A/N- Thank you all for the overwhelmingly positive response to the last chapter. This chapter was a little bit longer coming but I could not have done this without the help of two amazing people, Amaltheaz, and the incredibly talented and entertaining Kestralgirl1. Thank you both a ton! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
*Anything in italics is a flashback just so you don't get confused!
Quinn had always wondered what kind of people brought homemade signs to airports. When she was younger and her family traveled there was never the warm welcome of card stock and glitter, or even long hugs and warm embraces - instead she was always greeted with stiff handshakes and cold hellos. Turns out the Berrys were the kind of people who made signs, ran for bone crushing hugs and shouted excited exclamations of their happiness throughout the terminal.
It was to be expected of course, from the moment Rachel had bought the plane tickets for their Thanksgiving adventure, the brunette had been off the walls. She made sure that they had their bags packed days in advance and she called her dads multiple times a day each time with some new concern that had just popped into her head, whereas Quinn had spent the past few days trying to hide her nerves from the diva. She really wasn't the best at meeting parents and she just prayed that this time would be the exception, Rachel really mattered to her and she knew she would have to win over her fathers at some point. Rachel seemed wholly on board with that goal and dictated every detail about the first meeting between Quinn and her parents from the clothes she wanted the blonde to wear (the light purple dress with the white cardigan, she looked so innocent in purple), to what she needed her to pack (sweaters and dresses but nothing that revealed too much cleavage).
Quinn, for her part, just played along with a smile on her face. Her saving grace was Santana. Turns out Brittany came from Lima too - well, the other side of Lima Heights Adjacent, but she and Rachel had never met until their first class at NYADA. They had a bonding moment when Cassie demanded all dancers who came from 'small town hick - America' raise their hands so that she could make sure they learnt something other than square-dancing by the end of the first lesson. Ever since then, Brittany had been adopted into Rachel and Kurt's little gang of misfits trying to make it in New York together, and she became one of the brunette's closest confidants.
Brittany and Rachel seemed to be scheming behind their girlfriends backs because the Latina was also being dragged out to Ohio for Thanksgiving. The four of them planned to meet up the day before they were scheduled to fly out to stay at Rachel's house, as it was closer to the airport and her fathers insisted on seeing Brittany before they left. Until then though, Quinn was on her own.
But she had gotten plenty of her pre-worry out onto Santana before she left, namely about the living together issue. The night before the parade Quinn had to go back to her apartment to grab her bag and the dress Rachel insisted she wear, and while there she had a heart to heart with Santana.
"What if she's planning on dumping me? What if she really doesn't like me and she's only dating me because she feels obligated to? Maybe I should tell her that she can dump me if she wants." Quinn was pacing in front of the couch as the Latina sat typing away on her phone with a wicked smirk. "Santana focus!"
The Latina sighed and put down the phone, "Quinn first, shut up. Second, don't tell her that. It's quite possibly the worst idea you've ever had. She's probably just as freaked out about this whole thing as you are, I mean, moving in is a really big step and she probably doesn't want to mess it up." Quinn nodded still pacing frantically and Santana smiled at a new message on her phone, "Trust me Quinneth, everything is going to be just fine in Berryland."
The blonde stopped pacing long enough to shoot a glare at her roommate but nevertheless she grabbed her bag and stormed out the door, "Bye S!"
"Wait Q! You left something!" Santana yelled to the her friend's retreating back. When Quinn stuck her head back through the door she saw a tanned hand holding up the forgotten purple dress on one finger. "And people really wonder who wears the gold sparkly skinny jeans in your relationship."
Quinn ignored the bait and grabbed the dress before attempting a marginally less successful, secondary storm out. Once the blonde was finally out of the apartment, Santana called her number one speed dial and waited a couple of seconds for the person on the other end to pick up, "Hey, B. So you know how we've been talking about getting a place of our own? Yeah. Well, I have a plan, but I'm gonna need some help from you..."
On the day of their trip Rachel had hardly sat still long enough for Kurt to remove her green make up from the Macy's performance before she was happily dragging Quinn to the airport to catch their flight. They got to the terminal an hour and a half early spending most of the time hiding out in a corner of the airport, while Rachel tried not to get recognized and Quinn tried to watch the rest of the parade on one of the pathetically small televisions.
Rachel was curled into an unnaturally small ball with her feet tucked up under her and both hands grasping Quinn's arm, when a group of chattering women wearing t-shirts from the show passed the pair causing Rachel to slump down further in her seat and pull her beanie down a little lower while simultaneously pushing her sunglasses further up her nose. The brunette really did hate the New York airport. Quinn just laughed and kissed the top of her head. "We have over an hour left, you know - maybe getting bombarded by fans would make the time pass quicker?" she suggested.
Rachel sent her a glare that Quinn saw even through her sunglasses, and knew it meant she was not entertained by the idea.
But entertainment came quickly enough in the form of a TSA agent coming over to the two women. He seemed uncomfortable and slightly jumpy like he was new to the job, and Quinn just smirked at him while Rachel burrowed further into her side. When he was standing directly in front of the pair he just stood for a moment with his mouth floundering like he wasn't quite sure what to say so Quinn took pity and helped him out. "Can we help you with something Officer...McNab?" she asked reading his nameplate.
"I just- we got- There was a report of a suspicious looking woman over here wearing dark sunglasses and a beanie." Quinn's smirk just grew as a faint blush rose up Rachel's cheeks as the Officer continued, "Can I see your ID and boarding pass please?" He finally managed to get out.
Rachel sighed and uncurled herself, pulling out her wallet and ID while looking to Quinn for the boarding passes, "Here you go, Officer." The brunette said the last word with tangible disdain. She thought it was wholly ridiculous that she was considered 'suspicious', but she wasn't about to do anything to jeopardize their flight.
The agent looked over the documents and confirmed that they were indeed matching while Quinn just tried to stifle her laughter. "These seem to be in order, I just have to ask you a few general questions to follow up - you know, normal procedure. Everything has changed with airport security so you can't be too careful these days." He said handing back the papers before pulling out his notebook and pen.
At that point while Rachel huffed her annoyance and finally removed her sunglasses, Quinn saw a small group of other TSA agents standing near the exit of the terminal with the biggest dopey smiles on their faces, and everything clicked for the blonde. "Before you do that Officer McNab, can I ask you something?"
"S-sure, I guess," he stammered.
"How long have you been working here?" Rachel gave the blonde a questioning look but her girlfriend just ignored it.
"This is my first week."
Quinn nodded and continued, "And is this the first time that you've ever had to interview a suspected disturbance or something on you own?"
"Yeah." He seemed quite proud that he had been entrusted with the responsibility, and Rachel still hadn't quite twigged on. The TSA carried on as if there was no interruption. "Right, so Ms. Berry. How do you make a living?"
Rachel rolled her eyes. If there was one thing she hated more than being called old it was being referred to as 'Ms. Berry', as it made her feel old. "I'm in the entertainment industry." She responded vaguely, still wanting to avoid getting bombarded by fans.
The Officer blushed deep red and didn't write anything down on his notepad. "Entertainment industry? Like, are you a dancer?"
Quinn could no longer contain her amusement and she broke out into a fit of laughter. Rachel couldn't decide who to glare at more - Quinn or the TSA agent - while Officer McNab just kept blushing. "Not THAT entertainment industry! I'm an actress, singer, dancer! On Broadway!" When McNab just continued to gape and hovered his pen over his notepad not writing anything she continued, "Ever heard of Wicked? The musical? Yeah, I'm the lead in that!"
"Ok, thank you," he said scribbling something down while Quinn was joined in her laughter by the group of TSA agents watching the interaction. "Um, are you currently married?"
"No." She answered shortly while Quinn tried to control herself noticing that other people in the terminal had begun watching the encounter and whispering amongst themselves.
"Have you ever been convicted of a crime in the state of New York?"
"No, not in the state of New York." Rachel answered, earning a raised eyebrow from Quinn. She never had told the blonde why she had a concealed carry permit.
"Ok, um." McNab looked back in his notebook trying to search for the other questions he had to ask. "What is your purpose for traveling today?"
"Same as everyone else I suppose, I'm visiting family for the holidays."
He nodded, "Why are you leaving now when today is Thanksgiving?"
Rachel rolled her eyes, "You know Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade? Well, I was performing in that so I couldn't exactly fly out before then."
A voice crackled over Officer McNab's radio and he held up a finger to step away and answer whoever was trying to talk to him. Quinn saw the group of TSA Officers smiling and knew they were about to cut the poor kid loose. After a brief conversation he returned to an annoyed Rachel and very amused Quinn. "I just have one more follow up question for you, Ms. Berry." He was now blushing profusely and Quinn briefly wondered if he would even be able to get the question out.
"C-can I get your autograph?"
Rachel's jaw dropped and the other TSA agents came over to stand with McNab, "Excuse me?" She exclaimed.
One of the agents slapped McNab on the shoulder, "You causing trouble here, Buzz?" he asked, seeming to be in charge of all of the others, but Quinn liked him instantly. He had clearly set up the hazing of the new Officer, "Is he disturbing you ladies?"
Quinn just sat back and smiled as Rachel finally caught on, "No, it's no problem at all."
"Great, because all of us here at LaGuardia TSA are huge fans of yours Ms. Berry." The one who appeared to be in charge said and the other Officers nodded in agreement. "Could we possibly get a picture with you?"
Finally Rachel cracked a smile and laughed, "Sure of course. Anything for the brave individuals keeping our airlines safe." With that she got up, removed her beanie, shaking out her messy hair, and stood in the middle of the group of Officers smiling compliantly while they all handed Quinn cellphones to take pictures on. She even signed a couple of autographs as the group dispersed and Quinn sat back down.
Rachel once again curled up and rested her head on Quinn's shoulder once all of the Officers had left.
"Looks like there's even a Rachel Berry fan club at the airport." The blonde joked.
"Guess my cover's blown," Rachel replied, eyeing the other apparent fans in the terminal, some of whom were snapping photos of the couple and a few seemed to be trying to get up the nerve to ask the diva for her autograph.
"Hey, I'd be honored." Quinn ran a hand through Rachel's long, curly hair, "You were used for hazing a TSA guy - that's a pretty big accomplishment."
"Yeah, yeah." Rachel turned and kissed the column of the blonde's throat, "Think if I pretend to be asleep they'll leave me alone?"
"I think you're doing a royally bad job of pretending to be asleep." Quinn said as Rachel moved her kisses up her throat to the shell of Quinn's ear, "Don't you even think of leaving a mark on me," she warned, "I refuse to meet your fathers with a hickey on my neck."
"Fine." Rachel relented and went back to just trying to snuggle as close into Quinn's side as possible with the awkward armrests in the terminal seats. If it weren't for her apparent fans, Rachel would be in Quinn's lap.
"We still have nearly an hour so just try and take a nap, ok? If anyone comes over I'll just glare at them and scare them away." Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel, "Just try not to look too suspicious."
Forty-five minutes later when they began boarding the plane Rachel woke up bleary eyed and frizzy headed while Quinn grabbed their carry-ons and linked an arm with her to walk to the gate. The entire time they were on the plane, Quinn was given the 'meeting the Berry family' study guide as Rachel told her everything she could think of about getting her fathers to like the blonde and fitting into their home.
Quinn learned that Hiram was allergic to strawberries and not to get Leroy started on talking about hockey unless she was going to be able to hold up a substantial conversation for anything up to half an hour. She learned that they had been together for nearly thirty years and that Rachel's birth mother was as out of her life as possible and that it would be a nightmare to bring her up. She learned that Rachel's fathers were a bit over-protective because she had been bullied in high school, so anything Quinn said or did had the possibility of being read into. Simple, right?
By the time the pilot asked the passengers to fasten their seat belts and prepare for descent, Quinn was freaking out. It seemed like she was being thrown into a mine field and being told to run, but still, she would do it for Rachel. She would do anything for Rachel.
That feeling didn't fade any when Rachel led her off the plane and into the terminal. When they emerged Quinn was initially blinded by the middle America feeling that hit her - there was no doubt they were stuck in Ohio. Rachel, however, let out an excited yelp and took off running full speed towards two men, one of whom was shorter with curly hair and holding a sign that said 'Ms. Berry and Ms. Fabray' in large colorful letters, and the other was taller with darker hair and glasses, holding a bouquet of roses. Quinn found herself being dragged along by Rachel all the way to the brunette's fathers until the shorter girl was enveloped in a large hug from the both of them.
Quinn stood off to the side awkwardly and watched the warm embrace until the taller one who she knew to be Hiram stepped back to look at Rachel properly, inspecting her only the way a parent would before he handed her the flowers, apparently satisfied that she was alright. "Congratulations, sweetie! We heard that opening night was flawless, as always."
"It wasn't too bad if I do say so myself." She accepted the flowers graciously.
"And this must be the infamous Quinn Fabray that my girl is always talking about!" The other man - LeRoy - stated, making Quinn expect a firm handshake along with a warning look to tell her 'don't hurt my little girl', but instead she was swept up into a hug filled with more parental care than Quinn could remember from her entire childhood combined.
When LeRoy let her go, she saw that he must be where Rachel got her megawatt smile because she could not imagine being able to smile that widely without her cheeks hurting. "Yes, and you must be LeRoy." She replied.
He nodded, apparently excited that Rachel had told her enough to be able to identify which father he was. Hiram, however, lived up to her expectation of a formal handshake though it was accompanied with a kind smile.
"Lets get you ladies to the car, you must be starving. I know traveling with Rachel can be a pain, nothing at the airport is ever vegan friendly so I can't imagine either of you have eaten very much today." LeRoy said taking the bags from Quinn before she could protest.
Rachel elbowed her father but laced her fingers with Quinn's again as the group headed out to their car. When they got there and loaded everything up, Quinn and Rachel situated themselves in the backseat, the car ride wasn't awkward or silent as it had been when they visited Judy. The Berry family fell into easy conversation, joking and laughing and teasing each other in a way that only a family could. Though it was foreign to Quinn, she sat back and enjoyed the ride with a happily chattering Rachel pressed against her side.
They drove on the highway through more empty fields and cow grazing pastures than Quinn cared to count, and she wondered how such a happy, bright, stunning person like Rachel could have come from a place so desolate. Eventually they passed one of those adorable welcome signs declaring that they had reached Lima, Ohio, and LeRoy and Hiram continued on a conversation about Hiram's office in the front of the car while Rachel pointed out the landmarks of her childhood.
When they arrived at the Berry household it was nearly seven in the evening and Rachel and Quinn were exhausted from a long day of traveling and performing.
"We're planning on doing the big Thanksgiving thing tomorrow night, so if you two want we can go and grab something for dinner, or I think I might be able to throw together some vegan mac and cheese?" LeRoy offered while Hiram was getting the girl's bags from the back of the car.
"Mac and cheese sounds great Daddy." Rachel told him, dancing ahead of Quinn into the house while the blonde tried to hide her disbelief that 'vegan mac and cheese' was going to be anything more than barely edible; Quinn had eaten her fair share of vegan-ized dished while she was dating Rachel and while most of them turned out okay, a fair few of them she could have gone without.
LeRoy seemed to notice her doubt because he stage whispered to her once they were in the house, "Don't worry, after having to live vegan for eighteen years I know how to make due."
Rachel glared at them over her shoulder, "I heard that."
"You were meant to, hon." Quinn laughed as Hiram joined them in the entry of the house.
"I'll start the mac and cheese, do you want to show Quinn the guest room Rachel?" Hiram said offhandedly.
Quinn froze where she had been looking at a picture on the wall from when Rachel was in high school. She went to give Rachel a look but found her girlfriend was already giving her father one. "Dad, Quinn and I have been dating for like five months already. You know we've slept together, so I really don't see an issue with her staying in my room."
LeRoy and Hiram just shared a smile while Quinn blushed deep red all the way to the tips of her ears and her mouth dropped open, she had been in their home for less than three minutes and Rachel was telling her fathers that they had slept together - a big no-no in her conservative upbringing.
"Well, LeRoy, looks like this one might last." Hiram told his husband.
Rachel rolled her eyes and took Quinn's hand to lead her upstairs, "Close your mouth babe." Rachel said over her shoulder.
The blonde did as instructed and tried not to stare at Rachel's ass as they made their way up the stairs. At the top of the stairs and at the end of the hall there was what was undoubtedly the room Rachel had grown up in. On the door there was a large gold star with Rachel's full name written on it in silver glitter. "So which one is yours Rach?" She asked teasingly. With a laugh, Rachel pushed through her door and Quinn was overwhelmed with pink and gold everywhere. "I am so happy you have a better taste in decoration now." The taller girl said looking around at the decor, she could hardly imagine what the diva must have been like in high school.
"Mhm, because your room was so much better..." Rachel went to her closet and rummaged through her clothes a bit while Quinn just plopped down on the pink bedspread.
"Hey, my room was classic."
"Your room was nerdy. Like to the extreme." Rachel abandoned her search through the closet and stood between Quinn's legs, enjoying the height advantage she had, she leaned down to capture the blonde's lips. She pushed Quinn back and laid on top of her, "How you were supposed to be the popular head cheerleader with such a nerdy bedroom I'll never know," she said between kisses.
"Why you insist on making out with your parents right downstairs I'll never know." Quinn countered.
"I think it's this dress." The brunette ran a teasing finger up the side zipper of the purple garment making goosebumps break out under her touch.
Quinn moaned but reluctantly pulled away, "We so cannot do this right now."
"Fine, you're right." Rachel rolled off the blonde but left their legs tangled together and Quinn put an arm around Rachel's shoulders. They laid there staring up at the ceiling, which Quinn noticed was painted with tiny gold stars.
In this moment, lying on the bed in Rachel's childhood room with the brunette tucked securely under her arm, Quinn felt infinite. Like she could do anything so long as she was with Rachel. She wasn't insulated from insecurities, she still wished that Rachel had meant it when she asked her to move in a week ago, she wished that they didn't have to worry about the press when they were out in public, she wished that they could just be together without concern. But she knew it would take more work than that.
"Girls, dinner is ready!" LeRoy yelled up the stairs.
Quinn felt so juvenile getting called to go downstairs for dinner, but LeRoy was steadily becoming her favorite of Rachel's fathers. The two reluctantly pulled themselves up off the bed and Rachel subtly straightened Quinn's dress.
They arrived downstairs to see the men setting the table for their improptu family dinner. Rachel sat down easily and Quinn took the seat next to her. Seeing the brunette happily bouncing her knee with her heel propped up on a rung of the chair, Quinn could imagine what she must have been like as a child. Sitting in that seat through birthdays, first days of school, and everything in between. Hiram saw the loving look in the blonde's eyes and began to trust her just a bit more.
LeRoy set steaming bowls of noodles in front of the girls before two more for him and his husband. They ate in silence for a moment before the obligatory catching up began with LeRoy asking about the show, "So they aren't working you ladies too hard at the theatre right?"
"Oh no, between the endless hours and insane July workout routines sometimes we even get home with enough time to make dinner before getting the minimal amount of sleep required for a human to function." Rachel said between mouthfuls of mac and cheese.
"July?" Hiram raised an eyebrow in concern, he remembered the calls he would get from his daughter nearly in tears after enduring the abuse of the evil dance teacher, "As in Cassandra July?"
"Yeah, she's one of the new directors."
"What is that woman doing directing one of your shows?"
Quinn just sat back to watch the show, she knew that Rachel told her fathers practically everything and she couldn't believe that the brunette had forgotten to mention that her old tormentor was her boss.
"It's not a big deal Dad. Since Schuester was fired we needed a replacement so she took over the actors and Tina took over the crew."
Hiram and LeRoy had known about the Schuester fiasco but not about Cassie. LeRoy noticed the tightening of his husband's jaw and from experience knew it was time to change the subject, "So Quinn! Tell us about yourself, how did you get into theatre?"
The blonde swallowed her bite of surprisingly good noodles, "Well I actually went to Yale originally to study literature because I thought I wanted to be a writer, but my roommate was a theatre major and after going to her shows for two years it just sort of grew on me. I took a couple of classes and realized that I could combine my two passions by writing or directing plays."
LeRoy nodded in approval, "That's great. How did you get started with Wicked?"
"The alumni network from Yale, once I graduated and moved in with my best friend I was desperate for work and being an ASM on Broadway seemed way more appealing than working at the meth lab in the apartment below mine."
Rachel immediately burst into laughter and her fathers hesitantly joined in once they realized that she was kidding, "But Harry and Arthur seem so kind." the brunette joked.
The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. The four of them finished their dinner with easily flowing conversation and by the end of the night both Berry men seemed to have warmed up to Quinn.
"Well we had better get to bed, there's lots of cooking to do tomorrow!" LeRoy said finishing putting the last plate away in its place in the cabinet, "Make sure you two get adequate sleep tonight." he winked, leading Hiram up the stairs and making Quinn break out again in a surprised blush. Rachel's fathers were so open with talking about that kind of thing, she didn't think she would ever get used to it.
"No promises!" Rachel teased to her retreating parent's backs, but when she turned back around she saw the blonde's mouth stretched in a wide yawn.
"Sorry, I'm dead on my feet."
"It's fine babe. Let's go upstairs, it's going to be a long day tomorrow."
A few minutes later found Quinn tucked into Rachel's side wearing a NYADA sweatshirt she had stolen long ago. They had somehow folded themselves into the brunette's impossibly small bed and Quinn was already half asleep so Rachel was surprised when the taller woman's voice pierced the silence of the bedroom, "Hey Rach."
"Yeah Quinnie?"
"Your Dads are really awesome."
She laughed at Quinn's tired rambling, "They're not too bad."
The room was quiet for a moment, "Hey Rach."
"Yeah Quinnie?"
"I love you."
"I love you too." Soon enough there was a small snore from the warm body beside her, and the brunette knew Quinn was out of it. Watching Quinn sleep, Rachel had a moment of serenity as she allowed herself to think of what life could be. Throughout their relationship she had tried to keep herself from becoming too hopeful, but after seeing how much her parents loved the blonde and how seamlessly she fit into Rachel's life she took a moment to imagine. It scared her how easily she could see herself coming home to Quinn everyday after work, starting a family, going on vacations where they would take cheesy couple pictures, putting a band on Quinn's finger to show the world her commitment.
This image brought back the conversation she had with Brittany before one of their evening shows a week ago. The blonde was sprawled on her couch tapping her foot absently to some pop song softly playing through her Ipod and texting while Rachel fidgeted with a magazine she hadn't actually been reading for the past five minutes.
Brittny's phone rang and there was no doubt who was on the other end, "Hi Babe… Yeah, I remember… What do you need me to do?... Ok, operation 'eagle out of the nest' is a go!... Because I like that name… Bye, see you tonight S!"
She hung up and went back to texting and tapping along. The scene was nothing out of the ordinary, ever since they met at NYADA, Brittany and Rachel had been talking to each other about anything and everything that came up in their lives.
Sensing Rachel's absent mindedness, the dancer closed her phone, "Stop thinking so hard Rachel, you're giving me a headache."
"I'm an idiot." the brunette deadpanned, the expression on her face made Brittany think that at any moment lasers could shoot from her eyes through the magazine setting it ablaze.
"No you're not. Why do you think so this time?"
"I asked Quinn to move in with me."
Brittany nearly fell off the couch in her haste to sit up so she could properly look at the diva, (she wasn't an actress for nothing) "Rae! That's amazing! I'm so excited for you! Gosh it's about time too, Quinn's hardly ever at the apartment anymore except in the middle of the night to get clothes. Half the time I think San is getting robbed when we just see Quinn run in and back out." Rachel smiled, when Brittany got rambling she could give the diva a run for her money so she just sat back and waited for the next inevitable question, "Of course that means you're going to have to be flexible which for you, could be a challenge. Wait! Why does that make you an idiot!?"
There the question was, "Well It was like two in the morning when I asked her and it just came out of nowhere. I hadn't even been ready to think about it before the words were coming out of my mouth! She told me to wait and ask her again in the light of day but I haven't brought it up again. I'm just not sure if I'm ready for it yet."
Brittany checked her phone, fired off a text, and tried to suppress a smile, "Do you love her?"
"What?"
"You heard me Berry, do you love her?"
Rachel quirked an eyebrow at the question, "Of course I do."
"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her?"
"I don't know! How does anyone ever really know that?"
"Urgh!" the blonde sighed, "Stop thinking and just answer!"
"Yeah, I think I do." Rachel muttered, then winced at the taller woman's glare, "Yes I do." she said more convincingly.
"Then it wasn't a mistake and you aren't an idiot. Just ask her again when she'll know you're serious."
"Ok. I'm going to do it." the brunette steeled herself and committed to the decision. There would be no going back.
"Yay! Maybe now San and I can get some privacy." she whispered under her breath.
Rachel smacked her on the arm, "Because God forbid you just go to your own apartment."
"Lord Tubbington gets jealous of her and one of them always ends up scratched and bitten… Most of the time it's Tubbington."
"You astound me Britt." as much as the blonde had grown up in the years that Rachel had known her, there was no denying that there was nobody else like her.
The next day started the way Thanksgiving (or the day after as it was) always did in the Berry house; fresh, home-made, vegan cinnamon rolls with coffee and bacon - for everyone except for Rachel - and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade blaring from the living room television. Quinn woke up to find herself alone in Rachel's bed and heard the brunette's laughter floating up the stairs. For a moment she was disappointed to be alone, the opposite side of the bed was cool so she must have been abandoned a while ago.
Getting up and doing a quick stretch, Quinn yanked on one of Rachel's NYADA sweatshirts, - completely ignoring the carefully planned and color coordinated outfit the diva had selected for her to wear for the holiday - along with a short pair of running shorts she had worn to sleep. She pulled her hair back into a tornado of a ponytail and wandered her way downstairs to the kitchen in search of Rachel.
She found her girlfriend sitting at a bar stool happily bouncing her foot to the music of a marching band from the parade playing on the television in the next room and nibbling a cinnamon bun. The Berry men were bustling around the kitchen already fully immersed in the process of preparing Thanksgiving dinner. There were pots and pans haphazardly strewn about, vegetables and other ingredients covered every other available surface. Quinn just stood for a moment in the doorway watching the scene in front of her before Rachel was alerted to her girlfriend's presence.
"Hey there, sleepy head!" she smiled, turning around on her stool to take in Quinn in all her pajama clad, stolen sweat shirt-ed, bed headed glory.
"Hi, Rach," the blonde greeted as she shuffled over to the stool next to Rachel's just as LeRoy was sliding a plate loaded with bacon and cinnamon rolls over to her. After she sat down, Rachel gave her a customary 'good morning kiss', making Quinn shoot a quick look at the Berry men before mirroring their smiles. She would never get used to PDA in front of the brunette's parents.
"You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you up." Rachel said, one hand taking up residence on Quinn's knee comfortably.
"As peaceful as you may have looked asleep, you look like you need this," Hiram handed the blonde a steaming cup of coffee which she gratefully accepted.
"Thank you." She told both men, drinking half the mug in one go.
LeRoy chuckled at the face Rachel gave her girlfriend, the two of them just fit together so perfectly.
"Careful, if you choke I'm not saving you. I can't mess up this manicure," the brunette joked once Quinn finally put down the coffee.
"Your selflessness truly is one of the qualities I love most about you," she teased right back. She knew Rachel's nails were one area with absolutely no room for debate; she kept her weekly nail appointments every Tuesday as religiously as Quinn's family went to church.
"That along with her impressive modesty right?" The shorter Berry man asked from where he was closely monitoring some potatoes on the stove.
And just like that, Quinn was swept up into the event of Thanksgiving with the Berrys as easily as if she had been with the family her whole life.
They cooked straight through the morning with all four of them idly chattering about anything and everything. LeRoy insisted on hearing every detail of opening night, even though Quinn was pretty sure he must have heard the whole story at least three times already over the phone with Rachel. They all laughed together when Quinn recounted her perspective of the first time she met Rachel and the flirtatious start to their friendship.
Around eleven they took a break and settled in to watch the parade for a bit, Rachel falling comfortably on the large welcoming couch in the front room and pulling Quinn down to join her while her fathers took up residence in a couple of well worn matching armchairs. Once the blonde had sat down, Rachel's feet were in her lap in a flash - the diva seemed to enjoy having them settled there and more often than not whenever they watched a movie together if they weren't snuggling they were in this position - and Quinn began reflexively giving her a foot massage.
LeRoy smirked knowingly at the action; he understood that Quinn must really love his daughter for that kind of interaction to be so immediate and familiar. Hiram fast forwarded the recording of the parade a bit so the rockettes were just about to perform.
A relaxed silence fell with each person absorbed in their own thoughts while the dancers on the screen formed their signature line and began kicking.
"Did you know that if they actually touch the back of the girl next to them they get fined?" Quinn asked rhetorically in regards to the dancers on the television, while switching the foot she was focusing on rubbing.
"That's interesting, where did you learn that?" The bespectacled Berry man asked. He was assuming it wasn't from her years at Yale but hey, anything was possible.
"Late night pillow talk with Jen the RA?" Rachel muttered sourly under her breath, the comment not being missed by anyone assembled in the front room.
Quinn's cheeks took on a slight pink tinge but her hands did not falter in their motions against the brunette's feet. "I told you we were never a thing, Rachel."
Hiram seemed to catch on quickly that this Jen must be someone from Quinn's past that caused tension between the two women. The other Berry, however, was a bit slow on the uptake of that one. "Quinn, you know a Rockette?" He excitedly inquired.
"Um, yeah. My freshman year at Yale I had this RA that was a total hardass, you know - study until two a.m. and bite your head off if you so much as make too much noise after ten thirty. I ran into her yesterday at the parade, turns out that after getting her degree and an impressive job in the city she went for an old dream to be a Rockette."
"That's great, you know they say that a majority of those women have a college education or higher."
Hiram raised a questioning eyebrow as if to ask how often his husband researched fun facts about the dancers, but Rachel interrupted with another unsatisfied comment. "Oh, yeah. Just great!"
If they had been having this snippy conversation back in New York, Quinn would just silence her girlfriend with a kiss and be done with the whole thing, but in present company she figured that their 'stop being mad' kisses would not exactly be appropriate. Instead she resorted to the second most effective method of distracting the brunette; she attacked her feet with gentle tickles that had the diva gasping for breath and begging for mercy within seconds.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please stop!" She said between heaving intakes of air. Her hands reached for Quinn's but she soon doubled over in her efforts and nearly slid right off the couch.
Quinn stopped and helped to pull her girlfriend back up. Once righted, Rachel spun around so her head rested on Quinn's short clad lap. Wicked was just about to go on so the group quieted and Quinn began lightly running her fingers through the brunette's hair.
The performance went just as perfectly as the blonde knew it would, though Quinn had an odd case of inception. She predicted the slight falter of the dancer on the end in the transition sequence, the extra smile Rachel shot the center camera just before exiting the square, but she was caught off guard when instead of cutting to commercial as expected, the camera followed Rachel's bouncy path all the way back to where Quinn was waiting off to the side. It stayed on the brunette when she flung her arms around her girlfriend's neck and Quinn spun her about in a circle in a bone-crushing hug.
Both girls smiled at the image on the screen and Hiram and LeRoy shared a look - Quinn really had won their daughter's heart.
The afternoon was filled with finishing the cooking and an early dinner. Hiram predictably carved the turkey after the weirdest grace Quinn had ever heard, it was as if they were trying to encompass every religion in one pre-dinner prayer and the blonde just smiled. As long as her hand was joined with Rachel, it didn't matter what was going on. Throughout the meal, Quinn felt like she was in an interview.
Questions like 'what goals do you have?', 'where do you see yourself in five years?', 'do you have any siblings?' and 'what is your family like?' all flew by easily, all of which she answered with the same practiced ease as she normally did. Until Hiram threw a curveball.
"So how did your parents take the news when you came out?"
Quinn nearly choked on the mashed potatoes she was in the middle of swallowing and Rachel gently rubbed her back as she coughed it off.
"That well, huh?" LeRoy smiled at the blonde's reaction.
"Just about." With her eyes watering, Quinn struggled to find the words to respond. "My mom's response was better than expected I suppose, seeing as she left my dad. And my dad, well his reaction was unpleasant."
"To say the least." Rachel threw in, her hand was still rubbing reassuring circled on the blonde's back.
Hiram and LeRoy knew that Rachel had gone with Quinn back to her hometown but the singer had been reluctant in telling them the details of the trip and it was one thing that the taller Berry man was set on finding out what went down. He was always great at finding out the information he wanted to, and this would be no exception.
"Yeah, my dad just about put his fist through a wall when I told him," he tried to sympathize.
Quinn's bottom lip was promptly sucked between her teeth, and she began nibbling on it. Hiram knew he had stuck a nerve with that comment. The implications scared him.
Rachel's hand dropped from Quinn's back to lace with their fingers together under the table and she found the words that eluded the blonde, "It wasn't anything we couldn't have handled together."
Hiram dropped the subject, for now. He knew he wouldn't be able to get anything out of Quinn with Rachel right there covering for her. The Wicked performance on the parade was just drawing to a close and the brunette decided to try to end the interrogation of her girlfriend. She stood up and headed back to the kitchen. LeRoy followed after his daughter but Hiram stayed back and the expectant look he was giving Quinn glued her to her seat.
They sat in silence for a bit, Quinn playing with the hem of the sweatshirt she had stolen from Rachel, and Hiram watching her, trying to decide how best to go about his inquiry.
"So how did your father react when you told him?" He decided to just go with a straightforward approach.
Quinn knew there would be no getting away from this, it was inevitable. "Well, there was a lot of yelling, some biblical references, and um, a backhanded slap." She told him with more confidence than she really had. She looked Hiram right in the eyes as he processed the information and waited patiently with her shoulders squared for his response.
"Are you alright?" When he asked, his voice was filled with fatherly concern and it made Quinn feel guilty right down to the core.
"I'm fine. It wasn't me that he hit," she paused hoping that Hiram would make the leap for himself and she wouldn't have to say aloud what had happened. But he looked at her with disbelief written across his face, he so badly wanted it not to be true. "He um, he hit Rachel."
Hope you liked it and it was worth the wait! Thank you for sticking with me for 15 long chapters, it's been a joy so far and hopefully will continue on improving.