fic: Jigsaw Pieces [9/15]
WORDS: 1K+
Chapter 9
Present Day
“Dessert?” Kurt interrupts Rachel’s flashback and smiles at her.
“Absolutely,” she says. “Otherwise, I don’t get my note.”
Kurt signals for the waiter, orders their favourite and looks closely at his best friend.
“You were a thousand miles away,” he muses, reaching over to touch her arm.
“Try a million,” Rachel replies, placing a hand on top of his. “I was thinking about the intervention.”
“Quinntervention,” Kurt whispers with a grin. “I think you and Quinn would have ended up together regardless of whether or not we tried to convince you that she only wanted Finn.”
Rachel cringes a little, remembering her breakup with Kurt’s stepbrother.
“I can’t believe you let him breakup with you first! Or that you ended up calling him an uncultured hillbilly,” Kurt stifles a giggle.
“It was a heat of the moment thing. Can we not talk about Finn? This is supposed to be a happy day!” Rachel groans, folding her arms and laying her head down on top of them. Kurt reaches across to tousle her hair. She lifts her head slightly and gives him a look. “It’s dessert time, does that mean I get my note?” She straightens up and flattens down her messy hair.
“Not until it’s on the table,” Kurt says, drumming his fingers impatiently as he watches for the waiter. He’s intrigued by the contents of the envelope too.
He’s known his best friend’s girlfriend has been planning something for weeks now. It started with the shopping trip. Quinn had told Kurt to keep an eye out for anything that Rachel might want to buy but to steer her away to something else if it was something fancy. They’d met a couple of days later to take another look at the dress.
“It’s perfect,” Quinn had said, running her hand over the bodice. “It’s just like the dress she wore when I took her to Cleveland.”
“I’ll ask them to keep it to one side, if you want? My friend Melanie will take care of everything.”
Then came the texts about keeping this afternoon free and that he couldn’t say anything to Rachel. Kurt had rolled his eyes and then another text arrived.
I mean it, Kurt. Please don’t tell her.
Then last night Quinn had turned up on her way home from work and passed him an envelope bearing Rachel’s name, told him to be at Sardi’s for lunch the next day and then disappeared. He tried yelling after her but no response came.
“Kurt?” Rachel asks, prodding his shoulder with her index finger. “You weren’t listening!”
“I’m sorry,” he replies. “I’m back, I promise. What were you saying?”
The waiter chooses that moment to interrupt them with dessert and Rachel practically bounces in her seat as she holds out her hand to Kurt. He passes the white envelope over and watches her rip into it. Three jigsaw pieces land on the table, dangerously close to their plates, and her eyes feast on the note.
If Kurt managed to resist your puppy dog eyes until dessert, give him a hug from me. There wasn’t actually a reason for him to wait. (Sorry, Kurt.)
Rachel giggles and shows her best friend before they continue reading together.
Time for a different set of notes.
You told me to dream big, Rach.
Well, now it’s time for you to act ‘Big’.
Love you x
Rachel frowns at the note.
“Act Big?” Kurt asks, turning the note over to see if there’s any more information. “Have all of her clues been this cryptic?”
“No,” Rachel shakes her head. “They’ve all had addresses or places mentioned or really obvious clues.” She places the note on the table. “Let’s think.”
“A different set of notes,” Kurt muses, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “So, she doesn’t mean written notes…” he gestures to the piece of card on the table. “Music notes?”
“Music notes!” Rachel says triumphantly. “Okay. Music… does she want me to sing? I could sing now…”
“Rachel, please,” Kurt says. “This is the first lunch in months we’ve managed to get through without being interrupted by some adoring fan. Can you imagine what they’d do if you started to sing? There’d be mass fawning. Or fainting.”
“I love my adoring fans,” Rachel insists, ignoring Kurt’s mock-faint. “Stop distracting me. We need to figure this out.”
“I’ve already figured out half of it,” Kurt says airily, waving his hand.
“Hardly,” Rachel says, reaching for her fork to scoop up a piece of her dessert. Her eyes fall shut as she lets the flavours and the texture of the food swirl around her mouth. “Heaven,” she mutters after she’s swallowed her first bite.
“Act Big… act Big…” Kurt is murmuring to himself, fingers tracing over the card now.
“It’s weird that big has a capital B,” Rachel muses, taking another bite and wiping her mouth with her napkin. “Like it’s the title of something.”
Kurt smacks his hand down on the table a few moments later causing the cutlery and glasses to jump.
“Got it!” he exclaims. Rachel gapes at him. “I’ve got it. Big!”
“Yes,” Rachel nods blankly. “Big.”
“The movie, Big,” Kurt expands ever so slightly. There’s a moment’s hesitation before Rachel’s eyes light up.
“She wants me to call up Tom Hanks and perform a musical number in front of the Empire State Building!”
Now it’s Kurt’s turn to gape at his best friend. He reaches out his hand and places it on top of Rachel’s, patting it gently.
“Not quite,” he says kindly. “And when did you meet Tom Hanks?”
“Some play…” Rachel says and shakes her head dismissively. “That’s not the point right now.”
“No, it isn’t. The point is that we need to get to FAO Schwarz.”
“FAO Schwarz? The toy store?” Rachel asks, forehead crinkling as she tries to connect all the pieces together. Music notes. Big. FAO Schwarz.
“Take your time, Rachel…”
“Oh! The giant piano!!” Rachel says, pounding the table once with her fist in triumph.
“The giant piano,” Kurt repeats, proud of his clue-solving abilities. He starts to devour his dessert while Rachel plans her setlist. “Do you think we should try fitting them together?” he asks, picking up a couple of the jigsaw pieces to see if they match when his plate is much emptier.
Rachel shakes her head.
“What’s the point if I don’t have all the pieces?” she asks. “I’m assuming it’s the final clue and I want it to be a surprise like the rest of today.”
“Your self-restraint is impressive,” Kurt notes, putting down the pieces he’s been attempting to force together. “So, we should go?”
“Yes!” Rachel says, taking one last bite of her dessert. The waiter appears but shakes his head when Rachel pulls out money to pay for the meal.
“It’s been settled,” he says, lifting the plates and stacking them along his arm. Rachel rolls her eyes and leaves a couple of bills on the table anyway. Kurt takes Rachel’s bags when she stops to sign a couple of autographs and pause for a quick photo on her way out. “Superstar,” he whispers in her ear as they leave.
“Shush,” Rachel blushes and pushes him away. “Now, get me a cab!”
He shoots her a look before they share a grin. A cab pulls up and they hop inside.
“What’s the significance of the piano?” Kurt asks, breaking Rachel’s reverie as she stares at her city pass her by.
“Huh?” she asks, turning to look at him.
“Well, the dress is similar to the one you wore on your first date…”
“It wasn’t a date!” Rachel interjects.
“Fine, the first time Quinn drove you across the state to watch one of your favourite musicals,” he grins. “The necklace is like your first Hanukkah present from her. The massage… well, we’ve all heard how dexterous Quinn is when it comes to massages.”
“Please stop,” Rachel says, blushing a furious shade of red.
“Sardi’s with me… well, that’s a no-brainer,” he ticks the final thing off his list. “So why the giant piano?”
“It’s corny…”
“Corny is one of the things we do best, Rachel,” he chuckles. “Tell me.”
Chapter 10
Chapter 9
Present Day
“Dessert?” Kurt interrupts Rachel’s flashback and smiles at her.
“Absolutely,” she says. “Otherwise, I don’t get my note.”
Kurt signals for the waiter, orders their favourite and looks closely at his best friend.
“You were a thousand miles away,” he muses, reaching over to touch her arm.
“Try a million,” Rachel replies, placing a hand on top of his. “I was thinking about the intervention.”
“Quinntervention,” Kurt whispers with a grin. “I think you and Quinn would have ended up together regardless of whether or not we tried to convince you that she only wanted Finn.”
Rachel cringes a little, remembering her breakup with Kurt’s stepbrother.
“I can’t believe you let him breakup with you first! Or that you ended up calling him an uncultured hillbilly,” Kurt stifles a giggle.
“It was a heat of the moment thing. Can we not talk about Finn? This is supposed to be a happy day!” Rachel groans, folding her arms and laying her head down on top of them. Kurt reaches across to tousle her hair. She lifts her head slightly and gives him a look. “It’s dessert time, does that mean I get my note?” She straightens up and flattens down her messy hair.
“Not until it’s on the table,” Kurt says, drumming his fingers impatiently as he watches for the waiter. He’s intrigued by the contents of the envelope too.
He’s known his best friend’s girlfriend has been planning something for weeks now. It started with the shopping trip. Quinn had told Kurt to keep an eye out for anything that Rachel might want to buy but to steer her away to something else if it was something fancy. They’d met a couple of days later to take another look at the dress.
“It’s perfect,” Quinn had said, running her hand over the bodice. “It’s just like the dress she wore when I took her to Cleveland.”
“I’ll ask them to keep it to one side, if you want? My friend Melanie will take care of everything.”
Then came the texts about keeping this afternoon free and that he couldn’t say anything to Rachel. Kurt had rolled his eyes and then another text arrived.
I mean it, Kurt. Please don’t tell her.
Then last night Quinn had turned up on her way home from work and passed him an envelope bearing Rachel’s name, told him to be at Sardi’s for lunch the next day and then disappeared. He tried yelling after her but no response came.
“Kurt?” Rachel asks, prodding his shoulder with her index finger. “You weren’t listening!”
“I’m sorry,” he replies. “I’m back, I promise. What were you saying?”
The waiter chooses that moment to interrupt them with dessert and Rachel practically bounces in her seat as she holds out her hand to Kurt. He passes the white envelope over and watches her rip into it. Three jigsaw pieces land on the table, dangerously close to their plates, and her eyes feast on the note.
If Kurt managed to resist your puppy dog eyes until dessert, give him a hug from me. There wasn’t actually a reason for him to wait. (Sorry, Kurt.)
Rachel giggles and shows her best friend before they continue reading together.
Time for a different set of notes.
You told me to dream big, Rach.
Well, now it’s time for you to act ‘Big’.
Love you x
Rachel frowns at the note.
“Act Big?” Kurt asks, turning the note over to see if there’s any more information. “Have all of her clues been this cryptic?”
“No,” Rachel shakes her head. “They’ve all had addresses or places mentioned or really obvious clues.” She places the note on the table. “Let’s think.”
“A different set of notes,” Kurt muses, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “So, she doesn’t mean written notes…” he gestures to the piece of card on the table. “Music notes?”
“Music notes!” Rachel says triumphantly. “Okay. Music… does she want me to sing? I could sing now…”
“Rachel, please,” Kurt says. “This is the first lunch in months we’ve managed to get through without being interrupted by some adoring fan. Can you imagine what they’d do if you started to sing? There’d be mass fawning. Or fainting.”
“I love my adoring fans,” Rachel insists, ignoring Kurt’s mock-faint. “Stop distracting me. We need to figure this out.”
“I’ve already figured out half of it,” Kurt says airily, waving his hand.
“Hardly,” Rachel says, reaching for her fork to scoop up a piece of her dessert. Her eyes fall shut as she lets the flavours and the texture of the food swirl around her mouth. “Heaven,” she mutters after she’s swallowed her first bite.
“Act Big… act Big…” Kurt is murmuring to himself, fingers tracing over the card now.
“It’s weird that big has a capital B,” Rachel muses, taking another bite and wiping her mouth with her napkin. “Like it’s the title of something.”
Kurt smacks his hand down on the table a few moments later causing the cutlery and glasses to jump.
“Got it!” he exclaims. Rachel gapes at him. “I’ve got it. Big!”
“Yes,” Rachel nods blankly. “Big.”
“The movie, Big,” Kurt expands ever so slightly. There’s a moment’s hesitation before Rachel’s eyes light up.
“She wants me to call up Tom Hanks and perform a musical number in front of the Empire State Building!”
Now it’s Kurt’s turn to gape at his best friend. He reaches out his hand and places it on top of Rachel’s, patting it gently.
“Not quite,” he says kindly. “And when did you meet Tom Hanks?”
“Some play…” Rachel says and shakes her head dismissively. “That’s not the point right now.”
“No, it isn’t. The point is that we need to get to FAO Schwarz.”
“FAO Schwarz? The toy store?” Rachel asks, forehead crinkling as she tries to connect all the pieces together. Music notes. Big. FAO Schwarz.
“Take your time, Rachel…”
“Oh! The giant piano!!” Rachel says, pounding the table once with her fist in triumph.
“The giant piano,” Kurt repeats, proud of his clue-solving abilities. He starts to devour his dessert while Rachel plans her setlist. “Do you think we should try fitting them together?” he asks, picking up a couple of the jigsaw pieces to see if they match when his plate is much emptier.
Rachel shakes her head.
“What’s the point if I don’t have all the pieces?” she asks. “I’m assuming it’s the final clue and I want it to be a surprise like the rest of today.”
“Your self-restraint is impressive,” Kurt notes, putting down the pieces he’s been attempting to force together. “So, we should go?”
“Yes!” Rachel says, taking one last bite of her dessert. The waiter appears but shakes his head when Rachel pulls out money to pay for the meal.
“It’s been settled,” he says, lifting the plates and stacking them along his arm. Rachel rolls her eyes and leaves a couple of bills on the table anyway. Kurt takes Rachel’s bags when she stops to sign a couple of autographs and pause for a quick photo on her way out. “Superstar,” he whispers in her ear as they leave.
“Shush,” Rachel blushes and pushes him away. “Now, get me a cab!”
He shoots her a look before they share a grin. A cab pulls up and they hop inside.
“What’s the significance of the piano?” Kurt asks, breaking Rachel’s reverie as she stares at her city pass her by.
“Huh?” she asks, turning to look at him.
“Well, the dress is similar to the one you wore on your first date…”
“It wasn’t a date!” Rachel interjects.
“Fine, the first time Quinn drove you across the state to watch one of your favourite musicals,” he grins. “The necklace is like your first Hanukkah present from her. The massage… well, we’ve all heard how dexterous Quinn is when it comes to massages.”
“Please stop,” Rachel says, blushing a furious shade of red.
“Sardi’s with me… well, that’s a no-brainer,” he ticks the final thing off his list. “So why the giant piano?”
“It’s corny…”
“Corny is one of the things we do best, Rachel,” he chuckles. “Tell me.”
Chapter 10