a good thing
Title: a good thing
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Betas: Lindsay (rowofstars), Sam (samgarofalo)
Rating: R (sex)
Genre: AU, Fluff, Friendship, Angst, Romance
Word Count: 9,922
Characters/Pairings: Quinn, Cooper, Blaine, Judy Fabray (Quinn/Cooper, Quinn/Blaine friendship)
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize? Ain't mine.
Summary: They could both use more good things in their lives.
A/N: Um. Yeah, this ended up being so much longer than I initially intended for it to be. Written more or less for two anon prompts left in my ask on Tumblr, involving Quinn and Cooper meeting, and being rather taken with each other. Definitely AU, though with a lot of canon elements, and Cooper may become OOC after the new episode airs, but hopefully not too much :3
Quinn stepped from the restroom, shifting her books to one arm so she could adjust her skirt, and then started down the hall.
She knew she was a couple of minutes late, but it wouldn't count against her. Having straight A's and being an overall good student was definitely something that had always worked in her favor, not to mention the school year was almost over.
Movement at the end of the hall caught her attention and she looked over, noticing a tall, very attractive man peering into classrooms.
She frowned and started towards him.
"Can I - can I help you?"
He looked up at her voice, his expression surprised, and then smiled a little sheepishly.
"Yeah, actually. I'm looking for my brother, his name's Blaine. Blaine Anderson?"
Quinn nodded, smiling back. "He's a friend of mine. He's got English this period." Her lips twitched a little. "With me, actually."
The man's eyebrows shot up. "You're a student here?"
"You seem surprised."
He laughed as they started down the hall. "You just - you don't seem like a high school student."
She grinned as she looked up at him, taking a moment to admire his profile and the easy way his brown hair fell forward a little as he lowered his head.
"And why is that?"
He shrugged, still smiling as he glanced at her. "You're just so -"
He broke off, shaking his head, and her grin widened. "I'm so what?"
"It feels wrong to say it now."
She snorted softly. "I'm 18. You're not a pedophile if you say I'm pretty."
He laughed again, louder, and then hastened to cover his mouth when it echoed throughout the empty corridor.
"Actually," he said as they came to a stop in front of the classroom door, "I was going to say you're too beautiful to be a high school student."
She felt her face grow hot and ducked her head, unable to keep from smiling.
"Blaine should be in here," she murmured, gesturing towards the door.
The man nodded, and Quinn reached for the doorknob.
"Hey," he said suddenly, "what's your name?"
She looked up at him, smiling again as her eyes met his. "Quinn."
He smiled back. "I'm Cooper."
He found her in the library a few days later, staring intently at her math book.
"Calculus," he murmured as he sank into the chair across from her. "I'm impressed."
Her mouth twisted as she looked up at him. "So do you live at the school now or something? Sleep in Figgins' office?"
Cooper snorted. "No, I came to see you."
Quinn eyed him a moment before dropping her gaze back to her homework. "I'm glad you and Blaine made up."
Cooper shrugged. "He's my brother. I fu -" His gaze darted around the library, making her smirk, and he cleared his throat. "I screwed up. I had to fix it. I need more good things in my life, and Blaine needs to be one of them."
Quinn looked at him fully again, laying her pencil down, and he smiled at her.
"I came here to talk to you though."
She rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth rising as she pushed her hair behind her ear. "And what do you want with me?"
"To ask you to have coffee with me."
Quinn stared at him a moment, sizing him up, and then asked finally, "Why?"
He shrugged, a short laugh escaping him. "Because I want to get to know you? You seem... interesting, from what I've gathered these past few days, and you're one of Blaine's friends. The way he talks about you, if he wasn't so in love with Kurt, I might think he had a thing for you." Quinn glanced away with a quick laugh, and Cooper grinned. "I don't have some ulterior motive here. Just you, me, and coffee. That's it."
She looked at him a moment longer, rolling her pencil over her notebook, and then nodded.
"Okay. After school today? The Lima Bean."
He grinned and pushed to his feet. "Then I'll see you later."
She watched him walk from the library, biting gently on her lip, and then shook her head, laughing softly as she turned her attention to her homework once more.
He was waiting for her when she arrived at the coffee shop that afternoon, taking up one of the small couches, and she laughed as she approached him.
He looked up from his book, and then grinned. "I wanted to make sure we had a good seat."
She nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "We'll lose it when we order though."
"Nah," he said, shaking his head as he stood. "You sit, I'll order. What do you want?"
"Medium green tea," she said as she sank down onto the couch.
He raised his eyebrows, apparently surprised by her answer, but didn't say anything as he walked to stand in line.
Her teeth pressed into her bottom lip as she watched him, mulling over the past few days.
Beyond their initial meeting, she and Cooper hadn't interacted much, Cooper busy trying to mend his relationship with his brother.
They might not be one hundred percent yet, but Blaine seemed much happier these days, and it made her feel good to see him like that.
Cooper was still a mystery though. She wondered why he was so interested in her, why he wanted to be here with her when there were likely dozens of other women, older and probably better suited for him than her, who he could have coffee with.
She remembered him telling her she was beautiful, remembered the sincerity in his words, and felt a flush warm her face again.
Not only had he told her she was beautiful after only knowing her about a minute, he was older, more experienced, and she felt an undeniable thrill at the thought that he might genuinely be interested in her, maybe even really attracted to her.
Abruptly, she shoved her thoughts away. She didn't want to get too far ahead of herself, didn't want to turn this into something it wasn't; she just had to wait and see what happened.
Cooper returned after several minutes, extending her cup to her as he settled next to her on the couch, and then held up his hand as she reached for her purse.
"No, it's fine."
"Are you sure?"
He smirked, raising an eyebrow as he took a sip of his coffee. "Three dollars isn't exactly going to break me, Quinn."
She gave him a look, and his smirk widened as he shifted in his seat, getting a little more comfortable.
The conversation started off superficially, discovering similar tastes in books and music and movies, and then slowly segued into deeper, more personal things.
He told her about his brush with fame, trying to make it in Los Angeles, going to auditions and consistently not getting hired.
"Sort of what made me come back," he murmured, looking down at his cup. "I needed some grounding, you know? Get my head out of the clouds."
She nodded, feeling a flash of sympathy. "Do you think you'll try it again?"
"I think so. I still love it; I think I just need to go about it differently."
She nodded again, taking a sip of her tea, and then he lifted his chin a little. "So what about you?"
Her eyes flicked to his face, and then down to the lip of her cup as she rubbed it with her thumb.
"What do you mean?" she asked finally.
He shrugged. "What's your story?"
She laughed a little humorlessly. "Unbelievably long and tedious."
"That bad, huh."
She could feel his eyes on her, and took a breath just as he shifted.
"You don't have to tell me, but whatever it is, that's what gave you your maturity. You just seem so much wiser than your age; it's so easy to see."
She lifted her gaze to his face again, unsure if he was complimenting her, and he smiled.
"I think it's a good thing. It gives you an edge, and it makes it dangerous for people to underestimate you."
She tilted her head to the side, the corner of her mouth lifting. She suddenly felt like Cooper somehow got her, and she had no idea how that was even possible, when he had really only known her a handful of hours.
More and more she was beginning to suspect most of his cluelessness was really just an act.
Maybe it was dangerous to underestimate him too.
The next several hours passed in a flurry of conversation, and more coffee and tea, along with a dinner made up of several large muffins, until finally one of the baristas came to tell them the coffee shop was closing.
Cooper walked Quinn to her car, laughing as she murmured something about going home to get something to eat.
"I did sort of deprive you of a real dinner, didn't I."
She laughed and shook her head. "It's fine. I really enjoyed talking to you, Cooper. I had a lot of fun tonight."
"So did I," he replied as they came to a stop at her car.
She pulled her keys from her purse, reaching forward to unlock the door, and he stayed her hand before she could pull it open.
"This may sound crazy," he began with a breathless laugh, "but let me take you out to dinner. A proper dinner."
She stared up at him, her eyes a little wide, hyperaware of his hand around hers, and her keys cutting into her palm.
"You mean - you mean like a date?"
"Yeah," he said, laughing a little. "A date."
She pulled her eyes from his, staring intently at his chest, realizing just how broad it was. Somehow in this moment she was noticing everything about him, how blue his eyes were, the way his hair fell over his forehead, the slight quirk of his lips, and now her mind was imagining how it might feel if he wrapped his arms around her, how it might feel if he kissed her -
She took a sharp breath, raising her gaze to meet his again. "Why?"
"Why?" he echoed, looking a little bewildered. "Because I like you, Quinn. I just sat in a coffee shop with you for six hours, talking about everything under the sun, and I'd kind of like to do it again."
She took another breath, raising her free hand to her forehead, and Cooper took a step closer.
"It's just dinner, Quinn," he said softly. "Nothing more."
She was quiet for a moment, and then looked at him again. "Okay."
A smile instantly curved his lips, and she couldn't help returning it.
"I'll pick you up on Saturday, at 6?" She nodded, and he did as well, a quick bob of his head. "Perfect. Then I'll see you on Saturday."
She nodded once more, and he let go of her hand, waiting until she was inside her car before continuing to his own.
She sat for a moment, her thoughts swirling around in her head, not least of which was wondering what Blaine might think about this, and then sighed as she started her car.
"Blaine, can I talk to you?"
It was the next day at school, and Blaine glanced at Quinn as he pulled his books from his locker.
"Sure, what's up?"
"It's about Cooper," she said, leaning against the locker next to his.
"Is this about him asking you out?"
Quinn raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He told you?"
Blaine laughed a little and nodded. "Yeah, after he got home last night."
Quinn shifted slightly, rubbing her thumb over the edge of her binder. "You don't - you don't mind, do you?"
Blaine was quiet for a moment, and then he shrugged. "I can't deny it's a little weird, the idea of you dating my brother, but I'm not mad about it or something. It's not like I can stop you guys."
"Yeah, but I just don't want you to be uncomfortable or anything."
He laughed again, shutting his locker and giving the lock a quick spin. "Well, I mean, so long as I don't have to watch you guys make out all the time."
Quinn laughed too as they started down the hall. "I don't know about that yet. It's just dinner."
"For now," Blaine said teasingly, nudging her arm with his.
She shook her head, glancing away, and he grinned.
"Cooper's a good guy, Quinn. Even with everything that happened between us, I've always loved him, because he's my brother. I mean, he made some mistakes, and I was mad at him for a long time, but things are better now." He took a breath and pulled Quinn to a stop, turning her to face him.
"Whatever he feels for you, trust it. He almost never pursues girls; they usually come to him, so him seeking you out, him asking you to meet him for coffee, and then to have dinner with him, this is pretty big for him. I'm not saying he's going to ask you to marry him or anything; I just want you to know that he's taking this - that he's taking you - seriously."
Quinn stared at him, a little taken aback, and his lips curved.
"Sorry, I just don't want you to think he's stringing you along. If all he wanted was to sleep with you, you'd know by now."
She laughed softly and nodded. "Thanks, Blaine."
Cooper arrived right on time Saturday night, and he had a moment to take in how pretty Quinn looked when she opened the door, dressed in a rose colored dress with lacy white straps on her shoulders, before she ushered him into the house.
"Mom wants to meet you," she said apologetically. "I've already told her about you, I think she just sort of wants a face to go with the name and all of that."
He laughed and nodded, and a moment later was shaking hands with Judy Fabray.
"I just like to keep tabs on Quinnie's boyfriends," she said, smiling good-naturedly up at Cooper, though her gaze was a little scrutinizing.
Quinn's cheeks flushed red as she hissed, "Mom," and Cooper held back a grin at her embarrassment.
Judy held up her hands. "Dates, whatever." She made a shooing motion with one hand, looking slightly harried. "All right, I won't keep you. Have fun. Try not to stay out too late."
They both nodded, and Quinn gave her mom a quick hug before leading Cooper to the front door.
"Sorry," Quinn murmured once they were outside. "Sort of part of the 'long and tedious'."
Cooper grinned as he held open the passenger door for her. "I hope to hear about it soon."
She waited until he was behind the wheel before replying. "I'm sure Blaine has told you some."
"Not much, really. Just that you've been through a lot, which is pretty remarkable for someone your age. I guess that's why you and Blaine are friends."
Quinn nodded, turning her gaze to the window as she said a soft, "Yeah."
"Whatever it is, you don't have to tell me until you want to."
She looked over at him with a slight curve of her lips. "I want to, it's just that - there's a lot to tell, and I kind of want to save it until it feels right."
Cooper nodded. "Totally fine. We don't need to reveal all of the skeletons in our closets all at once." His lips curved and he glanced at her. "Takes away some of the mystery."
She laughed, and his smile widened before he turned his attention back to the road.
Dinner was at Breadstix, and much like the other night at the Lima Bean, they spent hours talking about anything they could think of, though they continued to skirt around anything terribly personal.
They didn't quite close the place, but it was still fairly late before Cooper brought Quinn home again, walking her to the door.
"Another fun night," she said, smiling up at him after she unlocked the door.
He grinned and nodded. "Yeah."
She pressed her lips together a moment, and then raised her eyebrows hopefully. "Maybe we could do it again?"
"I'd like that."
She smiled, relaxing a little. "I've got something in mind. Next Saturday?"
Cooper nodded, smiling back at her. "Saturday works."
Silence descended, broken only by the rhythmic chirping of the crickets, and then Cooper laughed softly, ducking his head a moment before meeting her gaze again.
"I'd really like to kiss you," he said quietly.
"I'd really like it if you did," she replied, just as quietly, and her lips twitched as he shifted closer to her.
He dipped his head, and a beat later his lips were soft on hers, his fingers curling around her hand.
She squeezed his fingers, catching his bottom lip when he started to pull away, and he kissed her again, pulling a sweet little noise from her throat as he sucked lightly on her bottom lip when her mouth opened slightly under his.
She took a breath when he pulled back, feeling a low flutter in her stomach as she watched his tongue flick over his lips.
"I don't think I said it yet tonight," he whispered, "but you look beautiful, Quinn."
She was surprised at the unexpected compliment, but she smiled and murmured, "Thank you."
He gave her fingers another squeeze before letting go of her hand. "I'll see you later."
She nodded and then moved inside the house, locking the door behind her before hurrying up to her room.
Her curtains were sheer enough to see through, but she still carefully twitched one aside to look outside.
Cooper was at his car, but hadn't gotten in yet, instead leaning against the driver's side door with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the ground.
She frowned curiously, wondering what he was thinking, and then he turned, glancing up as he pulled open the car door.
The faintest smile curved his lips, and he lifted a hand.
She giggled softly, feeling a little sheepish at being seen, but waved back, waiting until he'd driven away before moving to get ready for bed.
The following Saturday afternoon found them sitting on a blanket in a field just outside Lima, a picnic basket pushed to the side and a bowl of fruit between them.
Quinn was giggling as she tossed grapes at Cooper, trying to get them into his mouth; she kept missing, and she giggled harder when one bounced off of his forehead.
He flinched, and then laughed, reaching for the grape and popping it into his mouth. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, you're going to put my eye out."
She clutched her stomach as her giggles started anew, and shook her head. "It's okay," she said breathlessly. "I'm sure Blaine would let you borrow his eye patch."
Cooper snorted. "The one with the heart on it?"
Quinn nodded, crinkling her nose a little. "Definitely."
Cooper grinned, and then reached into the bowl for a strawberry before holding it up, raising his eyebrows a little.
Quinn smiled and leaned forward, biting into the proffered berry and then laughing quietly when some of the juice dribbled down her chin.
She swiped at it with the back of her hand, and smiled again when Cooper sat up, his eyes on her mouth as he edged closer to her.
They kissed, and he made a low noise as his tongue flicked over her bottom lip, tasting the lingering juice.
The corner of his mouth lifted when he pulled back, and his gaze met hers as he hummed, "Mmm. Strawberry kisses."
A quiet laugh slipped from her, and she leaned forward to kiss him again. It was rapidly becoming one of her favorite pastimes.
They shifted to lie down on the blanket, side by side with the bowl of fruit still between them, hands brushing occasionally as they reached inside, and after a moment, Quinn sighed.
"So do you want to hear about the 'long and tedious'?"
Cooper glanced over at her, studying her profile. "If you want to tell me."
She shrugged. "It's part of the reason I wanted to come out here with you, where it was quiet, and where we could just talk."
His hand drifted across the blanket to run his fingertips over the back of her hand, and she smiled a little before taking a breath.
"For starters, my first name isn't Quinn; it's Lucy. Quinn's my middle name."
"Witness a mob hit?"
She laughed softly and shook her head. "No, not nearly as exciting as that."
It took several minutes for her to fill him in on everything, changing her whole persona from "Lucy" to "Quinn", getting pregnant and giving up Beth, her relationships with Finn, Puck, and Sam, her attempts at getting Beth back, and then finally coming to terms with herself.
"Yale really feels like a whole new beginning, a whole new me." A wry smile curved her lips. "I kind of can't wait to get out of here."
"I know that feeling," Cooper murmured, his fingers curling around the side of Quinn's hand.
She shifted her hand so she could weave her fingers through his, and they were quiet for a moment until she let out a short laugh.
"I was kind of afraid you wouldn't want to see me anymore after I told you all of that."
Cooper frowned and turned his head to look at her. "Why wouldn't I?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like all of that might scare some guys away or something, all of my baggage."
"Well, it doesn't scare me away." She looked over at him, biting gently on her lip, and he smiled slightly. "I don't know the girl you used to be, but I know the one you are now, and I like her. Besides," he added with a small shrug, "it's not like I don't have my own stuff."
"Like - like what?" Quinn asked hesitantly, turning onto her side to look at him.
He copied her, propping up on his elbow as their hands shifted between them, and sighed.
"Not being there for Blaine like I should have been when we were growing up. Running away to be an actor, and all the trappings that came with that." He raised an eyebrow on the last word, giving Quinn enough of an idea of what he meant without him needing to elaborate. "I feel like I sort of lost myself in the haze of trying to 'make it', but being back here, making amends with Blaine, meeting you - it's all grounded me again."
She smiled when he mentioned her, feeling a small flutter in her stomach at the idea that she had been somehow instrumental in him starting to get his life in order.
"What about girlfriends?" Quinn asked softly.
Cooper snorted quietly, raising his eyebrows. "Yeah, there have been plenty of those."
Quinn glanced down at their hands, sweeping her thumb over his skin, and then asked, her voice softer, "Any serious?"
"There was one." His voice was soft too, and she lifted her gaze to his face again, noticing the distant look in his eyes. "I loved her. Wanted to marry her, but she didn't feel the same."
Quinn squeezed his fingers gently, murmuring, "I'm sorry."
His lips curved a little, his head tilting to the side as he focused on her again. "Just wasn't meant to be."
She smiled back tentatively, and he squeezed her fingers this time before shifting to lie on his back once again.
She was still a moment, and then she reached for the bowl of fruit, moving it out of the way so she could scoot closer to him.
She stretched out alongside him, her head tipping against his shoulder, and a heartbeat later he shifted, slipping his arm around her shoulders and tugging her a little closer.
His fingers drifted absently over the skin of her arm, and she couldn't stop the wide smile that spread over her face as she turned her body towards his.
He cooked for her for their third date, inviting her over to the house because his parents were out, and Blaine was over at Kurt's.
"I know spaghetti isn't much," Cooper said, giving the pot on the stove one final stir, "but it's one of the few things I can cook without screwing it up."
Quinn laughed. "Spaghetti is great, and it smells really good."
Cooper grinned, evidently pleased, and a few minutes later they were settled at the table with their plates.
She helped him clean up after they ate, and then they moved into the living room to watch a movie, sitting close together on the couch, she curled against his side.
When his hand settled on her thigh halfway through the film, she bit down gently on her lip, feeling a small thrill at his touch. His hand didn't move, except for the gentle back and forth motion of his thumb rubbing absently over her skin, and she scooted a little closer to him.
She got up to use the bathroom when the movie ended, and when she came out, he was no longer in the living room.
"Cooper?"
"In here," he called, and she followed his voice to his room.
He was rummaging through his things, and glanced up at her when she stepped inside.
"I had a movie that I thought you would like, though of course now I can't seem to find it." He paused and then added thoughtfully, "Wonder if Blaine took it."
Quinn stared around the room, smiling a little at the slightly disheveled quality to everything; the unmade bed, the clothes tossed haphazardly here and there.
"It's messy, I know," he said, following her gaze. "Sort of living out of my suitcase at the moment."
Her smile widened. "It's all right. Sort of nice to see this side of you."
He laughed. "Well, then, this was all totally planned."
She giggled, shaking her head at him as she settled on the foot of the bed, and he grinned before resuming his search.
A few minutes later, he straightened, shaking his head. "I don't know where it went. Thinking more and more that Blaine took it."
"It's okay," Quinn murmured, "there's plenty of other things we could watch."
Cooper nodded as he turned to face her, coming to stand in front of her. "What are you in the mood for?"
She lifted her gaze to his face, pressing her lips together as her fingers gripped the edge of the mattress.
The atmosphere in the room changed dramatically, like someone had flipped a switch, and he edged closer to her, his thighs brushing against her knees.
They were both still for a moment, just staring at each other, and then he raised his hand to her face, his fingers drifting across her cheek before sliding into her hair.
She tipped her head up a little more, her lips parting slightly, and he bent, touching his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.
Her hand rose to the back of his neck before he could pull away, her mouth opening under his and allowing him to slide his tongue against hers, deepening the kiss.
She began to move slowly back on the bed, and he moved with her, still kissing her as they made their way up the bed.
He pushed her against the pillows, lying half on top of her as his hand disappeared once more into her hair.
She had no idea where this was going, had certainly not envisioned this when she arrived at the house earlier that evening, and while part of her wanted to keep going, the other part of her was unsure.
His hand moved from her hair, sliding down her back and lingering on the curve of her backside, caressing it and making her shift forward, pushing him so they were both on their sides.
Her hand was on his neck, her body pressed close to his, and he was so warm, and so strong, that she thought she could just lie with him like this all night.
It was when his hand fell to her thigh again, slipping underneath the skirt of her dress, that a spike of uncertainty shot through her, and when his hand reached her hip, she pulled back slightly.
"Stop," she whispered, her hand sliding to his chest.
He didn't seem to hear her, his fingers sliding under the elastic at the waist of her panties, and she shifted away from him, pushing firmly against his chest.
"Cooper, stop."
Her voice was louder this time, and his hand stilled as his eyes met hers, his eyebrows knitting together.
"What's wrong?"
She shook her head, moving further away from him, and he quickly pulled his hand from her dress, pushing up onto his elbow as he looked at her.
"Quinn, what is it? I'm sorry, I thought -"
She shook her head again, finally reaching the edge of the bed and standing.
"No, I'm sorry; this is just - it's too fast."
Cooper sat up fully, pushing off the bed as Quinn started for the door, and gently grabbed her arms before she could leave the room.
"It's okay, Quinn, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but you don't need to go. We can go back out to the living room, find something else to watch -"
She shook her head again, her expression guilty as she looked up at him.
"No, I - I just - I have to go."
She backed away from him, making his hands fall from her arms, and then stepped from the room.
He went after her, watching as she grabbed her purse from the table beside the couch, and followed her to the door.
He reached for her again as she started to pull open the door, feeling terribly confused and wondering what had happened. "Quinn -"
"I'll see you later, Cooper," she murmured, shaking off his hand and hurrying towards her car.
He watched her drive away, a heavy frown creasing his brow, and then closed the door before wandering back into the living room and sinking heavily onto the couch.
Everything had been going fine, he thought; the making out had been unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome, and she'd seemed fully willing.
And then suddenly he wondered if she thought he'd wanted to have sex.
He couldn't deny he'd been thinking about it lately, wondering what it might be like to sleep with her, but he also found himself wanting to take things slow with her.
It had nothing to do with her age. There was just something different about her, something that made him want to let things progress naturally, no rushing, no forcing; just let things take their course.
He felt guilty now, thinking back to his hand under her skirt, knowing he'd gone too far, almost without even realizing it at the time.
The last thing he wanted her to think was that all of this was just because he wanted to get into her pants, and he grabbed his phone from the coffee table to type out a text message.
He stared at the message field for a moment, wondering what to say, and then typed out his message.
I'm sorry. Can we talk about this?
Quinn sat on her bed, dressed in her pajamas with her wet hair lying to her shoulders.
Her legs were pulled to her chest, and her chin rested on her knees as she stared contemplatively at her phone.
Cooper's text message had come through just as she pulled into her driveway, and she'd looked at it for a long moment before getting out of the car.
I'm sorry.
She almost couldn't believe he was the one apologizing to her, when he hadn't even really done anything wrong. The hand under her skirt had been a bit much, but he'd stopped when she asked him to, and rather than being upset with her, he'd been concerned.
She should've stayed, should've talked to him, but instead she'd just left, without giving him an explanation of any kind, and making him think whatever had happened was his fault.
All she'd said was that it was 'too fast', and what did that mean, exactly? His hand under her skirt wasn't necessarily indicative of him expecting sex, and if she was honest with herself, she loved the way he touched her, his hand sliding up her thigh and his fingers pressing gently into her hip.
She wanted to feel his hands all over, wanted to know how he'd make love to her, but she was nervous. The only time she'd ever had sex, she had gotten pregnant, and while Cooper was arguably smarter, and definitely more experienced, than Puck, accidents could still happen.
Her teeth pressed gently into her bottom lip as more experienced flitted through her head again. Cooper had had many girlfriends, while she'd had three boyfriends, and had given her virginity to the one she cared probably the least for, and who wasn't even her boyfriend at the time.
She worried that if she and Cooper ever did get to that point, she would disappoint him, and then he would realize she was just some silly little girl and leave her, just like all the others.
But maybe he wouldn't.
She let her legs go, her feet sliding over her bedspread, and a moment later reached for her phone, calling up his message again.
She tapped out a reply, hesitating briefly before sending it.
I'm sorry too. Meet me in the park tomorrow afternoon at one.
The next afternoon he was waiting for her, sitting on a bench and watching the people go by. It was a warm, sunny Sunday, and the park was crowded, full of joggers, kids on the playground, mothers with their babies, people walking their dogs.
He looked up when she appeared next to the bench, and smiled slightly. "Hey."
"Hey," she murmured, sinking down beside him.
They were quiet a moment, and then she looked up at him. "I'm sorry about last night -"
He cut her off with a short laugh. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry, I shouldn't have -"
"Cooper, just listen. It wasn't you. You didn't do anything wrong, it was just - me." She paused, raising her eyebrows as she looked at him. "I just really like you, and I don't want to make the same mistakes with you that I've made before. I don't want to screw up whatever it is that we are by going too fast."
She paused again, glancing down at her hands, and Cooper remained silent, sensing she had more to say.
She looked up, her gaze flicking around the park, and then her shoulders rose slightly as she looked back at him.
"But what are we? Are we just dating? Is this just a casual thing? Or are we - is this going to become something more serious?"
He was silent a moment longer, and then he took a breath. "To be honest, Quinn, I'd really like it if you wanted to be my girlfriend."
Her expression turned hopeful as she looked at him. "Really?"
He nodded, grinning a little. "Yeah, really."
A broad smile crossed her face, and she leaned forward to slide her arms around his neck, whispering against his shoulder, "I would love that."
He hugged her back, smiling into her hair, and she kissed him when she pulled back.
"Are you hungry?" he asked when the kiss broke.
She nodded, looking a little sheepish. "Yeah, I haven't really eaten anything yet today. Was a little nervous to talk to you."
He laughed and reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet as he stood. "Let's go get lunch then."
They started hand-in-hand down the sidewalk, both of them seemingly unable to stop smiling.
Graduation day rolled around, and Cooper was in the audience with Blaine, their combined voices making the cheers for Quinn and Kurt the loudest.
After the ceremony, Blaine went for dinner with Kurt and his family, while Judy took Quinn and Cooper out to celebrate.
"I'm so proud of you, Quinnie," Judy said, reaching across the table to squeeze her daughter's hand.
Quinn smiled. "Thanks, Mom."
"So am I," Cooper added, grinning as he slipped his arm around Quinn's shoulders and touched a kiss to the side of her head.
She giggled, reaching up to take hold of his fingers as her head fell momentarily against his shoulder.
Her mom smiled as she looked at them, and Quinn knew she was happy, despite some of her initial misgivings. Though she'd never said as much to Quinn - Judy Fabray was the queen of passive-aggressiveness - she knew that her mother thought Cooper was too old for her, and was maybe even using her.
But Cooper had charmed her, showing her that he genuinely cared about Quinn, and she'd quickly warmed to him.
She got a look in her eye sometimes that Quinn recognized, a look that told her that her mother was already envisioning the future, starting with a white dress and a long veil, but luckily she had the presence of mind not to say anything.
After all, Quinn and Cooper had only been together barely a month, and it was much too soon to be thinking about anything like marriage.
Not far from either of their minds was the knowledge that he was still technically only visiting Lima, and that she would be leaving for Yale in August. It was something they would need to talk about, but it was only May; they still had two months left, and she wanted to be able to spend time with him without worrying about what was going to happen in the future.
They took full advantage of summer, lounging by the pool at Quinn's house, going on double dates with Kurt and Blaine, and a couple of times with Tina and Mike. Sometimes they went out to the field where they'd had their second date, just to be together without anyone else around, and lay back on the grass and traced cloud shapes with their fingers, or counted stars late at night.
At the beginning of July, they decided to spend a weekend in Columbus, just to get away from Lima for a few days.
It was nice, just the two of them spending time together, wandering around the city, going to dinner or the movies. They could do all of that back in Lima, but there was something about being in another city, where nobody knew them, that made it better.
He surprised her with a necklace at dinner the first night they were there, a simple silver treble clef, hanging on a silver chain.
"I'm going to Yale for drama, Coop," she joked, smiling as she looked at the pendant resting in her palm.
He grinned. "I know, but this one was prettier than the drama mask. And I love it when you sing."
She giggled, and his grin widened before he stood and walked around the table to help her put the necklace on.
That first night was the first time Quinn had literally just slept with another person, and she couldn't believe how good it felt to be in Cooper's arms, his chest warm and solid against her back as they slept.
They hadn't yet had sex, and though he asked sometimes if she wanted to, he never made her feel pressured. She knew he wanted to take that next step with her, and she wanted to with him too, but it hadn't yet felt quite right, and every so often she worried that it wouldn't ever feel right.
She could feel his arousal sometimes while they made out, and he'd laughed when she tried to apologize once.
"You're sorry you turn me on so much?"
She smiled a little sheepishly, running her fingers through her hair to tame it. "I'm sorry I can't do anything about it yet."
"It's fine, Q. I don't want you to do anything before you're ready. Contrary to what a lot of guys seem to think, it's not going to kill me, and it's not your responsibility to take care of it."
She smiled again, still looking a little guilty, and he raised his hand to thread his fingers in her hair, murmuring, "You have nothing to be sorry for," before pulling her to him for a kiss.
It was in the middle of July that they were in her room, Cooper lounging on her bed while she went through her things, starting to try to figure out what she wanted to take with her when she went away to school.
She sighed suddenly, setting the box in her hands down on her desk and looking up at him.
"We need to talk."
He set down the magazine he had been flipping through, raising his eyebrows as he looked at her.
"What about?"
She sighed again, walking over to the bed and plopping down on the mattress as he sat up.
"I'm leaving in like, a month. You want to go to L.A., and I'll be in New Haven. I really don't want to break up with you, but can we handle a bicoastal relationship?"
"Well," he began, shifting closer to her, "I've actually been thinking a lot about that, and I had an idea."
Her expression turned wary. "I'm not giving up Yale -"
He laughed a little and held up his hand to cut her off. "I'm not asking you to. No, I was sort of thinking that I can look for work in New York just as well as I can in L.A."
She stared at him a moment, her eyebrows knitting together. "Coop, no, all you've talked about is wanting to go to L.A. -"
"Trust me, Q. I've thought about this, I have. Maybe theater will be better suited for me. You know, since I'm so expressive."
He made a face and she giggled, lowering her head for a moment and moving her hand to rest it on top of his.
"Are you sure?" she asked quietly a moment later, lifting her gaze to his face again.
He took a breath, tilting his head to the side. "Do you remember when I said I needed more good things in my life?" She nodded, and he smiled. "You are a good thing, Quinn. You're a very good thing, and I don't want to lose you. I've made enough selfish decisions in my life; it's time for me to start doing things for others, especially for the people I care about."
Her lips curved, her eyes filling with tears. "You'd really come to New York, just to be with me?"
"Mmhmm. And it really works out better that way, because I'll get to see Blaine too, when he comes to visit Kurt. This is like, the perfect solution."
She laughed softly, and he grinned, taking her face in his hands as he leaned forward to kiss her.
Her arms went around his neck and she rose to her knees, kissing him back with such fervor that they fell backward onto the bed.
He laughed as she hid her face against his neck, muffling her giggles.
"I take it you're happy," he murmured, raising one hand to stroke her hair.
She nodded and lifted her head to look at him. "I'm very happy."
He smiled, absently twisting her hair around his fingers, and she shifted to kiss him again, her hand sliding to his neck as she pressed against him.
She pulled back slightly, staring into his eyes a moment, and then said very softly, "I - I'm ready."
He seemed confused at first, but then his expression cleared, his eyes widening. "Are you sure?"
Her lips twitched as her shoulders rose in a small shrug. "You're moving to New York to be with me."
"Yes, I am." He smiled again, raising a hand to push her hair back. "Now?"
She shrugged once more. "Mom won't be home for hours. Unless - unless you don't want -"
"No," he said quickly, "no, now is fine. I just don't have a condom. I wasn't exactly expecting this." She laughed a little breathlessly, and he grinned. "Just give me ten minutes to run to the drugstore, okay?"
She smiled and nodded, and he lifted his head to kiss her before she shifted over so he could stand.
Almost exactly ten minutes later he returned, grinning when he saw her still seated on the bed, waiting for him.
He closed the door behind him and moved towards the bed, opening the small box in his hand and withdrawing a condom from within, setting both on her bedside table.
She looked over at them, feeling a small nervous flutter in her stomach, and then looked at him again when she heard the creak of her mattress.
He was on his knees in front of her, and his gaze was intent on her face. "You still want to do this?"
She nodded, the corner of her mouth rising. "I do, I just - I don't really know that much."
He smiled, moving closer to her. "I know. It's okay." He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss, and then whispered, "You just lie back, and let me do the rest."
She shivered at his words, and sighed softly as his lips moved to her neck, his hand pushing gently on her shoulder.
They moved until she was lying down, he over her, and her fingers slid into his hair as he favored her neck and chest with kisses, the light touch of his lips raising goosebumps on her skin.
He shifted, trailing kisses to her shoulder, and his fingers slipped under the thin strap of her dress, pulling it out of the way so he could cover every available inch of her.
His hand slid down her body, lingering on the swell of her breast, squeezing gently. She moved underneath him, her back arching slightly, and he smiled a little as his thumb brushed over the erect nub of her nipple, rubbing it through the fabric of her dress.
The sweetest little whimper slipped from her, and he bit back a groan. He loved the noises she made when they were tangled up in each other on the couch, and he wondered what new ones he might hear today.
Her hands were pulling at his shirt, and he pushed up enough for her to tug it over his head, grinning when she tossed it away.
She propped herself up on one hand, the other on the back of his neck as she touched her lips to his throat, and he groaned when she brushed against his Adam's apple. Her lips curved against his skin, and she did it again, pulling another groan from him.
He angled his head to nip at her earlobe, and grinned at her gasp.
She sank back down on the bed, and he shifted his position slightly, straddling her thigh as he sat up and ran his hands down her body, tracing her curves through her dress.
His gaze flicked to her face, and he smiled slightly at the look on her face before continuing to the hem of her dress and slipping underneath.
Her mouth fell open with a sharp breath as his hands moved up her thighs, and her eyes fluttered closed when his fingers hooked over the waist of her panties.
"Okay?" he murmured, hesitating as he looked at her.
She nodded quickly, opening her eyes again to look at him. "Don't stop."
He grinned again and began to tug her panties down, moving to the side so he could work them down her legs before adding them to his t-shirt on the floor.
He stretched out alongside her, propping up on his elbow as his other hand dropped to her thigh again, stroking the smooth skin as he moved beneath her dress once more.
Her mouth dropped open, her legs spreading further apart as he inched closer and closer to her center, and she gasped when his fingers brushed over her folds, teasing her for just a moment before sliding one finger inside of her.
A low moan slipped from her as he stroked her slowly, and he hooked his foot over her ankle, carefully pulling her legs further apart before adding a second finger.
Her head tipped back, her brow creasing as her eyes closed once more, and when he twisted his fingers inside of her, she squeaked, a high, breathy sound.
It was all he could do not to laugh, but he did smile, lowering his head to kiss her neck as his fingers continued to move.
It felt like it had been forever since he'd been with someone he wanted to please this much, someone he wanted to take his time with instead of going for a quick release.
It made him a little sad to think that nobody had probably ever touched her like this, though he had to remind himself that she had only just graduated high school.
Even if they didn't work out in the long run, he wanted to at least give her good memories of their time together, and he hoped this summer, and this moment, was a good starting point for that.
He pulled his fingers out of her, and she sighed softly, her eyes opening to look at him as he slid off the bed.
His fingers were quick on the fastenings of his jeans, and she sat up to pull her dress off over her head, adding it to the pile of clothes on the floor.
His gaze flicked to her as she stretched out once more, and his fingers slowed as he stared at her body, unconsciously licking his lips.
His jeans dropped to the floor with a muffled thump, his boxers following a moment later, and he reached for the condom, rolling it on before climbing back onto the bed.
Her legs spread for him, and he knelt between them, bending to place a kiss to the sensitive skin between her legs before slowly moving up, marking as much of her body as he could.
He palmed her breasts, loving the way they filled his hands, and squeezed them gently, forcing a moan from her lips that turned into another squeak when he took her nipples between his fingertips. He pinched lightly, and then a little harder, and a strangled whisper of his name passed her lips as her back arched into his touch.
His hands continued upward, moving to slide up her arms and pin them lightly to either side of her head as he bent to kiss her.
He let go of her arms after a moment and she brought them up to circle his neck, fingers playing in his hair as she kissed him back.
After a moment he pushed up slightly and brought his hands down to grip her hips, lifting her just a little before finally pushing inside of her.
She sighed as he filled her slowly, taking his time, letting her body get used to him, and he lowered himself to his forearms when he was in all the way.
They were still a moment and then he began to move in long, easy strokes. She felt so good, so hot and tight, and his fantasies of the last three months were quickly overshadowed by this blissful reality.
His head dropped into the curve of her neck, his lips brushing over her skin, and a beat later her lips were on his neck too.
Her fingers pressed into his back, her nails digging slightly into his skin, and he tried to pay attention to the subtle movements of her body, the way she clenched around him or wiggled her hips against him, so he could give her exactly what she wanted.
Several minutes passed, and then he pushed up onto his hands, changing the movement of his hips so he could slip deeper inside of her.
There was that squeak again, and her hands slid down his back to his backside, gripping slightly as he thrust into her.
He studied her face, trying to catch the subtle differences in her expression, and when her grip on his ass slackened a little and her mouth fell open, he shifted to brace on one hand and slipped the other in between them.
He pressed his thumb to her clit, rubbing the tiny nub, and it was the work of a few seconds before she came with a low moan that turned into a breathless cry as her orgasm pulsed through her. One hand dropped to tightly grip the sheets as her body arched under his, and a moment later he was falling with her, pressing her against the mattress as he slumped down on top of her.
Her arms came around him, holding him close, her breath warm and quick on his shoulder as they waited to come down.
When their bodies were calm again, he pushed up to look at her, smiling as he brought his hand up to brush her hair from her sweaty forehead.
Her lips curved slightly. "Worth the wait?"
He grinned and nodded. "Definitely."
He flew to New York at the end of July to look for a place to live, and before she knew it, it was mid-August, and time for her to leave for New Haven.
She said goodbye to her mother and her friends, hugging Blaine tightly and telling him she'd see him again soon, and was soon on a plane headed east.
She got settled at Yale, went through all of the pre-orientation routines and met her roommate, a sweet, quiet girl named Erin, and the weekend just before the semester began, went to the train station to wait for Cooper's arrival.
She beamed when she saw him, hurrying towards him, and he grinned as he swept her into his arms, lifting her off the ground and hugging her tight.
"God, I've missed you," he breathed against her neck, squeezing her a little tighter.
"I missed you too," she murmured, smiling into his shoulder as she squeezed him back.
They emerged from the station a few minutes later, hands swinging between them, Cooper's duffel bag dangling from the fingers of his other hand.
"So have you got the whole town memorized?" he asked as they walked. "Know it like the back of your hand?"
She snorted laughter. "Hardly. You're lucky I found my way to the train station in time."
He grinned, nudging her arm with his. "Won't be long. Soon enough, this place is gonna be just like home." His grin widened. "With a vacation destination up in New York."
She giggled. "I can't wait to see your apartment."
"You can get intimately acquainted with it when you come to visit next weekend."
She glanced up at him, smirking at the sly curve of his lips, but didn't reply as they continued to the hotel near campus where Cooper would be spending the next few days.
After he checked in and deposited his bag in his room, Quinn brought him to her dorm room to show it off and introduce him to her roommate, and then she showed him where her classes were.
"So what do you think?" she asked as they walked by the library.
"Your roommate seems nice. Looks like you got the luck of the draw."
Quinn nodded her agreement, and then grinned a little mischievously. "So long as she doesn't try to steal you from me."
Cooper looked down at her with ill-concealed interest. "You think she would?"
Quinn snorted and shook her head. "No, she has a girlfriend." Her hand came up to smack his stomach. "And you could try not to look so excited by the idea of someone taking you away from me."
He grunted, batting her hand away as he laughed. "It's a nice ego boost to imagine two very attractive women fighting over me, okay? Don't worry; I'd make sure you won."
"Yeah, I'd make sure I won too."
Cooper laughed, and then shook his head. "In all seriousness, I think you're going to do wonderfully." He reached for her hand, twining his fingers in hers, and continued, "And if you ever need me, I'm just a short train ride away."
"I don't know if an hour and a half is short," she teased.
"Shorter than flying across the country."
"Very, very true," she conceded.
His grip tightened on her fingers. "I'm sorry I couldn't come back for your going away party, I had those two auditions."
"It's okay. How did they go?"
He shrugged, crinkling his nose a little distastefully. "Didn't get either role, if that tells you anything."
She tightened her grip on his hand, bringing her other hand over to rub his arm. "I'm sorry."
He shrugged again. "No big deal. I mean, I knew I wasn't going to come to New York and suddenly be drowning in roles."
"You'll get something soon," she murmured, still rubbing his arm. "You've got another audition next week, right?"
He nodded, and then smiled down at her. "Maybe with you here now, my luck will improve."
She giggled. "Are you saying I'm your good luck charm?"
"Could be. Just have to see what happens."
She giggled again, and he bent his head to kiss the top of hers as they continued down the sidewalk.
They parted ways briefly to change for dinner, and then met again to eat before going back to his hotel room.
Sometime later they were lying in bed together, Quinn on her stomach with her arms folded over Cooper's bare chest.
He had one arm bent behind his head while his other hand rubbed absently up and down her arm, a soft smile curving his lips as he looked at her.
"Do you miss it yet?"
She raised her eyebrows. "What? Lima?" He nodded, and she scoffed. "Not even a little bit. Been trying to get away from there for years, and now I finally have, and it feels really good."
He sighed quietly, his expression contemplative as he looked at her. "I could lie and say you'll miss it eventually, but you probably won't. I never did. I only came back for Blaine." He smiled again. "And left with you."
She laughed a little, lightly scratching his chest with her nails.
"Thank you," she murmured after a minute.
He frowned curiously. "For what?"
"For coming to Lima. For being interested in me, and caring about me, and making me feel wanted, and special. For coming to New York, instead of going to L.A., just to be with me." A smile curved her lips. "You said you needed more good things in your life. Well, so did I, and you're one of them."
He smiled back. "I think so long as we can keep being a good thing for each other, we'll be okay."
Her smile widened as she nodded. "Yeah."
She pulled herself up to kiss him, and then tucked herself against his side, wrapping an arm around his middle as her eyes drifted shut.
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Betas: Lindsay (rowofstars), Sam (samgarofalo)
Rating: R (sex)
Genre: AU, Fluff, Friendship, Angst, Romance
Word Count: 9,922
Characters/Pairings: Quinn, Cooper, Blaine, Judy Fabray (Quinn/Cooper, Quinn/Blaine friendship)
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize? Ain't mine.
Summary: They could both use more good things in their lives.
A/N: Um. Yeah, this ended up being so much longer than I initially intended for it to be. Written more or less for two anon prompts left in my ask on Tumblr, involving Quinn and Cooper meeting, and being rather taken with each other. Definitely AU, though with a lot of canon elements, and Cooper may become OOC after the new episode airs, but hopefully not too much :3
Quinn stepped from the restroom, shifting her books to one arm so she could adjust her skirt, and then started down the hall.
She knew she was a couple of minutes late, but it wouldn't count against her. Having straight A's and being an overall good student was definitely something that had always worked in her favor, not to mention the school year was almost over.
Movement at the end of the hall caught her attention and she looked over, noticing a tall, very attractive man peering into classrooms.
She frowned and started towards him.
"Can I - can I help you?"
He looked up at her voice, his expression surprised, and then smiled a little sheepishly.
"Yeah, actually. I'm looking for my brother, his name's Blaine. Blaine Anderson?"
Quinn nodded, smiling back. "He's a friend of mine. He's got English this period." Her lips twitched a little. "With me, actually."
The man's eyebrows shot up. "You're a student here?"
"You seem surprised."
He laughed as they started down the hall. "You just - you don't seem like a high school student."
She grinned as she looked up at him, taking a moment to admire his profile and the easy way his brown hair fell forward a little as he lowered his head.
"And why is that?"
He shrugged, still smiling as he glanced at her. "You're just so -"
He broke off, shaking his head, and her grin widened. "I'm so what?"
"It feels wrong to say it now."
She snorted softly. "I'm 18. You're not a pedophile if you say I'm pretty."
He laughed again, louder, and then hastened to cover his mouth when it echoed throughout the empty corridor.
"Actually," he said as they came to a stop in front of the classroom door, "I was going to say you're too beautiful to be a high school student."
She felt her face grow hot and ducked her head, unable to keep from smiling.
"Blaine should be in here," she murmured, gesturing towards the door.
The man nodded, and Quinn reached for the doorknob.
"Hey," he said suddenly, "what's your name?"
She looked up at him, smiling again as her eyes met his. "Quinn."
He smiled back. "I'm Cooper."
He found her in the library a few days later, staring intently at her math book.
"Calculus," he murmured as he sank into the chair across from her. "I'm impressed."
Her mouth twisted as she looked up at him. "So do you live at the school now or something? Sleep in Figgins' office?"
Cooper snorted. "No, I came to see you."
Quinn eyed him a moment before dropping her gaze back to her homework. "I'm glad you and Blaine made up."
Cooper shrugged. "He's my brother. I fu -" His gaze darted around the library, making her smirk, and he cleared his throat. "I screwed up. I had to fix it. I need more good things in my life, and Blaine needs to be one of them."
Quinn looked at him fully again, laying her pencil down, and he smiled at her.
"I came here to talk to you though."
She rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth rising as she pushed her hair behind her ear. "And what do you want with me?"
"To ask you to have coffee with me."
Quinn stared at him a moment, sizing him up, and then asked finally, "Why?"
He shrugged, a short laugh escaping him. "Because I want to get to know you? You seem... interesting, from what I've gathered these past few days, and you're one of Blaine's friends. The way he talks about you, if he wasn't so in love with Kurt, I might think he had a thing for you." Quinn glanced away with a quick laugh, and Cooper grinned. "I don't have some ulterior motive here. Just you, me, and coffee. That's it."
She looked at him a moment longer, rolling her pencil over her notebook, and then nodded.
"Okay. After school today? The Lima Bean."
He grinned and pushed to his feet. "Then I'll see you later."
She watched him walk from the library, biting gently on her lip, and then shook her head, laughing softly as she turned her attention to her homework once more.
He was waiting for her when she arrived at the coffee shop that afternoon, taking up one of the small couches, and she laughed as she approached him.
He looked up from his book, and then grinned. "I wanted to make sure we had a good seat."
She nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "We'll lose it when we order though."
"Nah," he said, shaking his head as he stood. "You sit, I'll order. What do you want?"
"Medium green tea," she said as she sank down onto the couch.
He raised his eyebrows, apparently surprised by her answer, but didn't say anything as he walked to stand in line.
Her teeth pressed into her bottom lip as she watched him, mulling over the past few days.
Beyond their initial meeting, she and Cooper hadn't interacted much, Cooper busy trying to mend his relationship with his brother.
They might not be one hundred percent yet, but Blaine seemed much happier these days, and it made her feel good to see him like that.
Cooper was still a mystery though. She wondered why he was so interested in her, why he wanted to be here with her when there were likely dozens of other women, older and probably better suited for him than her, who he could have coffee with.
She remembered him telling her she was beautiful, remembered the sincerity in his words, and felt a flush warm her face again.
Not only had he told her she was beautiful after only knowing her about a minute, he was older, more experienced, and she felt an undeniable thrill at the thought that he might genuinely be interested in her, maybe even really attracted to her.
Abruptly, she shoved her thoughts away. She didn't want to get too far ahead of herself, didn't want to turn this into something it wasn't; she just had to wait and see what happened.
Cooper returned after several minutes, extending her cup to her as he settled next to her on the couch, and then held up his hand as she reached for her purse.
"No, it's fine."
"Are you sure?"
He smirked, raising an eyebrow as he took a sip of his coffee. "Three dollars isn't exactly going to break me, Quinn."
She gave him a look, and his smirk widened as he shifted in his seat, getting a little more comfortable.
The conversation started off superficially, discovering similar tastes in books and music and movies, and then slowly segued into deeper, more personal things.
He told her about his brush with fame, trying to make it in Los Angeles, going to auditions and consistently not getting hired.
"Sort of what made me come back," he murmured, looking down at his cup. "I needed some grounding, you know? Get my head out of the clouds."
She nodded, feeling a flash of sympathy. "Do you think you'll try it again?"
"I think so. I still love it; I think I just need to go about it differently."
She nodded again, taking a sip of her tea, and then he lifted his chin a little. "So what about you?"
Her eyes flicked to his face, and then down to the lip of her cup as she rubbed it with her thumb.
"What do you mean?" she asked finally.
He shrugged. "What's your story?"
She laughed a little humorlessly. "Unbelievably long and tedious."
"That bad, huh."
She could feel his eyes on her, and took a breath just as he shifted.
"You don't have to tell me, but whatever it is, that's what gave you your maturity. You just seem so much wiser than your age; it's so easy to see."
She lifted her gaze to his face again, unsure if he was complimenting her, and he smiled.
"I think it's a good thing. It gives you an edge, and it makes it dangerous for people to underestimate you."
She tilted her head to the side, the corner of her mouth lifting. She suddenly felt like Cooper somehow got her, and she had no idea how that was even possible, when he had really only known her a handful of hours.
More and more she was beginning to suspect most of his cluelessness was really just an act.
Maybe it was dangerous to underestimate him too.
The next several hours passed in a flurry of conversation, and more coffee and tea, along with a dinner made up of several large muffins, until finally one of the baristas came to tell them the coffee shop was closing.
Cooper walked Quinn to her car, laughing as she murmured something about going home to get something to eat.
"I did sort of deprive you of a real dinner, didn't I."
She laughed and shook her head. "It's fine. I really enjoyed talking to you, Cooper. I had a lot of fun tonight."
"So did I," he replied as they came to a stop at her car.
She pulled her keys from her purse, reaching forward to unlock the door, and he stayed her hand before she could pull it open.
"This may sound crazy," he began with a breathless laugh, "but let me take you out to dinner. A proper dinner."
She stared up at him, her eyes a little wide, hyperaware of his hand around hers, and her keys cutting into her palm.
"You mean - you mean like a date?"
"Yeah," he said, laughing a little. "A date."
She pulled her eyes from his, staring intently at his chest, realizing just how broad it was. Somehow in this moment she was noticing everything about him, how blue his eyes were, the way his hair fell over his forehead, the slight quirk of his lips, and now her mind was imagining how it might feel if he wrapped his arms around her, how it might feel if he kissed her -
She took a sharp breath, raising her gaze to meet his again. "Why?"
"Why?" he echoed, looking a little bewildered. "Because I like you, Quinn. I just sat in a coffee shop with you for six hours, talking about everything under the sun, and I'd kind of like to do it again."
She took another breath, raising her free hand to her forehead, and Cooper took a step closer.
"It's just dinner, Quinn," he said softly. "Nothing more."
She was quiet for a moment, and then looked at him again. "Okay."
A smile instantly curved his lips, and she couldn't help returning it.
"I'll pick you up on Saturday, at 6?" She nodded, and he did as well, a quick bob of his head. "Perfect. Then I'll see you on Saturday."
She nodded once more, and he let go of her hand, waiting until she was inside her car before continuing to his own.
She sat for a moment, her thoughts swirling around in her head, not least of which was wondering what Blaine might think about this, and then sighed as she started her car.
"Blaine, can I talk to you?"
It was the next day at school, and Blaine glanced at Quinn as he pulled his books from his locker.
"Sure, what's up?"
"It's about Cooper," she said, leaning against the locker next to his.
"Is this about him asking you out?"
Quinn raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He told you?"
Blaine laughed a little and nodded. "Yeah, after he got home last night."
Quinn shifted slightly, rubbing her thumb over the edge of her binder. "You don't - you don't mind, do you?"
Blaine was quiet for a moment, and then he shrugged. "I can't deny it's a little weird, the idea of you dating my brother, but I'm not mad about it or something. It's not like I can stop you guys."
"Yeah, but I just don't want you to be uncomfortable or anything."
He laughed again, shutting his locker and giving the lock a quick spin. "Well, I mean, so long as I don't have to watch you guys make out all the time."
Quinn laughed too as they started down the hall. "I don't know about that yet. It's just dinner."
"For now," Blaine said teasingly, nudging her arm with his.
She shook her head, glancing away, and he grinned.
"Cooper's a good guy, Quinn. Even with everything that happened between us, I've always loved him, because he's my brother. I mean, he made some mistakes, and I was mad at him for a long time, but things are better now." He took a breath and pulled Quinn to a stop, turning her to face him.
"Whatever he feels for you, trust it. He almost never pursues girls; they usually come to him, so him seeking you out, him asking you to meet him for coffee, and then to have dinner with him, this is pretty big for him. I'm not saying he's going to ask you to marry him or anything; I just want you to know that he's taking this - that he's taking you - seriously."
Quinn stared at him, a little taken aback, and his lips curved.
"Sorry, I just don't want you to think he's stringing you along. If all he wanted was to sleep with you, you'd know by now."
She laughed softly and nodded. "Thanks, Blaine."
Cooper arrived right on time Saturday night, and he had a moment to take in how pretty Quinn looked when she opened the door, dressed in a rose colored dress with lacy white straps on her shoulders, before she ushered him into the house.
"Mom wants to meet you," she said apologetically. "I've already told her about you, I think she just sort of wants a face to go with the name and all of that."
He laughed and nodded, and a moment later was shaking hands with Judy Fabray.
"I just like to keep tabs on Quinnie's boyfriends," she said, smiling good-naturedly up at Cooper, though her gaze was a little scrutinizing.
Quinn's cheeks flushed red as she hissed, "Mom," and Cooper held back a grin at her embarrassment.
Judy held up her hands. "Dates, whatever." She made a shooing motion with one hand, looking slightly harried. "All right, I won't keep you. Have fun. Try not to stay out too late."
They both nodded, and Quinn gave her mom a quick hug before leading Cooper to the front door.
"Sorry," Quinn murmured once they were outside. "Sort of part of the 'long and tedious'."
Cooper grinned as he held open the passenger door for her. "I hope to hear about it soon."
She waited until he was behind the wheel before replying. "I'm sure Blaine has told you some."
"Not much, really. Just that you've been through a lot, which is pretty remarkable for someone your age. I guess that's why you and Blaine are friends."
Quinn nodded, turning her gaze to the window as she said a soft, "Yeah."
"Whatever it is, you don't have to tell me until you want to."
She looked over at him with a slight curve of her lips. "I want to, it's just that - there's a lot to tell, and I kind of want to save it until it feels right."
Cooper nodded. "Totally fine. We don't need to reveal all of the skeletons in our closets all at once." His lips curved and he glanced at her. "Takes away some of the mystery."
She laughed, and his smile widened before he turned his attention back to the road.
Dinner was at Breadstix, and much like the other night at the Lima Bean, they spent hours talking about anything they could think of, though they continued to skirt around anything terribly personal.
They didn't quite close the place, but it was still fairly late before Cooper brought Quinn home again, walking her to the door.
"Another fun night," she said, smiling up at him after she unlocked the door.
He grinned and nodded. "Yeah."
She pressed her lips together a moment, and then raised her eyebrows hopefully. "Maybe we could do it again?"
"I'd like that."
She smiled, relaxing a little. "I've got something in mind. Next Saturday?"
Cooper nodded, smiling back at her. "Saturday works."
Silence descended, broken only by the rhythmic chirping of the crickets, and then Cooper laughed softly, ducking his head a moment before meeting her gaze again.
"I'd really like to kiss you," he said quietly.
"I'd really like it if you did," she replied, just as quietly, and her lips twitched as he shifted closer to her.
He dipped his head, and a beat later his lips were soft on hers, his fingers curling around her hand.
She squeezed his fingers, catching his bottom lip when he started to pull away, and he kissed her again, pulling a sweet little noise from her throat as he sucked lightly on her bottom lip when her mouth opened slightly under his.
She took a breath when he pulled back, feeling a low flutter in her stomach as she watched his tongue flick over his lips.
"I don't think I said it yet tonight," he whispered, "but you look beautiful, Quinn."
She was surprised at the unexpected compliment, but she smiled and murmured, "Thank you."
He gave her fingers another squeeze before letting go of her hand. "I'll see you later."
She nodded and then moved inside the house, locking the door behind her before hurrying up to her room.
Her curtains were sheer enough to see through, but she still carefully twitched one aside to look outside.
Cooper was at his car, but hadn't gotten in yet, instead leaning against the driver's side door with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the ground.
She frowned curiously, wondering what he was thinking, and then he turned, glancing up as he pulled open the car door.
The faintest smile curved his lips, and he lifted a hand.
She giggled softly, feeling a little sheepish at being seen, but waved back, waiting until he'd driven away before moving to get ready for bed.
The following Saturday afternoon found them sitting on a blanket in a field just outside Lima, a picnic basket pushed to the side and a bowl of fruit between them.
Quinn was giggling as she tossed grapes at Cooper, trying to get them into his mouth; she kept missing, and she giggled harder when one bounced off of his forehead.
He flinched, and then laughed, reaching for the grape and popping it into his mouth. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, you're going to put my eye out."
She clutched her stomach as her giggles started anew, and shook her head. "It's okay," she said breathlessly. "I'm sure Blaine would let you borrow his eye patch."
Cooper snorted. "The one with the heart on it?"
Quinn nodded, crinkling her nose a little. "Definitely."
Cooper grinned, and then reached into the bowl for a strawberry before holding it up, raising his eyebrows a little.
Quinn smiled and leaned forward, biting into the proffered berry and then laughing quietly when some of the juice dribbled down her chin.
She swiped at it with the back of her hand, and smiled again when Cooper sat up, his eyes on her mouth as he edged closer to her.
They kissed, and he made a low noise as his tongue flicked over her bottom lip, tasting the lingering juice.
The corner of his mouth lifted when he pulled back, and his gaze met hers as he hummed, "Mmm. Strawberry kisses."
A quiet laugh slipped from her, and she leaned forward to kiss him again. It was rapidly becoming one of her favorite pastimes.
They shifted to lie down on the blanket, side by side with the bowl of fruit still between them, hands brushing occasionally as they reached inside, and after a moment, Quinn sighed.
"So do you want to hear about the 'long and tedious'?"
Cooper glanced over at her, studying her profile. "If you want to tell me."
She shrugged. "It's part of the reason I wanted to come out here with you, where it was quiet, and where we could just talk."
His hand drifted across the blanket to run his fingertips over the back of her hand, and she smiled a little before taking a breath.
"For starters, my first name isn't Quinn; it's Lucy. Quinn's my middle name."
"Witness a mob hit?"
She laughed softly and shook her head. "No, not nearly as exciting as that."
It took several minutes for her to fill him in on everything, changing her whole persona from "Lucy" to "Quinn", getting pregnant and giving up Beth, her relationships with Finn, Puck, and Sam, her attempts at getting Beth back, and then finally coming to terms with herself.
"Yale really feels like a whole new beginning, a whole new me." A wry smile curved her lips. "I kind of can't wait to get out of here."
"I know that feeling," Cooper murmured, his fingers curling around the side of Quinn's hand.
She shifted her hand so she could weave her fingers through his, and they were quiet for a moment until she let out a short laugh.
"I was kind of afraid you wouldn't want to see me anymore after I told you all of that."
Cooper frowned and turned his head to look at her. "Why wouldn't I?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like all of that might scare some guys away or something, all of my baggage."
"Well, it doesn't scare me away." She looked over at him, biting gently on her lip, and he smiled slightly. "I don't know the girl you used to be, but I know the one you are now, and I like her. Besides," he added with a small shrug, "it's not like I don't have my own stuff."
"Like - like what?" Quinn asked hesitantly, turning onto her side to look at him.
He copied her, propping up on his elbow as their hands shifted between them, and sighed.
"Not being there for Blaine like I should have been when we were growing up. Running away to be an actor, and all the trappings that came with that." He raised an eyebrow on the last word, giving Quinn enough of an idea of what he meant without him needing to elaborate. "I feel like I sort of lost myself in the haze of trying to 'make it', but being back here, making amends with Blaine, meeting you - it's all grounded me again."
She smiled when he mentioned her, feeling a small flutter in her stomach at the idea that she had been somehow instrumental in him starting to get his life in order.
"What about girlfriends?" Quinn asked softly.
Cooper snorted quietly, raising his eyebrows. "Yeah, there have been plenty of those."
Quinn glanced down at their hands, sweeping her thumb over his skin, and then asked, her voice softer, "Any serious?"
"There was one." His voice was soft too, and she lifted her gaze to his face again, noticing the distant look in his eyes. "I loved her. Wanted to marry her, but she didn't feel the same."
Quinn squeezed his fingers gently, murmuring, "I'm sorry."
His lips curved a little, his head tilting to the side as he focused on her again. "Just wasn't meant to be."
She smiled back tentatively, and he squeezed her fingers this time before shifting to lie on his back once again.
She was still a moment, and then she reached for the bowl of fruit, moving it out of the way so she could scoot closer to him.
She stretched out alongside him, her head tipping against his shoulder, and a heartbeat later he shifted, slipping his arm around her shoulders and tugging her a little closer.
His fingers drifted absently over the skin of her arm, and she couldn't stop the wide smile that spread over her face as she turned her body towards his.
He cooked for her for their third date, inviting her over to the house because his parents were out, and Blaine was over at Kurt's.
"I know spaghetti isn't much," Cooper said, giving the pot on the stove one final stir, "but it's one of the few things I can cook without screwing it up."
Quinn laughed. "Spaghetti is great, and it smells really good."
Cooper grinned, evidently pleased, and a few minutes later they were settled at the table with their plates.
She helped him clean up after they ate, and then they moved into the living room to watch a movie, sitting close together on the couch, she curled against his side.
When his hand settled on her thigh halfway through the film, she bit down gently on her lip, feeling a small thrill at his touch. His hand didn't move, except for the gentle back and forth motion of his thumb rubbing absently over her skin, and she scooted a little closer to him.
She got up to use the bathroom when the movie ended, and when she came out, he was no longer in the living room.
"Cooper?"
"In here," he called, and she followed his voice to his room.
He was rummaging through his things, and glanced up at her when she stepped inside.
"I had a movie that I thought you would like, though of course now I can't seem to find it." He paused and then added thoughtfully, "Wonder if Blaine took it."
Quinn stared around the room, smiling a little at the slightly disheveled quality to everything; the unmade bed, the clothes tossed haphazardly here and there.
"It's messy, I know," he said, following her gaze. "Sort of living out of my suitcase at the moment."
Her smile widened. "It's all right. Sort of nice to see this side of you."
He laughed. "Well, then, this was all totally planned."
She giggled, shaking her head at him as she settled on the foot of the bed, and he grinned before resuming his search.
A few minutes later, he straightened, shaking his head. "I don't know where it went. Thinking more and more that Blaine took it."
"It's okay," Quinn murmured, "there's plenty of other things we could watch."
Cooper nodded as he turned to face her, coming to stand in front of her. "What are you in the mood for?"
She lifted her gaze to his face, pressing her lips together as her fingers gripped the edge of the mattress.
The atmosphere in the room changed dramatically, like someone had flipped a switch, and he edged closer to her, his thighs brushing against her knees.
They were both still for a moment, just staring at each other, and then he raised his hand to her face, his fingers drifting across her cheek before sliding into her hair.
She tipped her head up a little more, her lips parting slightly, and he bent, touching his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.
Her hand rose to the back of his neck before he could pull away, her mouth opening under his and allowing him to slide his tongue against hers, deepening the kiss.
She began to move slowly back on the bed, and he moved with her, still kissing her as they made their way up the bed.
He pushed her against the pillows, lying half on top of her as his hand disappeared once more into her hair.
She had no idea where this was going, had certainly not envisioned this when she arrived at the house earlier that evening, and while part of her wanted to keep going, the other part of her was unsure.
His hand moved from her hair, sliding down her back and lingering on the curve of her backside, caressing it and making her shift forward, pushing him so they were both on their sides.
Her hand was on his neck, her body pressed close to his, and he was so warm, and so strong, that she thought she could just lie with him like this all night.
It was when his hand fell to her thigh again, slipping underneath the skirt of her dress, that a spike of uncertainty shot through her, and when his hand reached her hip, she pulled back slightly.
"Stop," she whispered, her hand sliding to his chest.
He didn't seem to hear her, his fingers sliding under the elastic at the waist of her panties, and she shifted away from him, pushing firmly against his chest.
"Cooper, stop."
Her voice was louder this time, and his hand stilled as his eyes met hers, his eyebrows knitting together.
"What's wrong?"
She shook her head, moving further away from him, and he quickly pulled his hand from her dress, pushing up onto his elbow as he looked at her.
"Quinn, what is it? I'm sorry, I thought -"
She shook her head again, finally reaching the edge of the bed and standing.
"No, I'm sorry; this is just - it's too fast."
Cooper sat up fully, pushing off the bed as Quinn started for the door, and gently grabbed her arms before she could leave the room.
"It's okay, Quinn, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but you don't need to go. We can go back out to the living room, find something else to watch -"
She shook her head again, her expression guilty as she looked up at him.
"No, I - I just - I have to go."
She backed away from him, making his hands fall from her arms, and then stepped from the room.
He went after her, watching as she grabbed her purse from the table beside the couch, and followed her to the door.
He reached for her again as she started to pull open the door, feeling terribly confused and wondering what had happened. "Quinn -"
"I'll see you later, Cooper," she murmured, shaking off his hand and hurrying towards her car.
He watched her drive away, a heavy frown creasing his brow, and then closed the door before wandering back into the living room and sinking heavily onto the couch.
Everything had been going fine, he thought; the making out had been unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome, and she'd seemed fully willing.
And then suddenly he wondered if she thought he'd wanted to have sex.
He couldn't deny he'd been thinking about it lately, wondering what it might be like to sleep with her, but he also found himself wanting to take things slow with her.
It had nothing to do with her age. There was just something different about her, something that made him want to let things progress naturally, no rushing, no forcing; just let things take their course.
He felt guilty now, thinking back to his hand under her skirt, knowing he'd gone too far, almost without even realizing it at the time.
The last thing he wanted her to think was that all of this was just because he wanted to get into her pants, and he grabbed his phone from the coffee table to type out a text message.
He stared at the message field for a moment, wondering what to say, and then typed out his message.
I'm sorry. Can we talk about this?
Quinn sat on her bed, dressed in her pajamas with her wet hair lying to her shoulders.
Her legs were pulled to her chest, and her chin rested on her knees as she stared contemplatively at her phone.
Cooper's text message had come through just as she pulled into her driveway, and she'd looked at it for a long moment before getting out of the car.
I'm sorry.
She almost couldn't believe he was the one apologizing to her, when he hadn't even really done anything wrong. The hand under her skirt had been a bit much, but he'd stopped when she asked him to, and rather than being upset with her, he'd been concerned.
She should've stayed, should've talked to him, but instead she'd just left, without giving him an explanation of any kind, and making him think whatever had happened was his fault.
All she'd said was that it was 'too fast', and what did that mean, exactly? His hand under her skirt wasn't necessarily indicative of him expecting sex, and if she was honest with herself, she loved the way he touched her, his hand sliding up her thigh and his fingers pressing gently into her hip.
She wanted to feel his hands all over, wanted to know how he'd make love to her, but she was nervous. The only time she'd ever had sex, she had gotten pregnant, and while Cooper was arguably smarter, and definitely more experienced, than Puck, accidents could still happen.
Her teeth pressed gently into her bottom lip as more experienced flitted through her head again. Cooper had had many girlfriends, while she'd had three boyfriends, and had given her virginity to the one she cared probably the least for, and who wasn't even her boyfriend at the time.
She worried that if she and Cooper ever did get to that point, she would disappoint him, and then he would realize she was just some silly little girl and leave her, just like all the others.
But maybe he wouldn't.
She let her legs go, her feet sliding over her bedspread, and a moment later reached for her phone, calling up his message again.
She tapped out a reply, hesitating briefly before sending it.
I'm sorry too. Meet me in the park tomorrow afternoon at one.
The next afternoon he was waiting for her, sitting on a bench and watching the people go by. It was a warm, sunny Sunday, and the park was crowded, full of joggers, kids on the playground, mothers with their babies, people walking their dogs.
He looked up when she appeared next to the bench, and smiled slightly. "Hey."
"Hey," she murmured, sinking down beside him.
They were quiet a moment, and then she looked up at him. "I'm sorry about last night -"
He cut her off with a short laugh. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry, I shouldn't have -"
"Cooper, just listen. It wasn't you. You didn't do anything wrong, it was just - me." She paused, raising her eyebrows as she looked at him. "I just really like you, and I don't want to make the same mistakes with you that I've made before. I don't want to screw up whatever it is that we are by going too fast."
She paused again, glancing down at her hands, and Cooper remained silent, sensing she had more to say.
She looked up, her gaze flicking around the park, and then her shoulders rose slightly as she looked back at him.
"But what are we? Are we just dating? Is this just a casual thing? Or are we - is this going to become something more serious?"
He was silent a moment longer, and then he took a breath. "To be honest, Quinn, I'd really like it if you wanted to be my girlfriend."
Her expression turned hopeful as she looked at him. "Really?"
He nodded, grinning a little. "Yeah, really."
A broad smile crossed her face, and she leaned forward to slide her arms around his neck, whispering against his shoulder, "I would love that."
He hugged her back, smiling into her hair, and she kissed him when she pulled back.
"Are you hungry?" he asked when the kiss broke.
She nodded, looking a little sheepish. "Yeah, I haven't really eaten anything yet today. Was a little nervous to talk to you."
He laughed and reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet as he stood. "Let's go get lunch then."
They started hand-in-hand down the sidewalk, both of them seemingly unable to stop smiling.
Graduation day rolled around, and Cooper was in the audience with Blaine, their combined voices making the cheers for Quinn and Kurt the loudest.
After the ceremony, Blaine went for dinner with Kurt and his family, while Judy took Quinn and Cooper out to celebrate.
"I'm so proud of you, Quinnie," Judy said, reaching across the table to squeeze her daughter's hand.
Quinn smiled. "Thanks, Mom."
"So am I," Cooper added, grinning as he slipped his arm around Quinn's shoulders and touched a kiss to the side of her head.
She giggled, reaching up to take hold of his fingers as her head fell momentarily against his shoulder.
Her mom smiled as she looked at them, and Quinn knew she was happy, despite some of her initial misgivings. Though she'd never said as much to Quinn - Judy Fabray was the queen of passive-aggressiveness - she knew that her mother thought Cooper was too old for her, and was maybe even using her.
But Cooper had charmed her, showing her that he genuinely cared about Quinn, and she'd quickly warmed to him.
She got a look in her eye sometimes that Quinn recognized, a look that told her that her mother was already envisioning the future, starting with a white dress and a long veil, but luckily she had the presence of mind not to say anything.
After all, Quinn and Cooper had only been together barely a month, and it was much too soon to be thinking about anything like marriage.
Not far from either of their minds was the knowledge that he was still technically only visiting Lima, and that she would be leaving for Yale in August. It was something they would need to talk about, but it was only May; they still had two months left, and she wanted to be able to spend time with him without worrying about what was going to happen in the future.
They took full advantage of summer, lounging by the pool at Quinn's house, going on double dates with Kurt and Blaine, and a couple of times with Tina and Mike. Sometimes they went out to the field where they'd had their second date, just to be together without anyone else around, and lay back on the grass and traced cloud shapes with their fingers, or counted stars late at night.
At the beginning of July, they decided to spend a weekend in Columbus, just to get away from Lima for a few days.
It was nice, just the two of them spending time together, wandering around the city, going to dinner or the movies. They could do all of that back in Lima, but there was something about being in another city, where nobody knew them, that made it better.
He surprised her with a necklace at dinner the first night they were there, a simple silver treble clef, hanging on a silver chain.
"I'm going to Yale for drama, Coop," she joked, smiling as she looked at the pendant resting in her palm.
He grinned. "I know, but this one was prettier than the drama mask. And I love it when you sing."
She giggled, and his grin widened before he stood and walked around the table to help her put the necklace on.
That first night was the first time Quinn had literally just slept with another person, and she couldn't believe how good it felt to be in Cooper's arms, his chest warm and solid against her back as they slept.
They hadn't yet had sex, and though he asked sometimes if she wanted to, he never made her feel pressured. She knew he wanted to take that next step with her, and she wanted to with him too, but it hadn't yet felt quite right, and every so often she worried that it wouldn't ever feel right.
She could feel his arousal sometimes while they made out, and he'd laughed when she tried to apologize once.
"You're sorry you turn me on so much?"
She smiled a little sheepishly, running her fingers through her hair to tame it. "I'm sorry I can't do anything about it yet."
"It's fine, Q. I don't want you to do anything before you're ready. Contrary to what a lot of guys seem to think, it's not going to kill me, and it's not your responsibility to take care of it."
She smiled again, still looking a little guilty, and he raised his hand to thread his fingers in her hair, murmuring, "You have nothing to be sorry for," before pulling her to him for a kiss.
It was in the middle of July that they were in her room, Cooper lounging on her bed while she went through her things, starting to try to figure out what she wanted to take with her when she went away to school.
She sighed suddenly, setting the box in her hands down on her desk and looking up at him.
"We need to talk."
He set down the magazine he had been flipping through, raising his eyebrows as he looked at her.
"What about?"
She sighed again, walking over to the bed and plopping down on the mattress as he sat up.
"I'm leaving in like, a month. You want to go to L.A., and I'll be in New Haven. I really don't want to break up with you, but can we handle a bicoastal relationship?"
"Well," he began, shifting closer to her, "I've actually been thinking a lot about that, and I had an idea."
Her expression turned wary. "I'm not giving up Yale -"
He laughed a little and held up his hand to cut her off. "I'm not asking you to. No, I was sort of thinking that I can look for work in New York just as well as I can in L.A."
She stared at him a moment, her eyebrows knitting together. "Coop, no, all you've talked about is wanting to go to L.A. -"
"Trust me, Q. I've thought about this, I have. Maybe theater will be better suited for me. You know, since I'm so expressive."
He made a face and she giggled, lowering her head for a moment and moving her hand to rest it on top of his.
"Are you sure?" she asked quietly a moment later, lifting her gaze to his face again.
He took a breath, tilting his head to the side. "Do you remember when I said I needed more good things in my life?" She nodded, and he smiled. "You are a good thing, Quinn. You're a very good thing, and I don't want to lose you. I've made enough selfish decisions in my life; it's time for me to start doing things for others, especially for the people I care about."
Her lips curved, her eyes filling with tears. "You'd really come to New York, just to be with me?"
"Mmhmm. And it really works out better that way, because I'll get to see Blaine too, when he comes to visit Kurt. This is like, the perfect solution."
She laughed softly, and he grinned, taking her face in his hands as he leaned forward to kiss her.
Her arms went around his neck and she rose to her knees, kissing him back with such fervor that they fell backward onto the bed.
He laughed as she hid her face against his neck, muffling her giggles.
"I take it you're happy," he murmured, raising one hand to stroke her hair.
She nodded and lifted her head to look at him. "I'm very happy."
He smiled, absently twisting her hair around his fingers, and she shifted to kiss him again, her hand sliding to his neck as she pressed against him.
She pulled back slightly, staring into his eyes a moment, and then said very softly, "I - I'm ready."
He seemed confused at first, but then his expression cleared, his eyes widening. "Are you sure?"
Her lips twitched as her shoulders rose in a small shrug. "You're moving to New York to be with me."
"Yes, I am." He smiled again, raising a hand to push her hair back. "Now?"
She shrugged once more. "Mom won't be home for hours. Unless - unless you don't want -"
"No," he said quickly, "no, now is fine. I just don't have a condom. I wasn't exactly expecting this." She laughed a little breathlessly, and he grinned. "Just give me ten minutes to run to the drugstore, okay?"
She smiled and nodded, and he lifted his head to kiss her before she shifted over so he could stand.
Almost exactly ten minutes later he returned, grinning when he saw her still seated on the bed, waiting for him.
He closed the door behind him and moved towards the bed, opening the small box in his hand and withdrawing a condom from within, setting both on her bedside table.
She looked over at them, feeling a small nervous flutter in her stomach, and then looked at him again when she heard the creak of her mattress.
He was on his knees in front of her, and his gaze was intent on her face. "You still want to do this?"
She nodded, the corner of her mouth rising. "I do, I just - I don't really know that much."
He smiled, moving closer to her. "I know. It's okay." He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss, and then whispered, "You just lie back, and let me do the rest."
She shivered at his words, and sighed softly as his lips moved to her neck, his hand pushing gently on her shoulder.
They moved until she was lying down, he over her, and her fingers slid into his hair as he favored her neck and chest with kisses, the light touch of his lips raising goosebumps on her skin.
He shifted, trailing kisses to her shoulder, and his fingers slipped under the thin strap of her dress, pulling it out of the way so he could cover every available inch of her.
His hand slid down her body, lingering on the swell of her breast, squeezing gently. She moved underneath him, her back arching slightly, and he smiled a little as his thumb brushed over the erect nub of her nipple, rubbing it through the fabric of her dress.
The sweetest little whimper slipped from her, and he bit back a groan. He loved the noises she made when they were tangled up in each other on the couch, and he wondered what new ones he might hear today.
Her hands were pulling at his shirt, and he pushed up enough for her to tug it over his head, grinning when she tossed it away.
She propped herself up on one hand, the other on the back of his neck as she touched her lips to his throat, and he groaned when she brushed against his Adam's apple. Her lips curved against his skin, and she did it again, pulling another groan from him.
He angled his head to nip at her earlobe, and grinned at her gasp.
She sank back down on the bed, and he shifted his position slightly, straddling her thigh as he sat up and ran his hands down her body, tracing her curves through her dress.
His gaze flicked to her face, and he smiled slightly at the look on her face before continuing to the hem of her dress and slipping underneath.
Her mouth fell open with a sharp breath as his hands moved up her thighs, and her eyes fluttered closed when his fingers hooked over the waist of her panties.
"Okay?" he murmured, hesitating as he looked at her.
She nodded quickly, opening her eyes again to look at him. "Don't stop."
He grinned again and began to tug her panties down, moving to the side so he could work them down her legs before adding them to his t-shirt on the floor.
He stretched out alongside her, propping up on his elbow as his other hand dropped to her thigh again, stroking the smooth skin as he moved beneath her dress once more.
Her mouth dropped open, her legs spreading further apart as he inched closer and closer to her center, and she gasped when his fingers brushed over her folds, teasing her for just a moment before sliding one finger inside of her.
A low moan slipped from her as he stroked her slowly, and he hooked his foot over her ankle, carefully pulling her legs further apart before adding a second finger.
Her head tipped back, her brow creasing as her eyes closed once more, and when he twisted his fingers inside of her, she squeaked, a high, breathy sound.
It was all he could do not to laugh, but he did smile, lowering his head to kiss her neck as his fingers continued to move.
It felt like it had been forever since he'd been with someone he wanted to please this much, someone he wanted to take his time with instead of going for a quick release.
It made him a little sad to think that nobody had probably ever touched her like this, though he had to remind himself that she had only just graduated high school.
Even if they didn't work out in the long run, he wanted to at least give her good memories of their time together, and he hoped this summer, and this moment, was a good starting point for that.
He pulled his fingers out of her, and she sighed softly, her eyes opening to look at him as he slid off the bed.
His fingers were quick on the fastenings of his jeans, and she sat up to pull her dress off over her head, adding it to the pile of clothes on the floor.
His gaze flicked to her as she stretched out once more, and his fingers slowed as he stared at her body, unconsciously licking his lips.
His jeans dropped to the floor with a muffled thump, his boxers following a moment later, and he reached for the condom, rolling it on before climbing back onto the bed.
Her legs spread for him, and he knelt between them, bending to place a kiss to the sensitive skin between her legs before slowly moving up, marking as much of her body as he could.
He palmed her breasts, loving the way they filled his hands, and squeezed them gently, forcing a moan from her lips that turned into another squeak when he took her nipples between his fingertips. He pinched lightly, and then a little harder, and a strangled whisper of his name passed her lips as her back arched into his touch.
His hands continued upward, moving to slide up her arms and pin them lightly to either side of her head as he bent to kiss her.
He let go of her arms after a moment and she brought them up to circle his neck, fingers playing in his hair as she kissed him back.
After a moment he pushed up slightly and brought his hands down to grip her hips, lifting her just a little before finally pushing inside of her.
She sighed as he filled her slowly, taking his time, letting her body get used to him, and he lowered himself to his forearms when he was in all the way.
They were still a moment and then he began to move in long, easy strokes. She felt so good, so hot and tight, and his fantasies of the last three months were quickly overshadowed by this blissful reality.
His head dropped into the curve of her neck, his lips brushing over her skin, and a beat later her lips were on his neck too.
Her fingers pressed into his back, her nails digging slightly into his skin, and he tried to pay attention to the subtle movements of her body, the way she clenched around him or wiggled her hips against him, so he could give her exactly what she wanted.
Several minutes passed, and then he pushed up onto his hands, changing the movement of his hips so he could slip deeper inside of her.
There was that squeak again, and her hands slid down his back to his backside, gripping slightly as he thrust into her.
He studied her face, trying to catch the subtle differences in her expression, and when her grip on his ass slackened a little and her mouth fell open, he shifted to brace on one hand and slipped the other in between them.
He pressed his thumb to her clit, rubbing the tiny nub, and it was the work of a few seconds before she came with a low moan that turned into a breathless cry as her orgasm pulsed through her. One hand dropped to tightly grip the sheets as her body arched under his, and a moment later he was falling with her, pressing her against the mattress as he slumped down on top of her.
Her arms came around him, holding him close, her breath warm and quick on his shoulder as they waited to come down.
When their bodies were calm again, he pushed up to look at her, smiling as he brought his hand up to brush her hair from her sweaty forehead.
Her lips curved slightly. "Worth the wait?"
He grinned and nodded. "Definitely."
He flew to New York at the end of July to look for a place to live, and before she knew it, it was mid-August, and time for her to leave for New Haven.
She said goodbye to her mother and her friends, hugging Blaine tightly and telling him she'd see him again soon, and was soon on a plane headed east.
She got settled at Yale, went through all of the pre-orientation routines and met her roommate, a sweet, quiet girl named Erin, and the weekend just before the semester began, went to the train station to wait for Cooper's arrival.
She beamed when she saw him, hurrying towards him, and he grinned as he swept her into his arms, lifting her off the ground and hugging her tight.
"God, I've missed you," he breathed against her neck, squeezing her a little tighter.
"I missed you too," she murmured, smiling into his shoulder as she squeezed him back.
They emerged from the station a few minutes later, hands swinging between them, Cooper's duffel bag dangling from the fingers of his other hand.
"So have you got the whole town memorized?" he asked as they walked. "Know it like the back of your hand?"
She snorted laughter. "Hardly. You're lucky I found my way to the train station in time."
He grinned, nudging her arm with his. "Won't be long. Soon enough, this place is gonna be just like home." His grin widened. "With a vacation destination up in New York."
She giggled. "I can't wait to see your apartment."
"You can get intimately acquainted with it when you come to visit next weekend."
She glanced up at him, smirking at the sly curve of his lips, but didn't reply as they continued to the hotel near campus where Cooper would be spending the next few days.
After he checked in and deposited his bag in his room, Quinn brought him to her dorm room to show it off and introduce him to her roommate, and then she showed him where her classes were.
"So what do you think?" she asked as they walked by the library.
"Your roommate seems nice. Looks like you got the luck of the draw."
Quinn nodded her agreement, and then grinned a little mischievously. "So long as she doesn't try to steal you from me."
Cooper looked down at her with ill-concealed interest. "You think she would?"
Quinn snorted and shook her head. "No, she has a girlfriend." Her hand came up to smack his stomach. "And you could try not to look so excited by the idea of someone taking you away from me."
He grunted, batting her hand away as he laughed. "It's a nice ego boost to imagine two very attractive women fighting over me, okay? Don't worry; I'd make sure you won."
"Yeah, I'd make sure I won too."
Cooper laughed, and then shook his head. "In all seriousness, I think you're going to do wonderfully." He reached for her hand, twining his fingers in hers, and continued, "And if you ever need me, I'm just a short train ride away."
"I don't know if an hour and a half is short," she teased.
"Shorter than flying across the country."
"Very, very true," she conceded.
His grip tightened on her fingers. "I'm sorry I couldn't come back for your going away party, I had those two auditions."
"It's okay. How did they go?"
He shrugged, crinkling his nose a little distastefully. "Didn't get either role, if that tells you anything."
She tightened her grip on his hand, bringing her other hand over to rub his arm. "I'm sorry."
He shrugged again. "No big deal. I mean, I knew I wasn't going to come to New York and suddenly be drowning in roles."
"You'll get something soon," she murmured, still rubbing his arm. "You've got another audition next week, right?"
He nodded, and then smiled down at her. "Maybe with you here now, my luck will improve."
She giggled. "Are you saying I'm your good luck charm?"
"Could be. Just have to see what happens."
She giggled again, and he bent his head to kiss the top of hers as they continued down the sidewalk.
They parted ways briefly to change for dinner, and then met again to eat before going back to his hotel room.
Sometime later they were lying in bed together, Quinn on her stomach with her arms folded over Cooper's bare chest.
He had one arm bent behind his head while his other hand rubbed absently up and down her arm, a soft smile curving his lips as he looked at her.
"Do you miss it yet?"
She raised her eyebrows. "What? Lima?" He nodded, and she scoffed. "Not even a little bit. Been trying to get away from there for years, and now I finally have, and it feels really good."
He sighed quietly, his expression contemplative as he looked at her. "I could lie and say you'll miss it eventually, but you probably won't. I never did. I only came back for Blaine." He smiled again. "And left with you."
She laughed a little, lightly scratching his chest with her nails.
"Thank you," she murmured after a minute.
He frowned curiously. "For what?"
"For coming to Lima. For being interested in me, and caring about me, and making me feel wanted, and special. For coming to New York, instead of going to L.A., just to be with me." A smile curved her lips. "You said you needed more good things in your life. Well, so did I, and you're one of them."
He smiled back. "I think so long as we can keep being a good thing for each other, we'll be okay."
Her smile widened as she nodded. "Yeah."
She pulled herself up to kiss him, and then tucked herself against his side, wrapping an arm around his middle as her eyes drifted shut.