Ryan Berry, for the better part of two months, had been desperately trying to tell Quinn Fabray, his girlfriend, that he loved her. Sure, there had been that rather moot point when they had come out to the school, but the girl had fallen asleep just as he'd uttered the words. And ever since, Ryan Berry, for the better part of a word, had major stage fright.
He'd never, in his whole life, been so frightened of something before. Of course, he'd been nervous at Sectionals when he performed his solo of Don't Rain on My Parade, but that was natural; to perform in front of such a large audience would be scary, but it was nothing compared to what he had planned.
A grand romantic night in with his girlfriend - he'd already persuaded both his father's, Hiram and Leroy to go out for the night, and the only way he managed that was by telling them what he had planned to do. They agreed to leave for the night.
"Quinn!" Ryan rushed up to the Cheerio who stood by her locker, chatting to Santana and Brittany about some routine that Coach Sylvester had planned out for them.
"Hey," Quinn smiled at Ryan as he stopped beside her, leaning up to kiss his cheek gently, "You okay? You look really flushed."
"It's all the argyle…" Santana disdainfully looked down at his argyle pants and sneered.
Ryan frowned, "I'll have you know these are my best pants." And they were; maroon and grey, and he had to admit, they showed off his backside rather splendidly, "Don't you think so, Quinn?"
"Uh…" Her hazel eyes shot to Santana, then Brittany, back to Santana and then up to him again, "I uh…babe…maybe you should invest in new clothes? Not that I don't like them, but you'd look so much better wearing something else."
Ryan's hand clutched the strap of his satchel bag tightly, "Excuse me?"
"Ryan, don't get upset. All I'm saying is that-,"
"You've said plenty, Quinn."
"Okay, what prompted that meltdown earlier on?" Quinn asked, her arms crossed over her chest as the glee club filed out of the choir room.
"What meltdown?" Ryan mumbled, not looking up from his bag, where he thumbed through his sheet music carefully. For the life of him he couldn't find the sheet he needed, the sheet that he had searched in every damn music store within a forty mile radius.
"When you asked me about the argyle," She bumped her hip up against the piano, "Baby, it's not that I don't like what you wear, but…you're seventeen, don't you think you should wear something more appropriate for your age?"
"Appropriate…?" He asked in reply, only half paying attention. Where the hell was that sheet music? It cost him $40 from a used music store.
"Yeah. I mean, look at what Puck and Finn wear. You have a fantastic body, Ryan, and you're hiding it under those sweaters."
"For God sake!" He shot up from his seat and upturned the whole of his bag. Quinn watched in shock as a parade of papers fell out and scattered across the stark black lid of the piano.
"Ryan!"
"What, Quinn?" His head snapped to hers, "What? I get it, my fashion sense is terrible - I'm not up to your standards!"
Quinn's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Ryan knew he'd said the wrong thing. "Low blow Berry," She snatched up her Cheerio's bag, "Call me when you've stopped being such an ass." And stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut cleanly behind her. A signature of Quinn's that she'd perfected over the years, which clearly meant: Leave me the fuck alone and don't speak to me.
Ryan sighed and looked away from the door, dropping down onto the piano bench. "Way to go, Ryan…" He dropped his head, "Way to…" Slowly he reached down and picked up a lone piece of paper that lay by one of the piano peddles, "Oh for fu-,!"
His sheet music.
He'd called her, more than was strictly necessary, so much so that it boarded on stalking, but Quinn wouldn't take his calls. So he made a vow to calm himself down and not let the panic of the grand night in he had planned, get the better of him.
The next day at school he waited outside the girl's locker room, and perked up immediately when a flood of Cheerio's exited. Thanks to Quinn being the Captain, she was always the last to leave, but by the time Santana and Brittany had walked out, he was a bit worried.
"Where's Quinn…?"
Santana glared, a minor glare from what she usually shot at him, but she'd been ordered by Quinn to be nice to her boyfriend, "She's not here, Berry."
"What do you mean she's not here…?"
"Ay dios mio…" Santana grumbled and tried to not drag Brittany off with her, far far away from Ryan Berry, "She's not here, as in…not in the school."
"Why not?"
"How the hell should I know?" Santana shrugged, "Call her. You are her boyfriend, after all."
Ryan had the good grace to blush, "She…uhm…won't take my calls."
"Wonder why…?" Santana's eyes slowly tracked his body, and he knew she was pegging his outfit for the day. He'd forgone the argyle pants; they were in the wash, but that didn't mean he couldn't wear one of his signature argyle vests. "Come on, B…"
"Bye Ryan!" Brittany waved enthusiastically at him as her girlfriend dragged her away from the locker rooms, and as far away from him as she could without breaking out into a run.
Quinn was back the next day; he cornered her as soon as she was away from Santana, which was toward the end of lunch when the girl had mysteriously disappeared with Brittany.
"Quinn, where were you yesterday? You wouldn't take my calls."
The blonde looked upset, and she looked as if she was barely keeping it together. Her cheerleading uniform, which she usually wore with pride, seemed to be wearing her, and her usually immaculate ponytail hung limply.
"Quinn…?"
"My dad showed up yesterday, practically beat the door down until I'd let him in."
He paused; Russell Fabray, the pinnacle of the community, prominent gay basher and good Christian had left his family behind only one month before for a tattooed woman that he'd met through a casual friend. He was also a drunk, and he'd heard the stories from his father's about Russell; he'd been known to be a bit violent when provoked.
"He…he didn't hurt you did he?" Ryan clasped his hands on Quinn's biceps and stared down at her, "Because if he did, I'll…"
"Do nothing." Quinn shot back before she sighed and walked into Ryan's arms, allowing herself to be wrapped up in his arms. It was times like these, that their arguments meant nothing; Quinn put on a show at school as the HBIC, the impenetrable Quinn Fabray that no one messed with. Right here, in Ryan's arms, she was just a normal teenage girl that only wanted to be held by her boyfriend and told that everything would be alright.
"So what did he say to you?" He asked gently, running his hands soothingly up and down her back.
"Just that he was sorry, and he hoped that I could forgive him."
"And…?"
"I didn't really give him an answer, but he demanded he stay until my mom got back from work. You can probably tell how awkward that was."
"Yeah…I can kind of guess."
Quinn sighed against Ryan's chest, "He asked if I was dating anyone…"
Ryan placed a gentle kiss to the top of his girlfriend's head, ignoring the hushed whispers and looks from the other students in the hallways as they passed the couple.
"I was going to tell him that it was you…" She paused, seeming as if she was wrestling with the rest of the words, "But I lied…said I was dating Finn."
She felt Ryan stiffen and when she pulled back, she saw the hurt in his doe brown eyes, "Ryan…it's nothing to do with you."
"Just my dad's right?" He asked quietly, harshly, "The two faggy Jew dad's and their faggy Jew son?"
"Ry…"
"Just leave it Quinn," He pulled away from her, and refused to meet her eyes, "I had a feeling you were ashamed of me, this just proves it."
The roles were reversed. Quinn tried desperately to contact Ryan, and all her calls and texts went unanswered. She'd even tried going around to his house, but each time, one of his father's came to the door and said Ryan didn't want any visitors. Both Hiram and Leroy were courteous, but she could tell they were hurt.
So she did the only thing she could do. Russell Fabray had tried to worm his way back into the family home, and he was still trying, although Judy knocked him back left right and center. So when she found him on the doorstep after she'd come back from school, she finalized her plan.
"I need to talk to you, dad."
"About…?" He didn't sound drunk…or hangover; he just seemed passive.
"About the guy I'm dating."
"Finn Hudson? He comes from a fantastic family; his father is a war hero. You've picked the right boy to stand by you Quinn, I'm proud of you." He seemed genuinely proud, and Quinn fought back a feeling of nausea in her stomach at the shine in her father's eyes.
"Daddy…I'm not dating Finn."
"Why? What did he do?"
"He did nothing." She paused and took a deep calming breath, "I never dated him. For the past couple of months I've been dating someone else."
"And who is he…?" He seemed apprehensive, and stood slowly from his seat on the patio stairs.
"Ryan Berry."
"Ryan Berry…?" Russell's eyes darkened dangerously, "Berry? The homo men from across town?"
Quinn bristled, "Don't call them that!"
"What? They are! It's so wrong, Quinn, how could you do that to me? To the family! To yourself!"
The blonde clenched her hands at her sides, desperately trying not to smack her father across the face for all it was worth, "Stop it! I've done nothing to ruin the reputation of this family, you have! Running off with some other woman when you already had a wife?"
"Keep your voice down, young lady." Russell warned, glancing at the neighbor's houses warily.
"No! I won't. You've ruined the reputation of this family, not me. If anything I've improved it. I'm the head cheerleader, I maintain a 4.0 GPA, I'm in Glee Club, and I have a boyfriend that would walk to the end of the earth for me." When Russell went to interrupt she raised her hand, holding her index finger up, "I'm not finished, dad! Stop trying to cut me off."
He gritted his teeth.
"Ryan is the sweetest guy I've ever met, and just because his fathers are gay doesn't mean they deserve to be bashed for their choices. They love each other, dad, and they love Ryan. They've raised a fantastic son, and they're the sweetest men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. If you'd only take the chance to actually get to know them, you'd realize that too, but you're such a prude and you're so scared of change you don't dare." She took a deep breath and spat, "It's pathetic!"
Russell Fabray's back straightened defensively, "Who are you? I don't recognize you at all…"
Quinn wiped a lone tear from her cheek, "I'm your daughter. And I never thought I'd be ashamed to admit that," She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, "Please leave. Mom doesn't want you back and neither do I."
He didn't move immediately, and she felt his eyes on her, and she tried not to cry when he slowly began to move to his car, unlocked the door and drove off.
She wanted Ryan.
"Berry, ass over here, pronto."
Ryan stopped mid stride and sighed, turning toward the football field where the Cheerio's were practicing a new routine. Sue Sylvester circled them as if they were prey, a megaphone clutched in a claw like hand.
Santana Lopez stood before him, hands on his hips, exuding the ever popular HBIC.
"What is it, Santana?" He asked, not really caring what she wanted. He hadn't allowed Quinn to see him, and he hadn't taken any of her calls, or responded to any of her texts; after what she said, he'd put the 'grand romantic gesture' on hold, maybe a permanent hold.
He was in two minds to end it with the blonde cheerleader; because no matter what he did he'd always be the Berry's son, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that. Even if his girlfriend, a girl that he adored and cherished, was.
"Have you seen Quinn…?"
"No," His back straightened, "Why would I have seen her? Obviously, as her best friend and confidant you know that we had a major falling out and I haven't spoken to her since yesterday afternoon."
She looked as if she was falling asleep, "Shut it, Berry, I don't need your life story. And I may be Quinn's friend, but that doesn't mean I have tabs on her 24/7. If you see her, tell her to get her ass back ASAP, because even I can't hold off Coach." Then she turned her back and ran back toward a collapsed heap of Cheerio's, Coach Sylvester right in front of them, screaming harshly into the megaphone.
"You move like decrepit old grandmothers! I've seen better movements from my bowels!"
When Quinn didn't show up the next day, Ryan began to panic. The blonde's phone was off, and because he was stuck in school, he couldn't get out to Quinn's house. Suffice to say, he spent the whole day in a slump, dragging his feet as he went from class to class. Maybe he'd been too hard on his girlfriend? After all, their relationship was still in the early stages, and if the stories about Russell Fabray that he'd heard from his fathers were any indication, Quinn did it to protect herself.
"I would have done the same thing," He mumbled to no one, mostly to himself, in Glee practice at the end of the day. He was sat by himself – naturally – the guys in Glee club didn't really appreciate him or his talents, so he tended to sit by the piano until Brad came waltzing in from nowhere to steal his usual seat.
"Right guys, first I need to go through some song selections for Regionals. I really think-," Mr. Schue stopped mid-sentence and quickly glanced around the room, "Where's Quinn?" He asked, exacerbated.
"Ask le boyfriend," Santana grumbled, not lifting her head off of Brittany's lap, where the blonde played with the hair.
"Le boyfriend…?" Will echoed, looking at Ryan who sat dejected at the piano, the tip of his index finger trailing the C key. "Where's Quinn, Ryan?"
He just shrugged, "I have no idea, Mr. Schue, at home I suppose? But I wouldn't know, she won't take my calls and no matter what I do I can't get her to talk to me."
"Uh…" The Glee teacher shuffled uncomfortably from one foot to the other and wisely decided not to form any sort of reply to Ryan's answer, "Okay…well, we'll do this without her input." He quickly handed out the sheet music and lastly dropped a few in Ryan's hand, "If you wouldn't mind, would you take these to Quinn? I don't know what to say about the problems in your relationship, but she needs these."
Ryan sighed, "Sure, Mr. Schue."
Okay, he really hadn't anticipated this. Well, maybe he sort of did, after all, it was his house.
Russell Fabray stood on the porch of his family home, quietly, contently, just staring at the door, and only moved to look over his shoulder when Ryan pulled his Audi into the Fabray's drive.
"Shit," The brunette muttered to himself as he reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed his satchel bag. Shouldering it as he left the car, he purposely left his expensive car unlocked, just in case he had to make a break for it. "Mr. Fabray," He mumbled politely, making sure to take a wide step around the much taller man to ring the doorbell.
"I doubt highly she'll answer, young man."
At first, Ryan thought Mr. Fabray hadn't realized who he was, and calmed slightly, but when Russell spoke again, the younger man tried not to blow up, "Especially for the likes of you."
Instead, Ryan bit his lip and continued to ring the doorbell. He refused to let Russell get to him; he sprouted lies and he was the epiphany of an American man that cared too much about success, money and religion then his family. His opinion meant nothing – both his father's had ignored Russell Fabray's remarks for years – why couldn't he?
"You should just leave. I don't want you on my property, or anywhere near my daughter.
Because he was dating Quinn Fabray,
"Do you always talk like this?" Slowly he turned on the heel of his feet and faced the dominating older man, "It's really quite tiring."
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"
"A homophobic moron that has nothing better to do than lick his wounds when his own wife kicks him out of the house," He braced for a punch, but when none came, he continued, quite enjoying the way Mr. Fabray's face brightened with every retort, "You try to perfect your own image; the upstanding Christian man with a wife and daughters, but really, you're hardly that man. True, you're a Christian man, but you're hardly upstanding. You cheat on your wife, a sin in the bible if I'm correct? I wouldn't know, I haven't read it," He chuckled to himself, sarcastically, "You know, being a Jew."
"How dare-,"
"It's pathetic that you can't understand that your wife, who you cheated on – did I mention that? I think I might of - that both your wife and daughter don't want you, but you keep crawling back, trying to weasel your way back into their lives. They've done fine without you. They're happy without you. So why don't you do them both a favor and leave them the fuck alone."
He didn't see the fist coming, honestly he didn't, but he certainly felt it when it impacted with his nose. He fell flat onto his backside, and only managed to look up through watering eyes at Russell Fabray's retreating form, screaming retorts to the neighbors that had gathered on their own porches to watch the drama unfold.
"Ryan…? Oh God, did he hit you?" A beautiful blonde vision crouched beside him, running a small hand through his wavy hair.
He hissed when he raised his hand to touch his nose, "Crap, he hit my nose." His eyes widened, almost comically, "Is it bad? Does it look disfigured? Oh God, am I going to look horrible?"
Quinn chuckled lightly, "Ry, you look fine. Your nose looks fine. Maybe a little bruised, and…maybe a little puffy," She giggled when he gasped, "But it's just like any other knock, the swelling will go down eventually.
"Oh thank God," He fell onto his back and took one deep breath with relief.
The young Fabray looked around at the neighbors, glaring at them until they all retreated back into their own houses. They may have lived in the most expensive neighborhood in Lima, but that didn't mean they were void of snitches and curtain twitchers.
"Come on, let's get you inside, I'll get you some ice for your nose."
Quinn held an ice pack to the side of his nose, alternating from side to side before it got too cold to handle. "I uhm," Ryan wiped his cheeks where the tears had fallen from being punched and looked up at his girlfriend, "Thank you…for what you said, I think it really hit home for him."
Ryan shrugged, "He deserved it. I was only sticking up for you and your mom."
The ice pack clattered to the kitchen counter and Quinn burst out into tears, her arms wrapping around her body, almost trying to keep herself together as sobs wracked her body.
"Uh…" Ryan stared at the blonde wide eyed before he kicked his ass back into gear, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her, allowing her to push his head into her neck, the tears trailing down his neck, "What's wrong? Why are you crying? Is it your dad?"
"N-No," She stuttered, her reply muffled slightly by his neck, "It's you!"
His body stiffened, "Wait…what?"
"I d-don't…d-deserve you a-a-at all!"
Slowly the realization dawned on him and he chuckled softly to himself, raising a hand to run it through her luscious blonde locks. Silently, he waited until her sobs died down, still playing with her hair, calming her. He really did love it when she wore her hair down.
"You deserve me, Quinn. Believe me when I say that."
Slowly, she pulled back from him and allowed him to wipe the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, "You stuck up for me, and my mom…and I've been so horrible to you these past couple of days."
He shrugged, "You haven't been horrible. I've just been hormonal. If I was a girl, I'd be deadly."
She chuckled lightly.
"Look…I'll always stick up for you…and your mom, of course. Don't ever forget that."
"Even if I'm horrible to you and tell you to change your clothes?"
"Well…" He bit his inner cheek, because honestly, what was wrong with argyle? "Sure. Maybe…" He sighed, "We could go shopping and you could show me what normal guys wear?"
Quinn shook her head, "I don't want you to change yourself for me."
Ryan shrugged, "I could always do with change. Maybe not everything, you know, just a few new shirts, possibly some new pants, shoes. But, I categorically refuse, flat out, to throw out any of my sweaters. I love those sweaters."
The blonde just laughed and pressed a gentle kiss to Ryan's throbbing nose, "Ow!"
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
He laughed, "Just kidding."
She slapped his shoulder, "Idiot."
They chose the weekend to go shopping, and when Quinn turned up on his doorstep at 9 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, wearing a blue baby doll dress, white cardigan and flats, he couldn't help but grin, "You look beautiful, Quinn."
She blushed, "Thanks. Now come on, I want to go shopping."
The mall was packed, maybe a bit more packed than was strictly necessary. It seemed that everyone at McKinley chose today to shop, which was natural, it was a Saturday after all, but it made Ryan a little nervous.
Quinn clutched his hand gently, and the panic seemed to disappear when she smiled up at him and dragged him down into the main court.
He braced himself.
He braced himself up against a nearby wall, shopping bags hanging off his forearms while others were clutched in a vice death grip in his hands. It was crazy, they'd been here two hours and he was already loaded to the brim with shopping bags – and none of it was for him!
"Oh wow, this is pretty." Quinn cooed from behind a clothes rack, "What do you think, Ryan?" It was a top…really that was about it, but being the good boyfriend he was and the rules he'd learnt from Puck after he found out he was dating her, he nodded and smiled.
She showed back his smile and draped the garment over her arm, then continued to rifle through the rest of the rack. Honestly, he'd almost cringed after the last store, she'd accumulated a grand total of $237 and 31 cents, and he almost cried when he realized he'd told her at the beginning of the trip that he'd pay for her.
His saving's for New York were going straight down the drain. Not that he was poor, far from it, his father's made sure he had enough money, and he'd worked a summer job every summer since he was 13 – but this was just crazy.
They finished in the store, and thankfully handed over his card to only charge $61 dollars to his account before leaving, his arms filling with new bags every second.
"I think that's me done…" Quinn smiled up at her boyfriend, walking beside him. He sighed with relief at the comment, but cringed when Quinn's eyes zoned in on a nearby store, "Oh…Ry, it's beautiful, look at it."
He paused and stopped completely, "Uh…"
"What, you don't think so?"
"I uhm…of course Quinn, it's beautiful." He felt as if he was falling into a trap, "But…not as beautiful as you I assure you. Your beauty is one in a million; perhaps I could sing a song for you to emote that? Possibly, Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars? I know how much you love him, although his lyrics are rather generic at times, but he does have an outstanding voice. Also…"
He trailed off and caught sight of Quinn's raised eyebrow, "Ryan, it's just a puppy. I don't need you to declare how beautiful I am," Then she had the good grace to blush, "But thank you…"
He smiled, "I'll tell you every day."
She leaned up to kiss him and turned her attention back to the puppy, "Maybe we should buy him,"
"We?" The singer echoed, albeit a little high.
"Yeah, I think he's adorable. He has big brown eyes," She glanced up at Ryan, "Just like you…" She looked back to the small Labrador puppy, "And look at him! He's so athletic, just like me. He's a mix of us."
Of course, the dog was only chasing a small rubber ball around in his bed, and how Quinn would peg that as athleticism was lost on the young singer. All dogs played with rubber balls, right?
"I must admit, while your theory is, of course, adorable, where would he live? We don't live together and while I wouldn't mind taking the…dog... my dad is allergic to both cats and dogs."
"Well I'll take him then," She rolled her eyes, but didn't take her eyes off of the small puppy, "I've always wanted a dog – we had one when I was a baby, I don't remember much but apparently I used to love playing with her fur."
"Ah," Childhood memories, and Quinn needed stability right now. With a deep sigh, he turned his body, ignoring the ache in his arms from the heavy load of his bags and thrust out his hip, "Wallet is in my pocket, get it out for me."
"You mean?" Her head snapped to him.
"Yeah…" He mumbled half-heartedly, but when Quinn literally jumped at him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him for all he was worth – he summarized he'd buy a thousand puppies for his girlfriend if it made her happy.
The puppy had been, in a word, bought. They would pick it up after they'd finished shopping, which was going to last a lot longer, he realized when Quinn immediately dragged him into a nearby pet store.
"Uh…Quinn? You never told your mom you'd be buying a dog."
"Oh she won't mind," She replied, not really paying attention as she looked at collars.
"Quinn, I don't know if you realize, but the puppy we just bought is a Labrador Retriever. While small right now, it will grow. Did you know that when fully grown, males typically weigh from 60 to 130 lb and females 55 to 93 lb? I read that in a 'Dogs for Dummies'. And of course, dogs of that breed need plenty of exercise, and I don't doubt that you'll be able to take him on runs daily, but you'll be in school most of the day and your mother will be at work. Also-,"
"Ryan," She clasped a hand over his motor mouth and smiled, "Did I ever tell you that when you ramble, while adorable, it gets a bit annoying?"
He nodded begrudgingly.
"Good," Slowly she lowered her hands and leaned up to kiss him gently before turning back to the large array of collars, "I know how big Retriever's get, I know they need lots of exercise – did you not notice the size of my back garden? I also know its mom's favourite breed of dog, and she's a sucker for puppies."
Ryan sighed, "Okay…"
"Oh my God, Ryan! Look!" She whipped a shiny blue collar into his face and grinned, "It's got gems on it, oh my, he'll be adorable!"
Ryan tipped his head back and groaned; Quinn Fabray would be the death of him.
More bags, and more receipts for purchases later, Ryan Berry dragged his body into another clothing store – but this time, for him.
"Okay, first of all, we need new pants." She rushed over to a nearby rack and thumbed through some jeans, "I think you'd look great in bright blue, maybe darker shades for when you go out. But I don't know, maybe you'd look better in black, or maybe grey?" She pinched her chin delicately and looked at Ryan who looked exhausted stood beside her, "Oh I'm sorry baby, and I didn't mean to take the initiative here. You choose what clothes you think look okay and I'll either give you a thumbs up or thumbs down."
He nodded and immediately dropped his arms from the 90 degree angle he'd perfected over the coming hours. All the bags collapsed to the floor and he let out an embarrassingly loud groan with relief, "Oh my God, why didn't I do that earlier?"
Everyone in the store turned and stared at the two students.
"Oh my God, that was mortifying! Everyone's staring at us, Ryan!"
"Gee, sorry…" He massaged his biceps while he looked at the rails of jeans, "Uh…how about those?" He pointed at a pair of faded, ripped maroon jeans."
The blonde shook her head, "You're staying away from maroon, Ry."
He sighed and hesitantly pointed at a pair of grey skinny jeans, "Those?"
"Do you like those?" Quinn asked, an eyebrow raised in question.
He cringed slightly, "Not really…"
"Baby, pick out what you like, not what I like. Be honest, and I'll be honest with you."
"Why did I agree to let you try that on?" Quinn asked, exacerbated from her seat in the changing room with Ryan, "I can't believe those shirts are being sold, let alone exist."
Ryan pulled a bright yellow shirt over his head, the word glee plastered across it in big black letters, "You have to admit, it's a sign of my stunning leadership in glee club."
Quinn hid a smirk behind her hand, "You should get Captain printed on the back of it."
"Or perhaps 'Head Cheerio's boyfriend'…? That's a title, right?"
She giggled this time and stood up, "You. Are. Adorable." She pecked his tender nose and smiled, "But you're not buying it."
"Oh, Quinn, come on! It's amazing, it fits me perfectly!"
She sighed and glanced up and down at him – she had to admit, he looked pretty damn hot. A tight, albeit yellow, shirt and light blue jeans; the shirt fit his torso as if it was made for him, and the jeans hugged his slender frame. He looked, normal.
"Fine, but that's your only lifeline."
"Great!" She melted when he grinned a perfectly white smile.
"What are those…?"
"Plimsolls. Or pumps."
"Pumps..? Aren't those kind of…girly? Not that I'm saying I have anything against women, because I don't, I am after all, dating one."
She sighed and shook her head, chucking the pumps into his open arms, "Try them on, Gleek."
After amassing another six bags, full of new clothes for Ryan, they made one last stop to buy some casual shoes for the boy. It wasn't a secret that he practically lived in converse outside of school, and usually wore black dress shoes in school.
"I suppose they look okay," He walked up and down the length of the store once, "Yes, I quite like them!" He grinned, "Can I wear them out of the store?" Honestly, he was a kid in a candy store, "Please?"
"No, you'll get them dirty."
The puppy dog look would have melted her, but she stood firm and stared him down.
Begrudgingly, he gave up and took the shoes off, handing them back to her before shoving on his black and white high-tops again. "So we're done?" He glanced down at the array of small and large bags down by his feet and sighed; he'd only just gotten the feeling back in his arms.
"That's the last of what we needed," She glanced down at her watch, "If we leave now, you can stay for dinner at my house."
He paused mid-grab of a bag, "Uh…your mom doesn't know about me."
"I know that," A gentle blush radiated across her pale cheeks, "But I want to tell her about you; she has every right to know that I'm with someone."
"I'm not complaining, but what if it gets awkward? I'm not used to meeting parents," He grumbled and whispered, "Obviously, because I've never had a girlfriend before. Unless you count Clara, but I was five at the time and I could hardly account any real feelings to that relationship. It didn't last long though, she ran off with Danny because he had proper cookies and not Vegan ones."
She felt as if she'd just entered the twilight zone, "Do you realize you completely lose track of conversations when you ramble?"
"I was actually on track, Quinn. I've had one other girlfriend but we didn't reach the point in our relationship where I had to meet her parents."
"You were five!"
"Exactly, hence, why I'm nervous!"
She grinned, "Come on, we need to go pick up our puppy!"
He watched his girlfriend walk off toward the check out and sighed, "I forgot that we'd bought a dog…"
"Quinnie, what on earth persuaded you to buy a puppy?"
Ryan bit back an 'I told you so' as Quinn rambled on about some excuses of having a dog in the house for security, and that they were loyal and kind – all the things he'd told her from the 'Dogs for Dummies' book he'd purchased at the pet store while she drove them both, with the addition of a yellow Labrador retriever curled up in his lap, back to her house.
Judy Fabray sighed and fingered the glass of ice water she had clutched in her hand. Ryan knew that Quinn's mom was a recovering alcoholic, and smiled gently when he realized she'd been keeping up to the routine.
"Okay, fine, but you have to take responsibility for it."
"Sure." Quinn smiled and took the puppy from Ryan's arms, cooing at it gently, "Oh, mom, this is Ryan Berry. Ryan, this is my mom, Judy."
"Uhm…" He wiped his sweaty palm on the thigh of his pant leg and thrust out his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Fabray."
"Ms. Fabray," She smiled and shook his hand, "Berry…you say?"
"Yes ma'am." He gulped, and glanced at Quinn in the corner of his eye. She didn't seem fazed, and continued to scratch behind the little sleeping puppy's ear.
"Hiram and Leroy Berry's son…?"
He felt his jaw clench, bracing himself, "Yes ma'am."
"How delightful!" His jaw dropped immediately as she moved to wrap an arm around his waist, "You must tell me what's happening in the gay community these days, I'm afraid I'm rather far behind."
In one word, dinner with Judy Fabray had been an adventure. To say the woman dated a prude, high Christian man, she truly was a 'fag hag'. It'd taken half an hour before Quinn could get a word in edgeways, especially when her mother had asked Ryan if he had a boyfriend.
"Mom…he's my boyfriend."
Judy's head snapped to her daughter's and then back to Ryan's, "Oh…?"
"Uh…" Ryan chuckled nervously and gently placed his fork back onto his plate, it was hardly Vegan friendly, but he couldn't really turn down a hot meal from his girlfriend's mom.
"Well, I must say Quinn, you've got excellent taste. I thought you'd settle for that Neanderthal Noah Puckerman or that air head Finn Hudson."
Ryan let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and grinned, "I couldn't agree more, Ms. Fabray!"
Quinn rolled her eyes.
"Please dear, call me Judy."
"So your mom accepts Mr. Argyle 2011, big whoop!" Santana slammed her locker door shut and leaned against it, "Why should I care?"
"You're my friend. You know, friends tell each other things, and we talk about them."
"Since when were we friends, blondie…? I thought we were 'frenemies.'"
"Frenemies…honestly…?"
Santana shrugged. "Alright, I'm happy for you, or whatever you wanna hear."
It was the closest thing to a positive response she was going to get, so simply nodded and opened her locker to pull out her chemistry book.
"Holy…fuck…what the…wha'…fuck?"
Quinn pulled her head out of her locker and looked at her beta cheerleader curiously; Santana's eyes were as wide as saucers and her jaw hung open. "What's wrong?" She looked to where Santana stared and her jaw dropped too.
Ryan Berry walked down the halls, wearing his brand new black skinny jeans, dark blue polo shirt that clung to him like a second skin, pumps and the brown leather satchel bag that Quinn had insisted he buy for himself. His hair seemed different too, instead of pushed back like usual; his wavy brown locks had been left to fall against his eyes.
Everyone's eyes tracked Ryan as he walked toward his girlfriend, and instead of fury as most of the girl's in the hall ogled her boyfriend, she felt an overwhelming sense of pride and arrogance.
That's my boyfriend, damn right.
"Holy crap Berry, what happened to you?"
Ryan leaned in and kissed his smirking girlfriend before regarding Santana, "I thought I'd have a little overhaul of my closet."
"You don't look like a 70 year old anymore…"
"I take that as a compliment, I suppose."
"Am I being punk'd?"
"No, S, you're not." Quinn smiled, allowing herself to be wrapped up in Ryan's arms, feeling the glowing pleasure of everyone's envy circle around her. Oh she had it all, head cheerleader, perfect grades, a stunningly gorgeous boyfriend with an equally stunning voice.
And who could forget her puppy, Charlie.
"What should we call him…?" She asked, circling the puppy's stomach with the tip of her index finger as she sat Indian style on her bed, the little labby sat in the crevice between her legs.
"I believe we should call him Jean Valjean after the starring character in the seminal Broadway classic Les Mis.
Quinn's raised eyebrow was answer to that.
"Okay…uhm…what about…Oliver? I love that play, and of course the book, nothing can beat the book.
Quinn seemed to pay half attention, her eyes wholly focused on the puppy in front of her before she slowly raised her head, "Charles Dickens wrote that."
"Well…yes." He couldn't see where this was going.
"Charles…" She looked back down and played with the tiny puppy's paws, "Too posh…maybe…Charlie?"
"I like Charlie."
Quinn looked up and smiled at her boyfriend, "Charlie it is then."
"Whatever, this is totally freaking me out. Berry actually looks hot."
"Told ya so," Quinn replied in merriment, looking over her shoulder at Ryan who blushed.
"Yeah well…" Santana shrugged, "Whatever, I'm going to find B." And the wandered off into the crowd.
"Well, I must look hot if Santana admitted it."
Quinn turned around in his arms and looked up at him, "Of course you do."
"But I can still wear argyle, right?"
"Only on Thursdays, and you're limited to one item of argyle."
"One…?" He whined.
"One."
"Dad, pa, I need to talk to you about my grand romantic night in with Quinn," Both Hiram and Leroy Berry looked up from their respective newspapers and arched an eyebrow and their son's new image.
"Oh yeah, I got all this on the weekend with Quinn. But anyway, about my night in-,"
Hiram pushed back his glasses that were slipping from the bridge of his nose, "I thought you weren't going to let her change you, Ryan? You were comfortable as you were."
"Yeah I know that, but I wanted to change, pa." He sighed, "Anyway, the only thing Quinn really made me cave on was buying Charlie."
"Who…?" Leroy piped up.
"Oh, our Labrador retriever,"
"You're what?" Both fathers' echoed, staring at their son as if he'd grown two heads.
"Oh yeah…I completely forgot to tell you about that, I apologize."
"We wondered what you'd spent $350 dollars on, and that was only in one store." Leroy folded up his paper and walked over to the box of bills that lay underneath the coffee table, opening it up and pulling out the letter at the very top, "Your credit card statement. Ryan, you went over your limit by $789!"
He shrugged and smiled sheepishly, "I uh…"
"Ryan, you need to learn to say no to Quinn."
The singer raised an eyebrow, a silent gesture to continue.
"Did you once say no to her on this shopping trip?" Hiram butted in, "Well…obviously not because you bought a dog!"
"Puppy…actually…"
"And that makes it alright…?"
"But you don't understand, she'd had a rough time with her dad recently, and having a dog reminded her of her childhood so I thought-,"
Leroy sighed, "Ryan, look…buying a dog is just crazy! What possessed you to give into Quinn and buy a puppy?"
"Charlie makes her happy, dad."
"Fine, you couldn't say no about the dog, but what about the countless card uses in stores that only sell women's clothing? Are you taking it up cross dressing…?"
"Well…no."
"Exactly,"
Ryan sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Okay…maybe I was a little over zealous with my credit card…"
Both Leroy and Hiram nodded in agreement.
"You need to learn to say no, sometimes, Ryan. And until then, you won't have any 'grand night in'. Not until you pay off your bill."
He performed a perfect diva storm out.
"Ry, will you be able to help me with the glee club assignment today?"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I said no, Quinn. I'm putting my foot down, no."
"Are you being serious…?"
"Yes."
"Ryan, I really need help."
"And I said 'no.'"
"Asshole,"
He watched her storm off out of the cafeteria and cringed when he realized Puck and Finn were staring at him, "Dude, that was painful!"
"I was only taking my dad's advice."
Puck wolfed down the rest of his sandwich and between bites, muttered, "Yeah, when she wants to spend money! Not when she wants help with school work! Christ, Berry."
"I'm sorry!"
"I don't want to know, Ryan."
"Quinn, please. I sincerely apologize for my attitude earlier on today. I'll make it up you, I swear. I'll take Charlie home, I'll buy him that new collar you've had your eye on; anything!"
"…Hm…"
"So I'm forgiven? And of course, I'll help you with your assignment."
Quinn's smile was all he needed.
Mr Schue coughed behind him, "Okay…Ryan…can you please sit down so we can get on with our set list for Regionals?"
Ryan looked around at the club members and sighed when he realized all of them were barely holding back tears of hilarity at his begging – why had he got onto his damn knees? He slumped into a chair beside Finn and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting.
"Uh…dude…I thought your dad's said don't spend any more money?"
Ryan's head snapped up toward Finn, then to Quinn and her radiant smile, then back to Finn, "Oh for fu-!,"
"Ryan, why is there a charge of $40 on your account from Pets R Us?"
"Uh…"
"Ryan, I think it's time Charlie gets his shots. I don't want him getting sick, especially with winter coming up."
"No, maybe we should wait a little while longer."
"You want our dog to get sick, Ryan? He's getting bigger every day, and I don't know what I'd do if he got sick…"
"Uh…"
Duo puppy dog eyes from both Charlie and Quinn were the death of him.
"Ryan, why is there a charge of $150 dollars on your account from Lima Vets?"
"Uh…"
"Thank the Lord, I'm not on Sue's master cleanse this week. Want to treat your girlfriend to takeout, baby?"
"Uh…"
"What?"
"Do you mind if I cook?"
"Why?"
Ryan sighed and pushed away from his locker, "Quinn…I literally have no money left, and my dads have been on my case for the past two weeks about making up the money."
"Why didn't you tell me…?"
The singer shrugged and shoved his hands into his jean pockets, "It didn't want to admit that I was broke, and when Charlie needed his shots, I could hardly decline."
"Ryan, I have money too, but when you offered to pay every time, you kind of made my offers redundant."
"Oh…"
"Hm," Quinn smiled, "I'll pay you back for most of my clothes and Charlie's shots, okay?"
Ryan sighed with relief, "Thanks baby," Then it dawned on him, "That means I've made up the money!" He wrapped his arms tightly around his girlfriend and swung her around, her Nike cross trainers narrowly avoiding the head of a passing student.
"Ryan!" She hit him gently on his shoulders with her hands, "Put me down, Ryan, you're making a scene."
He glanced around and grinned shyly, "Oops, sorry," He put her back on her feet and kissed her forehead gently as she adjusted her ponytail.
"What's the big deal about you making up the money, anyway?"
"I've been wanting to give you this for ages!" He turned around and opened up his locker, narrowly avoiding his own head before reaching in and returning with a crisp white envelope, "Here you go," He turned and handed it to her.
Quinn's hazel eyes scanned the envelope and bit her bottom lip to stifle a giggle, "You're such a girl!"
His smile dropped, "What…? Why?"
"Gold stars? All over the envelope? Really…?"
He had the good grace to blush, maybe he had gone a little over the top with the gold sticker decorations, "Well Quinn, I'll have you know that gold stars are…kind of…my thing. And of course they're a metaphor, and metaphor's are important!"
"Like you're going to be a star when you finally get out of Lima?"
Ryan nodded, "Exactly."
The blonde playfully rolled her eyes as she thumbed open the envelope and slipped a watermarked…watermarked!... card from it.
"You are cordially invited to a romantic night in with one, Ryan Berry." She looked up at her boyfriend, hazel eyes swirling with confusion, "You're inviting me," She fanned the card gently, "via a written invitation, to a romantic night in with you?"
"Well I assumed it was romantic…"
It was both hilarious and drop dead adorable, and Quinn didn't know whether to burst out laughing or leap into her boyfriend's arms.
"Then I'll be there," She moved to put the invite in her Cheerio's bag, but stopped when Ryan's hand clasped gently over her wrist, "What…?"
"You need to RSVP."
"I just told you I'd be there, Ryan."
"But it's proper etiquette to RSVP."
Okay, now this was just stupid. With a sigh, Quinn glanced down at the invite and read right down at the bottom; RSVP via cell phone.
"Alright…" And then she walked away from him.
"Wait! What does that mean?" He shouted after her, but she'd already rounded a corner. With a sigh, he slammed his locker door shut and leaned against it, bashing the back of his head gently against the metal to the beat of Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Suddenly, All That's Known began to play throughout the halls and he grinned to himself, pulling out his iPhone and answering without even looking at the screen, "Hello?"
The low, dangerously husky voice of his girlfriend filtered to his ear, "I accept. I'll be there." And then the monotonous dial tone invaded his ear. He disconnected the call and smirked to himself, it was finally beginning to work out for him.
"Well, don't you look dapper!"
Ryan grinned at his father, "Thanks pa. Do you think I pull off suave and sophisticated?"
Hiram poked his glasses back up his nose and nodded, "Very, you are my son after all."
The younger Berry laughed and allowed his father to give him a quick hug before disappearing off upstairs. He'd finally settled, after four hours of debate, on a crisp white button up shirt, black skinny tie and a pair of pinstripe slacks that Quinn had said his ass looked 'divine' in.
Then his hair. The usual perfect wavy locks decided today that they didn't want to behave on one of the most important nights of his life. Normally, he didn't have to do anything to his hair. He'd get out of the shower, let it dry naturally, and it'd be…just…there. But no, not tonight. His hair had looked a mix between an afro and a weave, and it was mortifying to look at.
Half a tub of Bed Head wax later and possibly a whole can of hairspray, his locks were held in place perfectly.
"So what are you cooking for dear Miss. Fabray, tonight?" Leroy asked his son as he walked downstairs, flanked by his other father.
"Well, I was planning on making a Vegan friendly dish of vegetable lasagne, but then I realized that Quinn has an unusual addiction to bacon, so I decided to make chicken, wrapped in this bacon she always gets from this special deli downtown."
"And you'll be fine eating chicken?" Leroy asked, shrugging on his jacket.
"Everything has to be perfect tonight, I'll abstain from my hatred of eating meat and make sure everything goes smoothly."
Hiram allowed his husband to put on his jacket, "Um…Ryan, you do know that chicken breast takes at least an hour to cook, right?"
"Yes."
"And first you have to defrost them?"
"…"
Hiram and Leroy shared a look and laughed, "Oh my…Ryan, did you forget to take the chicken out of the freezer?"
"Oh God…I didn't take it out of the freezer!"
Leroy placed his heavy hands on his son's shoulders and smiled, "Don't panic, just order take out."
"I-I can't! The meal has to be hand made by me!"
"Did you rear the chickens and kill them yourself?"
"Well…no."
"Then it's not hand made," Leroy pulled his hands back when the sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the small house, "And your girlfriend is here."
"She's early!" Ryan glanced at his silver Omega watch, "30 minutes early! That's not acceptable, you were suppose to be gone by the time she arrived!"
"We're leaving anyway," Hiram butted in, walking back into the living room, Quinn trailing behind him…holding Charlie, "Let's go Lee. Have a good night son, Quinn."
"Thank you Mr. and Mr. Berry," She smiled as the two men stroked the tiny puppy in her hands and walked out, gently closing the door behind them.
"Sorry I'm a little early, mom wanted me out of the house before her friend's got there."
Ryan just nodded, "And why did you bring Charlie?" Not that he wasn't happy to see the tiny puppy that he'd grown terribly fond of, but it put a bit of a dampener on his plans.
"It's mom's bi-weekly bridge night, she wouldn't be able to walk him and feed him."
"Ah…"
"I hope you don't mind?" She asked, holding out her arms for Ryan to take the small Labrador.
"N-No, of course not…it's fine."
Quinn smiled and leaned up, kissing Ryan slowly, her tongue brushing ever so gently against his bottom lip before pulling back, settling back onto the soles of her feet, "So what's for dinner, Mr. Berry?"
"Uh…"
"Ryan, take out is fine, I love Chinese!"
"It was suppose to be romantic…" Ryan grumbled, his head lowered as he stabbed at his vegetable chow mien, "A home cooked meal, candle light, music…"
"Baby, we have all that, just not the home cooked meal, and honestly, it's fine." There was an awkward silence, which was his fault, he was the one that was making it awkward, before he heard Quinn giggle.
Looking up, he caught sight of her feeding Charlie from under the table, a tiny piece of chicken pinched between two delicate fingers that the tiny puppy desperately tried to snatch at.
"Quinn, that's incredibly unhygienic."
The blonde looked up, "Ry…Charlie is healthy, he's hardly going to give me rabies by getting a little bit of chicken for a treat."
"Guess so…" He muttered, his eyes trailing his girlfriend's body when she went to look back at Charlie.
She was wearing a beautiful black dress, it hugged her figure perfectly and showed off every single one of her curves flawlessly. Her hair fell against her face, curled to perfection - it glowed as if it was on fire, and Ryan felt himself fall in love with Quinn Fabray all over again. She was beautiful, and he hadn't even told her so.
"You look beautiful, Quinn. Really beautiful…" He whispered, finally lowering his fork to his plate.
A blush quickly spread across her neck and up to her cheeks. She finally allowed Charlie to take the chicken from her fingers, and she looked up at Ryan, who watched her as if she was an angel. She felt like crying, she felt so adored. Never in her life had she felt like this, and she never wanted it to end.
"Thank you, Ryan." She reached across the table and took his unbelievably soft hand in hers, "You look really handsome…"
"I hope I do, it took me an hour to do my hair."
Quinn burst out laughing and slowly began to play with Ryan's fingers, "You really are a big girl,"
"Lesbian,"
She slapped his hand.
"I'm sorry I stepped on your foot, Ryan…"
"It's fine, Quinn." He groaned between his clenched teeth. They were both sat on the couch in the living room, watching TV after a rather horrid attempt at slow dancing. He assumed Quinn would know how to dance, after all, she was in Glee and in the Cheerio's, so it came as a shock when it appeared that the blonde bombshell had to left feet when it came to slow dancing.
She had his feet in her lap, and putting her massage technique that she'd learnt at cheer camp to good use, "Maybe I should have taken my heels off…"
"Maybe, but really…it's fine…don't worry about it, okay?"
She smiled bashfully and allowed him to pull his feet off her lap and pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. It didn't feel heavy like Finn's used to, and didn't feel intrusive like Puck's had when he tried to get into her pants at a party a year ago - no, this felt perfect, like his arm was meant to be there, to make her feel protected.
God, she loved him.
She stiffened and shot up on the couch, "Oh my…" She drifted off and cupped her mouth with her hand.
"What? What's wrong?"
She turned and looked at him - really looked at him. He had tried so hard to make this night perfect for her, and the looks that he always gave her, that were reserved for her, were full of such admiration that it made her want to weep. He was the real deal, the real genuine article and she'd found him at seventeen.
"Oh…uhm…" She scrambled for an excuse, it wasn't time to tell him yet, not right now at least; not when she'd just stomped on his foot with her heels, "I think…Charlie doesn't have water in his bowl, yes! Charlie doesn't have water in his bowl!" And scampered off into the kitchen to find her puppy.
He knew something was wrong, ever since Quinn had practically leaped head first into the kitchen, she'd been eerily quiet. And she was ever only that quiet when she was really thinking about something deep.
They were sat side by side, not touching as they watched, well, not really, TV. Some random program was flashing on screen, something on MTV he summarized; something about Jersey…and a shoreline? He wasn't sure.
"So uh…" This really wasn't going the way he wanted to, he had to make a move before he lost his nerve. "Wanna make out?" He cringed when the words came out, but he hardly had time to apologize because Quinn had jumped on top of him, pinning him by his shoulders onto the couch and kissing him desperately.
He yelped loudly in surprise and quickly fell into a rhythm, battling with Quinn's tongue for dominance.
Then a yap.
Quinn pulled back, "Did you just yap?"
"No…I thought you did?"
Their head's turned slowly in time with each other, their gazes locking to a small puppy on the floor, tail wagging desperately, tongue lolling from it's mouth, "Yap!"
Charlie tried to jump onto the couch, but failed miserably, falling straight back onto his small backside.
"Oh, Charlie…" Quinn cooed, crawling back off her boyfriend and picking up the dog, plonking it on Ryan's heaving stomach, "Do you feel left out?"
The dog licked the hand that was petting him and she giggled, her attention well and truly given to the dog, leaving her incredibly aroused boyfriend lying on the couch, a small puppy residing on his stomach.
That dog would be the death of him. And his sex life.
Charlie had finally fallen asleep after the two had taken him for a small walk around the block - that had been a feat in itself. The small Labrador decided it wanted to sniff each individual bush it passed and pee on it, then do it all over again on the way back.
A walk that should have taken twenty minutes almost took an hour, and by the time they had arrived back home and watched a slumbering Charlie for ten minutes to actually make sure he was asleep, there was only two hours until Ryan's dad's arrived back home from their night out.
He had a distinct feeling of deja-vu; the two of them, not touching, watching some horrible show on MTV. He felt like asking if she wanted to make out, but that was hardly gentlemanly. So slyly, he slipped up the couch and wrapped his arm around Quinn's waist.
The young blonde immediately caught on and laid back on the couch, allowing Ryan to crawl over her, holding himself up by his arms. This was hardly the place to do this, but the thought of making a 30 second trip upstairs had him enraged.
Charlie had decided to ruin his getting laid over an hour ago and now he could hardly contain himself. Quinn looked delicious, delicious enough to eat.
Slowly he lowered himself, gently brushing his lips against Quinn's parted ones. He smirked at the loud intake of breath she took, and brushed his tongue against her bottom lip, teasing it until her tongue joined his.
They were both slow, enjoying the feeling of their tongue's gently duelling for dominance, savouring the taste of one another. Ryan distinctly felt Quinn's hands pull his shirt out of his pants and run her hands up the inside of it, dragging her nails teasingly against his spine.
He bit back a groan and arched into the touch - she knew he loved it when she did this, slowly, teasing, a touch that was barely there. In return he ground his hips down against her, barely brushing against her, hardly even touching her, but it didn't mean she didn't feel it.
Quinn arched into the touch and pushed her head back. Ryan seized the opportunity and sunk his teeth gently into her neck, lathering the bite with the tip of his tongue and a kiss before repeating the process down the rest of her neck and throat.
He was sure he heard her groan his name, but the tightening in his pants was beginning to pull his attention away. The way her chest heaved dangerously in her dress, breasts threatening to spill out of the low cut garment. She'd never looked so fuckable.
His tongue swiped slowly across the boundary of her chest, only just managing to swipe across her nipple. It pebbled deliciously under his tongue, and he went to swipe again when Quinn groaned and ripped down the dress, exposing her bra-less breasts.
"Oh sweet Jesus…"
Quinn smirked and arched her back, "You choose to thank him now?"
"Remind me to write him a thank you note,"
"I thought you were Jew-," She was cut off by Ryan's lips crashing down upon hers, biting down gently on her bottom lip and pulling at it. She groaned into his mouth, slowly lowering her hand to grab one of his hands, pulling it up to her chest and resting it there.
Ryan picked up on what Quinn wanted; she always liked her breasts being teased while they made out, and being the fantastic boyfriend he was, he couldn't refuse his girlfriend's wishes.
He palmed the whole of her breast, knowing that it wasn't exactly what she wanted - he'd wait until she gave him the signal he always waited for. The point of no return. Her nipples stabbed deliciously against his palm, and he fought back the urge to lean down and take it into his mouth; he'd make her work for it.
Quinn arched her back and tried desperately to get closer to the contact; to Ryan. Her body felt as if it was fire, and the heat that engulfed her with his body pressed so perfectly against hers made her want to cry out. His palm was brushing against her nipple, and the thrill of pleasure that shot up and down her spine made her reach up and thread her things through his hair, clutching tight and pulling.
That was the signal.
He pinched. Gently at first, rolling the swollen bud between his index finger and thumb, watching as Quinn's eyes squeezed shut and whimpered, collapsing back onto the couch and allowing him to have his way with her.
When she least expected it, he leaned down and flicked the small bud with the tip of his tongue, only to retreat again, even with her hand trying to pull him back down. All her strength was gone, her arms felt like jelly, and when she felt him pinch harder and grind his hips down against the warm, slick heat between her legs, she felt as if she'd faint.
The dress was too much, she needed it off. And he was wearing too much.
"Clothes. Off." She growled through a moan, voice unusually low and husky. He didn't need asking twice, only unbuttoning the first three buttons of his shirt before pulling it off over his head, throwing it to the floor. His pants and boxers followed suit.
Quinn had managed to rip her dress off and throw it across the room, somehow getting it to land on the TV, blocking out the screen completely. She kicked her heels off and pushed them onto the floor with her feet before wrapping her arms around Ryan, pulling him against her.
She sighed in contentment, feeling his naked body flushed against hers. He was already hard against her, poking deliciously against her inner thigh. She fought back the urge to move her hips against him, and simply kissed him instead. Small, teasing kisses that only made him want her more.
His hips began to move in a steady rhythm against her, his cock brushing against her thighs, and then the small trail of trimmed curls before repeating all over again. He buried his face into her neck, groaning loudly into her ear before gently biting down her earlobe when her nails began to scratch trails up and down his back again.
"Fuck, Ryan…" She panted between parted lips, grinding her hips in rhythm against him. His panting was louder now, and suddenly she stiffened. "Condom."
"Uh…wha…?" He mumbled, half paying attention as his tongue trailed around the shell of her ear.
"Condom, Ryan…go get one…quickly…"
"Urggghhh…" He pulled himself away, albeit a little reluctantly and ended up speeding up the stairs. She chuckled to herself, wiping the sweat away that had formed on her brow before trailing her hand to her chest, feeling her heart beat rapidly against her chest.
She heard his stomping footsteps upstairs, and she could only imagine what he was feeling. Hard, ready for her, and made to stop right at the last minute for a necessity. Her hand slowly trailed down her body, taking in the curves of her own body under her fingertips before dipping between her thighs, feeling the sticky heat immediately on the pads of her fingers.
Her hips arched into her own touch, and she moaned when a finger bumped against her swollen clit. She'd done this on so many nights to herself, thinking of Ryan and what he could be doing to her when they weren't together. She'd spend so many nights imagining Ryan climbing through her window, climbing into bed and having his way with her.
A fresh flood of moisture rushed between her thighs and she sighed gently, slowly rubbing the pad of two fingertips against her clit before allowing them to dip lower, collection some of the warm moisture.
She tried to tease herself, pinching her clit, but the touch was too alluring. Her hand gained speed, and at the back of her mind she wondered where Ryan had gone, but the thought was gone as the familiar tightening in her stomach overtook her body.
She was so close…so…so close.
Then a groan.
Her hand snatched her away from between her legs, almost as if burnt before she sat up and looked over to the doorway. Ryan stood there, hand clasped around his cock, pumping and twisting slowly. "D-Don't stop…Quinn…please."
Quinn smirked, "No…come here, finish me off yourself."
He obliged, releasing himself and crawling over her. He'd only just managed to get back into his original position before he felt Quinn's hand on him, her fingertips dancing along his shaft.
"Holy…" He groaned, clenching his teeth. He'd been so close before, and she threatened to take him over the edge.
"Did you like that, Ryan?" She whispered, leaning up to whisper in his ear, "Did you like watching me touch myself?" Her hand slowly began to pump, only twisting when he whined in her ear, "You have no idea how many times I've touched myself on a night, Ryan…all because of you." He whined loudly and she rewarded him with a fast pump before returning back to her slow, torturous pumping. "I always come so hard, Ry…but not as hard as you make me come." His hips were thrusting in time with her hand, and she knew he was about to come, so with a tender lick to his earlobe, she growled in his ear, "Say my name."
"Quinn!" His body tensed, fingers clutching desperately at the couch for support as he released. His body felt as if it was on fire as she continued to pump, her other hand reaching down to cup his balls, massaging them gently in her fingers. "Oh God…Quinn…oh…fuck…"
He collapsed against her and immediately regretted it, even in the midst of his after glow. He felt the stickiness of his own come on his stomach and groaned, "Sorry…"
He pulled back and looked down at her, and almost came all over again. Her hair was mussed, body heaving with un-tapped sexual energy, stomach covered in his come, legs parted and ready for him.
Quinn chuckled, and immediately he looked down at himself, seeing that he was hard again, and so quickly.
"That's what you do to me…"
Suddenly the blonde's face smoothed out into something primal, "Did you get a condom…?"
"Uh…yeah…" He looked around for it, but didn't move from his spot, not trusting his legs to work so close after an orgasm, "Oh," He reached down beside the couch and picked up the wrapped condom that had somehow fallen onto the floor.
"Put it on, now."
He fucking loved it when she was bossy. HBIC fantasy's coming true.
The condom was unwrapped and rolled quickly onto his erection, and before he could even comprehend what was happening, he was shoved onto the floor, the pain of his head knocking against the carpeted floor not even registering as Quinn Fabray, regal as ever even in the nude, rose from the couch and straddled his hips.
His hands went automatically to her waist to steady her, but when she didn't move, he whined, "Come on, Quinn!"
"Come on, what?" She teased, nails dragging down the bumps of his abs. She didn't look at him, just followed the trail that her nails made across his tan skin. And when he just moaned and arched into her touch, feeling his cock bump up against the bottom of her back, her hazel eyes snapped up to his darkened brown ones, "Come on, what, Ryan?"
"I need to be inside you, Quinn. Please."
"Need?" She lowered her upper body over him, allowing her breasts to hover deliciously close to his face, "Do you need to be inside me, Ryan?"
"Yes!" He tried to surge up and take a nipple in his mouth, but she pulled away, right at the last second. Sitting up, hands braced on his chest, she rose and impaled herself on his cock. The groan that echoed throughout the empty house was loud, primal, anamalistic, and it took a few seconds for Quinn to adjust to his girth before she slowly began to rotate her hips around him.
His head thumped back against the floor, the tight hot wet feeling of his girlfriend surrounding him. This couldn't be any more perfect. But as her nails dug into his chest, her hips moving faster up and down…up and down…rotating…up and down against him, the tightening of her muscles around him, the whines and moans of his names from her lips, the sheen of sweat that covered her body, the way his hands could hardly stay in one place as she picked up the pace again, he knew that even Quinn Fabray was more than perfect.
She was so close, so close, and she squeezed her eyes shut, lowered her head and focused wholly on the feeling between her legs. And then when Ryan met her thrusts, trying desperately to cling onto her waist as he met each and every thrust without missing a beat, she knew she loved him, she knew she wanted this, she knew she wanted him.
"Oh God, Ryan! I'm coming!"
Her breasts bounced wildly as he sat up and quickened his thrusts, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. He managed to capture one nipple in his mouth, biting down hard as she continued to bounce over him. Her clit brushed violently against him with every thrust, and before she knew it, unable to hold back anymore, she came with a loud scream, Ryan's name on her lips as she came undone around him.
She barely heard his own groan from the roaring in her ears, and barely even managed to remember how to breathe when she collapsed against him. Completely sated and sweaty in the afterglow of her orgasm.
Slowly, gently, carefully, Ryan pulled out of her and discarded the condom beside him, promising himself to move it before his father's came home and saw it.
Quinn's breathing had only began to even out as she lay against his chest, listening to his own rapidly beating heart. She pressed an ever so gentle kiss to his chest and mumbled happily when his arms came to wrap around her shaking body.
Perfection. This was perfection.
"I love you," He heard her whisper, and he could have sworn he had imagined it.
"What…?"
"I love you…" Her fingertips trailed against her chest gently, tracing a small heart with her nail, "I guess I have for a while now, this just proves it. I've never felt so…right with someone."
"…"
She sighed gently, "Ryan…please say something?"
"…"
"Ryan?"
"I was suppose to say it first, Quinn! I've been planning for weeks!"
"Hey guys, how did your night go?" Leroy asked as he helped his husband out of his jacket, coming in dead on midnight as per agreed with their son.
"Fantastic dad, thank you very much for asking. And how did your night out go…?"
"It was lovely, thank you for booking that lovely restaurant, Ryan, it was divine." Hiram smiled at his son, ruffling his hair, "Have you been sweating?"
"What?" Ryan cast a glance at Quinn who was picking up Charlie from the couch, where he'd managed to nestle during the rest of the night. "No…"
The two men didn't seem convinced, but decided to let it slide anyway. There son was intelligent enough to know about safe sex, after all, they had placed those condom's in his bedside drawer.
"Quinn, honey, do you need a ride home?" Hiram asked, moving to grab his jacket again.
"Oh no, that's fine Mr. Berry." Quinn smiled, "Ryan offered to take me home."
Both Hiram and Leroy nodded, and were both pleasantly surprised when she leant up to kiss them both on the cheek, "Goodnight,"
Quinn left first, telling Ryan that she'd meet him in the car, and he was on his way out too when Leroy took him by the arm, "She's a keeper that one, hold onto her, son."
Ryan grinned a bright smile, "I will dad, don't you worry, she isn't going anywhere."
He left, shutting the door gently behind him.
Leroy joined his husband in the kitchen where he had only just flipped on the coffee machine and wrapped his arms around his small waist, "Did you see it too…?"
"Uh-huh,"
"And what do you think?"
"They're made for each other," Hiram looked over his shoulder and smiled at his husband, "Just like us." And placed a gentle kiss to his lips.
"Wait, what do you mean you were suppose to say it first? Why were you suppose to say it?" Quinn asked, miffed as she rose her head from his chest.
"Because the guy always says it first, Quinn. Have you never watched a romance movie, or read a novel…?"
Quinn's eyebrow rose slowly, "You do know that you just admitted to watching rom-coms?"
"So…?"
The blonde just shook her head and sighed before sitting up slowly, stretching out her back, "Well I said it first, so that's that."
"Quinn! You just can't…that…that wasn't the plan!"
"And neither was falling in love with you, but I did it anyway." She watched him as his frown smoothed out and was replaced with a small, gentle smile, "And I'm glad I did. Screw plans, they never happen anyway. Life always has a way of throwing you a curve ball, you just have to work with it."
"You watch too much baseball."
"I like baseball, okay? Leave me alone."
Ryan Berry smiled and wrapped Quinn Fabray up in his arms, kissing her gently on the top of her head, "I guess you'll have to work with this new curve ball, huh…?"
"What…?"
Quinn stood on her porch, Charlie cuddled up tightly in his blanket in her arms. Ryan stood before her. The porch light barely kept them lit, but they both knew they were smiling.
"Thank you…for a fantastic night, Ryan."
"My pleasure, Quinn."
She ducked her head, "I love you so much."
"And I love you."
She took a tentative step forward and raised her right hand, brushing a brown lock away from his eyes, a small diamond ring glinting in the light on her right ring finger.
He smiled shyly and kissed her gently on the lips, "I always keep my promises, Quinn."
"And so do I."