Title: On a Night of Falling Stars (3/?)

Pairings: Sam/Quinn (one-sided) ; Mike/Tina (implied) [For this chapter!]

Rating: T [For this chapter], but M over-all

Genre: Romance, Tragedy, Drama, History

Summary: Could love be reincarnated a thousand years after? Archaeologist Quinn Fabray unravels the story of a forbidden romance between two star-crossed lovers. And at the same time, she watches two of her friends slowly fall in love right in front of her. AU.

A/N: Changed the summary! I couldn't help but feel iffy about the previous one. The shorter, the better! :D This chapter's going to be very short, me thinks. I'm sorry if I haven't been updating regularly. :'( Here goes!

PS: I was incredulously happy when they announced that Quinn passed Yale. What a coincidence, huh? Lol.

"Seriously, dude, you're obvious. It's as if you have this sign over your head", Mike gesticulated over his head. "Which has AVAILABLE written all over in big, shiny lights." He automatically switched his rowing to the other side when he saw Sam signal.

The blonde's expression turned apprehensive. "Am I really? I thought I actually was being subtle."

"As subtle as a dog in heat", Mike deadpanned. "In Summer."

Sam stopped rowing and frowned. He turned back to look at Mike in the eye. "But I don't want her in that way, Mike. Out of all the people, you should know that."

"I was just kidding, man." A pause. "And hey! Who told you to stop? Keep rowing!" He nudged him hard on his shoulder with the top end of his paddle. Annoyed, Sam impatiently swatted it away.

He rubbed his aching shoulder. Grabbing his paddle, he dipped it in the water and began rowing. "Honestly though", his voice distant, "do you think I have a chance...?"

They alternated their positions again. A damp, slightly cold breeze whiffed through them, carrying a scent of salt and water and sun. Across them stretched blue: infinite, never-ending blue. A moment has passed by them unknowingly. "Do you want the truth or one of those not-so-little white lies that wouldn't hurt your feelings?" Mike answered after a while.

Sam gave him a look.

Sighing, Mike momentarily stopped his rowing, choosing to carefully focus on his words first. After all, it wasn't all the time that Sam asked advice from him. After all, it wasn't all the time that he was actually asked something...profound. It made him feel significant.

"Miss Fabray is ambitious", Sam stopped rowing, eagerly taking his honest account into consideration. "Not only is she ambitious, but she's also independent. She's smart, and calculating, and she can see right through you. She's a hardass excavation leader. Reliable, practical, systematic—she always has a backup plan. And not only that, she's tough, Sam." The Asian paused and let the words sink in, hoping that it would be enough to satisfy him. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Sam just prompted him with a look that impatiently said, 'Well. Go on.' And he was so tempted to just say that basically, Quinn's heaven and he's well, in hell (according the hierarchy of social circles in their field anyway). That he was the pauper, and Quinn was the...Queen (oh the irony.)

"You don't get it." Mike sighed. "She's done with college. I've heard that she's getting her PhD sometime after this excavation. A cum laude amidst a sea of sexist professors and conceited male classmates, there are jobs lining up for her. She's known to give lectures at prestigious universities, even in other countries, and at what age? Twenty four? Twenty five? And to think, after this excavation, in three or four or five—ten years, think of the endless possibilities of success she would have." The Asian shook his head, chest swelling with pride as he thought about their leader. "And honestly? I just couldn't picture her having a family, well, not now. Much less than picture her in an actual relationship."

Sam was lost in his own musing. Mike was right. Compared to Quinn's milestones, where was he? In his last year, barely passing some of his lectures, getting to this excavation to get enough credit to pass his Major. Not to mention his dissertation. He hadn't started on it yet. Mike was fucking right. Quinn was smart, charming, not to mention pretty. She had the higher-ups wrapped around her pinky. Other known professors from well-known Universities have acknowledged her name as a bright young potential in the field of Archaeology.

They were simply too different.

The blonde sighed; too distracted to even notice that Mike was the only one rowing between the two of them. The sun was high. The clouds were thin, smoky. The sky was clear and blue. The ocean breeze sifted through them calmly. Overall, it was a pleasant day. And that only served its purpose to further infuriate him.

"Sam?"

With another sigh, Sam lazily snapped out from his rather depressing thoughts. "'m fine."

"I'm sorry, dude."

Wordlessly, he waved it off. The ache he felt in his chest was too much for him to actually think, let alone speak.

They rowed in silence. Only the soft lilting of the waves, of flowing water, and the motion of rowing could be heard during that afternoon.

Blurs of green and brown neared in Sam's line of vision. And suddenly at that moment, it was as if everything else was shut away. All they could focus on was the breath taking sight of nature. They rowed with all their might, excitement and curiosity thrilling their veins, eager to get on land. As their destination was nearing their line of vision, little details added up to their vague description of the place. Aside from endless tall trees that made them think they were on the Amazon, and not in the coasts of Catalonia, the pair was surprised to see a couple of modern houses, and a peaceful village nearby. It would make a great contrasting scene to the rather primitive background.

Upon reaching the beach, Mike couldn't help but compare it to the previous beaches they went to. Its sand was not fine, the opposite of it actually. It was coarse, brownish, slightly grainy, and it would be uncomfortable to the point of pain if someone would proceed on it barefooted. He got out first. And then he went roundabout to tie their boat to the trunk of an old tree nearby.

Sam got out in a haze, barely noticing his partner walking beside him. Both of them were too busy greedily taking up every detail of what their eyes could see. They were a bit surprised about it. An old run-down resort type of diner was situated not too far from where they were standing. There was a small surfing rental which was a couple of blocks adjacent to the diner. A few other buildings and little shops were further placed in the back. And the rest of it was full of forests. Mike walked around to check if there was any path leading to the village they had seen earlier.

"What do you think?"

Instead of answering, the blond crouched down and then scooped up a few amount of sand. He inspected it carefully, applying all the years he had spent inside the classroom differentiating each type of land and analyzing its age. Satisfied with the results, he stood up and dusted off his jeans. He walked towards the tree to which they tied the boat with and began to study it. There were a few half-chopped trunks, and glancing at their rings, he could tell that most of the trees in that forest were at least hundreds of years old. Others were younger ones, only decades still. His eyes took in the picturesque scenery. The buildings and the trees, the posters plastered and the old wooden walls, it was the symbolization of the fusion of the past and the present.

Sam began walking, checking their small perimeter. "Plausible. If the trunk indicates anything, then there should be some hidden goodies in here too." He spotted Mike turning towards a particular direction. "Whoa where are you going dude? Didn't you see the buildings? There might be people—"

"Exactly", Mike huffed out his answer too impatient to hear the rest. "There are people here. We can ask questions about this place. Usually the type of natives that we'd find here are as almost as old as this place anyway."

Sam scoffed. "Dude, are you insane?" He rushed up to Mike to stop him and then turned him around to face him. "These people would ask questions. And then questions would need answers and then it would probably go to the rumor mill and somehow it would just end up to oh I don't know the Dean of Archaeology in the University in town?"

"Oh right, like I'll just go 'Good day Ma'am! Hey, do you know any place which we could dig up from? Oh! We don't have any permits. What's it for? Nothing! Just for fun. We love dirt.' "Mike rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, because I'm so smart that way."

"That's the point! Why can't you see it? If we talk to any of them, we won't be able to start the mini-excavations and the explorations because there would be eyes and ears watching us. In case you don't remember, you insensitive jerk, the blow will be on Quinn. What about her reputation? It'd be in tatters! She worked too hard to get where she is right now. No, she can't take a risk right now."

"Well, genius, she already is!"

That abruptly stomped all the building rage the other had.

Mike sighed, staring at his defeated expression. "Look man, the moment that she actually followed us to that clearing a few days ago showed that she trusted us. Us. She trusted our instincts even though she has more experience in this field than the both of us combined. Okay? And none of that 'She can't take a risk' shit. As long as it's good for the job, she'll even go to hell and back just to finish what she started."

"But Mike...She...Those bastards would eat her up the second she even slips a little."

"That's what we're here for, doofus. To make sure that never happens. She has a whole team to back her up. We love her too much to let that happen, right?" He nudged him with his elbow as they resumed walking. "Now shut up, mull this thing over in your head, pull your shit together, and help me find a trail path to the village we saw earlier."

Mike resumed his searching, heading south; taking notice of all the little things he passed by. When he saw that it would just lead him deeper into the forest, he returned to the beach only to find his friend searching for the entry path as well.

They made their way around the tiny huts, acknowledging and returning the greetings of foreigners and locals alike. At one point, they stopped at the diner, since according to Mike it would be a great source of information, knowing first-handedly how the waitresses and the chef alike were all gossip-mongers. Grabbing a quick bite, and making small talk with the head chef (a tall burly man with a manic grin on his face), and their destination was revealed to keep going south of the diner, until they reach the back of the local scuba rental shop.

Thanking them for their hospitality, the duo headed out with renewed vigor and the itching curiosity crawling under their skin. A couple of college Italian girls in bikinis stalled them. Of course, gone were the days that they were actually going to skip their work to have fun. Mike and Sam were mature now. They both were in relationships. At least, Mike was. Sam was in a one-sided one.

There was a little clearing, and then a a row of towering trees. The leaves shooting out in the branches, creating a rather intricate yet wonderful canopy-like effect, filtering the sun's rays, giving of a very ephemeral vibe. Nothing else could be heard, only the soft whispering of the wind, the rustling of leaves, and the sound of birds chirping. If Mike was being honest with himself, the location, the soothing aura, the kind natives-without ongoing excavation he would've thought that he was on a vacation.

"How's Tina?"

Shocked because Sam picked that topic out of all topics to be considered as a silence-breaker, Mike was stumped for a few seconds.

"Wow dude your silence is kinda offensive."

The taller shook his head a little. "No, that just kind of caught me off guard." To which he was responded by a 'No shit' look from him. "Uhm...Well, this is clearly awkward. But she's okay. Though a bit stressed. Her thesis defense is this year and she's drowning in her work. But you know, in a few days she'll be flying in."

"That's fast" Sam mumbled. "How about her work though?"

"As soon as I mentioned Miss Fabray's name—"

Suddenly, rapid footsteps could be heard.

Sam and Mike whipped their heads towards the source of sound. Both of them blanched at the sight.

Their instincts told them to run.

Their brain told them to stay still.

They did neither.

"Voi due!"

A/N: Welp. Next one would be coming in a few days.

**Voi due! = You two!