This Kiss, Chapter Twenty-Five
Title: This Kiss
Author: poetzproblem
Fandom Glee
Characters: Rachel Berry / Quinn Fabray
Word Count: ~5600
Rating: R
Summary: One pivotal moment can change everything.
Spoilers/Warnings: hrough A Very Glee Christmas. Then AU. Cursing, sexual references, Femslash.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or the characters, just like to play with them.
A/N: Written for a Faberry prompt, but can't remember where. 'Rachel and Quinn share a kiss during a game of spin the bottle. From that night forward both girls desperately try to deny what they felt; what they feel. The other Glee kids know what’s up and attempt to play matchmaker.'
(Chapter One) (Chapter Two) (Chapter Three) (Chapter Four) (Chapter Five) (Chapter Six) (Chapter Seven) (Chapter Eight) (Chapter Nine) (Chapter Ten) (Chapter Eleven) (Chapter Twelve) (Chapter Thirteen) (Chapter Fourteen) (Chapter Sixteen) (Chapter Sixteen) (Chapter Seventeen) (Chapter Eighteen) (Chapter Nineteen) (Chapter Twenty) (Chapter Twenty-One) (Chapter Twenty-Two) (Chapter Twenty-Three) (Chapter Twenty-Four)
Grand Gestures
Quinn's dreaded meeting of one of the misters Berry hadn't been as awful as she'd feared. Granted, it hadn't exactly been wonderful. Rachel had called her daddy and warned him that one of the evil cheerios would be joining them for dinner, and from Rachel's side of the conversation, Quinn knew that she'd been right to think that he wouldn't be crazy about the idea. But Leroy Berry had been civil when he'd appeared with takeout from Padrone's Pizza-one veggie for Rachel and meatzza for himself and Quinn to share (and boy, did she love whomever thought of putting bacon on pizza.)
Leroy was kind of intimidating at first glance-a tall, muscular, black man that Quinn never in a million years would have pegged as homosexual if she'd met him on the street. He'd given her a nerve-racking once over, taking in the uniform with a frown as she'd attempted to stutter through a polite greeting. The name Fabray obviously raised a warning flag, but the man didn't comment, and Rachel had been quick to start reciting all of Quinn's better qualities in an attempt to distract him. The man obviously adored his little girl, because her enthusiasm over her new friend had been enough to soften him up. Still, Quinn wasn't surprised when he'd unsubtly grilled her over dinner, and she'd answered every question that he'd asked as honestly as she could, at least without giving away the fact that she was in love with his daughter. By the time they'd finished eating, he seemed willing to believe that Quinn genuinely cared about Rachel, and that meant that Quinn wouldn't be banned from the Berry residence, so that was good. She still had to meet Hiram, of course, but Rachel seemed to think that her dad was far easier to get past than her daddy. Quinn was kind of glad her girlfriend hadn't told her that before she'd met Leroy Berry.
Nothing changed drastically at McKinley on Friday, although maybe there were a few odd looks when Quinn appeared at Rachel's locker that morning and didn't slam the door shut to start barking out insults. She just stood there with a soft smile on her face as Rachel picked up the books that she'd need for her morning classes and rambled about the incompetence of her Chem-lab partner. They parted with a promise to see one another at lunch and a brief, imperceptible brushing of fingers across wrists.
Quinn was happy. It was weird that such a little thing as seeing Rachel smile at her in the hall between classes could give her such a rush. She realized now that she'd actually spent every waking minute of the last few years secretly terrified that someone would look at her and just know that she was different-that her eyes were lingering a little too long on other girls, or that she flinched a little every time her boyfriend touched her, or that she got just a little too excited whenever she had words with Rachel. The fear was still there, of course, but she no longer felt oppressed by it. She felt surprisingly fee.
So when lunchtime finally came around, and she could finally sit down beside Rachel, she didn't even care that half the cafeteria was openly staring at them and whispering behind their hands. Quinn just smiled serenely, lightly bumped her girlfriend's shoulder with her own, and said, "hey," biting back the urge to add baby to the greeting.
Rachel beamed back at her. "Hi."
"Oh, how cute," Kurt cooed from across the table.
"They only said hello," Mercedes chided.
"But they do it so cutely. Just look at those happy, smiling faces."
Quinn shook her head at his antics, but honestly, she couldn't seem to stop smiling.
"Can I just say, I am so glad you two finally worked your junk out, because this one," Mercedes jerked her thumb in Kurt's direction, "has been driving us all crazy with his Operation Cupid."
"Operation Cupid? Really?" Quinn asked, and when Mercedes nodded, she laughed, "That is so lame.'
"That's what I told the boy, but he wasn't hearing it," Santana pointed out as she unceremoniously dropped down next to a pouting Kurt while Brittany slipped into the open seat across from her counterpart-the one that just happened to be beside Rachel.
"Hi, Q. Hi, Rach," she chirped with a happy grin.
Quinn narrowed her eyes at Brittany, unable to stave off the tickle of jealousy at the familiarity between the two. "Brittany," she greeted coolly.
"Careful, B," Santana warned with a smirk. "I don't think she likes you calling her girlfriend Rach."
Brittany frowned, "But isn't that, like, her name?"
Rachel chuckled a little. "It's fine, Brittany." Under the table, her hand slid onto Quinn's thigh and her thumb started rubbing tiny circles over the skin. Quinn stifled a moan and forgot all about her jealousy.
Kurt turned and gave Santana a once-over. "Excuse me, but why exactly are you sitting here?"
"What? I thought you'd like to have the family around, Don Queerleon."
He crossed his arms. "Very funny, Santana."
Mercedes shook her head at the two, then said, "Um, Brittany, I thought you had the next lunch period."
"Nope. I actually have this one, but I wanted to have lunch with Artie while we were dating. Now I get to be with San again," she aimed an adoring smile Santana. "Except I guess I have to start going back to English class. I'm kind of worried about my grade, 'cause Mr. Kearns says I do better when I'm not there at all."
"Uh, okay."
"Don't worry, Britt. I'll tutor you," Santana promised with a genuine smile.
Quinn smiled at her friends' obvious affection for one another. Her hand found its way down to cover the one that was still teasing patterns on her leg, and she turned Rachel's palm over so that she could tangle their fingers together.
"So, wait," Kurt said, holding up a hand. "Are you two…?"
"We're dating," Brittany finished happily, "and totally having sex."
"Ay, dios," Santana muttered, closing her eyes as her cheeks took on ruddy hue.
Mercedes snickered, "Aw, that's so cute. Big, bad Santana is blushing."
Santana's eyes snapped open and she glared past Kurt. "Don't start with me, Wheezy. This bitch still has her teeth."
"And she's really good with them."
"Britt…"
"And her tongue," Brittany added conversationally.
Mercedes made a face and dropped her tater tot onto her plate uneaten. "Oh, my God. I surrender. Just please don't tell me any more details," she begged. "Like, ever."
Quinn could sympathize. She already knew more about Brittany and Santana's sex life than she'd ever wanted to. She turned to Rachel and rolled her eyes. "These are our friends?"
"I'm just happy to finally have some," Rachel admitted dryly.
Quinn squeezed Rachel's hand beneath the table. "I'm just happy you're happy."
"Sheesh. You think we're bad," Santana scoffed.
"I'd rather hear sappy than smutty," Mercedes pointed out.
Quinn scowled at her friend. "We are not sappy."
"You kind of are, but it's cute."
"Thank you, Brittany. That's exactly what I was saying before you arrived," Kurt announced, then arched an eyebrow at the couple. "And speaking of that…I thought you two were supposed to be going the subtle route."
Santana busted out in raucous, shoulder-shaking laughter, and Quinn glared at her. She reined herself in with a final snort. "Oh, wait, you were being serious."
Rachel stiffened next to Quinn and huffed, "As far as anyone at this school needs to know, Quinn and I have finally put our differences behind us and discovered that we actually share a few common interests, enough so that we are attempting a friendship.
"And if anyone has a problem with that, they can just suck it," Quinn added with a snarl.
Mercedes grinned. "You go, girlfriend."
"So freaking cute," Santana drawled with an eye roll.
"Ignore her," Kurt instructed. "What are your plans for your first weekend as an official couple?"
Quinn blanched, looking nervously at Rachel who raised an inquisitive eyebrow as she met her eyes. They hadn't really made any plans. It wasn't like they could go out to dinner and a movie. Well, actually they could, they just couldn't act like it was a date.
Crap. Was I supposed to officially ask her out? Oh, God, I was, wasn't I? I suck at this. She probably thinks I'm a terrible girlfriend.
"Uh…I…we could…" she trailed off, biting her lip.
Rachel smiled and shook her head, squeezing Quinn's hand reassuringly. "We'll probably just hang out at my house and watch movies and talk."
"Well, that's hardly romantic," Kurt pouted.
Damn it, Quinn knew it wasn't romantic. He didn't have to rub it in.
"I happen to disagree," Rachel said. "I find it quite romantic to simply spend time getting to know one another better. Grand gestures, while appreciated, are not necessary to make me happy. I'm very much looking forward to," she stopped talking suddenly, fingers tightening around Quinn's. "Ah…Santana, I regret to inform you that is not Brittany's leg."
Across the table, Santana sat up straight. "Sorry. My bad."
Quinn glared at her. "Oh, my God. Do you ever stop?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "I've got needs."
"You need to stop being a sex fiend," Mercedes cut in. "You're worse than Puck."
Brittany shook her head. "Actually, she's so much better than he is."
"That's it. I'm outta here," Mercedes announced as she stood. "It's been fun, but I draw the line at hearing about Santana's bedroom skills."
"Hey, your loss," Santana told her smugly as she walked away.
"She's totally jealous of you," Brittany decided.
"Everyone is."
"I really need to find more gay friends of the male gender," Kurt commented sadly.
Santana elbowed the boy in the side. "Hey, stop complaining, Cupid. You totally did this to yourself."
Quinn smiled at their playful bickering as she leaned a little closer to Rachel, quietly asking, "Are you really okay with just hanging out and watching movies this weekend?"
"I am so okay with it," she promised huskily, and suddenly, Quinn couldn't wait to start their weekend. Too bad they still had half a day to get through.
•••
By the time glee rolled around, Quinn had mostly forgotten that not everyone had clued into the fact that she and Rachel were now on friendly terms. She figured having lunch with her would have done the trick, but apart from the whispered speculation that she was plotting something, no one bothered to question her.
She supposed she should have realized that they might get a few odd looks from some of their teammates after she'd had to kick Tina out of her seat in American Lit. The girl had looked questioningly at Rachel when Quinn appeared and ordered her to move it, and Rachel had smiled and told her it was okay. Not twenty seconds later, Quinn had heard Tina's squeak of surprise when Santana had basically told her she'd be stuck sitting with her for the rest of the year. Really, she probably should have been a little nicer about the whole thing, but damn it, she'd wanted to sit beside Rachel and watch her fidget with nervous energy and maybe see if she could succeed in distracting her from their lesson. She totally had.
So when Quinn and Rachel walked into the choir room together, smiling and talking like they'd been the best of friends for years, Artie and Finn had stopped their brooding session to gape at the two, Puck leaned forward in his seat with his mouth open and eyes glazed, and poor Mike stumbled backwards over a chair.
Quinn resisted the urge to smugly drop an arm over Rachel's shoulder and glare at Finn, because that would just be wrong. Anyway, she wasn't in the mood for the headache that would surely come when he finally figured out what was going on. If Kurt was right, Finn was the only one in the room who really didn't have a clue. She glanced up at Puck, saw the unholy gleam in his eye (and the little patch of drool at the corner of his mouth) and pretty much knew he'd been onto them, too. Actually, she was kind of relieved that he didn't seem to be hurt by it.
Huh, Rachel was right. We really don't have to hide in glee. Well, once we take care of the Finn problem.
They sat beside one another, completely careless of what anyone thought or the fact the Finn was still staring at them. When Mr. Schuester came in with the sign-up sheet in his hand, Quinn felt her stomach bottom out a little. She really had her doubts about singing with Rachel in front of everyone, but her girlfriend had seemed so excited about it that she hadn't been able to say no. She really needed to work on that, because as much as she loved Rachel, the girl was a serious taskmaster when it came to rehearsing songs. They'd had their first, second and third arguments last night over Rachel's obsessive-compulsive need for vocal perfection, Quinn's impatience, and the feasibility of anyone actually winning Regionals with that particular song anyway. Obviously, Quinn had lost all three arguments.
Damn Rachel Berry and her irresistible pout. She really doesn't play fair.
"Okay, guys. Let's get going with some of these auditions. Ah, Rachel, since you seem to have signed up for every song on the list, I'll ask who else wants to start things off?"
"Oh, I think Quinn should totally go first since it was her idea," Santana offered helpfully.
"Thank you, Santana," she muttered.
"Don't mention it."
Rachel bounced from her seat with a smile and announced, "As you all may have noticed, Quinn and I have decided to let bygones be bygones," there were a few snickers, but she ignored them like a pro, "so, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, we're going to audition together and defer to your judgment."
Quinn shook her head and sighed. Like everyone didn't know exactly what was going on-again, except for Finn. Oh, and Mr. Schue. She wondered if the boy would actually be slow enough to miss the proverbial big, neon sign that she and Rachel were about to light up.
He did believe he could get me pregnant in a hot tub without actually having sex, so maybe this won't be the complete disaster that I think it's going to be…
Then Rachel started to sing, and Quinn's mind went momentarily blank.
"Kiss me too fiercely
Hold me too tight.
I need help believing
You're with me tonight.
My wildest dreamings
Could not foresee,
Lying beside you
With you wanting me."
Quinn told herself to stay impassive. They'd spent a full twenty minutes last night working on acting indifferent to one another as they sang-complete failure every time. She could already tell today would be more of the same, although Rachel seemed to be doing okay, keeping her eyes on her audience and singing to them instead of to Quinn. Yeah, she actually wasn't liking that very much. She wanted Rachel's eyes on her.
"And just for this moment
As long as you're mine.
I've lost all resistance
And crossed some borderline.
And if it turns out
It's over too fast,
I'll make every last moment last
As long as you're mine."
And then it was Quinn's turn to sing, and she just couldn't help herself. Her eyes locked onto Rachel and refused to look away.
"Maybe I'm brainless
Maybe I'm wise,
But you've got me seeing
Through different eyes.
Somehow I've fallen
Under your spell,
And somehow I'm feeling
It's up that I fell."
Quinn could tell she'd nailed the verse, even before Rachel turned to gaze at her adoringly. As Rachel's voice blended seamlessly with her own, she didn't even care that they were basically coming out to the glee club right now.
"Every moment
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And make up for lost time."
Rachel smiled softly at Quinn and stayed silent to let her take the next phrase alone.
"Say there's no future
For us as a pair."
Rachel shook her head slightly, wordlessly telling Quinn that they certainly did have a future, before they finished the last verse together.
"And though I may know
I don't care.
Just for this moment
As long as you're mine.
Come be how you want to
And see how bright we shine.
Borrow the moonlight
Until it is through,
And know I'll be here holding you
As long as you're mine."
Quinn managed to hold onto that last note to match Rachel, and she was kind of impressed with herself, but mostly, she was just completely crazy about the girl beside her. There was a moment of stunned silence in the room before everyone started clapping and cheering for them. Rachel was grinning proudly, and she slipped an arm around Quinn's waist and gave her a brief congratulatory squeeze. The action was totally platonic-something any friend would do-except they were more than that, and Quinn's body reacted accordingly as she leaned into Rachel.
"Wow, awesome job girls," Mr. Schuester said as he applauded them, his dopey smile proof that he was still oblivious to the change in their personal dynamic. "I think picking the winner is going to be a tough choice. What do you guys think?" he asked everyone.
"I think they both won," Kurt said with a knowing smile.
Santana smirked down at them. "Yeah, you must have practiced for hours," and Quinn scowled, narrowing her eyes at Santana in warning.
"Wait a minute," Finn muttered. His brow was furrowed and he was looking back and forth between the two girls suspiciously. Quinn shook her head and stepped away from Rachel, hoping to nip his sudden flicker of insight in the bud and also to regain a bit of her own equilibrium.
"I think we all know Rachel deserves the song," she conceded, and it was true. She did a damn good job holding her own, but her voice was nowhere near as good as the diva's.
"Quinn, Rachel, I am really impressed by your willingness to rise above your differences and work together. Especially after all the problems you've had in the past. See, that's what I've been talking about," he told the rest of the club as the girls reclaimed their seats. "Team work."
"Yeah, that's totally what it is," Santana snickered.
"Shut up," Quinn hissed. She glanced over in Finn's direction to see him glaring at her now. She could almost see the rusty cogs start to turn inside his head.
Unfortunately, although completely unsurprisingly, Rachel really had signed up to audition for every female lead, so when Santana made a bid for Adele's Rolling in the Deep, Rachel countered with her own rendition. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem for Quinn-she was happy to sit there and fan girl her little heart out, except that she could practically feel Finn's eyes on her the whole time and she was perfectly aware of how obvious her affections were whenever she listened to Rachel sing. So at the end of the song, when Rachel sat back down and smiled softly at her, Quinn just knew a whole mess of trouble was about to go down.
To his credit, Finn kept his mouth shut right up until the minute Mr. Schuester wished them a good a weekend and dismissed them from class. They were gathering up their bags and getting ready to leave when a large shadow fell over them.
"What's going on, Rach?"
Rachel stiffened beside her. "I'm not sure what you mean, Finn," she evaded.
He glanced around the choir room at the few people remaining who hadn't immediately run out-Brittany, Santana, and surprisingly, Puck. Finn was obviously trying to figure out if anyone else had noticed what he thought he was seeing. Quinn could just imagine what he found in the faces of their friends, all of whom already knew the truth. His eyes finally locked onto her again, and she met his angry gaze with her own, refusing to back down from the silent challenge.
"No way," he mumbled with a shake of his head, then he choked out a strangled laugh. "There's just no way."
Okay, that kind of pissed Quinn off. Her relationship with Rachel wasn't that unbelievable. She crossed her arms and glared back at Finn. "Why don't you spit out whatever poor, lonely thought you've got rattling around that empty head of yours, Hudson?" she challenged with a sneer.
"Quinn, don't be like that," Rachel admonished her, but she really didn't care. Quinn just wanted it out there now, so she could at least have this one place where she could be her damn self and not hide how she felt about Rachel. And she wanted Finn to be perfectly clear on the fact that he'd blown his last chance and he wasn't ever getting Rachel back.
"Rachel…"
Finn put a beefy hand on Rachel's shoulder as he moved even closer to her, and Quinn was instantly stepping between them and shoving his hand away. "Back off," she growled. In her peripheral vision, she took note of both Puck and Santana moving closer to back them up.
Finn ignored Quinn, still focused solely on his most recent ex-girlfriend. "Rachel, can we please just talk?"
"She doesn't want to talk to you."
"Quinn, it's okay," Rachel told her softly, placing a hand on her arm. "I think I owe him an explanation."
She felt her stomach clench, and she looked at Rachel incredulously. "You don't owe him anything, Rach. You're not his girlfriend anymore."
"But I am his friend," Rachel reminded her gently.
On some level, Quinn knew that losing her temper over this would make her a total shrew, but she just wanted Rachel to take her side and be sensitive to her feelings and not Finn's-to tell him that her life wasn't any of his business anymore, and he didn't deserve any explanations for her choices. Too bad Rachel didn't seem inclined to do any of those things. Narrowing her eyes, Quinn lifted Rachel's hand from her arm, kept it firmly linked with hers, and turned to face Finn.
"Fine. You want an explanation? Here it is-we're together. Rachel is my girlfriend, and you need to get over it."
"Girlfriend?" he asked Rachel, a slight tremor of laughter in his voice. "This is joke, right? You two are just trying to screw with me."
"Neither of them want to screw with you, Finncompetent," Santana sneered. "That was kind of the problem."
Quinn snickered, but Rachel shot Santana a look of annoyance before gently addressing the boy. "It's not a joke, Finn."
"But your not even gay," he whined.
"Come on, man," Puck said, slapping a hand down on Finn's shoulder. "Let's just go. You can hang at my house and we'll have some drinks and talk about all the hot girls you can tap now that you're single."
Finn shrugged his hand off. "Is this why you dumped me? To be with her?" he asked Rachel heatedly, and Quinn bristled. She wasn't exactly digging his tone.
"She dumped you because you're a bad boyfriend," she hissed, getting up in his face.
Rachel gently pulled her back. "Quinn, please," she begged, then turned back to Finn. "You know why we broke up, Finn. We just didn't work as a couple. I assure you that nothing happened with Quinn until after you and I ended our romantic association. We've been over this already and you promised that you weren't going to make any scenes-that you'd be okay when I started to date someone else."
"It hasn't even been a week! And you weren't supposed to be with another girl."
"I don't see how that really makes a difference," she reasoned calmly.
"He's obviously threatened because he managed to turn both his exes off guys," Santana pointed out.
"Oh, three if you count yourself, San," Brittany added helpfully.
"No, Britt, I'm not off guys. Just off whiny, overgrown freaks of nature."
Rachel huffed and glared back at her. "You're not helping, Santana."
"Oh, did I say I was trying to help? I'm just enjoying the show."
Quinn couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, you know what-Santana, Brittany, I appreciate the support, but get out. Puck, I'm really glad you're not freaking out too. Thank you for that. You might want to wait for Finn. We'll only be a few minutes."
"You sure," Puck asked softly, obviously concerned to leave them alone with Finn.
She offered him a grateful smile. "Yeah, thanks."
Santana stepped up to Finn and poked him in the chest. "We're just gonna be right outside that door, Hudson," she warned him. "So if I hear the sounds of any chairs getting kicked over, I'm'a come in here and kick your ass."
Puck rolled his eyes, grabbed her by the arm and proceeded to drag her backwards out of the room. "Come on, babe. Let's give the ladies some privacy." Brittany grabbed Santana's free hand, effectively distracting her as she helped Puck guide her out.
Once they were alone, Quinn crossed her arms. "Sit down, Finn," she ordered.
"You don't get to tell me what to do anymore, Quinn," he snapped back.
"Seriously? You want to challenge me?" she asked hotly, glaring up at him. "Sit. Down. I don't want you towering over us while we have this conversation."
With a sigh, he sank down into the closest chair and crossed his arms. Quinn reached back and took Rachel's hand again, pulling her tightly into her side.
"Okay. I get that you're confused. And I get that you're hurt, but this," she waved a hand between herself and Rachel, "isn't about you, Finn. I really care about Rachel. I love...being with her and I just want to make her happy. And I'm sorry if you can't deal with that, but nothing you say or do is going to change it. I just really hope you can respect us both enough to let us be together and not cause problems for us."
"That was beautifully phrased," Rachel told her with a soft smile. "I have to concur wholeheartedly."
"Since when do you even like girls?" Finn wanted to know.
Rachel frowned down at him with furrowed brows. "Why does that even matter to you?"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I…I guess it doesn't." He met Rachel's eyes again. "I just don't understand what's going on."
Quinn bit back a snort. "That's hardly new information."
Rachel tugged on her hand in silent warning. "Finn, I realize that my willingness to enter into a relationship with another girl may appear somewhat out of character from your point of view, and truthfully, I hadn't allowed myself to consider the possibility until very recently, but I assure you that my attraction to Quinn, both emotionally and physically, is very real."
His brows furrowed as he looked from Rachel to Quinn. Quinn knew what he was thinking-he wasn't really that hard to read. She sighed and shrugged a shoulder. "I like girls. Always have. I'm tired of fighting it."
Finn's jaw clenched. "So you were lying about that too?"
"Don't attack her, Finn," Rachel snapped. "Coming to terms with your sexuality is a difficult and frightening experience."
He ignored her words entirely. "Are you really sure about this, Rach? I mean, you really want to be with…with Quinn. After everything she's done to you. Every lie she's told."
Every muscle in Quinn's body tensed. Rachel must have felt the change, because her thumb started rubbing soothing little circles over the back of Quinn's hand. "I've never been more certain of anything, Finn. I…" she hesitated, looking up at Quinn with bright eyes. "Quinn makes me happier than I've been in…well, maybe ever," she confessed, and Quinn felt her heart flutter madly as she gazed down at her girlfriend. Rachel reluctantly turned her eyes back to Finn. "I'm sorry if you have a problem with us being together, but I'm not sorry for the way I feel about her."
He nodded slowly and stood from his chair to look down at her sadly. "I think you're making a mistake, Rachel. She's gonna end up hurting you."
"I'm never going to hurt her," Quinn growled defensively-not on purpose and not if she could prevent it.
Rachel sighed, gripping Quinn's hand a little more firmly. "Finn, while I appreciate your apparent concern for my well-being, I'm going to kindly ask you to keep your opinions to yourself and allow me to live my life as I choose. And, in case you are still struggling with the concept, I choose Quinn."
Quinn grinned at Rachel's words and wrapped a possessive arm around her girl, lifting her eyebrow and smirking up at Finn. He glared back at her, then gave one last sorrowful look at Rachel. "If this is what you really want…"
"It is," Rachel assured him without hesitation.
"Then I won't get in the way. Just know I'm here for you if you need me."
"She won't," Quinn told him sharply.
He shook his head, shot Quinn a disgusted look and skulked out the door, probably to be corralled by Puck and ushered off to enjoy a drunken weekend. Quinn couldn't really bring herself to care what the boys would get up when she had a troubled Rachel sagging against her.
"Well, that was unpleasant."
Quinn turned and slipped her arms around Rachel's waist. "Yeah, it really was, but we made it through, baby."
Rachel reached up to curl a palm around the back of Quinn's neck and rub at the knots she found there. "I'm a little surprised that you're not more upset that Finn knows about us."
"I think I'm actually kind of relieved," she admitted as she gazed down into dark eyes. "I mean, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's smart enough not to make trouble for us." Quinn was fairly confident that Finn wouldn't out them to the school. For one thing, he knew Puck (and possibly Santana) would kick his ass. For another, there was the whole turning-his-girlfriends-gay reputation that he'd be wanting to avoid. And, as much as she hated it, Finn actually did still care about Rachel enough to want to protect her, even if that meant protecting Quinn by default. "At least now we won't have to be constantly worried about him finding out. With everyone else in glee knowing, it was only a matter of time anyway."
"One could extend that reasoning to the student body in general," Rachel gently reminded her.
"We'll worry about that if and when it happens."
"Hey, you two lesbians bumping uglies in here or what?" Santana's voice cut in on them as she poked her head through the door.
"San, be nice," Brittany chided from the hallway. "Ask them if they want to come to Breadstix with us."
Santana grimaced, pointedly shaking her head from side to side as she asked through clenched teeth, "Do you want to come to Breadstix with us?" Then, just for good measure, she mouthed, say no.
Quinn giggled. "No, thanks. I think we just want to spend some time alone together."
"Oh, sexy times?" Brittany asked with a big grin, head poking over Santana's shoulder.
Quinn's eyes widened and she felt her face heat as she stared down at Rachel, who was blushing prettily. "Uh…n-no, Brit. It's…ah….way too soon for that."
Santana snickered. "Yeah, Britt. Remember who you're talking to here. Ms. Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Drama Queen."
"Stuff it, Lopez," she snarled.
"Love you, too, Q," she shot back with a smirk. Grabbing Brittany's hand, she called back, "have fun with your little gold star," as she let the door fall closed again.
Quinn shook her head and smiled down at Rachel, only to see her gazing at the door thoughtfully. "Huh, I suppose she's right," she finally mumbled as she met Quinn's eyes again.
"About what?"
A sly grin curled up those sinful lips as she looped her arms around Quinn's neck. "I really could be a gold star."
Oh, my dear sweet and fluffy lord. Is she…is she suggesting…?
Biting her lip, Quinn inhaled a shaky breath. "You really are kind of a tease, Rachel Berry."
A single dark brow arched up. "It's all about the teasing…"
Quinn tipped her head back and sighed, "I knew that would come back to haunt me someday."
Music:
"As Long As You're Mine," from Wicked
Chapter Twenty-Six
Author: poetzproblem
Fandom Glee
Characters: Rachel Berry / Quinn Fabray
Word Count: ~5600
Rating: R
Summary: One pivotal moment can change everything.
Spoilers/Warnings: hrough A Very Glee Christmas. Then AU. Cursing, sexual references, Femslash.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or the characters, just like to play with them.
A/N: Written for a Faberry prompt, but can't remember where. 'Rachel and Quinn share a kiss during a game of spin the bottle. From that night forward both girls desperately try to deny what they felt; what they feel. The other Glee kids know what’s up and attempt to play matchmaker.'
(Chapter One) (Chapter Two) (Chapter Three) (Chapter Four) (Chapter Five) (Chapter Six) (Chapter Seven) (Chapter Eight) (Chapter Nine) (Chapter Ten) (Chapter Eleven) (Chapter Twelve) (Chapter Thirteen) (Chapter Fourteen) (Chapter Sixteen) (Chapter Sixteen) (Chapter Seventeen) (Chapter Eighteen) (Chapter Nineteen) (Chapter Twenty) (Chapter Twenty-One) (Chapter Twenty-Two) (Chapter Twenty-Three) (Chapter Twenty-Four)
Grand Gestures
Quinn's dreaded meeting of one of the misters Berry hadn't been as awful as she'd feared. Granted, it hadn't exactly been wonderful. Rachel had called her daddy and warned him that one of the evil cheerios would be joining them for dinner, and from Rachel's side of the conversation, Quinn knew that she'd been right to think that he wouldn't be crazy about the idea. But Leroy Berry had been civil when he'd appeared with takeout from Padrone's Pizza-one veggie for Rachel and meatzza for himself and Quinn to share (and boy, did she love whomever thought of putting bacon on pizza.)
Leroy was kind of intimidating at first glance-a tall, muscular, black man that Quinn never in a million years would have pegged as homosexual if she'd met him on the street. He'd given her a nerve-racking once over, taking in the uniform with a frown as she'd attempted to stutter through a polite greeting. The name Fabray obviously raised a warning flag, but the man didn't comment, and Rachel had been quick to start reciting all of Quinn's better qualities in an attempt to distract him. The man obviously adored his little girl, because her enthusiasm over her new friend had been enough to soften him up. Still, Quinn wasn't surprised when he'd unsubtly grilled her over dinner, and she'd answered every question that he'd asked as honestly as she could, at least without giving away the fact that she was in love with his daughter. By the time they'd finished eating, he seemed willing to believe that Quinn genuinely cared about Rachel, and that meant that Quinn wouldn't be banned from the Berry residence, so that was good. She still had to meet Hiram, of course, but Rachel seemed to think that her dad was far easier to get past than her daddy. Quinn was kind of glad her girlfriend hadn't told her that before she'd met Leroy Berry.
Nothing changed drastically at McKinley on Friday, although maybe there were a few odd looks when Quinn appeared at Rachel's locker that morning and didn't slam the door shut to start barking out insults. She just stood there with a soft smile on her face as Rachel picked up the books that she'd need for her morning classes and rambled about the incompetence of her Chem-lab partner. They parted with a promise to see one another at lunch and a brief, imperceptible brushing of fingers across wrists.
Quinn was happy. It was weird that such a little thing as seeing Rachel smile at her in the hall between classes could give her such a rush. She realized now that she'd actually spent every waking minute of the last few years secretly terrified that someone would look at her and just know that she was different-that her eyes were lingering a little too long on other girls, or that she flinched a little every time her boyfriend touched her, or that she got just a little too excited whenever she had words with Rachel. The fear was still there, of course, but she no longer felt oppressed by it. She felt surprisingly fee.
So when lunchtime finally came around, and she could finally sit down beside Rachel, she didn't even care that half the cafeteria was openly staring at them and whispering behind their hands. Quinn just smiled serenely, lightly bumped her girlfriend's shoulder with her own, and said, "hey," biting back the urge to add baby to the greeting.
Rachel beamed back at her. "Hi."
"Oh, how cute," Kurt cooed from across the table.
"They only said hello," Mercedes chided.
"But they do it so cutely. Just look at those happy, smiling faces."
Quinn shook her head at his antics, but honestly, she couldn't seem to stop smiling.
"Can I just say, I am so glad you two finally worked your junk out, because this one," Mercedes jerked her thumb in Kurt's direction, "has been driving us all crazy with his Operation Cupid."
"Operation Cupid? Really?" Quinn asked, and when Mercedes nodded, she laughed, "That is so lame.'
"That's what I told the boy, but he wasn't hearing it," Santana pointed out as she unceremoniously dropped down next to a pouting Kurt while Brittany slipped into the open seat across from her counterpart-the one that just happened to be beside Rachel.
"Hi, Q. Hi, Rach," she chirped with a happy grin.
Quinn narrowed her eyes at Brittany, unable to stave off the tickle of jealousy at the familiarity between the two. "Brittany," she greeted coolly.
"Careful, B," Santana warned with a smirk. "I don't think she likes you calling her girlfriend Rach."
Brittany frowned, "But isn't that, like, her name?"
Rachel chuckled a little. "It's fine, Brittany." Under the table, her hand slid onto Quinn's thigh and her thumb started rubbing tiny circles over the skin. Quinn stifled a moan and forgot all about her jealousy.
Kurt turned and gave Santana a once-over. "Excuse me, but why exactly are you sitting here?"
"What? I thought you'd like to have the family around, Don Queerleon."
He crossed his arms. "Very funny, Santana."
Mercedes shook her head at the two, then said, "Um, Brittany, I thought you had the next lunch period."
"Nope. I actually have this one, but I wanted to have lunch with Artie while we were dating. Now I get to be with San again," she aimed an adoring smile Santana. "Except I guess I have to start going back to English class. I'm kind of worried about my grade, 'cause Mr. Kearns says I do better when I'm not there at all."
"Uh, okay."
"Don't worry, Britt. I'll tutor you," Santana promised with a genuine smile.
Quinn smiled at her friends' obvious affection for one another. Her hand found its way down to cover the one that was still teasing patterns on her leg, and she turned Rachel's palm over so that she could tangle their fingers together.
"So, wait," Kurt said, holding up a hand. "Are you two…?"
"We're dating," Brittany finished happily, "and totally having sex."
"Ay, dios," Santana muttered, closing her eyes as her cheeks took on ruddy hue.
Mercedes snickered, "Aw, that's so cute. Big, bad Santana is blushing."
Santana's eyes snapped open and she glared past Kurt. "Don't start with me, Wheezy. This bitch still has her teeth."
"And she's really good with them."
"Britt…"
"And her tongue," Brittany added conversationally.
Mercedes made a face and dropped her tater tot onto her plate uneaten. "Oh, my God. I surrender. Just please don't tell me any more details," she begged. "Like, ever."
Quinn could sympathize. She already knew more about Brittany and Santana's sex life than she'd ever wanted to. She turned to Rachel and rolled her eyes. "These are our friends?"
"I'm just happy to finally have some," Rachel admitted dryly.
Quinn squeezed Rachel's hand beneath the table. "I'm just happy you're happy."
"Sheesh. You think we're bad," Santana scoffed.
"I'd rather hear sappy than smutty," Mercedes pointed out.
Quinn scowled at her friend. "We are not sappy."
"You kind of are, but it's cute."
"Thank you, Brittany. That's exactly what I was saying before you arrived," Kurt announced, then arched an eyebrow at the couple. "And speaking of that…I thought you two were supposed to be going the subtle route."
Santana busted out in raucous, shoulder-shaking laughter, and Quinn glared at her. She reined herself in with a final snort. "Oh, wait, you were being serious."
Rachel stiffened next to Quinn and huffed, "As far as anyone at this school needs to know, Quinn and I have finally put our differences behind us and discovered that we actually share a few common interests, enough so that we are attempting a friendship.
"And if anyone has a problem with that, they can just suck it," Quinn added with a snarl.
Mercedes grinned. "You go, girlfriend."
"So freaking cute," Santana drawled with an eye roll.
"Ignore her," Kurt instructed. "What are your plans for your first weekend as an official couple?"
Quinn blanched, looking nervously at Rachel who raised an inquisitive eyebrow as she met her eyes. They hadn't really made any plans. It wasn't like they could go out to dinner and a movie. Well, actually they could, they just couldn't act like it was a date.
Crap. Was I supposed to officially ask her out? Oh, God, I was, wasn't I? I suck at this. She probably thinks I'm a terrible girlfriend.
"Uh…I…we could…" she trailed off, biting her lip.
Rachel smiled and shook her head, squeezing Quinn's hand reassuringly. "We'll probably just hang out at my house and watch movies and talk."
"Well, that's hardly romantic," Kurt pouted.
Damn it, Quinn knew it wasn't romantic. He didn't have to rub it in.
"I happen to disagree," Rachel said. "I find it quite romantic to simply spend time getting to know one another better. Grand gestures, while appreciated, are not necessary to make me happy. I'm very much looking forward to," she stopped talking suddenly, fingers tightening around Quinn's. "Ah…Santana, I regret to inform you that is not Brittany's leg."
Across the table, Santana sat up straight. "Sorry. My bad."
Quinn glared at her. "Oh, my God. Do you ever stop?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "I've got needs."
"You need to stop being a sex fiend," Mercedes cut in. "You're worse than Puck."
Brittany shook her head. "Actually, she's so much better than he is."
"That's it. I'm outta here," Mercedes announced as she stood. "It's been fun, but I draw the line at hearing about Santana's bedroom skills."
"Hey, your loss," Santana told her smugly as she walked away.
"She's totally jealous of you," Brittany decided.
"Everyone is."
"I really need to find more gay friends of the male gender," Kurt commented sadly.
Santana elbowed the boy in the side. "Hey, stop complaining, Cupid. You totally did this to yourself."
Quinn smiled at their playful bickering as she leaned a little closer to Rachel, quietly asking, "Are you really okay with just hanging out and watching movies this weekend?"
"I am so okay with it," she promised huskily, and suddenly, Quinn couldn't wait to start their weekend. Too bad they still had half a day to get through.
•••
By the time glee rolled around, Quinn had mostly forgotten that not everyone had clued into the fact that she and Rachel were now on friendly terms. She figured having lunch with her would have done the trick, but apart from the whispered speculation that she was plotting something, no one bothered to question her.
She supposed she should have realized that they might get a few odd looks from some of their teammates after she'd had to kick Tina out of her seat in American Lit. The girl had looked questioningly at Rachel when Quinn appeared and ordered her to move it, and Rachel had smiled and told her it was okay. Not twenty seconds later, Quinn had heard Tina's squeak of surprise when Santana had basically told her she'd be stuck sitting with her for the rest of the year. Really, she probably should have been a little nicer about the whole thing, but damn it, she'd wanted to sit beside Rachel and watch her fidget with nervous energy and maybe see if she could succeed in distracting her from their lesson. She totally had.
So when Quinn and Rachel walked into the choir room together, smiling and talking like they'd been the best of friends for years, Artie and Finn had stopped their brooding session to gape at the two, Puck leaned forward in his seat with his mouth open and eyes glazed, and poor Mike stumbled backwards over a chair.
Quinn resisted the urge to smugly drop an arm over Rachel's shoulder and glare at Finn, because that would just be wrong. Anyway, she wasn't in the mood for the headache that would surely come when he finally figured out what was going on. If Kurt was right, Finn was the only one in the room who really didn't have a clue. She glanced up at Puck, saw the unholy gleam in his eye (and the little patch of drool at the corner of his mouth) and pretty much knew he'd been onto them, too. Actually, she was kind of relieved that he didn't seem to be hurt by it.
Huh, Rachel was right. We really don't have to hide in glee. Well, once we take care of the Finn problem.
They sat beside one another, completely careless of what anyone thought or the fact the Finn was still staring at them. When Mr. Schuester came in with the sign-up sheet in his hand, Quinn felt her stomach bottom out a little. She really had her doubts about singing with Rachel in front of everyone, but her girlfriend had seemed so excited about it that she hadn't been able to say no. She really needed to work on that, because as much as she loved Rachel, the girl was a serious taskmaster when it came to rehearsing songs. They'd had their first, second and third arguments last night over Rachel's obsessive-compulsive need for vocal perfection, Quinn's impatience, and the feasibility of anyone actually winning Regionals with that particular song anyway. Obviously, Quinn had lost all three arguments.
Damn Rachel Berry and her irresistible pout. She really doesn't play fair.
"Okay, guys. Let's get going with some of these auditions. Ah, Rachel, since you seem to have signed up for every song on the list, I'll ask who else wants to start things off?"
"Oh, I think Quinn should totally go first since it was her idea," Santana offered helpfully.
"Thank you, Santana," she muttered.
"Don't mention it."
Rachel bounced from her seat with a smile and announced, "As you all may have noticed, Quinn and I have decided to let bygones be bygones," there were a few snickers, but she ignored them like a pro, "so, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, we're going to audition together and defer to your judgment."
Quinn shook her head and sighed. Like everyone didn't know exactly what was going on-again, except for Finn. Oh, and Mr. Schue. She wondered if the boy would actually be slow enough to miss the proverbial big, neon sign that she and Rachel were about to light up.
He did believe he could get me pregnant in a hot tub without actually having sex, so maybe this won't be the complete disaster that I think it's going to be…
Then Rachel started to sing, and Quinn's mind went momentarily blank.
"Kiss me too fiercely
Hold me too tight.
I need help believing
You're with me tonight.
My wildest dreamings
Could not foresee,
Lying beside you
With you wanting me."
Quinn told herself to stay impassive. They'd spent a full twenty minutes last night working on acting indifferent to one another as they sang-complete failure every time. She could already tell today would be more of the same, although Rachel seemed to be doing okay, keeping her eyes on her audience and singing to them instead of to Quinn. Yeah, she actually wasn't liking that very much. She wanted Rachel's eyes on her.
"And just for this moment
As long as you're mine.
I've lost all resistance
And crossed some borderline.
And if it turns out
It's over too fast,
I'll make every last moment last
As long as you're mine."
And then it was Quinn's turn to sing, and she just couldn't help herself. Her eyes locked onto Rachel and refused to look away.
"Maybe I'm brainless
Maybe I'm wise,
But you've got me seeing
Through different eyes.
Somehow I've fallen
Under your spell,
And somehow I'm feeling
It's up that I fell."
Quinn could tell she'd nailed the verse, even before Rachel turned to gaze at her adoringly. As Rachel's voice blended seamlessly with her own, she didn't even care that they were basically coming out to the glee club right now.
"Every moment
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And make up for lost time."
Rachel smiled softly at Quinn and stayed silent to let her take the next phrase alone.
"Say there's no future
For us as a pair."
Rachel shook her head slightly, wordlessly telling Quinn that they certainly did have a future, before they finished the last verse together.
"And though I may know
I don't care.
Just for this moment
As long as you're mine.
Come be how you want to
And see how bright we shine.
Borrow the moonlight
Until it is through,
And know I'll be here holding you
As long as you're mine."
Quinn managed to hold onto that last note to match Rachel, and she was kind of impressed with herself, but mostly, she was just completely crazy about the girl beside her. There was a moment of stunned silence in the room before everyone started clapping and cheering for them. Rachel was grinning proudly, and she slipped an arm around Quinn's waist and gave her a brief congratulatory squeeze. The action was totally platonic-something any friend would do-except they were more than that, and Quinn's body reacted accordingly as she leaned into Rachel.
"Wow, awesome job girls," Mr. Schuester said as he applauded them, his dopey smile proof that he was still oblivious to the change in their personal dynamic. "I think picking the winner is going to be a tough choice. What do you guys think?" he asked everyone.
"I think they both won," Kurt said with a knowing smile.
Santana smirked down at them. "Yeah, you must have practiced for hours," and Quinn scowled, narrowing her eyes at Santana in warning.
"Wait a minute," Finn muttered. His brow was furrowed and he was looking back and forth between the two girls suspiciously. Quinn shook her head and stepped away from Rachel, hoping to nip his sudden flicker of insight in the bud and also to regain a bit of her own equilibrium.
"I think we all know Rachel deserves the song," she conceded, and it was true. She did a damn good job holding her own, but her voice was nowhere near as good as the diva's.
"Quinn, Rachel, I am really impressed by your willingness to rise above your differences and work together. Especially after all the problems you've had in the past. See, that's what I've been talking about," he told the rest of the club as the girls reclaimed their seats. "Team work."
"Yeah, that's totally what it is," Santana snickered.
"Shut up," Quinn hissed. She glanced over in Finn's direction to see him glaring at her now. She could almost see the rusty cogs start to turn inside his head.
Unfortunately, although completely unsurprisingly, Rachel really had signed up to audition for every female lead, so when Santana made a bid for Adele's Rolling in the Deep, Rachel countered with her own rendition. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem for Quinn-she was happy to sit there and fan girl her little heart out, except that she could practically feel Finn's eyes on her the whole time and she was perfectly aware of how obvious her affections were whenever she listened to Rachel sing. So at the end of the song, when Rachel sat back down and smiled softly at her, Quinn just knew a whole mess of trouble was about to go down.
To his credit, Finn kept his mouth shut right up until the minute Mr. Schuester wished them a good a weekend and dismissed them from class. They were gathering up their bags and getting ready to leave when a large shadow fell over them.
"What's going on, Rach?"
Rachel stiffened beside her. "I'm not sure what you mean, Finn," she evaded.
He glanced around the choir room at the few people remaining who hadn't immediately run out-Brittany, Santana, and surprisingly, Puck. Finn was obviously trying to figure out if anyone else had noticed what he thought he was seeing. Quinn could just imagine what he found in the faces of their friends, all of whom already knew the truth. His eyes finally locked onto her again, and she met his angry gaze with her own, refusing to back down from the silent challenge.
"No way," he mumbled with a shake of his head, then he choked out a strangled laugh. "There's just no way."
Okay, that kind of pissed Quinn off. Her relationship with Rachel wasn't that unbelievable. She crossed her arms and glared back at Finn. "Why don't you spit out whatever poor, lonely thought you've got rattling around that empty head of yours, Hudson?" she challenged with a sneer.
"Quinn, don't be like that," Rachel admonished her, but she really didn't care. Quinn just wanted it out there now, so she could at least have this one place where she could be her damn self and not hide how she felt about Rachel. And she wanted Finn to be perfectly clear on the fact that he'd blown his last chance and he wasn't ever getting Rachel back.
"Rachel…"
Finn put a beefy hand on Rachel's shoulder as he moved even closer to her, and Quinn was instantly stepping between them and shoving his hand away. "Back off," she growled. In her peripheral vision, she took note of both Puck and Santana moving closer to back them up.
Finn ignored Quinn, still focused solely on his most recent ex-girlfriend. "Rachel, can we please just talk?"
"She doesn't want to talk to you."
"Quinn, it's okay," Rachel told her softly, placing a hand on her arm. "I think I owe him an explanation."
She felt her stomach clench, and she looked at Rachel incredulously. "You don't owe him anything, Rach. You're not his girlfriend anymore."
"But I am his friend," Rachel reminded her gently.
On some level, Quinn knew that losing her temper over this would make her a total shrew, but she just wanted Rachel to take her side and be sensitive to her feelings and not Finn's-to tell him that her life wasn't any of his business anymore, and he didn't deserve any explanations for her choices. Too bad Rachel didn't seem inclined to do any of those things. Narrowing her eyes, Quinn lifted Rachel's hand from her arm, kept it firmly linked with hers, and turned to face Finn.
"Fine. You want an explanation? Here it is-we're together. Rachel is my girlfriend, and you need to get over it."
"Girlfriend?" he asked Rachel, a slight tremor of laughter in his voice. "This is joke, right? You two are just trying to screw with me."
"Neither of them want to screw with you, Finncompetent," Santana sneered. "That was kind of the problem."
Quinn snickered, but Rachel shot Santana a look of annoyance before gently addressing the boy. "It's not a joke, Finn."
"But your not even gay," he whined.
"Come on, man," Puck said, slapping a hand down on Finn's shoulder. "Let's just go. You can hang at my house and we'll have some drinks and talk about all the hot girls you can tap now that you're single."
Finn shrugged his hand off. "Is this why you dumped me? To be with her?" he asked Rachel heatedly, and Quinn bristled. She wasn't exactly digging his tone.
"She dumped you because you're a bad boyfriend," she hissed, getting up in his face.
Rachel gently pulled her back. "Quinn, please," she begged, then turned back to Finn. "You know why we broke up, Finn. We just didn't work as a couple. I assure you that nothing happened with Quinn until after you and I ended our romantic association. We've been over this already and you promised that you weren't going to make any scenes-that you'd be okay when I started to date someone else."
"It hasn't even been a week! And you weren't supposed to be with another girl."
"I don't see how that really makes a difference," she reasoned calmly.
"He's obviously threatened because he managed to turn both his exes off guys," Santana pointed out.
"Oh, three if you count yourself, San," Brittany added helpfully.
"No, Britt, I'm not off guys. Just off whiny, overgrown freaks of nature."
Rachel huffed and glared back at her. "You're not helping, Santana."
"Oh, did I say I was trying to help? I'm just enjoying the show."
Quinn couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, you know what-Santana, Brittany, I appreciate the support, but get out. Puck, I'm really glad you're not freaking out too. Thank you for that. You might want to wait for Finn. We'll only be a few minutes."
"You sure," Puck asked softly, obviously concerned to leave them alone with Finn.
She offered him a grateful smile. "Yeah, thanks."
Santana stepped up to Finn and poked him in the chest. "We're just gonna be right outside that door, Hudson," she warned him. "So if I hear the sounds of any chairs getting kicked over, I'm'a come in here and kick your ass."
Puck rolled his eyes, grabbed her by the arm and proceeded to drag her backwards out of the room. "Come on, babe. Let's give the ladies some privacy." Brittany grabbed Santana's free hand, effectively distracting her as she helped Puck guide her out.
Once they were alone, Quinn crossed her arms. "Sit down, Finn," she ordered.
"You don't get to tell me what to do anymore, Quinn," he snapped back.
"Seriously? You want to challenge me?" she asked hotly, glaring up at him. "Sit. Down. I don't want you towering over us while we have this conversation."
With a sigh, he sank down into the closest chair and crossed his arms. Quinn reached back and took Rachel's hand again, pulling her tightly into her side.
"Okay. I get that you're confused. And I get that you're hurt, but this," she waved a hand between herself and Rachel, "isn't about you, Finn. I really care about Rachel. I love...being with her and I just want to make her happy. And I'm sorry if you can't deal with that, but nothing you say or do is going to change it. I just really hope you can respect us both enough to let us be together and not cause problems for us."
"That was beautifully phrased," Rachel told her with a soft smile. "I have to concur wholeheartedly."
"Since when do you even like girls?" Finn wanted to know.
Rachel frowned down at him with furrowed brows. "Why does that even matter to you?"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I…I guess it doesn't." He met Rachel's eyes again. "I just don't understand what's going on."
Quinn bit back a snort. "That's hardly new information."
Rachel tugged on her hand in silent warning. "Finn, I realize that my willingness to enter into a relationship with another girl may appear somewhat out of character from your point of view, and truthfully, I hadn't allowed myself to consider the possibility until very recently, but I assure you that my attraction to Quinn, both emotionally and physically, is very real."
His brows furrowed as he looked from Rachel to Quinn. Quinn knew what he was thinking-he wasn't really that hard to read. She sighed and shrugged a shoulder. "I like girls. Always have. I'm tired of fighting it."
Finn's jaw clenched. "So you were lying about that too?"
"Don't attack her, Finn," Rachel snapped. "Coming to terms with your sexuality is a difficult and frightening experience."
He ignored her words entirely. "Are you really sure about this, Rach? I mean, you really want to be with…with Quinn. After everything she's done to you. Every lie she's told."
Every muscle in Quinn's body tensed. Rachel must have felt the change, because her thumb started rubbing soothing little circles over the back of Quinn's hand. "I've never been more certain of anything, Finn. I…" she hesitated, looking up at Quinn with bright eyes. "Quinn makes me happier than I've been in…well, maybe ever," she confessed, and Quinn felt her heart flutter madly as she gazed down at her girlfriend. Rachel reluctantly turned her eyes back to Finn. "I'm sorry if you have a problem with us being together, but I'm not sorry for the way I feel about her."
He nodded slowly and stood from his chair to look down at her sadly. "I think you're making a mistake, Rachel. She's gonna end up hurting you."
"I'm never going to hurt her," Quinn growled defensively-not on purpose and not if she could prevent it.
Rachel sighed, gripping Quinn's hand a little more firmly. "Finn, while I appreciate your apparent concern for my well-being, I'm going to kindly ask you to keep your opinions to yourself and allow me to live my life as I choose. And, in case you are still struggling with the concept, I choose Quinn."
Quinn grinned at Rachel's words and wrapped a possessive arm around her girl, lifting her eyebrow and smirking up at Finn. He glared back at her, then gave one last sorrowful look at Rachel. "If this is what you really want…"
"It is," Rachel assured him without hesitation.
"Then I won't get in the way. Just know I'm here for you if you need me."
"She won't," Quinn told him sharply.
He shook his head, shot Quinn a disgusted look and skulked out the door, probably to be corralled by Puck and ushered off to enjoy a drunken weekend. Quinn couldn't really bring herself to care what the boys would get up when she had a troubled Rachel sagging against her.
"Well, that was unpleasant."
Quinn turned and slipped her arms around Rachel's waist. "Yeah, it really was, but we made it through, baby."
Rachel reached up to curl a palm around the back of Quinn's neck and rub at the knots she found there. "I'm a little surprised that you're not more upset that Finn knows about us."
"I think I'm actually kind of relieved," she admitted as she gazed down into dark eyes. "I mean, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's smart enough not to make trouble for us." Quinn was fairly confident that Finn wouldn't out them to the school. For one thing, he knew Puck (and possibly Santana) would kick his ass. For another, there was the whole turning-his-girlfriends-gay reputation that he'd be wanting to avoid. And, as much as she hated it, Finn actually did still care about Rachel enough to want to protect her, even if that meant protecting Quinn by default. "At least now we won't have to be constantly worried about him finding out. With everyone else in glee knowing, it was only a matter of time anyway."
"One could extend that reasoning to the student body in general," Rachel gently reminded her.
"We'll worry about that if and when it happens."
"Hey, you two lesbians bumping uglies in here or what?" Santana's voice cut in on them as she poked her head through the door.
"San, be nice," Brittany chided from the hallway. "Ask them if they want to come to Breadstix with us."
Santana grimaced, pointedly shaking her head from side to side as she asked through clenched teeth, "Do you want to come to Breadstix with us?" Then, just for good measure, she mouthed, say no.
Quinn giggled. "No, thanks. I think we just want to spend some time alone together."
"Oh, sexy times?" Brittany asked with a big grin, head poking over Santana's shoulder.
Quinn's eyes widened and she felt her face heat as she stared down at Rachel, who was blushing prettily. "Uh…n-no, Brit. It's…ah….way too soon for that."
Santana snickered. "Yeah, Britt. Remember who you're talking to here. Ms. Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Drama Queen."
"Stuff it, Lopez," she snarled.
"Love you, too, Q," she shot back with a smirk. Grabbing Brittany's hand, she called back, "have fun with your little gold star," as she let the door fall closed again.
Quinn shook her head and smiled down at Rachel, only to see her gazing at the door thoughtfully. "Huh, I suppose she's right," she finally mumbled as she met Quinn's eyes again.
"About what?"
A sly grin curled up those sinful lips as she looped her arms around Quinn's neck. "I really could be a gold star."
Oh, my dear sweet and fluffy lord. Is she…is she suggesting…?
Biting her lip, Quinn inhaled a shaky breath. "You really are kind of a tease, Rachel Berry."
A single dark brow arched up. "It's all about the teasing…"
Quinn tipped her head back and sighed, "I knew that would come back to haunt me someday."
Music:
"As Long As You're Mine," from Wicked
Chapter Twenty-Six