It had been a month and a half until Quinn and Rachel spoke to one another again, all thanks to the airline industry and their yearly ball for both pilots and crew members. The ball had been of significance for Quinn ever since she was a young child; she had come to her first ball when she had been only 8 years old, dressed in a party dress, clutching her father's strong hand as they entered the main ball room.
It had been a room full to the brim with pilot's known for their excellence in the piloting industry, as well as crew members who had excelled in the line of duty on board their plane. Russell Fabray was being praised that year, both for his astonishing record of flights and his appointment of becoming the main test pilot for Boeing and Airbus.
Little Quinn Fabray hadn't known what the fuss was about, but knew it was about her father from seeing person after person coming to pat her father on the shoulder or shake his hand. Although she didn't know what the celebrating was all about, she felt incredible proud, honoured in fact that she had such an amazing father.
"You're daughter will be a pilot one day, Fabray?" An old gentleman asked as he handed Russell a drink.
"I can only hope she'll continue on my name," Smiling, he ran his hand gently across his daughters long hair; "I know she'll make me proud. Won't you?"
"Of course, dad." Quinn looked up at her father and smiled.
Now she was at the forefront of the whole ball, her and Noah Puckerman who was receiving his wings in the most celebratory fashion. It had taken a few more weeks of vigorous flights for Puck until Quinn felt as if he was ready. The young man had been nervous, and as soon as he had left the plane, his Captain was stood waiting for him at the edge of the tarmac.
"Be proud of your accomplishment, whether you passed or not, know that you faced something you've never faced before, and came out on top."
She was shocked something so sentimental had come from her own mouth, but felt as if it needed to be said. It was minutes later that he found out he had passed, jumping for joy, he hugged his tutor and thanked her for everything. He had managed to get the money together for his license, thanks to friends and family. Now he was receiving his wings, but it would be over a year until he was taken up at a major airline, until then, he would work for regional airlines, and work as the chief flight attendant aboard Quinn's flight; a small favour he wished to give his tutor.
She came to the same ball every year, almost out of compulsion at first, to show her face as the new pilot on the scene; the esteemed daughter of the infamous Russell Fabray. Now she could be hardly bothered most years, it was the same celebration; meeting new pilots, talking to the pilot's who were planning to retire, drink, eat and talk some more with pilots that had nothing better to do then expand their ego's a little more for the night.
"Worried?" Quinn asked, pulling down the jacket of her dress uniform; although she hated going to the yearly ball, she always wanted to look her best. She made sure she wore her best dress uniform, the usual white shirt, with tie, the double breasted black jacket with the four golden stripes around the cuffs, as well as her golden wings over her left breast and the usual black pants, with the boots she polished and buffed for weeks on end until she could see her face in the shiny leather. A trait she picked up from her father.
Puck smirked ever so slightly and glanced at his friend in the corner of his eye, "Worried, me? Nah."
"Is that why you almost left the house in your dress shirt and boxers?" Bella Torino, Puck's long-term girlfriend asked with a raised eyebrow. Her shoulder length brown hair and shiny brown eyes set off the knee length dress she wore; although the young Bella detested dresses, and usually went for pants and a shirt, she chose to look her best for her boyfriend's first ball as a pilot.
"Bell," He grumbled lightly, "Don't embarrass me."
"Embarrass you...? Flyboy, you do that yourself."
Quinn chuckled at the couple and bit back an overdramatic 'awww' as Puck kissed his girlfriend gently on the cheek. Puck had yet to ask her to marry him; he'd managed to bite the bullet and take the dive for his pilot's license, yet he was completely petrified about getting down on one knee and asking Bella to be his one and only.
A trait he picked up from his father, do doubt.
James Puckerman was an incredible man, but only in a professional sense. He tended to have a roving eye, and had accumulated a series of lovers over his lifetime, including several more when he had been married to Puck's mother. His mother and father had split up when he was only four years old, thanks to James' cheating ways, and ever since, Puck had never wanted to speak to him.
"Your father will be there." Quinn told Puck.
"Hm," Puck mumbled, almost coming out in a gruff, "Do I have to speak to him?"
"Not if you don't want to, but make sure you don't make a scene; it's your first ball, and that's the event everyone remembers you by."
He glanced at her and seemed to sigh, "Alright. I'll behave."
"Don't worry Quinn," Bella butted in, elbowing her boyfriend in the ribs, "I'll just do that every time he had the urge to hit his father."
"Damn it," Puck groaned, holding onto his left rib, "Can't you just...do something nicer? Like kiss me?" He asked with hope in his tone.
"No."
Quinn laughed at Puck's groan of disapproval, and readied herself when the elevator stopped on the top floor. They were in the official FAA HQ, where the ball was always held; the top floor being the floor that was barred off to the celebration and dressed up to the nines for the party. The top floor, which was the thirty-fourth floor, wasn't necessarily high, but high enough to get a good look at the sky line on the large size balcony that dominated one side of the building.
Leaving the elevator, she noticed that Puck hadn't followed her or Bella, "Puck?" She asked, turning around to face a shaking Noah Puckerman.
"Noah, stop being such a wimp." Bell grabbed his forearm and pulled him out from the elevator, but made sure not to crease his jacket. "You're going to be great, just talk to people and accept your wings. That's all you need to do."
"Okay..." He mumbled, following the two women into the main room. Pushing open the main double doors, they entered the ball room, which was already full to the brim with pilots and cabin crew.
The whole room was as beautiful as it was the previous year, decedent and tasteful. The large size blinds that usually covered the glass windows had been taken down for the night, allowing an unblocked view of the New York sky line. The whole room looked to be made of glass, from the walls which were pure glass windows, down to the crystal chandelier that hung proud above their heads, to the silver wear that covered every inch of every individual table around the dance floor. It looked like a form of ice palace. Although Quinn didn't necessarily like talking to Airline brass, or going to these balls, she had to admire their taste in decoration.
Quinn could already see half of the regular people she talked to, as well as Mike who was laughing with Finn Hudson, a fellow pilot who was best friend to Mike.
She patted Puck on the forearm, gave him a few words of encouragement before drifting off toward her First Officer, who seemed to perk up almost immediately as he saw her. "Quinn, glad you could make it."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Mike..." She smiled, patting him on the shoulder gently before turning toward Finn, who looked too uncomfortable in his dress uniform, "Good to see you too, Hudson."
"Fabray," He raised his glass in a gesture of welcome before taking a sip. Although Fabray didn't necessarily like Finn and his almost renegade flying technique, he was a good man, albeit a little annoying.
"Did you hear their over-hauling our 747?" Mike asked, looking toward Finn. "It's stupid; it was over-hauled six months ago. It's just going to ground the plane when it could be in the air making money. I have no idea where they get these stupid ideas, from."
"From me,"
"Excuse me?" He asked, coming out in a slight choke.
"I asked for the plane to be over-hauled," She turned to Mike, glaring right at him, she could see Finn smirking in the corner of her eye, but she blanked him completely, "Both the throttle and the control column was acting up. If you'd paid attention during the flight, you would have heard me calling mechanics at JFK to ground the flight immediately. I believe in the safety of crew and passengers, not about the airline making money."
Biting his bottom lip to bite back the almighty groan of idiocy that he ultimately felt, he dropped his head in shame before looking back up and seeing Quinn walking as far away as she could from him.
"Way to show how much you fancy her," Finn burst into a fit of laughter, almost dropping his glass of wine. "Cool move, dude."
Mike glared at Finn and downed the rest of his wine before shoving the glass in his friend's spare hand, "Whatever," then stomped off in a huge strop.
Quinn chose to stay as far away from Mike as she possibly could, making sure that her first officer knew not to come anywhere near her. She hadn't meant to start off this ball in such a horrid way, but sometimes Mike could be so dense and idiotic that she wanted to just knock him out. It wasn't nice, to think of a friend like that, but with his romantic streak coming forward and making the whole friendship uncomfortable, she could hardly control herself when it came to lashing out at him.
"Captain Fabray, so glad to see you." She froze where she stood and swirled on the heels of her boots. This was the one person she didn't want to see. With piercing blue eyes and blonde hair, Sue Sylvester, head of the FAA stood before her.
"Administrator Sylvester, glad to see you could make it."
"It is in my building, Quinn, how could I not make it?" Quinn always hated the sarcastic nature of the Administrator, and usually tried to avoid her like she was some form of plague. Sylvester was a good woman, and believed in the safety of the airline industry and for all who worked within it, but tended to be rather blunt when it came to social situations.
The Captain bit back the normal reply which would have been 'It's just a saying, stop taking everything I say so seriously' but instead went with the natural, "How is the FAA treating you?"
"Harder work then I thought," A small smirk perked at the side of the Administrator's mouth, "But naturally I take it in my stride. I work with some imbeciles though; I don't know how they stayed afloat so long."
Chuckling, Quinn glanced around for a waiter. Her eyes eventually zoned in one, casually making his rounds with a tray full of champagne. She calculated how far away he was, and how long it would take him to get to her with him making stops every so often; she came to the conclusion it would be about 3 minutes.
3 minutes of small talk, no problem, but with Sue Sylvester, I'd rather poke my eyes out.
"You have heard we're looking for a new test pilot?"
Quinn's head snapped back to Sue, who looked at her with a piercing gaze; a gaze that would make any newbie sweat. Remind me to keep Puck away from her. "I...did not know that. I thought you had an abundance of test pilots waiting to be used?"
"Of course we do, but I think we're in need of new blood and I was thinking that you could be that new pilot."
"Excuse me?" Quinn choked, glancing back out to the waiter who was slowly making his way toward her. He seemed so close, but yet so far. Her throat was going dry and she felt as if she could drink an ocean, especially with the way Sue looked expectantly at her.
"The board members and I were talking about the work that the Fabray family has done for the FAA in the past, and with the unfortunate and tragic loss of your father from our ranks, we wished to know if you would be interested."
Finally! "Waiter...!" She raised her left hand and wafted him over, grabbing a glass of champagne quickly from the tray and downing it down in one. She still felt Sue's eyes on her as she dropped the empty glass back on the tray, "A double whiskey when you have time."
"Of course, Captain." Then he wandered off into the throng of people that surrounded them.
"I see you're worried about accepting such an offer?" The Administrator looked over Quinn's shoulder and raised her hand, "I'm sorry, but I need to speak to one of the board members." She rested her hand on Quinn's shoulder as she began to walk away, "Just think about my offer." And then left.
"Christ..." She mumbled to herself as she looked over her shoulder to the retreating back of the head of the FAA. It was an offer that both shocked and terrified her; it was an amazing job to take up, but it had also been the job that had taken her father from her. It had its share of life threatening difficulties, and she wasn't sure if she really had the courage that her father did when it came to testing out new aeroplanes.
Her father had been the life changing and infamous test pilot, not her.
I'll think about it, that's the best I can do...
She wandered over to the buffet table that dominated one side of the huge room, full to the brim with appetisers before the main meal that they would ultimately sit down to. She hadn't eaten all day, only taking the liberty of drinking coffee on and off her shift; so she took the chance to stuff a couple of the small morsels into her mouth.
In between eating and looking around the room she noticed out of the corner of her eye who stood alone in a corner. Grinning to herself she walked over to the lone figure, "And why the hell are you here?"
Santana Lopez jumped, wine glass impacting her nose, "Fuck sake, woman." She rubbed her nose and glared at her long term friend, "I'm getting my wings today, ass."
"Seriously...?" Quinn asked, eyes wide, "Who did you sleep with?"
Santana's flip of the bird was enough to answer that question, and although they were joking, Quinn knew she wasn't being entirely fair.
Santana had previously worked in the Armed Forces, an Operations woman from 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, or Night Stalkers as they were generally known. She provided Air Support from helicopters, providing reconnaissance about enemies; giving away their locations so the squads on the ground knew exactly where to strike. She had been incredibly green starting out, but eventually fell into her position with gusto.
"Why are you swapping from army to commercial aviation then? I thought you loved your job?"
"I do, but you know, the constant barrage of death isn't really appearing to me."
"Well that's understandable," Quinn smiled gently, "I can't believe you're receiving your wings, who will you be flying for?"
"American Airlines, I've already received a position as Flight Engineer on one of the main flights to Germany and First Officer on the in-state flights."
"Damn S, I'm proud of ya."
"Oh shut up, Q." She has the decency to hide a blush, "I feel totally out of my depth though."
"How so...?"
"I don't know anyone here; I'm stood here like a complete moron."
Quinn laughed and linked arms with her friend, "Then we'll just have to get you talking. I know more than half the pilot's here, so if anyone can get you into a conversation, it's me."
"Get off me, you lesbian." Santana groaned, wiping her arm off with a smirk. Quinn zoned in on a particular group that shared a conversation at one of the many dinner tables, drinking and laughing with one another.
"Puck, this is Santana," She let go of her friend's arm and pushed him down into a seat beside Bella, "Be careful with her, she's a monster." As she walks away, she hears a low curse in Spanish.
Quinn felt a tap on her shoulder when she walked away and immediately groaned, would she ever be left alone? Turning she gazed into the smiling face of the waiter she had talked to earlier on, "Your whiskey, Captain."
He handed her the glass and winked before sauntering off once again. Quinn bit back a laugh and took a quick sip of her whiskey. You've still got it in you. Wrong sex, though...
"What're you smirking at?" It was Mike again, brandishing a new glass of champagne.
Her smile dropped, "Nothing. I'm not allowed to smile anymore...?"
"Of course you are," He took a sip of his champagne, "Just...the waiter?" He glanced over at the man that had continued his rounds with a new tray, full to the brim of champagne glasses.
"What about him...?" Oh, how she wondered he would explain this one.
"He was all over you..."
"Mike, he wasn't all over me, and even if he was, why, pray tell, would it be any of your business?"
"Well it isn't, but-,"
"Exactly," She butted in, "Mike, what's wrong with you? This is supposed to be a celebration, but you're being either moody or completely ignorant. Get in the spirit."
He opened his mouth to respond, but when he caught sight of the death glare she was giving him, his mouth snapped shut instantly. As to prove the conversation was over, she turned and walked away, making sure she disappeared within the large group of people that surrounded her First Officer.
She found herself inside a small circle of older pilots, the ones that were retiring that year, and the ones that could talk you into a coma. Looking at all their expectant faces, she bit back a groan and downed the whiskey. Tonight would be a long night...
It had taken an hour until the bell was rung for the beginning of dinner, and Quinn praised whoever was looking over her. She used the opportunity to break away from the older men and almost ran toward the table she was due to sit at. The men, who had been old friends of Russell, felt like Quinn was their extended family so took the chance to speak to her anytime they could.
They just didn't know they bored her stiff.
Unluckily she found herself sat down beside Mike and directly opposite Finn, but the two seats to her right were empty. She glanced over her shoulder and noted the VIP's sat at the main table right by the stage; Sue Sylvester, James Puckerman, the head of the NTSB; Donald McCall and the respective heads of United Airlines, American Airlines and Continental Airlines. They sat, almost stone faced as they sipped from their wine glasses.
Puck and Santana were sat on the table beside them, waiting with petrified looks to receive their wings, but also because they were in such close proximity to the head honchos. Santana kept stealing glances at Sylvester and Puck steadfastly ignored his father's gaze.
"So Fabray, I heard Sylvester gave you an offer." Her head snapped back to Finn who looked at her over his half-full wine glass.
"Yeah, she did." She picked up her wine glass and sipped at, hoping that he would drop the subject.
"Are you going to take it?"
She groaned inwardly, "I'm thinking about it."
"Thinking about what?" She looked up and saw Lucas in full uniform standing behind her, Rachel on his arm looking incredibly beautiful. Her hair down, curled ever so gently. Her black cocktail dress showed off the wondrous curves beneath, and it took all Quinn's strength to not let her eyes roam.
Quinn purposely avoided Rachel's eyes and focused on the pilot, "Sylvester just offered me something; I said I'd think about it. You're late." She changed the subject quickly.
"Yeah," He chuckled slightly, kissing Rachel gently on the temple, "I got waylaid with something."
She knew exactly what he was referring to, so just dropped the subject and turned back to the table after giving him a smile. Lucas took his seat, but one seat away from her so he could sit next to one of his many First Officers that he had worked with, leaving Rachel the seat directly beside Quinn. She could feel the young woman's discomfort, but kept her eyes on the wine glass that was clutched painfully in her hand.
The whole dinner was uncomfortable, and the fact that the dinner usually lasted around two hours, being sat next to a woman that gave off the aura that she wanted nothing to do with you put you in a horrible mood. Quinn's mood was quickly rushing downhill, and it didn't help with Mike's attempts at both apologizing and flirting with her; the man had simply too much to drink and she wouldn't have been surprised if she found him half naked and running the halls in a few hours.
The meal was finished and then came the main ceremony; the new pilot's receiving their golden wings. Both Puck and Santana were due to receive theirs first.
Sylvester stood behind the podium on the grand stage, giving the usual induction speech, which had seemed to grow in size since the day she received hers. Her speech had lasted around five minutes, now the speech had miraculously gained to hit the twenty minute mark. Most of the pilot's and crew members tended to take the time to just drink, hoping that the incredibly boring speech would pass quite quickly.
Her eyes roamed the room, catching sight of Lucas laughing with a female pilot and her husband. His arm was wrapped tightly around Rachel's waist, but when the young woman pulled back suddenly, Quinn moved closer for a better look. She whispered in her boyfriend's ear and walked away, he watched her for a time before returning his attention back to his friend's.
Quinn watched her disappear onto the balcony, and she fought with everything she had to not disturb her, but it had been long enough pretending that they didn't know one another. Drinking down the rest of the whiskey she had, she slammed the empty glass down on a random table as she marched toward the balcony doors.
Rachel leaned on the balcony railings, looking out at the New York skyline. The whole horizon was ablaze with different coloured lights, shimmering out into the sky to melt with the moon high above. The wind was slightly chilled, a light breeze blowing through her long locks. She hadn't wanted to come to the ball, but Lucas had put his foot down and said if he showed up without her, he'd look stupid. She detested stuffy social situations, hated being thrown into a situation that she had no control over, and if it was up to her, she wouldn't have stepped foot in the ball this evening.
Her whole choice of control had come down to when she had lost her parents; she had been the last to know that they had passed, and the lack of control over the whole situation set her on edge.
She had no control over it, and it infuriated her. When she lost her parents, she chose to have control over every little part of her life, from school, to work, to her personal and private life. Then Lucas had come along.
It had been a whirlwind romance. They had met through friends, and they hit it off almost immediately. Lucas was still the loving and caring man he was from four years ago, but when the paranoia and jealousy began to come to the surface, the control issues came to light. A woman so hell bent on having control of every aspect of her life wasn't a good match with a man who demanded to know where and who she was with, as well as telling her what he wanted. She had been tempted to end it at times, only due to her loss of control, but decided against it. Lucas was almost the perfect catch, why end it on something she could slowly get over...?
But until then, the control would remain, and the most loss of control she felt came in the form of Quinn Fabray. The Captain was an incredibly infuriating woman, pushing into subjects and talking about things that simply didn't concern her. She had demanded to know things that Rachel simply didn't want to divulge; she was arrogant, stubborn, pig-headed, infuriating, annoying, and beautiful, the husky voice that sent shivers up her spine...
She physically started and pushed away from the railing. It's only because she's here, and the way she stared at me when I first arrived caught me off guard. That's all.
"Why did she stare...?" She whispered gently to herself, the question being lost to the wind.
"Good party." The familiar voice made her back automatically straighten, the face full of emotion slammed down into one of coldness as the footsteps neared. She felt the woman lean against the banister beside her, looking out at the New York horizon.
When she made no reply, Quinn started again, "I didn't mean to argue with you. I didn't intend the conversation to turn out so badly, or for us both to ignore each other for more than a month."
"Then maybe you should learn to keep your nose out of business that doesn't concern you?"
Quinn sighed, "Point taken." She seemed to stutter slightly as she leant on her hip, facing the younger woman, "So how have you been...?"
Rachel assumed she was talking about Lucas, "Both Lucas and I are fine."
Quinn smiled, "Good...but I was asking how you were."
She looked at the pilot, noting the look of honest care in her eyes, the hazel eyes that seemed to glow in the moonlight, made the anger inside her melt away completely, "I'm fine, you...?"
"I'm fine too, busy but fine." Quinn smiled and looked out to the horizon, "I regret our argument, I can only hope you can forgive and forget."
"It's already forgotten."
They smiled at one another, and Quinn felt herself blush as she saw the first genuine smile from Rachel; it seemed to light up the whole of her face.
"But I have to know," She stared wearily, seeing the young woman's face drop slightly, "Why didn't you go to work that day? I'm not on another mission for Lucas, don't worry, I've well and truly handed in my spy badge."
"Why are you so interested?" Rachel turned back to face the railing, avoiding eye contact. She didn't like this; close quarters questioning. Quinn always asked questions with this look on her face, one that screamed, 'I'm here to help', and it both infuriated and confused her. It made her feel weak.
"I told you...even as a child I needed to know everything, this is just one of those things."
"Why?"
Quinn shrugged, "I just feel compelled to know."
Rachel sighed and crossed her arms over the railing, leaning ever so slightly over the edge to look at the street below. She kept her eyes focused on the cars that drove by, wishing that she was in one of them, travelling far away from this conversation.
"I went to the cemetery."
"Oh...?" Quinn moved closer to Rachel, lowering her voice to almost a whisper. Although they were alone on the balcony, the whole conversation felt somewhat secret, sacred between the two women.
"To go to my parent's grave. But I couldn't do it; I just sat in the park for a few hours. I tend to go a week before they actually died, I can never go on the day."
"Why?"
Rachel lowered her hands, looking at her clasped hands which had whitened at the knuckles, "I guess it doesn't hurt as much. A hate feeling what I feel when I go to see them, but I can't not see them, can I?"
The fell silent for a while, "Well maybe it's because you go by yourself? Why don't you try going with someone, someone to lean on?"
Brown eyes stared into hazel ones, "Lean on?"
"You're taking on a loss all by yourself, you have no one to share the pain with, and you're handling it all by yourself. Maybe if you went with someone, you could share the pain together?"
She sighed, "Lucas wouldn't want to go; he detests places like that. In his words they give him the 'heebie jeebies'."
"Then don't take Lucas," She paused and glanced into the ballroom briefly, noticing Lucas walking toward the balcony doors, before looking back at Rachel, who had a look of complete confusion, "I'll go with you."
Before she could respond, Lucas grinned at the two women on the balcony and wrapped an arm around each waist, "How're my two ladies doing...?"
Both Rachel and Quinn forced a cheerful smile, "Doing well, Lucas. How's the party?"
He looked at Quinn, "Eh, a little slow, Sylvester is still delivering her damn speech!"
She laughed and glanced over her shoulder at the rather drained looks of the audience, "We should get back in then. Two of my friends are getting their wings; I don't want to miss it."
"Agreed!" Lucas swirled on the heels of his polished boots and walked back into the ballroom.
"Just...think about my offer." She rested her hand on Rachel's shoulder and gently ran her thumb over the bare shoulder before disappearing into the throng of people within the ballroom.
Rachel stood frozen for several moments, before slowly raising her hand and running her fingertips over where Quinn's hand had been. The skin felt warm, hot, and seemed to tingle under the touch. Shaking her head, she walked into the ball and sat down in her designated seat, beside both Quinn and Lucas.
"Without further ado, the Wing ceremony," The whole room clapped as Sylvester flipped a page on her thousand page speech and read the names one by one. First was Santana Lopez, the applause was loud, and even louder from Quinn's table who almost cat called the young woman as she walked onto the stage, stood straight and tall, and waited patiently as Sylvester pinned the golden wings to her jacket, "First Officer Lopez." She shook Santana's hand and she walked off, proud and beaming with pride.
Several minutes later, it was Puck's turn. Bella stood on her feet as she clapped her boyfriend, as well as his father who he had completely ignored throughout the whole event. Puck, who almost jogged up the stairs with glee, grinned wildly out to Quinn before winking and returning his attention back to the Administrator. She pinned the wings and shook the young man's hand, "Captain Puckerman."
He jumped like a child across the stage, before missing the stairs completely and landing feet first on the floor below. Bella blushed as Puck shook everyone's hand he passed on the way to his table. Quinn just couldn't help but laugh at his excitement. By the time he got to her, she was in tears of laughter, "Captain...Puckerman." She gasped through breaths.
"Problem...?" He grinned before wrapping his arms around her, "Thanks so much, Cap. You were an amazing tutor; I could have done it without you." He pulled back and nodded, eyes beaming as he carried on.
She was almost brought to tears by Puck's tenderness, even in the most exciting of situations; he could convey deep emotions just by his words. He truly was a sweet man. She re-took her seat and continued to watch the Wing ceremony, but felt her eyes being drawn away from the stage to the young woman beside her. Rachel was brushing her fingertips against her shoulder, staring into space, deep in thought.
"Are you okay...?" She whispered, leaning in toward the young woman.
Rachel started and looked at Quinn, "I'm fine." She paused, about to say something else before Lucas butted in.
"Quinn, I wanted to ask you something." His words were slurred slightly, but it was no surprise with the amount of empty wine glasses and bottles of beer on the table beside him. She turned back to him, almost having to drag her eyes away from the slightly pleading look of Rachel to look at Lucas.
"Okay?" She asked wearily.
"Me and Rach were planning to go to our yearly retreat in a couple days, wondered if you wanted to come with?"
Rachel leaned forward, "What...?"
"It'll be fun," He smiled, "What do you say, Quinn? A whole week cooped up with me and Rach? I'll let you check out my plane, I have my own private airstrip too."
It was incredibly tempting, Quinn hadn't had any sort of vacation for over four years and whenever she did go abroad it was because of work, but the way Rachel leaned over her shoulder and stared confused at Lucas made her feel as if she really wasn't wanted there.
"I...don't know. It's a retreat for you two; don't you want to be alone?"
"We're always alone, but my brother was actually supposed to come with us. He pulled out last minute, he couldn't get out work. So I was thinking, you could come with...?" He smiled, "You're a real good friend Quinn, it'd be great if you'd come. Wouldn't it, Rach?"
Rachel didn't reply but glanced at Quinn quickly before nodding, "Fantastic. So what do you say?"
"I...don't even know where this retreat is and I'm working all next week."
"Alright," He leaned back, "When was the last time you had a proper vacation, sitting, relaxing, and chilling out vacation?"
She sighed, "Over four years."
"Exactly, I'm sure you've accumulated a lot of off time, just call it up for next week!"
Quinn glanced worriedly over her shoulder at Rachel, who was glancing at her in the corner of her eye. The look wasn't malicious or annoyed; it was simply a calm and patient look. "I suppose so," She looked back to Lucas, "Where's the retreat?"
"Canada." Quinn looked at him like he'd grown a second head, making him laugh, "My parents own a cabin up in the mountains, remote and quiet. Me and Rach loving going there, don't we+?" He didn't wait for her reply, "So you'll come?"
"You expect me to drive to Canada?"
"Hell no," He laughed and patted her on the shoulder, "We fly up there, on my plane. I own a Cessna, small but it gets the job done."
She felt as if she was intruding, like she really shouldn't be going on this holiday, but although Rachel had seemed shocked at the plan that Lucas obviously hadn't divulged with her, she seemed almost as if she wanted Quinn to come, wanted her to be with them on the holiday, so with a sigh she nodded.
"Alright, I look forward to it."
"Mike," She dropped her flight briefcase on the table between her and her First Officer and plopped down sluggishly into the seat, "I need a favor from you."
He glanced up from his newspaper, noting the look on her face before closing it, folding it neatly and placing it down gently on the table. "Go on."
"I'm going away for a week, a vacation, I was wondering if you'd be acting Captain for my flights."
"I..." He frowned, "You're going on a vacation?"
"Yes."
"A real one...?"
She raised an eyebrow, "Yes, a real vacation."
He chuckled, "Well that's a shock in itself; you never take time off. But I'd be happy to take the flights, I'm sure I can ask around for a temporary First Officer."
She smiled and rested her hand over his, "Thank you Mike." She rose from her seat and grabbed her briefcase again.
"You're going by yourself?"
"No, I'm going with Lucas Miller and his girlfriend."
His eyebrow flicked up, "Miller? The loan pilot...?"
"Yes, why...?" Intrigued, she sat back down.
"Oh, no reason," He picked up his paper again, and as he began to open it again, he knew that Quinn would budge until he told her what he knew. "Well I heard he ran into trouble a couple months back."
"What sort of trouble?"
"He was reprimanded by the Administrator, apparently he wouldn't contact Air Traffic Control, and he descended and ascended to flight levels without confirmation. He almost caused a mid-air collision at one point."
She stared stupidly at him, "Wait...what?! And he still has his license?"
Mike nodded, "There was a big hoo-ha about it, but eventually they found out that the radio was inoperable. He couldn't contact anyone, had to guess flight levels and he was so close to the mid-air collision he filled the other pilot's windscreen."
"How did that happen? Didn't they have the Travel Collision Avoidance System installed?"
"This was a couple months back Quinn, it wasn't even invented then."
Quinn nodded, "So how did they avoid one another?"
Mike leaned back in his seat, "Apparently he descended pretty rapidly, but the belly of the fuselage on the other plane skimmed the tail of his plane, he only just managed to land his plane."
"So why was he reprimanded? It wasn't his fault the radio was damaged."
"Well," He leaned forward and lowered his voice, "Some people say he sabotaged his radio. He tends to go a little gung-ho when it comes to flying and tends to do whatever he likes, but that's only speculation." He leaned back once again, "He was reprimanded simply because he didn't stay at one level; he zigzagged in the air."
Quinn scoffed, "I'd have thought that Sylvester would have loved to have taken his license from him."
"She almost did, but the Miller and the Puckerman's are pretty tight with one another. Apparently James Puckerman and Hugh Miller are colleagues from way back; Puckerman owed him a favor and got Lucas off the hook.
"Hugh Miller?"
"Lucas's father, he was the head of the National Transportation Safety Board until he retired a month ago."
"And the last thing you can do is take the pilot's license off the son of the head of the NTSB..." Quinn concluded, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, but apparently Hugh never spoke to him again after that. Hugh was so embarrassed he retired early, handed over his job to Sylvester and I heard Lucas was practically disowned."
"I'm not surprised." She paused, "I can't believe I heard nothing of this."
Mike chuckled, "You tend to have tunnel vision, Quinn. You don't see anything that doesn't necessarily mean getting your plane from Point A to B."
The Captain smirked at her First Officer and stood from her seat, "I guess you're right, Mike." She grabbed her case, "Thanks for taking my flights; it means a lot to me."
Mike seemed to beam with delight, "Hey, you need a vacation. Enjoy yourself."
"I will." She smiled gently, patted him on the shoulder and left the communal room.
Mike Chang grinned to himself as he picked up his paper and began reading again; he'd finally found the way to Quinn Fabray's heart.
After hearing Mike's rather blunt angle on Lucas' past problems within the airline industry, Quinn was worried about the flight she would be taking with him in the Pilot's seat. She had offered to fly, her license allowing her to fly almost anything, but he told her to stop being silly. When they sat on the plane, Lucas in front, Rachel beside him and Quinn in the passenger seat behind her, she unconsciously buckled her belt tighter when Lucas promised to get them there in one piece.
The log cabin was in an incredibly remote location, deep within British Columbia, nestled discreetly between high mountains. The cabin boasted its own airstrip, kept ice and snow free by its own heated tarmac. Snow drifted gently from the grey clouds above, a gentle but cold breeze made the trio shiver as they jumped from the Cessna.
The cabin was decorated warmly, warm shades of red dominating the room from the double couch that sat in front of a large stone fireplace, down to the curtains and paintings on the walls. It was freezing in the cabin, and even with a parka that was two sizes too big for her on her small frame, she still shivered when she dropped her bag on the floor by the front door.
"Bedrooms are right down the hall," Lucas pointed out, gesturing to a long hallway just off the kitchen attached to the main room, "Have any you like, but the leave the one at the end for me and Rach, it's the room we always use."
"Sure," Quinn smiled and picked up her bag, taking it to her bedroom. She didn't bother unpacking, just dumped her case on the double bed and left once again. There were four bedrooms altogether and most of them completely bare, except for the one that belonged to Lucas and Rachel. The room was full of photos, family mementos, and she couldn't help but take a sneak peak at one of the photos that sat on a small wardrobe by the door.
Two young boys, one being Lucas, held in a headlock by his older brother, while his mother stood behind them, trying to separate the two squabbling boys. An aging man stood distant in the back, not really paying attention to the situation.
That must be Hugh Miller...
He looked like a very domineering man, frown lines etched into aging skin. His greying hair was immaculate, waxed back, his suit impeccable as he looked on. He seemed rather overdressed for the theme park, a large rollercoaster dominating the background.
"Found something interesting?" She jumped and almost dropped the frame.
Lucas walked into the room dropping both Rachel's and his bags on the queen sized bed, "Photo, eh?" He grinned and took it from Quinn's hands, "To be honest, it's not a very good photo, but it's the only one I have of all of us together..."
"It was a rare occurrence that you got photos together?"
"Well, dad always worked and my mom was ill a lot of the time, so we didn't really get to have a family outing." He placed the frame gently back down on the wardrobe, "So even though it's not particularly a good photo, it has a lot of sentimental value to me."
Quinn smiled at him, the way he looked fondly at the photo, the way his fingertips seemed to brush along the golden frame; this man was truly sweet despite his flaws.
"Anyway," He coughed, "I have to drive into town to get some groceries; we're out of everything. Luckily we have firewood, would you be able to get it going while I go?"
Having stoked fires on many occasions while she grew up, Quinn grinned, "Of course."
"Fantastic." He patted her on the arm and left for town, making sure to grab the keys for the 4x4 that sat in the garage adjacent to the landing strip.
Rachel sat glaring at the fire, and Quinn smirked as she sat beside her, "Having trouble...?"
"I will never understand how to make a fire; whenever I try it just goes out."
Quinn stifled a grin and grabbed several large logs, placing them all in a small pyramid. "The trick is to let as much oxygen get to flames as possible. If you throw everything on top of each other, you'll end up suffocating it." She grabbed the lighter oil and several pieces of newspaper. She doused the wood generously, and then lit the paper with the matches that lay beside the extra logs.
The flames were instantaneous, and both women had to lean back slightly from the heat. Rachel seemed to wait several minutes, just watching the flames before sighing, "I half hoped it would go out."
Quinn scoffed, "Why?"
"I don't know; I guess I wanted you to feel like a moron?" Rachel smirked at her before pulling off her parka, throwing it onto the couch behind them. Quinn followed suit, the heat from the fire circulating well around the cabin now.
"I feel like a moron most of the time, thank you very much."
Rachel smiled gently, raising her hands to warm her palms against the bellowing flames. "You're not a fan of your first officer are you?"
The question was unexpected and it made Quinn's head snap up, "Huh...?"
"Your first officer, Mike is his name?"
"Yeah, why would you think I don't like him?"
Rachel laughed gently, "I saw the way he was all over you at the ball, and those glares you gave him could peel wallpaper from the walls."
"Ah," Quinn chuckled, "Yeah, he likes to think he has a chance with me, but it'll never happen."
"Not your sort of man?" Rachel asked, glancing over her shoulder to the older woman who sat against the couch.
"Not my sort of gender." Not a fancy way of coming out, but it had to happen sometime.
Rachel's perfect eyebrows furrowed, "What...?"
Suddenly a feeling of doom rocketed through her gut, "I'm gay."
"Hm," Rachel looked back to the fire and picked up a poker that lay discarded by the fire, "You hide it well." She prodded the wood gently.
"I don't intent to hide it; I guess it just never comes up in conversation."
"Do you have a girlfriend?" She didn't turn back to ask the question, so she didn't see the raised eyebrow from Quinn in response.
"I haven't for a while quite honestly; no one really wants to date a pilot that's in love with her job."
"But you have dated women?" This time she did look back.
"Well, yeah," She felt the blush crawl up her cheeks and suddenly she felt like hiding in her room, "I had a girlfriend a couple years back, we were together for almost five years."
"What happened?" Her voice had gentled.
"Oh, well it was work related honestly. She was a doctor, always working. She was on duty in A&E one night when I was rushed in, along with my First Officer and several passengers."
"Go on..." She turned fully to face the older woman, her knees brought to her chest, arms wrapped securely around her.
"Luckily it was only a small plane, only could take twenty people. But there was a problem with the plane, the engine failure I could deal with, but when my First Officer told me that the tip of the right wing had been ripped off, I couldn't deal with that. The plane went down, no matter how much we struggled. Luckily we ended up skimming farm land, it brought us to a stop but we ended up slamming into a steep incline in the process."
"What happened?"
"I broke both my arms and my leg, cracked the back of my skull, but my First Officer died on impact." At Rachel's gentle gasp, she smiled gently, "He was a great man, I miss him every day, but thankfully he was the only loss. The passengers and crew onboard all survived, albeit a little bumped up."
"Thank god...so how does your girlfriend come into this?"
"I was taken to her hospital, she worked on the crash survivors; she was fine until she saw my First Officer's body then she just suddenly froze up. I didn't understand what was happening until she stopped visiting my room, and when I got out; her bags were gone from the house. She left a note in my room, telling me that if I had been that First Officer, she wouldn't have known what to do; she couldn't handle the risks I take every day, so decided to leave me instead. She said 'The pain of not being with you will go over time, but the pain of losing you, would stay with me forever.'"
The cabin went quiet, except for the crackling of the fireplace and the gentle beat of snow against the windowpanes, "She left you...because you were in an accident?" Rachel's voice was low, almost menacing.
"It's understandable, really..." It felt like her heart was gripped in a vice, she stared down to the floor, unable to look into Rachel's eyes anymore. She had missed Samantha terribly, and she had managed to get over her, but whenever she thought of the happy go lucky blonde, something inside her just froze up.
"Understandable?" Rachel moved to sit right in front of the Captain, "She left you because she was scared. Why didn't she just talk to you about it?"
Quinn looked up, but made sure there were no tears in her eyes before she did, "What could I have said? 'I won't crash?' She wouldn't and couldn't have believed it. Although aeroplanes are the safest mode of transport, there are still crashes and incidents. I would have said it, but in the end, it's only words."
"I always believe Lucas when he tells me."
"That must be nice..."
"Hm...?"
"Believing the words,"
"I guess..." She sighed and ran her hand gently across the rug beneath her, "But I guess it's because the person who's saying it is someone I don't love with my whole heart."
"Ah..." Then Quinn paused, her eyes growing wide, "Wait...what?"
The door opened and Lucas sauntered in, kicking snow off his boots as he entered, his arms loaded with grocery bags. "Christ, that storm is brewing. Help me with this, will ya?" He asked the women.
Rachel was the first to recover, standing to her feet and shutting the door gently behind her boyfriend before taking two bags from his overloaded arms. He smiled in thanks and kissed her gently on the cheek before walking into the kitchen.
Rachel detoured around Quinn and mumbled, "Don't say a word," before walking into the kitchen to join Lucas.
Suddenly Quinn felt at a loss. Rachel loved Lucas that was for sure, but not as much as she was letting on originally? The reason why she took Lucas' words of calm over his job wasn't simply because she believed him; it's because in a way, she didn't know how she would be affected by his accident. Of course, she would be hurt, she would cry; but she would be able to allow him up in the skies without feeling terrified that the next flight he went on might have been his last.
Samantha had always hated Quinn's profession... that was put on the table right from the start. A routine visit to the hospital to get her forearm stitched up after she snagged it on the sharp propeller of small civilian plane; Samantha had raised her eyebrow, glared at the pilot and in no holds barred told her to stop what she was doing.
She would have laughed if she wasn't completely appalled. This doctor didn't even know her, but was telling her to stop doing the one thing she loved to do? There had been fireworks, arguments, but Quinn left with the doctor's number in her breast pocket, a small, content smile on her face.
But this, this was too crazy. Quinn had been in plenty of relationships where she thought it was love, before promptly realizing it was just strong infatuation. But...after five years of a loving relationship, Rachel has only just realized she doesn't love Lucas as much as she was letting on originally?
She wanted to get up and ask Rachel; ask what she was feeling, and why, when she defended him months before about his paranoia had she decided to stick by him...?
Making a mental note, she decided to talk to the young woman later, and hoped that Lucas would disappear for a few minutes so she could.
Quinn Fabray hadn't been a third-wheel since her term at college before dropping out. A third wheel by definition was probably one of the most uncomfortable and awkward feelings you could possibly feel; one person who tends to intrude on two people's quality time, platonic or tantric in sense.
Even though her time at college was long ago, it didn't take her long to feel like a third wheel. Her dorm buddy, Isobel, took it upon herself to never do her assignments and go out partying each and every night. And each and every night she brought someone else home, and every morning there would be a different body in Isobel's bed, and another pair of shoes by the door.
She heard them; naturally, she was in the same room, just in a separate bunk. She felt like dying every time she heard her friend's moans, and more than wanted to jump out of the nearest window when she heard them both come.
It had been a god send when she was finally accepted into Delta Flight Academy only days later; her exhausted and bloodshot eyes reading the acceptation letter over and over again. She didn't even say goodbye to Isobel, just packed her things and left, never to be seen again.
But she left a parting gift; a pack of 24 condoms on her dorm buddy's bed.
That had been fourteen years ago and never had she have to feel the horrible feeling of third wheeling anymore; until tonight.
She took to bed, pretty early in fact, only just past nine; feigning exhaustion from getting up so early and the flight up. The truth was, she was feeling the pangs of third wheel when she saw both Lucas and Rachel cuddling on the couch, arms wrapped around each other, kissing gently.
An hour later, after reading a rather boring book that she bought along for god knows what reason, she heard it. Although their room was almost three doors away, she could fucking hear it. She could hear them go at it.
A sudden flashback of listening to her dorm buddy rushed through her mind and she groaned out loud, somehow hoping they'd hear her and stop. Instead, she grabbed the pillow, wrapped it around her head and squeezed both ends against her ears. It worked, until the moans grew louder.
She thought she was going to drop dead in bed when she heard them both shout out in release. But then sighed out with relief, they were done. She turned over in bed, adjusted her pillow and stretched out across the vast double bed.
Her eyes fluttered shut when she felt the grasp of sleep finally take over, and just when she began to drift off, the moaning started again.
She slammed her face into the pillow and groaned, "I'm on vacation with two fucking rabbits."
Being surrounded by only mountains and with the nearest person...or bar in this instance...several miles away and with a storm raging outside; she had to abandon the sudden thought of drowning herself in all the Jack Daniels she could find.
But still, Lucas had bought a bottle when he went grocery shopping. Smirking, she climbed from bed, grabbed her iPod that lay long since discarded on the bedside table and padded out into the hall barefoot, only clad in grey sweatpants and a white beater. She bee lined straight for the kitchen, intentionally drowning out the sound of her two friends at the end of the hall.
It took her a while to find the bottle, which Lucas had weirdly hid behind cans of food and bags upon bags of chips. It was the largest bottle that you could possibly buy, and Quinn knew it cost at least $30 a pop.
She grabbed a tumbler from the cupboard beside the fridge and sat down at the small kitchen table, propping her feet up on the opposite chair. She poured herself a generous amount of JD, taking the involuntary sniff from the bottle before screwing the cap back on. She leaned back in her chair and put in her earphones, flipping through the albums on her iPod.
Quinn didn't have much on her iPod; she hardly ever used it honestly, and only took it on long flights when it was her turn to take an hour nap. She didn't really fancy anything on it, until she thumbed over the last album, Spring Awakening.
She had first seen Spring Awakening two years before, when it coming to the end of its term on Broadway, having been dragged there by her then girlfriend, Samantha. They decided to take a vacation into the main city, to see the sights and see a show. Quinn had always despised theatre, only liking some movies, ones that were now classed as classics. But Samantha had been adamant, and after threatening with abstinence, Quinn had to agree.
Samantha had taken it upon herself to choose the show, and only telling Quinn when they both stood in front of the theatre.
"Spring Awakening...?"
"Hm-hm..." Samantha smiled up at the large poster that dominated the front of the theatre, "I saw a review for it in The New Yorker, and I just had to see it."
"Why do I get the feeling it's incredibly sexual?"
"You're very perceptive, baby..." Samantha wrapped herself around Quinn's arm and kissed her cheek, "It is quite sexual, sex...masturbation..." At seeing Quinn's eyebrows shoot up she smirked, "But it's a really good show apparently, full of emotion. It got a good review in The New Yorker of all places, so it must be amazing."
"Hm..." Quinn looked down from the theatre and into her girlfriend's hazel eyes, "Okay then, let's go."
The show had been unbelievable, simply unbelievable.
The songs had been both slow and up tempo, their words drilling a new meaning into emotion.
And when the show had finished, and Samantha had taken a bathroom break, Quinn had taken it upon herself to buy a programme and the CD. She hid them both, naturally, from her girlfriend, and refused to admit she had become a bit of a sucker for musical theatre, and Spring Awakening.
And she certainly didn't tell Samantha when she went to go see it another six times before it ended its run on Broadway either.
She clicked on one of her favourite songs, The Word of Your Body, and turned it up loud when she heard a particularly loud moan from up the hall.
Watching the words fall from my lips...
Baiting some girl with hypotheses.
Haven't you heard the word of your body?
Don't feel a thing – you wish.
Grasping at pearls with my fingertips...
Holding her hand like some little tease.
Haven't you heard the word of my wanting?
She couldn't help but mime to the words, sipping at her JD as she relaxed into her seat. The warm heat of the whiskey soothed her mind, and with the addition of two gentle voices in her ears, she felt exhaustion sweep over her.
Rachel walked into the kitchen, only in a small robe, to grab a bottle of water when she sat Quinn sat in the corner, nursing a whiskey and her earphones in her ears. At first she thought about leaving the older woman as she was, but she couldn't help but stare at the pilot.
She looked ever so relaxed, the normally tense lines around her eyes smoothed out, her mouth open as she mouthed the words of a song, her toes tapping quickly to the beat against the wooden seat.
"Oh, you're gonna be my bruise."
She jumped from her thoughts when she heard Quinn actually sing the words. She wasn't the most amazing singer in the world, in fact, she was a little sharp, but it couldn't help but shoot a thrill up her spine. And she couldn't help herself when she felt herself walk over to the Captain and shove her feet on the chair, dropping down into the now vacant place.
Quinn's eyes snapped open instantly, a deep brush shading her cheeks when she realized who was sat in front of her with an almost smirk on her face. She pulled the earphones from her ears and downed the rest of her drink, "How long have you been in here?"
"Just a while, I couldn't help but watch your little impromptu dance and singing session."
"I was not dancing!"
"Well, your feet were." And yes! There was defiantly a smirk then! "Don't worry, I found it quite cute. I won't tell anyone, god forbid, it might ruin your reputation."
Quinn knew her friend was being condescending, but played along anyway, "Gee, thanks. God forbid if people knew I was into musical theatre."
Rachel's eyes widened, suddenly giddy, "You actually enjoy it?"
Quinn almost groaned when she realized her slip, "It's just one show that I like. Otherwise I'm not a fan of it."
"What's the show?" Rachel asked, leaning over Quinn's iPod to catch the name.
The older woman wanted to respond, honestly she did, but when she caught sight of Rachel's cleavage from the now opening skimpy robe, she not only forgot the name of the play, but even her own name.
"Quinn...?" Why did Rachel's voice sound so far away?
"Hum...um...what?" Her eyes snapped up and she knew she'd been caught because Rachel was staring at her, brow furrowed. At first she thought she'd angered the younger woman, until she saw a teasing smile curl at her lips, "Sorry, what?" She poured herself a drink and downed it, hoping it would quell the throb between her thighs.
"I asked what the name of the play was." Rachel's voice had changed, somehow it'd gone from sweet and gentle, to deep and sultry. The throb re-appeared between Quinn's legs, so she had to cross her legs to numb the feeling. Her belly felt like it was on fire, and it was taking all her strength not to clench and unclench her thighs in front of her friend.
"Oh it's uh..." She'd forgotten, how could have forgotten? She swore lightly to herself, ignoring Rachel's gentle laugh in mirth and looked at her iPod, "Spring Awakening."
"That's a good play, I do prefer the book though."
"It was a book?" She asked, putting her iPod back on the table.
Rachel laughed gently, "Yes, it was written by Frank Wedekind back in 1891. My father had a first edition, primarily in German."
"It was written that long ago...?" She found it hard to believe that a play like that could even be thought about back in that time frame. Sex, pregnancy, abortion, and sexual abuse by an elder...it was thought about back then?
"From what I can tell, it intrigued me when I found it on my father's bookcase. I wanted to read it, but he told me I was too young. I inherited the book when my parents died."
"Is it good...?"
"I'll lend it to you, if you'd like? But it's German...do you know German?"
"No..." She paused, "Wait...how do you know German?"
She smiled, "I'm just that good."
"Huh." She paused, "Big head."
"Thank you,"
"You're hilarious."
Rachel smirked, "I'll track down an English version of the play for you."
"You don't have to do that." Quinn protested.
"But I want to," She got up from her seat and smiled playfully at Quinn before walking over to the refrigerator and opening it, "Why are you up anyway...?" She pulled out a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap.
"I...ah...well..." She picked up an earphone and put it in her ear, "Well..."
"You're incredibly illiterate this morning."
She skipped over the next couple of songs and landed on 'The Guilty Ones.'
"I kind of..." She coughed, muffling the next part with her hand.
"Excuse me?" Rachel naturally took a step forward to try and hear what the older woman was saying.
"I said I heard you..." She bit her bottom lip, "I heard you two..."
At first Rachel seemed confused, but then slowly but surely the sudden look of realization washed over her face. "Oh..." Her fingers trembled slightly when she replaced the cap on her water bottle, "Well...that's...quite embarrassing."
Quinn only just successfully hid her laugh until Rachel was out of the room, suddenly informing Quinn that she was tired and needed to get back to bed.
The older woman put her bottle of JD in the refrigerator, rinsed out the glass and wandered back into the hall. With the one ear that was free, she noticed that everything was flat out silent, and smirked gently to herself as she collapsed in bed.
She had a bit of a buzz going on, and fell asleep almost instantly, mouthing the words to the song that played in her ear.
And now our bodies are the guilty ones –
Our touch will colour the hours...
There hadn't been another night like the one the first night for the rest of the week, but that didn't mean the week wasn't one of the most relaxing she'd ever had. She managed to sleep incredibly well, never having to hear a repeat performance from Rachel Berry and Lucas Miller on a night time.
So after a most relaxing week, the night before they were due to go back home, all three piled themselves into the heated hot tub in the back yard. The floor was still covered in powered snow, melting at the touch. The air was cold, but not uncomfortably so as they climbed into the hot tub. Lucas in only some black knee length trunks, Quinn in a one piece bathing suit, and the piece de resistance, Rachel, in a stunning red bikini.
It took all Quinn's strength to not stare.
For some reason, Lucas took it upon himself to sit beside Quinn while he poured champagne, handing a glass to each of the women before toasting to an incredible vacation.
Quinn sipped at the bubbly, savoring the taste of the sweet liquid on her tongue before swallowing. She looked across at Rachel who had noticed that she was staring right at her as she tipped the glass up to drink, the clear bubbling liquid washing across full lips.
Rachel wasn't being intentionally seductive, but it still had a similar effect on her.
She hadn't felt this aroused or worked up in years, the last time was when she had made love to Samantha for the last time before their inevitable break up; but this was something else. Quinn had felt aroused all week, and weirdly missed the sounds of Rachel's moans from the other room on a night. She berated herself in the shower before going to bed about how foolish she'd been about mentioning it, but then realized how voyeuristic she was being by actually wanting to listen.
She was far from interested in what they were doing, and only came to realize in the middle of the week over the dinner table as they ate a rather beautiful dessert of tiramisu, Lucas' personal favorite that Rachel had made from scratch, that she only wanted to hear the younger woman's moans.
Lucas groaned when he took the first bite of dessert. Quinn only smiled at the almost orgasmic expression on his face.
But when Rachel took a bite, fed to by Lucas, Quinn's head did a complete 360. Rachel gave a deep groan as she savored the taste of coffee and chocolate, and Quinn couldn't help but feel her mouth salivate. But not for the dessert.
Ever since then she had realized that she was physically attracted to her friend. She wanted to ignore it, ignore the signs of her attraction and not let it bother her, but when Rachel would smile at her in the hall, or brush past her in the kitchen, she couldn't help but allow the feelings to come rushing back.
Rachel had seemed to come into herself on the vacation, and had become incredibly playful toward the two pilots. And when Quinn stood in the kitchen making a cup of coffee that only she would drink because it was so strong it tasted like tar, Rachel had walked in and reached into the refrigerator and almost playfully commented on how sorry she was about the first night.
"I know it must have been... uncomfortable for you."
And now, sat in a hot tub with Rachel now making eyes at her, completely unaware of what sort of reaction she was having on Quinn, she continued to stare.
Lucas broke the spell when he asked Rachel a question, and her eyes slid straight the man beside Quinn. She hadn't realized she'd held her breath until she sighed deeply, the throbbing between her legs becoming more prominent when the champagne was finally drained and she had no other place to look then Rachel's chest.
Of course, the mountain scenery around them was outstandingly beautiful, but it was nothing compared the woman in front of her.
Lucas seemed to be completely oblivious to the staring contest that had occurred between the two women, and continued to laugh and smile at them as they continued on about their night.
And when it came to one in the morning, and two bottles of champagne later, they clambered back into the cabin, wrapped in the thickest and most luxurious towels Quinn had ever touched. They bid each other goodnight, Lucas first before disappearing into his room to shower. Rachel was close to follow, with a parting glance over her shoulder before shutting the bedroom door behind her.
Quinn's flesh felt like it was on fire and almost immediately she rushed into her bedroom, be lined for the en-suite and stood directly under the shower head as a continuous gush of cold water washed over her. She only felt safe to leave when her teeth were chattering and the goosebumps on her body felt like a permanent adornment.
She collapsed into her bed, not even bothering to towel off or get under the covers. She lay naked on top of the covers, her now freezing body shuddering and stinging in the warm air. She rolled over and buried her head into the nearest pillow, not even caring about her wet hair soaking the pillows as she shut her eyes to sleep.
Then she heard it.
The moaning.
She sat up in bed and froze, her ears picking up the distinctive moaning from the other room. It was so loud in fact, that it covered Lucas' moans, almost as if they weren't there. She listened for a few minutes, when she finally realized what the younger woman was playing at.
She was intentionally being loud. She knew what effect she had her.
Her hand had somehow slithered down her stomach, and down between her legs where she began to tease her clit with the tip of her two of her cold fingers. She flinched slightly, but relaxed into the touch, lying back in her bed.
Her fingers moved instinctively over her clit and down to her entrance, gathering the already hot moisture on her fingers. She was soaked, pining for an orgasm. She started slow, teasing herself while her free hand pinched and twisted an already stiff nipple.
A thrill shot through her whole body, making her toes curl when she heard what sounded like a scream from the brunette. Her fingers moved faster, she couldn't stop herself now, fuck the teasing, she needed to come.
Her arm ached from the speed, but she didn't stop, she just bit her lip, squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could and imagined it was Rachel's soft fingers that was coaxing the inevitable orgasm from her body.
She came hard, her whole body shuddering as she whispered Rachel's name.
Then everything went black.
