Question - Old 97's
It's Valentine's day, and Finn and Rachel are still a couple – A/U

Finn pulled up in his truck outside Rachel's house, but instead of a smile that said 'I'm-Finn-Hudson-and-I'm-totally-in-love-with-Rachel-Berry', he was wearing a frown that said 'I'm-Finn-Hudson-and-I'm-worried-Rachel-Berry-won't-like-my-Valentine's-gift'. See, he hadn't given it much thought before because it was just another crummy day to him, but Rachel had gone on and on and on about it for so long that he'd tried really hard to find the perfect gift for her. His mom had advised against flowers (too cliché) and chocolates (vegans were so picky), and after she'd suggested a load of things, Finn had decided to take matters into his own hands, and had planned the best thing EVER.

That was the problem though. As much as he loved Rachel, she had a different definition of awesome. Finn remembered the time he'd bought her a ticket to go see the original Saw movie at some cool ass special screening, and instead of her appreciation, he ended up with popcorn over his head (and in his underwear somehow, which was really uncomfortable).

Therefore, he was kind of having a panic attack because it was their first Valentine's Day together, and he wanted it to be perfect, even if he wasn't convinced that it was worth the effort.

He usually walked up to her front door and knocked for her himself, but Finn was pretty sure that he was going to keel over with the effort if he moved. Instead, he slammed his fist on the horn, waiting for Rachel to get the message.

She appeared next to the truck almost instantly, and Finn felt the breath leave his chest 'cause she looked beautiful. Well, she always looked beautiful, but she'd swept her hair up in a new kind of way, and she was wearing slightly different make up, and she was smiling a sexy smile that made Finn feel even worse about himself because he had a feeling she was going to kill him, and she'd made all this effort and he was going to ruin it and she was going to hate him and he was going to be single on the most romantic day of the year.

Breathe for God's sake.

"Morning Finn!" she chimed as she took her seat beside him (she'd claimed it as her own because she spent so much time in his truck).

"M-m-morning," he yawned. "You look hot today Rach."

She frowned and placed her hands on her face. "Are my cheeks red? It's actually quite cold and the heating isn't working properly in my room."

Finn rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Hot as in sexy hot, but wow, look, now you're going really red!"

She hit him playfully on his shoulder with a pout, which then turned into a grateful smile. "Thank you. You're looking very handsome today."

He ran a hand through his hair (crap, he'd forgotten to brush it) and shrugged, confused. "I didn't do anything special though, and-"

Rachel leaned across the gear stick to kiss him softly on the lips. "You always look handsome Finn, it's just something you were born with. Anyway, I have something for you!" She pulled a beautifully wrapped gift from her bag and placed it in his lap, smiling. "I hope you like it!"

Finn kind of didn't want to open it, because man, he'd never seen something so careful and precise. The paper shone in his hands because it was like, metallic and cool, and the ribbon that was tied around the box was really nice to touch, and the whole thing was covered in golden star stickers, each one representing the girl beside him.

"You can open it you know," she said with a laugh, to which Finn nodded a little.

"Yeah, but it's really pretty and stuff. I'll take a picture of it first." He fished around in his pocket for his cell phone, turned on the camera (it was low quality and, well, shit, but it came in useful now and again), then took a few photos of the box from different angles, too busy to notice that Rachel was grinning from ear to ear. "Alright, here goes nothing." Finn held his breath, and half hoped that the gift was really lame so that his wouldn't look so crappy. He ripped the paper off (which was really hard to do, not just because Rachel had coated it in ten layers of tape, but because he didn't want to ruin the beauty of her masterpiece), and was confronted with a plain white box. He carefully took off the lid, and felt himself deflate (crap, he hoped Rachel hadn't noticed). She'd gotten him a t-shirt.

"Well?"

"It says 'Team Rachel'... this is really um, I don't even know what to say…" He lifted the shirt from the box, and tried his best to keep an enthusiastic smile on his face. "Wow, thanks Rach."

Rachel smiled and nodded. "You are most welcome Finn. Now we can wear our matching shirts to solidify our love, and prove to the masses at school that we're committed and happy."

"Yeah, totally." What the hell? When he'd hoped for a lame gift, he hadn't actually meant it, and this… God, there was no way he could wear it in public (though it would be pretty hot to wear it while they made out and did other things).

"So, is there anything you'd like to give me?" Rachel asked hopefully.

"There is, but it'll have to wait until after school." Finn started the engine, and he ignored the outraged look on Rachel's face, 'cause he knew that she was going to be pissed (she'd probably been expecting some really expensive tiara that she could wear to school, but he wasn't rich, and he had no idea what kind of tiara she'd like anyway).

"Until after school? Finn, if it's a pair of tickets to go and see some gruesome film again then I'm refusing to acknowledge it," she huffed, crossing her arms as she stared out of the window, fighting back tears.

He could see that she was nearly crying, but he wasn't in the mood for her melodramatic tendencies; it was only fucking Valentine's Day.

They arrived at school, and without so much as a goodbye, Rachel flounced off to her first class, leaving Finn to curse to himself and shove his t-shirt out of sight.

Glee!

Finn stood slouching against his truck, waiting impatiently for Rachel to appear; his day had sucked ass. He'd gotten almost thirty anonymous sappy Valentine cards and one not-so-anonymous card from Santana, and though Rachel had been ignoring him, she'd still managed to express her disdain at his popularity with the girls of McKinley. He'd also been plagued with the attentions of a few girls who had tried to convince him that Valentine's Day was the day that boys had to cheat on their girlfriends and suck faces with everyone else, but after he'd double checked with Artie, Finn realised they were trying to trick him, and he avoided going anywhere alone after that.

What made the day even crappier was that Rachel flat out refused to acknowledge his presence. He'd tried to apologise for whatever terrible error he'd committed, but then he'd remember that she was pissed because he was making her wait for her gift, and then he'd get pissed because she was so high maintenance, and then he'd get mad at himself for complaining about his awesome girlfriend, and then he'd remember that she was ignoring him, and yeah, it was a very vicious cycle.

He straightened up with a smile when he saw Rachel walking towards him, because he'd half expected her to get a ride from her dad to avoid spending time with him.

"Hey Rach," he said warmly.

"Hello Finn. I called my dad and he was unable to pick me up, so I was hoping you'd be able to take me home."

Finn winced and bit back a retort, because he didn't want to argue with her. "Yeah, sure, get in," he said dejectedly. Rachel jumped into the truck, Finn started the engine, and with a silent sigh, he pulled out of the parking lot. So much for his grand gesture.

Wait, no, fuck it; he was going to whisk Rachel off her feet because he loved her, and it was Valentine's Day, and even if she was being all stroppy and stuff, he was gonna remind her how awesome they were.

"Finn, you've missed the turning," she murmured as he drove past her street. She looked over at him, and since he didn't seem to care, she frowned. "Finn, did you hear me? I don't take kindly to frustratingly adorable boys holding me hostage." She covered her mouth in horror at her admittance, because she'd been trying (and failing) to be mad at him all day long.

"We're going to the park," he said quietly, his lips forming a crooked smile as he turned up the music in his truck.

"The park? Finn, what are we doing?"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "Be quiet, I like this song."

Glee!

The two of them arrived at the park, and though Rachel was feeling apprehensive and a little frightened, Finn was feeling pumped; he was gonna rock this.

She woke from a dream
Her head was on fire
Why was he so nervous?

"Come on Rach," he said softly. He retrieved a backpack from the trunk, and without waiting for Rachel, he began to walk towards an empty patch of grass that was lit up by the sun peeking through the trees, humming some random tune as he practically skipped there.

"Finn, what's going on?" she whined as she hurried to catch up with him. She wanted to hold his hand because the park was so romantic and he was being very mysterious, but she was still mad at him, even if she couldn't remember why.

"Stop trying to spoil the surprise!" he said in the best annoyed voice he could muster, though he was actually more nervous than he thought he would be. He dropped his backpack to the floor and pulled out a worn, raggedy blanket, which he spread across the grass when he thought he'd found the perfect spot. Once he was sitting down, as comfy as he could be in the circumstances, he looked up at Rachel, who had a bashful grin on her face. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

He took her to the park
She crossed her arms
And lowered her eyelids

Rachel laughed lightly as she sat beside him, though she made sure that the two of them weren't touching (yes, she was being infantile but she had to stand her ground). "Finn, what are we doing? I don't understand."

He blinked, looked around them to make sure that they were alone, then pulled his sweater over his head to reveal his newest red t-shirt, 'Team Rachel' proudly adorned across his chest. "This is awesome," he admitted. "I'm gonna wear it to all your auditions and all your performances and all your award ceremonies, so long as the shirt lasts that long."

Rachel's cheeks burned as she looked down at her feet, smiling with embarrassment and appreciation. "I'm glad you like it Finn." She jumped when he took her hands, and as she looked into his eyes, she felt her lip wobble because he really was beautiful.

Some day somebody's gonna ask you
A question that you should say yes to
Once in your life
Maybe tonight I've got a question for you

"Will you marry me?" he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers.

She'd had no idea
Started to cry
She said in a good way

Rachel gasped, and felt her heart bounce against her ribcage because there was no way Finn was proposing! She felt silent tears running down her face, but not because she was sad, but because he couldn't be serious, there was no way he was serious!

"I don't mean, like, now or anything," he suddenly clarified, though his voice was a little choked 'cause Rachel was crying and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. "I tried really hard to think of a good gift for you, but I couldn't, and I thought, well…" He squeezed her fingers and smiled earnestly, gulping because he didn't wanna cry too. "I just want you to know that I love you, and I'm never going to stop loving you." He wiped his thumb along her cheek to brush away her tears. "Sorry I upset you."

Rachel made a whimpering sound, and with her eyes wide and bright, she smiled. "Of course I'll marry you Finn Hudson."

He took her by the hand
Walked her back home
They took the long way

"Oh thank God, I thought you were gonna say no for a minute!" He pulled her in for a brief kiss, then helped her up a little guiltily, because he'd kinda promised his mom he'd go straight home from school.

"I'm sorry I was so disagreeable today Finn," Rachel said softly, wrapping the blanket up in her hands. "I was worried that you wouldn't remember, or that you wouldn't care about it as much as me." She smiled up at him, her eyes glistening. "That clearly isn't the case. I love you."

Finn gave her his best crooked smile and winked. "Love you too Rach, but um…" He scratched his chest roughly and winced. "I'm gonna have to take this shirt off 'cause it's making me itchy."

Some day somebody's gonna ask you
A question that you should say yes to
Once in your life
Maybe tonight I've got a question for you
I've got a question for you