A/N: So I managed to reply to some of you, but then I got all confused about who. I really suck at that, so I'll say a thanks on here again as it is a lot easier. Really appreciate you taking the time to write a comment, it helps make writing the story worth it.
xxx
A sharp bang at the door made Rachel sit up suddenly. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't in New York and that it probably wasn't a gun shot that she'd heard. It took her another moment before she realized she wasn't alone. A hand was attached to her stomach, the hand then began drawing circles and it made Rachel gasp.
"Come back here." Quinn pulled Rachel back onto the bed. "It's cold without you in my arms."
"You always this romantic in the morning?" Rachel teased as she willingly snuggled back into Quinn.
"Rachel, I think it's obvious we like each other."
"I guess."
"You guess? Well, I'm not letting go until you admit you have feelings for me."
"Then maybe I'll have to stay quiet."
"Mmm, I could live with that." Quinn let her hand run up and down Rachel's ribs, drawing patterns before playfully pulling at the hemline of her vest.
The knock that woke Rachel was repeated.
"Come on Rachel," she heard her Dad call in frustration from outside the door. "we have reservations."
"Sorry." Rachel ignored him and looked at Quinn. "This weekend is just too crammed, I want to continue talking and um hugging too."
"Hugging in bed is good, weren't we going to get food this morning?"
"I totally forgot my Dads had this set up, we used to do it all the time when I lived here, but...well I rarely see them."
"No, its fine. I'll go and see Santana or something." Quinn shrugged.
"No, you'll come with me. If you want, I mean. I'd like you too. It'd be nice and my Dads just want to be in the same room as me, they don't really want to talk to me. It'll be the set three questions about Broadway, living arrangements and love life. Then they will quickly go back to talking amongst themselves."
"Sounds like you need me there to save you."
"I do."
"Then I am all yours." Quinn bit her bottom lip and Rachel couldn't help but stare.
Another knock.
"Argh, fine we'll be ready in 20 minutes." She screamed towards the door. "Doesn't matter how old you are, return to your parents home and you get treated like a teenager!" she grumbled as she climbed out of bed.
"And end up acting like one too." Quinn added.
"I'll have you know I didn't sneak people into my room when I was teenager."
Quinn just grinned before heading back to the guest room and taking a quick shower.
xxx
They didn't even get a chance to breathe, as soon as they were at the bottom of the stairs they were whisked out of the door by Leroy and Hiram. Quinn took some pleasure in the fact that they at least got to share the back seat, she wanted to hold Rachel's hand but Hiram kept turning around and interrupting their conversation, she wasn't sure what he'd think of them holding hands, she wasn't sure what she thought about it either, they were at least both open to the idea of starting something, but she really needed to know what Rachel thought. Cuddles and kisses were nice, but things would change as soon as they left Lima and it wouldn't be easy to make it work.
Leroy had them at the diner in record time and Quinn could see why they had been rushed, the place was packed with the after church crowd, she thought she recognized a few faces, but they had quickly looked away, just like they had when she got pregnant. That was another time and a past she definitely did want to forget.
Rachel must have noticed because she felt her hand rest gently on her back, bringing her back to the world and out of her head.
"Hey." Quinn sighed, her eyes meeting Rachel's.
"Old friends?" Rachel nodded to the group that Quinn had been observing.
"No, old judges. My Dads friends. Cold people."
"Well, you have me now." Rachel smiled reassuringly and her hand moved around Quinn's waist pulling her into a side hug.
"Thank you." Quinn returned the hug as they made their way to the table. Rachel had been right, her Dads asked all the expected questions, but Quinn found herself more than interested in the answers.
"And Broadway is going well?" Leroy asked as he scanned the menu.
Quinn bit her lip to stop herself laughing when Rachel rolled her eyes.
"I have a Tony, I think I'm doing okay."
Quinn felt a little relieved that both Hiram and Leroy laughed at that, she wasn't sure, but she thought they were all hiding some tension, but perhaps it was just the fact that, with time, even the closest families grew apart and distance was an obvious factor in that.
"And you got a new apartment?"
"I did."
"I...we look forward to being invited to see it."
"You are always welcome Daddy, always, I'm not going to send out invitations, but really you must come and stay. I'm just so busy at weekends, maybe you could come for thanksgiving?"
"Really?" There it was, Quinn saw the look on Hiram's face. It was as if Rachel had finally opened a door and let him back in.
"I'd love it, really Daddy, Dad. Quinn maybe you'd like to come too?"
"Oh, I..." Quinn hadn't expected that, she was quite happy to watch the reunification of the Berry's and now she was being asked along. If Hiram or Leroy minded they didn't show it, in fact she felt Hiram's hand grip her arm.
"Do you think you could? It would be so nice to all be there for Rachel, we know you mean a lot to her."
"You do?" Quinn and Rachel responded in unison. The only response they got was laughter from the men opposite.
Rachel turned back to Quinn "See you have to come, you have to save me from these two. I understand if you have plans though, I'll find a way to cope on my own." Rachel pouted at the possibility of Quinn not coming and it was so cute that Quinn found herself staring at the jutted out bottom lip a little longer than necessary, wetting her own lips as her mind wandered.
"No plans. We don't really...well I don't see my Mom or Fran so much. I'd have probably just hung with some friends or something, so yes I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd love to come."
Rachel's smile made Quinn suck in a deep breath. She still had no idea where they were headed and how it'd all work out, but one thing was certain, they'd never go five years without seeing each other again, she wouldn't be able to survive.
xxx
"And are you seeing anyone?" Leroy inquired over coffee.
This Quinn wanted to hear. Rachel even turned to look at her and Quinn was left trying to catch her breath again when she felt a hand rest on her thigh, but a gentle squeeze and another smile from Rachel helped her to recover.
"I like someone. I think they like me, but it's very new and I'll have to let you know."
"Do you think it might lead somewhere?" Quinn found herself asking, not concerned at the look Hiram gave her.
"I think it could, I hope so anyway, but we have some issues to get past first."
"Issues, right." Quinn nodded.
"Maybe he'll be joining us for thanksgiving?" Leroy broke the girls from their stare off.
Rachel shook her head but the grin didn't shift, Quinn was busy chewing on her bottom lip, trying to suppress her own smile.
"I think we'll have to wait and see." Hiram said with a wink to both girls.
Quinn grinned back at him, she was almost relieved that he'd guessed, even if Leroy was oblivious.
xxx
They made it back to Rachel's and Quinn readied her bags before joining Rachel in her room.
"You ready to go say goodbye? I booked a taxi to collect us from Finn's, if we take our bags we can head straight to the airport after."
"Sounds perfect. Its also the only way to stop my Dads from joining us, because I really don't want to share our goodbye with them."
"Our goodbye." Quinn couldn't hide the sadness in her voice, within a second she felt Rachel's hands on her waist, slowly wrapping around her and pulling her into a hug, she melted into the touch. Her nose buried in Rachel's hair, trying to commit the smell to memory, she felt so close to what she wanted, yet knew it was still a long way away.
"I still want to see you."
"I'd like that."
"And we have thanksgiving."
"We do, but Rach its not that simple. I can't just be with you, not how I want."
"I don't understand." Rachel felt like she was about to be pushed away again and it hurt.
"I, my agents. I agreed to some things and it means that it's complicated, we'd have to be quiet."
"Oh thank god, I thought you were going to say this was it."
"This is so not it. I couldn't live with myself if I gave up on something that feels...well it's something else."
"I feel it, whatever it is between us and I've wanted to explore it for as long as...well a long time. Maybe if I get that movie and come to Los Angeles."
"I hope you get it. So how do we leave this?"
"We don't leave it, we build on this friendship, we stay in touch, you come to thanksgiving, we go from there. Can you live with that? I don't...well I can't offer more right now."
"No, I'm more than fine with that, it's more than I'd hoped for when I booked the ticket to Lima." Quinn pulled Rachel back into a tight hug, placing a soft kiss to her temple. "I feel happy. I don't say that often."
Rachel exhaled deeply. "I know exactly what you mean." She pulled back until she was looking up into Quinn's eyes. "You give really good hugs." She said in wonderment.
"That's just a taste of the really good things I can do."
Rachel gulped and Quinn laughed. "You are making my 'a few dates' rule hard to follow."
"Just how many dates are we talking Rachel? I mean we've already shared a bed..."
"A proper date, at least one. A meal. Something."
"Something?"
"Like I said, you are making it difficult for me to think, let alone follow my rules."
Quinn brushed a loose hair behind Rachel's ear, her eyes flicked to Rachel's lips and back again. "Thinking is overrated."
"So overrated." Rachel said breathily as she leaned in closer to Quinn, her heart was thumping hard against her chest as she closed the short distance between them.
Quinn could feel Rachel's breath on her face and moistened her lips with her tongue. Millimeters separated them and Quinn closed her eyes before finally feeling the softness of Rachel's lips against her own. Their lips glided together in a soft tender kiss. Quinn could feel her knees go weak at the sensation and was relieved that Rachel's grip around her waist tightened and kept her standing. It wasn't chaste nor passionate, more tentative and filled with the prospect of more and, above all else, it felt perfect. Rachel let out a soft moan and as her lips parted Quinn ran her tongue along Rachel's bottom lip, reveling in her first taste of Rachel Berry, as their tongues met and Quinn's entered Rachel's mouth she used her hands to grip Rachel's ass and pull her closer, eliciting a noise from Rachel that made Quinn know she'd have to stop now or she'd never be able to, she pulled away and rested her forehead on Rachel's.
"And I want to do a lot more of that."
"Mmm, a lot." Rachel moved her head to rest on Quinn's shoulder, she wanted Quinn, but she didn't want to take it too fast and she was glad that Quinn appeared to feel the same. In two hours they'd be saying goodbye and as much as the idea of jumping into bed together in that moment appealed to her, she also knew it wouldn't be right. She wanted to get it right with Quinn, it mattered to her, it mattered a lot and she wasn't going to let her physical desires get in the way of that, no matter how much she was tempted.
xxx
She didn't get a chance to think more on that as she heard her name called from downstairs and knew it was time to get going.
This time they did hold hands in the back of the taxi. Quinn kept sending her smiles and Rachel felt like she was about to turn into a puddle of mush.
All mushiness was forgotten when they arrived at Finn's and they were quickly separated. The house hadn't changed since they were at school and she knew he still lived with his Mom and Burt. Kurt and Blaine had clearly helped with the organization and each guest received a gift bag with personalized souvenirs of their glee reunion. Rachel couldn't help but stare at the photo of them all, on stage, the day they won nationals. She hadn't seen this picture before, her eyes were drawn to Quinn, stood to one side, watching Rachel. It made the butterflies return, she scanned the room to find the real thing, but the blonde was busy talking to Sam. So much had happened in the last five years, Rachel shook her head, but the smile didn't leave her face.
A new agreement was made to return in another five years, Rachel wondered what they'd be like then and if she'd actually get to return to Lima with Quinn, rather than just with a vague hope of seeing her again.
xxx
Quinn had mixed feelings as she stood in a room full of familiar faces, she'd been away a long time and it wasn't easy to reconnect, they had all moved on, some more than others. Still, she listened politely to tales of Lima life and she secretly thanked herself for getting out of that town. She'd noticed Puck watching her, he'd been doing the same the night before so finally she gave in and went over to find out what was bothering him, because she knew something was.
"Spit it out." She bumped his shoulder playfully.
"No time for pleasantries?"
"It's not like we haven't spoken in the last five years, what's up? I can tell you want to say something. If this is about Beth again? well I try, I see her whenever I go to New York."
"I miss her, Boston is too far. I wish...well I wish a lot of things, but no its not Beth, It's Rachel."
"Rachel?" Quinn turned to see where the brunette was and smiled as she watched her laughing and joking with Kurt.
"She may have gone all superstar, like you, but she is still as innocent as when we were at high school."
"I highly doubt that, I mean Finn happened and..."
"I meant her heart. Its...you be careful with it. I don't know whats going on and although I like to imagine certain things..."
"Get to the point." Quinn snapped, she didn't want to know about Puck's fantasies.
"She clearly cares about you, always did. I don't want you hurting her."
"I don't plan to."
"Well, thats good then."
"Good." Quinn repeated angrily.
"Still feisty Fabray. Mmm if you weren't so gay for Berry...'
"That ship more than sailed."
"True, but you really are getting better looking with age."
"Thanks." Quinn deadpanned. She really wasn't in the mood for Puck, she just wanted to get back to being with Rachel.
xxx
Santana nudged Rachel in the ribs, she turned to see the Latina had been crying.
"Are you okay?"
"Me? Oh yeah."
"You've been crying?" Rachel wiped the mascara away.
"I'm gonna miss you guys. It's been so much fun. I never thought I'd feel like this." Santana began sobbing again.
"Come here." Rachel pulled her into a hug.
"So you took a chance?" she asked once the tears had stopped flowing.
"I did."
"Don't mess it up, you two have a lot of baggage, just try to work on it and don't give up too easily."
"I'm going to try." Rachel's eyes were firmly locked on Quinn. She saw the blonde arch her head towards the door and knew it was time to go. "and I never give up easily, you should know that by now." She gave Santana a final squeeze.
They all headed outside and said their last goodbyes, before Quinn and Rachel made their way to the airport waving to the old glee club from the rear window as the taxi headed off down the street.
xxx
The airport was busy, Sunday, and everyone seemed to be leaving Ohio. They made their way through security before finding a place for coffee. Quinn sat and watched as Rachel stirred hers absentmindedly.
"It's been fun." Rachel finally broke the silence and Quinn knotted her brow in confusion.
"Fun? I could think of a lot of other words to describe this weekend, but yes I guess fun would fit in there...somewhere."
Rachel looked up and grinned. "I meant coming back here, I didn't know how I'd feel and yes I came with an ulterior motive of sorts, but it was fun seeing everyone and hanging out, singing."
"That bit was fun." Quinn nodded her agreement.
"Seeing you again..." Rachel sucked in a deep breath before slowly letting it go. "Well, that is where all those other words come into it. I'm glad we met up again." Rachel's placed her hand on top of Quinn's and gently rubbed her thumb back and forth.
"It was only a matter of time. I tried to see you last time I was in New York."
"How many times have you been to see one of my shows?"
"Every opening night."
"Really? Wow, you probably are my biggest fan."
"And then a couple more times, the last being six months ago. I was planning, or hoping to see you but you were with someone."
Rachel frowned unable to recall and then it hit her, six months ago she was with Jesse, he was working at a nearby theatre and they'd been spending a lot of time together, but no.
"Oh no." she shook her head vehemently. "No, not me and Jesse. That has so been done, but we are great friends and..."
"You don't have to explain." Quinn was glad she had though, seeing Rachel with Jesse St James had been almost as hard as the night back in High School. She was relieved at Rachel's explanation because she knew Jesse was still in New York and had more access to Rachel then she would being stuck in L.A.
"I'm single Quinn, I have been for about a 3 months."
"Oh, I didn't read anything about it." Quinn was taken aback at that, if not Jesse then who?
"I had a thing with someone, it wasn't big. It wasn't public knowledge, we didn't really get that far. I'm still a little self-absorbed and that doesn't tend to lend itself to relationships. People don't really get me."
"I get you." Quinn whispered as she looked up from her mug of coffee.
"You do, but what if you don't like the new me?"
"I didn't like the old you much." She quipped and then saw the horror on Rachel's face. "Sorry, not a good joke. Ugh Rachel I am so awkward. I like you, I always did. I was stupid not to take up your offer of friendship until senior year. The things I think I missed out on, well anyway...I know what I feel is more than friends, I want to see if we can make something happen, I've tried to move on, but it's always you in the end."
Rachel tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but she struggled and a tear managed to slip free. Within a second she was wrapped in Quinn's arms, the comfort and warmth enveloping her.
"I've known I liked you as something more than a friend since Junior prom." Rachel whispered into Quinn's chest and she felt the blonde squeeze her tighter at the revelation.
"So a good slap works for you?"
"It kinda does." Rachel nodded as she tried to turn her smile upside down.
"Fuck, I wish we didn't have to say goodbye."
"I know, but if we want this, then two thousand odd miles isn't going to stop me. I'm still as determined as I was five years ago."
"I'm counting on it." Quinn grinned.
Rachel desperately wanted to kiss Quinn to within an inch of her life, to hold her until she was dragged away, but she knew she couldn't. They were already causing a small scene and there were people watching them, she could feel it, so instead she backed out of Quinn's embrace and returned to her coffee. Quinn went back to her seat.
"I wanted to kiss you, but I think that girl over there has a camera phone trained on us." Quinn whispered across the table.
"Oh god." Rachel turned to look at who Quinn was talking about, she saw her straight away. "I knew it, I wanted it too, to kiss you I mean."
"Sucks doesn't it?"
"Really, so much."
It wasn't long before Rachel's flight was called, she waited with Quinn until the last possible moment. Her name was being announced over the speaker as she finally said her last goodbyes. She was halfway to the gate when she began to feel the tug in her heart, turning back she saw Quinn watching her and without hesitation she ran back to her, wrapping her arms around her neck and placing a firm kiss to Quinn's lips, grinning as she pulled away.
"She'd have had to have been super quick to snap that."
"I want tongues next time." Quinn replied a smirk firmly in place, Rachel bit her lip and nodded before quickly jogging back to her bags, she sent Quinn a final wave before being scolded by the flight attendant and ushered onto the plane.
xxx
A/N: The road out of Lima may be bumpy.
Tell me what you think?