Hardwired

They stand in front of the crowd side by side waving at the people cheering their names. It seems like the same scene played out so many times before only slightly adjusted to make room for whatever new thing it is they need to promote this time. They are the talk of the nation since they finally shared screen time with one another. It is almost as if the entire world has been holding their breath, just waiting for Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry to share a scene together. The anticipation has been built and within moments the very special episode Leona Conroe has spent way too much money promoting is finally going to premiere.

Rumors are already floating around about their behind the scenes relationship. According to the news spreading across the land, Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray secretly hate each other. Rachel is supposedly bitter that such a big name star is stealing her spotlight and Quinn is terribly difficult to work with since she expects to be treated like royalty. She is Supergirl after all.

No matter what they do or which way they turn, there will always be rumors and conjecturing about the lives they live. They accept that. Quinn does a much better job of accepting it since Rachel is always intent on making truth out of lies. Quinn sees it as a fruitless battle, but she'll stand by Rachel in front of the camera letting the world know that they don't hate each other as their arms are loosely draped around each other.

She doesn't mind letting the world know that they chose to work together and weren't forced into it for whatever reasons they had been rumored to work together. They wanted to spend the time together and Quinn wanted to start working again. She wasn't good with having idle hands, especially since she still isn't completely sure who she is outside of being Quinn Fabray.

She has run for so long from the pieces of herself she hates that she doesn't know how to face them yet. Sadly, she really only likes trying to face her demons when Rachel is standing beside her. Trying to do it all on her own doesn't seem possible, and she isn't quite sure if her dependence on her wife is something to be lauded or feared. She wonders if this is what's supposed to happen when lives intertwine in hopes of being joined forever.

Quinn is looking down at Rachel as her wife speaks to the camera answering whatever questions are being asked of them from the people holding out microphones. Her eyes focus solely on the woman next to her disregarding everyone else. Her ears don't even really hear the words Rachel is speaking.

Eventually, her attention is torn away when someone shouts her name loud enough. She turns to the intruder and puts on a false smile. She knows the woman. She's a contributor to some website that focuses on lesbian entertainment. Rachel's show is garnering their attention since it is one of the few currently on television with strong female leads.

Quinn's arm falls away from Rachel and then she steps closer to the woman waiting patiently for her. "How are you?" She asks as she leans in so that she can better hear the questions she knows she's about to be asked.

"I'm good!" The woman enthuses, looking a little star struck. "How are you?"

"Awesome," Quinn yells. "The turnout here is really wonderful."

"Are you surprised?" The woman questions, obviously a little shocked by how obtuse Quinn is about her level of fame.

"I'm just really happy that Rachel's show is this popular," Quinn honestly replies. "She deserves it."

"You both do," her interviewer instantly replies. "Are you going to permanently sign on as a cast member?"

Quinn's eyes widen, "I hadn't thought about it," she lies. "If Rachel asks me then I'd seriously consider it."

Rachel has already asked and Quinn has already accepted. They consider themselves lucky that they have the opportunity to work with each other now since so often their careers ask them to be apart. They have always been chasing down the same dreams, they just took two very different roads to get here.

Though, Quinn was admittedly seeking to be rich, famous, and secure and loved while Rachel had just been seeking to do the thing she loved. In the end, it all kind of means the same thing. Especially since they stand together now their lives merged in ways that weren't possible when they were first married.

"There are rumors floating around about a relationship developing between Tanya Grimes's character and Christine Rodriguez's. Can you tell us if that's going to happen?"

Quinn pulls back feigning surprise. "Really? I didn't know anything about that. I know that the characters have really great chemistry and that Leona Conroe, the executive producer, wants to explore that. If it happens, then I'm all for it."

The development of the relationship is a strategic one. It was introduced just as Quinn was signing the dotted line on her new contract. After filming her first scene with Rachel, Leona took them aside and let them know they needed to tone down on the lesbian intensity. They were filming a show on network television, and on network television the main characters aren't gay.

Rachel's character, Leah, is meant to eventually fall madly in love with every eligible bachelor on the show until she settles on her happily ever after with Maxwell's character. Quinn is being introduced as Leah's nemesis and, well they aren't supposed to be in love. They are enemies and while they can use their chemistry to explore that relationship, the tearing each other clothes off vibe needed stop and desist.

Leona's answer to masking their relationship was to create a lesbian relationship with two supporting characters that can at any time decide that they aren't as in love as they thought they are. Leona is a master at re-writing reality and Quinn knows that it is an important skill to have in their line of work. She also knows that Leona is not trying to change the face of television. She'll keep to what works because she wants a successful television show that does little in regards to challenging their audience.

Quinn feels a hand cover her back and she turns to find her wife standing behind her. "I think we're supposed to be inside," Rachel tells her.

"Okay," Quinn replies and then turns back to her interviewer. "My boss is calling me away," she jokes.

Rachel rolls her eyes and slaps Quinn on the shoulder. "Whatever."

The interviewer gives them an odd look but then quickly smiles and thanks Quinn for her time. Quinn allows Rachel to pull her away from the crowd towards the theater. They have no real plans to sit and watch the episode everyone is raving about. They've already seen it and don't feel like watching it again. So instead of joining the crowd, Rachel guides Quinn to a VIP room reserved solely for them.

They take a seat on the one lone sofa in the room and within moments Quinn finds her wife resting against her. "Everyone knows I'm going to be a regular cast member."

Rachel nods. "Leona leaked the information especially for this event." She adjusts her position so that she can look up into her wife's eyes. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

It's not the first time Rachel has asked the question and Quinn doubts this will be the last. She understands her wife's concerns. This is something very different than they are used to. They had grown accustomed to not sharing each other with anyone else, at least to the extent they will have to while working together. It adds a dynamic to their marriage that neither of them really knows how to approach. It mixes the aspects of their lives they have tried so hard to separate.

But is it what Quinn wants? "Of course," she admits and brushes her lips against Rachel's. She needs to believe that, whatever this new thing brings, their marriage will survive. She needs to believe that they are strong enough now and not standing on the edge of failure.

"There are, rumors too, you know about us," Quinn whispers.

"Which ones?" Rachel asks and by the tone of her voice Quinn knows that her wife is asking only to buy time for a better prepared response.

"About us, Love," Quinn chooses not to further clarify. She won't indulge in Rachel playing at being stupid.

"I don't want to talk about it," Rachel mutters as she tries to wrap herself even further into Quinn's hold.

"It's not going away." It won't go away especially now that every move they make is being scrutinized by millions. It is inevitable that the outside world will invade their sanctuary and they have no one to blame for it but themselves. They unlocked the door when they had gotten married and then flung it wide open when they decided to work with each other. Neither of them were good enough actresses to mask their physical intimacy when they were in the same room. Their familiarity with the other is hardwired into their souls.

"It doesn't need to," Rachel decides.

"Do you want to do something about it?" Quinn bravely inquires. She's not big on sitting down for interviews being asked about her personal life. She's never liked having to share herself with the world, and this is something she especially doesn't want to share, but she will if Rachel wants it. She'll sit on whatever talk show that will have them and will hold Rachel's hand firmly in her own ready to declare that they are in fact carrying on a sexual relationship.

It is the sex that everyone cares about the most, isn't it? It's what they really want to know about. Quinn doubts it will matter that she and Rachel share a life not just a bed. She can't imagine that it will matter to anyone that she and Rachel work hard every day to make each other happy. Not every one of their days ends with them falling passionately into bed ready to devour each other.

Some days end with Quinn falling asleep on the sofa while Rachel is working late. Some days end with arguments about petty things like who was supposed to wash the dishes and who was supposed to take out the garbage. Some days end with them in different parts of the world and they aren't able to communicate at all.

"No," Rachel finally answers, "I don't."

Quinn chuckles, wondering why it is they chose to consistently take the hard road. She imagines that they could be the next Ellen and Portia if they try hard enough. They can be the next generation of married lesbians.

"What are you laughing about?" Rachel sits up unsure as to which turn their conversation has made.

"I'm trying to picture us as the model lesbian couple," Quinn admits, laughter filling her voice.

Rachel's eyes narrow her mind instantly trying to picture what that would be like. What kind of model would they be? They married before they had even gone on a proper date. They lived separately for years and used their marriage as a crutch to stay together instead of as a sacred union.

Yet, now they share a home and are even involved in some small way in raising Beth Corcoran. They are financially secure and neither of them are in any sex tapes. Rachel's parents know about them, though Quinn's family is still ignorant of their relationship. That's to be expected, though, since Quinn's family knows very little about her and they have an unspoken agreement to keep it that way.

"I think we've done pretty well for ourselves," Rachel says perhaps more seriously than she intends.

"We have," Quinn easily concedes and then leans down and kisses her wife again. She lets the kiss linger pretending like they have all the time in the world to indulge in this moment.

They only separate when a soft knock sounds on the closed door. Rachel bids their intruder entry and neither of them is particularly surprised to see Leona opening the door.

"I'm awesome and I expect you all to recognize that when you win your Emmy's," Leona announces as she invades their sanctuary.

"We wouldn't know how to breathe without you," Quinn sarcastically intones as she pulls away from Rachel.

Leona smirks, "There's some truth hidden within your sarcasm."

Though she wasn't eager to readily admit it, Quinn knew that she and Rachel did owe Leona more than they could ever truly repay. For years Leona had been pushing Quinn and Rachel closer together. She has stepped in when things seemed about to break apart. She molded Rachel's career almost from the very beginning and gave them the opportunity to work together.

She protects them, though her motivations aren't always selfless. Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry have made Leona millions, and she has them so tightly wrapped in contracts with her production company that if she so chose, it would be very hard for them to defect. Thus far, she wields her power magnanimously, but both Quinn and Rachel know not to take Leona's kindness for granted.

"So it's time for you two to get back in there for round two," Leona orders. "And maybe this time you two might try not to hug each other during every interview."

"We aren't…" Rachel begins to protest but is quickly interrupted.

"Aren't what?" Leona asks. "Wrapped around each other like you're in post coitus?"

Quinn can see Rachel's intent to continue to protest so steps in instead. "We'll stand two feet apart at all times," she promises.

Leona offers a hand to each of them to help them up. "Let's not get crazy," she smiles, "A little bit of a sex scandal doesn't hurt."

Rachel pulls her hand out of Leona's and then pushes the other woman away. "Sometimes I can't remember why I even am in business with you."

"You like being successfully," Leona quickly responds letting her comeback hit its all true mark.

Through silent consent, they all turn towards the open door and then walk through it one at a time. Leona hurries off to see to some other detail while Quinn and Rachel rejoin the party.

They work through the night promoting themselves and their works appropriately. When the party finally ends, they stumble into the condo they bought together when they realized they needed a home closer to the studio. They are technically roommates and somehow that has been found out and instantly exploited by several websites and blogs. Apparently, it is unique that two stars for a hit television show live together.

"Let's go to bed," Quinn whispers as she wraps Rachel in her arms. "I'm dead on my feet and I'm supposed to be in early tomorrow."

"Really?" Rachel replies through a yawn. "Who are you making out with tomorrow?"

Quinn rolls her eyes yet she is a bit flattered by Rachel's jealousy. "I don't know, maybe I secretly get to make out with you."

"You wish." Rachel grabs onto Quinn's hand and then leads them into the bedroom. They ready for bed and then fall asleep curled up against each other like a boring married couple with a long week ahead.

Yeah so I'm calling this officially the end. I don't feel that if I continued this under the same title it would be true to the original flow of the story. The past and present have met up and I'm leaving them were a few people might say a certain story has begun. Much love to all of you I can't possibly express how much it means you have stayed with this even during it's moments of hiatus. You're good people.