Can I just say, I am BLOWN away with the response I am getting to this rp. This is my very first attempt at one, and your kind words are what's keeping me going.
This is where the drama starts, not to mention sexual tension and flirting. I think it's important for their relationship to start growing now that they are living together. Obviously, I don't want to rush this, and I want to make Rachel's growth and progress as realistic as possible. But I'm so damn eager to get this story on its feet.
I apologize in advance for the angst the rest of the chapters will bring.
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.
The car ride was silent, to say the least. There were murmured comments said by the brunette. Mostly complimenting the car, and the streets of Ohio. Both girls could feel the awkwardness. Usually conversation between the two of them came naturally and quickly. Half the time they would talk over each other.
When they got to their house, Quinn parked in the driveway and sighed. "Home sweet home." She said, mostly to herself. It was a bittersweet moment she was having with herself. She was coming home, and this time she wouldn't be alone. Rachel was here, and was finally coming home. But, Rachel had no recollection of the past days spent together. It was like bringing home a stranger, a hot stranger.
Rachel sighed as well, and looked up at the house, still in the car. "It's lovely. You have a very nice house, Quinn." She said, looking over at the blonde, smiling.
Quinn frowned slightly and shook her head. She placed her hand on top of Rachel's and corrected her. "/We/ have a very nice house."
Rachel looked down at their hands, and gasped slightly. There was a spark. Not literally, but it did send shivers down her spine. It felt good, dangerous. "Right... Sorry, forgot."
Quinn chuckled lightly and shook her head. "You'll get used to it. Come on." She got out of the car, and ran around to open Rachel's door. The girl smiled shyly at her as she stepped out. Quinn locked the doors, then led Rachel to the front door.
Once inside, Quinn smiled softly at Rachel's gasp. The brunette looked up and around the room as if she were standing in a museum. "Wow. We live here?
"We live here. For 4 years."
Rachel grinned from ear to ear. Maybe living with Quinn wouldn't be as bad as she thought. She did love the girl once, right? There's got to be something about her. Both girls kicked off their shoes and stepped further into the house. "Want a tour?" Quinn eventually asked.
Rachel nodded in response. Quinn smiled and began. "So this is the kitchen." She explained, when stepping into the first room. "Where we share every meal, except for lunch. You're off at work, while I'm downstairs working on my novel."
"You write?" Rachel asked, smiling softly, clearly impressed.
"It's not that big of a deal. I've written two books, currently writing my third. But none have been published or even discovered. Yet you seem to have this notion that I'm the next best seller." Quinn said, leaning against the counter as she shrugged.
"Three books is a big deal Quinn." Rachel responded, nodding so confidently.
Quinn licked her lips and smiled, as her eyes watered. But finally they weren't sad tears. She was happy. What Rachel said was so identical to what she said in the past. And just then, Quinn was reminded that Rachel was still Rachel. Even without the memories, she thought the same, had the same humour, smile, body. She was the same girl, and could fall in love with Quinn all over again. "So I've heard." She responded, eyeing Rachel through her eyelashes.
They locked eyes for a few moments before Rachel broke the gaze shyly. "I'd like to read one of them some time. What are they about?" She asked, curiously.
"You."
Rachel's eyebrows shot up as she nodded slowly. "Well then I would definitely love to read them. Could trigger a memory, right?"
Quinn nodded with a smile. "Right. Anyway, on with the tour."
The blonde continued with the tour as she showed Rachel rooms. From the laundry room to the living room, to the bathrooms, all the way to the bedroom. "And last stop on the Berry-Fabray tour, our bedroom." She said, almost awkwardly. Both girls were thinking the same thing. Quinn was hoping that Rachel wasn't thinking about the fact that they have had sex in that bed. And that's exactly what Rachel was thinking. If only she knew they had sex on the kitchen table and living room sofa. Thank god.
"So this is where the magic happens?" Rachel asked, smirking at Quinn.
She was genuinely shocked at the response she got. Something about being alone and out of the hospital sent a burst of confidence through Rachel, and Quinn liked it. "Not for a while, but yes." She responded, chuckling lightly.
Rachel nodded, muttering a low hum as she turned around. "I love it. I can really see myself living here, which makes sense considering I do."
"I love it too. The first time we looked at the place, we weren't married, but we could both picture our lives here. It was quite an experience." Quinn added, as she walked down the stairs, passing the collage of pictures spiralling down. That caused Rachel to look.
Quinn smiled as she saw her wife's face light up at the pictures. She paused at the wedding one, touching her own face, and mimicking the expression. "I look so happy." Rachel commented.
"You were."
She nodded and moved onto the next picture. They looked younger in this one, and they seemed to be in high school. "Is this from...?" She trailed off.
Quinn nodded and stepped closer to Rachel on the stairs. "High school." She finished off. "Actually, it's right where we left off in the story. Picture day, sophomore year. I was recently pregnant and kicked off the Cheerios, and you and Finn were captain of glee."
Rachel nodded once, then smirked. "Lets see if I can guess which one is him."
The blonde chuckled lightly and shrugged with a nod. "Go for it."
Rachel took it quite seriously as she leaned in closer, scamming the pictures. "Okay, it's not the one in the wheel chair, because I have a feeling he's dating the Asian behind him. It's not pale guy on the end, because I have a strong feeling he's gay." She commented, causing Quinn to laugh behind her. "I'm going to guess... Him." Rachel pointed her finger to the man she assumed was Finn, and she was right.
"How did you know?" Quinn asked, impressed as she smiled.
"Two reasons. He's cute, and he's standing behind me and beside you. it only makes sense that he's surrounded by both girls." She said, crossing her arms as she turned around to face Quinn. "How did I do?" Rachel asked playfully.
Quinn giggled before nodding, "I'm impressed Berry." The nick name slipped, but she almost didn't mind. They were getting along and Quinn couldn't be more happy.
Rachel nodded and continued looking at the pictures, walking down a few steps as she did. She stumbled across a picture of them kissing. No special occasion, just on the couch, kissing. It got Rachel's mind racing. She was suddenly curious as to what it felt kissing Quinn. Over the course of the few days she's been awake, Rachel had come to realize that Quinn had amazingly shaped lips. Lips she could easily imagine herself kissing. "Well I'm glad I'm happy with you." Rachel finally said, walking down the rest of the stairs and to the couch, sitting down.
"You are, trust me." Quinn followed her, and stopped in her tracks. She hated breaking the playful mood, but she was suddenly going through a flashback.
Just 33 days ago she was sitting on that very couch nervously waiting for her wife to come home. And where she was standing right now was where she answered the phone. Where she knew something was wrong.
"Are you okay Quinn? Come sit."
Quinn furrowed her eyebrows and looked down, lifting a finger. "Yeah I'm okay. Just having a flashback." Suddenly, she felt Rachel's comforting presence beside her and she sighed. "This is where I was standing."
Rachel furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, showing her confusion. "When?"
"When I got the call that you were in the hospital. My life ended in this very spot, Rachel. I knew something had happened to you, and I knew it was my fault."
"Your fault? Why would it be your fault?" Rachel asked, placing a hand on Quinn's shoulder.
She shook her head, not ready to go through that night. "I'll tell you another time, a time when the memory isn't that hard to talk about." She said, finally meeting Rachel's eyes.
The girl nodded, hated that she was being left with even more questions. "Okay, sure." The brunette tugged on Quinn's arm, and led her over to the couch. "Don't worry, Quinn. And whatever it is, don't blame yourself. I'm here, I'm alive, and I'm fine."
Quinn licked her lips and nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry. I should probably make dinner soon, but first do you want me to continue with our story?" She asked.
Rachel bit her lip and nodded eagerly.
"So you had him. You had Finn. Meanwhile, I had myself and my baby. Though I pretended to be, I was never mad at you for taking Finn. You won him fair and square. You were the better person, and he clearly loved you more. I spent the rest of the year, in the dark. I wasnt on top any more. I wasnt a Cheerio, and the quarter back wasnt my boyfriend. So I kept my mouth shut, and I swayed in the background while you sang solos. Not just in glee, but every day. I stayed away from any trouble and let you have your fun. Months later, we had regionals. Regionals is the second competition. It goes sectionals, regionals, nationals. And if you win nationals, you win. Period."
"Did we win nationals?" Rachel interrupted.
Quinn chuckled and shrugged, pretending like she didn't know, "be patient, Rach." She teased, then continued. "Anyway, we have regionals. After our performance, I gave birth. To a beautiful baby girl which Puck decided to name Beth."
"Pretty." Rachel commented.
The blonde nodded with a smile. The times that Rachel visited Beth, the two got along great. "And of course, being 16, there was no way I could keep it. So I gave her up for adoption. And guess who adopted her?"
Rachel shrugged with a smile.
"Your mom. She was deserving of her, and I knew she would love her for all eternity. And when she signed the papers, I knew that you and I had a connection. And unspoken connection. Your mom adopted my baby, so maybe we would have something to talk about. In that moment, I don't know why, but I felt like maybe we could be friends. I knew I should hate you, but I couldn't. I never did."
Rachel sat there, smiling softly as she exhaled. "Wow. That's big."
Quinn nodded. "Time for dinner!" She said, then swiftly ran into the kitchen, giggling softly to herself.
Rachel gasped playfully as she followed Quinn. "You can't just leave me hanging!" She complained, pouting.
Quinn decided to cook pasta, it being Rachel's favourite. "Oh but I can, and I did. And that pout stopped working on me years ago."
The brunette sighed heavily and chuckled. "Fine, I'll play."
During dinner, the two sat across from each other, sharing casual conversation as they ate. "So what do I do for a living?" Rachel asked curiously. "I know you write, so what do I do?"
"You're a music teacher at a high school. When we were 17, all you wanted to do was go to New York and be on broadway. But that didn't work out. You didn't mind though, because you found a new dream, and you decided to live that one instead."
Rachel furrowed her eyebrows. "What was my new dream?"
"Me."
"Ahh, I see." Rachel replied, smiling softly. "So I stayed in Lima for you?"
Quinn tilted her head and shrugged. "Not /for/ me. But you stayed with me. It's not that our plans for the future failed, but be both decided it would be better to stay closer to our families. You to your dads, and me to Beth. Over the course of bonding over staying here, we fell in love. But hey! No jumping ahead in the story."
Rachel lifted her arms in defence and chuckled with a nod. "Fine, fine. Just eager, that's all."
The blonde smirked with a nod.
The rest of the night went perfectly. They each had a beer, and talked casually. A few winks and playful comments, the rest all story telling. But Quinn was happily surprised with Rachel's new personality change. Hope was coming from all angles and the future was looking bright.
The two walked upstairs. "I'll just grab my pajamas, and take the couch." Quinn said, not wanting Rachel to panic over sleeping arrangements.
"No way." Rachel disagreed, shaking her head as they walked into their bedroom. "This is your house, I just got here, I'm taking the couch. "
"One, this is /our/ house. And two, you just woke up from a coma. I'm not letting you sleep on the couch. You deserve the big bed. Besides, I love the couch. I've spent my fair share of nights on that thing." She said with a nod.
Rachel sighed and chuckled lightly. "Okay, fine." She sat on the bed, and watched as Quinn took out their pajamas.
"For you." The blonde said, throwing over a pair of shorts and a baggy shirt. "The shirt is mine, but you wear it to bed because it smells like me. I can give you something else if you want."
Rachel shook her head, smiling. "No it's okay. If it's what I do, I'll continue doing it."
Quinn nodded, taking out her own pajamas. "Well... Goodnight Rach."
The brunette looked up at her and smiled. "Goodnight Quinn."
They stared at each other for a moment before Quinn walked over. She kissed Rachel's forehead, letting her lips linger. God she missed her. If it were any other day, in any other situation, their lips would be attached. "Let me know if you have any dreams. Sleep well." Quinn walked back to the door and looked at Rachel. "I love you." She added, before walking off.
Rachel sat alone on the bed, and sighed heavily. "I like you too." She whispered to herself, chuckling lightly as she smiled. The brunette threw on the shirt and law down on the bed. It did smell like Quinn. Quinn smelt amazing.
Both girls fell asleep at the thought of each other.
Coming up next: Santana comes to town and pays the girls a little visit. What happens when she stirs the pot and adds a little alcohol to the mixture?