fic: faberry drabbles 2
Title: Faberry Neapolitan: 20 Songs, 20 Drabbles (Part Two)
Chapter: 1/1
Author: lifeawakening
Pairing: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray
Rating: PG-13
Words: 9,789
Summary: There really is no summary for this. In an attempt to get myself over my writer's block, I did a little writing activity. So, this is the product of me putting my ipod on shuffle and forcing myself to write on whatever song came up. It's called 'Neapolitan' because it's literally a combination of completely different emotions and topics and universes that, put together, make up Faberry.
Drumming // Florence + the Machine
“I’m sorry,” Rachel said, eyes closed, “what did you say, Mr. Schue?”
Mr. Schue gave Rachel an odd look before repeating himself, “I said that I think we should do an assignment similar to the ballad one, only this time we would just focus on the duet part.”
Rachel had an incredibly loud roaring in her ears as the blood pounded in her head. She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes as she tuned out the rest of Mr. Schue’s lecture, giving up on listening.
It had all started when Quinn sat next to her in glee. She actually sat down on the riser next to Rachel, opting to be closer to the brunette as opposed to sitting comfortably in a chair. Rachel’s heart rate had sped up and the drumming in her head hit quickly after.
Quinn eyed Rachel from the corner of her eyes as the brunette pinched the bridge of her nose. Her eyes glazed over with concern but she refused to actually look at Rachel.
Rachel shifted uncomfortably in her plastic chair as she swallowed harshly. Finn nudged her shoulder and mouthed, “Are you okay?” to which she simply nodded in response. Her focus swam as she room started spinning. Was this what a migraine felt like? She was thinking about possibly going to the nurse when she felt a hand on her knee.
She slowly turned her head to the right as she met hazel eyes. “Are you okay, Rachel?”
Rachel swore her head started pounding harder as Quinn’s voice hit her ears. She thought she might’ve nodded in response to the blonde’s question, but she wasn’t sure, because it was at that moment that she pitched over sideways and into Quinn’s lap.
Brittany and Tina screamed as the boys leapt up. There was a chorus of “Is she okay?” and even one, “Does this mean I get to be lead now?” Quinn cradled the unconscious girl in her lap as Mr. Schue ran out of the room to get the nurse.
Finn attempted to nudge Quinn out of the way, but she held her ground as she watched Rachel’s face. “Has she been like this all day?”
Finn shrugged. “I don’t think so. It happened once glee started.”
It was ten minutes later when Rachel woke up in the nurse’s office. She kept her eyes closed to get her bearings. She could tell that she was in the nurse’s office and that the hand holding hers definitely wasn’t Finn’s.
“What happened to me?” she asked with eyes still closed.
“We don’t know. You passed out on me in the middle of glee. Did you forget to eat today?”
“Of course not, Quinn. I had a nutritious lunch. I just remember an excruciating headache and then responding to your question.”
She heard a laugh and opened her eyes to see Quinn sitting next to her. “You didn’t answer me, you just passed out on me like a creep.”
Rachel glanced at Quinn and immediately her heart rate sped up. Quinn moved back as the nurse made her way between the girls. “You said you ate, then? Did you get dizzy before you passed out?”
Rachel nodded at the older woman as she watched her pull out a stethoscope. She felt the cool metal on her chest and watched the old woman’s eyes widen. “Your heartbeat is erratic, that’s not normal. Was it like that before you passed out?”
Rachel nodded. “Yes, it started out as that and before I knew it I had this pounding headache and then I just… passed out.”
The nurse continued listening to Rachel’s heartbeat as she timed it. “Has this happened before?”
“Recently,” Rachel allowed, avoiding Quinn’s eyes from across the room. The blond cocked an eyebrow.
“Do you have any idea of what it is? Are you prone to panic attacks?”
Rachel finally raised her eyes to meet Quinn’s from across the room. “I’m not prone to panic attacks, but I think I know what’s been causing my heart to do that.” Quinn’s breath caught in her throat.
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Ice Cream Man // Van Halen
The summers in Lima could get really, really hot. Luckily, there was never a lack of ice cream men. Except that one summer when Sandy Ryerson got the job and everyone just stocked up on Cold Stone. This summer, however, Rachel Berry managed to snag the job. She had wanted it since she was nine and discovered that you could sneak ice cream when no one was looking. This summer, though, she had replaced everything with vegan ice cream. She hadn’t told anyone about doing that.
She put on her little white uniform and threw her hair up in a messy ponytail. She got behind the wheel, adjusted the rearview mirror, smiled at herself in it, and switched on the music.
It was two hours later when she was passing through the neighborhood that housed both the Fabray’s and the Lopez’s. She smiled to herself as she saw the three most powerful Cheerio’s lounging on lawn chairs in the front yard. She slowed down and grinned when she saw Brittany throw off her sunglasses and gesture wildly towards her truck.
Rachel stopped in front of the Lopez household and straightened her paper hat. She opened the window and smiled brightly at Brittany and a glaring Santana. “Hello, ladies! What can I get you?”
Santana’s glare turned into a grin. “Oh, hell no. Are you serious? You’re the ice cream man? I didn’t know you were so low class, Berry.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “I’ll have you know, Santana, that I’ve coveted this job since I was a child. This is an honor for me. And it seems Brittany would like something.”
Brittany and Santana momentarily argued about what Santana could afford and what Brittany wanted, which were apparently two very different things. Rachel glanced over their heads to Quinn, who was still laying on her lawn chair. She lowered her sunglasses to her nose and stared at Rachel. Rachel smiled and waved shyly. Quinn waved back idly before sliding her sunglasses back on. Rachel was forced to stop staring when Santana slammed a five onto the makeshift counter and Brittany shouted, “Powerpuff Girls!”
The next day, Rachel was back in their neighborhood at eleven o’clock sharp. Brittany once again jumped up and ran wildly to the truck. Santana looked more prepared today as she pulled a five from her bikini top and slowly followed the blond. Rachel greeted them again and her eyes wandered over to Quinn as Brittany picked out what she wanted.
The blond didn’t remove her sunglasses this time, but she did make her way to the truck. “So, is there anything good here, ice cream man?”
Rachel raised her eyebrows at Quinn. “Very clever, Quinn. And of course there’s something good here. I myself have been enjoying the Flintstones push pops.” Rachel idly began licking on the one that she had in her hand as she eyed Quinn. “Would you like some?”
Quinn opened and closed her mouth a few times before Santana elbowed her. “Do you want one or not, Q? You’re holding up the line and you cut Brittany.”
Quinn shook her head. “No, I don’t. Ice cream makes you fat,” she added, throwing a pointed look up at Rachel before walking off. Rachel handed Brittany her Powerpuff Girls ice cream.
The next day it was the same routine. Except, this day, Quinn sauntered up to the truck with her purse in hand. “Fine. Since you’re so determined to stalk me or something, maybe if I buy something from you, you won’t come here anymore.”
Rachel leaned out of her little window and smirked at Quinn. “Afraid not, Quinn. This is on my daily route. Besides, it must get hot just laying outside all day. I’m sure I have something back here that can cool you off.”
Santana paused rummaging through her purse to look disgusted in Rachel’s direction as Quinn actually blushed. “What do you recommend then, Berry?”
Rachel smiled. “As a matter of fact, I suggest the Very Berry. It’s my own invention of-”
“I’ll take it,” Quinn interrupted, slapping a five onto the counter. Rachel prepared the ice cream and turned back to the window. She wrapped the five dollar bill around the cone and handed it to the blond.
“No charge. The usual, Brit?”
The next day it was just Santana and Brittany sun bathing in the yard. Brittany bounced up to the window and Santana followed. “RuPaul, have you seen Quinn today? She never showed up.”
Rachel furrowed her brow as she shrugged, “I haven’t seen her, Santana.”
Brittany frowned up at Rachel. “Where’s your paper hat? You look cute in it.”
Santana rolled her eyes as Rachel chuckled, handing Brittany her Powerpuff Girls ice cream and taking Santana’s five. “I lost it Brit, sorry. See you guys tomorrow!” She waved good bye as she got into the driver’s seat and moved down the street. When they were far enough away, Quinn emerged from the freezer section and plopped down next to Rachel.
“Do you think they know?”
“Not a chance,” Rachel stated matter-of-fact like. “Brittany did wonder where my hat went, though.”
Quinn straightened the paper hat on her head as she grinned devilishly at her girlfriend. “You so owe me for getting you this job.”
Rachel chuckled, “Three months of dating should show you that I’m not one to renege on paying people back.”
“I can’t believe you gave me Very Berry ice cream, I mean, how obvious was that?”
“Maybe as obvious as how quickly you ate it. Oh hey, you know that could have a double meaning-”
“Oh my God Rachel, just keep driving.”
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We Used to Wait // Arcade Fire
Quinn jogged up Rachel’s street clad in her Cheerio sweats. The red hood protected her hair from the rain as she padded through puddles and over gravel. She stopped in front of Rachel’s house to catch her breath before grabbing the bottom branches of a tree and hoisting herself up.
Two minutes later and she was pulling herself through Rachel’s bedroom window. Rachel’s room was dark and the digits on the clock flashed 3:37 a.m. Quinn could see her breath swirl in front of her as she took ragged breaths, realizing that Rachel had left her bedroom window open all night.
She squinted through the darkness as she saw the brunette stand up from her position on the edge of her bed: she’d been expecting Quinn. Quinn reached up and the hood dropped from her head. She turned her head slightly and saw two of Rachel’s suitcases by the bed. “Are you ready?”
Rachel, dressed in her own sweats, nodded. She turned around and straightened the envelope - addressed to her fathers - that was placed on the pillows of her made-up bed. The same letter that had in detail why she was running away and when she would be contacting them and why they shouldn’t worry.
Quinn sighed as she saw the sorrow in Rachel’s eyes through the darkness. “You don’t have to come with me.”
Rachel snapped her head to face Quinn. She walked up to the blond and fixed her with a serious look. “There’s nothing on this planet that would keep me from running with you. If you can’t stay here because of your parents, I can’t stay here. It’s my fault anyway. If you weren’t dating me, your mom wouldn’t have-”
“Don’t,” Quinn said, shaking her head. “It’s not your fault. If I wasn’t dating you I’d probably be dead right now. I need to get away from my mom, from here. I just want to make sure this is what you want.”
Rachel bit her lip as she leaned up and kissed Quinn. “I want to be with you. If you’re not here than I don’t have a home.” She tugged Quinn’s hood back up and gazed into what she could see of Quinn’s eyes. “Let’s go. I’m sick of waiting.”
They managed to sneak out and jog the two blocks to Quinn’s car without getting caught. Quinn slid into the driver’s seat as Rachel’s seat belt clicked into place. “Where are we going, anyway?”
Quinn pulled out a map and handed it to Rachel. “New York. Julliard accepts early admissions and you already have more high school credits than necessary. It might take some forging of papers but I’ve already prepared for that.”
Rachel gaped at Quinn. “You did this… for me?”
Quinn’s car roared to life, disrupting the silence of the sleeping neighborhood. “It’s the least I could do for you giving me a reason to leave Lima.”
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In the Next Room // Neon Trees
Quinn groaned as her head hit the pillow. Another stupid glee sleepover had somehow ended up with her rooming with Mercedes and Kurt, while next door, Rachel was rooming with Tina and Puck (who had snuck in). The rest of the kids were camped downstairs. Mercedes and Kurt had conked out long ago and it was just Quinn up now. Quinn, who had been listening to Puck and Rachel make out for the past twenty minutes.
Rachel, the damn tease. Damn, damn tease. Quinn’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the sheets tighter. Didn’t that damn girl know that Quinn liked her? Quinn thought she had made it perfectly obvious when she had only poured the punch bowl down Rachel’s shirt and not over her head.
Quinn groaned as Puck groaned. If she only knew. Stupid Puck didn’t even deserve her. She was just a Jewish trophy to him that he’d forget about after he bagged it. Quinn tried to keep her temper in check as she imagined a hundred different ways to castrate Puck. He knew she liked Rachel, and that just made the game more fun for him.
Her head snapped to the left as she heard a bang and a hissed, “Ow, Noah! What are you doing?”
Quinn shot up and threw open the door in record time. Puck had just enough time to spit out a “what the fuck” before Quinn had his mohawk fisted in her hand. She literally threw him off of Rachel. She turned to the brunette who was holding the two parts of her ripped nightshirt over her chest. “Did he do that?” Quinn snarled.
Rachel nodded with wide eyes. Quinn turned to Puck but the boy was out of the window before she could hit him. After taking a few deep breaths, Quinn turned to face Rachel. She spared a look to Tina to see if she’d woken the girl up, and was grateful when she saw that she hadn’t.
“I couldn’t handle it anymore,” Quinn admitted, turning back to Rachel. “You shouldn’t be with Puck, okay?”
Rachel blinked a few times before adjusting herself on the guest bed. “I’m not with Puck. I was just waiting for you. Puck offered his services and told me that you wouldn’t be able to stand hearing me make out with him. I realize he had ulterior motives but it seemed to get the job done.”
Quinn cocked an eyebrow. “You knew I liked you?”
“Yes.”
“And you used Puck to get me to admit it?”
“Yes. I just didn’t expect you to lose control like that.”
Quinn eyed Rachel’s torn night shirt. “Oh, you have no idea. It’s time for payback.”
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Just the Way You Are // Bruno Mars
Quinn bit back tears as she looked at herself in her full length mirror. “I look so fat.”
Rachel gazed at Quinn over the magazine in her hand. She shifted her position on Quinn’s bed to get a better look at the girl in the mirror. “Not even close.”
“Don’t lie to me, Rachel.”
Rachel sighed. “You don’t look fat.”
“Maybe not, but I definitely look ugly.”
Rachel couldn’t help but laugh, “I’m sorry, but you just can’t be serious. I thought you were looking into a mirror, not a brick wall.”
Quinn rolled her eyes and turned to face Rachel, “The baby ruined my body. Everything about me is off now.”
Rachel’s features softened. “You may feel off, but you don’t look off. You’re amazing, Quinn.” She gestured for her girlfriend to sit on her bed with her.
Rachel smiled at Quinn as she ran a hand up the back of her neck. “Your hair looked perfect today, so you don’t need this,” she stated, pulling the ponytail out of Quinn’s hair and letting it fall.
“Your lips are perfect, and they don’t need this lipstick,” Rachel said, leaning in and giving Quinn a lingering kiss that got rid of most of the lipstick. Quinn smiled as she wiped her lipstick off of Rachel’s mouth with the pad of her thumb. Rachel smiled back. “Which leads me to your smile. Don’t even try to say anything negative about that, because I can barely form coherent thoughts just looking at it now.”
Quinn rolled her eyes but chuckled softly. “And your laugh, oh goodness. I realize that you’re self-conscious now that you aren’t pregnant anymore, Quinn. But I cannot stress to you enough just how amazing you are. I’ll keep telling you that until you believe me.”
Quinn ran a hand through her hair. “I believe it when I’m with you and when I don’t have to face the kids at McKinley.”
Rachel laced her fingers with Quinn’s. “Just promise me that you won’t change anything about yourself. You shouldn’t tamper with perfection.”
“Who knew Rachel Berry was such a smooth talking, cheesy romantic?” Quinn asked, a smile tugging on her lips.
Rachel gestured to the magazine that lay closed on Quinn’s bed. “There was an article on the ten ways to get your girlfriend to put out. Complimenting her and making her feel comfortable about herself was number one.”
Quinn gaped and lunged for the magazine. Rachel beamed at Quinn from across the bed as Quinn scanned the cover of the Martha Stewart ‘Recipes for the vegan in you!’ magazine. “Or maybe I’m just a really cheesy romantic who can’t help but find her girlfriend to be completely beautiful.”
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Recessional // Vienna Teng
Rachel rounded the corner to her gate, rolling her suitcase behind her. She checked in at the counter and turned to the waiting area. It was then that she paused. She met a pair of hazel eyes that she’d just said good bye to a month ago, on their last day of glee, their last day of high school.
Quinn sat in a plastic chair with her carry-on bag at her feet. She was wearing a green plaid shirt and her hair was thrown up into a messy ponytail. She smiled at Rachel, nodding slightly towards the empty chair next to her. Rachel smiled softly as she took the seat next to Quinn.
“So… you ended up choosing New York then?” Rachel questioned, dumbly, seeing as how Quinn was getting on the same plane as she was.
Quinn sensed Rachel’s nervousness and smiled in an attempt to placate the girl. “Yeah, I got the acceptance letter to Columbia about a month after… you know,” Quinn finished lightly, shrugging.
Rachel dropped her gaze to her lap as she closed her eyes tightly, furiously fighting back the tears. She had promised herself that leaving Lima meant a new start. A completely new start, and she would be leaving nothing behind. Except now, the one thing that she would’ve actually missed, would be with her. “Congratulations,” she choked out, sputtering a bit.
“Thank you,” Quinn whispered, staring at her hands as she laced and unlaced her fingers together.
They stayed silent as they sat together, watching the world move around them. It was an hour into the wait when Quinn’s head dropped onto Rachel’s shoulder. Rachel gazed down at the sleeping blond. She moved Quinn’s bangs from her face and froze her hand in midair as Quinn stirred. Rachel didn’t want to wake her, she was terrified that this moment would end. This one moment that they used to share constantly, only months ago; these moments that Rachel had fool heartedly ended.
It had taken Rachel an hour - after she’d broken up with Quinn three months ago - to realize that she’d made a mistake. It took another hour for her to realize that loving Quinn could have prevented her from living out her dream. It had only been on the last day of school that she’d realized how wrong she’d been.
Quinn stirred again and Rachel watched the blond press her face further into Rachel’s jacket. Rachel remembered Quinn’s words, her feelings, everything that Quinn felt and still feels for her. As Quinn’s chest rose and fell with her breathing, Rachel’s tears began to fall.
Quinn woke up an hour later with her head resting back on the chair. She looked to her right and realized that Rachel had left. She sat quiet as she moved her gaze from the empty chair to straight ahead, past the wall and past reality; back to where Rachel was still hers and life wasn’t so shitty.
“Oh, you’re awake. I went to get us some drinks, but I was hoping you wouldn’t wake up before I got back.” Quinn blinked a few times, thinking that she’d gone too deep into her mind this time, to a place where she could actually hear Rachel. She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Rachel sit down next to her, holding out a cup of coffee to her.
Quinn took the coffee with a shaking hand. Rachel smiled hesitantly at her as she checked the clock. “Well, anyway, we should get ready to go. We… have a long trip ahead of us.”
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Easy // Thao With the Get Down Stay Down
“You know, I guess we could just call this what it is. We’re breaking up, aren’t we?” Quinn asked over the middle console of Rachel’s Mini Cooper.
“Is that what you think, Quinn? That because of a few fights, we’re going to break up?” Rachel asked, tapping her finger against the steering wheel.
Quinn shrugged, “Sure? I mean, what else is there for us to do?”
Rachel’s lips formed a straight line as she nodded. “All right, I’ll make it easy for you then. Don’t think about the consequences or about me. Just leave my car right now and don’t look back, and I’ll leave you alone forever. It’ll be like we never dated.”
Quinn paused suspiciously. “Wait… what the hell? That’s supposed to be easy? I’m supposed to just be able to up and walk out of your car, never look back, never think about what leaving you really means, and be okay with it? In what world is that easy, Rachel?”
Rachel shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m sorry, Quinn. I just assumed that since we’ve had a few fights and you wanted to put a breakup label on us, that you never really cared about us.”
“Of course I cared about us, you moron! I still care about us! I’m not going to just leave your car and walk out of your life forever. I can’t believe you think that that is making it easy for me.”
Rachel chuckled to herself, which infuriated Quinn even further. “Quinn, please. Consider what you just said. I used reverse psychology on you to make you admit your true feelings about our relationship.”
Quinn bit her lip as she realized the trap she’d just fallen into. “You’re like, certifiably insane, you know that?”
“I do. But I also know that you’re committed to our relationship and that you actually think it’s worth fighting for.”
Quinn stared at her girlfriend, of four months, as if she’d just lost her mind. “What would you have done if I’d actually gotten out of the car?”
Rachel scoffed as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Please. I had the utmost faith in you the entire time, Quinn. There was no way you were getting out of this car.”
“Well, it’s not like you made it easy for me,” Quinn grumbled.
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