[A/N] Uhm ok, yeah you can murder me for the late updates. This is actually a chill chapter so not much weirdness goes on :) I have announcement though :)
I'm planning on ending this story soon. Actually I was thinking of a sequel so yeah that might actually happen but I don't really know yet. Anywho I'm thinking maybe another 5 chapters and that would be the end of it. I'll be on fast forward mode on the next two chapters I guess :)
Anyway, here you go :) chill chapter mode!
Everyone was already huddled up in the seats scattered on the living room when Blaine and Rachel entered. Some were chatting, others were clearly suffering from headaches due to the drinks last night, and some were simply napping, trying to get a couple of z's before they started the day.
"Anyone need some aspirin?" Blaine asked, showing them the bottle of meds as both him and Rachel sat on the couch nearest the window.
"Me," Mercedes said, raising the hand that was not covering her face.
"So what's the plan for today? We have about T minus 24 hours to get our jam on!" Puck said as he happily munched on the omelettes Blaine caught him cooking earlier that day.
"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could go swimming on the pool at the basement. We could also cook some barbeques and kebabs down there. Everyone ok with that?" Blaine asked, looking around.
"Yeah that would be great, as soon as the aspirin kicks in. I think I'll go grab a coffee first," Tina said, standing up and walking towards the kitchen.
By 12 noon everyone was happily playing in the pool. Some of course, like Finn, were in charge of the barbeques, and Blaine volunteered to help him.
"Hey, need any help?" Blaine said, grabbing some of the sticks and turning them. Finn was Rachel's ex. Sure he moved on years ago, and sure he and Blaine had developed a safe friendship. But he still was not comfortable enough with Blaine to be sharing a small space with him. He awkwardly took some of the barbeques from the huge platter and quickly dumped them in the grill, causing some of the oils to spatter and hit him.
"OUCH! Crap shit!" Finn muttered, wringing his hands all over the place.
Blaine felt the tension. Yes, he knew Finn was Rachel's ex, but he did not exactly know much about the former couple's relationship, let alone Finn. He was just really trying to be friends with the guy, and from what he was seeing and sensing right now, it was probably gonna be a challenge for both of them.
"Are you ok?" Blaine asked, showing a look of concern towards Finn.
"Yeah dude I'm ok, it's just initial reaction," Finn said, still looking a little awkward. "You wanted to help?"
"Yeah, if you don't mind. There are a lot of mouths to feed around here so I think you need the hand," Blaine said, standing in front of the grill and turning some of the sticks.
After a while of cooking, Blaine felt that he needed to clear things up with Finn. He just did not want the tension to hang around the both of them whenever they would meet.
"Hey Finn..." Blaine started, feeling a little tense about the situation.
"Yeah?" Finn said, brushing sauce into some of the barbeques.
"About this whole Rachel was your ex and my current girlfriend thing. I just wanted to know if you're ok with all of this? I mean, I respect the fact that you both had a past but I just want you to know that if you feel uncomfortable in any way, please let me know. I really want to be friends with you, even under the circumstances," Blaine said, looking at Finn shortly.
Finn was surprised at how open and straight forward Blaine was towards him. In normal high school situations, this would have been settled by complete cold shoulders or battle of fists, but Blaine was tackling this like a gentleman, which was very impressive. He immediately affiliated it with the whole Dalton upbringing.
"Dude, can I just be honest?" Finn asked. Turning towards him while holding a brush for the sauce.
"Of course," Blaine said in reply, still feeling the awkwardness.
"Rachel and I have been together almost 75% of our junior and senior year and I loved her very much. I have to admit that I still do, but of course as a friend, and seeing you with her sometimes pains me because I'm seeing something that I could have had. But here's the thing. I like seeing Rachel happy. And if Rachel being happy means that she has to be with you, then I'm totally cool with that. You're a really awesome guy dude, I see Rachel happy when she's with you, and I see how much you love her and I see how much she loves you. So, given that situation, I think I can safely say that I do want this for her and I do want to be friends with you and that you don't have to worry about me being her ex. It's normal to feel awkward at times but I don't mind being with you. Not at all," Finn finished, giving Blaine a pat in the shoulder.
Blaine felt relieved at what Finn had said. Sure, he was a bit surprised at the whole pain thing, but it was really nice to know that he could be friends with someone who had played a part in Rachel's life one way or another. As he gave Finn a pat back on his shoulder, the rest of the barbeque cooking went by smoothly, and they were even able to have a chat about football, which turned out to be both the boy's favourite sport.
After almost an hour of grilling, most of the barbeques were cooked and Blaine placed them platter in the table near the pool.
"Barbeques and kebabs guys!" Blaine called out, motioning for them to eat. He himself had taken a stick or two while cooking, so he decided that he was actually full and that he wanted to take a dip in the pool to relieve the heat from the cooking. Shortly after eating the kebabs, Wes and David joined Blaine in the pool and were about to jump in when they noticed the long scar on Blaine's abdomen.
"Hey Blaine, have you been into a fight in Italy?" Wes asked, sitting on the edge of the pool.
"Yeah dude, you never had that scar back at Dalton," David said while pointing at the long scar.
After hearing the question, Blaine unconsciously looked at Rachel and saw that she too was looking at him. Apparently she heard the question and immediately turned towards Blaine, looking apologetically. Blaine gave her a quick smile and shook his head.
"I got it in Italy. I never really told anyone but someone tried to kill me and ended up stabbing my abdomen. Hospitalized for about 2 days," Blaine said, looking at the two intently.
"KILL? STAB? Dude what were you doing in Italy? Were you drunk? Do you, I don't know, look for fights or something?" David said, looking completely shocked. Blaine was about to answer the question when Rachel sat beside David and answered him.
"He saved me," Rachel said smiling at Blaine. She still would not forget the fact that he was her hero, and if not for him, well, let's just say she would have had to go through therapy.
"I hope you don't mind Rachel but who did he save you from?" Wes asked, looking at Rachel.
"My ex. He tried to rape me on our 1st anniversary. And if Blaine hadn't been there, he would have taken me. I owe him a lot," Rachel said, looking at Blaine with love in her eyes.
"Wow Blaine Warbler. I have to give it to you. All that fight club involvement did come in handy," Wes said, patting Blaine on the shoulder as he too, went in the pool. "That was really a brave thing to do."
"You would have done it if it happened to the one you love. I was just lucky I got to him before he got to her. And don't mention the fight club Wes, you know the rules," Blaine said, laughing at Wes and smiling towards Rachel.
They never really talked about the whole accident again after Blaine got released from the hospital, and they both had to admit, talking about it seemed to lessen the tension it brought whenever someone asked about the incident.
"I'm just really sad that I remember that incident whenever I see Blaine's wonderful abs," Rachel said teasingly, kicking water towards Blaine.
"Well let's just attribute it to us getting together shall we?" Blaine said, pulling Rachel's leg, causing her to fall into the water.
The rest of the day was spent telling stories, eating food, swimming, and playing in the pool. At the end of the day, everyone was spent and some opted to go to bed early while others, especially the boys, decided to hang out in the Anderson game room. Blaine and Rachel on the other hand decided to call it a day and were lying in the bed while watching a movie on the TV. They were both really tired, but not enough to sleep just yet. They really had to admit, they missed each other.
"I had a great time today," Rachel said as she toyed with Blaine's fingers.
"Me too. I even got to talk with Finn while we were cooking," Blaine said, still looking at the TV. Upon hearing Blaine's words, Rachel suddenly sat and turned to Blaine, his face only visible through the lights of the TV.
"Finn? Why? What did you talk to him about?" Rachel said, feeling a little concerned.
"I just talked to him about the whole me being your boyfriend situation and how I still wanted to form a friendship with him. He was very civilized about it and took it like a man. He even told me that he actually wanted to be friends with me. It felt nice to release the tension," Blaine said to her, looking at her and caressing her cheeks.
"Well that's actually really nice to hear," Rachel whispered as she returned to her position in Blaine's chest. "I'm happy you guys are friends," she said, returning to toying Blaine's fingers.
"Hey Blaine?" Rachel mumbled again, this time clasping her hand with Blaine's.
"Si tisero mio?" Blaine asked, squeezing Rachel's hand.
"I love you. I feel that I don't tell you enough, and this afternoon, seeing that scar on your tummy and you smiling. It made me feel that you love me, even if I almost got you killed. So from now on I promise to tell you I love you as many times as I can," Rachel said, turning her head to face Blaine.
"I love you too. And tisero mio you don't have to worry because even if you don't say it through words, I can still feel it through your touch, and that's enough for me. Besides, I have this ring to remind me everyday, right?" Blaine said, showing the ring Rachel gave to him that morning.
"Still, I want to say it everyday. I love you curly head," Rachel said, resting her head in Blaine's chest.
"I love you too, my little singer," Blaine said, kissing the top of Rachel's head.
"We'll be going back home tomorrow right?" Rachel asked, feeling a little sleepy.
"Yes," Blaine whispered, combing his hands through Rachel's hair.
"And Italy the day after?" Rachel said, yawning.
"Yes," Blaine replied. He knew Rachel did not want to go back to Italy yet because she's miss her family. But the holidays were coming to a close and they now had to go back to Italy to study.
"I'll miss this," Rachel whispered, now dozing off.
"Yeah, me too. Especially moments like these," Blaine whispered, kissing Rachel's head.
Soon enough the tiredness seemed to creep towards them and the lovers fell asleep. Hands entwined and arms holding each other, they fell asleep knowing that they loved each other, and that they had a lot of years ahead of them to show each other just that.