A/N So this chapter ended up really short, sorry. I feel badly! I tend to be the kind of person who writes a lot of short chapters instead of fewer long ones... Thanks for the reviews, reviewers, and I hope you enjoy it so far! I slipped in a little quote from one of my favorite books here, and you get a cookie if you spot it. Just noticing, you can tell I really like Rachel/Kurt friendship based on this...
The car ride back was filled with excited chitter-chatter of the "So what have you been doing all this time" variety. Rachel had changed into dry clothes- a pre-planned new outfit, courtesy of Kurt. There was much to discuss, and Rachel was relieved to see that they hadn't grown apart the way she'd feared they would have. The most fun part was probably when they got stuck in bad traffic and all sang "Happy Days Are Here Again" with the windows wide open, recieving applause from three surrounding cars. Rachel was almost sad to leave the car when they arrived at her new home, but she changed her mind upon seeing the larger-than-expected apartment.
"Kurt, this place is beautiful!" Rachel exclaimed. "How did you do this?"
Blaine objected. "Why is it that you instantly assume everything is his doing?"
"Oh, sorry. Blaine and Kurt, you've done an amazing job here."
"No, it was just Kurt."
Just then a little chirping noise carried over from the other room. Or should it be a little warble? Is that a word? Rachel grinned. "Can I meet the newest family member?"
...
Kurt introduced his pet to Rachel like a proud parent. "Rachel, this is Belle. Belle, meet Rachel. She's going to live with us, so you two had better get along!"
Rachel blinked. "You named her Belle? And Blaine let you?"
"After I presented my incredibly eloquent argument for the name, he just couldn't disagree."
Blaine felt the need to clarify. "It was either that or Glinda, plus he'd already done the cage."
Now Rachel noticed the rather large and rather sparkly cage, and saw what Blaine had meant. There was a large, intricate pattern of Bedazzle beads spelling out the name of the bird directly on the bars. She had no idea how Kurt had done it, but if the glue was anything like what he'd used on Rachel's phone skin it wasn't coming off anytime soon.
Anyway, regardless of the name, Belle was adorable.
...
That night, Rachel was in her new bedroom, unpacking her suitcase. She was apprehensive, knowing the night was soon to come. All day she'd kept herself busy, interested in what was going on around her, sharing Kurt's and Blaine's enthusiasm for the times to come. At night, though... lying in bed alone... there'd be nothing to distract Rachel from her thoughts, her fears, her heartbreak. Without any other sights to take its place, the inside of her eyelids would be branded with the image of Finn Hudson. And there was nothing she could do about it.
Suddenly it was too much. Rachel dropped the pair of toe-socks she was holding and flopped down on the bed, barely holding back tears. Would the pain ever stop being so fresh? Would Rachel ever move on? Would she ever be able to fall asleep at night without remembering the times he'd been snoring behind her?
Just then Kurt walked in wearing bright blue silk pajamas. "Rachel," he began irritatedly, "I heard the mattress squeal. It's brand new, you know, I don't want you damaging it-" He stopped abruptly upon seeing the tears rolling down his old friend's face. "Oh, Rachel..."
He sat down next to her on the bed, not making a sound- of course. "Do you want to talk?"
"How did you do it?"
"What?"
"How did you get over Finn?" Rachel demanded.
"Come again?"
"You were obsessed with him that first year we had Glee- maybe even more so than I was. And then just like that, you... weren't. But I kept going, and had my heart broken more times than I could count. You found Blaine, and I stayed hung-up over stupid old Frankenteen. How did you do it? What happened?"
"Sometimes it takes a quick reality check. Something happened, and it really drove in the point with me that there was no chance. That he wasn't worth my time anymore."
Rachel's curiousity peaked. "What?"
Kurt winced, and Rachel quickly backtracked. "You don't have to tell me."
"He moved into my room and called it and me 'faggy', okay?"
Rachel's mouth fell open. "He WHAT! My god, and you forgave him? Oh, Kurt, I'm so, so sorry..."
Kurt shook his head, hard. "It was good in the long run. All was forgiven and we lived together peacefully enough until we could go our seperate ways."
Rachel shook her head. "It amazes me that you can move past that so easily. I would have planned revenge and cried for days. And you can just go and be your fabulous self, where I was deluded to the point where I was willing to give up my greatest dreams of showbiz glamour for someone who really isn't worth it. In a way, I guess you were lucky nothing ever happened to lead you on."
Kurt nodded some more- his neck was beginning to get a little tired. "Unrequited love can be survived in a way that once-requited love cannot."
"I've missed you!" Rachel suddenly blurted, tackle-hugging Kurt and causing the mattress to moan in pain. "Careful," Kurt interrupted, but he was smiling. "I don't want tears on this fabric!" But they lay there together, enjoying the feeling of togetherness that had been so absent the past couple years. After a while Rachel fell asleep flat on the bedspread- jet lag and stress had exhausted her thoroughly, and so Kurt quietly tiptoed upstairs and pretended he hadn't overheard Blaine singing "Beauty And The Beast" to Belle.
...