[closed]

[starsaremything]

Who: Rachel and Finn
When: 01/09
Where: Glee apartment
Summary: Rachel and Finn seeing each other for the first time since he popped up.
Warnings: teenaged angst and also just... derpiness.

Comments

[brokethenorm]

Finn had been a little anxious to get back to Kurt's apartment for several reasons, the greatest among them, of course, probably being that he wasn't exactly dressed for the weather. It had been significantly warmer in New York. But in a close second was getting to a place where he could momentarily ignore the predicament he was in by surrounding himself with friendly faces. And Blaine.

Quite frankly, Finn couldn't quite wrap his head around the whole thing, especially the part where Rachel had been in Siren's Port for two months, yet she was in New York with him. Two months that he had to catch her up on. The thought that Rachel didn't know the things that he knew was just... weird. Rachel was smart. She always knew more than him. But now? It felt off, to have the upper hand, so to speak.

Shoving his hands into his pants' pockets as he stepped into the apartment, he couldn't help but smile when he heard Rachel call out of him. Getting to see her on the NV after he first arrived had been kind of nice and certainly comforting, but hearing her voice in person, knowing that she really is more than just a voice and a picture on a screen was a relief.

"Rachel... Uh yeah. Yeah, it's me, Rachel."

[starsaremything]

His voice sounded even better than it had been on the NV. It had been a long since she'd heard his voice... two months since she'd been home and she'd almost forgotten the way it sounded to her and the way that she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips.

Stepping outside of her bedroom door, Rachel leaned against the wall just a little as she smiled at him before moving closer until she was standing right in front of him, feeling strangely nervous. It had been a long time since she'd been allowed to just hug him the way that she wanted to right in that moment and she definitely wasn't used to the kind of self control that she was supposed to be exercising right now and in fact... she really didn't have that kind of self-control, and so even though she'd meant to (or told herself that she meant to when really she didn't... she couldn't tell the difference most days) keep herself under control, she just didn't want to. Of course this lead to her closing the distance between them to close her arms around Finn's midsection, hugging him close and not coming anywhere near to ignoring the feeling of home that she felt as she did so.

"It's good to see you," she said slowly, blinking several times.

It was just a hug, it shouldn't make anyone mad. Besides, Quinn wasn't even here.

[brokethenorm]

Finn's smile brightened considerably when she slipped out of her room. He straightened his arms a little, pushing his hands down further into his pockets as he shifted from one foot to the other. He wanted to go to her the second he saw her, but something about the situation just felt so awkward. The way she walked out of her room and simply leaned against the wall? He felt like he was rooted to the spot. It was only once she started to move, that he felt that he finally could too. What was probably mere seconds, felt longer than it probably should have. He took a few steps forward, toward Rachel, stopping in front of her, looking down at her.

Leaning down as her arms circled him, he wrapped his own arms around her shoulders, hugging her tightly. He felt so relieved to see her, to hold her. Maybe he didn't like that she had to be in a strange place like this, but at the same time, he was glad that he'd get to have Rachel here with him. "You too, Rachel. I'm glad you're here. You know, except for the whole being here thing."

[starsaremything]

The relief was palpable as Rachel held to Finn maybe a little longer than she should have before leaning back just a little to smile at him again. When push came to shove... well, this place, with these people, didn't seem so bad. Sure, she missed her dads nearly every night, but... considering that she didn't have any choice over where she was and the kinds of musically geared jobs were offered and all of this extra time to make sure she was at the absolute best in her talent-- the place didn't seem so bad after all. Except for this. She'd been lucky to have Kurt and Blaine and, okay, even Santana there with her and so it wasn't so bad... but Finn had been the one person from back home that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about (and okay, the fact that she seemed to sing better and stronger when he was around might have had something to do with that fact) regardless of how distracted she kept herself.

"It's not bad, being stuck here. I get a lot of practicing done and... I mean, Kurt and Blaine are here. You're here now. It's almost as good as home."

[brokethenorm]

"Except that it's not home." He wanted to pull her back in, hug her tightly but he simply let his arms loosen when she pulled back, away from him. Finding out she was in Siren's Port too made the whole situation significantly better but at the same time, so much worse. But that all just went back to being glad she was with him, and wanting her back home, where she was safe and things were normal. Of what he'd heard, he wasn't sure what was true and what wasn't, but at least he was there to look out for her. He was there to make sure that she was safe.

"Um, Rachel?" He paused and looked away from her for a moment. "Is there somewhere we could go? Like, just us. Maybe your room or something?" His brows furrowed and he shook his head. That sounded... presumptuous. "I didn't mean it like- Sorry."

[starsaremything]

Finally pulling the rest of the way away from Finn reluctantly, Rachel nodded, reaching down to grab for his hand, tugging him through the hallway. It was true, the first thought that came to mind when he'd asked for her room was the flash of memories of the two of them laying on her bed together-- hours kissing and touching and hoping that her dads weren't going to come home. It had been a long time since any of those things had been true, but they were fond enough memories, even though she was aware that he didn't mean it that way.

"It'll be our room, remember? You'll have to sleep on the floor, because I have to make sure that my back doesn't get hurt, because I can't risk any kind of injuries for when we go home again. You don't have to worry, I didn't think-- I mean, I know that you wouldn't mean it that way."

[brokethenorm]

To say that he didn't want to mean it like that would be a complete and utter lie because, well, he was a teenage boy and aside from the fact that she was a girl, sort of with boobs and nice hips and those legs, she was the girl he loved more than anything. Plus, she was soft and warm and she felt nice against him. But just then, none of it mattered. Her hand in his mattered though. The fact that she was there at all? That also mattered. Everything else could come later.

"Right. Right, our room. And yeah, sure, that's cool. I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

[starsaremything]

Rachel's smile stretched just a little wider as she nodded in agreement, holding his hand all of the way to the room until they were inside and she had closed the door. It was a little strange that Finn was going along with her so easily, the last time she'd seen him well-- he'd punched her in the face by accident. She couldn't help but touch it lightly when she thought about it, before she went to sit on the edge of the bed, watching Finn intently and gesturing the space beside her for him, if he wanted it.

"You really are okay, right? I mean-- none of those guys at the baseball field hurt you or anything?"

She wasn't nervous. Rachel Berry didn't get nervous. She auditioned for parts in musicals all of the time and got any part she wanted. She was the most talented person she knew. So she wasn't nervous.

Except for the part where she was.

[brokethenorm]

It wasn't like he meant to break her nose. It was just a really unfortunate accident that he still felt terrible about. He watched her until she sat down on her bed, and only then did he move to follow her, to take a seat next to her. Finn looked down at his knees, idly smoothing his hands down his pant legs. Not that it mattered. The few wrinkles in his pants just kept coming back.

"I really am okay." His hands stopped moving, finally coming to rest on his knees as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. This wasn't supposed to feel so... so awkward. Not for him, at least. "I didn't really have much trouble with anyone while I was there."

[starsaremything]

Nodding, Rachel let out a small relieved breath as she crossed one leg over the other. It was strange, how nervous she was sitting beside him. She'd done it a hundred times before, but now... it just felt different, and it wouldn't feel weird at all if she were to shift over just a little so that she was sitting close enough that she could feel how warm he was.

"I'm glad. They mostly just seemed... strange when I first got here." Actually, she'd thought they were homeless people blabbering at her about nothing at all. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rachel smiled softly. "This is nice, right? I mean... it's quiet and nobody is screaming at your about finishing your homework so that you will even have the right kinds of grades to get into NYAA. and... you're here. It's nice."

[brokethenorm]

Finn wanted to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her close, tell her that he was there now and that everything would be alright (even though he couldn't guarantee that part) but something kept him from it. His hands stayed firmly placed on his knees, eyes mostly fixed on his hands. When she spoke up again, though, he shifted on the edge of the bed to turn toward her. "I had a little more trouble with people on..." He trailed off as he moved to dig in his pants' pocket for the NV. "On this NV thing than in the field. Well, kinda."

Tossing the NV down onto the bed, next to him, he returned Rachel's smile before ducking his head a little as the smile became a laugh. "I don't really have that problem. I sorta gave up homework when Quinn was still pregnant." And when he still thought the baby was his, of course. "But I guess I get what you're saying, yeah."

[starsaremything]

Rachel nodded, glancing over towards her own NV. She mostly just used hers to keep an eye on the network, to see if there was anyone who was doing anything interesting or to make sure that when she was out, Kurt and Blaine didn't need her for something. She hadn't really reached out to many people yet, just trying to figure out the best way to really, properly introduce herself to the Network.

"People were hard to deal with? I though you were more like a PR kind of guy-- everyone always likes you!"

Her smile falters a little when he brings up Quinn, and she glances down at her hands on her lap. "You must miss her a lot already, right?" She figured he must-- she had missed him right away when she'd gotten there.

[brokethenorm]

Finn had wanted to get a feel for what the people were like there and he felt like he had a pretty good idea of at least some of the different types of people, from the ones who he got after his big network debut. He was pretty sure, though, that he just ended up making an idiot of himself. He shook his head, raising one shoulder a little, shrugging. "Some people were. And not everyone likes me Rachel." Though he certainly tried to make everyone like him. "Besides, this is different than Lima."

Leaning forward a little and ducking his head as though trying to catch her eye again, Finn wondered what he'd done wrong. There had to be something though. This Rachel he saw most often when he screwed up. After a moment, though, he straightened, sitting back. "Sure, I guess I miss her. But I kinda miss everyone. Maybe it's just because I know I won't see them for a while, though, or something."

[starsaremything]

Regardless of what he said, Rachel was sure that everyone here was going to love him. It was probably easier to make an island full of mostly adults like you, than a school full of teenagers. Really, the only flaws that Rachel could think of had to do with the fact that he could not dance at all, and... well, sometimes he wasn't exactly the genius of their group. Really, though, she just found those things more endearing-- except the dancing thing. It made things a little difficult sometimes.

Pulling herself together and lifting her chin, Rachel forced herself to smile again. Rachel Berry was an actress if nothing else, and there was no reason for her not to have her chin up. Kurt would be proud of her if he could see her right then, she was sure.

"I think you're wrong-- I think they will like you. Especially if they ever get to hear you sing and... and I think you'll get to see Quinn soon. I mean, she might end up here or you might end up going home faster than you think. Kurt explained it all to me."

[brokethenorm]

And Finn thought it would be the other way around. He figured it was easier to make a school full of teenagers like it. People liked the football player. Or at least they pretended to like him or just latched onto him back when he was still popular. Even if a lot of it wasn't real, it didn't matter. But as for adults? He felt like that was a little harder. He'd always been under the impression that it was intelligence that impressed adults and he knew, probably better than anyone, that he wasn't really all that smart. Of course, he could also be completely wrong.

"Wait, you want me to sing here?" And suddenly, it felt like his first day of glee club at McKinley all over again. He was a little unsure about the whole thing. But when she continued on, he immediately took to the idea of changing the topic. Singing would kind of make him stand out and he wasn't entirely sure that standing out was what he wanted to do. "Uh yeah. Someone kinda explained it to me. I'm not really sure I understood what she was trying to say, though."

[starsaremything]

She'd never really thought of Finn as someone who was shy or anything like that, but it occurred to her there that he was just the same as most people (not her, of course, because she enjoyed the attention that was possible to only get from strangers) and he didn't really like performing in front of so many strangers. But really, there had to be a time for everything, right?

"You could sing with me, if you wanted-- I mean, we're mostly just doing karaoke right now... so not a lot of people would hear you, and we always sing so well together. Mostly I've just been doing it with Blaine and Kurt,"

She paused for a second and glanced up at Finn. "You mean about leaving? I think it's just... there's something that decides who comes and goes and then just sends us away when it gets bored with us. I think it brought me here because it was interested in the kind of talents that I have, It's probably why you're here, too." Either that, or the Core knew just how lonely she was starting to get-- but probably not.