AN: Hello readers. We meet again.

This is a fill for the Finchel-prompt "Relax," in which Rachel gets a spa gift certificate and Finn winds up being her masseuse. (Although technically a masseuse is a woman so I refer to him as a "masseur," as you will see if you keep reading.)

I do not own Glee or West Side Story.

Hope you enjoy. This is going up unbetaed so feel free to point out typos or other errors that I will happily fix.

Rachel rode the elevator up to the 26th floor of the hotel and entered the spa through the pretty glass doors.

"Hello," she said as she approached the front desk. "I'm Rachel Berry, I have a 2:30 appointment for a massage."

The receptionist, a pretty blonde whose name tag read "Laura", welcomed her and asked her to have a seat in the waiting area. A few minutes later another young woman, "Samantha", appeared and led Rachel to a locker room, where she changed into a fluffy bathrobe and stowed her clothes and purse in a locker. After that she was shown to a lounge area with big cushy armchairs, a small indoor fountain, and gentle mood music playing in the background.

Rachel had never even considered a spa treatment until she picked a gift certificate from her cast's holiday grab bag. Massages were supposed to be relaxing, she realized, but she was used to keeping busy and her schedule didn't allow for 90 minutes of doing essentially nothing. Her gift-grab caused a bit of eye-rolling amongst her castmates, and she thought she heard their director mutter something about how much it'd take to get her unwound.

When told about the incident, her roommate Santana roommate grimaced slightly before diplomatically declaring that everyone can use a little unwinding now and then.

"Besides," Santana had smirked. "Maybe you'll get a cute masseur. You deserve some male attention, even if you have to pay for it."

Rachel had gasped at the innuendo and thrown a couch cushion at her.

"Ms. Berry?" A deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up to see that it belonged to a striking, tall, dark-haired man who appeared to be about her own age. He was dressed in a nicely-fitted polo shirt bearing the spa's logo, tucked into a pair of khakis with a brown belt.

"Yes, that's me!" she said brightly, trying to match his warm, inviting smile.

"I'm Finn, I'll be taking care of you today." He sat down in the chair opposite her and explained what the basic massage entailed. Then he asked if there were any particular areas of her body that she felt needed work, and offered to answer her questions. During their conversation his gaze was sincere and attentive, and Rachel felt herself pulled in by his caramel-colored eyes.

Once they finished talking she followed him down a long hallway. His height gave him something of a lumbering gait, but there was a certain playfulness to each step that made it more adorable than awkward.

Rachel wished she still had her phone so she could text Santana that she got a cute masseur.

Finn led her to a small dimly lit room, and folded back the white linens covering the large massage table. "I'll wait outside while you, um, get undressed and slip under here, and I'll knock when I'm going to come back in. Okay?" He rubbed the back of his neck shyly and glanced down at the floor as he spoke.

"Great," she said, blushing a little at the thought of her impending nudity.

Finn gently closed the door behind him and exhaled loudly. What was wrong with him? He'd been doing this for a sufficiently long time and was usually able to deal with attractive female clients without getting flustered. But this girl was... different. She was very pretty in an exotic way and had a certain friendly warmth that made him want to get to know her.

He knocked lightly on the door and opened it a crack.

"Ms. Berry? Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

After her reply he strode to his small supply table in the corner of the room, making sure that the appropriate oils and lotions were ready.

"And please," she added sweetly as he turned to her and stepped towards the table, "call me Rachel."

Her words made his heart thump in his chest, and he began working on her left shoulder. Her skin was soft - the softest he'd felt in a long time... and his entire job was to touch people.

'Come on, Hudson,' he thought to himself, 'stay professional.'

"So... Rachel," he said softly while he moved to her right shoulder. "What do you do?" He liked to initiate small talk with clients just to let them know he was there to listen.

"I'm actually a Broadway actress," she said somewhat shyly. "Right now I'm in the revival of West Side Story."

"Cool." He pressed on a particularly tough knot, mentally cursing himself for not knowing anythingabout theater. "Are you from New York originally?"

"I wish!" she exclaimed. "I came here for college. I'm originally from Columbus."

"No way! I'm from Lima, in western Ohio."

"Imagine that coincidence," she sighed under the pressure of his elbow on her shoulder blade.

Their conversation wound down as Rachel relaxed into the table amidst the ministrations of Finn's large hands. She wanted to continue talking to him, to discuss their common Ohio routes and ask how long he'd been in New York, but she was physically unable to speak while the feeling of comfort spread through her body.

All her worries seemed to melt away and her thoughts fell perfectly into place. Whatever embarrassment she experienced initially had been replaced by a calm sense of peace. It was like Finn was meant to be touching her. She hadn't realized just how tense she'd been until his soft fingertips soothing the anxiety away.

Maybe there was something to this massage thing after all.

Before she knew it their time was up.

"It was great meeting you, Rachel." Finn whispered. "I hope you enjoyed that."

After he excused himself she slipped out from under the blankets and put her robe back on. When she exited the small room she was surprised to see Samantha waiting for her instead of Finn.

"Finn had to go meet his next client so he asked me to walk you back to the locker room," she explained.

"Oh," Rachel replied, still blissfully relaxed.

She was going to need to see Finn again.

"Did my 2:30, uh, book another session before she left?" Finn asked as he approached the reception area later that evening. He tried to seem casual as he poured himself a cup of water from the cooler.

"Don't they always?" Laura said with a smirk. "She'll be back next Thursday. And she left you this," she added, handing him one of their small tip envelopes adorned in cute, loopy script.

Thanks Finn! See you next week!

-R
:-)

He tried his hardest not to blush as he walked away.

After a hectic 10 days of sold-out shows and a crazy New Year's Eve party, Rachel found herself back on Finn's massage table.

"Can I ask what brought you to New York?" she asked as he pressed firmly on her lower back.

"Of course." She could practically hear his charming smile as he answered. "After I finished school I got a job with the Rangers."

"The Rangers," Rachel repeated. "They play… football?"

"Hockey. Here in midtown," he explained.

She cringed. Of course the team played right under her nose and she had no idea. It's a wonder straight men could even stand her and her complete ignorance of sports. "How long did you work for them?"

"Around four years, until last May. Between training camp, preseason, and playoffs the NHL season lasts about 8 or 9 months of the year, and obviously it's a lot of travel. So when I met someone and it got serious, she made it clear that she didn't want me away so much. But after I started working here and was around all the time, I realized that the relationship wasn't actually, like, good." She could feel his hands tighten a little as he spoke. "This job is great, though, and a nice change of pace from the pro sports setting. So something positive came out of the whole thing." He paused. "Sorry, that was probably way more detail than you were expecting."

"No!" she practically shouted (although thankfully it was muffled by the table). "I mean... it's totally fine. I'm certainly glad you're here now instead of off with the sweaty hockey players."

He laughed heartily at her comment.

She definitely liked this guy.

"How's your show going?" he asked after a moment.

"Oh, it's more stressful than I ever imagined. I've been in the ensemble of Broadway productions before but this is my first supporting role. There's just so much pressure and scrutiny – more so even than the lead role in an off-Broadway or touring production."

"Ah, that's tough. But I'm sure you can handle it. You had to work really hard to get to where you are now, right?"

"You could say that," she conceded as he tenderly kneaded the backs of her calves. "I just wish the environment was more cooperative and less adversarial…"

Finn listened to Rachel's tale of clashing with cut-throat co-stars and insensitive casting agents and overbearing directors. Even as she spoke of the trials and tribulations of her career she did so with a positive and spunky energy. He marveled at how someone so small could have that much energy and enthusiasm.

"… and I realize that I can be just as competitive as the next gal, but it's all in the spirit of wanting to put on a great performance every night," she went on. "Other people are just vicious and lately it feels like they're trying to sabotage me for some reason."

"Well, I for one can't imagine anyone not liking you."

He froze for a split-second, worrying that the statement was too forward.

But he felt Rachel's pulse increase, and his face grew hot at the evidence of mutual attraction between them.

"Thanks, Finn. I appreciate that."

Her sincere reply only made his blush more intense, and he thanked Grilled Cheesus that she was on her stomach and couldn't see his face.

"Rachel, right? I didn't realize you had an appointment today," Laura clicked her mouse and focusing intently at her computer screen.

"Uh, I don't, actually." She half-smiled awkwardly as she stood in the spa reception area on Monday. "But my plans for this evening fell through, and I've already been having a crazy week, so I was hoping Finn was available."

"Let me see..." She perused the screen momentarily. "You're in luck, it looks like he can see you in about 20 minutes. Have a seat for just a second and we'll get you right in."

After a few minutes Samantha appeared. "Can you run and tell Finn that he has a walk-in for a 4:30?" Laura asked when she passed by, throwing a glance in Rachel's direction, after which Samantha raised her eyebrows.

Rachel pretended not to notice the exchange, willing her giddy insides to quiet down.

"Finn? Finn!"

He was so involved in his workout and the music blaring from his headphones that he barely heard Sam until she was practically flailing in front of him.

"Oh, hey, what's up?" he asked, turning down his iPod and wiping the sweat off of his neck with a towel.

"You have a walk-in for a 4:30."

His brow wrinkled in thought and he couldn't hold back the hopeful half-grin. Could it be?

"You stand a better chance if you take a shower," Sam called over her shoulder as she left the small gym.

"Rachel?" she heard Finn's voice as he entered the room, where she was already set up on the massage table.

"Hi." She leaned up on her forearms and smiled as they greeted each other. His hair was more tousled than usual and appeared to be wet from a shower.

"Sorry you had to wait, I was in the gym when you got here," he explained as he quickly remedied his materials.

"Oh! I apologize for taking you away from that."

"No apology necessary."

He grinned at her and she melted inside before settling back down onto the table.

As usual he began the massage with her left shoulder. "Any particular reason you're back so soon?"

"Ooh, it's my technical director," she groaned. "He says I've been taking too many risks and my 'edgy' portrayal of Anita is fouling up the dynamic of the show. But I need to take those risks to make a name for myself and get another role. Our run is closing in just a few weeks and going out with a bit of a bang will help me get auditions. I obviously don't want to go overboard and ruin the show, but he's too sensitive about everything so I'm not sure if I should take his criticism to heart."

Finn was silent, simply kneading the skin on her back until she relaxed under his touch.

"Anyway, the fact that this could impact my subsequent career path is just stressing me out." She hoped it all passed for a good enough excuse to randomly drop in on him like this.

"That's understandable," he empathized, sliding his strong hands down her left arm.

"But speaking of career paths," she continued with a little giggle, eager to change the subject, "I've been wanting to ask you…"

"How does a kid from Lima wind up becoming a masseur?" he finished her thought in a playful tone.

"You can't blame me for being curious," she teased him.

"That's fair," he chuckled before sighing slightly. "It was my high school girlfriend's idea, although I'm pretty sure she meant it as a joke. She apparently had a whole future planned out for us – she'd become a real estate agent, I'd work in my stepdad's tire shop and eventually take over."

"Did you want to do that?" She didn't exactly mind the image of a greasy Finn dressed in garage coveralls that crept into her head.

"I worked in the shop a little bit back then, but I never considered it as a long-term thing. The problem was that I'd never really thought about my future at all. When Quinn and I were seniors and needed to seriously think about our plans we had a big fight, which mainly consisted of her screaming at me for not taking life seriously. Then as a way of apologizing she made a list of other possible careers for me. Aside from this, there was police officer, firefighter, mailman, short-order cook..."

"And 'masseur' was the one you decided to pursue?" She didn't mean to laugh at him but it sounded so random.

"Well at first 'masseur' grabbed my attention because I had no idea what the hell it meant." They both laughed. "But once she explained it to me I did some research and thought about it, and it seemed worth a shot."

"And she was supportive?"

"At first, yeah. I went to school in Akron and she went to OSU. I'd love to say it was the distance that made things tough, but mostly I think she didn't like the idea of me having my own existence and future possibilities. When I went away I realized that she had been trying to force me into her cookie-cutter life agenda and never let me think for myself at all. Once I learned about all the things I could do with my degree, I felt like I could make something of myself and be successful, you know? Meanwhile she wasn't even excited at all, and she told me to be more realistic and not get my hopes up. I confronted her about her discouraging attitude and she said that if I thought I could get out of Ohio and do better I shouldn't let her stop me. She probably thought I was bluffing, but I finally felt good enough to stand up for myself. So that was that."

Rachel had no idea what to say in response to Finn's story, which was both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time.

"You probably think I'm so lame, letting women push me around and influence these big decisions," he said softly with a hint of shame in his voice.

"Not at all," she insisted right away. "I think you're very caring and sweet and eager to make those around you happy. Even if you've been a little naive in doing so."

"That's putting it mildly," he chided.

After that he had her turn onto her back for the remainder of the massage, during which they chatted about their respective roommates and experiences as Ohio kids in the big city. As always, their time together flew by.

"I had a really nice time today," she said, immediately tensing as she realized that her statement was something one says after a date. They had spent literally the entire session talking about fairly personal matters, but still...

"Would you like to go out sometime?" Finn blurted out the question before she could ponder the predicament any further.

She sat up on her elbows a little bit. He looked adorably sheepish in the wake of his question, waiting for the answer that he likely already knew was coming.

"I'd love to."

Reviews are love!

I can be persuaded to continue this if people want to see further adventures of masseur!Finn and Broadway!Rachel. In this chapter I really wanted to focus on conveying the developing feelings between them and I'm afraid that I totally missed the mark. But if I didn't convey anything at all then maybe I should just leave them alone.