Echo (8/?) II
Obviously, Quinn doesn’t trip or forget the lyrics or disappoint anyone. She and Sam are bright and flawless and fun and the crowd seem to love them. Their chemistry and trust in one another is palpable and it makes things even easier. Rachel watches them from her spot- swinging on the background, who would have thought?- and beams proudly.
That’s my girl, she thinks.
Her solo and the group song go by in a blur. She nails it, of course, hitting all the right notes at the right time and leaving the public wanting more of her. But that’s just a side effect of her voice, Rachel knows. They rush off the stage, jumping up and down, squealing, and smiling so widely that it hurts. They’re going to win; there’s no doubt now.
“That. Was. Amazing,” Tina says punctuating each word as she jumps down the stairs at the backstage, two steps at a time. “Amazing.”
“I know, right? We so got this,” Brittany agrees. She pulls Santana’s hand and twirls her around, the adrenaline from the performance still buzzing in her body. Santana laughs and lets her twirl her around, finally falling back into her arms. The blonde wraps her arms around her waist, front to back and rests her head on the Latina’s shoulder. They look ecstatic.
“Dude, that was awesome. Didn’t know you could hit those notes,” Puck says impressed as he puts her arm over Sam’s shoulder and squeezes. Rachel holds back an embarrassing giggle when she sees the blond blush.
“Thanks man.”
“Rach! I did it!” Quinn cries and throws herself into Rachel’s arms. No one even bats an eye at them, each of them immersed in their own celebratory haze.
Rachel pulls her tighter, inhaling the still lingering sweet scent of Quinn’s shampoo and just Quinn herself.
“You did, baby. You did.” Both Quinn and Rachel fail to notice the term of endearment that escapes Rachel’s mouth but it’s still there and it still warms their hearts.
Detaching herself from the girl, Rachel gently cups her cheeks. “See? I told you, you’d be amazing.” Quinn grabs her hands with her still shaking ones and brings her to her chest, nodding gratefully. Rachel smiles cheekily. “So… how was I?”
Quinn laughs. “As if I need to tell you.” Still, Rachel looks expectantly. “You were flawless, like always. I’m actually jealous. You got the crowd in the bag as soon as you opened your mouth.”
The brunette shrugs and flips her hair over her shoulder flippantly, making Quinn laugh again. Moments later, Mr. Schue comes into the room, shiny eyed and looking like a proud father, giving out hugs to anyone at an arms-reach.
When they are called back on stage to hear the results, Quinn grabs Rachel’s hand for support. Sam stands behind them, head bent and his hands on their shoulders. Puck is beside him, looking surprisingly serious. Rachel looks around at her friends while they wait for their name to be called and she realizes.
She knows- they all know- they are going to win. They were simply the best tonight. But looking at their tightly shut eyes and vice grips on each others hands she realizes how much this means for all. Even if this is Sectionals and it’s only the first step, they need this. They need to keep fighting for Regionals and then New York. They need to have a second chance after last year. They just need each other.
And when the winner is announced and their name is called, it all seems possible again.
…
Just as Rachel expected, there’s a party in the bus during the drive back to Lima. The excitement of their win is still there, floating in the air, and she can see it in her peer’s giddy smiles and animated conversations. They can barely sit still; everyone is congregating at the back around Puck who’s holding the trophy. But after a day like this, they’re all drained, so as soon as they hit the road, the Glee Club members start going back to their seats to watch the landscape pass by or even take a well deserved nap.
Rachel sighs in relief when the excitement dies down, leaving behind an aura of utter contentment. They’re all on cloud nine.
Quinn, who was one of the first to go back to her seat, rests her head on Rachel’s shoulder as soon as the girl plops down next to her and snuggles a little into her side, leaving Rachel staring at the mess of golden locks with a goofy smile. She pops in her earphones and rests her head atop of Quinn’s. The faint lavender scent and the slow beat of the songs on her playlist soon lull her to sleep.
She’s awakened forty minutes later by the honk of a distant truck. She blinks blearily and yawns and then looks down at the sleeping beauty who’s tucked into her neck. She brushes some wild locks back and watches Quinn’s button nose scrunch up when some of the hairs tickle her. Rachel holds in a giggle.
The sign that welcomes them to Lima, Ohio is already in sight. Rachel hears some movement behind them and suddenly a tan hand comes from out of nowhere and smacks Quinn in the head, waking her up with a start.
“Wha’?” Quinn mumbles straightening her posture and trying to blink away the sleep. Rachel almost drools at the adorable sight.
“Hey, it’s okay. Santana was just being a jerk,” she explains to the disgruntled girl. The contained laugh of the Latina who’s sitting with Brittany behind them stop.
‘I should’ve smacked you too, Smurfette,’ Santana thinks loud and clear for Rachel to hear.
“’m just so tired,” the blonde yawns. Rachel can only imagine how exhausted the girl must feel after today’s roller-coaster of emotions. “We there yet?”
“Almost.” Rachel smiles softly before giving in to the urge to kiss Quinn’s cheek, which is warm and soft and wrinkled after being resting against Rachel’s shoulder the whole drive. Her lips stay there for a few seconds, getting a small smile and a sigh out of Quinn.
‘Disgusting,’ Santana thinks and Rachel can hear her faking gagging noises.
When they reach the school grounds, Puck announces that he’s having a party the next day at his place. The whole Glee Club is invited of course, because they are going to celebrate the first but not last win of the year properly.
Once out of the bus, Mr. Schue says he’ll take care of the trophy and put it in a place they can all admire. They say their goodbyes, promising to attend to tomorrow’s party and Rachel and Quinn walk together to where their parents are going to pick them up.
“Are you going to Puck’s party?” Quinn asks quietly.
“Are you?”
Quinn’s mom’s car is turning the corner and she waves, gesturing for her to wait. She turns to Rachel and shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t really feel like partying.” ‘I’d prefer to spend the weekend with her.’
“Me neither, honestly,” Rachel says realizing she likes Quinn’s plan better. “Oh, I know! Do you want to hang out tomorrow? My dads are going to be out of town for the weekend,” Rachel hurries to continue talking before the blonde can read more into the simple statement. “We could watch a movie, spend the- the day together and then see if we want to show up at the party.”
Quinn nods, “That sounds good. What time do you want me to come over?”
“Well… you can come as soon as you’re done with your jog.” Rachel has been joining Quinn in her morning jogs a couple more times, but she’s mostly still looking for a good replacement of her elliptical. It’s not like she doesn’t like running with Quinn through the park, it’s just that there are too many distractions for them both. Namely, each other.
Quinn beams at her. There’s a honk and Rachel sees her Dad’s car in the opposite direction. They both start walking away, eyes still locked on each other.
“I’ll bring breakfast,” Quinn calls.
“Deal.”
…
The next morning, Rachel’s neighbour, Mrs. Matthews, stops watering her geraniums to watch curiously at the young blonde in jeans and a pink sweatshirt parking in front of the Berry’s and walking up the path to the house with a paper bag and two cups of coffee. The girl looks like a modern version of Grace Kelly and her smile threatens to split her face in half.
The old woman cocks her eyebrow, amused when this stunning young lady stops at the Berry’s door and starts fumbling, clearly not daring to knock. Mrs. Matthews shakes her head and sighs, resuming her daily gardening routine.
Kids these days. So brazen for some things and so shy for others.
…
Quinn stands with her gaze fixed on the wood of Rachel’s front door and takes a breath. Then another. She balances the bag and the coffees in her right hand to knock but then decides her left hand is not that good at knocking. When she finally frees her good hand and raises it, she stops to ponder if maybe it would be best to ring the bell. Or maybe she should call Rachel and make sure she’s awake first; she did come a little early after all.
This is hard.
“Quinn Fabray.” Rachel’s Daddy, Leroy, opens the door and greets her with an amused smirk. Her face burns at the thought that he had been watching her all along.
“Good morning, sir, “ she says firmly and then frowns, “I thought Rachel said you were out for the weekend.”
“Mhm,” he nods, “we were just leaving. Actually… Hiram, honey! You have five minutes or I’m leaving without you!” He calls into the house and then turns to her with a confident smile. “He’s just like Rachel, you know. Always thinks he’s going to forget something and starts freaking out at the last minute.”
Quinn chuckles at the mental image. “Where are you going?”
“Dayton. My high-school friend lives there and she just had a baby. We’re going to visit and meet the new member of the family. I’ve seen pictures, he’s adorable.”
Quinn gulps hard at the mention of a baby, but manages to hide her apprehension. “That’s great.” Hiram finally appears with a bag slung across his chest a carry on in his hand. He notices her and sends her an unsure look.
“Hi sir, I’m Quinn,” she says extending her free hand, happy with her decision of carrying the stuff with the left one because awkward handshakes are the worst introductions ever. Hiram still stares at her like she’s not trustworthy and she shifts nervously. “I brought breakfast for Rachel,” she shows him the bag and the coffees.
“She’s vegan,” he snaps eyeing the bag of what he guesses are donuts and the coffee that surely contains milk in his mind.
“Soy latte and a hazelnut vegan cookie.”
Hiram raises his eyebrows impressed, meanwhile Leroy watches the stare match awkwardly. “Okay…” he mumbles, “time to go. Quinn, you and Rachel have fun and keep an eye on her, alright?”
“Sure, sir. Drive safe and have fun in Dayton.”
Leroy pulls Hiram to the car, sending Quinn an apologetic smile back. She finally breathes out a long sigh and makes her way to Rachel’s bedroom. She knocks on the door and waits. When there’s no answer she pushes the door ajar and peeks inside. Rachel is on the floor doing sit ups with her earphones on.
Quinn lets her hazel eyes roam freely over Rachel’s taut body. ‘And I’m gonna have this girl all by myself this weekend. How did I get so lucky?’
Rachel suddenly stops and jumps into a sitting position, her head snapping to the girl standing ogling her from the door.
“Quinn! Good morning! Is it nine already?” Rachel stands in a rush and checks her phone. Surely she didn’t notice the time what with the new exercising regime she’s trying and all. If it wasn’t for Quinn’s thought that resounded loud and clear through her head and over the music from her iPod, she wouldn’t have noticed the blonde had arrived.
“Yeah, I came a little early,” Quinn stammers, forcing her eyes to stay above Rachel’s neck. “I just met your dads, by the way.”
“Oh my God, you did?” Rachel’s eyes widen comically. “Did Hiram say something mean? Oh he’s in so much trouble if he did.”
Quinn laughs. “No, they were fine.”
“Oh, okay.” Rachel finally looks down at herself, realizing she’s wearing the tiniest shorts and sports bra she owns and her skin is wet from the sweat. “Uh, I’m gross. I’m going to go shower real quick. Could you wait in the kitchen? I’ll be downstairs in a minute.”
Quinn does just that. She sits on a stool and sips on her coffee, her fingers tapping on the marble table and her ears catching the muffled song Rachel is belting out in her shower over the sound of splashing water.
Rachel in the shower. Uh oh.
She quickly forces her mind to stop going in that direction.
Minutes later a fresh and clean Rachel runs down the stairs. She takes her seat in front of Quinn and the blonde passes her her coffee and her cookie.
“It’s all vegan,” she explains when she sees Rachel eyeing the coffee. The shorter girl flashes her a grin. Rachel reaches over the table and pecks her on the lips, murmuring a quick “thank you,” before digging into her food.
When they finish their breakfast, they move to the living room to watch some TV. At this time in the day it’s all mostly talk shows and cartoons, so Rachel switches to the cutest looking ones and diverts her attention to the blonde.
There’s a question in Rachel’s eyes and it’s the same one Quinn had that day in her bedroom. The blonde catches on it quickly and smiles sheepishly before leaning in and kissing her. And so they kiss and kiss and kiss.
They stop eventually, of course. Rachel suggests that they play Scrabble. She finds a tough opponent in Quinn because Quinn is after all one of the smartest girls in school. But Rachel’s vast vocabulary ends with her winning. Rachel claims that Quinn must be her perfect adversary in Scrabble, that even her dads make it too easy for her to win. Quinn almost bursts with pride.
And then they kiss again.
They have lunch, watch a movie, talk to Brittany and Santana on Facebook and listen to music. They also kiss on the couch, on the bed and on the kitchen counter. They just can’t seem to keep their hands off of each other.
It’s all still pretty tame. They’ve gone under the shirt but never got close enough to second base. They’re only feather-like touches, brushing skin, tickling sides, only fuelling the coiling desire inside them. But it’s much too soon for that, so they keep kissing. Innocent and not so innocent kisses, interrupted by giggles and breathy sighs and sometimes a good placed hickey in that spot that turns Rachel into a poodle of goo.
They lay on Rachel’s bed, this time talking. They are learning about each other, sharing secrets and embarrassing stories and dreams. Rachel just told Quinn that she keeps a neatly folded paper with her Tony Award acceptance speech on her dresser along with her favourite brush that she uses as a microphone when she practices in front of the mirror.
“Oh my God,” Quinn doubles over laughing, “you are such a diva.” Rachel pouts, not happy with how her routine is amusing Quinn. The cheerleader sees it and she stops laughing immediately but the smile still remains. “But you are my diva.”
A shy smile tugs on Rachel’s lips. “Am I?”
“Yeah,” Quinn frowns, “unless that was too soon. In which case, I’m sorry. I just thought that after these past weeks, maybe-“
“No, no! I like it. I like the idea of me being yours.” This earns Rachel a dazzling smile from the blonde. “Just like I like the idea of you being mine.”
“Yeah?”
Rachel nods.
“Wait, did we just…” Quinn gestures between the two of them, “you know, make it official?”
Rachel taps her chin with her finger. “I think we did.”
“Well, this deserves a celebration,” Quinn purrs inching closer with a sly smirk.
“I concur.”
And Rachel and Quinn becoming RachelandQuinn happens as easy as that.
When the night falls, they grab a quick dinner and make their way to Puck’s party. At first they thought of not attending, but after a long Facebook conversation consisting of Brittany’s begging and Santana’s pressuring, they finally gave in and decided to stop by for just an hour or so.
They stay for two. When Santana, who ended up promising she’d be the designated driver for them four, leaves them in Rachel’s driveway, they stumble out of the car giggling. The couple- maybe three?- wine coolers they’ve had are kicking in full swing right now and the pair manage to drunkenly open Rachel’s front door and climb the stairs.
They collapse into the bed dissolving into a fit of giggles. Quinn, who’s a little more sober than the brunette, tries to compose herself for a moment.
“We should ch-change. I don’t wanna fall sleep with my jeans on.”
Rachel looks over at the mentioned garment with half-lidded eyes and nods once. She sits up and pulls her sweater over her head, soon followed by her shirt. She goes for the skirt but Quinn stops her.
“Woah, woah. I think you should- maybe- just- if you keep taking clothes off I might do something.”
Rachel looks down at herself. She’s wearing her pale blue lace bra and her skirt. The concept of what Quinn is implying makes its way through her foggy mind. “Oooh…”
“Yeah…”
“I’m gonna- I’m gonna change in the bathroom then.” She grabs a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on the way and another pair for Quinn before throwing them in the blonde’s general direction and disappearing into the bathroom.
Quinn blows out a long breath, trying to cool down her body and then quickly changes into the borrowed pajamas. When Rachel appears into the room, she looks refreshed and her hair is up in a ponytail. She turns off the light and crawls into the bed next to the blonde.
Quinn immediately turns on her side and pulls Rachel into her. There’s not a lot of resistance on Rachel’s part when she finds Quinn’s lips and tongue massaging hers.
It has been growing all day, this warmth at the pit of her stomach. But she knows is way too soon and this is definitely not the moment because both of them are still a little intoxicated and they just made it official today. However, when Quinn’s cool hand which is resting on her stomach under her shirt, starts making its way up, Rachel doesn’t stop it. Instead she encourages it with a little breathy whimper.
Quinn’s hand reaches her breast and at first it just lays there, like Quinn is waiting for her reaction, for her to flinch away and slap her or let her know that it’s okay. The blonde even slows her kissing to a gentle push and pull of lips and mumbles between her lips, “is this okay?”
Rachel nods, arching her back ever so slightly so Quinn would take the hint and do something, anything with that hand.
The blonde starts a gentle massage, followed by her thumb brushing over Rachel’s hard nub. Rachel’s breath grows heavier and she moves even closer to Quinn, her legs tangling with the blonde’s.
Quinn moans deep in her throat at the feel of Rachel’s body pressing into her from every side. They fit, but not in that clichéd pieces-of-puzzles thing, it’s more like they melt into each other. Like their bodies are made of the same matter that adjusts itself to the other and are never uncomfortable. Quinn squeezes Rachel’s breast and breathes deep through her nose before detaching herself from her girl.
Rachel understands that they need to stop or this is going to take a very different path soon. Quinn slips her hand out and rests it over Rachel’s shirt on her stomach, smoothing down the fabric and giving them some time to calm their ragging hormones.
“We should sleep,” Rachel says softly.
“Mkay.”
They don’t move an inch apart, too comfortable in their warm cocoon to even think about moving. And as the arousal gives way to the tiredness and sleepiness caused by the alcohol, the two girls fall sleep into each others arms.
…
Of course when Rachel’s alarm clock starts beeping the next morning, Quinn, who’s closer to it, just grunts and slams her hand on it, effectively shutting it up for the rest of the day and snuggles into the delicious warmth the body next to hers is providing.
Rachel just sighs and mumbles something incoherent in her sleep before they both fall into a deep slumber again.
Hours later Rachel is awakened by the sound of a car door closing and blinks her eyes slowly, trying to locate herself into a concrete time and space. She looks at the clock and realizes she and Quinn had slept in most of the day. She then realizes the car door was probably her dads arriving home.
With a dull thumping in her head that she mentally notes to take care of later, she gently shakes the blonde awake.
“Quinn.” The front door opens. “Quinn, wake up.”
“Mhmm, Rach…” Quinn mumbles, “you’re my girlfriend now…”
Rachel takes a second to laugh at that. “Yes, indeed I am. However that has nothing to with the fact that you must wake up immediately if you don’t want to explain my dads why you’re sleeping in my bed.”
“Wha…” Quinn blinks her eyes open and the sound of the door closing and the Berry men carrying their stuff into the house reaches the room. “Oh fuck. Oh shit.”
“Quinn language,” Rachel chastises as Quinn jumps from the bed and holds her head for a minute before turning to change and get out of there before Hiram sees her. ‘If he sees me I’m dead. I’m dead. He will kill me with his laser glare.’
Rachel rolls her eyes at her girlfriend’s antics. And she’s supposed to be the diva here.
Quinn strips in front of her, but so fast that Rachel barely has a nano-second to enjoy her body in underwear. She slips the jeans and sweater she wore yesterday and smoothes her hair in front of the mirror and rubs the sleep off of her face. Rachel sits cross-legged on her bed watching Quinn look for her purse, spinning around like a dog chasing its tale in the middle of her room, when her Daddy opens the door and her girlfriend freezes.
“Hi, Daddy.”
Leroy eyes Quinn mildly surprised. ‘I knew that she was going to call her. Huge possibility of her spending the night but I thought they’d be a little more subtle and she would have left already.’
“Quinn was just leaving, Daddy.” Rachel explains. “She came by to spend the day with me.”
“Right,” Leroy says, “and she’s wearing the same clothes as yesterday because...?”
“Damn gay men and their observant skills,” Rachel curses under her breath. “Okay, she stayed the night, but we just slept. In the same bed. But slept.”
“Rachel!” Quinn hisses. ‘Was that last remark really necessary? Oh God this is mortifying.’
“Oh well, that’s good to know,” Leroy says awkwardly. “And it’s nice to see you again, Quinn, but you might want to leave before my husband sees you. He has nothing against you, trust me. We’ve talked. But he’s just as observant as I am, if only not as understanding.”
“Got it,” Quinn nods.
“Oh and don’t use the stairs. He’s in the kitchen.”
“Then how-“
“You figure it out,” and with that he winks and leaves.
“I hate your Dad.”
“He likes you, tough,” Rachel says with a pout. Quinn sighs.
“I’m kidding. I just don’t know how am I supposed to leave without…” Quinn’s eyes stop on the window. “Oh.”
Rachel catches it. “You are crazy.”
“It’s the first floor and there’s a tree right there.”
Rachel stands and makes her way next to the blonde at the window. “Still crazy.”
“Maybe, but I’m your crazy,” Quinn says cheekily. Rachel shakes her head with a smile and Quinn opens the window and throws a leg over the ledge. She turns to give her girl a goodbye kiss and Rachel watches her with her lip between her teeth as she makes her way down the tree. When the athletic cheerleader has proved that it is just that easy to climb down a tree and is standing safely on the ground, she waves back at Rachel and runs to her car. Rachel watches her until the vehicle disappears around the corner.
She sighs against the cold glass of the window. Suddenly her Dad bursts into the room, looking suspicious.
“Was that Quinn’s car that just left out driveway?”
Rachel opens her mouth and then closes it again. She guesses it’s time to update her Dad on the last events.
“Dad, you might want to sit down for this.”
That’s my girl, she thinks.
Her solo and the group song go by in a blur. She nails it, of course, hitting all the right notes at the right time and leaving the public wanting more of her. But that’s just a side effect of her voice, Rachel knows. They rush off the stage, jumping up and down, squealing, and smiling so widely that it hurts. They’re going to win; there’s no doubt now.
“That. Was. Amazing,” Tina says punctuating each word as she jumps down the stairs at the backstage, two steps at a time. “Amazing.”
“I know, right? We so got this,” Brittany agrees. She pulls Santana’s hand and twirls her around, the adrenaline from the performance still buzzing in her body. Santana laughs and lets her twirl her around, finally falling back into her arms. The blonde wraps her arms around her waist, front to back and rests her head on the Latina’s shoulder. They look ecstatic.
“Dude, that was awesome. Didn’t know you could hit those notes,” Puck says impressed as he puts her arm over Sam’s shoulder and squeezes. Rachel holds back an embarrassing giggle when she sees the blond blush.
“Thanks man.”
“Rach! I did it!” Quinn cries and throws herself into Rachel’s arms. No one even bats an eye at them, each of them immersed in their own celebratory haze.
Rachel pulls her tighter, inhaling the still lingering sweet scent of Quinn’s shampoo and just Quinn herself.
“You did, baby. You did.” Both Quinn and Rachel fail to notice the term of endearment that escapes Rachel’s mouth but it’s still there and it still warms their hearts.
Detaching herself from the girl, Rachel gently cups her cheeks. “See? I told you, you’d be amazing.” Quinn grabs her hands with her still shaking ones and brings her to her chest, nodding gratefully. Rachel smiles cheekily. “So… how was I?”
Quinn laughs. “As if I need to tell you.” Still, Rachel looks expectantly. “You were flawless, like always. I’m actually jealous. You got the crowd in the bag as soon as you opened your mouth.”
The brunette shrugs and flips her hair over her shoulder flippantly, making Quinn laugh again. Moments later, Mr. Schue comes into the room, shiny eyed and looking like a proud father, giving out hugs to anyone at an arms-reach.
When they are called back on stage to hear the results, Quinn grabs Rachel’s hand for support. Sam stands behind them, head bent and his hands on their shoulders. Puck is beside him, looking surprisingly serious. Rachel looks around at her friends while they wait for their name to be called and she realizes.
She knows- they all know- they are going to win. They were simply the best tonight. But looking at their tightly shut eyes and vice grips on each others hands she realizes how much this means for all. Even if this is Sectionals and it’s only the first step, they need this. They need to keep fighting for Regionals and then New York. They need to have a second chance after last year. They just need each other.
And when the winner is announced and their name is called, it all seems possible again.
…
Just as Rachel expected, there’s a party in the bus during the drive back to Lima. The excitement of their win is still there, floating in the air, and she can see it in her peer’s giddy smiles and animated conversations. They can barely sit still; everyone is congregating at the back around Puck who’s holding the trophy. But after a day like this, they’re all drained, so as soon as they hit the road, the Glee Club members start going back to their seats to watch the landscape pass by or even take a well deserved nap.
Rachel sighs in relief when the excitement dies down, leaving behind an aura of utter contentment. They’re all on cloud nine.
Quinn, who was one of the first to go back to her seat, rests her head on Rachel’s shoulder as soon as the girl plops down next to her and snuggles a little into her side, leaving Rachel staring at the mess of golden locks with a goofy smile. She pops in her earphones and rests her head atop of Quinn’s. The faint lavender scent and the slow beat of the songs on her playlist soon lull her to sleep.
She’s awakened forty minutes later by the honk of a distant truck. She blinks blearily and yawns and then looks down at the sleeping beauty who’s tucked into her neck. She brushes some wild locks back and watches Quinn’s button nose scrunch up when some of the hairs tickle her. Rachel holds in a giggle.
The sign that welcomes them to Lima, Ohio is already in sight. Rachel hears some movement behind them and suddenly a tan hand comes from out of nowhere and smacks Quinn in the head, waking her up with a start.
“Wha’?” Quinn mumbles straightening her posture and trying to blink away the sleep. Rachel almost drools at the adorable sight.
“Hey, it’s okay. Santana was just being a jerk,” she explains to the disgruntled girl. The contained laugh of the Latina who’s sitting with Brittany behind them stop.
‘I should’ve smacked you too, Smurfette,’ Santana thinks loud and clear for Rachel to hear.
“’m just so tired,” the blonde yawns. Rachel can only imagine how exhausted the girl must feel after today’s roller-coaster of emotions. “We there yet?”
“Almost.” Rachel smiles softly before giving in to the urge to kiss Quinn’s cheek, which is warm and soft and wrinkled after being resting against Rachel’s shoulder the whole drive. Her lips stay there for a few seconds, getting a small smile and a sigh out of Quinn.
‘Disgusting,’ Santana thinks and Rachel can hear her faking gagging noises.
When they reach the school grounds, Puck announces that he’s having a party the next day at his place. The whole Glee Club is invited of course, because they are going to celebrate the first but not last win of the year properly.
Once out of the bus, Mr. Schue says he’ll take care of the trophy and put it in a place they can all admire. They say their goodbyes, promising to attend to tomorrow’s party and Rachel and Quinn walk together to where their parents are going to pick them up.
“Are you going to Puck’s party?” Quinn asks quietly.
“Are you?”
Quinn’s mom’s car is turning the corner and she waves, gesturing for her to wait. She turns to Rachel and shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t really feel like partying.” ‘I’d prefer to spend the weekend with her.’
“Me neither, honestly,” Rachel says realizing she likes Quinn’s plan better. “Oh, I know! Do you want to hang out tomorrow? My dads are going to be out of town for the weekend,” Rachel hurries to continue talking before the blonde can read more into the simple statement. “We could watch a movie, spend the- the day together and then see if we want to show up at the party.”
Quinn nods, “That sounds good. What time do you want me to come over?”
“Well… you can come as soon as you’re done with your jog.” Rachel has been joining Quinn in her morning jogs a couple more times, but she’s mostly still looking for a good replacement of her elliptical. It’s not like she doesn’t like running with Quinn through the park, it’s just that there are too many distractions for them both. Namely, each other.
Quinn beams at her. There’s a honk and Rachel sees her Dad’s car in the opposite direction. They both start walking away, eyes still locked on each other.
“I’ll bring breakfast,” Quinn calls.
“Deal.”
…
The next morning, Rachel’s neighbour, Mrs. Matthews, stops watering her geraniums to watch curiously at the young blonde in jeans and a pink sweatshirt parking in front of the Berry’s and walking up the path to the house with a paper bag and two cups of coffee. The girl looks like a modern version of Grace Kelly and her smile threatens to split her face in half.
The old woman cocks her eyebrow, amused when this stunning young lady stops at the Berry’s door and starts fumbling, clearly not daring to knock. Mrs. Matthews shakes her head and sighs, resuming her daily gardening routine.
Kids these days. So brazen for some things and so shy for others.
…
Quinn stands with her gaze fixed on the wood of Rachel’s front door and takes a breath. Then another. She balances the bag and the coffees in her right hand to knock but then decides her left hand is not that good at knocking. When she finally frees her good hand and raises it, she stops to ponder if maybe it would be best to ring the bell. Or maybe she should call Rachel and make sure she’s awake first; she did come a little early after all.
This is hard.
“Quinn Fabray.” Rachel’s Daddy, Leroy, opens the door and greets her with an amused smirk. Her face burns at the thought that he had been watching her all along.
“Good morning, sir, “ she says firmly and then frowns, “I thought Rachel said you were out for the weekend.”
“Mhm,” he nods, “we were just leaving. Actually… Hiram, honey! You have five minutes or I’m leaving without you!” He calls into the house and then turns to her with a confident smile. “He’s just like Rachel, you know. Always thinks he’s going to forget something and starts freaking out at the last minute.”
Quinn chuckles at the mental image. “Where are you going?”
“Dayton. My high-school friend lives there and she just had a baby. We’re going to visit and meet the new member of the family. I’ve seen pictures, he’s adorable.”
Quinn gulps hard at the mention of a baby, but manages to hide her apprehension. “That’s great.” Hiram finally appears with a bag slung across his chest a carry on in his hand. He notices her and sends her an unsure look.
“Hi sir, I’m Quinn,” she says extending her free hand, happy with her decision of carrying the stuff with the left one because awkward handshakes are the worst introductions ever. Hiram still stares at her like she’s not trustworthy and she shifts nervously. “I brought breakfast for Rachel,” she shows him the bag and the coffees.
“She’s vegan,” he snaps eyeing the bag of what he guesses are donuts and the coffee that surely contains milk in his mind.
“Soy latte and a hazelnut vegan cookie.”
Hiram raises his eyebrows impressed, meanwhile Leroy watches the stare match awkwardly. “Okay…” he mumbles, “time to go. Quinn, you and Rachel have fun and keep an eye on her, alright?”
“Sure, sir. Drive safe and have fun in Dayton.”
Leroy pulls Hiram to the car, sending Quinn an apologetic smile back. She finally breathes out a long sigh and makes her way to Rachel’s bedroom. She knocks on the door and waits. When there’s no answer she pushes the door ajar and peeks inside. Rachel is on the floor doing sit ups with her earphones on.
Quinn lets her hazel eyes roam freely over Rachel’s taut body. ‘And I’m gonna have this girl all by myself this weekend. How did I get so lucky?’
Rachel suddenly stops and jumps into a sitting position, her head snapping to the girl standing ogling her from the door.
“Quinn! Good morning! Is it nine already?” Rachel stands in a rush and checks her phone. Surely she didn’t notice the time what with the new exercising regime she’s trying and all. If it wasn’t for Quinn’s thought that resounded loud and clear through her head and over the music from her iPod, she wouldn’t have noticed the blonde had arrived.
“Yeah, I came a little early,” Quinn stammers, forcing her eyes to stay above Rachel’s neck. “I just met your dads, by the way.”
“Oh my God, you did?” Rachel’s eyes widen comically. “Did Hiram say something mean? Oh he’s in so much trouble if he did.”
Quinn laughs. “No, they were fine.”
“Oh, okay.” Rachel finally looks down at herself, realizing she’s wearing the tiniest shorts and sports bra she owns and her skin is wet from the sweat. “Uh, I’m gross. I’m going to go shower real quick. Could you wait in the kitchen? I’ll be downstairs in a minute.”
Quinn does just that. She sits on a stool and sips on her coffee, her fingers tapping on the marble table and her ears catching the muffled song Rachel is belting out in her shower over the sound of splashing water.
Rachel in the shower. Uh oh.
She quickly forces her mind to stop going in that direction.
Minutes later a fresh and clean Rachel runs down the stairs. She takes her seat in front of Quinn and the blonde passes her her coffee and her cookie.
“It’s all vegan,” she explains when she sees Rachel eyeing the coffee. The shorter girl flashes her a grin. Rachel reaches over the table and pecks her on the lips, murmuring a quick “thank you,” before digging into her food.
When they finish their breakfast, they move to the living room to watch some TV. At this time in the day it’s all mostly talk shows and cartoons, so Rachel switches to the cutest looking ones and diverts her attention to the blonde.
There’s a question in Rachel’s eyes and it’s the same one Quinn had that day in her bedroom. The blonde catches on it quickly and smiles sheepishly before leaning in and kissing her. And so they kiss and kiss and kiss.
They stop eventually, of course. Rachel suggests that they play Scrabble. She finds a tough opponent in Quinn because Quinn is after all one of the smartest girls in school. But Rachel’s vast vocabulary ends with her winning. Rachel claims that Quinn must be her perfect adversary in Scrabble, that even her dads make it too easy for her to win. Quinn almost bursts with pride.
And then they kiss again.
They have lunch, watch a movie, talk to Brittany and Santana on Facebook and listen to music. They also kiss on the couch, on the bed and on the kitchen counter. They just can’t seem to keep their hands off of each other.
It’s all still pretty tame. They’ve gone under the shirt but never got close enough to second base. They’re only feather-like touches, brushing skin, tickling sides, only fuelling the coiling desire inside them. But it’s much too soon for that, so they keep kissing. Innocent and not so innocent kisses, interrupted by giggles and breathy sighs and sometimes a good placed hickey in that spot that turns Rachel into a poodle of goo.
They lay on Rachel’s bed, this time talking. They are learning about each other, sharing secrets and embarrassing stories and dreams. Rachel just told Quinn that she keeps a neatly folded paper with her Tony Award acceptance speech on her dresser along with her favourite brush that she uses as a microphone when she practices in front of the mirror.
“Oh my God,” Quinn doubles over laughing, “you are such a diva.” Rachel pouts, not happy with how her routine is amusing Quinn. The cheerleader sees it and she stops laughing immediately but the smile still remains. “But you are my diva.”
A shy smile tugs on Rachel’s lips. “Am I?”
“Yeah,” Quinn frowns, “unless that was too soon. In which case, I’m sorry. I just thought that after these past weeks, maybe-“
“No, no! I like it. I like the idea of me being yours.” This earns Rachel a dazzling smile from the blonde. “Just like I like the idea of you being mine.”
“Yeah?”
Rachel nods.
“Wait, did we just…” Quinn gestures between the two of them, “you know, make it official?”
Rachel taps her chin with her finger. “I think we did.”
“Well, this deserves a celebration,” Quinn purrs inching closer with a sly smirk.
“I concur.”
And Rachel and Quinn becoming RachelandQuinn happens as easy as that.
When the night falls, they grab a quick dinner and make their way to Puck’s party. At first they thought of not attending, but after a long Facebook conversation consisting of Brittany’s begging and Santana’s pressuring, they finally gave in and decided to stop by for just an hour or so.
They stay for two. When Santana, who ended up promising she’d be the designated driver for them four, leaves them in Rachel’s driveway, they stumble out of the car giggling. The couple- maybe three?- wine coolers they’ve had are kicking in full swing right now and the pair manage to drunkenly open Rachel’s front door and climb the stairs.
They collapse into the bed dissolving into a fit of giggles. Quinn, who’s a little more sober than the brunette, tries to compose herself for a moment.
“We should ch-change. I don’t wanna fall sleep with my jeans on.”
Rachel looks over at the mentioned garment with half-lidded eyes and nods once. She sits up and pulls her sweater over her head, soon followed by her shirt. She goes for the skirt but Quinn stops her.
“Woah, woah. I think you should- maybe- just- if you keep taking clothes off I might do something.”
Rachel looks down at herself. She’s wearing her pale blue lace bra and her skirt. The concept of what Quinn is implying makes its way through her foggy mind. “Oooh…”
“Yeah…”
“I’m gonna- I’m gonna change in the bathroom then.” She grabs a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on the way and another pair for Quinn before throwing them in the blonde’s general direction and disappearing into the bathroom.
Quinn blows out a long breath, trying to cool down her body and then quickly changes into the borrowed pajamas. When Rachel appears into the room, she looks refreshed and her hair is up in a ponytail. She turns off the light and crawls into the bed next to the blonde.
Quinn immediately turns on her side and pulls Rachel into her. There’s not a lot of resistance on Rachel’s part when she finds Quinn’s lips and tongue massaging hers.
It has been growing all day, this warmth at the pit of her stomach. But she knows is way too soon and this is definitely not the moment because both of them are still a little intoxicated and they just made it official today. However, when Quinn’s cool hand which is resting on her stomach under her shirt, starts making its way up, Rachel doesn’t stop it. Instead she encourages it with a little breathy whimper.
Quinn’s hand reaches her breast and at first it just lays there, like Quinn is waiting for her reaction, for her to flinch away and slap her or let her know that it’s okay. The blonde even slows her kissing to a gentle push and pull of lips and mumbles between her lips, “is this okay?”
Rachel nods, arching her back ever so slightly so Quinn would take the hint and do something, anything with that hand.
The blonde starts a gentle massage, followed by her thumb brushing over Rachel’s hard nub. Rachel’s breath grows heavier and she moves even closer to Quinn, her legs tangling with the blonde’s.
Quinn moans deep in her throat at the feel of Rachel’s body pressing into her from every side. They fit, but not in that clichéd pieces-of-puzzles thing, it’s more like they melt into each other. Like their bodies are made of the same matter that adjusts itself to the other and are never uncomfortable. Quinn squeezes Rachel’s breast and breathes deep through her nose before detaching herself from her girl.
Rachel understands that they need to stop or this is going to take a very different path soon. Quinn slips her hand out and rests it over Rachel’s shirt on her stomach, smoothing down the fabric and giving them some time to calm their ragging hormones.
“We should sleep,” Rachel says softly.
“Mkay.”
They don’t move an inch apart, too comfortable in their warm cocoon to even think about moving. And as the arousal gives way to the tiredness and sleepiness caused by the alcohol, the two girls fall sleep into each others arms.
…
Of course when Rachel’s alarm clock starts beeping the next morning, Quinn, who’s closer to it, just grunts and slams her hand on it, effectively shutting it up for the rest of the day and snuggles into the delicious warmth the body next to hers is providing.
Rachel just sighs and mumbles something incoherent in her sleep before they both fall into a deep slumber again.
Hours later Rachel is awakened by the sound of a car door closing and blinks her eyes slowly, trying to locate herself into a concrete time and space. She looks at the clock and realizes she and Quinn had slept in most of the day. She then realizes the car door was probably her dads arriving home.
With a dull thumping in her head that she mentally notes to take care of later, she gently shakes the blonde awake.
“Quinn.” The front door opens. “Quinn, wake up.”
“Mhmm, Rach…” Quinn mumbles, “you’re my girlfriend now…”
Rachel takes a second to laugh at that. “Yes, indeed I am. However that has nothing to with the fact that you must wake up immediately if you don’t want to explain my dads why you’re sleeping in my bed.”
“Wha…” Quinn blinks her eyes open and the sound of the door closing and the Berry men carrying their stuff into the house reaches the room. “Oh fuck. Oh shit.”
“Quinn language,” Rachel chastises as Quinn jumps from the bed and holds her head for a minute before turning to change and get out of there before Hiram sees her. ‘If he sees me I’m dead. I’m dead. He will kill me with his laser glare.’
Rachel rolls her eyes at her girlfriend’s antics. And she’s supposed to be the diva here.
Quinn strips in front of her, but so fast that Rachel barely has a nano-second to enjoy her body in underwear. She slips the jeans and sweater she wore yesterday and smoothes her hair in front of the mirror and rubs the sleep off of her face. Rachel sits cross-legged on her bed watching Quinn look for her purse, spinning around like a dog chasing its tale in the middle of her room, when her Daddy opens the door and her girlfriend freezes.
“Hi, Daddy.”
Leroy eyes Quinn mildly surprised. ‘I knew that she was going to call her. Huge possibility of her spending the night but I thought they’d be a little more subtle and she would have left already.’
“Quinn was just leaving, Daddy.” Rachel explains. “She came by to spend the day with me.”
“Right,” Leroy says, “and she’s wearing the same clothes as yesterday because...?”
“Damn gay men and their observant skills,” Rachel curses under her breath. “Okay, she stayed the night, but we just slept. In the same bed. But slept.”
“Rachel!” Quinn hisses. ‘Was that last remark really necessary? Oh God this is mortifying.’
“Oh well, that’s good to know,” Leroy says awkwardly. “And it’s nice to see you again, Quinn, but you might want to leave before my husband sees you. He has nothing against you, trust me. We’ve talked. But he’s just as observant as I am, if only not as understanding.”
“Got it,” Quinn nods.
“Oh and don’t use the stairs. He’s in the kitchen.”
“Then how-“
“You figure it out,” and with that he winks and leaves.
“I hate your Dad.”
“He likes you, tough,” Rachel says with a pout. Quinn sighs.
“I’m kidding. I just don’t know how am I supposed to leave without…” Quinn’s eyes stop on the window. “Oh.”
Rachel catches it. “You are crazy.”
“It’s the first floor and there’s a tree right there.”
Rachel stands and makes her way next to the blonde at the window. “Still crazy.”
“Maybe, but I’m your crazy,” Quinn says cheekily. Rachel shakes her head with a smile and Quinn opens the window and throws a leg over the ledge. She turns to give her girl a goodbye kiss and Rachel watches her with her lip between her teeth as she makes her way down the tree. When the athletic cheerleader has proved that it is just that easy to climb down a tree and is standing safely on the ground, she waves back at Rachel and runs to her car. Rachel watches her until the vehicle disappears around the corner.
She sighs against the cold glass of the window. Suddenly her Dad bursts into the room, looking suspicious.
“Was that Quinn’s car that just left out driveway?”
Rachel opens her mouth and then closes it again. She guesses it’s time to update her Dad on the last events.
“Dad, you might want to sit down for this.”