'tis the damn season
Chapter 1
She looks around her terminal until she spots two men frantically waving a sign in the shape of a gold star with her name in big letters. Rachel puts on a show of acting bashful and humble, even though she is shrieking right along with her fathers on the inside. When she reaches her fathers, she gives them her best smile and finally releases her squeal.
After effectively grabbing everyone's attention by screeching, kissing, and hugging each of her fathers in greeting, they grab her bags and start heading for the exit. The family of three continues to overtalk each other all the way to the car; each understanding every word the others are saying. Rachel releases a heavy sigh she did not realize she was holding in the safety of the backseat of her parent's vehicle, "I love New York, but I will never get over the pure relief of letting my guard down in safe company"
"Honey, we will never get over the relief of knowing you're safe in our company and not being chased around by star struck stalkers in the city!" Hiram says, reaching back to pat Rachel's knee. "I never go to sleep until I know you're in for the night." LeRoy nods along with his husband.
"Daddy, I don't have a star struck stalker." Rachel rolls her eyes in adoration at her father's antics.
"Yet." LeRoy and Hiram reply together.
"Well, I for one will be honored once I make it to that level of stardom. I took self-defense classes to prepare for that exact moment." Rachel looks out the window at the leftover snow covering the Columbus sidewalks.
"You just sit back and relax, little star. Rest up so we can get started on all our holiday traditions we have to squeeze in a week." LeRoy puts his blinker on, taking the exit that leads them towards Lima, Ohio.
…
Rachel's fathers give her time to unpack in her childhood bedroom while they make warm, festive drinks downstairs. She lets the sound of their voices singing carols wash over her as she sits on her bed and lets herself be taken back in time. She hasn't changed anything about her room since she left for NYADA two years ago. She can see change around the rest of her parent's house, little updates here and there, adjusting to their empty nest. But they know to leave her bedroom the way it is. The only sign that she doesn't live in this room anymore is the few empty places she has on her dresser and walls. She took her most important pictures, awards, and memories with her to New York. Her eyes pass over a photo of her and Kurt with clay face masks on, taken back when he was trying to sabotage her relationship with Finn. Rachel grins fondly and pulls out her phone. After sending a text to let Kurt know she made it safely and for him to enjoy his time with Burt, Rachel moves to her ensuite to wash her face and clean the airport feeling off her skin.
She goes to brush her teeth and her heart skips a few beats when she sees the second toothbrush still sitting on the sink in the cup next to hers. The second toothbrush was a new addition that made its appearance towards the end of her freshman year Spring Break. She has an identical one a couple streets over, in a bathroom belonging to Quinn Fabray.
…
Quinn steps out of the Uber she just has to spend a pretty penny on to bring her from the airport to her mom's home. But the driver didn't ask any invasive questions, played music that didn't make her ears bleed or take her right back to the choir room in McKinley, and drove so safely that she never had to experience flashbacks to her unfortunate car wreck in high school. Although, that last part could be from the pill she popped before the plane took off. It's ironic, ever since Quinn was in her wreck, she has even worse control issues than before. She wants to be the only one to ever transport herself anywhere and anyone else in control puts her teeth on edge, even though she was the one in control when she was texting and driving. She has worked to get over it since being at Yale. She walks mostly everywhere; she doesn't have a car on campus so she relies on transportation from others when she has to go somewhere outside of walking distance.
Judy opens the door before Quinn makes it on the porch. They offer each other frozen smiles and niceties. Judy has done well for herself since leaving Russell, and Quinn is proud of her. She has secured herself a nice two story cottage in a nice neighborhood. Anyone who knows about the mansion Judy lived in before her failed marriage might see this humble abode as a huge downgrade, but Quinn and her mom know better. This cottage means peace. It means freedom.
Quinn and Judy always go through the motions of what they feel a mother and daughter should do when reunited after being states away from each other for a few months. Eventually, though, after Quinn unpacks and Judy gets a glass of wine in her system, they relax in each other's company. Quinn sometimes feels exhausted when she thinks of their dynamic; how can she be so standoffish with everyone in her life, including her own mother?
…
Judy is dozing off and on in her reclining chair, her stomach full of takeout and wine. Quinn watches her in the light of the TV flashing across her mom's face. She looks at her phone, it is just after 10pm. Quinn grabs the blanket she had been using and drapes it over her mom.
"I'm going to go for a drive, take in the Christmas lights of Lima and see if anything has changed since I was here last." They both let out a puff of laughter, knowing nothing has changed in this town in decades.
Quinn slides on her winter Birkenstocks, her "potato shoes with fur," as Brittany called them. Quinn loves how ugly they are. She feels these shoes are a small reminder to her that she isn't in high school anymore; that she doesn't care about looks, only how she feels. Or, at least that is what she is trying for.
She grabs her keys and heads to her two door pickup truck. The truck she was able to obtain by blackmailing her father. All she has to do is threaten to out him for the abuser he is, and he gives her whatever she or her mom needs. Hush money, if you will. It is the only thing she has accepted from her father. She refuses any other help, she wants to know everything she has in the future, she got by herself.
She lets the cab warm up, frost already covering the windshield in the late hour. She checks her phone. No messages, but she doesn't need an invitation to know where she is going at this hour. It has become tradition, almost two years of doing the same thing each time she is back in town since leaving for college.
…
Rachel receives a text at 10:30pm exactly. She can see her fathers give each other a look, faking yawns and saying their goodnights before she even gets a chance to read the message. They head to bed, telling her to be safe.
Rachel slips on her snow boots and winter jacket. She looks out the window of the front door and sees the old, light blue pickup truck idling at the curb, waiting for her. She smiles to herself, butterflies in her stomach.
She steps outside, the cold hitting her cheeks and freezing her breath. She walks up to the truck, overthinking her gait, feeling like it is her first time walking in years. She goes to open the truck door, giving herself a moment to roll her eyes at her own foolishness.
She slides in, the overhead light in the truck giving her a glimpse of Quinn in her green winter coat, a warm flannel peeking out underneath. Rachel's eyes trail up, over the short ends of her blonde hair sticking out of her beanie. Finally, Rachel meets Quinn's eyes and her nervous smile. Rachel smiles back briefly, turning to shut the truck door behind her when the butterflies ramp up too much in her stomach. The overhead light shuts off, plunging them into soft darkness.
She tucks her brown hair behind her ears, "Hi." Quinn puts the truck in drive before she responds.
"Rachel, hi." The Cranberries croon at a low volume through the speakers. "Did you make it into town okay?" She asks. She taps her fingers on the steering wheel, needing to let her nervous energy out somewhere.
"Yes. Each time I travel, I practice exit strategies and costume disguises for when my career really takes off. I didn't wear a wig this time, though." Rachel pauses, thinking. "When I do make it big, I guess I'll have to tell my fathers to stop greeting me with signs made out with my name on them. We will need code names. Oh!" Rachel bounces in her seat. Quinn grins at the road in response. "They could hold up signs with my favorite broadway characters names instead. They can mix it up each time. Until, of course, the paparazzi start to catch onto our code."
Quinn glances at Rachel, "They really greet you with a sign with your name on it? I thought people only did that in old movies, or if they were being picked up by, you know…" Quinn trails off, "strangers or drivers?"
"That's neither here nor there, Quinn." Rachel settles in the truck bench. "How was your travels? How's Judy? How's Yale?"
Quinn drives past the darkened McKinley parking lot, pulling into the church parking lot next door. The church always goes all out with their Christmas decorations, a manger, lights, the whole nine yards. She puts the truck in park and turns slightly towards Rachel, her arm coming to rest on the back of the bench between them. The lights are making Rachel's brown eyes shine.
"Traveling was fine. I took a couple of shooters that Santana left in my dorm last time she visited, and then I took an ativan once I was seated." Rachel gasps at this, and Quinn knows she is gearing up for her own D.A.R.E program rant. She cuts her off before she can get started, "Judy is Judy. She is still enjoying the compensation she receives from Russell, but she is working part time as a secretary for a doctor and seems to enjoy it. She started right after Thanksgiving."
"I hope she continues to take Russell for every dime he has!" Rachel passionately. "And Yale?" She pries.
"Still Yale. I go to my classes, I go to the library, and I go to the coffee shop for my shifts." Quinn is obviously leaving out a lot of details, but Rachel knows she has to work for it to get any actual information out of her. They have a week to catch up before they go back to pretending this doesn't happen. "Enough about me. How is NYDA?"
And with that, Rachel is off, updating her captivated audience of one on everything that has happened in her life between November when they last did this together, to now.
…
Quinn parks her in front of Rachel's house, idling. Her dashboard says it is well past two in the morning.
"Well, I guess I better-" Quinn starts.
"It was nice to see-" Rachel starts at the same time. They look at each other and laugh, looking away. Rachel glances up towards her fathers' front door. She takes a breath, "It's awfully late. You should just come up and stay with me."
Neither woman really cares that Quinn only lives about 8 minutes away. "Sure, I wouldn't want to wake Judy up. I'm sure she is still in the chair where I left her." It's a weak excuse, they both know it. Neither one cares. Quinn shuts off the truck. Rachel grins and opens her door.
They walk shoulder to shoulder up the pathway to the porch. No one speaks until Rachel flips on her bedroom lights and shuts the door, safely inside and past LeRoy and Hiram's room. "I probably still have some night clothes of yours from last time." She whispers for no reason. Her parents sound proofed her room as soon as she learned to sing, for their neighbors sake.
Quinn nods, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room while Rachel rifles through her drawers for said clothing. "Thanks."
"Everything is still in the same place, help yourself." Rachel hands the clothes over and nods towards the bathroom. Quinn shuts herself in, changing inside while Rachel hurries to change into her own night clothes.
Once Quinn is done changing, she opens the bathroom door for Rachel. They go through the motions of brushing their teeth, staring at themselves through the mirror. "So. Are you going to Breadstix tomorrow to see everyone else who is in town?" Quinn asks around her toothbrush.
"I wouldn't miss it! I am the one who created the Glee Alumni Events Calendar after all." Rachel wipes her mouth of toothpaste, reasoning with herself that she can skip her skin regime since she did it already for the evening, before she left with Quinn.
"I can't believe you scheduled it at Breadstix, though. You can hardly eat anything on the menu." Quinn replies. They leave the bathroom, each going to a different side of Rachel's bed, pulling down the comforter.
"I figured I had a better chance of people showing up if I planned the gathering at the beloved Breadstix." Rachel shrugged, climbing in. Quinn does the same. Rachel leans over to shut off her lamp. They lay in silence, neither one moving for several breaths. Rachel wiggles down deeper into the bed, getting comfortable. Quinn mirrors her position.
She wants to ask about Santana. The question has been on her mind since Quinn mentioned her visiting Yale earlier. Rachel wants to know how often Santana visits, if anyone else has gotten to visit Quinn at Yale, or if Quinn goes to visit them. Rachel knows neither one of them have utilized the train tickets they got and promised to use senior year. They haven't seen each other outside of their hometown since graduating. They haven't even mentioned it. They definitely don't talk about the times they do see each other. They just…happen.
Rachel lets out a sigh, "Goodnight, Quinn." She rolls over.
"Goodnight, Rachel." Quinn stares at the back of her head until her eyes become heavy.
…