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Finn had gotten ready as his mother wished but it wasn't for Quinn and Lady Fabray. He was hoping to impress Rachel a little bit when she came back, if she came back.
He still didn't fully understand how it all worked with the cabinet. He supposed it was magic, something that wasn't entirely unbelievable within their world. Professor Schuester often spoke of it even if he didn't himself practice it. Whatever it was Finn hoped it would happen again and soon.
Standing in the doorway between his room and balcony, Finn looked out at the garden below. It was a giant maze that was so easy to get lost in for hours. Though he was standing above it merely looking down he somehow still felt like he was in the maze.
Everything was so difficult to navigate once his father died. Finn wasn't supposed to become king until much later in life but instead he became the youngest king since his great-great-great grandfather. He had only been 17 at the time, still just a kid who wanted nothing more than to play sports with his friends, mess around with girls and just generally slack off. But then his father got sick.
It had come on fast and for days it was like he was waging war within his body. Fever took hold and wouldn't release no matter how hard he tried and the whole time Finn had stood by helplessly not even being able to visit for fear that he too would catch the sickness and perish. He was the end of the Hudson line, not even a sister or close male cousin to take over if Finn was gone. Bat-shit-crazy Aunt Sue would take power and it would spell certain doom for everyone if that happened.
The pressure on Finn became so much greater with his father's last breath therefore making every decision that much more important. Finn never knew what to do. He wasn't ready to rule over an entire kingdom yet, he could barely decide on orange or apple juice for breakfast! So his mother played regent.
Queen Carole had been an amazing ruler since King Christopher had passed. She had played mother to all when that was exactly what the kingdom needed and brought people out of their sadness over the loss of their king. She brought prosperity and peace to McKinley and her guidance had been equal to any man that had ever ruled. The only problem was, no one knew all she had done as every order, every idea had gone through Finn.
Since she had only married into the family she couldn't be the leader herself. It was a stupid rule that Finn wished to abolish so she could take over but Carole refused to allow it. She never wished to rule. She wanted her son to step up and take control and be the leader everyone needed and wanted but he never had. Finn wanted to. He wanted so bad to be the king everyone wanted and needed but there was so much self-doubt within him he was afraid to even try.
Then there was the whole issue of finding a wife. Before his father died he had all the time in the world to search for the right woman and to fall in love. But then his father did die and all time was lost. For six years his mother had been trying to force him into marriages he didn't want. He knew he needed to find someone to carry on the line but no one felt right.
He never knew how to get out of the maze.
"Finn?" a melodic voice called from behind him. He turned around to come face to face with the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
Rachel stood before him nervously playing with the hem of the most scandalous thing he'd ever seen a lady wear. She was showing off so much skin he was afraid he'd pop a boner right then and there.
"That's quite the outfit," he choked out adjusting his blue overcoat.
Rachel looked down at herself. "It was really warm out today."
"I wish all women were as bold as you to dress like that when it was warm." His eyes smoldered as he stared at the tanned skin of her upper body before they lowered to look at her shapely legs.
"It's really not all that revealing. Just on my way to work I saw a woman only wearing booty shorts and a tube top bra."
Finn wasn't sure what those were but he had a feeling it meant less than what Rachel had on. He gulped at imagining Rachel in less than she had on now.
"Do women in America always dress as freely as that?" he asked with great interest.
Rachel shrugged. "Sometimes. Why? Do they not here?"
Finn shook his head no. "The most skin they show normally is from about here up." He lightly traced an outline of necklines in McKinley on Rachel's chest. The light touches made both of them a bit hotter.
Rachel swallowed thickly before attempting to speak again. "I could, um, go home and change if-"
"No!" Finn practically screamed, putting his hands out to stop her. She looked a little taken aback. "I mean, you look lovely and I don't want you to have to go all the way home..."
Rachel played with her hem more as she stared at the floor with a small smile. "Okay," she replied meekly. She looked up biting her lip. "So you said you could use someone nice to talk to. Are there not any nice people in McKinley?"
Finn motioned for Rachel to join him out on the balcony where a table and chairs were set up. He pulled a chair out for her before sitting down himself.
"There are but sometimes I can't tell if they're really nice or just trying to get on my good side. I can tell that you're just nice all the time."
"Well not all the time. Sometimes I can get a little naughty," Rachel replied in a flirtatious manner that appeared from nowhere. What was going on with her head? Finn gulped as Rachel quickly tried to change the subject. "So Finn, tell me about McKinley."
Finn cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "Um, well, McKinley is McKinley. There's the main town which is about a mile away. That's where all the shops are and where people go for fun. Right now we're in the cas-I mean, house I live in."
Rachel smiled at him. "What do people do for fun?"
"Drink mostly. At least in my experience that's what they do. On festival days there're games and plays and stuff. They're fun. My friends and I, we like sports. I'm the jousting champion of McKinley three years running now," he said in a proud tone. He wasn't outright trying to impress Rachel with his athletic prowess but it seemed to be working anyway. Rachel looked at him a little dreamily before realizing she had a goofy grin on her face.
"So what about you? What's, Manhattan, is that what it's called, like?"
Rachel took a deep breath before speaking quickly. "Yes, it is Manhattan. Manhattan is great. There's so much to do there with the night clubs and bars and museums and stores. Then there's Broadway. That's the whole reason I moved to New York to begin with. I wanted to be on Broadway but things didn't exactly work out that way, so now I work for Rocco."
"As a pretend princess?" Finn asked recalling the outfit she wore when they first met.
"Sometimes. I have other outfits I wear too. They're all really embarrassing though so I'll spare the details." Rachel really did not want to get into all the costumes Rocco forced on her, especially Rainy Rachel the Sad Clown. That was the absolute worst thing she had to dress up as. Wanting to change the subject from her depressing job, Rachel asked Finn a question that had been on her mind.
"So, if McKinley is a kingdom that means there's a monarchy right? That's fascinating. I've always been intrigued by royalty and the pomp and circumstance surrounding it. When you're king or queen everyone knows who you are."
Finn smiled awkwardly. "Yeah that's one of the current king's problems."
Rachel looked disbelieving. "Why would having everyone know who you are be a problem? It's what I've been striving for my entire life," she queried seriously.
Finn shrugged. "I guess he just feels like it's harder for people to get to know the real him when all they care about is the king and crown part of him."
Rachel's mouth twitched. "I guess I could see that. I have the opposite problem. People get to know the real me and get turned off by it."
"Why would they? You seem really awesome." Finn smiled brightly at her.
"Thank you. I guess my personality is just too big for some people to handle."
"Well I'm a pretty big guy," he joked. Rachel laughed. "Honestly though, the king, he just wishes people could look at him like a person instead of an object. Even his own mother does it sometimes. Don't get me wrong, she's a great mom to the king but she won't let him find his own way when it comes to finding love." Finn gave Rachel a look she couldn't place. "She keeps trying to marry him off to girls she thinks would be good for the kingdom but that doesn't mean they're good for him."
Rachel looked at him sympathetically. "That's horrible. True love is one of the most beautiful things there is and being forced to marry someone sounds awful." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "You really seem to know a lot about the king," she commented.
Finn rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, well, me and him are pretty close. We go way back." It wasn't a total lie.
"What's he like? Besides a hopeless romantic?" she chuckled.
"The guy's alright. He's pretty nice, decently good looking, a bit cocky sometimes, loves sports and sneaking out into public just to see what it's like not being him. He's not too great of a leader really though. He's kinda scared to take on that much responsibility yet so his mom still runs things behind the scenes. He feels like a giant tool for being too chicken to grow up and deal with everything instead of letting his mom do all the work for him but he can't seem to shake the feeling that he'll just screw everything up. His dad never taught him how to be a good king. He'd have to do everything alone." Finn couldn't believe he'd just told her all that. Finn never told anyone that!
Rachel gripped his hand. "Running a kingdom by oneself does seem pretty daunting. I'd be scared too but I'm sure eventually he'll come around. It sounds to me like he's just so scared of failing that he doesn't even want to try. If he never tries though, he won't know if he could ever be a good king or not. With a great support system he could do it, I'm sure. He needs to realize he isn't alone. He would still have his mother and a great friend like you. You should tell him that." She smiled at him.
This girl believed in him and she didn't even know him, so why couldn't he believe in himself?
"Yeah, I will."
He stared into her eyes and found himself getting lost in them. They were so big and brown and kind. She stared back intently as their heads drew closer together.
"You know, you can kiss me if you want to," she told him quietly.
He leaned in even closer, their mouths centimeters apart.
"I want to."
Without another word Finn closed the gap and pressed his lips lightly against hers. It was like an explosion of the senses as their lips touched. Finn felt tingly all over and wanted so badly to run his hands over every inch of Rachel's body but he was afraid that might be taking things a little too far. His heart beat loudly in his chest, sounding in his ears.
A few seconds into that first kiss, Finn pulled away and stared deeply into Rachel's smiling eyes before capturing her lips once more with his. This second kiss was even more impassioned and this time Finn brought his hands up to cup Rachel's face. She parted her lips as Finn dared to run his tongue along them and tentatively meshed her tongue to his.
Being so bold as to believe this could continue in a more private and more comfortable area, Finn began to stand and pulled Rachel up with him. She had to stand on her tip toes while Finn had to bend down to reach her mouth as they walked back into his bedroom and closed the balcony door behind them. Finn moved forward and Rachel moved backward as they eagerly walked to Finn's bed.
When they got there Finn lifted her up and broke their kiss only to gently press her down onto the mattress. He hovered over her, settling between her legs, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her knees around his hips. Finn wasn't so afraid to touch Rachel now as she seemed to be responding to everything he was doing. If she wanted to stop of course he would but she showed no signs of wanting to slow down. He brought his hand to rest on her hip where he slowly pushed the fabric of her shirt up as his hand slid up her creamy smooth torso. He was nearly at her breast when a girlish cry broke them apart.
"King Finn! I'm, I'm so sorry to intrude your majesty. I did knock but there was no answer and your mother..." Finn stopped hearing Kurt's words as he grudgingly pulled himself away from Rachel to glare daggers at his friend and personal assistant. He'd lose his head without Kurt around but at times like these Kurt was the last person he wanted to see.
Rachel sat up and got off the bed, a comprehending expression crossing her features. "Hold on. Did he call you King Finn? Why would he call you that?"
Kurt snorted. "Were you dropped on your head? Everyone knows that Finn is the king."
"Kurt," Finn growled as his nostrils flared and his teeth grit. "A word?"
"No, Finn. What is going on? I think I deserve to know considering..." she trailed off pointing to the bed, no explanation necessary.
Finn's mouth was open as he stared at Rachel trying to explain. Kurt however cut in again.
"Your majesty, I do apologize but Lady Fabray and Quinn have arrived and your mother is insistent on you coming downstairs to discuss wedding details."
Now Finn really wanted to strangle Kurt as his words sank into Rachel's brain.
"You're getting married!" Rachel screeched at him.
Finn laughed without humor as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorta, but not really."
"How are you 'sorta, but not really' getting married? You either are or you aren't! It's as simple as that!" She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down with flames in her eyes.
Finn moved closer to her to speak lowly. "It's not as simple as that for me though. Kurt's right, I am the king of McKinley and my mother is trying to marry me off but I'm fighting so hard against it."
"But if you're king, why can't you just say no? And why would you pretend to be someone else?" she asked sadly. Finn was rather surprised by her reaction. Most women he'd met would instantly flip on the charm and try to persuade Finn to marry them instead but here Rachel was looking devastated at discovering the truth. It was like she wanted him more before she knew who he really was.
"Your majesty, if you don't come soon your mother will come up here..." Kurt said once more.
Finn was torn. He wanted to stay here and explain everything to Rachel but he knew his mother would come upstairs if he didn't go down. She'd find Rachel and want to know who she was and since Finn didn't know the answer to that question too well himself yet, he was not ready to go there with his mother.
"Rachel, I swear, I will explain everything when I get back. Just please stay here until I do. Please," he practically begged her. She didn't say a word as he slowly backed away from her sending her one last apologetic and pleading glance. Kurt followed behind him leaving Rachel alone in the king's bedroom.
She collapsed onto the bed and began silently crying. She was so stupid! How could she ever think Finn could like her? That had to be why he lied. He didn't think her good enough for him as king so he kept that piece of information hidden and played her as a common man just to get into her pants. She was so stupid to allow her heart to open so willingly to a man she didn't even know. Rachel nearly gave herself entirely to him, she was sure of it. If Kurt hadn't of come in and ruined the moment Rachel and Finn would have made love then when he'd had his fill, back through the cabinet he'd shove her. He was about to marry some beautiful princess or something and she was just the last fling of a soon-to-be married man.
That amazing kiss had been a trick and she had fallen for it hard. All the feelings, both physical and emotional had been lies. Finn didn't care about her; he cared about sleeping with her.
Feeling like a fool Rachel stood up from the bed and walked into the cabinet. She took one look behind her at the place that had been both the most amazing and worst experience of her life then shut the door reentering her own world vowing never to return to Finn's.