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Happy Valentine's Day!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The chapter title comes from the song "An Attempt to Tip the Scales" by Bright Eyes.
"Excuse me, what is this about us having to take the football players assigned to us out for lunch?"
Quinn yawned and rubbed her eyes. She hadn't even started her first cup of coffee yet, and therefore was in no mood for Rachel's sass this early in the morning. She pulled her bowl of oatmeal towards her and gave Rachel a tired smile. "Good morning to you too, sunshine."
"Come on, Quinn, I'm in no mood for this." Rachel went into the kitchen and made her own bowl of oatmeal, topping it with Greek yogurt and berries. She narrowed her eyes at her roommate. "Was this Santana's idea?"
"No, it was all my idea," Quinn said with a proud look on her face. "Come on, Rach, it's just lunch. It's not like we're forcing you to go on a date, or something. More than half the squad is just having lunch in the courtyard at school with their players. It's not like it's a big deal… if you don't want it to be."
Rachel didn't like the smug look on Quinn's face, so she decided deflection was the best option. "Are you sure that this isn't just some elaborate scheme to get yourself on a date with Puck, without actually calling it a date?"
Now Quinn looked wide awake. "No! Yes! I don't know." She dropped her head onto the kitchen island and sighed heavily. "We haven't talked about… whatever is between us much. We've been too focused on trying to get you and Finn to get your heads out of your asses."
Rachel frowned at Quinn but didn't acknowledge the statement she made about the state of her relationship with her husband. While things with Finn were still tentative at best, it was also a lot better than it had been. They talked, now. True, they stayed away from any topic that was truly deep, but Rachel and Finn managed to stay in the same room and exchange words for longer than two minutes.
"You and Noah should be able to figure out whatever is between the two of you without worrying about me and Finn," Rachel said quietly. "I'm sorry that you guys have had to sacrifice so much because we…"
"Can't get your heads out of your asses?" Quinn finished. "Don't worry, it'll be a small price to pay if you and Finn can get your shit together."
Rachel blinked and decided that she needed some coffee if they were going to keep talking about this. "You've been spending way too much time around Noah," Rahcel finally said.
"Shut up and take your husband on a date. Do it for the good of the team, Rachel!"
Rachel pulled some vanilla creamer out of the fridge, dumped it into a coffee mug, and poured some steaming coffee on top of it. "And people say that I'm dramatic. At least I don't go around saying things like, 'do it for the good of the team!'"
"This is a real opportunity for you, you know," Santana said. She picked up a slice of pizza and took a huge bite of it, and then continued talking around the wad of food in her mouth. "I'm being nice to Rutherford and we'll just do lunch in the caf on Friday. Oh my god, you and Finn could go to this lingerie shop down on Main Street! I was going to send you guys there on that little scavenger hunt date I set you up on, but somebody—" here, Santana glared at Quinn, "—told me that it would be a bit too much."
Quinn was watching Santana eat and talk with a disgusted look on her face. "Could you chew with your mouth closed, please? Some of us are trying to eat, here."
"No one is stopping you," Santana said with a wave of her hand. "You and Puck could go to the lingerie store, too! It might finally kick your asses into gear."
Rachel pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed them in circles. Honestly, there wasn't enough coffee in the world for her to carry on this conversation with her two friends. It seemed that every time she turned around, there was another Cheerio talking about the lunch date they were supposed to have with the football players assigned to them on Friday. It was all about supporting them before the big Homecoming game on Saturday, or something. Rachel couldn't say that it was completely because her friends were trying to get her to spend more time with Finn, but this was something that the Cheerios had been doing for years. Still, the timing was no coincidence, she was sure. Quinn suddenly declared that this lunch needed to happen just when Rachel and Finn were starting to get along again. She knew that their friends had been paying attention to their interactions, and had taken note of their re-developed connection.
"This is such a bad idea," Rachel muttered, even though she didn't have a real reason for saying it. More than anything else, she was afraid that she would fall right back into everything with Finn—it would be easy enough to do so. Whenever he gave her that half-smile, Rachel's heart would skip a beat, and she felt like she was falling in love with him all over again.
Not that she had ever fallen out of love with him. She wasn't quite ready to admit that truth to herself.
"Okay, cut the crap, Tutor Berry," Santana snapped.
Rachel looked at her friend with wide eyes. "What?"
Santana pushed aside her empty lunch tray. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so harsh. But, Rach, come on. Do you really think it would be a bad idea? You and Finn have been getting along. If you want anything to change, the two of you actually have to do something. This lunch will be a good way to gauge if you're ready to take the next step… whatever that may be. But you have to actually go for it, first."
"And it's your job to plan the lunch," Quinn added. "So you're in control here, if it's fear that's holding you back."
"I'm not afraid!" Rachel immediately denied, even though she had just had that very thought only moments ago. Quinn and Santana gave her pointed looks but didn't press further on the issue, which she was grateful for. In the end, she knew that they were both right.
Rachel knew that this lunch date would be pivotal for her and Finn. It was time.
"She hasn't said anything to you yet?"
Finn sighed and shot Puck a dirty look. He felt like Puck was asking him about Rachel's plans for the lunch date they were supposed to have every hour. It was Thursday afternoon and Rachel still hadn't said anything about it to him yet. He didn't want to pressure her since things had been going so well between them lately. At this point, he had just resigned himself to having lunch in the cafeteria or the courtyard with Rachel, since Finn knew that she would never turn her back on something that Quinn and Santana had asked her to do.
"For like the tenth time today, no, Puck, Rachel hasn't said anything to me. Now will you stop asking so that we can go over some of these plays for the Homecoming game?"
Puck ignored Finn's suggestion completely and pulled his phone from his pocket instead. He immediately started tapping away at the touch screen, and Finn knew that Puck was texting Rachel. He rolled his eyes and tried to snatch Puck's phone away from him, but he tilted his chair back on the back legs and managed to stay just out of Finn's reach.
Just as Finn was about to jump up and reach over to grab Puck's phone, he heard his wife's voice: "God, Noah, will you give it a rest? You don't need to text fifty times every hour. I've got the point."
Puck was so surprised by Rachel's sudden appearance that he lost his balance and crashed to the floor. After looking to make sure that nothing was damaged but Puck's pride, Finn immediately started laughing. Rachel had started forward as soon as Puck fell, but stopped to roll her eyes when she realized that he wasn't hurt. Still, Finn helped Puck up while Rachel righted his chair.
"How many times have I told you not to do that with your chair?" Rachel admonished.
"Oh my god, you're not my mom," Puck snit at her. "Go boss someone else around, Berry."
"You're the one who told me to meet you here!" Rachel exclaimed incredulously. She knew that Puck was her best friend, but he really did get on her nerves sometimes. She supposed that was the sibling-like nature of their relationship coming forth—siblings always got on one another's nerves from time to time.
"Oh." Having still been a little embarrassed by his topple from the chair, Puck had momentarily forgotten that he had been the one texting Rachel all day. "Right. Um. Don't you have a question to ask Finn?"
Rachel glared at her so-called best friend. She had been planning something all week for her lunch date with Finn, and the only thing that remained now was to actually ask him to lunch. Being that it was Thursday afternoon, she knew that she was rapidly running out of time, but Finn had been lovely and hadn't mentioned it to her once. She was the only one holding herself back, and she knew it. She didn't need Puck sending her a million text messages to point it out.
She had been so nervous, because the more she planned the lunch date—and the more intimate and specific to Finn the plans became—the more Rachel realized that she really wanted this. She wanted to go on this date, to put herself in a space with Finn where people weren't constantly watching them, waiting to see what they would do next. The anger and the hurt were no longer at the forefront of every interaction with Finn, and Rachel wanted to do something special for Finn to show that she was ready to move forward.
Even now, he was watching her with such sweet, concerned eyes, and Rachel's heart skipped a beat even as she felt a jolt of anxiety. It was like going on a first date with him all over again.
"Rach—" Finn began, but Rachel held her hand up to stop him. She knew that he was going to tell her that she didn't need to worry about it, to just ignore Puck, but she couldn't let him do that. He had been so patient with her, and he deserved more than that from her.
"As annoying as it is to say it, Noah is right," Rachel began.
Puck, who was still rubbing his sore bottom, flipped a middle finger at Rachel. "Hey!"
Both Finn and Rachel ignored him. "Um, Finn." She still couldn't get over the fact that she was so nervous, like this really was the first date that she was every going to have with Finn. They were married, for Pete's sake. They had already been through this before, so why was it so hard?
"Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow?" Rachel finally blurted. She said the words much too quickly, and she was talking too loudly, but Finn understood her perfectly. He grinned at her and for a moment, it looked like he was going to reach out and pull her into his arms, but thought better of it at the last second. Rachel found that she was disappointed that he hadn't embraced her, and the feeling was new and familiar all at the same time.
"Of course," Finn told her. Rachel beamed back at him, and they stood there for several long moments, just staring at one another and grinning. They were both excited about this, viewing it as a chance to reconnect after months of separation. Their friends had helped give them the push that they needed, and Rachel found that she was finally grateful for their meddling.
Puck looked between his brother and his best friend and shook his head. "You guys are idiots."
"Are you wearing the dress I laid out for you?"
"Kurt." Rachel knew that she could just end this conversation by hanging up the phone, but she didn't want to do that. Kurt had gone out of his way to help Rachel plan this lunch date for Finn. The least she could do was listen to him lecture her for a few more minutes.
"I'm just saying, I saw all of the plaid in your closet, not to mention that god-awful penguin sweater. I thought Quinn threw out all of your plaid."
"Would everyone please stop acting like my wardrobe is so horrible? I don't only wear plaid, you know. And that sweater was a gift from my grandmother!"
"Whatever, it's heinous. Just tell me that you're wearing the purple dress I laid out for you. I bought it specifically for this date, because it will go well with the setting."
Rachel didn't even want to ask how a dress could match perfectly with where the date was going to be, because she knew she'd be on the phone with Kurt for the next half an hour at least. Instead, she said, "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"
"I have a free period," Kurt said dismissively. "And you still haven't answered my question!"
"Yes, I'm wearing the purple dress, okay?" Rachel was practically shouting into her phone at this point, so she completely missed Finn sneaking up behind her.
"And you look great in it," he murmured.
"Finn!" Rachel jumped and pressed her free hand to her chest, but she could feel her cheeks warming at Finn's compliment. They stared at each other for several long moments, just drinking one another in. Finn looked good in his dark wash jeans and white polo shirt, and Rachel knew that he had made an effort to dress up for their lunch date.
"Is that Finn?" Kurt demanded from her phone. "What is he wearing? I tried to get my dad to lay out a button down for him, but he wouldn't do it. So then I tried to get him to send a picture of what Finn was wearing today, but he wouldn't send one to me. God, I hope it's not a flannel shirt—"
"Goodbye, Kurt," Rachel said quickly. She thumbed the 'end call' button on the touch screen, put her phone on silent, and dropped it into her purse.
"Do I want to know why you were just on the phone with Kurt, or should I be afraid?" Finn asked with a laugh.
Rachel laughed as well, knowing that Finn and Kurt had grown a lot closer over the summer since Carole and Burt had started dating. Kurt had told her about the weekly family dinners that the four of them had been having. While Rachel's heart ached a little knowing that she should be there for those meals, she took comfort in the fact that Burt and Carole were happy, and that the two of them and Kurt and Finn were becoming a family.
"No, you don't have to be worried about Kurt," Rachel told him. "He was actually very helpful while I was planning our lunch. I swear, Kurt has a future career as an event planner if he ever wanted to go for it."
"So we're going off the school grounds for lunch?"
"Don't worry, I cleared it with Coach Beiste," Rachel soothed. It was a standing rule that student athletes had to be present on game day in order to play. Rachel went to the coach when she was first developing the plan for her lunch date, and assured Beiste that Finn would only be missing part of the day, and that it was for a good cause. Thankfully, Beiste agreed, and even insisted that they leave campus for lunch. Beiste was very clearly Team Finchel—at least, that's what Quinn had told Rachel early that morning. Rachel tried to ignore the fact that she and Finn apparently had a couple name that was now circulating throughout the school.
"Alright, then. Rachel, I'm at your mercy." Finn wiggled his eyebrows at her, knowing that what he said was definitely a double entendre. Rachel's cheeks flushed again, and she bit her lip. She didn't bother to hide the fact that she liked the double meaning of Finn's words, because he could read her too well.
Rachel led Finn to her car, and she drove them over to the arboretum where they had gotten married. Rachel had wanted to do something special for Finn, wanted to show him that even though she was afraid of getting hurt again, she was willing to try and take a step forward.
Because that was the truth. It was either move forward and try to heal with Finn, or get an annulment or divorce. Really, Rachel had only presented the idea to Finn to see if it was what he wanted. It was clear that neither of them were willing to consider that course of action at this point. So now, the only way was forward.
Even though it was fairly obvious why Rachel picked this location, she didn't want to shove it into Finn's face. So the table that Kurt set up from them wasn't in the grove of flowers where Rachel and Finn exchanged their vows. Instead, it was in one of the outdoor gardens, tucked into a little alcove with outdoor heaters placed around them to ward off the fall chill. The table was decorated with candles and a little bouquet of tulips in the middle. Their lunch was arranged under cloches, and Rachel knew that the food would still be steaming hot. Kurt was really just that good at planning things like this.
Finn grabbed Rachel's hand and tugged her to a stop. "Rach, this is… this is amazing." His eyes were warm as he gazed down at her. Even though she had been the one to plan the lunch date, he led her over to the table and pulled her chair out for her, making sure that she was situated comfortably before getting into his own seat.
"What's for lunch?" Finn asked.
Reaching over, Rachel pulled off the cover of the cloche, revealing a steaming plate of macaroni and cheese and prime rib for him. Her own plate also had macaroni and cheese, but with salmon instead. Finn let out an appreciative noise and immediately dug into his food. Of course, there was a side of roasted vegetables as well, since Rachel wanted to make sure that Finn had a well-balanced meal leading up to the Homecoming game.
While they ate, they kept the conversation light, talking about school and sports-related things. It truly was like they were on a first date once again, but Rachel had to admit that the illusion of a clean slate was nice. There was less pressure this way, which was a nice change from the majority of interactions they had when their senior year first started.
Once lunch was over, they left the arboretum and made their way to Anne's Café. Anne smiled at both of them as they entered, handing over two lattes and a few chocolate croissants for them to take before Rachel led them up to the roof.
"You want me to go mini-golfing right now? Are you trying to tire me out before the game?" Finn joked.
"Haha, very funny." Rachel made her way over to the picnic table that she and Puck had talked Burt into putting up on the roof while they were in middle school. "We don't have time to play a full game, anyway. Actually, I brought you up here for a different reason."
Finn watched with interest as Rachel crossed to the brick wall across from the table. She reached up and pulled a loose brick from the wall that was almost too high for her to reach. She had to strain on her tiptoes to get it, and Finn grinned, thinking about how cute she looked. Rachel made a noise in the back of her throat, as if she knew exactly what Finn was thinking.
Finally, she successfully pulled the brick from the wall. Finn could see that it was hollowed out, and Rachel pulled a small metal tin from inside the hollow. Walking back over the table, she popped the lid off the tin and showed the contents to Finn. He could see the folded-up paper inside, with some sheets that were clearly several years old. There was a pen on top, and Rachel took that out and a sheet of paper.
"There's this ritual that Noah and I have before the start of each school year. We'll come up here, I'll kick his butt at mini golf, and then we'll make predictions for how we think our school year is going to go."
"Let me guess," Finn said with a chuckle. "All of yours were about getting the leads in the dramas or the musicals."
"I'll have you know that almost all of my predictions came true!" Rachel exclaimed, confirming Finn's guess. "Anyway, I brought you here because… well, I was thinking that you might like to hear what my prediction for this year was." The night that Rachel had come back from New York, she and Puck had completed their usual tradition, and had written down their predictions. They didn't read them to each other until the end of the year, to see if they had come true. Rachel wanted Finn to hear what she had written, however, because her prediction had been about hope.
Finn looked like he very much wanted to say yes to hearing Rachel's prediction. He watched her for a long moment, thrilled that she was willing to share something so personal with him. When Rachel went to open her sheet of paper, however, Finn covered her hand with one of his.
"Wait a second." Rachel looked up at him with questioning eyes, and Finn gave her a reassuring smile. "Do you have another sheet of paper?"
"Um, hello." Rachel shuffled through to the bottom of the tin until she pulled out a clean sheet. "Of course I have more paper. I'm Tutor Berry, remember?"
"Right." Finn took the sheet of paper and the pen from Rachel and turned to the other side of the table, hunching over it so that Rachel couldn't see what he was writing. He could practically feel her hovering at his back, bursting with curiosity, but he knew that she wouldn't look over his shoulder. She knew exactly what he was doing, and she wasn't going to break tradition by trying to sneak a peek.
Finishing with his prediction a few moments later, Finn capped the pen, folded up his piece of paper, and added it to the top of the pile. He put the pen back on top and then closed the tin, presenting it to Rachel once he was finished. "There. Now we have my prediction to look at when the year is over."
Rachel pressed the tin between her palms and took a deep breath. "What's to keep me from coming up here and looking at it later?"
Finn took her hands—still holding the tin—between both of his, engulfing her smaller ones in his large, warm palms. He looked into her eyes and said, "I guess I'll just have to trust you, then."
Smiling, Rachel leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Standing up, she put the tin back in the hollowed-out brick and then handed it to Finn, so he could place it back into it's spot on the wall. Once it was returned, she offered her hand to Finn. Smiling widely, Finn took Rachel's hand and squeezed. Together, they moved forward.
The predictions Rachel, Finn, and Puck make were mentioned in the One Tree Hill episodes 3x03 and 3x07. It's a cute idea!
Thanks for reading!
