A/N: Long time, no see! I'm back at it, here with day 29! I can't believe this is the second-to-last one, and I'm hoping to get the final chapter out before the new year, but, again, I make no promises.

This is a follow-up to the previous one shot, day 28, which, if you don't remember, was recent high school graduates Quinn and Rachel spontaneously getting married. Go ahead and give that one a re-read if you want to, but it's not essential to understanding this one. Anyway, this is a sequel of sorts in which Rachel decides they need to throw a wedding reception. Hope you enjoy!

Day 29: Doing Something Sweet

The past summer has been a whirlwind. When Rachel got married on a whim just three months ago, her expectations for the summer took a sharp left turn. Rather than spending her summer soaking up the last few uninterrupted months she would have with Quinn before they went their separate ways, Rachel has been in a state of blissful happiness, celebrating their recent (and spontaneous) marriage.

What seemed like an insane idea turned out to be the best start to her summer. And now, as her summer comes to a close, their impending separation looms over their final days together, and Rachel is determined to make the most of it.

"A wedding reception?"

Rachel smiles brightly, brushing over the confused look on her girlfriend's—wife's—face as she says, "Yes, baby, a wedding reception. We never did get to properly celebrate our marriage with everyone, and, well, we're a few months overdue, actually. And it would be so nice to see everyone one last time before we all head our separate ways."

She watches Quinn ponder the idea for a moment. "Was this your idea, or your dads', because I do remember them insisting on throwing us a party when we told them and—"

"Mine," Rachel promises, though she can't deny that, "Well, maybe it was influenced by them a bit, but this is something I really want. For both of us. And my dads have promised to pay for everything, and we can spend time with all of our friends, and we'll get presents, and we already messed with the order of things, so why not just keep going with it?"

Something in Quinn's expression changes, her eyes lighting up for just a brief moment before a small grin forms on her face. "You just want to throw a party, don't you?"

Rachel blushes. "It's a good excuse, isn't it?"

Quinn just laughs and leans forward to peck Rachel's lips. "Okay, Rach, let's throw a wedding reception."

Throwing a last-minute wedding reception, as it turns out, is not as easy as Rachel had anticipated. Upon receiving Quinn's approval, she had immediately called her dads, setting the date for the upcoming weekend. From there, the planning was non-stop. Between calling (vegan-friendly) caterers, shopping for decorations, and deciding on a location, among other tasks, Rachel has been swamped for the past couple days, overwhelmed with stress—happy stress but stress nonetheless—but having Quinn at her side throughout all of it has made the process (somewhat) more bearable.

Quinn is coming over this morning to plan out how they are going to organize and decorate, having decided to host the reception at the Berry residence, both out of convenience and a lack of available spaces on such short notice. In true Rachel Berry fashion, she already has many ideas brewing in her head, most of which she's sure her wife will agree to, but the mere act of planning with Quinn, engaging in such domestic, occasionally bothersome, activities with her, brings Rachel such unparalleled joy.

"Dads?" She calls out as she descends the stairs, "Quinn should be here any min—"

Rachel stops herself when she makes it to the bottom of the staircase, seeing Quinn already sitting at the kitchen table with her fathers. Leroy's hands are covering hers atop the table, and she sees Quinn quickly pull them away.

"Rachel, sweetie, hi," Her dad, Hiram, says loudly, getting up from his seat next to Leroy and walking up to her. He pulls her in for a brief one-armed hug, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head, and Rachel smiles and lets herself sink into the embrace for a brief moment.

"Hi, Dad," She says, watching her father and Quinn stand up. "Quinn, hi, when did you get here?"

Quinn's eyebrows raise as she says, "Oh, um, just a few minutes ago."

Rachel moves out of her dad's arms to greet her wife, kissing her briefly, all too aware of her dads' presence and Quinn's dislike for PDA. "Why didn't you tell me you were here, then?"

Her face grows pale. "I, uh…"

"She was just keeping us company for a few minutes, dear," Leroy explains, gesturing to Quinn. "Quinn makes such lovely company, as you know, and we would hate to interrupt your morning routine. We all know what happens when you rush Rachel Berry."

Scoffing, Rachel rolls her eyes as Quinn and her dads laugh quietly. "Yeah, but you could have sent her up. We are married, you know."

"Yes, how could we forget?" Hiram says teasingly, throwing a wink at Quinn as he says, "That is the whole reason she's here, after all."

Her dad's words remind her of the reason Quinn is here in the first place, prompting Rachel to say, "Right! Planning time. Well, baby, I have a few ideas already that I'd love to hear your thoughts on—"

"In true Rachel Berry fashion," Quinn cuts her off with a grin, making Rachel blush and shake her head fondly. She steps into Quinn, wrapping her arms around her shoulders for a hug, if only to hide the embarrassment on her cheeks. She feels Quinn press a kiss to her cheek as her arms come to rest around her waist, pulling her closer.

If she chooses to ignore the tear stains she saw on her fathers' cheeks, or the residual tears still present in her wife's eyes, well, that's her choice.

Rachel pulls back, meeting Quinn's eyes and mouthing, I love you. Quinn returns the sentiment, kissing the side of her head as they turn back to face her dads.

"So," Rachel starts, "As I was saying…"

The remaining days fly by, and suddenly it is Saturday night, and Rachel and her dads are moving frantically about the house, making final preparations before guests start to arrive. The sound of the doorbell has Rachel's heart skipping a beat before she realizes that it must be Quinn and Judy. Skipping over to the front door, she smooths out the front of her pink sundress before opening the door. She sees Judy first, giving her a brief hug and inviting her inside, and her eyes immediately flicker over to Quinn.

She sees her wife, her short, blonde hair freshly cut and falling in gentle curls, wearing a dark blazer over a simple white shirt and fitted pants, standing somewhat nervously, her hands tangled in front of her.

"Look at you!" Rachel says in lieu of a greeting, stretching a hand out, a hand which Quinn gladly takes in her own. "You look incredible!"

"Yeah?" Quinn asks shyly, "You think so? I just wanted to try out something new."

Rachel nods. "It looks amazing. You look amazing."

Quinn blushes, pulling Rachel toward her and spinning her around. "Well, you're one to talk. You look gorgeous, as always."

"Thank you, baby," Rachel murmurs, leaning up on her tiptoes to capture Quinn's lips in a kiss. Quinn hums, moving her hands to Rachel's waist and pulling her closer, their bodies pressing together.

"Girls, will you close the door and come in?" Judy calls out to them. "You're letting bugs inside the house!"

Giggling, Rachel pulls away, grabs Quinn's hands, and leads her inside the house. Judy smiles at them briefly before going off to find Rachel's dads, presumably to give them a moment alone.

It took some time for Judy to come to terms with their spontaneous marriage, especially considering her general state of apathy towards their relationship before the wedding. When they came back and dropped the (metaphorical) bomb on her that they were, in fact, now a legally married couple, Judy did not take the news too well. With time, though, she has grown warmer towards them, towards Rachel in particular, and it has been a joy to see Quinn forge the relationship with her mother that she's always dreamed of having. It's not perfect by any means, but it's better than it was before, and they both know that Judy is trying her best.

"I'm so excited," Rachel admits in a whisper, a smile bright on her face as she continues, "I can't wait for everyone to get here."

"Ever the hostess," Quinn grins.

"You know me too well," Rachel says, pecking Quinn's lips. "Come on, I need your eye for final touches."

She leads Quinn through the kitchen, pointing out a few decorations, and into the living room where the bulk of the indoor decorating took place. Quinn and Judy had been over the night before, helping to move furniture and set up tables both inside and outside, leaving Rachel and her dads to put up decorations today, as was their specialty.

Quinn nods with approval at the decorations strewn across the walls and tables, so Rachel takes her out the back door and into the backyard. Balloons and streamers are covering the back of the house and the fences enclosing the yard, and Rachel watches Quinn look them over fondly, nodding with approval. Then, her gaze flips to the tables that she set up yesterday, now covered with tablecloths, centerpieces, and miniature confetti pieces in the shape of gardenias—something they both insisted needed to be a feature part of their decorations. She watches Quinn walk toward the tables, smiling at the confetti, and straighten two of the tablecloths. Quinn eyes the speaker set-up in the corner briefly before her eyes flicker over to the shed in the back of the yard.

This last bit had been Quinn's idea, a homemade photobooth area. Taped against the side of the shed is a large, baby blue sheet to use as a background. In front of the sheet, there is a tall, stand-alone arch, an item Quinn made herself, covered in (fake) gardenias and laced together with pink ribbon against the solid, plastic frame. It's very clearly homemade, but it only adds to the charm of it. The ground in front is covered in white flower petals, and Rachel watches Quinn inspect the area, hoping the set-up looks even half as good as Quinn had imagined it.

"Well?" Rachel asks nervously. "Is it okay?"

Quinn raises an eyebrow, shifting her gaze to Rachel. She puts her hands on Rachel's arms, moving her to stand directly in the center of the arch, and takes a step back to look at her.

Smiling, Quinn says, "It's perfect."

Rachel blushes and beckons Quinn towards her. Stepping forward, Quinn wraps her arms around Rachel's waist, leans her forehead against hers, and presses a soft kiss to her lips. Rachel can't help but smile into the kiss, enjoying the moment alone with her wife.

"Everything looks wonderful, Rachel," Quinn says, looking around one last time. "You and your dads did such a great job with decorating."

"Well, my dads would never settle for anything less than perfect, so…" She trails off.

Quinn grins as she says, "No wonder they got you as their daughter."

Cheeks bright red, Rachel scoffs, "What's with all the sweet-talking, huh? You know we're already married, right?"

Quinn laughs, "Yes, I am well-aware. I do have something for you though."

"Oh?" Rachel asks excitedly, looking around the yard.

"Baby, it's not hidden anywhere." Quinn says, laughing at Rachel's frown, and continues, saying, "I need to say some things first, so just bare with me."

Seeing Rachel's nod, Quinn says, "So, as you know, when I got the idea of getting married, it was totally a random thing, and I didn't exactly have time to make any plans beyond the necessities. We didn't have dresses, we didn't get to celebrate properly, hell, we weren't even engaged. But we had our love for each other, and that was all that mattered. And, well, seeing as we're making up for missed experiences now, with this party, I wanted to make up for something else that we missed out on, too."

Rachel raises an eyebrow curiously, about to ask what exactly she's making up for, when Quinn takes a step back and lowers herself to one knee. Rachel gasps with realization, eyes locked on Quinn's face, seeing unbridled love and hope reflected in her eyes.

"Quinn, what—"

"You said so yourself, Rach," Quinn explains, "We already fucked with the order of things, so why not just keep going?"

Rachel scoffs through her tears, "Well, I didn't use those words exactly."

"Rachel, shush and let me propose to you."

Those words shut her right up.

"As I was saying, I didn't get to do this the first time around. I didn't get to make some grand speech about how much I love you and how much I want to spend forever with you, besides in our vows, but I didn't really need to. We know each other. We know our love for each other. I will spend the rest of my life telling you how much I love you and how grateful I am to be with you. I don't need some silly, borderline desperate speech to do so."

At this, Rachel giggles, making Quinn smile as she continues, "So, I'm not gonna do any of that. But what I do have for you, what we did miss out on, is this."

Here, Quinn pauses, reaching into her pants pocket to pull out a small box—a box that she certainly would not have been able to carry with her had she worn a dress—and Rachel gasps, tears coming to her eyes. Quinn flips the box open, and Rachel's eyes lock onto a gorgeous diamond ring.

"Did you use your dad's alimony money to pay for this again?" Rachel laughs through her tears.

Quinn rolls her eyes. "I've been saving up. And, well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Rachel laughs again, marvelling at the absurdity of the moment, and Quinn continues, "I know it's not much, but you deserve it. You deserve everything good in this cruel world, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to give you everything you deserve."

"So much for no cheesy speeches, huh?" Rachel says.

"Rachel, I am almost done, I'm begging you," Quinn groans out playfully.

"Well, get to it then."

Quinn clears her throat, her eyes locked onto Rachel's. "I love you so much, Rachel Barbra Berry. Will you marry me?"

"We're already married," Rachel quips with a grin.

"I don't care," Quinn retorts. "Will you marry me?"

Rachel gives in, nodding tearfully as she slides to her knees and tackles Quinn in a hug. She feels Quinn's arms wrap around her as she buries her face into her neck, her tears falling rapidly onto Quinn's shoulder.

"Is that a yes?"

Laughing, Rachel tilts her head back, looking Quinn in the eyes as she says, "I would marry you a million times over, baby."

Quinn smiles brightly, fumbling with the box before getting the ring out and sliding it onto Rachel's finger, sitting perfectly next to the silver wedding band. Rachel gazes at the rings for a few seconds before looking back at Quinn, seeing tears in her eyes. Rachel cups Quinn's cheeks and kisses her, tears falling between them, matching smiles on their lips.

"I love you so much," Rachel says into her lips.

"I love you, too," Quinn whispers.

A sudden noise catches Rachel's attention, and she turns her head to see her dads and Judy watching them from inside the house. She throws a hand over her face in embarrassment, eyeing Quinn suspiciously.

"Did they know about this?" Rachel asks accusingly.

Quinn nods sheepishly. "I told my mom, and, well, the other day when I came over early and was with your dads?"

Rachel gasps. "I knew something weird was going on there!"

"I came over to ask for their blessing," Quinn explains, "Though they mostly just laughed at me. But then they said of course, and I asked if they could attempt to take some pictures when I did it."

"So they're not just spying on us?"

Quinn cringes. "Well, a little bit. But I really did want some pictures of the proposal, especially with you in front of this gorgeous background."

Then, a lightbulb goes off in Rachel's head, and she looks around at her surroundings. "This whole photobooth thing was just a set up for you to have a nice place to propose, wasn't it?"

"Guilty," Quinn smiles sheepishly. "But isn't it gorgeous?"

Rachel sighs, "It is. And so are you. And I love you so much, and I'm so happy to be married to you and also be engaged to you at the same time."

Quinn laughs loudly, pulling Rachel closer as she says, "I'm so happy, too."

A/N: Reviews always appreciated, especially as I try to crank out this final chapter before the new year :)

(Also, I have no immediate plans to return to this universe, but it's certainly something I am interested in doing. Let me know if any of y'all would be interested in that!)