Happy Valentine's Day!

All the events that happened on Tuesday night — the making out, the panic in Quinn's eyes, the pacing and the worrying over whether Quinn was safe but most of all, is she still okay to be with Rachel? — sped up the passage of time.

For all of Wednesday, they hardly spoke, and all Rachel could do, since she committed herself to giving Quinn some space, was look at the blonde with her loving, longing eyes. Though the few times their eyes met, Rachel could tell that the blonde hardly slept, judging from the exhausted look in her eyes. Guilt lingered in Rachel's chest at the thought of it being her fault. She wanted to approach Quinn and talk to her, reassure her that nothing had to change, but every time she came within five feet of her, Quinn would tense and head to the opposite direction.

That hurt Rachel more than she thought it would.

On Thursday night, after glee, with an aching body from long dance rehearsal hours for Nationals, Rachel walked to her locker alone — Quinn was busy talking to Santana about something. She felt no need to wait, given that Quinn was not talking to her anyway. Sure, she said hi, she said good morning, but always from a distance. Besides, they were all empty words and Rachel had no energy for such conversations.

"Rachel! Hey!" Finn ran up to Rachel even as she power-walked as fast as her legs could carry her. "That was a good practice, huh? We sound good together, don't we?"

They were, as usual, singing the duet for Nationals.

"I will not deny that our voices work well together," Rachel said impatiently.

"Right, so, won't that mean that our killer chemistry can be in real life too? We sound awesome on stage, so we can be awesome together out of it too — "

"Finn," she stopped in her tracks to whirl around and face him. Since Quinn left her in the dust and rubble of her broken heart, Rachel had been irritable to say the least. She took a deep breath – it was unfair for her to direct her irritation and despair to an innocent bystander, even though he could not take a hint. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but I'm with Quinn and I need you to respect that."

"But — "

"I know what you're trying to say," Rachel said in a softer voice. "When we sing an emotional song to each other as a duet, I can feel it, as if I love you – " Finn opened his mouth to speak but Rachel held up a hand to stop him. "And I know I fell for it last year. But not anymore, okay? What I feel for you on stage is just that – on stage. So please…" Rachel ducked her head and left Finn in the middle of the hallway.

How could she be so hypocritical so as to say those things to Finn when she, herself, fell victim to such delusions with Quinn? Perhaps if Quinn was not in the picture, Rachel would have readily agreed to be with Finn again, but with the clarity and distance her love for another provided, she knew that she would be chasing after the so-called chemistry she felt with Finn forever. Which was to say, because it was nowhere to be found off-stage.

But with Quinn – how was it so different with Quinn?

Rachel knew why. With Finn, the feelings were grandiose, always in the presence of an audience. With Quinn, Rachel felt the outpour of love in the little things, in its nuance. Quinn was soft with her even when no one was watching, even when there was no audience to perform for.

To make sense of her feelings for Quinn, she needed to inspect it side by side to her feelings for Finn. It felt unfair to compare her feelings between the two of them – but what can Rachel do? The two of them were, after all, the largest sources of her romantic feelings—before and right now.

"Hey, you didn't wait for me," Quinn walked up to Rachel in the middle of putting some of her books away. "I know things have been weird between us —"

"Understatement of the century," Rachel muttered. "But do go on."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Rachel huffed. "It's simply an agreement over your statement. Things have been weird, and I know precisely why. Because I know you want space, which prevents any opportunity to discuss anything that pertains to your feelings — specifically your feelings for me." All the worry, the tension that had been building up in her tiny body rose to the surface. "Which is fine, I get it. But as much as I have a basic understanding over the human psyche, that does not mean I can read your feelings like an open book. You know why? Because it will all seem like a projection." Rachel slammed her locker door closed and walked to the direction of the parking lot. Quinn trailed behind her.

"Rachel," Quinn huffed, grasping Rachel's wrist to spin the girl around to face her. "I'm driving you home tonight, correct?" The girl frowned but nodded. "Okay. We'll talk then."

She kissed Rachel's forehead, and the fuming calmed down to one deep sigh. Together they walked to Quinn's car.

Rachel and Quinn had to sit through a grueling dinner with Rachel's dads when they arrived at the Berry house. It wasn't that they were mad and not talking to each other — it was just difficult to pretend like everything was okay, that they would be unchanged as soon as prom was over. Rachel knew that was not to be the case.

She could only hope that Quinn had marginal self-awareness to know that.

Quinn helped Leroy with the dishes while Rachel and Hiram enjoyed a post-dinner cookie.

"Is everything okay between you and Quinn? You two seem…"

"Tense?" Rachel sighed. "That's because we are."

"Would you like to talk about it, sweetheart?"

"Not yet," Rachel grumbled and burrowed into her dad's sweater. "I have to talk to Quinn about it first."

"I'm ready when you are," the blonde's soft voice made Rachel look up. There Quinn stood, dish towel in her hand, her cardigan sleeves rolled up to her elbows. With another deep sigh, Rachel rose and went to her bedroom, closely followed by Quinn.

Since that fateful make-out session on Tuesday, it became difficult to sleep on her bed, when all she could think about was how Quinn felt, her body pressed against hers, her hair in Rachel's mouth. How could anyone who ever made out with Quinn hope to be a productive member of society anyway? How could Finn, Puck, or Sam not want to space out, think about Quinn's hands, the weight of leg thrown over a hip? Rachel was baffled by it all.

Then again, maybe she wasn't baffled at all.

"So…" Quinn began. She sat on the edge of Rachel's bed while the dark-haired girl remained standing.

"Would you care to tell me why you left on Tuesday night like I offended you so deeply?" Rachel blurted out. The ache in her chest resurfaced and it felt too much like how she imagined how an open wound would feel. Pure sting as the open air licked at the hurt. "Was I that bad of a kisser? Did I — were you repulsed by me — ?"

"No, Rachel! It's definitely none of those things. I got scared," Quinn reached for Rachel's hand to hold it. Their cold fingers laced together as if nothing was as important as the fit of the way their fingers interlocked. "It felt good, kissing you. Too good, if you ask me."

Rachel blushed, pleased. "I should say the same about you, Quinn."

Quinn grinned, her thumb swept against the ridges of Rachel's knuckles.

"Quinn, I," Rachel's voice hitched in her throat and she swallowed. "After prom, we will probably return to being just friends. Or acquaintances, rather. And I want you to know that while this experience was gruelling and a true test to my feelings, it was fun getting to know you better and — "

"I was actually thinking we might extend this a little bit more."

"W-what?"

"Think about it — won't it seem strange that we broke up right after prom?"

Rachel sighed. "Y-you're right, of course…"

"I'm thinking — and you can jump in at any point with ideas of your own — we can keep this going until, let's say, until we're thirty? You know, even maybe until our nineties, god willing."

Rachel blinked a few times, her mind processing Quinn's words, the look of amusement in her features, her playful smile. "What are you saying?"

"I want to tell you I'm sorry," Quinn's husky voice hitched in her throat, and Rachel bit her lip, resisted the urge that raged inside her to soothe the girl and tell her she need not apologize. She kept her hand locked with Quinn's. "For running away and making you worry. And for pushing the limits of what we have in the first place. But when I asked for your help to become prom queen, I didn't think I would fall so hard for you."

Rachel's eyes widened and she bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything, though in her chest, her heart raced to deafening proportions.

Quinn continued. "When I had the idea of making out, I wanted to know how far you'd go for me, to test if what I'm feeling is real or some weird anomaly. I used Santana as an excuse. Turns out, she believes us already. And her mind didn't change even after I told her the truth."

"You told Santana?!" Rachel shrieked. "Quinn, that's a stupid move — "

"Hold on," Quinn held up a hand. "Santana said she won't tell. She loved seeing me be in misery and confusion over my feelings for you more than see me lose at prom queen."

"Well if you would just talk to me, you wouldn't be in misery and confusion."

"I know," Quinn guided Rachel's hand to her shoulder and with this closer proximity, wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist. "As I was saying. In the beginning, everything was fine — I believed I could fake it. When we first started kissing, I thought I could pass it off as something friendly and platonic. But when we made out that day, I…" Quinn released a breath, as if she was remembering the physical sensation of it. Rachel bit back a smile at the look of yearning so clear in Quinn's face. "I figured that with you, I don't want to be just friends."

Rachel let out a chuckle and sat sideways on Quinn's lap, her arms curled around her neck. The blonde held Rachel around her waist.

"And it's not just because you're an amazing kisser, either," Quinn continued. "Though maybe that's a part of it. When I panicked, obviously I considered the idea of cutting ties with you. And — " she sniffed, and Rachel caressed her nape, her lips pressed against her temple. "As you can see, the mere thought of it is enough to bring me to tears."

"It's okay," Rachel murmured against Quinn's cheek. "It chokes me up too."

"I can live without you just fine," Quinn grasped Rachel tighter. "I just don't want to."

"I forgive you," Rachel smiled against Quinn's cheek. The blonde turned her head just so to catch Rachel's lips with hers.

"You're not even going to yell at me? Or get mad? You're too selfless, Rachel."

"I think it's more of a lack of boundary than selflessness, actually," Rachel chuckled. "But I'm working on that. When I agreed to help you be prom queen, it was because I wanted to be closer to you, to cement my position in your life as a friend. Little did I know that I would ascend to love so quickly, and with such intensity that by the end of it, if you told me you wanted to run away to Las Vegas, elope, and live in the Canadian Rockies, I would have said yes and packed my bag right then and there."

"You're so adorable when you're intense. Which I suppose is all the time."

Rachel ducked her head and buried her face into Quinn's neck, her cheeks burning with a fierce blush. "As I was saying," she insisted. "I would, quite literally, do anything for you, Quinn. As your friend and fake girlfriend — "

"But I want you to be my real girlfriend."

Rachel swallowed hard and played with the tag on Quinn's shirt. Here was the moment she had been waiting for since the start, if she were to be honest. But somehow, she couldn't believe that it was, in fact, happening. "I did say I would do anything for you…"

"Rachel," Quinn laughed. "It's all of a sudden, I know, but I want you to be my girlfriend because you want to be, not because I asked."

"Oh, Quinn," Rachel cupped Quinn's jaw and kissed her forehead. "You have no idea how long I wanted to hear you say that."

"You could've been the one to ask me, you know."

"Yeah right," Rachel snorted. "Judging from how you panicked over how much you enjoyed making out with me, I don't think you would've handled that so well."

"Okay, you didn't have to put it that way," Quinn said as she tickled Rachel. The smaller girl shrieked and grasped Quinn's wrists to keep her still. Quinn grinned, yanked her hands from Rachel's grip in an attempt to tickle her further.

Rachel, having none of it, grasped Quinn's face and kissed her.

The blonde's hands stilled to rest on Rachel's waist, her head tilted, and so Rachel kissed her deeper. She pulled on the blonde's lower lip with her teeth and pulled back. "That's one way for you to stop tickling me, huh?"

Quinn blinked through her dazed eyes, and Rachel could not resist giggling.

Rachel lay beside Quinn in the middle of her bed, their legs tangled, their breaths comingled. Quinn had her hand halfway up Rachel's shirt while the dark-haired girl stroked the base of Quinn's scalp until she was half-asleep.

"Are you excited for prom tomorrow?" Quinn yawned and tugged Rachel closer to her — which was nigh impossible given the severe lack of space between them. Rachel smiled into Quinn's hair.

"I'm excited to win, if that's what you mean."

Quinn's sleepy grin pulled at Rachel's heart and it filled her with such zeal, such intense affection that to kiss Quinn felt insufficient to sublimate this desire.

But she kissed Quinn anyway.

"I can't wait to see you in your prom dress," Quinn murmured into Rachel's neck. "Why did you have to be weird about not letting me see you in it? It's not like it's a wedding dress."

Rachel clamped her lips together and a choked, high pitch sound escaped her throat at the mere thought of being married to Quinn. The blonde, being close to her throat, heard the sound and she drew back to look at Rachel's face. She saw the expression there and burst into laughter. "Rachel, what is happening to you?"

"Nothing, nothing," Rachel wheezed. "I'm cool, I'm alright."

"Okay, weirdo," Quinn murmured with nothing but affection in her voice.

They discussed their plans for the next day, for the big day, like they did days prior. Rachel knew the plan like the back of her hand, but she allowed Quinn to tell her again. She would drive them back to Rachel's house, they would have dinner. Then, they get dressed — separately, Rachel interjected and Quinn rolled her eyes — and once Judy arrived at the Berry house, they would take photos.

"Oh, the corsages!"

"We can give those to each other before photos," Quinn said.

After which, Hiram would drive them to McKinley.

Then they would win prom couple.

A restless energy rippled through the junior student population of McKinley High on Friday. No one was able to focus in class that by mid-morning, the teachers got fed up. By the time it was the class period before lunch, half of the juniors were gone, went home to primp themselves ready for prom.

"Come on, Rachel," Quinn groaned as she trailed the shorter girl down the length of the hallway. "The teachers don't care if we skip class. Prom is tonight, what do they expect? Besides," she hugged Rachel from behind, her chin resting against the crook of Rachel's shoulder. Her mouth, oh so dangerously close to her ear. "Don't you want to leave early so we have time to make out?"

"Quinn," Rachel managed to say in a stern but careful voice. "I do want to make out, but — "

"But what?"

"You're so whiny," Rachel giggled, turning in Quinn's arms to kiss her briefly on the mouth. The blonde chased after her lips, and Rachel allowed herself to be chased. Her back hit the locker and Quinn planted her hands against either side of Rachel's body to keep her from escaping. "But I have a quiz for biology today."

"Wanna bet that class is cancelled because only two people showed up? If I win, we go home and you owe me half an hour of kissing."

"It's highly unlikely that — " Rachel paused when she opened the door to the biology lab. Only the teacher was there, who looked at Rachel and shrugged, saying that the quiz was moved to Tuesday next week.

"Ha! See!"

"You distinctly said there would be two people in the room," Rachel pointed out. "And there were none."

"Oh my god, Rachel — "

"I'm just kidding," the girl grinned. "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Quinn made a simple pasta dish with crusty garlic bread for a quick lunch, and Rachel watched her from the dining table, her chin propped against her closed fist. She could only smile at the sight of Quinn in a navy blue apron tied around her waist, her hair in a loose ponytail. The steam from the pasta water brought a pink to her cheeks. As she blew on a fusilli and bit it to check its doneness, Rachel felt choked up by emotion that she had to come up behind Quinn and kiss her steam-warmed cheek.

Once the food was finished, they ate in a comfortable silence. Rachel did the dishes. Together they went upstairs to Rachel's bedroom.

"If you think I'm going to make out with you, garlic breath, you have another thing coming."

"We both have garlic breath," Quinn snickered. "But okay, fine."

They brushed their teeth side by side in Rachel's cramped bathroom. It was a simple thing to be doing together but it nearly made tears spring out of Rachel's eyes. Good thing she had to spit, so she rinsed her mouth and also wiped the tears away at the corners of her eyes.

Back in Rachel's bed, Quinn lay halfway on top of the smaller girl, her hand stroking Rachel's belly over her shirt.

"I have half the mind to skip prom just so we can do this all night," Quinn said against Rachel's jaw.

"Don't you dare, Quinn Fabray," Rachel murmured. "We — I did not go through all of that emotional back-and-forth with myself for it all to go down the drain."

"I was teasing," Quinn laughed into Rachel's neck. The timer they set for kissing went off, and Quinn reached for Rachel's nightstand to shut it off. "You want to shower?"

"Y-you mean together or — " Rachel sputtered.

Quinn smirked and shrugged.

They showered — separately. Once Quinn was done showering first, she dried her hair and she sat in front of Rachel's vanity, wrapped in a guest bathrobe while Rachel did her hair and makeup. She pinned Quinn's hair in a neat bun, allowed a few curls to escape it to frame her features. Rachel smoothed out the nape of Quinn's neck and succumbed to her yearning to kiss her there.

"Rachel," Quinn husked. Their eyes met in the mirror. "Go shower."

One more kiss, to the spot behind Quinn's ear. "Okay."

When it was Rachel's turn to have her hair and makeup done by Quinn, she could not keep her eyes away from the blonde. The look of concentration there, the way she dabbed lipgloss on Rachel's mouth with such longing in her eyes. Rachel wanted to fall asleep with Quinn's fingers in her hair, to bask in her touch for a long, long time.

"There," Quinn put the final touches and kissed the curve of Rachel's bare shoulder. "No dress yet and you already look beautiful. Maybe you don't need a dress. Just show up in your bathrobe."

"Stop," Rachel flushed and rose to her feet. "Your dress is in the guest room. Get out," she nudged Quinn out of her bedroom, the blonde giggling.

"Wait, I forgot something," Quinn pretended to head back into Rachel's room but all she did was kiss Rachel.

When she drew back, Rachel's eyelids fluttered open for her to see a smug-looking Quinn. Rachel shook her head to clear it and pushed a cackling Quinn out of her room.

As soon as she was alone in her bedroom, Rachel longed to bury her face into her pillow and scream — not out of rage, but rather, because of all these feelings of affection that expanded in her chest beyond, she felt, was her capacity. It was either that, or sing. And maybe it wasn't such a good idea to ruin the makeup Quinn worked hard on applying for her to scream.

She retrieved her dress from her closet, her pulse vibrating from how cute Quinn could be — which she never imagined to be the case. She always imagined her to be icy, or at the very least, not that affectionate with anyone she was dating. Rachel put her dress on, just as she heard the front door open, and a mix of voices. Rachel grabbed her small purse and headed downstairs. The closed door of the guest room probably meant that Quinn was still inside, getting ready.

"Oh, my baby girl! You look stunning!" Leroy exclaimed. He admired her daughter at the top of the steps. "The corsage is in the fridge, darling."

"Thank you, daddy." Rachel kissed him on the cheek. "Hi, Judy! It's nice to see you!"

The older woman beamed. "Lovely to see you too, Rachel. You're a sight to behold."

"You should see your daughter," she responded, and Judy laughed.

Rachel, in a bout of nervous energy, paced the kitchen and took the corsage she ordered for Quinn. It was a white gardenia with a light green ribbon to tie around Quinn's wrist. The furl of the petals were gorgeous, and velvet-like to the touch.

She heard gasps from the main foyer of the house and it could only mean one thing.

Quinn had emerged.

Rachel left the kitchen and found that she became unable to breathe. Quinn, dressed in a powder blue dress, with sheer shoulder straps and sparkling stone-encrusted bodice descended the stairs much like an angel descending from the heavens.

She took careful steps in her heels down each step. Quinn raised her head and met Rachel's adoring gaze. She stepped towards the blonde, at a loss for words.

That was not particularly true — she had so many things to say to Quinn. But they were incoherent, incomplete thoughts, arias for her love and adoration that had no end.

"Quinn, if I was an 18th century painter, I would be begging you on my knees right now so you would let me paint you."

Quinn's lips quivered and she burst into giggles. "If I was an Elizabethan poet I would have written a hundred sonnets about you by now."

Rachel grinned and took a step towards Quinn. She held out the corsage. Quinn took it, caressed the petals and the ribbon. She smiled. "It matches my eyes."

Quinn pulled her hand out from behind her, which Rachel did not even notice she kept behind her back given how enamoured she was by Quinn's radiant face. "Here, your corsage."

It was a white camellia with a golden ribbon. "I don't know if you know flower meanings, but — "

Rachel looked up in alarm. "Do you?"

"Not for every single one or anything," Quinn said, with a furrowed brow. "Why? What do gardenias mean?"

Rachel winced. Sure, she and Quinn were together-together now, but she still felt a modicum of embarrassment over the fact that she was so in her feelings for Quinn that she obsessed over the corsage choice for days. "They mean secret love. But it's not so secret now, so..."

"Oh," Quinn chuckled. "Well, now mine seems boring. White camellias mean 'you're adorable'."

"Sorry to interrupt, my two favourite sapphics," Hiram said with a bright grin. "But it's getting late and we need photos."

Rachel and Quinn stiffened, completely oblivious having forgotten the fact that their parents were right there.

They took numerous photos thanks to Leroy's avid art direction. They took photos by the steps, by the front doors, the foyer, everywhere the man could think of until he was content. Hiram ushered Quinn and Rachel to the car and drove them to school, where the gymnasium was already playing loud music. Cars and limousines cluttered the school's driveway that it took nearly ten minutes just for Hiram to pull close enough to the school's curb.

"Have fun, you two. Call me when you want to get picked up."

"We will — thanks, dad."

Hand in hand, Quinn and Rachel entered the school's gymnasium. It was decked out with fairy lights and a rented disco ball. Fake foliage, plastic vines with polyester flowers adorned the doorways. A line of voters curled around the table for the prom couple ballots. Currently, Mike, Artie, and Sam were hunched over the tables to cast their vote.

Sam chanced to look up and saw Quinn and Rachel walk in. He nudged his friends and the three of them waved.

"It better be our names marked on that ballot, boys," Quinn called out.

"Oh, for sure!" Sam grinned.

"Do you want to do last minute wrangling for votes?" Rachel asked Quinn once they found their table that they shared with the Steam Rollers plus Santana.

"No," Quinn said thoughtfully. And in the light of Quinn's eyes, Rachel only saw adoration. "I think I want to dance with you."

"Stop eye-fucking!" Santana yelled.

"Don't worry about it, Rachel. San and I will get more votes for you!" Brittany grinned. Beside her, the girl in the red dress had a wicked glint in her eye and Rachel's stomach churned from nervousness.

"I don't think that's…" she was about to say, but Santana left, followed by Brittany. Rachel rose on the tips of her toes to search for them above the sea of heads. Quinn giggled and held Rachel's waist so she would not tip over.

"It'll be fine," she soothed. She tugged Rachel's hand to sit down. "Even if she tells people that we faked it at the start, I don't care anymore. As far as I'm concerned, you're the real prize here."

Rachel giggled, her cheeks warm from blushing. "You're adorable."

"I'm just saying," Quinn said shyly. "I might not win prom queen, but at least I got the girl."

Rachel stuck out her bottom lip and Quinn laughed. She leaned in and kissed the dark-haired girl. "I should be the one saying that," murmured Rachel against Quinn's mouth.

"Yes, well. You seem more nervous than I am."

Rachel grasped the back of Quinn's neck for a deep kiss, one that she hoped imparted into Quinn the breadth of her affection. She eased back and admired the half-lidded eyes, the dopey smile on Quinn's face. "What was that for?"

"I'm abusing my privileges as your girlfriend. I believe you mentioned dancing?"

Together they walked towards the dance floor where Artie was doing wheelies, and Sam was body-rolling with Mercedes and Tina. Mike was breakdancing. Quinn and Rachel joined the fray, dancing with their friends until they were out of breath from physical exertion and laughter.

Rachel left Quinn with Tina to get refreshments. In the middle of scooping punch into plastic cups, she felt the familiar towering presence of Finn behind her.

"Hey," he greeted, picking up a plastic cup for himself.

"Hi, Finn. You look dashing." And he did, in his suit and crimson tie. "Do you have a prom date?"

"I was hoping you would be. We could sing a song together for people to dance to!"

"Finn," Rachel sighed and faced the boy. "I'm with Quinn."

"Yeah, okay, whatever. But I bet you all the money I have right now — it's not a lot, but still — that she'll break up with you right after prom! I thought you were smart, Rach, but anyone in here can see that she's just using you to win prom queen!"

Rachel watched Finn break into his tirade with a serene smile. Once he lost his steam, she chuckled. "Quinn said she likes me. That she wants to be with me. Do you have any idea what that means to me?"

"And you believe her?"

From where she stood, she saw Quinn on the dance floor. Strands of her blonde hair had escaped her bun. She was dancing with Brittany and Santana, her head thrown back in laughter. "Without a doubt."

Quinn somehow sensed that Rachel was looking at her. She slowed down in her dancing and looked as if she was about to head to where Finn and Rachel stood, but Rachel shook her head. So she stopped and smiled. Nodded and resumed her tango with Brittany.

"Even if Quinn breaks up with me, even if she breaks my heart in the future, I will not abandon her for you because right now, she makes me happy. And I believe in that happiness."

Finn was silent. "Okay. I still don't get it, but if you're sure…"

"I am. Have you voted for prom couple yet?"

The head of the prom committee announced that they were about to announce the prom couple, and asked the candidates to please approach the stage. Quinn ushered Rachel through the sea of people and stood behind her, hands on her shoulders to rub them in soothing circles. Rachel was tense — of course, she loathed to lose — but Quinn's hands knew the exact way for the tension in her shoulders to dissipate.

"The winner for prom couple by an overwhelming number of votes is…" the head of the committee glanced at the clipboard in their hands. Rachel so longed to yell, 'get on with it!'

"Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry."

Cheers and hollers thundered in the school gymnasium. Quinn shook Rachel by the shoulders to shake her out of her stunned reverie.

"You good?" Quinn asked with a laugh.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"Good. We have to go up there and get our crowns."

Rachel leaned against Quinn as they climbed the stage together, grateful that Quinn was practised in the entire ordeal and seemed more stable than she was. The plastic tiaras were lowered onto their heads. The music started for their first dance. Quinn offered her hand to Rachel, and with a smile and a thundering heart, she took it.

Rachel felt the bubbling of words in her chest. Her tongue, heavy with the words that would change everything and nothing. But instead of saying them out loud, it came out as a soft, "Hi."

In Quinn's eyes, she saw that she understood. In Quinn's hand that tightened around hers, she felt real. In Quinn's voice, she heard love. But all that came out was, "Hi back."

They danced to music that seemed inconsequential to the moment, in that space cleared on the dance floor for just the two of them. Rachel never believed she would win prom royalty until the moment Quinn asked. And throughout the turmoil, the inner conflicts, the precipitous desire for Quinn, Rachel emerged victorious.

And that's it. I hope it was at least a little bit enjoyable for you, reader, as it was so fucking fun for me to write. See you in the next fic (whenever that is), or come talk to me on tumblr at ficklefic!