Someone I've Been Missing (The Better Half of Me) (6/?)
Title: Someone I've Been Missing (The Better Half of Me)
Pairing: Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry; side Brittany/Santana
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Just having a little fun.
Summary: AU/Future fic. Quinn, a rising sophomore in college, meets Rachel for the first time just before the school term begins. An argument between them leaves Rachel wanting nothing more than to forget that Quinn even exists. But she soon finds out that she can’t get rid of the determined blonde that easily.
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“I would just like to take this opportunity to remind you that you still have not taken me on our date,” Rachel says from her spot on her bed.
“Oh come on Rach, you know I’ve been busy with homework and classes,” Quinn mumbles beside the brunette, her words muffled by the pencil in her mouth. She’s concentrating on taking notes from her business textbook, the class being the excuse she used on Rachel to get a chance to get into the brunette’s apartment. Her lovely, roommate free apartment.
They’re professor had assigned a project, the guidelines being to find a partner in the class, research how to create a successful business conglomerate from the ground up and present the material to the class in any media format. Quinn quickly turned to Rachel without hesitation and when the brunette suggested that they present the information in the form of classy show tunes, complete with intricate musical numbers and jazz hands, Quinn almost opted out of their partnership. They had finally reached a middle ground and agreed on a PowerPoint presentation and Quinn couldn’t have been happier.
“I am merely informing you so that in the future when you ask me to be your girlfriend and I turn you down you will know that it is because you haven’t properly courted me.”
Quinn groans as she peels her eyes away from her text book to look at Rachel. She's typing furiously at her computer, dressed in nothing but a tight camisole that Quinn swears that from certain angles she can see her nipples straining through the top, and a pair of pajama bottoms. Her hair is piled atop her head in the sexiest, messiest ponytail that Quinn’s ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. She clears her throat to get Rachel’s attention. Chocolate eyes find hers and Quinn licks her lips before speaking. “This Saturday I’ll take you out off campus somewhere and this time I promise.”
Rachel smiles brightly and leans forward to place a firm kiss against Quinn’s lips. Quinn’s fingers instantly curl into her hair before Rachel pulls away. She’s always amazed at how soft Rachel’s lips are. How perfectly her pouty bottom lip fits in between both of hers and how wonderfully tantalizing Rachel’s moans sound while vibrating off of her own lips. Her fingers slide along Rachel’s cheek before teasing a burning trail down the smooth expanse of her throat to the valley of her breasts. She cups the soft mound of flesh in her hand and squeezes gently, shifting in her seat as Rachel groans quietly.
Rachel pulls away, grabbing Quinn’s wrist and pulling her hand away from her breast to lie on the bed between them. “Where will we be going?” she pants through kiss swollen lips, her hooded eyes regarding Quinn with a burning stare.
Quinn returns her smile and licks the strawberry lip gloss off her lips. “It’s a surprise.”
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Quinn rushes around her room nervously as she prepares for her date with Rachel. Her clock mocks her every move as it counts down a lot quicker that Quinn had anticipated. Once the alarm goes off then it’ll be time for her to pick up Rachel. And Quinn knows that if she’s even a minute late she’ll be faced with the biggest pout known to man and the longest lecture on punctuality to boot.
“Where the fuck are my earrings?” she growls before storming out of her room into the common space. “Brit have you seen Santana?”
Brittany looks around her before her wide, blue eyes find Quinn again. “She was here earlier,” she says with a frown. “I don’t know where she could have gone. Oh! She must have gone to get my ice cream.”
Quinn runs her hands through her hair, frustrated. “Well do you know what she did with my gold hoops?”
“Sure I do!” she exclaims before hopping off the couch and jogging into Santana’s room. She emerges with the earrings in her hand a moment later before handing them to Quinn. “You’re a life saver,” she rushes out before walking to the mirror in the hallway to put them on.
“I thought I was Brittany.”
Quinn chuckles a little. “You sure are, B,” she says warmly.
Her hands shake nervously as she tries to put her earrings in her ear unsuccessfully. This date will undoubtedly determine her future with Rachel and as Quinn finds herself caring about the brunette more and more with each passing day she can’t help but hope the date ends in her favor.
“Ouch,” she whispers harshly as she just misses the hole in her ear and stabs the skin above it.
She rubs the spot sorely, not even bothering to protest when Brittany walks over and gently pries the earrings from her grip. She turns around to her friend and offers a grateful smile as Brittany leans down and calmly puts her earrings in for her. “Thanks, Brit.”
Brittany smiles and places a friendly kiss against Quinn’s cheek. “You look super pretty, Quinn.”
“Let’s hope Rachel thinks so,” she jokes, butterflies fluttering in her stomach as her thoughts are taken back to Rachel again.
“She will,” Brittany says assuredly before prancing back to her seat.
Quinn grabs her jacket from the hook by the door before walking back to her room to look at her clock. She grabs her keys on her nightstand and walks back into the common space. “Looks like I have ten more minutes.” She walks over to the couch and sits beside Brittany to watch TV with her in hopes of calming her nerves.
Moments later she decidedly doesn’t want to watch TV and side eyes her friend on the couch before finally gathering the courage to speak. “Hey, B?”
“Yeah, Q,” Brittany replies distractedly as she watches iCarly.
Her hands fidget with the hem off her purple floral dress as she tries to word her question as best as she can. “How did you know you were in love with Santana? Like, when did you know and what did it feel like?”
She tilts her head to the side as if she doesn’t understand the question and Quinn’s about two seconds away from just telling her to forget this whole moment ever happened when she finally speaks. “I realized I loved San when she took me to the zoo and I was sad that I ran out of pellets because I fed them all to the ducks and she bought me some more. Then we fed the giraffes together!”
Quinn’s brow furrows as she desperately tries to make sense of that statement. It’s pretty straight forward but she’s having a hard time figuring out how the hell you fall in love with someone because they bought you extra pellets to feed some animals at the zoo.
“She’s always so tough, you know? She’s always yelling and getting into people’s faces but she’s not like that around me. She’s nice and super gentle and she always does whatever it takes to make me happy. Santana shows me a side of her that nobody gets to see and that’s why I fell in love with her.”
“And it feels really good. Love does,” she continues. “The sex is way, way better now and I told San it would be.”
Quinn’s a little uncomfortable about having to hear about their sex life but she lets Brittany continue in hopes that it’ll end soon.
“And I just…I don’t know. I just want to protect her. And everybody might find that funny because Santana seems more likely to be the one to protect me but I protect this for her,” she says, gesturing to her heart. “That’s the one thing that can really hurt Santana and I think it’s awesome that I get to be the one to protect her heart for her.”
Quinn’s heart swells at how deep Brittany’s love for Santana is and though Santana tries to act tough, Quinn knows her best friend’s love for her girlfriend runs just as deep. “I’m very happy for the both of you, Brittany,” she says kindly.
“I’m happy for you too, Quinn. You and Rachel are really cute and I can tell you two care about each other a lot.”
Her alarm goes off and she jets to her room to shut it off before sprinting to the door. “I’m sorry, B, but I have to go!”
“Have fun, Quinn!” she calls before Quinn closes the door.
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“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Rachel asks from the passenger seat of Quinn’s car.
“For the tenth time, Rachel, I’m not telling you. This is a surprise. Shall I define the word for you?"
“Like you defined tactless?” Rachel quips with an infectious giggle.
Quinn laughs along with her as she signals to change lanes. “That was a great definition. As a matter of fact I’m sure it’s in Oxford Dictionary. They gave me credit.”
“Dork.”
“Pot. Kettle. Care to finish that statement for me, sweetheart?”
Rachel doesn’t respond. She just reaches across the console, for the blonde’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “You look beautiful. I love your dress,” she murmurs.
Quinn smiles, pink dusting her cheeks at the compliment and the simple action. She returns the sentiment before giving Rachel’s hand a gentle squeeze as they continue the car ride in companionable silence.
They pull into the parking lot of a brick building and Rachel peers out of her window to get a better look. “Putt-Putt?” she asks with a hint of a smile in her voice.
“Hope you can golf, Berry.”
They walk up to the counter and Rachel gathers their golf clubs and assorted colored balls as Quinn pays for them both.
Throwing her receipt in a nearby trashcan, Quinn turns to Rachel and instantly bursts into a fit of giggles.
“What’s so funny?” Rachel asks with a furrowed eyebrow.
Quinn pries the two golf clubs from Rachel’s hand to hold them up side by side. “One of these is definitely smaller than the other, Berry.” She laughs again as Rachel frowns at her and snatches the club from her hand before briskly walking away.
“Hey wait,” Quinn calls, unable to keep the laughter from her voice. “Aww, come on, Rachel, I didn’t mean anything by it. I think your height is cute, you’re fun size.”
Rachel huffs as she comes to a stop and Quinn catches up to her, spinning her around and wrapping one of her arms loosely around her neck. “Come on, shorty,” she coaxes as she leans closer to Rachel’s face. “I was joking, okay?” She soothingly runs her fingers along the back of Rachel’s neck. She knows Rachel was picked on in high school and although Quinn’s role in high school extended to tormenting all losers, she isn’t in high school anymore and neither is Rachel. And any gentle jabs she makes towards the brunette are all in good fun and she needs her to know that. “You always pick on me for being younger.” She kisses the tip of her nose as Rachel scowls up at her. “I can pick on your height,” she whispers. “Or lack thereof.”
Rachel’s about to protest when Quinn swoops down and presses their lips together gently. She instantly melts into the blonde, her arms wrapping tightly against Quinn’s waist as she lightly sucks on her lower lip. She splays her hands against Quinn’s back, urging her closer.
“Golf,” Quinn whispers before biting Rachel’s lip. She hears a low whine rumble in Rachel’s throat at the sting of her bite and suddenly she doesn’t want to play golf anymore.
It’s Rachel that ends up pulling back, placing a parting kiss to Quinn’s lips before grabbing the shorter golf club from Quinn’s grip. “Have I told you how competitive I can be, Fabray?”
“Have I told you about how much you’re going to lose, Berry?”
A couple hours later they reach the eighteenth hole and Rachel’s so far behind that even if she bests Quinn on this particular hole she’ll still lose.
“I’m not good at this,” Rachel pouts as she places her ball on the ground. She gets behind it and gently swings her club back and forth to ready her shot.
“You just need the Fabray touch,” Quinn quips and Rachel swallows thickly at what she assumes is unintentional innuendo. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Berry.”
Before she can even retort she feels the blonde pressed tightly against her back. “There’s a certain posture that you have to have that you’ve been lacking this whole game.”
“You could have told me that.”
“I wanted to win.”
“And now that I have won,” Quinn purrs against Rachel’s ear, “I can show you how to properly stroke.”
Rachel’s grip tightens on the club in her hand as she tries to control herself. Just a few words from the teasing blonde behind her sends her mind straight to the gutter and heat envelops her entire body. She feels Quinn lean forward, pressing even more against her if that’s even possible, before her arms slide down Rachel’s arms. Quinn presses a quick kiss on Rachel’s temple before her lips land next to Rachel’s ear. “Now…you’re going to want to spread your legs and widen your stance just a little.” Rachel’s mind went blank as soon as Quinn uttered the spread your legs part and Quinn has to gently tap her foot against Rachel’s right leg a few times until Rachel gets the hint and moves her foot over.
“That’s perfect,” Quinn whispers and Rachel feels something low in her clench briefly at the sound of her voice. Her eyelids flutter and she unconsciously leans back against the blonde’s warmth.
“Uh-uh, Rachel. You need to lean forward,” Quinn chastises. Rachel immediately straightens, face flushing at getting caught up in the moment before she leans forward. “You’re doing this on purpose,” she grumbles.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replies soberly but Rachel can easily detect the smile in her voice. Her hands reach further down Rachel’s arms until her hands are covering the one’s white knuckle gripping the golf club. “Relax your grip.”
She keeps her body firmly wrapped around Rachel’s as they both pivot back slightly before swinging forward. The ball is off without a hitch and Rachel watches, jaw dropped, as the ball easily slides along the course. “You have to have the right touch to hit it just right.”
The ball continues through the course before neatly landing in the designated hole. Rachel turns to Quinn, face slightly flushed with arousal. “You’ve done this before,” she states accusingly.
“My father loves golf. He used to take me with him on Sunday afternoons after church.” Her eyes lose focus and cloud over in just a way that has Rachel thinking this isn’t a subject they should breach just yet.
“You cheated,” she says flippantly a moment later.
Quinn smirks down at her before pulling her into a hug. “I never said the Fabrays play fair.”
Rachel purposefully places a sloppy kiss against her cheek in retaliation and laughs as Quinn unsuccessfully tries to pry herself away from the deceptively strong brunette. “I can feel your spit on my face!” she exclaims.
Rachel shrugs and hugs her for a moment longer before pulling away. “Come on,” Quinn says as she grabs Rachel’s hand.
“Where are we going now?”
“To get some food.”
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“Quinn, I was delightfully unaware that when you suggested food, you had a whole picnic planned out,” Rachel beams from above her as she teasingly places a grape within the blonde’s reach before pulling it back.
Quinn smiles up at her, blonde hair splayed over Rachel’s lap. “I’m full of surprises.”
“So it seems,” Rachel muses as she finally gives Quinn the grape, curling her fingers into the hair tumbling in waves across her lap.
It’s silent for a moment and Quinn isn’t really trying to make conversation out of thin air because she knows sooner or later Rachel will start a conversation.
“Tell me about yourself, Quinn.”
“What do you wanna know?”
Rachel peers down at her curiously. “What has your life been like up to this point? How were you raised? I feel like I’ve told you so much about myself and I know nothing about you.”
“Now you know how I felt when you wouldn’t tell me your name,” Quinn quips, remembering back to a couple of months ago when Rachel wouldn’t even give her the time of day. But she supposes Rachel really does have a point. Quinn’s learned about Rachel’s upbringing being submerged in the arts. From ballet, to tap dancing, to acting, singing, Rachel’s done it all and Quinn listened on in awe as Rachel recalled all the awards and certificates she’s ever won.
Then Quinn learned about how Rachel was adopted by two men named Leroy and Hiram. Rachel later on in life had learned that her biological mother had given her up in order to pursue a career in showbiz and although Quinn was initially angry when she first found out, she’s glad that Rachel was raised by two men that loved her as well as each other unconditionally and created a stable environment to foster Rachel’s own talent.
“I really do know a lot about you,” Quinn murmurs, more to herself than Rachel. She’s never really cared about anyone enough to get to know them on an intimate level so knowing little things about Rachel even down to the fact that her room back at her house is painted yellow with pink sheets on her bed is a big deal.
“So let me get to know a lot about you,” Rachel responds as she continues to lightly stroke Quinn’s hair. “What makes Quinn Fabray such a player?”
“I wasn’t aware that I was one.” She smirks back up at Rachel.
Rachel scoffs before giving Quinn’s hair a firm tug. “Ow, that hurt! Fine, fine, I’ll tell you stuff.”
“I went to a private all girls academy for elementary school all the way through middle school. I didn’t meet Santana until sixth grade when the number of girls in our class dwindled down and a lot of us began to see more of each other. Santana…has always been a little ahead of the curve sort to speak.” She glances up at Rachel to see her looking back down at her confusedly and she elaborates.
“Santana first expressed interest in girls in middle school. At least I think so. I didn’t know her before then so she could have had an interest earlier than that. She told me to try it out to see if I liked it but I told her no because, well…I didn’t have interest in anybody at that age. Boy or girl,” she says sheepishly.
Rachel bites her lip to keep the smile off of her face, picturing a young Quinn Fabray, all blonde hair, frilly dresses and innocence.
“By the time eighth grade rolled around, Santana had become a terror. She rebelled against her teachers and convinced her parents to send her to Mckinley High, a public high school in Lima. I begged my father to let me go with her and although he was extremely put off by her character, he allowed me to go. She and I quickly took charge of the school. I was captain of our cheerleading squad and she was right beside me.”
“A natural born leader, I see,” Rachel teases lightly and Quinn offers a shy smile.
“I guess you could say that. Part of being popular and on top is that you had to date someone that was your equal. Or so I thought. I dated the captain of the football team too,” she teases right back, gently nudging Rachel. “But I cheated on him. As a matter of fact I cheated on all of my boyfriends,” she says, disgusted with herself. "None of them had what I wanted and I didn't find out until years later that what I wanted, what I was searching for every time I kissed a different guy while being with another one, was actually a woman."
“The guy that I told you I had sex with was the last boyfriend I ever had. We were both virgins and had no idea what we were doing. My parents signed the slip opting me out of sex ed and he was just dumb. I was so thankful for Santana because she bought me an entire box of condoms and showed me how to put one on by using a small cucumber. She even showed me how to pinch the tip.”
“She’s a good friend,” Rachel says with realization in her voice. When Mercedes and Kurt had initially told her about Santana Lopez and then she met her for the first time she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why Quinn would want to be friends with her.
Quinn smiles fondly. “She’s always been there for me. After I had sex with him I drove to her house crying the entire way. I asked her what was wrong with me because I felt sick and disgusted and empty and that’s not how a girl is supposed to feel after her first time. She asked me did I feel anything when I kissed him and I said no.” She inhales a shaky breath. “And then…she kissed me. And I felt more feelings stirred inside of me from that one kiss than I felt from having sex with my own boyfriend.”
Rachel nods sympathetically, eyes wide in disbelief at the story Quinn’s telling. She feels a small sense of jealousy flare up inside of her and she instantly stomps it down. What Santana did had actually helped Quinn and Rachel didn’t even know the blonde at the time to feel jealous anyway.
“I got so angry, Rachel,” she whispers gravely. “I told her I hated her and what she made me feel and I ran from her house and drove back to mine. We didn’t talk for two months after that, the remaining of the school year. But cheering camp started back up over that summer and we became friends again.”
Quinn sits up from Rachel’s lap and faces her, eyes downcast, looking at her fidgeting hands. “I told my parents I was gay during the summer before I came here so that if they kicked me out, I wouldn’t have long before I came to live in the dorms anyway. They were angry, but they didn’t disown me like I thought they would. Our relationship is very strained right now. I didn’t go home over the summer and San and I just went to Florida. My father didn’t care. He happily gave me the money because it meant that his lesbian daughter wouldn’t be back in Lima where everyone knows him and I can embarrass him.”
“Oh, yeah, and I have a sister,” she adds belatedly. “She’s straight.”
Rachel doesn’t know what possesses her to have such a reaction, perhaps the severity of their conversation, but the last statement causes her to giggle uncontrollably and Quinn doesn’t hesitate to join her. “She really does suck,” she tells her with a laugh. “But what can I do? She’s family, you know?”
Rachel sobers up with a bright smile, proud of Quinn for taking everything in her life in stride. “You still didn’t tell me why you’re such a player,” she prompts, hoping to steer the conversation into less tense waters.
Quinn shrugs. “I guess I became overzealous when I got here. I mean, I spent my whole high school career dating guys I didn’t have feelings for and I had just came out to my parents. I was in new territory and I finally felt…free. So I just tried my hand with one girl and we had sex and I realized that I really, really like girls,” she says with a blush and Rachel smiles.
“But there’s one girl in particular that I’ve gone crazy for.” She leans in close to Rachel’s face, hazel eyes piercing Rachel’s. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Her lips descend slowly onto Rachel’s in a loud, lip smacking kiss before she pulls back. Rachel frowns, expecting more before she grabs the front of Quinn’s dress and pulls her in for a real kiss.
Quinn grins cheekily against her lips, her tongue diving into Rachel’s mouth and curling. An answering growl is her reward as Rachel sucks gently on the intruder in her mouth.
She pulls back enough to take two quick breaths, gathering courage. “Be my girlfriend,” she whispers breathily.
Rachel smiles, eyes closed as she rests her forehead against Quinn’s. “We really need to teach you how to ask and not demand.”
“Is that a yes?” she asks, a pleading note in her voice.
“It’s a yes.”