singing you the right blues [emma/nick] [part 3]
Title: Singing You The Right Blues: Part Three[Nick/Emma] [Glee/HIMYM/Disney RPF/Easy Academy AU (of an AU)]
Pairing/Character: Nick/Emma, but more of an ensemble fic.
Word Count: ~19,000
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nick never saw himself joining Glee.
Author's Notes: Contains references across the board to ...everything? It takes place in a someone crossverse of McKinley High, mixed with Easy Academy teachers, mixed with Disney students, and HIMYM parents. Yeeeeah. I don't know either.
Takes place in the spectrum of Season 5 of HIMYM, Season 1 of Glee (loosely), and the endless cycle of Disney relationships.
Part One | Part Two|
Nick ends up walking Emma to her car after practice. It's something Shue usually does, but today when he asked her if she was ready to leave, Emma mentioned something about staying a little late. It's not like Nick works his schedule around her or anything, it just happened to work out that he had a few chords to practice and so maybe, he has to stay a little late too.
The room clears out pretty soon after rehearsal and Nick sits on the steps strumming some random song Shue's having them learn. They haven't really spoken since, well, last time and Nick misses her. He misses her talking to him and smiling at him and just--it needs to change and even though he still believes what he said, maybe it wasn't his place to say it.
"Emma--about last time--" Emma is busy Lysol-ing the blackboard and kind of startles at the sound of his voice. She turns around and Nick has to be careful because it's like every time he looks at her he just wants to say exactly what he said last time---that she deserves so much and he'd be so good to her and, well. It's the way she looks, with those eyes.
"Nick." Emma puts down the Lysol (after she finishes the right corner) and walks over to Nick, sitting down next to him on the carpet stairs.
She looks down at her hands for a while, twisting and intertwining her fingers with eachother and Nick almost wants to take her hands, to settle them.
"You were right," she says softly, not meeting his eyes. "I'm pretty stupid when it comes to Will. I know he doesn't want me back, and if I'm being honest with my self, it's not the end of the world that he doesn't. I was crazy about him at the beginning of the year though," she says, with this look in her eye like she's somewhere else right now, and Nick thinks that he'd kill for her to look at him like that. " And even though I don't really feel as much for him as I used to, Will's a habit. And I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I have this thing," she says, shooting him a rueful smile, "about not breaking habits. I also have this thing," and Nick swears, SWEARS, that this time he's not reading too much into it, "of liking people that are impossible for me to be with. It's not like you'd know anything about that though," Emma finishes, smiling at him like he's something special or something. "I'm sure you get all the girls you want with that guitar of yours."
"Not the ones I want, Emma," Nick says, swinging his legs against hers. Her face flushes and her hands have started twisting again.
The walk to her car is companionable and quiet and there isn't the nervous energy between them like there has been the last week and Nick feel so relieved that things are back to normal. When they reach her parking spot, though, Nick can't help but start cracking up; the tiny blue Prius that she drives is so spotless and so Emma that it's hysterical.
"Where are you going after this, Emma? Some global warming convention? Coffee with Al Gore?" He grins and she laughs and leans against her car, and maybe he's standing too close to her, but the way she's not moving doesn't give him any inclination to move either. He's so happy they're alright again, oh man.
It's funny how Nick didn't even realize how much he began to depend on Emma, just, as a part of his life, until things became awkward. There's something about the way she listens to him and that stupid flint in her eye that seems to come out of nowhere when he starts picking on her and, well, he's missed her.
"Whatever, Niiicholas," and man, his stomach does things when she says his name like that and maybe his face changes or something because Emma's eyes get bigger. Her face has already begun turning red and if Nick wasn't already feeling like his lungs are running out of oxygen, he'd say something about it.
Emma's face is determined though, in this way that Nick thinks she's trying to drive away her redness by continuing the banter.
"Y--you go kill a few layers of the ozone with your--your"
Nick doesn't really know what comes over him, but all of a sudden, he's closing the gap between the two of them, putting his hand on her waist and pulling her body close to his so fast that she places her hand on his chest so she doesn't fall into him.
"Emma," he hears himself say and his voice sounds so much rougher than before, and Emma just looks at him in this way that he can't even believe and Nick feels himself lean in.
Emma pulls back, gently extricating his hand off of her waist. She leans in and sweetly, gently, kisses him on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Nick," she says softly, in a voice that has so much in it that Nick can't even begin to read her. She climbs into the car and five minutes later, when Emma's long gone, Nick's still standing there, with the feeling of her lips on his cheek. They're softer than he thought they'd be, is all.
*****
Sectionals sneak up on all of them and the days before competition are a blur.
Rachel is in freak-out mode, her clothes switching from the usual put together (despite the grandma-toddler resemblance) to strictly functional track suits. Nick overhears her campaigning for team velour suits as 'intimidating warm-up gear' to Mr. Shuester but the idea gets shot down pretty quickly, thank God.
He and Finn have started eating lunch with the club, recently. It's another one of Rachel's ideas but it's not too out there so he and Finn agree, no questions asked. Their lunches are tense, as if everyone knows what the other is thinking about but they try to ignore it, instead making small talk about Kurt's new bag or how well their soccer team is doing this season.
They take Mr. Shuester's and Emma's cars to sectionals because Coach Sylvester has somehow convinced that the bus needs to be at school in case of a Cheerios emergency. When Nick told Joe that he snorted a little and they spent the rest of breakfast brainstorming potential cheerleading 911's (missing pompoms, Coach Sylvester's emergency mustache bleaches, Brittany tripping over the floor again...)
Mr. Shue has the minivan he bought for his wife's baby, so all the Cheerios, Puck (who got in pretty quickly after the girls), then Rachel, followed by Finn crammed inside. Artie's dad ends up driving him because of his wheelchair and Tina, Mike, and a few others go along with him. Nick feels like him hanging back while everyone's climbing in is pretty obvious, especially the way Emma catches his eye and wrinkles her nose when she sees him tying his tennis shoes while Finn and Puck argue over who gets to sit next to who.
It ends up being Nick, Mercedes, and Kurt who, judging by the longing looks in the direction of Finn, isn't too happy to be driving with them.
Kurt looks like he's heading for shotgun and Nick can feel himself panicking. He's not really sure why he feels like he has to be the one sitting next to Emma but he almost wants to speed up and cut Kurt off but how obvious would that look, so he just picks up his pace. They end up reaching the door handle at the exact same time, and he feels himself shoot Emma a panicked look for reasons that he's not sure of.
Emma glances at him and her face is constricted. "Hey, Nick," she says evenly, "I'm going to need you to sit up front. It's school regulations," she shrugs. "Your diabetes." She says the disease in an almost whispered tone and it takes every bone in Nick's body to keep him from bursting out laughing.
He plays along though, and twists his face quickly into what he'd imagine a sick puppy would look like. "I have been feeling pretty diabetic today. Thanks Emma." He looks at Kurt sadly and coughs a few times for effect, and Kurt looks at him in shock for a second before scampering towards the backseat, as if Nick's contagious.
Mercedes and Kurt settle into the back pretty well, and they're both passed out within the first twenty minutes. It's not until then that Nick lets himself say something to Emma.
"Diabetes, huh? I didn't know the school had such strict policies," he grins, at her.
Emma has both hands on the steering wheel, at exact o' clock positions, but she sneaks a smile at him. "We take it very seriously here, Nick. That and polio."
*****
The car ride is just an hour and a half, and with Mercedes and Kurt passing out in the backseats within the first half hour, the rest of the drive is slow and easy. They end up plugging in Emma's ipod and which consists of a lot of Stevie Nicks, which Emma does a hysterical impression of, and surprisingly (a pleasant surprise, Nick grins) the entire discography of Elvis Costello.
"You know the way to a guys heart," He says to her when he presses the first song on the list and Costello floats through the speakers.
"Yes, Nick," Emma says, and rolls her eyes, even though she smiles like she's kind of pleased. "That's exactly why I have all of Costello's music."
They talk a little bit more, but mostly the ride is just a comfortable quiet, with "New Lace Sleeves" in the background and their forearms touching on the coffee holders. She sings the harmony along quietly under her breath, and it makes Nick grin so hard that Emma presses her arm into his and tilts her head to the side to smile at him, her face relaxed, like she has a lot of things to be happy about at the moment. It's exactly how Nick feels.
The minute they step out of the car, everything shifts and all of a sudden, its chaos. There's only three Glee groups here but there's Glee mom's who's camera flashes and frantic screaming about makeup and costumes and time, the news coverage that Coach Sylvester's television show is providing with their lights shining and videographers hounding kids for better angles, and this nervous pent up energy in the air, like Nick has had one too many Redbulls and he needs to go for a run or pee or something, it's just so much and the auditorium space is claustrophobic.
Rachel is starting to hyperventilate and Artie looks like he's about to vomit and everyone else isn't far behind. Nick's feeling a mixture of the two and Mr. Shue gathers them all together for a talk. They huddle together, close and compact and Nick's not really sure at what point he started considering the people next to him close friends, but it hits him that they mean a lot to him. Santana squeezes his hand when she sees how hard he swallows and Kurt gives him a smile that's not nearly as condescending as it was the first time he met him, when Prince broke down.
Nick takes a moment before the group gets together to peak out from behind the curtains at the audience, even though Mr. Shue said that it wasn't a good idea for nerves; he doesn't like being surprised by these kinds of things though so he does anyways. Nick's entire family is there even though he's told them a million times that he only plays guitar and does backup vocals. Dad and Joe have got front row covered with their video camera, even though Dad's tall enough to be blocking off maybe an entire column of heads behind him. Mom's sitting with the rest of her friends a few rows back and David, Sel, Demi, Chloe, and a few guys from school have somehow managed to section off a side for themselves, perfect for screaming and whistling and Nick feels his entire body relax, just looking around at those people. He's pretty lucky, to be honest.
There's warmups then makeup then tuning then hugs and peptalks and more hugs and warmups again and before they're ready--way before Nick's ready--it's their turn to perform. Nick's holding his guitar in a vice grip but his palms are sweaty and it feels like his acoustic's about to drop on the floor any moment and his heart won't stop going off the wire. He looks at Finn who gives him a quick hug before going to his position behind the doors with Rachel, and Nick feels his body relax a bit. He heads back stage towards the rest of the group, who's taking their places. Quinn gives him a quick kiss on the cheek as good luck even though she can barely reach him over her belly and he barely has time to glance over at Emma, who's standing in the side bays, before the curtains go up.
*****
They lose. Last place kind of losing. The moment on stage when Coach Sylvester's reading out the order is so surreal; they're all holding hands and even though it'd be so cheesy and dumb under other circumstances, Nick kind of thinks he needs something to hold onto in the moment or he might keel over. He hears the other clubs' names getting called and he watches as Rachel turns into Finn's arms and Mr. Shuester's face crumples. He notices his body getting pulled into a tight hug by Puck but all that he can really feel is his heart in his throat and his stomach churning and his body shaking for reasons he doesn't even know. All he knows is that they deserved this and when you do everything right and still don't get what you hoped for, it hurts.
He thinks that he'll feel numb for a while, probably, until he hears Quinn groan beside him. Then he realizes they don't have time for that.
*****
The actual awards ceremony is a blur and so is the press afterwards. They don't get many interviews (who wants the losers on their news show?) but the questions they do get go in one ear and out the other for Nick; Mr. Shuester ends up answering most of them because Rachel's too heartbroken to talk and the rest of them are preoccupied with Quinn.
The team goes to the hospital as soon as they can, Mr. Shue speeding through yellow lights and yield signs, screeching into the handicapped parking space, where Artie tosses Shue the handicap tag to put on his rearview mirror. Finn, Puck and Emma are already at the hospital, with Emma driving Quinn out when she went into labor, Puck and Finn refusing to be left behind. The three of them had become a weird threesome towards the end of the pregnancy, Nick had noticed. After all the drama with Puck being the father had settled down, Finn was still attached enough to want to help out and the winsome threesome thing has worked out, so far. Nick's not really sure how well it's going to play out when the baby's actually born, but other than Quinn constantly being exasperated by the two boys, it seemed to be alright.
The crowd of them (and seriously, the amount of them must look ridiculous to the doctors, Nick thinks) run into the hospital, Mr. Shuester leading the way, and Tina bringing up the rear, pushing Artie so fast that the wheels spin out a little when she makes a sharp turn into the lobby. Mercedes carries her weight to the nurse's station and her demanding voice somehow makes a nurse point in the direction of Quinn's room in a heartbeat, information Nick's preeetty sure they aren't allowed to just hand out to teenagers and they all run for the stars on the far end of the hall, nodding at Artie and Tina who have already headed for the elevator, which Nick knows he doesn't have the patience to wait for.
They have three flights to climb and by the third, Nick can hear Mercedes and Kurt audibly panting but Nick has so much adreniline that he can barely feel his legs.
It's not even like its his child or anything but it's Quinn, the girl he liked in middle school, the girl who was Joe AND Finn AND his first kiss (which, okay should have been their first sign on her chasteness) and the girl who made Finn and Nick join her stupid club in 9th grade and get purity rings so it'd really take off. It's that Quinn who's having a baby; and then it's Puck and Finn who everyone has sort of turned into collaborative fathers for the child. Puck, who despite everything has become one of the most loyal people Nick knows, and Finn, who's family to him in the way David and Sel are, and who deserves everything to turn out well so so much and God, just thinking about all of this makes Nick's chest hurt.
They turn down the corridor on the right of hospital rooms and Nick barrels right into Finn, with Finn's huge body almost forcing Nick backwards.
Finn's face is completely panicked and Nick can see in his face how sick to the stomach he must be feeling. Finn's shirt is completely damp and sticking to his body and the bow tie from Sectionals (which, Jesus, already feels like so long ago) is completely undone and if Joe were here, he'd say Finn looks like he's the one giving birth, Nick thinks, scatterbrained.
"The baby's coming, Nick," Finn grips Nick's arm in a complete vice that Nick feels it go numb.
"I know, buddy, I know." Nick tries to speak calmly, but he feels his own voice shaking. "Why aren't you in there?"
"They kicked me out of there---I'm-I'm too enthusiastic." Finn sounds strangled, and his expression is so bewildered and confused that Nick wants to laugh but can't bring himself to.
"They said to calm down and come back when I'm ready." Finn's whole body seems to vibrate and Nick hugs him quickly, to steady him but it just makes the vibrations go through Nick's body too and everything is happening so fast and Nick is just nervous for everybody and everything.
"It's going to be fine, man," Nick hears himself say into Finn's shoulder," It's going to be great." He's not even sure what that even really means but it's all he can really say right now.
Finn pulls back and gives him a look that seems to waver between throwing up and crying.
"Emma and Puck are in there with her right now," Finn says, bouncing on the soles of his feet. "Everything's just--everyth--- I'm going back in." He pulls Nick in to another quick hug then takes off in a jog, like he's running back onto the football field after an injury and Nick grins, even though there's still a million squirming snakes in the pits of his stomach.
The next two hours are the the longest hours of Nick's life, bar none. Nick shoots a text to Joe and tells him to let Mom and dad know where he is. The bombardment of texts that follow from his parents ("We love you! Everything's going to be great! You popped out of me like nothing, sweetie!") and Uncle Ted and Barney and Aunt Robin ( "Make sure you are really supportive, Nick. Seriously. The birthing process is terrifying," and "I'll send over an infant suit as soon as I can, Nicky," and "YOU'RE LUCKY YOU AREN'T A WOMAN, NICHOLAS..YOU BETTER BE SUPPORTING THAT POOR GIRL!") don't match Joe's text. The simple "!!!!!!!!!!!!" text from him was kind of all he needed, honestly.
Artie and Santana are playing tic-tac-toe and Mike and Brittany are flipping through magazines but no one really seems to be paying attention (Nick had looked over at the game, and it seems like Santana won about two moves ago). Every time the waiting room door opens, Nick jumps up, as if the news will travel faster if they know who to deliver it to. When its the sixth time the door opens, and for the sixth time, it's not someone they know, Nick collapses back into the cushioned chairs. His body is exhaused and even though it feels like its only evening, the clock in the waiting room reads three in the morning. His brain is still so wired from the coffee at the front desk and the fact that there's a baby, a baby! coming, but his body kind of just wants to collapse.
He doesn't even realize that he's drumming out a rhythm for one of him and Sel's songs repetitively on his lap until Kurt presses one of his hands onto Nick's, as if to absorb the nervous energy.
Nick feels himself unravel a little, and he shoots Kurt a helpless grin, because at this point, he can't even think clearly enough to articulate what's going through his head.
Kurt smiles back and pat's Nick's hand before removing his. "You don't need to freak out Nick," he says, even though his own voice is kind of shaking. "Have you seen Quinn and Puck? That baby's going to pop out looking like Megan Fox. Plus, Quinn probably has a vajayjay of steel so.."
Nick hears himself let out a surprised laugh, and even though he doesn't exactly want to dwell on Quinn's lady parts, Kurt is weirdly comforting.
"I'm thinking more of a Jewish Jennifer Aniston. Who cheers," he says. His voice almost sounds unfamiliar, after spending this long, without speaking and he feels like it's too loud, like it's echoing in the harshly lit waiting room.
He smiles at Kurt again, like a thank you he figures, and Nick feels his body relax. Quinn's a strong girl and if the baby's inherited any of Puck's genes it's going to be a fighter and things are going to be just fine, probably.
Nick's only relaxed for, like, five seconds, because when he sees Finn running into the waiting room, slamming the swinging door hard into the wall behind it, all the fears and hypothetical situations come flying back into his head. Finn's face is usually an open book, and inexplicably, Nick's brain flashes back to two years ago, when Quinn said yes to a first date and Finn's face was just this beam of light and then now, where it's just such a mixture of emotions that Nick can't even begin to read it.
There's a moment right after, where Finn's face is still tightened and everyone is holding their breath that Nick has this urge to pray, even though it's a little late for that, and even though his family's not the religious type.
"It's a baby girl," Finn says, and his voice cracks. His face crumples into this expression of complete bewilderment, as if he can't believe what is going on. Nick feels this swooping feeling in his stomach, and he doesn't even know what to do with himself.
"Finn," he says, and seriously, his voice sounds like it's someone else, it's that shaky, but oh my God, it's a girl.
Next to him, Kurt and Tina are hugging and Mercedes is practically squeezing a nurse to death and Nick has this ridiculous floating feeling in his stomach, like he could kiss everyone in the room, he's so happy. Finn's face folds and Nick barely has time to see the tears in his eyes before he pulls Finn into a hug.
"A girl, Nick J," Finn says, his voice layered and Nick can feel his throat tightening. It's Finn and it's Quinn and Puck and a baby girl and everything's about to change but right now, everyone is okay and there's a baby girl in their family and Nick is just so so glad to be alive. He squeezes Finn's neck,as if that could come close to saying everything he wants to but Finn shoots him a watery grin when they pull away, so maybe it's just enough.
It's really nice, standing outside of the glass and looking in on Quinn's baby in the nursery. Nick isn't really sure who she looks like, but Mercedes is seeing Puck's nose and Kurt's swearing he sees Quinn's baby browns, but all Nick sees is that the baby's pretty great. Her eyes are shut tight and her face is scrunched up but the way her fists are balled up, like she's ready to take someone even though she's had a pretty busy day, is so typical Quinn that he can't get over it. Puck's taken a station by the window pointing her out to complete strangers ("Hey, that's my girl you're looking at...Don't you dare take a step closer to that glass") and the sincere look of happiness on his face makes Nick feel so much for the guy.
Quinn's asleep when Nick sneaks down to the room to visit but Finn looks content, sprawled in the chair next to her bed.
"Hey, man." Finn's voice sounds exhausted, and his face seems weathered. "I wanted to pick up a teddy bear for the baby but I don't want Quinn to wake up and not have anyone so--"
"You got it, buddy." Nick says, and he's pretty grateful for something tangible to do. He felt pretty useless out there in the waiting room and now that he has the job of finding the World's Best Bear, which okay, Finn didn't word it like that but it was implied, it's a little more gratifying. He's on such an adrenaline rush from just, everything around him, that he needs to get out of the hospital anyways.
The gift shop is a small, square-like connector building, right outside the hospital. Nick is kind of thrown off by the fresh air and how it is pitch black, besides the orange glow of the street lights, filling the space between the gift shop and hospital. He had forgotten that the world was still going on outside.
The gift shop is crowded with balloons and little outfits and stuffed toys and frantic people, even at, by Nick's watch, four in the morning. The teddy bear selection in itself is kind of overwhelming, especially since Nick plans on finding the Very Best One. He narrows it down to a massive spotted bear and a fluffy medium brown one. He goes medium brown; better to go for quality, rather than size, he thinks.
"Who's it for?" the gift shop girl asks, shaking her bangs out of her eyes as she quickly ties a pink bow around the bear's neck. She's cute, Nick guesses, but his brain is on too much of an overdrive to really think about it. He's not even sure what he's really thinking about any more, it's just become a blur of emotions and faces.
"it's for my best friend. Well, their baby. The baby's not my best frien---." He stops talking abruptly, feeling pretty flustered. He must sound ridiculous but he can't even find it within himself to care at the moment. There's just more important things right now, is all.
She laughs and hands him his receipt. "Well, this baby is one lucky girl to have you for a best friend or uncle or whatever you're going to be. Congrats," she grins.
He grins back, but his body's already heading towards the door. He hadn't even thought about that yet, how he's family to the baby the way Uncle Ted or Barney are to him. He could be such a good role model for the kid, Nick thinks. When Puck and Quinn are being overbearing and Finn is too doting, which is going to be, like, every minute of this kid's life, he could be the uncle she wants around. He could teach her piano when she gets around that age, three or four he thinks?, and then maybe drums, or maybe drums first, and he could help her with homework and oh man, just the idea that he's Uncle Nick to this girl who's already so awesome, just from looking at her, has Nick floating.
He's so in his head at the moment that he practically crashes into Emma on the way out of the store. She's crouched near the door, carefully re-tying the pink bow on a huge teddy bear. She jumps to her feet, when she sees him.
"Oh, Nick!" Emma's eyes are big and dark and the orange light from the lamp posts seem to make her hair glow. Nick feels like his heart is in his stomach when he sees her and right now, it's just like he's seeing her for the first time, all over again. That, combined with the rush from Quinn's baby (a baby!!) has Nick's heart bursting.
"The baby," he says, grinning, and he can't even think of anything else to say even though he knows that there's so much more that they need to talk about, to figure out. It's just that, with everything that's happened today, he feels so good.
Emma is flushed and her clothes are wrinkled and she's smiling so wide and it suddenly hits Nick that he's been waiting forever to talk to Emma about all that's happened tonight and talk about Finn and Puck and the baby and man, it's like he's missed her so much, even though it hasn't really been that long.
"Oh my GOD, Nick," she says, flushed, her eyes crinkled like maybe, he thinks, she's really been waiting to talk to him too. "The baby's so great, and Quinn was incredible, and just--"
"It's everything," he interrupts laughing and she laughs, in this kind of unwound way, and he feels so unraveled, the way that every part of his body is humming with energy.
He cant even remember who kisses who first when he thinks about it later, but all he knows is that her lips are on his, hard, under the hospital street lights. Emma's warm and happy and she feels so comfortable and the kiss is urgent, but in a way like she's been waiting to do this forever, like he has. He has so much that he wants to say to her, enough that maybe he should pull away and say it, that he's not a kid, that she's what makes Glee club, just, so much, but instead he kisses her harder, sucking on her bottom lip enough to make her gasp into his mouth. The bear drops to the ground so he can put both of his hands on her and her fingers are in the waistband of his pants, pulling him closer, and she glides her tongue over his like it's an accident, but he feels it everywhere so much that he shivers. Emma laughs at this, but in an out of breath way, and wraps her arms around his torso, so they're hugging. Nick rests his head on top of hers and he tries to catch his breath, even though everything is still on fire and they stay like this for a while, swaying in their spot under the streetlight and Nick feels like, for the first time in a while, everything is perfect.
Emma mumbles something unintelligible into his chest, and Nick can only feel vibrations running through his body. She pulls away and grins at him, and there isn't anything but happiness on her face, which is so so good because a small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that she might not want it the way he does. He grins back and he can't get over how Emma is, just, the best thing he's ever seen, her skin hot and her hair sticking to the nape of her neck.
"I've got--I've got," she is so flustered but she's smiling so big like maybe she's crazy about Nick and he can't help but laugh at how ridiculous they probably look. "I've got to get this bear to Puck...he wanted the baby to have the biggest bear possible."
"Oh man, this bear's from Finn," Nick groans. "He had the exact same idea."
"Oh god, the poor child is going to grow up so scarred...We're going to have to watch those two compete for her attention, aren't we."
Nick wants to answer that he'll probably make up for it Uncle-wise, but it really just gets swallowed up by how much he likes the way Emma says "we." She says it like they have time.
END
Pairing/Character: Nick/Emma, but more of an ensemble fic.
Word Count: ~19,000
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nick never saw himself joining Glee.
Author's Notes: Contains references across the board to ...everything? It takes place in a someone crossverse of McKinley High, mixed with Easy Academy teachers, mixed with Disney students, and HIMYM parents. Yeeeeah. I don't know either.
Takes place in the spectrum of Season 5 of HIMYM, Season 1 of Glee (loosely), and the endless cycle of Disney relationships.
Part One | Part Two|
Nick ends up walking Emma to her car after practice. It's something Shue usually does, but today when he asked her if she was ready to leave, Emma mentioned something about staying a little late. It's not like Nick works his schedule around her or anything, it just happened to work out that he had a few chords to practice and so maybe, he has to stay a little late too.
The room clears out pretty soon after rehearsal and Nick sits on the steps strumming some random song Shue's having them learn. They haven't really spoken since, well, last time and Nick misses her. He misses her talking to him and smiling at him and just--it needs to change and even though he still believes what he said, maybe it wasn't his place to say it.
"Emma--about last time--" Emma is busy Lysol-ing the blackboard and kind of startles at the sound of his voice. She turns around and Nick has to be careful because it's like every time he looks at her he just wants to say exactly what he said last time---that she deserves so much and he'd be so good to her and, well. It's the way she looks, with those eyes.
"Nick." Emma puts down the Lysol (after she finishes the right corner) and walks over to Nick, sitting down next to him on the carpet stairs.
She looks down at her hands for a while, twisting and intertwining her fingers with eachother and Nick almost wants to take her hands, to settle them.
"You were right," she says softly, not meeting his eyes. "I'm pretty stupid when it comes to Will. I know he doesn't want me back, and if I'm being honest with my self, it's not the end of the world that he doesn't. I was crazy about him at the beginning of the year though," she says, with this look in her eye like she's somewhere else right now, and Nick thinks that he'd kill for her to look at him like that. " And even though I don't really feel as much for him as I used to, Will's a habit. And I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I have this thing," she says, shooting him a rueful smile, "about not breaking habits. I also have this thing," and Nick swears, SWEARS, that this time he's not reading too much into it, "of liking people that are impossible for me to be with. It's not like you'd know anything about that though," Emma finishes, smiling at him like he's something special or something. "I'm sure you get all the girls you want with that guitar of yours."
"Not the ones I want, Emma," Nick says, swinging his legs against hers. Her face flushes and her hands have started twisting again.
The walk to her car is companionable and quiet and there isn't the nervous energy between them like there has been the last week and Nick feel so relieved that things are back to normal. When they reach her parking spot, though, Nick can't help but start cracking up; the tiny blue Prius that she drives is so spotless and so Emma that it's hysterical.
"Where are you going after this, Emma? Some global warming convention? Coffee with Al Gore?" He grins and she laughs and leans against her car, and maybe he's standing too close to her, but the way she's not moving doesn't give him any inclination to move either. He's so happy they're alright again, oh man.
It's funny how Nick didn't even realize how much he began to depend on Emma, just, as a part of his life, until things became awkward. There's something about the way she listens to him and that stupid flint in her eye that seems to come out of nowhere when he starts picking on her and, well, he's missed her.
"Whatever, Niiicholas," and man, his stomach does things when she says his name like that and maybe his face changes or something because Emma's eyes get bigger. Her face has already begun turning red and if Nick wasn't already feeling like his lungs are running out of oxygen, he'd say something about it.
Emma's face is determined though, in this way that Nick thinks she's trying to drive away her redness by continuing the banter.
"Y--you go kill a few layers of the ozone with your--your"
Nick doesn't really know what comes over him, but all of a sudden, he's closing the gap between the two of them, putting his hand on her waist and pulling her body close to his so fast that she places her hand on his chest so she doesn't fall into him.
"Emma," he hears himself say and his voice sounds so much rougher than before, and Emma just looks at him in this way that he can't even believe and Nick feels himself lean in.
Emma pulls back, gently extricating his hand off of her waist. She leans in and sweetly, gently, kisses him on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Nick," she says softly, in a voice that has so much in it that Nick can't even begin to read her. She climbs into the car and five minutes later, when Emma's long gone, Nick's still standing there, with the feeling of her lips on his cheek. They're softer than he thought they'd be, is all.
*****
Sectionals sneak up on all of them and the days before competition are a blur.
Rachel is in freak-out mode, her clothes switching from the usual put together (despite the grandma-toddler resemblance) to strictly functional track suits. Nick overhears her campaigning for team velour suits as 'intimidating warm-up gear' to Mr. Shuester but the idea gets shot down pretty quickly, thank God.
He and Finn have started eating lunch with the club, recently. It's another one of Rachel's ideas but it's not too out there so he and Finn agree, no questions asked. Their lunches are tense, as if everyone knows what the other is thinking about but they try to ignore it, instead making small talk about Kurt's new bag or how well their soccer team is doing this season.
They take Mr. Shuester's and Emma's cars to sectionals because Coach Sylvester has somehow convinced that the bus needs to be at school in case of a Cheerios emergency. When Nick told Joe that he snorted a little and they spent the rest of breakfast brainstorming potential cheerleading 911's (missing pompoms, Coach Sylvester's emergency mustache bleaches, Brittany tripping over the floor again...)
Mr. Shue has the minivan he bought for his wife's baby, so all the Cheerios, Puck (who got in pretty quickly after the girls), then Rachel, followed by Finn crammed inside. Artie's dad ends up driving him because of his wheelchair and Tina, Mike, and a few others go along with him. Nick feels like him hanging back while everyone's climbing in is pretty obvious, especially the way Emma catches his eye and wrinkles her nose when she sees him tying his tennis shoes while Finn and Puck argue over who gets to sit next to who.
It ends up being Nick, Mercedes, and Kurt who, judging by the longing looks in the direction of Finn, isn't too happy to be driving with them.
Kurt looks like he's heading for shotgun and Nick can feel himself panicking. He's not really sure why he feels like he has to be the one sitting next to Emma but he almost wants to speed up and cut Kurt off but how obvious would that look, so he just picks up his pace. They end up reaching the door handle at the exact same time, and he feels himself shoot Emma a panicked look for reasons that he's not sure of.
Emma glances at him and her face is constricted. "Hey, Nick," she says evenly, "I'm going to need you to sit up front. It's school regulations," she shrugs. "Your diabetes." She says the disease in an almost whispered tone and it takes every bone in Nick's body to keep him from bursting out laughing.
He plays along though, and twists his face quickly into what he'd imagine a sick puppy would look like. "I have been feeling pretty diabetic today. Thanks Emma." He looks at Kurt sadly and coughs a few times for effect, and Kurt looks at him in shock for a second before scampering towards the backseat, as if Nick's contagious.
Mercedes and Kurt settle into the back pretty well, and they're both passed out within the first twenty minutes. It's not until then that Nick lets himself say something to Emma.
"Diabetes, huh? I didn't know the school had such strict policies," he grins, at her.
Emma has both hands on the steering wheel, at exact o' clock positions, but she sneaks a smile at him. "We take it very seriously here, Nick. That and polio."
*****
The car ride is just an hour and a half, and with Mercedes and Kurt passing out in the backseats within the first half hour, the rest of the drive is slow and easy. They end up plugging in Emma's ipod and which consists of a lot of Stevie Nicks, which Emma does a hysterical impression of, and surprisingly (a pleasant surprise, Nick grins) the entire discography of Elvis Costello.
"You know the way to a guys heart," He says to her when he presses the first song on the list and Costello floats through the speakers.
"Yes, Nick," Emma says, and rolls her eyes, even though she smiles like she's kind of pleased. "That's exactly why I have all of Costello's music."
They talk a little bit more, but mostly the ride is just a comfortable quiet, with "New Lace Sleeves" in the background and their forearms touching on the coffee holders. She sings the harmony along quietly under her breath, and it makes Nick grin so hard that Emma presses her arm into his and tilts her head to the side to smile at him, her face relaxed, like she has a lot of things to be happy about at the moment. It's exactly how Nick feels.
The minute they step out of the car, everything shifts and all of a sudden, its chaos. There's only three Glee groups here but there's Glee mom's who's camera flashes and frantic screaming about makeup and costumes and time, the news coverage that Coach Sylvester's television show is providing with their lights shining and videographers hounding kids for better angles, and this nervous pent up energy in the air, like Nick has had one too many Redbulls and he needs to go for a run or pee or something, it's just so much and the auditorium space is claustrophobic.
Rachel is starting to hyperventilate and Artie looks like he's about to vomit and everyone else isn't far behind. Nick's feeling a mixture of the two and Mr. Shue gathers them all together for a talk. They huddle together, close and compact and Nick's not really sure at what point he started considering the people next to him close friends, but it hits him that they mean a lot to him. Santana squeezes his hand when she sees how hard he swallows and Kurt gives him a smile that's not nearly as condescending as it was the first time he met him, when Prince broke down.
Nick takes a moment before the group gets together to peak out from behind the curtains at the audience, even though Mr. Shue said that it wasn't a good idea for nerves; he doesn't like being surprised by these kinds of things though so he does anyways. Nick's entire family is there even though he's told them a million times that he only plays guitar and does backup vocals. Dad and Joe have got front row covered with their video camera, even though Dad's tall enough to be blocking off maybe an entire column of heads behind him. Mom's sitting with the rest of her friends a few rows back and David, Sel, Demi, Chloe, and a few guys from school have somehow managed to section off a side for themselves, perfect for screaming and whistling and Nick feels his entire body relax, just looking around at those people. He's pretty lucky, to be honest.
There's warmups then makeup then tuning then hugs and peptalks and more hugs and warmups again and before they're ready--way before Nick's ready--it's their turn to perform. Nick's holding his guitar in a vice grip but his palms are sweaty and it feels like his acoustic's about to drop on the floor any moment and his heart won't stop going off the wire. He looks at Finn who gives him a quick hug before going to his position behind the doors with Rachel, and Nick feels his body relax a bit. He heads back stage towards the rest of the group, who's taking their places. Quinn gives him a quick kiss on the cheek as good luck even though she can barely reach him over her belly and he barely has time to glance over at Emma, who's standing in the side bays, before the curtains go up.
*****
They lose. Last place kind of losing. The moment on stage when Coach Sylvester's reading out the order is so surreal; they're all holding hands and even though it'd be so cheesy and dumb under other circumstances, Nick kind of thinks he needs something to hold onto in the moment or he might keel over. He hears the other clubs' names getting called and he watches as Rachel turns into Finn's arms and Mr. Shuester's face crumples. He notices his body getting pulled into a tight hug by Puck but all that he can really feel is his heart in his throat and his stomach churning and his body shaking for reasons he doesn't even know. All he knows is that they deserved this and when you do everything right and still don't get what you hoped for, it hurts.
He thinks that he'll feel numb for a while, probably, until he hears Quinn groan beside him. Then he realizes they don't have time for that.
*****
The actual awards ceremony is a blur and so is the press afterwards. They don't get many interviews (who wants the losers on their news show?) but the questions they do get go in one ear and out the other for Nick; Mr. Shuester ends up answering most of them because Rachel's too heartbroken to talk and the rest of them are preoccupied with Quinn.
The team goes to the hospital as soon as they can, Mr. Shue speeding through yellow lights and yield signs, screeching into the handicapped parking space, where Artie tosses Shue the handicap tag to put on his rearview mirror. Finn, Puck and Emma are already at the hospital, with Emma driving Quinn out when she went into labor, Puck and Finn refusing to be left behind. The three of them had become a weird threesome towards the end of the pregnancy, Nick had noticed. After all the drama with Puck being the father had settled down, Finn was still attached enough to want to help out and the winsome threesome thing has worked out, so far. Nick's not really sure how well it's going to play out when the baby's actually born, but other than Quinn constantly being exasperated by the two boys, it seemed to be alright.
The crowd of them (and seriously, the amount of them must look ridiculous to the doctors, Nick thinks) run into the hospital, Mr. Shuester leading the way, and Tina bringing up the rear, pushing Artie so fast that the wheels spin out a little when she makes a sharp turn into the lobby. Mercedes carries her weight to the nurse's station and her demanding voice somehow makes a nurse point in the direction of Quinn's room in a heartbeat, information Nick's preeetty sure they aren't allowed to just hand out to teenagers and they all run for the stars on the far end of the hall, nodding at Artie and Tina who have already headed for the elevator, which Nick knows he doesn't have the patience to wait for.
They have three flights to climb and by the third, Nick can hear Mercedes and Kurt audibly panting but Nick has so much adreniline that he can barely feel his legs.
It's not even like its his child or anything but it's Quinn, the girl he liked in middle school, the girl who was Joe AND Finn AND his first kiss (which, okay should have been their first sign on her chasteness) and the girl who made Finn and Nick join her stupid club in 9th grade and get purity rings so it'd really take off. It's that Quinn who's having a baby; and then it's Puck and Finn who everyone has sort of turned into collaborative fathers for the child. Puck, who despite everything has become one of the most loyal people Nick knows, and Finn, who's family to him in the way David and Sel are, and who deserves everything to turn out well so so much and God, just thinking about all of this makes Nick's chest hurt.
They turn down the corridor on the right of hospital rooms and Nick barrels right into Finn, with Finn's huge body almost forcing Nick backwards.
Finn's face is completely panicked and Nick can see in his face how sick to the stomach he must be feeling. Finn's shirt is completely damp and sticking to his body and the bow tie from Sectionals (which, Jesus, already feels like so long ago) is completely undone and if Joe were here, he'd say Finn looks like he's the one giving birth, Nick thinks, scatterbrained.
"The baby's coming, Nick," Finn grips Nick's arm in a complete vice that Nick feels it go numb.
"I know, buddy, I know." Nick tries to speak calmly, but he feels his own voice shaking. "Why aren't you in there?"
"They kicked me out of there---I'm-I'm too enthusiastic." Finn sounds strangled, and his expression is so bewildered and confused that Nick wants to laugh but can't bring himself to.
"They said to calm down and come back when I'm ready." Finn's whole body seems to vibrate and Nick hugs him quickly, to steady him but it just makes the vibrations go through Nick's body too and everything is happening so fast and Nick is just nervous for everybody and everything.
"It's going to be fine, man," Nick hears himself say into Finn's shoulder," It's going to be great." He's not even sure what that even really means but it's all he can really say right now.
Finn pulls back and gives him a look that seems to waver between throwing up and crying.
"Emma and Puck are in there with her right now," Finn says, bouncing on the soles of his feet. "Everything's just--everyth--- I'm going back in." He pulls Nick in to another quick hug then takes off in a jog, like he's running back onto the football field after an injury and Nick grins, even though there's still a million squirming snakes in the pits of his stomach.
The next two hours are the the longest hours of Nick's life, bar none. Nick shoots a text to Joe and tells him to let Mom and dad know where he is. The bombardment of texts that follow from his parents ("We love you! Everything's going to be great! You popped out of me like nothing, sweetie!") and Uncle Ted and Barney and Aunt Robin ( "Make sure you are really supportive, Nick. Seriously. The birthing process is terrifying," and "I'll send over an infant suit as soon as I can, Nicky," and "YOU'RE LUCKY YOU AREN'T A WOMAN, NICHOLAS..YOU BETTER BE SUPPORTING THAT POOR GIRL!") don't match Joe's text. The simple "!!!!!!!!!!!!" text from him was kind of all he needed, honestly.
Artie and Santana are playing tic-tac-toe and Mike and Brittany are flipping through magazines but no one really seems to be paying attention (Nick had looked over at the game, and it seems like Santana won about two moves ago). Every time the waiting room door opens, Nick jumps up, as if the news will travel faster if they know who to deliver it to. When its the sixth time the door opens, and for the sixth time, it's not someone they know, Nick collapses back into the cushioned chairs. His body is exhaused and even though it feels like its only evening, the clock in the waiting room reads three in the morning. His brain is still so wired from the coffee at the front desk and the fact that there's a baby, a baby! coming, but his body kind of just wants to collapse.
He doesn't even realize that he's drumming out a rhythm for one of him and Sel's songs repetitively on his lap until Kurt presses one of his hands onto Nick's, as if to absorb the nervous energy.
Nick feels himself unravel a little, and he shoots Kurt a helpless grin, because at this point, he can't even think clearly enough to articulate what's going through his head.
Kurt smiles back and pat's Nick's hand before removing his. "You don't need to freak out Nick," he says, even though his own voice is kind of shaking. "Have you seen Quinn and Puck? That baby's going to pop out looking like Megan Fox. Plus, Quinn probably has a vajayjay of steel so.."
Nick hears himself let out a surprised laugh, and even though he doesn't exactly want to dwell on Quinn's lady parts, Kurt is weirdly comforting.
"I'm thinking more of a Jewish Jennifer Aniston. Who cheers," he says. His voice almost sounds unfamiliar, after spending this long, without speaking and he feels like it's too loud, like it's echoing in the harshly lit waiting room.
He smiles at Kurt again, like a thank you he figures, and Nick feels his body relax. Quinn's a strong girl and if the baby's inherited any of Puck's genes it's going to be a fighter and things are going to be just fine, probably.
Nick's only relaxed for, like, five seconds, because when he sees Finn running into the waiting room, slamming the swinging door hard into the wall behind it, all the fears and hypothetical situations come flying back into his head. Finn's face is usually an open book, and inexplicably, Nick's brain flashes back to two years ago, when Quinn said yes to a first date and Finn's face was just this beam of light and then now, where it's just such a mixture of emotions that Nick can't even begin to read it.
There's a moment right after, where Finn's face is still tightened and everyone is holding their breath that Nick has this urge to pray, even though it's a little late for that, and even though his family's not the religious type.
"It's a baby girl," Finn says, and his voice cracks. His face crumples into this expression of complete bewilderment, as if he can't believe what is going on. Nick feels this swooping feeling in his stomach, and he doesn't even know what to do with himself.
"Finn," he says, and seriously, his voice sounds like it's someone else, it's that shaky, but oh my God, it's a girl.
Next to him, Kurt and Tina are hugging and Mercedes is practically squeezing a nurse to death and Nick has this ridiculous floating feeling in his stomach, like he could kiss everyone in the room, he's so happy. Finn's face folds and Nick barely has time to see the tears in his eyes before he pulls Finn into a hug.
"A girl, Nick J," Finn says, his voice layered and Nick can feel his throat tightening. It's Finn and it's Quinn and Puck and a baby girl and everything's about to change but right now, everyone is okay and there's a baby girl in their family and Nick is just so so glad to be alive. He squeezes Finn's neck,as if that could come close to saying everything he wants to but Finn shoots him a watery grin when they pull away, so maybe it's just enough.
It's really nice, standing outside of the glass and looking in on Quinn's baby in the nursery. Nick isn't really sure who she looks like, but Mercedes is seeing Puck's nose and Kurt's swearing he sees Quinn's baby browns, but all Nick sees is that the baby's pretty great. Her eyes are shut tight and her face is scrunched up but the way her fists are balled up, like she's ready to take someone even though she's had a pretty busy day, is so typical Quinn that he can't get over it. Puck's taken a station by the window pointing her out to complete strangers ("Hey, that's my girl you're looking at...Don't you dare take a step closer to that glass") and the sincere look of happiness on his face makes Nick feel so much for the guy.
Quinn's asleep when Nick sneaks down to the room to visit but Finn looks content, sprawled in the chair next to her bed.
"Hey, man." Finn's voice sounds exhausted, and his face seems weathered. "I wanted to pick up a teddy bear for the baby but I don't want Quinn to wake up and not have anyone so--"
"You got it, buddy." Nick says, and he's pretty grateful for something tangible to do. He felt pretty useless out there in the waiting room and now that he has the job of finding the World's Best Bear, which okay, Finn didn't word it like that but it was implied, it's a little more gratifying. He's on such an adrenaline rush from just, everything around him, that he needs to get out of the hospital anyways.
The gift shop is a small, square-like connector building, right outside the hospital. Nick is kind of thrown off by the fresh air and how it is pitch black, besides the orange glow of the street lights, filling the space between the gift shop and hospital. He had forgotten that the world was still going on outside.
The gift shop is crowded with balloons and little outfits and stuffed toys and frantic people, even at, by Nick's watch, four in the morning. The teddy bear selection in itself is kind of overwhelming, especially since Nick plans on finding the Very Best One. He narrows it down to a massive spotted bear and a fluffy medium brown one. He goes medium brown; better to go for quality, rather than size, he thinks.
"Who's it for?" the gift shop girl asks, shaking her bangs out of her eyes as she quickly ties a pink bow around the bear's neck. She's cute, Nick guesses, but his brain is on too much of an overdrive to really think about it. He's not even sure what he's really thinking about any more, it's just become a blur of emotions and faces.
"it's for my best friend. Well, their baby. The baby's not my best frien---." He stops talking abruptly, feeling pretty flustered. He must sound ridiculous but he can't even find it within himself to care at the moment. There's just more important things right now, is all.
She laughs and hands him his receipt. "Well, this baby is one lucky girl to have you for a best friend or uncle or whatever you're going to be. Congrats," she grins.
He grins back, but his body's already heading towards the door. He hadn't even thought about that yet, how he's family to the baby the way Uncle Ted or Barney are to him. He could be such a good role model for the kid, Nick thinks. When Puck and Quinn are being overbearing and Finn is too doting, which is going to be, like, every minute of this kid's life, he could be the uncle she wants around. He could teach her piano when she gets around that age, three or four he thinks?, and then maybe drums, or maybe drums first, and he could help her with homework and oh man, just the idea that he's Uncle Nick to this girl who's already so awesome, just from looking at her, has Nick floating.
He's so in his head at the moment that he practically crashes into Emma on the way out of the store. She's crouched near the door, carefully re-tying the pink bow on a huge teddy bear. She jumps to her feet, when she sees him.
"Oh, Nick!" Emma's eyes are big and dark and the orange light from the lamp posts seem to make her hair glow. Nick feels like his heart is in his stomach when he sees her and right now, it's just like he's seeing her for the first time, all over again. That, combined with the rush from Quinn's baby (a baby!!) has Nick's heart bursting.
"The baby," he says, grinning, and he can't even think of anything else to say even though he knows that there's so much more that they need to talk about, to figure out. It's just that, with everything that's happened today, he feels so good.
Emma is flushed and her clothes are wrinkled and she's smiling so wide and it suddenly hits Nick that he's been waiting forever to talk to Emma about all that's happened tonight and talk about Finn and Puck and the baby and man, it's like he's missed her so much, even though it hasn't really been that long.
"Oh my GOD, Nick," she says, flushed, her eyes crinkled like maybe, he thinks, she's really been waiting to talk to him too. "The baby's so great, and Quinn was incredible, and just--"
"It's everything," he interrupts laughing and she laughs, in this kind of unwound way, and he feels so unraveled, the way that every part of his body is humming with energy.
He cant even remember who kisses who first when he thinks about it later, but all he knows is that her lips are on his, hard, under the hospital street lights. Emma's warm and happy and she feels so comfortable and the kiss is urgent, but in a way like she's been waiting to do this forever, like he has. He has so much that he wants to say to her, enough that maybe he should pull away and say it, that he's not a kid, that she's what makes Glee club, just, so much, but instead he kisses her harder, sucking on her bottom lip enough to make her gasp into his mouth. The bear drops to the ground so he can put both of his hands on her and her fingers are in the waistband of his pants, pulling him closer, and she glides her tongue over his like it's an accident, but he feels it everywhere so much that he shivers. Emma laughs at this, but in an out of breath way, and wraps her arms around his torso, so they're hugging. Nick rests his head on top of hers and he tries to catch his breath, even though everything is still on fire and they stay like this for a while, swaying in their spot under the streetlight and Nick feels like, for the first time in a while, everything is perfect.
Emma mumbles something unintelligible into his chest, and Nick can only feel vibrations running through his body. She pulls away and grins at him, and there isn't anything but happiness on her face, which is so so good because a small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that she might not want it the way he does. He grins back and he can't get over how Emma is, just, the best thing he's ever seen, her skin hot and her hair sticking to the nape of her neck.
"I've got--I've got," she is so flustered but she's smiling so big like maybe she's crazy about Nick and he can't help but laugh at how ridiculous they probably look. "I've got to get this bear to Puck...he wanted the baby to have the biggest bear possible."
"Oh man, this bear's from Finn," Nick groans. "He had the exact same idea."
"Oh god, the poor child is going to grow up so scarred...We're going to have to watch those two compete for her attention, aren't we."
Nick wants to answer that he'll probably make up for it Uncle-wise, but it really just gets swallowed up by how much he likes the way Emma says "we." She says it like they have time.
END