A/N: It's Day 5! I'm not gonna lie, this turned out a bit sadder than I was anticipating, but it warms my heart, and I hope you enjoy it.
Day 5: Kissing
There's nothing Quinn loves more than spending time with Rachel. Whether it's stolen moments in the school bathrooms, during Glee, after school at Rachel's house, or the rare occasion when they can go out somewhere together, Quinn cherishes every moment.
They're young, and they're in love, and Quinn loves every second she has with her. Especially days like today when they can get out of Lima for a day and fade into the anonymity of the real world around them.
"You ready to go, Rach?" Quinn asks after she pulls into the parking lot of the park.
They're far out of Lima today, just over an hour and a half out, at Griggs Reservoir Park in Columbus. It's a date, an escape from the confines of Lima, where they can just be themselves without worrying anyone they know will see. They've brought a picnic blanket, a bag full of snacks, a deck of cards, a book or two, Quinn's guitar, and their "love for each other," Rachel had said with a grin on her face.
Rachel leans over the center console and kisses her briefly. "Now I am." She says with a smile.
They exit the car and grab all of their things from the trunk, Quinn grabbing her guitar from the backseat and slinging it over her shoulder. She's carrying the food in one hand, and she grabs Rachel's free hand with hers, intertwining their fingers together. Rachel lifts their hands up, pressing a kiss to the back of Quinn's hand, and swings their hands between them as they walk out onto the grassy field to find a spot to sit down. After a few minutes of walking, they come across a small tree in a semi-secluded corner of the field that casts a small bit of shade over the grass in front of it, and they stop walking to set their things out.
Rachel lays out the blanket, and Quinn sets the bag down on top of it. Slinging her guitar off of her shoulder, she lays it down at the end of the blanket and sits down at the top. Rachel sits next to her, placing the rest of their things off to the side for now.
"It's such a gorgeous day out today." Rachel observes.
Quinn grins and says, "Not as gorgeous as you." She really makes it too easy sometimes.
Rachel flushes and leans into Quinn, resting her head on her shoulder and a hand on her leg. Quinn presses a kiss to the top of her head and lets out a deep breath. She relaxes, sinking into the feeling of Rachel's body next to hers.
She relaxes in a way that she never can back home, not with everyone's eyes constantly on her, scrutinizing her every single move. It's exhausting sometimes. Quinn's constantly being watched, judged, observed. She may enjoy being popular, but, unlike her girlfriend, Quinn doesn't always love the spotlight. She's a naturally reserved person, and being with Rachel has only challenged her more to find little moments of solitude and peace within her chaotic days. But she doesn't mind sharing those moments with Rachel, not in the slightest. It's finding those moments that is the hard part when there are always eyes on her.
Here, in Columbus, Quinn can breathe. She can relax and be with her girlfriend, knowing that everyone they know is miles and miles away. They can just be, without fear of scrutiny. It's a blessing that Quinn never takes for granted when she gets it, and one that she envisions her future to contain much more of.
After a few minutes, Rachel moves to grab them some food, and Quinn reaches to take her acoustic guitar out of its case. (Sam taught her to play after she expressed interest, and she's certainly no professional, but she is quite adept with most basic chords and finger patterns.) Rachel helps her tune the instrument by humming pitches as Quinn adjusts the pegs to be in tune with her voice.
The best part about playing guitar is that Rachel loves to sing along to any song that Quinn knows how to play, and Quinn loves to hear Rachel sing.
So that's what they do. Quinn looks up the chords to songs and strums them out while Rachel sings. It's enjoyable for them both; Rachel gets to sing and watch Quinn play while Quinn gets to play and hear Rachel sing. They couldn't make a better duo if they tried.
"Oh!" Quinn suddenly says after she finishes a song. "I made Sam help me learn this one song the other day because I know you like it."
Rachel's intrigued, and Quinn looks down at her hands to make sure she gets the finger patterns right. She begins playing, quickly looking up to see the recognition wash over Rachel's face. Quinn smiles when Rachel's face lights up and nods for Quinn to take the intro.
"I don't know you, but I want to all the more for that," Quinn sings softly, and Rachel joins in with the harmony on the next line. "Words fall through me and always fool me, and I can't react."
Their voices blend together seamlessly for the rest of the song. Quinn loves hearing Rachel's voice, especially on these softer songs where she knows Rachel isn't so worried about trying to sound good and just lets her natural talent shine through. When the song comes to an end as Quinn strums the final chord, they look at each other for a moment. Quinn sees the adoration shining in Rachel's eyes that she knows is reflected in her own. She places her guitar in its case and gestures for Rachel to come closer to her. Rachel crawls over and settles in between Quinn's legs, her back to Quinn's front.
Quinn wraps her arms around Rachel and whispers, "I love you."
Placing her hands over Quinn's, Rachel turns her head to meet her eyes. "I love you, too."
Rachel leans up and kisses her, and Quinn gladly kisses her back. Her eyes fall shut as she memorizes this moment, this feeling of complete and utter content, the sensation of Rachel's lips against hers and the overwhelming feeling of love that accompanies it.
It's a perfect kiss, a perfect feeling, a perfect moment, a perfect day.
"Mommy, why are they kissing?"
At the sound of a young girl's voice, Quinn turns her head away from Rachel. The girl, maybe four years old, and her mother are walking through the field a number of feet in front of them. A look of disdain crosses over the mother's face, and Quinn tightens her hold on Rachel.
"Don't look at them." The mother spits out. "It's wrong. They're wrong. Let's keep walking."
Quinn's entire body tenses up as the mother grabs her daughter's hand and pulls her along. She watches them walk away, an odd sense of discomfort coming over her. Suddenly, she has the overwhelming urge to put some distance between them, so she does, letting go of Rachel and scooting backwards.
"Quinn?" Rachel says softly, "Baby, don't worry about them. That woman is just a small-minded, ignorant bigot."
Quinn nods and moves to the other side of the blanket to start eating some of the food Rachel had prepared. She picks up a grape and tosses it at Rachel, earning a groan from her, and Quinn smiles at the reaction.
The rest of the day goes on, and Quinn loves spending the time with her girlfriend, but she can't seem to distract herself from the recurring image of the look of disgust on that woman's face.
Later that day, when they've gotten back to Rachel's house for dinner, Quinn still can't shake the image of that woman's face out of her head.
She knows not everyone will accept her and Rachel's relationship. Obviously, she knows that. That's the entire reason why Quinn's parents don't know about them, nor does anyone outside of the Glee club and Rachel's fathers. That's the entire reason why they have to drive almost two hours away from their hometown to be able to go on a proper date together. That's the entire reason why she can't wait until she can leave for college and get out of this hellhole that is Lima, Ohio.
Homophobia is rampant across the country, especially in Lima, but Quinn has never had to deal with it herself. Not before today, at least. She's listened to far too many of her father's lectures about The Gays, and she's seen the bullying that Kurt has faced at school, and she's heard stories from Rachel about what she has dealt with regarding her dads. She's obviously aware of it.
There's just something different about it when the hatred is directed at her. When Quinn is the one at the end of a repulsed gaze and being told that her love is "wrong."
It hurt. It still hurts, hours later, and she can't find it in herself to just get over it in the same way that Rachel already seems to have.
She's sitting in the kitchen with Rachel and her dads when Hiram asks how their day went.
"It was wonderful." Rachel gushes. "The weather was so nice, and we just had the most lovely day. Right, Quinn?"
Averting her eyes, Quinn just nods and focuses on the food in front of her. She's barely touched any of it, mostly just pushing it around her plate with her fork, because she's feeling a little nauseous after the day's events.
"Quinn, everything alright?" Leroy asks gently.
She nods again, still looking down at her food, and feels all of their eyes on her. She risks a glance up. Seeing Leroy and Hiram's concerned gazes and turning to Rachel to see her worried expression, Quinn's eyes begin to fill with tears. Quickly, she tries to blink them away, but they catch on before she can.
Rachel scoots her chair closer to her and rests a hand on her own, which she's fiddling with nervously in her lap. "Quinn?"
Quinn bites her lip and shakes her head as tears begin to fall down her cheeks. Rachel instantly wipes them away.
"Did something happen today?" Leroy says, his voice harsher than before.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asks before she remembers, "Oh, well, there was this woman in the park that said not the nicest things, but it wasn't really anything huge."
Quinn looks down as her tears keep streaming down her face. Now, she's embarrassed because she was clearly correct in her assumption that Rachel had gotten over the incident while it is still living in Quinn's mind.
Hiram frowns. "What happened?"
"The woman's daughter asked why we were kissing, and the woman told her to look away and that it was wrong." Rachel states, matter-of-fact.
"That we were wrong." Quinn mumbles.
"What was that, Quinn?" Hiram asks.
She looks up at Rachel's fathers and explains, "She said that we were wrong. And then she looked at us like… like…" Quinn trails off, getting choked up.
Rachel squeezes her hands and apologizes, saying, "Baby, I didn't realize this was getting to you."
"Quinn's never dealt with prejudice like this before, baby girl." Leroy explains. "You've grown up with two dads. You've heard our stories and experienced things like this with us. Quinn hasn't. Right, Quinn?"
She nods, feeling even more embarrassed. Rachel's dads, and probably Rachel too, have dealt with far worse things than a random comment in the park, but Quinn is still getting worked up over this minor incident. "I knew this kind of stuff happened, obviously, but it just…"
"It's different when it's you, right?" Hiram says, and Quinn nods. "I was the same way. The first time I got called a name in public, it shook me. I was about your age, walking along the street by myself, and it stuck with me for weeks."
"I just don't understand… She called us wrong . She said our love was wrong. And she looked at us like we were monsters." Quinn cries. "And that was just one random woman in Columbus. What about kids at school, or my father?"
She leans into Rachel, openly crying into her, and Rachel wraps an arm around her and presses a kiss to the top of her head.
"Quinn, look at me." Leroy says, and Quinn opens her eyes to meet his gaze, still leaning on her girlfriend. "You are not wrong. You hear me? You are not wrong, and your love is not wrong. There will always be people that will tell you the opposite, and unfortunately, this is just the beginning. But you must always remember that you are not wrong, or a monster, or any of those other things just because you're in love."
Quinn sniffles and asks, "Does it ever get easier?"
Leroy sighs, and Hiram chimes in. "I wouldn't say it gets easier, but you learn to cope. You remember how many have come before you, have fought for your right to exist and have the love that you deserve, and you carry that with you."
"And you have the ACLU on speed dial!" Rachel says, and Quinn laughs despite herself.
"And you know how many others are on your side." Leroy says. "I can't promise something like this won't happen again, because it almost definitely will, but I can promise that you will always have an ear to complain to, or a shoulder to cry on, or a place to stay with us."
Quinn exhales heavily into Rachel's neck, and Rachel squirms a bit at the feeling, amusing Quinn. She says, "Thank you, guys. Thanks."
Hiram and Leroy stand up and walk around to the other side of the table. Quinn stands up, and they both wrap her in a brief, yet tight, hug before they walk out of the room. Quinn sees their clasped hands, and it brings a smile to her face.
She turns around and sees Rachel standing behind her. "I'm sorry about all of that." She apologizes.
"Nonsense," Rachel brushes her off. "I'm glad you got to talk about it. I'm sorry I didn't consider your point of view sooner."
Quinn shakes her head and pulls Rachel in for a kiss. Their lips meet, and Quinn knows that something that feels this right could never be wrong.
"I love you." Rachel murmurs.
"I love you, too."