Title: It's Been A While
Author: dizzy - in - the - izzy
Rating: K+
Summary: Rachel's summer starts off with a lot of situations she hasn't dealt with in a while.

A/N: Now, as the end of Glee is here, I realized that I had a good idea for a ficlet for it. I mean, I literally cried and freaked out at the finale. Even my friend who never cries was there crying with me at the ending. I was very angry, as her TV cut out at one part that was pretty important (and her dad laughed at us for freaking out. It was the part where they lost. I was pretty upset myself). So, come today I was thinking all day about what I could write about Finn and Rache, because I love them so much. I also love Will and Emma, but I don't think I would be able to force myself to write the emotions they are feeling right now. Then there's Puck and Quinn... oh gosh. Anyway, I wrote this. (Well, duh Isabel. Of course you wrote it. Way to state the obvious.)

Oh, and any and all mistakes are my own. I need to obtain a beta.

Spoilers for the season finale!

It's been a while since she's been this happy. She's sitting in Finn's car, and they are talking about which radio station to listen to. She doesn't remember why they are in the car in the first place, just that it's hot and she's wearing jean shorts and a suspiciously large white t-shirt.

School has been over for less than a week, but it's felt like forever. She spent her first couple of days organizing her room, and changing her clothes so all of her summer shorts and skirts were in the front of her drawers. Then she began the long process of throwing stuff away. Mostly she threw away schoolwork that she knew she would never need again. Most of her sheet music she kept, as she had been saving it since she could remember. When Monday came, she was surprised as Finn showed up at her door. He told her she wasn't going to spend her summer alone, and she argued that she never did. He had only smirked at her, and suddenly they were going everywhere.

And now it was Thursday, and they've spent every day that week together doing something.

It's been a while since someone sang so sweetly to her. She can remember as a child, one of her dads singing to her. She was nice to them, and liked when they sang to her. Sure, they weren't the best singers in the world, but she really didn't mind. No, this isn't her dads singing.

This is Finn.

And he's singing her Frank Sinatra.

The summer night sky is brilliant in Rachel's opinion. She can't believe Finn convinced her to lay outside on a blanket at 9 at night, but she finds herself enjoying it. They'd plugged in one of their iPods to the stereo system before moving to the blanket in the middle of Rachel's backyard. There, they lay talking for a while before Finn decided that singing to her was better.

She found it ironic that he was singing "Summer Wind."

The night was quite peaceful.

She looked up at him, as she is lying on her side with her head on his chest as he lays flat on his back. He has both of his hands behind his head, holding it up. She wished one was around her shoulder, but she was just happy he was next to her. Suddenly, he stops singing and looks down at her. She smiled and pursed her lips.

"Something wrong?" She asked, and he shrugged.

"No."

"Then why did you stop singing?"

"I don't like that part of the song." Finn explained, and Rachel nodded. If she had been listening closer to the lyrics, she would have been able to guess why, but she wasn't. The song changed, and she heard the beginning of "With or Without You". A funny knot twisted in her stomach, but she wasn't sure why. Finn sits up suddenly, and she is forced into his lap somehow. He wraps his arms around her, and she secures her arms around his rib cage. He beings to sing along to the song, and she is immersed in him. If it were anyone else, she wouldn't be comfortable.

But it's Finn, so she feels safe and loved.

It's been a while since she's gone to the beach. There is something about it that seems daunting to her. She doesn't like the fact that at any second the waves could eat her up. She sits on her towel, wearing her bathing suit and sunglasses, and wonders if Finn will notice if she disappears. But then she remembers how he'd complimented her on her bathing suit, and when she looks over she's pretty sure he's watching her though his sunglasses. And then she literally wants to smack herself. The waves won't eat her up.

Finn would not allow it.

She sits back on her towel, looking down at Finn. He seems to be asleep, and Rachel realizes that he forgot to put sunscreen on his back. She grabs the bottle quickly, and squeezes some on her hand. She then reaches over and begins to rub it on Finns' back. He jumps at first, until she tells him to calm down and let her. She sits on his hips, rubbing the lotion over his shoulders. She works her way down his back, feeling the muscles that seem to be tense.

If only she knew that rubbing sunscreen lotion on his back makes Finn want to flip over and kiss her senseless.

When she's done, she gets off of him and sits on her towel again. He looks up at her, taking off his sunglasses in the process.

"Thank you." He says it with a hint of sarcasm, and observation tells her that he's teasing her.

"You're welcome. I wouldn't want to have to listen to you complain about your back hurting for the rest of the week."

Finn smiles at her.

"Who says we're spending the rest of the week together?"

She's really glad she knows when he's teasing, because now she doesn't know what she'd be doing over her summer if it weren't for him.

It's been a while since she's had a group of friends over at her house. She's excited, and glad that they all made it. She was worried that some of her fellow Glee clubbers wouldn't make it, but when they all showed up at her door (even Mr. Schuester) she couldn't have been happier. And when he insisted that instead of a formal greeting that they all call him Will for the night, she felt most of her worries fade. The hug that Santana gave her helped as well.

She felt all of her worries fade when Puck plugged in an iPod and cranked up the volume. Her dads had been nice enough to allow them total control of the downstairs portion of the house as long as it was clean when they were done, and Will had no trouble convincing them of that. Everyone said hello to them before they left, and only after Kurt talked to them for a while.

Eventually, all of the upbeat songs gave way to a slower one, and people began to dance. Puck offered his hand to Quinn, and she smiled at him. At first, Tina walked over to Artie until Matt asked to cut in and Artie played the good sport. Kurt was dragged onto the grass by Brittany, which got a few laughs. Rachel watched as everyone split up into pairs and danced to "Glitter in the Air".

She looked up as a hand came to rest on her shoulder, and she smiled at Finn. He gestured towards the grass where everyone was dancing, but she shook her head. She went up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, and he nodded at her. She walked over to where Artie sat alone and pushed him out onto the grass. He protested until everyone cheered and clapped.

Rachel smiled as everyone moved closer to Artie, and suddenly they were in a circle holding hands. She held Artie and Finn's hands, swaying to the beat. And even as the song changed to "Telephone", they stayed in their circle. Mike broke the circle to break dance in the middle, and everyone cheered. After Mike was Puck, who displayed his uncanny ability to do a one handed handstand. After him, an odd array of talents were shown off, until Artie ended it night by doing a wheelie around the concert path of Rachel's yard.

As everyone left, they each gave each other hugs. Quinn was the last one to leave, and the last one to give Rachel a hug. Rachel was slightly surprised when Quinn did so, but smiled nonetheless.

"Thanks Rachel, for having such a nice party. It was… refreshing and just what I needed." Quinn says as she pulls back to stand up straight. Rachel nods, and Quinn leaves. Rachel lets out a breath and smiles when Finns arms find their way around her.

"I think this was just what everybody needed." She can feel him smiling, and finds it comforting.

"I couldn't agree more." She nods, relaxing back into his embrace.

It's been a while since she's cried tears of happiness. Because, in all honesty, her year hadn't been the best.

She's sitting in her living room, Finn and her dads sitting there with her. They are playing Sorry, because Finn seemed dead set on playing it. No one had minded, as they were all just happy to be playing. Rachel's game piece is knocked off the board as Finn ends up in her spot, and she pulls a face. The laughter around her isn't mean, but mainly loving. She smiles to herself and lets the game keep going.

They are halfway done with the game when she realizes that her father's haven't been this accepting of any of her previous relationships. They seem to genuinely like Finn, and Finn seems to enjoy being around them. He had invited himself over, and had spent a good half hour talking to them after the small party.

Finn ends up losing as the Berry's team up on him, and he's the best sport about it. He offers to clean up, but is told by both Mr. Berry's that they will get it and that the two kids should go have some PG fun. Finn can't help but laugh, and lifts Rachel off the floor easily. He takes her hand as they walk outside, the sun just beginning to set.

"That was fun."Finn say's and Rachel nods her head in agreement.

"My dad's seem to like you a lot." She sits down on the grass, and Finn sits on a lawn chair across from her. Rachel stretches out her legs, glad she is wearing jeans. Finn's shock that she owned a pair caused much laughter in the house.

It's at that moment that Rachel realizes it's been one of the most fun summers of her life, and it has only been less than a month. She smiles to herself, and takes a deep breath. She feels a feeling of comfort go over her body.

"Whoa, are you okay?"

It's not until Finns' concerned voice reaches her that she realizes there are tears coming out of her eyes. She's surprised she can still cry. After the ending of the year, it's amazing there are any tears left.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She says, trying to stop herself. Finn's by her side, and he stops her hands from moving across her face. He gently wipes the tears away, and takes her in his arms.

"If you're fine then why are you crying?" He asks, sounding genuinely concerned. She shrugs.

"I don't know. I guess I'm crying because I'm so happy."

Fin's hands stop moving over her back, and she wonders if she said anything wrong. But then his hands being to move again, and she feels at ease.

"Tears of joy." He seems to find it funny, and she looks up at him.

"Is there something wrong with that?" She's well aware that her voice sounds demanding, but she doesn't care.

"No, there isn't. In fact, it's the opposite of wrong. I just don't like to see you cry."

Rachel smiles.

"Thanks." She whispers, sniffing.

"Are you going to explain to me why you are so happy?" There it is again. That teasing tone. She loves it.

"You should know. If it weren't for you, this would be the most boring summer ever." She says, and he grins. He then begins to smirk, and she glares at him.

"I already knew that, but it's nice to hear you say it." She glares up at him, before resting her head against his shoulder. She feels him kiss the top of her head.

It's been a while. No, actually, it's only been four weeks. But, as she sits on her couch exactly four weeks since she kissed him, he told her he loved her, and they sang "Faithfully" to each other, she realizes that four weeks is a long time. She swings her feet off the couch and walks into the kitchen where she knows he is. He's hungry, like always, and she's amazed he stays trim. She walks up behind him, resting her head on his arm. He lets the fridge door shut, and smiles at her.

"I said I'll be there in a minute. I need to find some popcorn."

She smiles and opens the cabinet next to the toaster. Finn nods as he pulls a packet out of the box.

"Found it."

She laughs, as happy as can be. Since Finn started to spend almost every minute of the day at her house, her dads decided that getting some food he would actually eat was a good idea. There was a small shelf in their fridge of food just for him, and it made Finn smile whenever he looked and saw it.

Rachel walks over to Finn where he stands at the microwave.

"You know, standing in front of that is giving you radiation poisoning." She teases, and he laughs.

"Now, we don't want that, do we?" He says, moving so his back is to it and she's in front of him. She smiles, leans up, and kisses him lightly. It's been four weeks since she's felt his lips on hers. He smiles at her as she pulls away, and his hands find her waist.

"Why hello." He teases.

"I love you."

It's a sense of déjà vu, and he smiles at it. An innocent statement followed by some heavy words. He pulls her to him, and kisses her head.

"I was beginning to think that you'd never say that." He is laughing as he says it, but she knows he's being serious.

"I was working it out." She explains quietly, and he shrugs.

"It doesn't really matter. All that matters is that, in your own time, you said it."

Rachel smiles at how mature and wise he's being. She squeezes him quickly before running away into the living room. She hears him putting the popcorn into the bowl, and he appears next to her on the couch. The house is dark now, as all the lights are off. He brought "Across the Universe" over to watch, and when questioned, he said because he was in a singing mood.

As Rachel settles in next to her boyfriend (because at this point she's pretty sure he is), she allows herself to relax.

Because it's been a while since she has done that too.

A/N: I debated putting break lines in between each little scene, but I decided that the "It's been a while" was sufficient enough. If you didn't catch that already. Anyway, I hope you liked it. I'm not so sure about it meself. I'm just glad to get something typed. I like it a lot, don't get me wrong. In fact, I love it. But, you know.

Reviews would be greatly appreciated.