It's Complicated. They can tell you about their careers, their goals, their friends, what they ate for breakfast, the bath gel they use…you get the picture. However…when it comes to their relationship, well…it's kinda complicated…

I'm baaaaack, Bitches! ;-) FYI, in this story Blaine is a year older than Kurt and Rachel (as he was, originally). Some of the people know each other, and some do not. As ever, the characters belong to the prolific Mr. Ryan Murphy and Company. All OC's are mine, and names were chosen randomly and do not reflect any individuals real or fictitious, living or deceased. Any mention of actual people is purely within the context of the story, which, after all, takes place in the (pseudo-) real world. They are not the main characters and will appear sparingly (and no harm is intended :-)).

Chapter 1

Approximately four years ago…

"Calm down, Andi," Rachel Berry teasingly instructed into the phone. "Tell me about Cochella…"

Andrea "Andi" Stone, Rachel's best friend and roommate, was apparently having a hard time controlling a major case of "the giggles".

"It's been so cool, Rach…and I got to cross two things off my 'bucket list', not just one…" she excitedly confessed.

"Andi, please stop referring to your 'bucket list'; it's too depressing," Rachel requested.

"It is what it is, Rach," Andi pragmatically reminded her. "With Lupus, ya' never know, so you've gotta take each day 'by the horns'…and I totally did."

Rachel could hear the grin in her friend's voice. She smiled as she replied, "Can't wait to hear the details…"

Before she could say more, Andi interjected, "Listen, Rach; they just announced my flight. I've gotta go…I'll see ya' later…"

"OK, girl; see you at home," Rachel wrapped up the discussion.

"Blaine's picking me up?" Andi queried.

"Yes, he is," Rachel confirmed. "I'm working, tonight, so we'll talk in the morning, yes?"

Agreeing, "You'd better believe it!" Andi hastily concluded, "Love ya'; bye!"

"Me, too," Rachel reciprocated. "Have a safe flight."

Another performance behind her, Rachel opened the apartment door, the sweet sound of applause echoing lightly in her ears. Entering her dark apartment, she dropped her keys in the bowl by the door, removed her jacket, and hung it up in the closet. She exchanged her shoes for the slippers waiting nearby and softly padded toward the bathroom. As she passed the sofa, the lamp clicked on, piercing the darkness with the light emanating from its bulb and stopping Rachel dead in her tracks.

"Andi, what're you doing up?" Rachel gently inquired. "You should've been in bed by now…"

Practically bouncing in her seat, Andi exclaimed, "O – M – G! Rach…I'm so psyched! I couldn't wait until morning to talk."

Rachel sighed, sinking down on the sofa. "Oklahoma!" was a lively show, which equated to an exhausting one for the cast. One of the leads had taken the night off, providing the opportunity to step away from the chorus to portray "Ado Annie", the girl who "'cain't' say no". At this point, the only thing Rachel wanted to say "yes" to was a relaxing bubble bath followed by a good night's sleep.

The bonds of friendship were apparently stronger than the lure of lavender bath salts. "OK, 'Miss Lady'," Rachel prompted, "spill…"

"Well, you know I always wanted to go to Coachella…" Andi began.

"And you did," Rachel interjected. "Was it as fun as you thought it would be?" She looked at her friend fondly, smiling as she continued, "Judging by your demeanor, it must've been."

"The music was great, and I saw tons of celebrities," Andi confirmed. "And…" she paused dramatically.

"And, what?" Rachel queried.

"And I had my first 'zipless fuck', that's what," Andi proudly confessed, conspiratorially adding, "With a musician, no less."

Stunned, Rachel blurted out, "You have got to be kidding me…"

"No, not at all," Andi confirmed, a smug expression plastered on her pretty face.

"Have I heard of him?" Rachel hesitantly probed.

"I doubt it," Andi remarked. "There was this band, 'Directions'…they had a kind of soft-rock vibe. For an unknown group…to me, anyway, they had a nice sound. There was…let me see…" she paused, recalling: "One of the guys had dirty blonde hair and a 'Mick Jagger smile', and there was a keyboard player who was pretty cute, too. Their drummer was a girl…long, dark hair…seemed very intense." She paused, grinning as she continued, "But the lead guitar, well…" she winked devilishly before returning to her narrative, "he had a pair of 'bedroom eyes' that would put George Clooney to shame…and you could've bounced a quarter off his ass."

"Judging by the look on your face, I assume he was 'the one'?" Rachel curiously inquired.

Andi blushed, admitting, "Oh, yeah, baby! It was pretty hot, so he took off his shirt, and that man had abs for days," she lasciviously teased. "He was wearing this silver mezuzah…"

"A Jewish guy, Andi?" Rachel queried.

"Yeah, why not?" Andi posed, slyly smiling. "I'm Jewish, you're Jewish…it's natural…"

"Well, yes," Rachel agreed, "but you've basically gone out with the United Nations, so I'm a little surprised."

"Said the pot to the kettle…" Andi teased.

"Point taken," Rachel concurred, grinning even with pink-tinged cheeks. "So…go on…" she prompted.

Andi earnestly continued, "The guy was 'sex on a stick', Rach. Believe it or not, I could almost hear my mom's voice saying, 'Go for it, Andrea!'"

"I doubt that your mother would encourage you to have intercourse with a stranger," Rachel objected.

"Maybe not, Rach," Andi wistfully admitted. "It's bizarre; after all, they've been gone a long time, now. I just had the weirdest feeling she would've been OK with it…I don't know why. Maybe because he was Jewish, maybe because he was hot, maybe because it's been awhile…I just think she would've understood."

"What actually happened?" Rachel cautiously prodded.

Lustful smirk reemerging, Andi enumerated, "I caught his eye, he came down after their set was over, we flirted, he offered to show me their tour bus, one thing led to another, and, two orgasms later, he autographed a CD for me and I left with a contented smile on my face."

"Two?" Rachel squeaked out.

"Oh, yeah, definitely two," Andi confirmed.

"What's his name?" Rachel probed.

Andi chuckled, admitting, "I have no idea. He had some ridiculous nickname, which I can't remember for the life of me, but he never told me his 'real' name. I suppose it's on the CD…which is in my suitcase, somewhere." She looked directly at Rachel, explaining, "It really doesn't matter, you know. I'll never see him, again. We both had fun, it was what it was, and that's the beginning and end of it."

"As long as you're happy, I'm happy," Rachel confirmed. "Now, if you don't mind, there's an empty bathtub that's calling my name…"

"Go, sweetie; we can talk more, tomorrow," Andi shooed Rachel off. "It's good to be home," she sighed contentedly.

"It's good to have you home, Andi," Rachel agreed. "See you in the morning," she called out as she headed toward the bathroom.

Author's Note: The term "zipless fuck" was coined by Erica Jong in her 1973 best-selling novel Fear of Flying. It refers to a sexual encounter with a relative stranger without emotional involvement, commitment, or any ulterior motive beyond having intercourse.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!