A/N: I of course do not own Glee.

Quinn's Mistletoe

Quinn silently curses Mr. Schuester as she's immersed in the mall mob of Christmas shoppers. She considers if she should also be cursing the fickle hand of fate, when she drew Rachel Berry's name from Mr. Schue's top hat for the Secret Santa gift exchange during their last glee club meeting.

It's not that she has anything against buying Rachel a gift. It's just that she's unsure of what to get her. She could go for something obvious - like a sweater with some sort of tacky depiction of an animal on it, or anything with the horrendous argyle design she seems so attached to. Although Quinn has noticed that Rachel's fashion sense seems to have improved somewhat over time. At least it's less distasteful, so she doesn't want to get something Rachel has finally outgrown. To make things even more challenging is the spending cap of $20 set by Mr. Schue. Quinn was not in the habit of buying anything cheap. The spending limit only makes getting anything wearable even more taxing. Another obvious gifting choice would be something musically related. She considers CD's, sheet music or a musical DVD, but that would entail knowing what Rachel already owns.

She almost decides to take the easy out and just buy her a gift card. But she figures that Rachel would see this as a thoughtless, perhaps indolent gesture. And for some reason she just doesn't want Rachel to see her that way. She tries not to analyze the how, when or why her feelings towards Rachel have altered so drastically from her head Cheerio days, but tries to focus at the task at hand as she tries to avoid being plowed over by the hoard of Christmas shoppers intent on finding the best deals before they're all gone.

Quinn now thinks that she probably should have developed some sort of idea before she arrived at the mall. The hustle and bustle of the shopping crowd combined with all the loud sights and sounds of Christmas everywhere she turns only seem to distract her ability to come to a decision.

When she realizes she's already circled the mall several times she stops and sighs.

Okay, just let me grab a coffee and try to find someplace to sit. I just need to take a moment to collect my thoughts and then I'll go get something.

As she makes her way to the food court she passes a small choir of children that seem to range from kindergarten to second grade performing Christmas carols. The irony isn't lost on her as she hears a few of the younger ones shrieking out the lyrics of Silent Night. She picks up the pace wanting that steaming cup of cappuccino more than ever, and away from the growing crowd consisting mostly of parents with silly grins on their faces as they gather to watch the show.

She finally finds the Starbucks and after collecting her drink settles down on one of the empty booths. She lets out a sigh of content as she takes her first sip and licks the foam from her upper lip. The warmth of the drink soothes her and she leans back on the padded back rest of the booth and closes her eyes momentarily to enjoy the sensation of just sitting and holding the warm cup in her hands.

She hears the sound of someone plopping down something large and heavy nearby. Her hazel eyes flutter open and she's startled to find a fat man with rosy cheeks and a long white beard sitting in front of her. He is wearing a red suit with white fur trim and stocking cap and smiles warmly at her.

She blinks in surprise as she takes in her new companion. She glances around and sees that there are several unoccupied tables and plenty of other places for him to take his coffee break and feels a little irked at this intrusion. She just wants to enjoy her coffee in peace and the mall Santa takes it upon himself to sit at her booth? So why is he here at her table? This… uninvited Santa. Without even bothering to ask for permission? Aren't they supposed to have some fucking manners?

"I hope you don't mind, but I thought I would join you while I take a moment to enjoy my cocoa." His voice is deep and melodious, with the same kind and gentle tone you expect he uses with all the wide eyed kids that sat on his lap, mouthing off their wish list while he pretends to listen.

He lifts his cup as he carefully blows off the steaming heat of his drink.

Well what could she say? Fuck off Santa, I just wanted to sit here by myself and drink my cappuccino in peace before I have to jump back into Christmas shopping bedlam?

While she could easily imagine Santana skipping the niceties and hastily telling this presumptuous Santa to go park his fat ass elsewhere, it just isn't something she could bring herself to do. For the better part of her upbringing, she was raised to be polite. Especially when it was advantageous to do so. And while she was no longer a child who still believed in Santa, it just didn't seem right to be rude to the ol' fat guy.

"Um, it's okay…I don't mind." Quinn glances sideways as she takes a leisurely sip of her cappuccino.

His smile widens as if pleased by her response.

"So are you ready for Christmas young lady?"

She couldn't help the snorting sound from escaping. Really, couldn't he just drink his damn cocoa and sit here quietly and allow her to peacefully finish her cappuccino? She came to the mall to buy a gift because it was Mr. Schue's stupid idea for glee club to do the secret Santa thing. She didn't want to be here. She certainly wasn't here to engage in conversation with a grown man in costume pretending to be this childish fantasy character. That kind of guy must really be hard up for a paycheck to allow a stream of smelly kids to sit on his lap for hours at a time. In other words - just another Lima Loser.

"I take it you're not exactly into the holiday spirit", he quietly remarks when he takes in Quinn's unimpressed demeanor.

"If by "holiday spirit" you mean going to the mall, spending money to buy things for people because it's expected of you, then no I guess not", she quips back with a wry smile.

Santa looks at her with a soft, sad frown beneath the white beard. "It's easy for people to see only the material aspect of the season, especially in a setting such as this. But that isn't what I meant by holiday spirit."

"Yeah…well I should get going." She really wasn't in the mood to be lectured to by Santa. Now all she wants to do is finish her cappuccino and get away from the shaggy man in red. She just had to find something reasonable to give to Rachel, leave the mall and finally go home. She moves towards her bag when she sees Santa lean ever so slightly towards her.

"Well before you go, can I give you something?"

Quinn hesitates and looks at him warily. Please don't say or do something lewd or inappropriate.

The grip on her coffee cup tenses, she's hoping not to have cause to throw it in Santa's face before storming off to find the nearest mall cop to report Santa for being some kind of deviant and shouting out warnings to all the parents to keep their kids the hell away from him.

As soon as the thought occurs she feels a tinge of remorse for having such thoughts. He hasn't really done anything yet to earn any suspicion. But if there's one thing she's learned from her life, it was that people weren't always what they seem.

"What is it?" Her intent was cautious, but her voice sounds a little more like cold and distrusting.

Santa reaches into one of his pockets and for a moment Quinn thinks he's about to hand her a candy cane. She would humor him and take it with a quick smile and thanks before she'd make her escape. Then she'll just toss it in the next bin she passes as she's never cared much for candy canes.

Quinn arches a perfectly sculpted eyebrow when she sees what it is. Between his thumb and forefinger he gingerly held up a small twig that sprouted a few small red and white berries which contrasted beautifully with bright long green leaves.

"You know what this is?" He asks while slowly bringing it towards her.

She pauses and looks at his large bearded face and tries to read his intentions. The longer she looks into his soft baby blue eyes, the more he only evokes a sense of benevolence and sincerity. The tension in her shoulders starts to ease somewhat and she lets herself feel a little less guarded. Maybe he was a bit strange, but he seems harmless enough, so she slowly reaches towards the small offering and accepts his gift.

"It's mistletoe. You're not going to ask me to kiss you are you?" She asks in a gentle teasing tone, hoping that her instincts were right about him. She really doesn't want to cause a scene in a mall full of children who still believed in the sanctity of Santa.

He lets out a jovial chuckle and shakes his head, Quinn's eyes are automatically drawn to the white fluffy ball as it bounces at the end of his stocking cap.

"Not just any mistletoe. It's magical mistletoe. Carry it with you for the next week wherever you go and it will bring you your one true love. They will only have to kiss you for you to know. But its power only lasts until Christmas."

Quinn resists the urge to roll her eyes. She's amused by his words and finds the notion kind of silly, but thanks him politely as she puts it in her pocket and gets up to leave.

"You're quite welcome, and I hope you have a very merry Christmas Quinn." He smiles brightly at her before he goes back to drinking his cocoa.

She's startled and almost turns back to ask him how he knew her name. But Lima is a small enough town, and it's not too surprising that he may have recognized the former captain of the nationally ranked cheer leading team, right? She quickly heads towards the main mall in order to get the shopping out of the way.

For the next few days she has the mistletoe with her, either in her purse, backpack or in a pocket wherever she goes. She didn't really believe in the Santa man's words, but what could it hurt?

Glee had their final meeting before the holiday break where they exchanged their gifts and took turns at singing their own personal favorite Christmas songs. Quinn smiles shyly as she watches Rachel opens her present, and feels a sense of deep satisfaction when Rachel seems genuinely surprised and happy with her gift. So what if it was over the spending limit Mr. Schue assigned, she doesn't care about the pointed look he gives her, and she found something she was satisfied was a good enough gift that was neither understated nor overstated. When Rachel surprises her and envelopes her in a hug Quinn feels warm and happy. The moment ends too soon and Quinn realizes that it is nothing more than a gesture of gratitude. Still, the sensation of Rachel's slender arms wrapping around her neck, drawing them closer than they've ever been lingers for a while longer.

Tina is her secret Santa and gives her a pretty gift basket, with festively shaped soaps, bath oils and salts. It was a nice final get together for all glee members before they leave school and go their own way to begin the holidays.

There is a party planned for two days before Christmas at Brittany's house. All of the glee members who are still in town were going to be there. Quinn put on one her favorite dresses for the occasion; it is deep forest green in color and the silk taffeta felt perfectly sculpted to her body and ends just above her knees. It is just the right balance of sexy and classy. Though she puts in her usual effort to look her best she isn't planning on staying for very long. She's only making herself go since she doesn't want to disappoint Brittany. Besides she really doesn't have anything else to do that night.

Quinn waits to arrive until she figures everyone would have had enough alcohol to not really even notice when she leaves. Figuring that most of them would all be too busy with their girlfriends or boyfriends to pay her much mind anyway. It still feels strange to her to be attending any gathering without some boy or other on her arm, or at least one around trying to pursue her. She didn't really mind though since they usually irritated her to some degree or other, and she often found herself pretending to enjoy being in their company. Having a boyfriend at least meant she didn't have to look out of place where most everybody was either coupled up. But it also meant that she could come and go as she pleased without having to consider what the boy wanted. Being single also had the added bonus of never having to keep coming up with excuses for not spending as much time with them as they wanted, or having to pretend to be interested in all their boring chatter about sports and the latest video games.

"QUINN! Quinn is here!" Quinn turns from Brittany who greets her at the door to where the loud familiar voice comes from. Immediately recognizing Rachel's voice before her eyes lands on the petite singer, and wonders if she imagines hearing the slight drunken undertone behind the high pitched squeal. She is nearly knocked over when Rachel rushes at her, enveloping her in a fierce hug against her smaller frame.

"Looks like someone has gotten into the Christmas spirits already." Quinn smiles and her heart beat rapidly picks up pace at the sensation of girlish giggles tickling across her shoulder. Rachel seems intent on merging their bodies as she tightens her hold on Quinn.

Quinn gently pulls herself back to take a closer look at the brunette. Chocolate brown finds hazel and their gaze lasts longer than is even customary for them. Rachel's smile beams brighter than usual.

"I'm so happy you're finally here Quinn. As you can now see how fashionably well I look in the elegant red silk blouse you gave me." Her smile becomes slightly shy as she sways back a step to give her a better view. Rachel is wearing one of her usual very short skirts, a red and green plaid one that goes perfectly with her new blouse and she looks exceptionally good in her new ensemble.

"You certainly wear it very well." Quinn's voice lowers into a slightly husky tone as her eyes slowly drifts down Rachel's form and rise back up to brown eyes that shine in delight at the compliment.

Why have I not complimented her more instead of insulting her? It makes me feel strangely happy to make her so happy…and feels so much better than…

Brittany interrupts her internal musings when she asks if Quinn wants anything to drink. She was about to ask for a wine cooler when she spots Puck across the room sitting on one of the couches grinning and waving at her, then asks for a club soda instead.

She starts to take off her overcoat and was taken by surprise to find Rachel helping her to get her arms out and gracefully folding it across her arm.

"Here, I'll just put these with the others". She smiles shyly at Quinn's amused smirk and quickly heads upstairs, presumably to drop the coat off where they were being kept.

"You sure you don't want something else to go with your soda Quinn? This drink seems kind of lonely without adding gin or something else with it." Brittany asks as she offers her the club soda.

"Yeah I'm sure, thanks Brit. I really shouldn't drink any alcohol since I'll be driving home later."

"Well you know, you're always welcome to stay here tonight. You should you know, relax and have fun! It's Christmas!" Brittany exclaims excitedly. It's always been her favorite time of the year.

Of course Santana made her usual appearance, always close to Brittany's side.

"Yeah Q, come on it's a party after all. Don't be such a fucking nun, let your hair down and let me make you a real drink."

"Thanks, but I'm fine with the soda for now." Quinn glances around to see who else was here. Seems everybody but Kurt, Blain and Finn had arrived. They were all talking animatedly, laughing and fully engaged with one another.

"I thought nuns weren't allowed to fuck. Isn't it like against their religion or something?" Brittany asks looking somewhat confused.

Santana laughs loudly at this. "Yeah B, you may be right about that." She kisses her cheek and pulls her away. "Come on, dance with me."

They leave Quinn standing there holding her club soda. She makes her way to a few of the others and sits next to Tina and Mercedes who were cackling with inebriated glee. Puck looks to be gloating and immensely gratified in having such a responsive audience for his usually lame jokes.

"Hey Quinn, did you catch that last one?"

"Uh no, I just sat down."

"Do you know why Santa doesn't have any kids of his own?"

"No."

"Cause, he only comes once a year!"

"Mmm…okay…"

Tina and Mercedes start laughing again vigorously as if they hadn't just heard the same joke less than a minute ago.

Puck continues to roll off a series of similarly lame dirty jokes as Quinn becomes bored and looks around the room. She notices that Rachel never reappeared after disappearing with her coat. Did she get lost or something?

After a time she needs to find the bathroom as she considers finding her coat and taking an early exit. She climbs the stairs and before she can open the bathroom door it opens and Rachel nearly stumbles into her.

Quinn gently grabs her arms to steady her. "Rachel, are you okay?"

Rachel nods, smiling softly at the concern in Quinn's voice. "Yes Quinn. I feel much better after getting all that out of my system."

"What…you mean you threw up?"

"I was suddenly hit by the nauseous urge to vomit out all that I've consumed since arriving here, and it's probably a good thing too. I think I may have just saved my own life by expelling whatever poisonous concoction that was in that drink that Santana gave me. You know I always knew she didn't care much for me, but until now I never thought she would intentionally try to kill me. I just hope that I got enough of it out of my system so no irreparable damage has been done to my internal organs."

Quinn is torn between concern and amusement. Leave it to Rachel to be so charmingly loquacious right after puking.

"Yeah, it's always a bit of a risk to take whatever Santana mixes up for you."

"So I've just learned the hard way. After splashing cold water on my face and rinsing my mouth out with some mouthwash I feel much better now. There's nothing worse than puke breath at a party." Rachel's face scrunches up in a look of disgust which Quinn finds strangely adorable under the circumstances.

"Well maybe you should lie down for a while. I just need to use the bathroom then I think I'll be leaving."

A look of disappointment flashes across the brunette's face and she looks like she's about to question her, but Quinn tries to ignore it and pushes herself to move into the bathroom and closes the door.

When she finishes and walks out of the bathroom she is somewhat surprised to find Rachel standing there, leaning against the wall in the hallway.

She looks up when she notices Quinn looking at her.

"I thought I'd show you where I put your coat. Though I had hoped you'd stay a while, I mean you just got here."

"Actually I got here nearly an hour ago and I told myself I wouldn't be staying longer than that before I came over."

"Oh…I see." Rachel glances down then moves off the wall and walks past Quinn down the hallway where the bedrooms were.

"Well your coat is here on the bed", she walks into one of the bedrooms where Quinn follows behind her.

"So Finn didn't come with you?" Quinn asks after a moment, noticing how unusually quiet Rachel now seems as she sits on the bed next to the pile of coats and jackets.

"No…Finn and Kurt are with their families visiting some relatives in Cleveland tonight", Rachel somberly replies as Quinn sits down next to her on the crowded looking bed. She looks down at her hands as if avoiding making eye contact with Quinn.

Quinn senses something more is behind Rachel's response, but doesn't pursue any further. Their relationship was their business after all.

She simply nods. "Yeah, I forgot Kurt did mention something about them going out of town for part of the holiday."

They sit in silence and after a minute or so Quinn decides she may as well call it a night. She reaches for her coat absentmindedly lifting it by the bottom hem. Something falls out of her pocket and bounces down onto the carpet landing in front of them.

"What's that?" Rachel asks looking at it in curiousity.

Quinn's face reddens when she realizes what has just fallen out of her coat pocket and the ill timing of it dropping right in front of Rachel. She bends down to retrieve it off the floor, but Rachel quickly plucks it up before she's was able to reach it.

"It's mistletoe isn't it?" Rachel looks at it grinning.

"Um…Yeah someone gave that to me."

"Ohh…someone huh? Like an admirer? An admirer, who was maybe hoping to get a kiss from you underneath it?"

"No nothing like that. The S-Santa at the mall gave it to me while I was there. For good luck he said." Quinn hoped she didn't sound as silly as she thought she did.

"Hm…I won't ask what Santa Claus was doing giving you mistletoe, though it sounds like an interesting story." She looked fascinated by it, and truly it was a remarkable looking mistletoe. It still looked fresh and not like the kind you usually see stuffed inside small plastic bags sold at the gift shops. She smiled as she seemed to be contemplating something as she started to twirl the twig between her fingers.

"It's not an interesting story really. It's just another Christmas gizmo." Quinn flatly states.

Rachel gave a throaty laugh and Quinn was perplexed at the sensation of butterflies dancing in her stomach at the sound.

"Christmas Gizmo? Quinn…you are so cute."

Quinn feels her face start to flush. She would have thought Rachel was making fun of her, but Rachel's expression is completely sincere as she looks at her with an endearing smile. Quinn doesn't really know what to say.

Rachel began to speak. "Did you know that the mistletoe has a fascinating history and array of symbolism, which vary depending on the time period and culture? Over two thousand years ago the Druids and Romans both regarded it as a sacred plant which possessed magical healing powers. It became associated with Christmas a couple hundred years ago in Britain…and I think it was through the Vikings that it became a symbol of love."

"Hmm yeah… that's fascinating." Quinn couldn't think of what else to say. Throughout Rachel's recounting all the mistletoe trivia (how'd she know so much about it anyway?), she became mesmerized by her face and her attention was particularly drawn to Rachel's lips as they moved and how full and beautiful they seemed.

"It is fascinating. And of course in America we've developed our own special folklore about mistletoe." Rachel took a moment to pause as she seemed to be studying Quinn's face for effect.

This felt like a cue to Quinn of some sort. She might as well give Rachel her opening. "And what is this American folklore?"

"Well much like the early Scandinavians, a lot of the folklore has some rather romantic myths and traditions - such as kissing under the mistletoe. It is said that an unmarried girl who is standing under the mistletoe will die an old maid if she isn't kissed."

"Well good thing we're not standing underneath it." Quinn smirked as she looked at Rachel.

"It may not just be the position the girl is in with regards to the mistletoe. I think it's the fact that you're anywhere nearby it", Rachel quickly amends.

Quinn tilts her head slightly as she regards Rachel who seems to be telling her something more than just silly mistletoe stories.

"Rachel…are you making this stuff up as you go?"

"What? No of course not. You may google it if you don't believe me."

"I didn't say I didn't believe you Rach…" Quinn smiles softly as their eyes hold contact and she finds it more fascinating than mistletoe that Rachel seems to be blushing. Something here was happening, but she couldn't be sure exactly what it was. It made her feel nervous, but not in a bad way. It was a little scary, exhilarating feeling. As though they were on the precipice of something that felt like…she didn't know what, but it felt like something had shifted between them. The way they were now interacting felt very different somehow.

"So have you made good use of your mistletoe?" Rachel quietly asks.

Quinn was now seriously beginning to wonder where Rachel was going with all of this. From her experience with the little diva, she knew the girl usually used questions as a hook of some sort.

Her throat feels dry as she opens her mouth to speak. She tries to clear her throat before she can manage to say anything. "Other than just carrying it around… uh no…not really."

"Oh…shame to waste such perfectly good mistletoe."

Was she about to step off the precipice? It definitely felt like it when Quinn decided to go ahead and just ask. "So what do you suggest I should do?"

Rachel's lower lip seemed to quiver a bit in response to her question. Perhaps in response to the low sultry sound of Quinn's voice… or maybe it was the influence of engorged pupils within hazel eyes that seemed to affect Rachel so.

Rachel's gaze flitted down to Quinn's lips. Quinn saw this as a sign and her body seemed to instinctively lean closer to her. Rachel was never one to miss a cue so she mimicked the movement and drew herself even closer. Their lips gradually met with one another and they both closed their eyes. The sensation of soft against soft was mesmerizing for them both. They tentatively began applying more pressure until their lips glided together in a slow sensual movement. Quinn felt Rachel's fingers threading through her hair and a moan sounding deep within her throat. This triggered a similar response in Rachel and she felt confident enough to slide her tongue against her lips, teasing the crease of her lips as if seeking entrance. Quinn lost herself in sensation and relaxed her mouth enough to part her lips and felt a spark ignite within when she felt Rachel's tongue slowly slip inside. Something that sounded very much like a groan escaped from Quinn and she brushed her own tongue against Rachel's, and before she realized what she was doing she found her own hands fisting through Rachel's long flowing chestnut hair, merging their mouths closer together. Loving the moan of response from Rachel, Quinn dived deeper into the brunette's mouth with her own tongue. The kissing quickly became more heated and only the overwhelming need for air separated them as their lips relented and pulled apart. Arms were still wrapped around each other as they stayed connected with foreheads touching and heavy breaths merging.

Quinn gradually opened her eyes and met with Rachel's darkening orbs. They were the most expressive eyes she's ever seen. She was sure her own reflected the same mixture of surprise, lust and longing she saw in them.

"He was right", Quinn breathes out.

"Who? Right about what?" Rachel softly asks.

"Santa… magical mistletoe…true love's kiss…" the blonde murmurs gently.

Rachel would have to get the fuller version of Quinn's remark at another time; the emotion in Quinn's voice was enough for her to have sufficient understanding. She fully intended on filling in the blanks later.

After a lot more of kissing Quinn Fabray.