinn's head hung down disappointedly with pain in her eyes.

"So what is she doing now?" Fae turned her head to give Quinn a questioned look.

"She's a pastor, back in my hometown in Lima."

"Still dedicated I see."

"Yep. I brought me and Hazel up to New York because I knew that's what was best for us. My mom gave me money to start up the New York Bean and well, things are going great for us."

"Have you been back to Lima since then?"

"No. I can't. I can't face her. Besides, most of my friends from Lima moved here or the west coast, so there's not much of a reason to go back."

"Like Rachel? …And Santana?"

"Right-" Quinn's tone picked up. "Let's not talk about them anymore, shall we?"

/

Fae and Quinn continued their walk about the park, talking about their families and their daily lives in the big apple.

"Seven siblings? Really?"

"I'm serious, look!"

Fae held her phone to Quinn, the glaring light from the screen causing Quinn to squint.

"My god." Quinn's eyes widened. "Oh, you're getting a call."

"Eh? Oh shit, I am." Fae felt the phone buzz as she flipped it towards her to see the call display.

"Fae speaking."

"Fae, something's bad happened." It was Marie. "The Beast, we found his accomplices. They call themselves 'The Court', they were the ones who attacked the LA office."

"Any further details on them?" Fae furrowed her eyebrows.

"Nothing yet, we're getting some research done about them as we speak, but it's not looking good. They're going to plan another attack soon but we don't know where."

"How secure is the office?"

"We're doing what we can, but this time it may be a more public attack. They know we have the place barricaded, and coming to us would be too easy. We have to be ready." Marie's voice was genuine with worry.

"Make sure everyone is prepared, and update me as soon as you get any sort of news on them."

"Of course, expect a message from Marley soon."

"Alright, thanks." Fae swallowed a bitter lump in her throat.

"Take care."

Fae held onto her phone tightly.

"Everything okay?" Quinn turned to stop Fae, putting her arm on her shoulder.

Fae held back tears. "Just work."

"Hey, no. Fae." Quinn could see right through the younger girl. "Something else is going on. Did you want to talk about it?"

"No, I mean," Fae looked away. "If I told you, you would never believe me."

"Try me."

Fae swallowed hard. "Just a lot of conflicts, we have someone from overseas here and they're helping us sort the conflict. Just a lot of fighting is all." Fae felt bad, what she said was the truth, but just so much smaller than the grand scale of the problem.

Fae swallowed her feelings as Quinn wrapped her arm around the shorter girl, wrapping her in a warm hug. Fae was surprised at the action, as this kind of affection was foreign. Emotions swirled throughout her head, remembering the countless girls pushing themselves onto Fae, loveless nights, and cold embraces.

Fae pulled herself away from Quinn, looking up into her green eyes. Fae averted her eyes, only to be met with Quinn's hand grasping onto her jaw, pulling her assertively into a kiss. The younger girl melted, reaching to place her hand gently over Quinn's.

"Thank you…"

Quinn burst into a chuckle. "For what exactly?"

"For just, treating me like someone more than just an object, or a nightstand."

"A nightstand?" Quinn's smile could barely hold in laughter.

"You know," Fae's smile was cheeky, and eventually the two girls erupted in laughter.

/

The two girls ended up at a brunch spot a friend of Quinn's recommended.

"You like eggs benedict?"

"Do I!" Fae smiled big. "Smoked salmon, a favourite. They have it in every restaurant back home."

"For me, bacon is where it's at." Quinn smiled back.

"Do you go out with Hazel at all?"

"Occasionally," Quinn took a bite of her food. "Usually it's her and Piper… she can't go anywhere unless Piper is there with her."

"Does Rachel give you any money for this?"

"Sometimes, but I'm more than welcome to help," Quinn put her fork down. "It's almost like taking after two children. Rachel is so busy and barely even looks after Piper, but then I'm so busy I feel like I barely look after Hazel." Quinn shook her head. "Santana and she are so close, Santana does so much for Hazel…"

Fae could tell Quinn was getting emotional, as she watched her date hold back tears.

"Quinn, hey, it's okay"

"No, no it's not…" Quinn swallowed her tears. "I should really be a better mom"

"Quinn, I think you're a great mom, we went out with the kids, they love you so much, I can see it!"

"We were drinking, I barely even remember" Quinn looked down at her mimosa.

"Quinn, they still had fun, we kept 'em safe, hey, don't worry, okay? I'm here." Fae held her hand over Quinn's back, rubbing slow circles. Fae looked around the restaurant before looking back at the older girl. "Hey, how about one day, you, me, and Hazel go out together, no drinks, just sober fun. We can head down to the square, or watch a musical or something."

"She loves musicals." Quinn smiled through her tears.

"Yeah!" Fae cheered. "Why don't we do that sometime? My treat."

Quinn laughed. Finally a real smile. "Okay, sure, why not."

The girls continued their meals, Quinn grabbing the cheque. "My treat this time, okay?" Quinn rubbed her thumb against Fae's cheek.

The two walked out of the restaurant and strolled down the street, working off the massive meal they just ate.

"Quinn?" Fae broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"Would it be too much to ask-"

"Nothing is too much to ask."

"Well," Fae blushed. "You want to try…"

"Try…?" Quinn pried.

"...Try the whole girlfriend thing?" Fae couldn't bear to meet Quinn's eyes.

Quinn stopped in her tracks to meet the shorter girl. "Fae."

Fae stopped and slowly moved her head towards the taller girl, eyes distant to hers.

"Of course,"

Fae's eyes widened as she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you lesbian Jesus."

"What?" Quinn's smile was beaming, confused.

Fae wrapped her arms around the taller girl as they pulled into a kiss, magnetic and whole. Fae could get used to this.

"So, text you later?"

"Of course, my beautiful girlfriend," Quinn smirked.

Fae could get used to this.

/