What is this? An update finally? Hooray!
After Finn changed into some less noticeable clothing, he and Rachel made their way down to the stable. Rachel was excited to see Finn's horses and to ride one. When she was little she had always wanted a pony but her dads of course said no so it was only ever a silly dream.
As she walked into the stable and laid eyes on a beautiful white horse, she gasped and smiled brightly. When the horse lifted its head she was even more stunned. Right in the center of its head between the ears was a golden spiral horn. She couldn't believe what she was seeing; it appeared as if this horse was actually a unicorn.
"Finn, is that a unicorn?" she whispered to him.
"Yeah. I'm surprised he's in here. Usually they run around in the forest since they aren't too big on people." He walked over to the unicorn.
"Hello Finn!" a woman called out as she popped up from behind the large animal, startling Finn who stepped back and knocked over a bucket of oats. The unicorn whinnied and walked over the oats and began to eat them.
"Brittany, don't do that!" Finn cried out, taking a deep breath to steady his rapidly beating heart.
She looked apologetic. "Sorry. I was brushing Nigel."
Finn's eyes widened. "This is Nigel?" He looked at the unicorn in awe.
Brittany smiled like a proud mama. "Yep. He did a good deed when he saved Farmer Bamboo from the ravine yesterday and turned into a unicorn. I'm getting him ready to go find his friends in the forest."
Finn smiled at the unicorn and pet his side. "Hey Nigel. Congratulations! I'm so proud of you," he praised of his former horse. Finn knew it was a big deal for a horse to turn into a unicorn and Nigel had always wanted that honor. It was bittersweet however as Nigel was Finn's favorite noble and trusty steed.
Nigel shook his head and neighed.
"He says thank you, your Majesty," Brittany said.
"Wait a second, you can understand him?" Rachel asked, stunned.
For the first time Brittany noticed that there was another woman in the stable with them. She looked her up and down assessing her. "Who are you?"
Rachel glanced between Finn and the woman. "I'm Finn's…I'm Rachel, Rachel Berry. And you are?" she asked, extending her hand to the blonde.
Brittany took her hand. "I'm Brittany, Brittany S. Pierce. I'm Finn's friend and sometimes lover who takes care of his horses." She shook Rachel's hand as if it were no big deal that she just revealed that she and Finn were 'sometimes lovers'.
"Oh," Rachel's face fell as Finn's nostrils flared a little.
"That was a long time ago Rachel. Brittany has been happily married for over a year now," Finn explained quickly with a minor glare at his friend.
Rachel nodded in understanding. Finn was sweet and handsome, not to mention a freaking king! Of course he would have had lovers prior to meeting her.
Nigel started whinnying again and Brittany's eyes grew wide. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were on a date." She looked pointedly at Rachel. "I mean, I totally don't know anything about what Finn's 'crown jewels' look like. I can only imagine they're big." She winked at Rachel while she and Finn both grew a little red. Nigel shook his head. "You're right we should go."
Realizing she still didn't get an answer from her earlier question, Rachel asked it again. "You can understand him?"
Brittany shook her head. "Uh huh, I'm fluent in horse." Nigel brayed and Brittany rolled her eyes. "And unicorn. Jeez, Nigel, they're the same thing." The horse and woman stared each other down until Brittany's face cracked into a smile. She stuck her hand out and pet the animal's head. "Fine, they're a little different."
Rachel watched the woman and horse interact and was intrigued by it. She'd heard of horse whisperers before but she didn't think they could actually understand the horses.
Suddenly Brittany gasped, her mouth dropping open in shock. "No way! You're serious? She is? How do you know?" The animal shook his head then Brittany turned to Rachel. "You came through the door?"
Finn and Rachel threw nervous glances at each other. How could Brittany know that?
"How do you know that?" Finn asked.
Brittany shrugged. "Nigel told me." She scoffed and smirked like they were the idiots.
"How did he know?" Finn asked more specifically, still not understanding what was going on.
"Duh, he's a unicorn." Brittany and Nigel looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
Rachel was just as confused. "I still don't get it."
"Well of course you wouldn't. You're from through the door. See, unicorns know everything that happens in the magical world. They can feel whenever big magic is performed. Moving between worlds is about as big as it gets. Plus you smell like the other world."
Rachel was amazed. Unicorns were real and this woman could talk to them and apparently they knew everything about magic. It certainly wasn't something she ever would have believed prior to meeting Finn.
Nigel made some more noises and padded the ground with his golden hooves.
"Okay, okay, we'll go. I know Lucinda is out there. I can hear her too," Brittany said to the annoyed unicorn. She turned back to Finn and Rachel. "Nigel can hear Lucinda out there. She's one of the unicorn elders and they need to welcome Nigel to the family so we'll let you two get back to your date." Brittany started leading Nigel out of the stable. "Bye Finn, bye Rachel!" She waved goodbye and left the pair alone in the now silent stable.
Rachel looked at Finn who was running his hand through his hair. "She seems like an interesting person."
"Yeah, she is. She's my oldest friend. Her dad ran the stables for years and once he retired she took over because she's so good with the horses." He felt like he needed to clarify his relationship with her further though. "Rachel, what she said about being 'sometimes lovers'-"
"Finn, it's fine. You're a handsome king who has needs. I get it." She understood how much Finn cared about her now. She wasn't going to let his past relationships get in the way of their budding one.
"Still, I haven't been with her since before she met her husband Artie. I actually haven't been with anyone in a long time," he stated sheepishly, glancing at the straw lying along the wall.
A small smile crossed Rachel's face at Finn's admission. She brushed some hair behind her ear then cleared her throat to speak. "What Brittany said, about us being on a date…? Is this a date?" Rachel looked up to find Finn staring down at her, blushing a little.
"Do you want it to be?" Finn's heart was racing as he waited for Rachel's answer. He so wanted it to be a date because he so wanted her.
Rachel smiled and shook her head. "Yeah, I would like that." She bit her lip cutely making Finn's heart soar.
"Then it's a date." He smiled down at her then beckoned for her to follow him. They walked a few paces before stopping in front of a stall labeled 'Henrietta'. Inside the stall was a beautiful palomino horse. She was lying on the ground resting but when Finn opened the door she stood up and greeted him with happy neighing. He pet her head and whispered hello, asking how she was doing.
"Rachel, this is Henrietta. She's my baby." Finn beamed as he pulled Rachel closer so she could pet the horse. The mare lowered her head and let Rachel stroke her hand over her face.
She smiled as the horse's ears started twitching. "She's beautiful, Finn."
"Yeah, she's my favorite mare. I actually helped Brittany deliver her so she kind of is my baby." He pet her belly then grabbed some carrots from his pocket. While he had Rachel feed her the carrots, Finn grabbed her saddle and went about getting her ready to ride.
When she was set, Finn led Henrietta down the hall toward another stall on the opposite side. He walked inside and seconds later Rachel could hear groans.
"Come on! Rodney! Get your butt out-OW! Rodney! I will pick another horse to ride!" Rachel listened to Finn yelling and curiosity getting the better of her walked over to the open stall and found Finn pushing on a large chestnut horse's rear end with great force but the large beast refused to move. Rachel let out a chuckle as Finn turned to try to shove him with his back and produced the same result. Rodney whinnied as if laughing mockingly at him.
"Rodney! This is not funny. Nigel is a unicorn now so you need to step it up man." Finn had other horses he could ride but Rodney was the one he needed to break. He was a young horse who hated being ridden and determinedly protested wearing a saddle. The only person he ever seemed to listen to was Brittany.
Rodney continued to stand there defiantly until Henrietta poked her head into the stall opening and whinnied at him. Rodney looked back at Finn then at Rachel and Henrietta. He sighed and blew out some air in defeat then finally walked forward out of the stall.
Finn's eyebrows furrowed in wonder at what Henrietta said to Rodney to get him to move. Rodney didn't even complain when Finn put the saddle on him.
"He seems to be singing a different tune now," Rachel commented as she watched Finn get the horse ready to ride.
Finn smiled. "Yeah, I have no idea what Henrietta said to him but I should give her some extra carrots." Henrietta neighed and nodded her head in agreement. Finn returned his attention to Rodney. "Okay Rodney. If you buck me off or try any funny business, no carrots for a week. I'll make sure Brittany doesn't give you any. I swear I will," Finn warned the horse who gave him an eye roll. Then he turned back to Rachel. "Alright, let's get you on Henrietta."
Rachel was suddenly nervous as Finn walked to grab a stool and placed it on the left side of Henrietta. He put out his hand to help Rachel up and over the large horse, being sure her dress wouldn't get in the way. She noticed that Finn's hand lingered on her behind as he made sure she was mounted properly but she didn't really mind. He explained how to sit on her properly and hold the reins correctly while she absorbed everything he was saying. It would be really embarrassing and dangerous if she fell off while riding.
"You good?" he asked, placing his hand on Rachel's leg. His thumb smoothed over it making Rachel's heart beat wildly out of control. She nodded her head down at him. "Good. Just remember, you should get on and off from the left and don't let go of the reins. Henrietta will do most of the work but make sure to pay attention. You'll be fine, this'll be fun."
Rachel gulped. "Okay." They smiled at each other then Finn walked over to Rodney and with great ease swung up onto the behemoth. To make sure she would make it out of the stable alright, Finn let Rachel go first and followed behind pulling up beside her once outside.
"My legs and butt are going to be killing me tomorrow, aren't they?" Rachel asked as they trotted along.
"Yeah, the first time isn't the easiest but it gets better the more you ride."
Though Finn probably didn't mean for that to sound dirty, in Rachel's mind it was. Under normal circumstances Rachel wasn't one to turn things into innuendoes and constantly have sex on the brain but when it came to Finn she thought about jumping his bones nearly every second. When she would close her eyes she could picture him on top of her, pushing into her, making her moan and when her eyes were open there was the challenge of not staring at his butt or his chest or arms or smile or his everything at every opportunity. Rachel could feel herself turning into a sex maniac but honestly, when it came to Finn, she didn't much care.
In an attempt to get sex off the brain Rachel asked where they were headed.
"I thought we could ride into town for a bit. There are a ton of places to shop and eat and get lost in." He shot her a smile that made her heart melt. "Think you'd be able to handle a faster pace."
Rachel looked down at the horse underneath her who was shaking her head. She had a feeling Henrietta wanted to go faster and based on Rodney's similar reaction he wanted to also. "I guess I'll give it a try." With that Henrietta lurched forward into a faster gallop and they were on their way into town.
They only had to pull over twice to keep Rachel from slipping off the saddle on the way and when they got to town, though it had been fun to ride, she was glad to be off the horse as her legs really were beginning to hurt already.
"Riding a horse is a lot more difficult than it seems," she commented as they came up to the equivalent of a parking garage for horses.
"Yeah, but you'll get used to it." Finn swung off of Rodney and walked over to Rachel to help her down. She didn't even have to do much work as he had gripped her around the waist and basically lifted her off Henrietta himself. When he placed her on the ground she stumbled a little but he caught her. She stared up into his eyes and felt a blush gracing her cheeks.
"Well, I should, show you around, I guess," Finn stated awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Rachel nodded in agreement. Finn went to tie Rodney and Henrietta up, giving them carrots for being good while Rachel glanced at her surroundings. The town looked like the one out of Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid. It was so old world but not gross old world with dirty citizens and people throwing garbage out of their windows. It was quaint and cozy and the total opposite of everything New York was.
"McKinley is beautiful, Finn. It's so quiet and quaint."
Finn walked up next to Rachel his hand lightly brushing against hers. "Yeah, it's nothing like New York. That place is crazy. McKinley is much less hectic." He looked down at her to see that she was staring at how close their hands were to each other. Carefully, Finn moved his hand so his pinky caught Rachel's, asking for permission and smiled when he felt her whole hand slip into his. She stared up at him and felt the blush creep back into her cheeks.
"So where to first? This is your town so you lead the way," Rachel said as they began walking in the direction of the main thoroughfare.
Finn shrugged as he turned his head to see what was around. Then a certain shop caught his eye. "Well, I did promise you I'd pay you back with a tiara…"
Rachel gasped. "Finn, you don't need to do that. You really don't need to pay me back. It's fine."
He waved her off. "No, I want to. You spent your hard earned money on me and I need to pay you back for that."
"Finn…" Rachel was trying to come up with a way to stop Finn from giving her a freaking tiara but she knew from her experience with him thus far that when Finn put his mind to something, there was no stopping him. She wouldn't even be back here if it hadn't been for his determination.
"Rachel, let me do this for you. Please?" He stared at her pleadingly and Rachel couldn't help but relent.
"Fine. If you insist on showering me with a tiara, I won't stop you. Even though you really do not need to…" she trailed off when she saw the glance Finn gave her. "I would love a tiara Finn, thank you."
"Good. Now let's go get you a tiara."
They walked into the shop and Finn almost immediately regretted it. There were a bunch of noblewomen in the shop staring at all the shiny precious metals and sparkling diamonds, sapphires and rubies. Since most of them had met Finn or at least seen him at the castle before, one of them was bound to realize who he was until the curly haired owner of the shop and personal jeweler of the royal family noticed Finn, eyes widening when he realized the problem, and discreetly pointed to a doorway in the counter where he and Rachel could slip through to hide.
"I'm sorry ladies, but the shop is closing right now. There is an emergency that I must attend to but I will be reopening again later today." All the women whined disappointedly as they would have to wait to decorate themselves in fine jewelry until later but exited the shop when the man corralled them all to leave. "Goodbye ladies. I am sorry. Goodbye!"
When all the women were gone, he locked the door and closed the shutters on the windows. Finn and Rachel popped up from behind the counter as the man walked over to them. "Your Majesty, what an unexpected surprise," the man greeted with a smile to Finn and Rachel. "I must say your Majesty, it's very risky of you to visit unannounced in the middle of the day without a guard."
"I know, but I needed to get away from the castle for a bit and I didn't want an entire posse." He leaned closer to the man. "I'm on a date."
The man's triangular eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow your Majesty, that's great to hear. The Queen Mother must be very happy about that."
"She is." Finn smiled then remembered Rachel didn't actually know the man he was talking to. "Oh, Rachel, this is Blaine Anderson. He designs and makes all the jewelry the royal family could ever need. Blaine, this is Rachel Berry, my date."
Rachel stuck her hand out to shake. "It's very nice to meet you Mr. Anderson."
He bent forward, took her hand and kissed the back of it. "The pleasure is mine Miss Berry." Blaine stood up straight once more. "So how can I be of service today, your Majesty?"
Finn looked from Blaine to Rachel then back to Blaine. "I need a very special tiara for a very special woman." Rachel blushed and Blaine knew Finn was talking about her.
"I see. What kind of style are you looking for exactly? Big and flashy or delicate and subtle?"
"Delicate and subtle," Rachel said before Finn could answer. "I don't need anything too over the top." She felt really awkward allowing Finn to get her a tiara and she didn't want to take advantage of it.
"Rachel, you can get whatever you want but I think delicate and subtle would suit you."
"So that leaves me with another question. What kind of stones do you want? I can do basically any stone you want, name it and I can do it." Blaine rubbed his hands together and smiled at them.
"Well, I've always been fond of my birthstone. Could you do blue topaz?"
He smiled at her. "I sure can. You know what looks good on any tiara?"
"What's that?"
"Diamonds."
Rachel's eyes widened and she turned to Finn. "Finn, I really can't allow you to do this. It's too much."
Finn chuckled at her. "Rachel, I'm getting you a tiara whether you like it or not. You might as well get the perfect one that you want." He ran his hands up and down her arms. "Rachel, you deserve to be treated like a princess, so I'm going to treat you like one."
A huge smile crossed her face and she leaned forward to hug Finn tightly. She didn't know why Finn felt the way he did for her but she was beyond happy he did because Rachel was pretty sure she was totally in love with him. Whether he was a peasant or a king, she didn't care; she just wanted to be with him and try to make things work.
Rachel released him and turned back to Blaine. While they discussed gemstones and settings, Finn wandered around the shop looking at all the different jewels. Unlike some of his past family members, his crown collection was small and simple. He didn't care for the flash and didn't need it. Kurt thought he was insane for only having two crowns, one for state affairs and one for private ones as opposed to his mother who practically had a crown for every day of the year, but Finn liked his crowns. They were very Finn with just a simple gold head piece with a few points and his fancier one which had a few jewels inlaid into it which was the one every king wore for his coronation.
He looked down into the case below him and found what appeared to be engagement rings. Finn smiled at the thought of giving a woman one of these on his own someday, specifically giving Rachel one. His mother had always supplied the ring for the women she wanted him to marry but he wanted to be the one to pick out the right one for the woman he would make his wife. It just seemed like that should be the way it happened. After all, he would be the one getting married, not his mother.
"Thinking of finally getting one of these your Majesty?" Blaine asked as he walked up behind the counter.
Finn looked over at Rachel who was examining different styles of tiara with great care. "Yeah, I am actually." He smiled sweetly then turned back to Blaine.
"Look at'choo, the Bachelor King getting' all goofy over a girl finally. Mama must have picked a winner this time."
He chuckled at his friend. "Actually, my mother had nothing to do with Rachel. She found me by total accident and we just clicked instantly. I've never felt this way about a woman before Blaine."
"Me neither…but you know, for different reasons." They both laughed.
"Have you been to see Kurt lately?" Finn asked. He knew that they had a thing going for a while now and though much of the kingdom didn't agree with how they chose to live, Finn didn't really care. It didn't matter to him who they loved as long as they found love. Who was he to judge?
"We had dinner together yesterday. It was very nice and quiet."
"I'm happy for you two. I know how hard it can be to find someone when you're different from everyone else. I'm glad you have each other."
"Thank you, your Majesty. I'm glad we have each other too." Blaine lowered his voice and leaned forward. "And hey, I'm pretty sure that girl over there is totally head over heels for you. I'd be willing to bet if you asked her to marry you soon, she wouldn't be able to say no."
He grinned and clapped Finn on the arm reassuringly then walked back over to Rachel to see if she had come to a decision yet on her tiara.
Shortly after that Finn and Rachel were exiting the shop grinning like fools. Rachel was going to have a tiara within a week and Finn had the perfect engagement ring for Rachel tucked away in his pocket.
After his talk with Blaine, Finn took a more serious look at the rings in the case and found the perfect one for Rachel. While she went to the bathroom, Blaine explained the quality of the ring and diamond to him and he agreed that it would be great for her based off of the selections she had made for her tiara. Blaine had popped it in a box and Finn had quickly smuggled it into his pocket before Rachel had returned. She was none the wiser as they left.
"I still can't believe you're getting me a tiara. I don't even know where or when I could ever wear it."
Finn could think of a few places she could wear it, namely their wedding. "You don't need an excuse to wear it. You could wear it around your house while you sing karaoke or something. You are the karaoke queen after all." He smirked at her as she giggled at him.
They continued walking down the street chatting about McKinley and what it had to offer while they popped in and out of shops. They found a dress shop, where Finn had to hide for a few minutes to keep Sugar Motta and her friend Harmony from finding him and totally exposing him to all the patrons, they stopped at a flower shop where Finn bought a floral tiara for Rachel to wear for the day, there was a perfumer which made Finn sneeze at least a dozen times but they both came out smelling fantastic and for Finn's enjoyment they stopped at the swordsmith who also had recognized him and closed up shop for their time visiting. They chatted about Finn's latest joust which he won and Rachel's eyes lit up at the tale.
"Nigel and I were ready to kill Lord Karofsky. I had knocked him off his horse fair and square but he came at us with his sword and it was lucky that Nigel was so quick to notice him otherwise I think he would have sliced my arm off. That guy has a temper problem he really needs to work on."
"Yeah, he breaks swords constantly which is saying something because my work ain't easy to break," the large woman said to Finn shaking her head. "The Panther's seal means quality and quality means durability. I dunno what that boy does to break my steel. So your Majesty, is that why you're here, to pick up a new sword?"
"Actually Beiste, I'm showing my date Rachel around McKinley. She's new to the area so I thought it would be a good idea."
"Oh, you're on a date, huh? Well, good for you. I've met some of those women the Queen Mother has tried to set you up with and no offence to you, your mother or those women, but I couldn't see them as the future Queen of McKinley. They all lacked the presence I think a queen should have, mostly decorum in social situations and more importantly your respect." Beiste chucked his chin like she did when he was a little boy and had done well in a practice sword match. She turned to Rachel. "If you're on a date with this potato head that must mean you're something special. I've known the kid since he was a baby and he's never taken anyone on a date. I may have seen him with girls but they could hardly be considered dates."
Finn's face grew red in embarrassment. "You realize who you're talking to right? I could put you in the stocks for calling me a potato head," he joked with her.
"Pft, please. You would never put me in the stocks and you know it. I'd kick your backside all up and down this street if you tried." She patted him on the back. "I'm sorry to cut our conversation short your Majesty, but I have a few orders I really need to fill by the end of the day and I could get away with not doing 'em if I could say the King was taking up my time but I'm guessing you don't want anyone to know you're out today."
He shook his head. "Yeah, please don't tell anyone I'm out. I don't need a mob scene all over me today. We'll let you get back to work. Thanks for letting us drop by."
"Anytime your Majesty, you know that." She waved goodbye to them as they walked out of the shop.
Rachel glanced up at him. "You're something else, you know that?"
"What do you mean?" Finn asked scrunching his eyebrows together in worry.
"I mean, you're the King but you don't act like one at all when it comes to your people. You treat everyone as equals and allow them to talk to you like friends instead of inferiors. It's nice. In my world, most monarchs throughout history would have people punished dearly for speaking so freely to them."
Finn shrugged. "I try not to take myself too seriously and I've noticed that when I'm more open with people and treat them like friends, they feel more comfortable with me and don't want to kick my ass off the throne." He laughed at himself. "That doesn't mean I won't put them in line when necessary though. Unlike my Aunt Sue, I'd rather be loved than feared."
This perked Rachel's interest even more. "Kurt said your Aunt Sue has tried to kill you before. Why would she do that?"
"Power. She wants the throne and feels she deserves it more than me because she was my dad's older sister and I was still young when he died but she's freaking insane and would completely destroy all the good in this world if allowed to rule. I've never met a scarier woman in my life and I've met a lot of people. No one could ever prove it but it's rumored that she's killed every one of her husband's and my grandmother. She was the first reason we thought my dad was dying but the doctor confirmed that it was just pneumonia that killed him. If Sue ever gained power, the whole universe would be doomed."
"She sounds like a scary woman."
"She really is. I hope you never meet her." Finn took Rachel's hand again. "Let's talk about something else. You know about my family, what about yours?"
"I don't have a very big family, just my dads Hiram and Leroy. I don't know who my birth mother is. She gave me up to my dads and they've never seen her since."
Finn noted the hint of sadness in her voice. "That sucks. Have you ever thought about trying to find her?"
"It's crossed my mind but I don't need to find her. I've spent 23 years without her and my dads love me so much. I don't need a mom."
"You're welcome to share mine if you ever feel like you need a motherly figure to talk to," Finn smirked down at her.
She smiled back at him. "That's sweet of you. Your mother seems lovely."
"She's a good mom. The best I've ever had." They both laughed and Rachel tucked some hair behind her ear.
"So there's never been anyone special in your life?" he asked, wondering if what Rocco had said about her never having a boyfriend was accurate.
"Oh you mean like my own version of Brittany?" She bit her lip and smiled but her face fell almost as quickly. "No, I've never been in a relationship. I've never even had friends really. Like I said, my personality turns people off."
"See, that doesn't make sense to me. You seem perfect but you say no one likes you. I just don't get it."
Rachel laughed without humor. "I'm not perfect by any means. I talk too much, I'm a bit of a diva, my nose is too big and my boobs are too small-"
"Don't," Finn cut in. He stopped their walking and turned her to face him head on. "You're perfect Rachel. Maybe you have flaws but we all do. That doesn't make you any less perfect to me."
She blushed deeply and turned back to continue walking, Finn following suit beside her. "Anyway, I've never been in a relationship. There's never been anyone special to me that way. Honestly," she didn't know what possessed her to say it but she felt the need to get it off her chest now, "I've never even been intimate with anyone before. Physically I mean." She shyly looked up at Finn who was trying very hard not to burst out into a huge grin.
Finn could be her first! He had never been anyone's first and the thought honestly turned him on. "Why not?" he asked in a serious tone, trying not to seem too eager.
"I wanted it to be special, my first time. I wanted it to be with the man I loved, not some random drunken hook up or something. I was waiting for my Prince Charming to come and sweep me off my feet, but he never came." She looked down at the ground and wrung her hands together.
Finn had been right to stop them the night before. Now he stopped them again to lift her chin so she would look at him. "You know, I was a prince once and I'm pretty charming…"
She bit her lip and could feel herself going weak in the knees as Finn leaned in closer, closing his eyes, getting ready to kiss her. His lips just touched hers when they could hear a woman calling his name. He pulled away quickly and looked around for the source of the calling finding Brittany wildly waving at him from the entrance of the pub not too far down from where they were standing.
He grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her down the street quickly until he reached Brittany who finally stopped calling his name. "Brittany! What are you doing?" he hissed at her.
"I was trying to get your attention."
"By screaming my name in the middle of a crowded street? You know I'm not supposed to be out without a guard and you could have alerted everyone to me being here."
Brittany rolled her eyes. "No one even noticed. Now come on! Artie wants to meet Rachel and he hasn't seen you in weeks. We're going to have dinner together no matter what you say." She gripped Finn's hand and dragged him into the crowded pub, Rachel being pulled along behind by Finn.
They stumbled forward to the back of the pub where it was quieter and more secluded. Artie was seated and drinking some beer when he noticed Brittany pulling Finn and what must have been Rachel behind her. "Hey Brittany, where'd you find Finn?"
"He and Rachel were wandering around down the street. I saw them and knew they had to come to dinner with us since you wanted to meet Rachel and haven't hung out with Finn lately." Brittany sat down next to Artie's wheelchair and he took her hand and kissed the back of it.
"That was sweet of you Brit. Thanks." She smiled and leaned over to kiss him as Finn pulled a chair out for Rachel to sit in then sat next to her.
Artie turned to Rachel and smiled. "You must be Rachel who Brittany has been telling me about nonstop since she got home this afternoon. It's nice to meet you," he said sticking his hand out for her to shake.
"It's nice to meet you too."
Just then their waitress came over to get their order. "Hey Artie, Brittany! It's good to see you guys here again," she said in greeting before turning to Finn and Rachel.
"Oh my gosh, are you…" the woman leaned closer to whisper, "Are you the King?" Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I swear I won't tell anyone! I'm good at keeping secrets." Finn nodded silently. "Your Majesty it is such an honor to meet you. My name is Tina Cohen-Chang and I will make sure you get the best service on this side of the kingdom on the house."
The woman quickly took their orders and the small group began chatting amicably about what Finn and Rachel had been up to all day. It was only a few minutes later that Tina brought their food to them.
"Wow, that was fast," Finn commented. Usually food took more than five minutes to make it to the table.
"I told you you'd get the best service on this side of McKinley. If you need anything I'll be around. Have a good meal." Tina disappeared and the group started eating vigorously.
Rachel wasn't sure if everything was entirely vegan but she did manage to get a meatless dish that was actually quite delicious. Once they were done eating Artie started the conversation back up.
"So Brittany tells me you came through the door," he stated bluntly. "I'm not entirely sure what that means but she seemed pretty excited about it."
Brittany sighed. "Artie, I told you. The door is the way to get from our world to her world."
"Yes dear, I get that. I just have no idea where or what the door is exactly." Brittany's face scrunched at her husband's words when she realized she didn't really know either.
"The door is in my bedroom. It's my old coat cabinet actually. And the one on Rachel's side is her boss's magicians cabinet. They practically identical," Finn explained.
"Ohhh, it's in your bedroom, huh?" Brittany said, quirking her eyebrows and smirking at them.
Finn and Rachel both pinked slightly before she spoke. "I didn't mean to find it, it just happened. I noticed there was a light in the back of the cabinet and I tried to ignore it but Finn opened the door and found me."
"But then she left, then came back, then left again and I followed her and spent two days in New York and it was all pretty epic," Finn said with a grin to Rachel.
Artie looked confused. "But you haven't been gone for two days…"
"Yeah, I think time freezes or something when you leave because we came back from the point I left at." Finn shrugged not really knowing.
"Time doesn't freeze," Brittany said matter-of-factly. The rest of them waited for her to elaborate.
"Um, how do you know that?" Finn asked when she didn't go on.
"Nigel told me. He said that when you guys went through the door the unicorns could all feel it but then went about their day."
Rachel drew her eyebrows together. "But you come back to the exact moment you left."
Brittany shook her head. "Yeah, you do."
"Brittany, why don't you tell us everything you know about the door. That would be easier than us having to ask the right questions to get an answer," Artie suggested.
"Okay. According to Nigel there are a bunch of doors from this world to others. No one knows exactly where they are though because they can move. When a person goes through the door a large burst of magic can be felt by creatures sensitive enough to feel it. Unicorns are some of the most powerful magical creatures around so they can always feel it. The reason you come back to the exact moment you left from is because that's the point in time you're supposed to be in. Time can keep moving though if you don't come back because it's not going to wait for you. So you can be born in one world, move to another world and live your entire life out then go back to the other world as if nothing happened while you were away."
Finn nodded contemplatively. "Would you be old when you got back?"
"Nope. You'd be the same age you were when you left. So you could live out two lives if you wanted to. If you came back to the world you weren't originally from though you won't go back to the old age. You really gotta be sure you want to leave."
"What if you keep going back and forth?" Rachel asked with interest.
"That's a good question. No one knows. Not even the unicorns because no one's ever done it before. People don't move between worlds very much but I bet it's not easy. That's a lot of magic."
Finn looked at Rachel who looked concerned. He knew that her wheels were turning at all the information Brittany had just given them about the door and he was a little worried that it was going to make her want to rethink being with him.
Before he could ask her what she was thinking, a sudden loud squeal caught their attention and Finn's eyes widened in horror when he realized Sugar and Harmony had spotted him. They were going to throw themselves all over him and create a scene if he couldn't get away right now.
He stood up swiftly, knocking the chair over and startling Rachel. "We have to go NOW!" he yelled out, yanking Rachel to her feet. "Brittany, Artie, nice seeing you but we gotta leave. Bye guys!"
Without another word or further explanation Finn whisked Rachel out through the pub's back door, Sugar and Harmony squealing at him to stop and come back behind them.