Well, wouldya lookit this. An update. I want to send a great big THANK YOU to anyone still hanging in with me on this thing, and to say that your patience is very much appreciated. I know it's been a long time since I've last updated this thing, but I have been quite busy working on Veritas, my second novel, which is now available in the Kindle store. A paperback version is coming, but those take a little more time to get the formatting done correctly. If you do give Veritas a shot and enjoy it, I would greatly appreciate a positive review—I'm still working my way into the "real" writing world, and positive reviews are what convince people who don't know me from fanfiction to give my stories a try.

Anywho...yeah. And now, without further ado, Faberry. With smut. It's NSFW, peeps. Hope you enjoy.

~MJ

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Chapter 75

With Rachel back on top of the Broadway world, playing to sold-out crowds every night for Gravity, and Quinn working on the first season of Mercy, life for the couple was hectic. Days turned into weeks, which passed into months far too quickly to even be realized, and before either of them even really knew it, it was June and time to begin the press tour for Serendipity.

The film's producers had scheduled the New York-based talk shows for the week, leaving the Los Angeles ones for Sunday and Monday nights—Rachel's weekend—to try and accommodate Rachel's schedule as much as possible. It made Rachel's long weeks even longer because the morning talk shows cut into what little sleep she did manage to get every night, but she just put on her showbiz smile and powered through the exhaustion.

It was, after all, all she could do.

Quinn had not been blind to Rachel's struggle to manage the increased workload, and she took a lot of the pressure onto herself—putting an extra effort into being charming and outgoing during interviews so that Rachel could just sit by and chime in when needed. She had never particularly enjoyed this part of the filmmaking process, she was much more comfortable being in front of the camera if she was pretending to be somebody else, but seeing the toll it was taking on Rachel made her hate it even more.

She could not wait until the next day when the whole thing would be done, save for a few random talk-show appearances if the film was well-received. But even those would not be bad, because doing one or two appearances in a week was a hell of a lot easier than junkets and a seemingly endless stream of interviews.

But, for now, they had one last interview to do before that evening's Los Angeles premier, and Quinn sighed as she looked across the dressing room at Rachel, who was getting her hair done. They had yet to begin planning the wedding, work had taken precedence over their personal lives as they settled into their new projects, and seeing Rachel sitting in a chair getting her makeup done made her long for the day that they would actually get married. She knew that it was just a stupid piece of paper, that they were married in everything but name only, but that did very little to ease the aching want that settled in her chest as she looked at her.

"What are you thinking about, Fabray?" Rachel asked, her tone light and her eyes serious as she looked over at Quinn. She had felt the blonde's eyes on her for some time now, and she was not at all surprised to see Quinn watching her with a soft, thoughtful look on her face.

Quinn shook her head and forced a smile. "Nothing." She chuckled at the disbelieving look Rachel shot her and held her hands up in defeat. "Marrying you, all right? I'm thinking about marrying you."

"You look awfully serious for something like that," Rachel teased. "You're not changing your mind, are you?"

"Never," Quinn assured her solemnly, ignoring the way the hairdresser grinned at her response. The tabloids were in love with her and Rachel, covering their every moment out in public—or so it seemed—and the hairdresser was clearly amongst their fans She gave the woman a look that had her instantly schooling her expression and hurrying to finish Rachel's hair, and Quinn smiled as she stepped out of the way for the hairdresser to leave.

"That wasn't very nice," Rachel chided with a smile as she slipped out of her chair and walked over to Quinn. She melted into the blonde's gentle embrace, and sighed as she kissed her softly.

"Don't care." Quinn kissed Rachel again, claiming her mouth in a kiss that burned with the depth of her affection, delighting in the soft purr that rumbled in Rachel's throat when she dragged the tip of her tongue over the roof of her mouth. "I am so done with all of this. I just want two days alone with you," she murmured. "Hell, at this point I'd take two hours."

It really had been a long few weeks.

"Can we leave the premier early tonight?" Rachel asked, her smile hopeful even though she knew the answer was 'no'.

Quinn pecked Rachel's lips and shook her head, looking genuinely remorseful. "No. James, Chase, and you and I will all need to stand up afterwards and say a few words, thanking everybody for coming."

"That is so weird."

Quinn chuckled softly and nodded. "I know. But it's the way it is. And, once it's done, we're back on our way to New York so you can make your show tomorrow."

"It was nice of them to do the New York premier on a Sunday," Rachel said softly. Gravity was still so new that she hated handing over the reins to her understudy for even a single show, let alone for a week.

Quinn nodded. "Yeah. And then next week we do Europe. London. Paris. Berlin."

"That should sound exciting, but it just sounds exhausting," Rachel confessed.

"It will be." Quinn smiled and smoothed her hands over Rachel's back as she kissed her again, loving the way Rachel's lips molded around her own.

They were eventually interrupted by a sharp knock on the door of their dressing room, and they both sighed as they turned to look at the PA who had stuck his head in the door.

"We're ready for you," the PA said.

Quinn nodded and reluctantly let Rachel go, though she did take the brunette's hand into her own as they made their way toward the hall. She smiled at Jack and Tina, who were waiting for them, and followed the group down the corridor to the set. They waited backstage with the PA as the host introduced them, and when the music swelled, Quinn gave Rachel's hand a light squeeze and stepped through the slip of a doorway and into the bright lights of the stage. She was vaguely aware of Rachel smiling and waving alongside her, both of them looking far more energetic than they actually felt, and she waited for Rachel to take her seat first before sitting down beside her. She crossed her legs and leaned back into the couch, looping an arm around Rachel's shoulders as she turned her attention to the woman across from them.

"Hello again, Ellen," Quinn greeted the host warmly.

"Hello to you, too. Thank you guys for coming."

"Our pleasure," Rachel enthused.

"I just gotta tell you, Portia and I are really looking forward to seeing Serendipity tonight."

Quinn smiled and nodded. "We're really pleased with how it turned out."

"I bet you are." Ellen winked. "So, Serendipity. Your characters are both detectives?"

"They are," Quinn said, nodding. "Our characters don't get along at first, but they find a way around that."

"Yeah they do," Ellen drawled, grinning at the couple as the lights dimmed and the movie's trailer played on the large screen behind them.

Quinn and Rachel dutifully turned to watch the promo, and Quinn sighed as she pressed a gentle kiss to Rachel's cheek. "How you doing?" she whispered in her ear.

"Good," Rachel murmured.

The trailer ended with Quinn and Rachel in bed together, kissing passionately before the clip did the fade-to-black thing with the movie's title card flashing up on the screen, and Quinn blushed as the lights came back up. "Um… Yeah. There you have it, guys."

Ellen laughed. "So, we've all read the stories about you guys—the high school drama, and how you two met up on set. How weird was it to do a scene like that together?"

"Very weird," Quinn admitted with a shy smile. "I mean, let's be honest here—there is nothing romantic about doing a love scene. I know they look good, and the music over the scene really drives the feeling of it all home, but filming them is just awkward. It's hand placement and camera angles and typical movie-making type things, but you're naked—or almost naked—while it's all happening and people are staring at you and you're trying to…not really get into the moment so much as really try and convey that you are, and it's just weird."

Rachel nodded her agreement. "It was very strange. I'd never done anything like that before, but I was glad that I had Quinn there with me for it. She was perfectly protective of me the whole time."

The whole audience 'aww'd', and Quinn ducked her head in embarrassment. "Thanks, baby."

"No problem," Rachel said, smiling as she pecked Quinn on the cheek, which made the audience laugh and 'aww' some more.

Ellen grinned. "So, the movie premiers tonight."

"It does," Rachel confirmed. "The premier is at the Village Theater in Westwood. And then we'll do the New York premier on Sunday."

"Is that to accommodate your theatre schedule?" Ellen asked, even though she knew the answer.

"It is." Rachel nodded.

"For those of you who don't know," Ellen said, looking at the camera, "Rachel is starring in Gravity on Broadway." She turned back to the couple. "The reviews have been incredible for it. Congratulations."

Rachel tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled. "Thank you. It's been a lot of fun to originate a role like this."

"I'll bet. And you're working on a television show now?" Ellen asked Quinn.

"I am. It's called Mercy, and it will be premiering this fall."

"Awesome," Ellen said, looking genuinely pleased for them both. "So, Portia will kill me if I don't ask…how are the wedding plans coming?"

Quinn smiled and looked at Rachel. "They honestly haven't even started yet. Maybe after we finish doing the press for Serendipity?"

"Definitely," Rachel said, smiling as she leaned into Quinn's side and twined their fingers together. "I can't wait to marry this girl."

The director behind the main camera waved his finger in a circle indicating that it was time to wrap up, and Ellen reached out to shake both of their hands. "I wish you two all the luck in the world. Thank you for coming today."

"Thank you," Rachel said, smiling as she shook the host's hand.

"Yes, thank you," Quinn echoed.

"When we come back—" Ellen turned back to the camera, "—we'll have musical guest, Sara Bareilles!" The audience applauded and Ellen turned back to Quinn and Rachel as the lights dimmed and her crew began setting up for the next segment. "Good luck with the wedding planning. Any idea where you want to do it?"

"New York," Quinn answered.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed. "I love the city and, well, I can't really afford to take any more time away from the stage. This press tour has been hard enough."

Ellen nodded understandingly. "Just make sure to steal some time for yourselves. Doing work you love is good, it feeds the soul and pays the bills, but don't forget to make time for each other. Because, at the end of the day, this—" she waved a hand between them both, "—is the only thing that really matters." She looked up at her director, who was signaling that they were ready to begin taping again, and sighed. "It was an absolute pleasure having you two on, any time you're in town, don't hesitate to drop by."

"Will do," Quinn promised with a smile. She turned and waved at the people in the audience, all of whom waved back, and looked at Rachel. "You ready?"

"When you are, Fabray," Rachel drawled, slipping her hand into the crook of Quinn's arm. They made their way off-stage to where Jack and Tina were waiting, and Rachel smiled at them as she waited for their assessment. "So?"

"Passable." Tina smirked.

"You sucked," Jack added.

"Fuck you both very much," Quinn retorted with a grin. "So…now what?"

"Now we're going to run you back to the W to get ready for tonight," Jack said, checking his watch. "You'll have a couple hours to eat and rest before the hair and make-up teams for tonight arrive at three. Your dresses were delivered this morning, so those are set, it's just time to sprint to the finish."

"Yay," Quinn drawled.

"Go get changed," Tina told the couple kindly, "and then we'll get you out of here. Anything in particular you'd like for lunch?"

"I'd kill for a French dip from Philippe's since we're back in LA, but I can't eat anything like that and still fit into the dress I have to wear tonight." Quinn sighed and shrugged. "I'm good with whatever. Just get me whatever you get Rachel, but with chicken or something with it. I need the protein or I get crabby."

"She does," Rachel confirmed.

"Got it," Tina assured them both. She waved a hand at their shared dressing room and added, "Go. Change. We need to get your butts back to the hotel so you can rest up for tonight."

"Yes, ma'am," Quinn said, offering Tina a sloppy salute.

+++/+++\+++

A small smile tugged at Quinn's lips as she watched Rachel flop dramatically onto the king-sized bed in their suite. Tina and Jack had just left for a few hours, running over to the theatre to check with the event organizers about that night's protocol, leaving them blissfully, thankfully alone. She bit her lip as she ambled across the room toward the bed, her eyes drifting over Rachel's body. She climbed onto the bed slowly, enjoying the way Rachel smiled at the feeling of the mattress shifting beneath her, and leaned down to brush the softest of kisses across the curve of Rachel's shoulder.

"Mmm, that feels good," Rachel purred.

"Good." Quinn dragged the flat of her tongue over the spot she had just kissed, and chuckled at the way Rachel squirmed. "What?"

Rachel rolled onto her back and reached up to cradle Quinn's face in her hands. She smoothed her thumbs over Quinn's cheeks, and sighed as she stared into the hazel eyes she loved so much. Her heart swelled with affection as she watched Quinn's eyes soften as the blonde stared at her, and she shook her head as she pulled Quinn down to her. "Kiss me."

That was all the direction Quinn needed, and she wasted no time capturing Rachel's lips with her own. She lowered herself slowly, fitting her left leg between Rachel's, until she was lying fully against her. Quinn kissed Rachel like they had all the time in the world, sucking on Rachel's lower lip and holding it between her teeth, and lazily exploring the inside of Rachel's mouth with her tongue. She whimpered softly when Rachel's hands found their way to her breasts, and could not control the way her hips bucked ever so slightly when Rachel's thumbs stroked over her nipples.

Pleasure surged through Rachel as Quinn's thigh pressed into her. She moaned softly and spread her legs wider as she teased Quinn's nipples again, hoping to elicit the same reaction. She was not disappointed. "Yes, Quinn."

"Jesus, Rach." Quinn buried her face in the crook of Rachel's neck and nipped at the sensitive skin. A quiet shiver rolled down her spine at the feeling of Rachel rocking against her, and she groaned as she ground her hips down into the brunette. This was not how she had planned on spending their "rest time" before the event, Lord knows both of them could use a nap, but Quinn was gloriously lacking in self-control whenever she was with Rachel like this, and her left hand found its way beneath Rachel's shirt before she even knew what was happening.

The breathy sigh that escaped Rachel when Quinn's hand covered her breast made Quinn's breath hitch, and she smiled as she sat back on her heels and pulled Rachel up to her. "Get this off," she muttered as she tugged at the hem of Rachel's shirt, purposefully letting her fingertips drag heavily over Rachel's stomach as she lifted it up over the brunette's head. She licked her lips as she tossed the shirt aside, and grinned as she bent down to take Rachel's left nipple into her mouth. "I love when you don't wear a bra."

"I know." Rachel smiled and let her head fall back as she threaded her fingers into Quinn's hair and held the blonde in place. Her stomach flipped when Quinn's fingers began pulling the zipper on her skirt down. She lay back onto the bed and lifted her hips when Quinn's thumbs slipped beneath the waistband of her skirt and panties, wanting nothing more than for them to disappear. She loved how Quinn's mouth never once left her breasts as the blonde undressed her, strong hands sliding with an easy familiarity over her body, and Rachel let out a shuddering sigh when she was finally laid bare before her lover. Quinn's eyes had turned to the gray-green hue Rachel so adored, and she smiled as she waved a hand at her. "You have too many clothes on."

Quinn shook her head and smiled, her eyes caressing the beautiful woman spread before her. Rachel was a vision with her long legs, tan skin, full, perky breasts—not for the first time, she wondered how in the world she had ever gotten a second chance at this. "You're gorgeous."

"You're overdressed," Rachel reiterated with a smile. "I want to see you. I want to feel you against me."

Quinn finally lifted her eyes to Rachel's, and her heart stuttered at the love she saw shining up at her. "Rachel…"

Rachel reached for Quinn's shirt and began deftly undoing its buttons. "Must I undress you myself, Fabray?"

"I like when you do." Quinn smiled and leaned over Rachel, holding herself up on her hands and knees as she let Rachel undress her. She bent her elbows just enough to drop a soft kiss to Rachel's lips, and sighed when the last button was slipped free, letting her shirt billow loosely around her body. Rachel's hands were soft and insistent against her body as her shirt and bra were both quickly discarded, and she chuckled when Rachel's hands dropped to the button on her slacks.

"I told you that I want you naked," Rachel said, her tone serious and her expression amused as she flicked the button open. "Of course, if I had my way, you would never get dressed at all. Ever."

"That would certainly get people talking," Quinn quipped as she rocked from side to side to get the rest of her clothes down past her knees so Rachel could push them to her feet. She kicked them off the end of the bed without a thought, and hummed as she lay on top of Rachel. "Better?"

"Much." Rachel stroked Quinn's back with both hands as the blonde settled between her thighs. Her heart leapt into her throat when Quinn's lips landed on hers, the affection in the kiss conveying better than words ever could how much the blonde loved her.

"Good." Quinn used her chin to turn Rachel's head to the side and sucked Rachel's earlobe between her lips. She captured the lobe between her teeth and gave it a playful tug, and smiled when she followed it up by brushing a breathy kiss over Rachel's ear. "What do you want, baby?"

Rachel moaned softly and let her hands drop to the perfect globes of Quinn's ass. She squeezed, pulling Quinn into her, and her eyes rolled back in her head when Quinn's rubbed against her. "You."

Quinn rolled her hips into Rachel, grinding and spreading the brunette's arousal over her skin. "Like this? Or more?"

"I…" Rachel shook her head and forced herself to open her eyes and look at Quinn. She groaned when Quinn thrust into her again. "Quinn…"

"Hmm?"

"Kiss me."

That told Quinn all she needed to know, and she smiled as she reached down to lift Rachel's right leg up over her hip as she pressed into her again. She kissed Rachel with all the passion that burned inside her for the beautiful brunette. She rolled her hips back and forth in a slow, steady tempo, more than content to enjoy the feeling of closeness that surrounded them. "I will never get tired of this," she whispered softly against Rachel's lips as she let her right hand drift down the brunette's body to slip between them and push into slick, tight heat.

Rachel raked her nails up Quinn's back, leaving pink tracks on pale skin, when Quinn's finger's curled inside her, pressing perfectly against that hidden spit that never failed to make her see stars. "God…me too." She moaned and arched her chest up into Quinn. "Please, baby."

Quinn moved to straddle Rachel's thigh as she pulled her fingers slowly out to tease the tight ring of muscle at Rachel's entrance. She rubbed herself against Rachel's thigh as her fingers played between Rachel's legs

"God, you're so wet," Rachel murmured, letting her right hand fall to Quinn's hip. She held on, encouraging Quinn's movement as she bucked against Quinn's fingers, and she groaned when Quinn pushed back inside her.

Quinn brushed her lips over Rachel's throat and smiled. "Come with me?"

"You better fucking hurry," Rachel muttered as she captured Quinn's lips in a hard, desperate kiss.

Quinn moaned and dropped her forehead to the pillow beside Rachel's head. "Inside."

Rachel dropped her hand from Quinn's hip to between her legs. Quinn was so tight that she knew she was close, and she felt herself flood Quinn's hand when the blonde gasped against her ear. "Good?"

"Perfect." Quinn lifted her head to kiss Rachel again as they rocked together, hips rolling, forearms tensing, wrists curling, driving deep, pushing the other closer to euphoria with every thrust until time seemed to shudder and pause, hanging suspended in the warm, musky air around them as they froze as one, eyes closed, lips parted. Time started back up on their twin moans, sprinting forward with each pleasurable spasm that rolled through them.

+++/+++\+++

"Rachel! Quinn! Over here!"

The premier, as expected, was a madhouse. Press were lining the red carpet, and there were fans crowded behind the barricades, phones held above their heads, trying to get a picture of the couple as they made their way into the theatre.

"This is insane!" Rachel murmured under her breath as she pulled Quinn to a stop so that the photographer who had yelled for their attention could take their picture.

Quinn smiled at the camera. "Yup," she agreed after the flash fired. The photographer gave them a thumb's up, and Quinn nodded politely at him before she and Rachel turned and started for the theater's entrance again. They had been working the carpet for half an hour already, and she was eager to get inside and just relax for a minute.

It took them a few more minutes to finish making their way inside, and Quinn blew out a quiet breath once they were standing in the theater lobby. She turned to look at Rachel, who was practically glowing from all the attention they had just received, and chuckled. "You're beautiful."

Rachel bit her lip and smiled up at Quinn. "Thank you."

"Hey, hey, hey…enough of that!" a familiar voice interrupted. James Moore sauntered up to the women with his arms held out wide and a huge smile on his face.

"James," Quinn muttered, shaking her head as she hugged her old friend. "How's it going?"

"It's going," James said, letting go of Quinn and pulling Rachel into a quick hug as well. "Have a few things working. You still determined to stay in New York?"

Quinn looked at Rachel and nodded. "As long as she's there, yeah."

James shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled at his husband, Greg, who had just wandered over to where they were standing. "Quinn, you remember Greg?"

"Absolutely." Quinn smiled warmly and shook his hand. "I'm impressed you're still married to this guy," she teased, tilting her head at James.

"I know, right," Greg laughed, shaking his head. He turned to Rachel and gave her a small bow. "Ms. Berry, it is an honor to meet you."

Rachel smiled and reached out to shake his hand. "The pleasure is mine, I assure you."

Greg looked at James and bounced on his feet excitedly. James just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Rachel, can Greg take a picture with you? It's all he's been talking about all day. He's a bit of a Broadway whore."

"Hey!" Greg protested.

Quinn laughed and stepped over by James so that Greg could take her place at Rachel's side. She looked on with a smile as Rachel and Greg took a series of pictures, and she clapped her hands in amusement when, for the final one, Rachel stood on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to Greg's cheek. The smile on his face lit up the room, and Quinn made a show of pushing him out of the way as she swept Rachel into her arms. "Sorry, Greg-my-boy, she's mine."

"Yeah." Greg sighed dramatically. "It's a shame she's engaged to you and that I'm so totally gay."

"Your loss, my gain, brother," Quinn chuckled. The lights in the lobby flickered, and Quinn held her arm out gallantly for Rachel. "Ms. Berry, I believe our seats are ready."

"So…how's the wedding planning going?" James asked as they all filed into the theater.

"Haven't even started yet, to be honest," Quinn answered. "Between Rachel's show and my work with Mercy, never mind the press for Serendipity, there just hasn't been time."

"You can always elope. Do a quick weekend away somewhere if you don't want to hassle doing the whole big shindig," Greg offered helpfully. "That's what we did."

"That is an idea," Rachel said, nodding thoughtfully.

Quinn looked at her in total surprise. Eloping was something she had never considered being something Rachel would ever in a million years be on board with. "You're kidding."

"Well, maybe not eloping, per se," Rachel admitted with a smile. "I want my dads there, and I know you want Noah and Beth, but something small could work…"

"You're welcome," Greg mock-whispered, winking at Quinn.

James stopped at the end of the center row and held his hand out for Quinn and Rachel to go ahead of them. "Leave the poor girls alone, babe." He looked at Rachel and added as an aside, "He's a wedding planner."

"Oh really?" Rachel drawled smiling at Greg. "You wouldn't happen to have a card on you by any chance, would you?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and looked at James. "And we are both now completely irrelevant. You wanna sit by me."

"Hush, you," Rachel laughed, playfully elbowing Quinn in the ribs. She settled into her seat and patted the one next to her. "Sit."

"Yes, dear," Quinn deadpanned as she did as Rachel commanded. She shot James a glare when he made a whacha whipping noise as he sat beside her, and shook her head. "Like you're any better."

"Whipped does look good on you, Q," Greg chimed in.

Quinn groaned. "Thanks. When is this stupid moving going to start?"

James laughed and patted Quinn on the leg. "Right now." He got to his feet and called out loudly, "We will do a small panel after the movie, but for now, enjoy. Serendipity, starring Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry."