a/n: Hey guys, sorry for the delay! I've been buried under school and reading and people and life and just gah. Anyway, here's chapter 10. I would honestly consider this more of a filler and it could even be a Part 1 out of 2 thing, but I guess it does really sit by itself. blahblahblah enjoy!
CHAPTER 10: OF TALKS AND KISSES
"We really should be heading back to-" Rachel's words stuck in her throat as Quinn's mouth latched on the spot just beneath her jaw. She squirmed, trying not to breathe too heavily. Her voice sounded foreign and her throat felt too dry.
Quinn hummed and Rachel felt the barest hint of tongue pressing against her skin. She inhaled sharply, then gently nudged Quinn backwards so she could tug her back down for a forceful kiss. Quinn's surprised squeak echoed around them. Rachel slipped her hands underneath Quinn's cardigan, wanting to feel more of the warmth emanating from Quinn's body. A shiver ran down her back when Quinn tilted her head in order to meld their lips further together.
"I could do this forever," Quinn breathed, when Rachel pulled back to take a breath.
"People could walk in," Rachel murmured, pecking Quinn on the nose, then her lips once more. "We should probably go back to one of our rooms."
"Should we?" Quinn asked, her lips twitching into smile.
"Not-" Rachel coughed, embarrassed. "Not for that. Just so we can be alone for a little while." Quinn continued to smile. "Oh my goodness - No - just to talk!"
Quinn laughed, tugging Rachel away from the piano. "I know, I know."
They walked towards the stage door in silence until Quinn nervously cleared her throat and nudged Rachel's hand with her own. "Can I-" she blushed, looking down between them. Rachel tilted her head curiously. "Can I hold your hand?" Quinn managed to ask quietly and nervously.
Rachel wanted to giggle and clap her hands like a little girl, but she merely took the initiative and intertwined their fingers. She leaned up to kiss Quinn on the cheek. "You're free to do that-" Rachel squeezed Quinn's arm with her free hand and grinned at her "-and other things, whenever you want."
"Are you - Are you alright with people finding out? I mean, what does this-" Quinn looked back down at their linked hands as if she were unsure of what exactly had happened. "What does this mean for us?"
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brow as she and Quinn strolled down the hallway.
Quinn looked embarrassed and tried to slip her hand away, but Rachel held fast, staring at her pointedly. "Well," Quinn began, looking at Rachel with a strangely endearing mixture of nervousness and adoration. "I just...we're together, right? Like, together - together," she clarified, feeling a blush taint her cheeks.
"I don't know, Quinn. I mean, we did just go out on one date," Rachel said, loosening her grip slightly.
Quinn looked horrified. "Oh my God -"
Rachel giggled and stopped them right in the middle of the hallway. She slipped a hand around Quinn's neck and pulled her down for what she intended to be a light peck on the lips.
Quinn pouted unhappily when Rachel forced herself to pull away. "Again," she requested, then smiled against Rachel's lips when she complied.
The sound of a door clicking shut somewhere snapped them out of their haze and they jumped apart. Quinn touched her own lips tentatively, losing herself in her thoughts for a moment. Her lips tingled pleasantly and she offered a shy smile at Rachel, who couldn't stop her own grin from forming and giggled. She leaned into Quinn and pressed her face against the other girl's neck and shoulder, still shaking slightly.
"I'm not sure why you're laughing," Quinn commented, wrapping her arms around Rachel and pulling her into a tight hug. She exhaled happily, unable to completely reign in how overwhelmed and content she was.
"I'm just really happy," Rachel mumbled, leaning up to kiss the corner of Quinn's mouth sloppily. They both giggled before Rachel reached up impatiently and pulled Quinn's face towards her own in order to kiss her properly.
"Me too," Quinn murmured when they pulled apart (reluctantly). "We're not going too, um fast or anything, are we?"
Rachel frowned, chewing on her lower lip for a second. "No, I don't think so," she said slowly. "I honestly do not feel a need to go slower, if that makes sense." She looped her arms around Quinn's back and pulled her closer again. "I like being close to you," she admitted. "It's rather comforting."
Quinn looked mildly dazed. "Me too," she managed to say slowly. "I, uh-" Rachel smiled innocently up at her while her hands traced tantalizing patterns on her lower back. "Room-? Talk?"
"That's a good idea," Rachel said lightly. She tugged Quinn's hand and they remained firmly clasped together until they reached Quinn's room. Quinn attempted to get her key out of her pocket with one hand, but blushed when she had to let go of Rachel's hand to dig into her bag. She hurriedly pushed the key in and unlocked the door. She allowed Rachel to enter first, then shut the door behind them.
"Sit?" Quinn requested, putting her hand on Rachel's back. Rachel complied, then decided to stretch out contentedly across Quinn's bed. She smiled, patting the space next to her.
"Lie down?" she requested, pulling on Quinn's hand.
"As if I'd say no to that." Quinn slid onto the bed, facing Rachel. "Hi," she said quietly.
Rachel giggled. "Hi." She kissed Quinn lightly, humming in contentment. Quinn's hands moved tentatively to her hips. "I think we should tell them," Rachel murmured, pulling back.
Quinn frowned unhappily at her. "Do you want to tell them? Because I don't want to be on the receiving end of one of Finn's tantrums."
"I'll tell them," Rachel said authoritatively. She softened, running a hand down Quinn's cheek before moving it around to tangle her fingers in her hair. "Are you sure you're alright with this? I don't want to basically force you out of the closet before you're ready. I know I'm fine, but let's ensure that we're both ready for this."
Quinn exhaled noisily and thought carefully. "Well, I mean Santana - and in turn, Brittany - pretty much know everything. Sam figured it out, Mercedes knows." She squeezed Rachel's waist. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you never really gave any indication that you were...um, that you liked me."
Rachel frowned slightly at Quinn's sudden insecurity. She pushed forward and captured Quinn's mouth with her own.
"First of all, neither did you...and Finn knows that I'm into somebody else," Rachel added helpfully.
Quinn smiled (not at the boy's misfortune) and gently eased Rachel onto her back. She leaned her upper body over Rachel's and pressed a gentle kiss against Rachel's mouth. She pulled back for a moment, but then leaned back down due to that ever-present force that kept her drawn and addicted to Rachel.
"We're on a bed," Rachel murmured, but made no move to remove her hands from Quinn's hair.
"Too fast?" Quinn asked breathlessly.
"A little," Rachel admitted, equally breathless. "Almost unrealistically fast, but right now, I think I'm so completely thrilled to be able to kiss you whenever I want that I'm probably going to abuse that power whenever possible." She tugged Quinn back down.
Quinn sighed against Rachel's lips, slowing down the pace of their kiss before moving away and shifting so she was back to lying on her side and facing Rachel. "Whenever you want," she murmured. She reached for Rachel's hand to intertwine their fingers. "I really like the sound of that," she said quietly.
"Me too," Rachel whispered. "And I really want other people to know that we're both going to be kissing each other whenever we want."
Quinn took pause at that. "I promise you, I definitely like the sound of that," Quinn whispered back, leaning in and meeting Rachel halfway for a short, sweet kiss. She pulled back and brushed her nose against Rachel's before settling her head on the pillow.
"Yes?" Rachel asked hopefully.
"Yes. Can I be honest with you, though?"
"Quinn," Rachel said exasperatedly. "I highly encourage it."
Quinn smiled weakly, and tucked her hand beneath her head, leaning on it. "Is it weird that I'm kind of scared? Like now, of all times?" She took a deep breath, lifting her eyes to meet Rachel's. "Like...I've finally got you-" she blushed prettily "-and it's amazing, but I'm scared to let everybody know. Does that make any sense?"
"Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed, sitting up straight. "Oh - if you never wanted to tell anybody right away...Oh - I mean, if you don't want to - I'm sorry," Rachel said immediately. "I'm rushing things aren't I? I don't want to ruin things before they've even started."
Quinn looked down at the comforter, fiddling with a loose thread. "I'm not...against telling people, but maybe we could start small? Like just the Glee Club first?" Quinn looked up hesitantly. "I just want to wait a little to tell - to tell my mom," she said, whispering the last part. "This is all so new to me," she said, reaching out to thread her fingers through Rachel's hair.
"Is your mom-?"
"I don't know," Quinn admitted. "I can imagine my-" she coughed "-father being...well, him, but I don't know about my mom."
"We'll tell whoever you want, whenever you want."
"OK," Quinn agreed. "Thank you," she said softly, tugging Rachel towards her and kissing her lightly (at least she intended to make it light).
"Are we going to continue partaking in similar activities for the rest of the night?" Rachel questioned, a light blush staining her cheeks. "I definitely have no qualms against doing so."
"Or we could just-" Quinn blushed "-cuddle and watch a movie on my laptop for the rest of the evening. That was what I had planned, anyway."
Rachel froze for a second, before she smiled, relaxing back down on Quinn's bed. "I like the sound of that. Do I get to pick the movie?"
Quinn rolled her eyes. "I have Funny Girl."
"That's not the only Barbra classic I enjoy!"
"Well, what would you like to watch?" Quinn asked, furrowing her brow.
"...Funny Girl." Quinn scoffed, but pulled herself up into a sitting position and tugged her laptop towards her. "Predictable," she teased. Rachel sighed and sat up as well, leaning forward so she could rest her chin on Quinn's shoulder. She reveled in the raw feeling of just having Quinn close to her - something she would have never thought possible years ago, yet...
"Are you alright?" Quinn's question broke through Rachel's thoughts. She had turned her head slightly. "I hope I didn't upset you or anything."
Rachel shook her head, snuggling into the curve of Quinn's neck as it met her shoulder. "I'm definitely not upset at you."
Quinn let out a breath, and clicked play. "Our first official movie night as a couple," she mused.
"I think we've had a lot of firsts within the past few days," Rachel murmured, shifting back on the bed and tugging Quinn with her. "Cuddle," she commanded. Quinn complied. "I mean, we've had our first fight-"
"-Sorry," Quinn whispered instinctively.
"Me too," Rachel said, her train of thought halting. "That was..." She shook her head, continuing her list. "We had our first kiss, our first date, our first serious couple talk."
"I guess you'll bore me pretty quickly," Quinn sighed, then laughed when Rachel pinched her side.
Rachel snuggled further into Quinn's side as the movie ended, sighing contentedly.
She felt Quinn's hand tighten around her waist and tilted her head back so she could look at Quinn's beautiful- sleeping face. Rachel giggled at the way Quinn's eyebrows were furrowed together as if she were concentrating on something. She couldn't bring herself to get upset that she slept through most of the movie because she realized that she didn't take any joy in getting upset at Quinn Fabray.
Rachel stared at Quinn for a moment longer. She gently brushed away a few strands of Quinn's recently redyed blonde hair and let her hand linger on Quinn's jaw for a few moments before pulling it away and tucking it back against herself. She found it almost frightening at how easily her feelings came to the surface.
She didn't know how she had fallen for the blonde so quickly, over the past few weeks - and especially within the past few days - but she wasn't complaining. Rachel wanted everything too badly, but she knew that screwing this up - whatever was happening - was not an option and for the first time, she knew this would actually be a relationship worth fighting for.
"Quinn," she murmured. "Quinn, I have to get back to my room."
Quinn made a rumbling, protesting sound in her throat and tilted her body towards Rachel's. "Mm, stay."
"But-"
Quinn's frown deepened, but she refused to open her eyes. "Stay," she insisted.
"But Santana and Brittany-"
"-Won't care. They're at a party at another residence building or something."
"Oh." Rachel couldn't think of reasons why she shouldn't stay. "I'll stay," she murmured. "Big morning tomorrow," she added.
"Mmkay," Quinn mumbled, not even registering what Rachel was saying. She pressed a haphazard kiss against Rachel's hair, missing her forehead. "G'night," she said lazily, then mumbled something about bed bugs, before her breathing slowed once more.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've assembled you here. Well-"
"It's too early for your shrieking, Yentl," Santana said nastily, rubbing her temple uncomfortably.
"Was this necessary?" Kurt asked, looking extremely tired. "It's eight AM, Rachel."
"Well, since all of you insisted on attending that party last night-"
"-Not all of us," Tina protested. "Quinn wasn't there, and neither were you!"
Kurt and Mercedes exchanged secretive smiles.
"Well obviously we were the only ones who had our heads on straight! Look how hungover you all are! Finn!" Rachel reprimanded as the boy started dozing off.
"Your heads are the furthest thing from straight," Santana grumbled.
"What was that, Santana?" Rachel asked loudly. Quinn glared at her supposed best friend.
"I hate you," Santana said instead.
"What is this about?" Sam pressed, looking between Rachel who was standing with her hands on her hips and Quinn who looked slightly apprehensive.
"Thank you, Sam. I've called us together for this impromptu meeting to discuss something that has been developing over the past couple of weeks-"
"-A plot to murder you?"
"Shut up, Lopez," Quinn snapped. Santana sneered at her and made a sharp whipping sound in her direction. Brittany placed a hand gently on Santana's arm to calm her down.
Rachel smiled at Quinn, momentarily forgetting what she wanted to say.
"Wait, so what did you want to tell us?" Finn asked. Rachel swallowed at the way he seemed to be forcing himself to sound neutral.
"It's something that I admit was probably going to happen anyway - just sooner rather than later, now." She saw Quinn smile encouragingly. "I admit, it came as quite a shock to me, but after thinking about it, it's something that I think I honestly and truly want. I'd just like to thank you ahead of time for being supportive because I know that I can count on all of you to be that supportive Glee Club I've been so privileged to be a part of."
Santana turned to Quinn and smirked knowingly.
Puck raised his hand slowly, glancing apprehensively at Finn. "I have a question."
"Go ahead, Noah," Rachel said in approval.
"Did Finn knock you up?"
The silence that followed was deafening as all eyes slid to where Rachel's hands were clasped and resting at around her stomach level.
Puck guffawed. "Holy shi-"
"She's not pregnant!" Quinn barked, standing up.
"No need to get jealous that she got herself knocked up too," Santana teased, knowing that it would further aggravate Quinn.
Rachel walked over to where Quinn was seething and gently tugged on her arm, smiling reassuringly. "Do you want to do this with me?" she asked quietly. The Glee Club watched with interest when Quinn stared intently at Rachel.
"I do," she said quietly. "I want to-" she took a quick breath. "Yeah." Rachel heard Quinn take another, deeper breath, then felt Quinn's hand travel down her arm and seek out her hand.
All eyes slid to their intertwined hands. Finn stiffened and sat up straighter.
Puck snorted. "Well, I was way off."
"What's going on?" Finn asked.
"If you'd all just-"
Sam smiled encouragingly at Quinn, while Finn's forehead crinkled in thought and confusion. "What's going on? Are they- they're holding hands," he said, glancing around. "Is everybody seeing this?"
"About time," Santana barked, ignoring Finn. "I don't know how long I could have contained myself because I was just dying to ask where you got that thing on your neck, Q."
Quinn's hand automatically went up to cover the side of her neck. She scowled. "I hit myself," she explained half-heartedly. "I fell," she said hastily.
"Into Berry's mouth?"
The members of New Directions exchanged glances when neither girl said anything. "I'll do it," Tina said, sitting up straighter. "So you're together?"
Quinn and Rachel looked at each other. Rachel wanted Quinn to be completely sure. Quinn looked mildly nervous, but nodded once. Turning back to their audience, they said "Yes."
"When did this happen?" Puck asked.
"What?" Finn muttered, but was ignored.
"Sometime between last night and today," Rachel said, beaming at them.
"Well it's been a strange back and forth thing for a couple weeks," Quinn mumbled, suddenly finding the floor interesting.
"About time," Sam said, standing up and moving to hug Quinn. Quinn smiled, squeezing Sam tightly, sighing happily.
Rachel cleared her throat. "Sorry," he apologized, grinning at Rachel teasingly. He surprised her by pulling her into a hug too. "I'm glad," he said, once he pulled back. He continued smiling as he walked back to his seat.
"Quinn," Kurt stated. "I must be honest, I'm surprised at how bold you're being. I never pegged you for the out and proud type."
Quinn chewed her lower lip for a moment before reaching down to take hold of Rachel's hand again.
"It was my idea," Rachel began, but Quinn shushed her (in a kind way).
"At first...when I realized that I l-liked Rachel-" Rachel squeezed her hand "-it was hard because I didn't know how to go about doing anything about it because I felt wrong, but as time went on - this past year, I realized that I didn't have anything to be afraid of because living in fear-" Quinn inhaled shakily. "Living in fear meant that I wouldn't be able to live at all."
"Quinn, you don't have to-" Rachel started to say.
"I want to because I was going to tell you this anyway," Quinn said, smiling reassuringly at Rachel. "Look, you all have been there for me when I needed you most and honestly, I went through hell and back over the past couple of years. I've made decisions that I am most definitely not proud of and I spent a lot of time being ashamed of myself. I think-" she looked down at the floor. "I think, if I hadn't come here this summer, things would have been very different for me and probably not a good different."
She pursed her lips together, looking at Rachel again. "I have so much to thank Rachel for. Beyond that, I gave up pretending and ignoring the feelings that just wouldn't go away. I guess I figured I should just accept it and...well, here we are now and I have to say it's everything I ever wanted."
Tina sniffled and Mike carefully put an arm around her shoulder comfortingly. Even Puck looked torn between leering at them and smiling adoringly.
"How long?" Finn demanded, reminding everybody that he was still there.
"Finn," Rachel started, her voice hoarse.
"No, I'm talking to you," he said, pointing at Quinn. "How long have you been planning to take Rachel away?" The unspoken from me rang loud and clear.
Quinn looked like she was at a loss for words. "Why are you angry now? You knew I liked he-"
"-But she didn't like you back!" he said, raising his voice slightly. He turned to Rachel who looked slightly apprehensive. "You didn't! This is who you dumped me for? You dumped me for Quinn Fabray? She made your life hell!"
"This is amazing," Santana slurred, clearly still slightly hungover. "Your ex-girlfriend dumped you for your other ex-girlfriend. Finn Hudson, ladies man indeed."
"Shut the fuck up!" Finn shouted, whirling on her. "You're so freaking annoying!" Santana rolled her eyes and returned to filing her nails, while Brittany glared stonily at Finn. "You-" he turned back to Rachel and Quinn who both looked uncomfortable. "You and her?" he asked, gesturing at Quinn. "You choose her? Since when did you even like girls? No, wait - since when did you even like Quinn? She was horrible to you. She called you names and - and-"
"-She did do those things," Rachel admitted, squeezing Quinn's hand once to let her know that she wasn't angry. "But Finn, I was always attracted to her and she had always been attracted to me. Surely you saw that. I mean, it was something-" she looked to Quinn for help, but only found her smiling adoringly "-Something innate that I definitely couldn't stop."
"He doesn't know what innate means," Santana piped in cheerfully.
"Stop it, Santana," Quinn said quietly. "Finn?" she asked, taking a tentative step forward. She felt Rachel pull her arm back, but continued anyway. "Finn, I know you're angry and upset, but I promise you that I - we didn't do this to purposely upset you."
"We definitely did not," Rachel said, nodding seriously. "Finn, I'm so sorry."
Finn didn't look quite so angry anymore, but his shoulders stiffened again and he stuffed his hands in his pockets sullenly as he stood up. He stepped down from the risers and walked towards the door without a word.
"Finn," Rachel called desperately. "Where are you going?"
"I don't need you - I don't need this, right now." He sighed, pausing at the door. "And you guys apparently don't need me either."
It was Quinn who stepped forward. "Finn, wait-"
"Let him go," Rachel said quietly. She leaned up to peck Quinn on the cheek. "Thank you, though," she said softly. "I appreciate it."
Mike shifted in his chair before raising his hand. "Well, we can all talk to him later, if you'd like. He'll probably feel better if you guys aren't around. No offence," he said quickly, reclining back and slinging his arm around the back of Tina's chair.
"Everything will work out," Tina said gently. "I'm really happy for you guys though."
"Hot," Puck said, leering at them. Quinn rolled her eyes and Rachel planted her hands on her hips, scowling. "What?" he asked. "I sort of dated both of you. Don't I get to see at least one make-out session?"
"You're a pig, Noah," Rachel said coldly.
"That's cool. I made out with both of you, so I can just imagine."
Quinn looked like she was about to say something nasty, but Mercedes laughed. "Ignore him. I'm glad you two finally got your act together, though. It's about time! That date went well, didn't it, Quinn?" she asked, winking at the blushing girl.
Kurt looked between them, strangely silent. Rachel looked at him nervously. "Kurt? Is something the matter?"
"I'm happy for the both and you and while I've had my suspicions about the two of you for a while-" Mercedes scoffed "-I just want Quinn to know that it's not going to be easy and having lived such a sheltered, protected life-"
"-Kurt," Rachel said sharply, moving instinctively closer to Quinn.
"-I don't want her to think she has the right to hurt you again, if things get to be too much." His eyes softened. "And it will be hard, Quinn. Rachel knows because of her fathers and I know because..." he trailed off.
"Kurt," Rachel repeated unhappily.
"He's right," Quinn said. "Look, I'm not- I'm not going to hurt her again," Quinn said quietly, looking chastised. "There isn't a day that goes by where I don't feel an insane amount of guilt and unhappiness because of what I used to d-do. I was a miserable person and I hated myself everyday," Quinn said tilting her chin up and breathing deeply. "Sometimes I still do, but I'm working on it," she said, her voice lowering to almost an whisper as she turned to look at Rachel. "You help," she admitted.
Rachel's self-restraint faded and she reached up to gently cup Quinn's cheek, pulling her down for a sweet, passionate kiss.
Santana burst into tears.
They pulled apart immediately, turning to face her incredulously. "You're crying?" Quinn asked. "You?"
Santana made a strange choking sound and buried her face in Brittany's shoulder, who shrugged. "She had a lot to drink last night. That was probably the flaming shot she drank," she whispered. She patted Santana's back. "But then again, Quinn's always made people cry," Brittany said helpfully, still supporting Santana's weight.
"Hear, hear," Sam joked.
Quinn worked her jaw, but no sound escaped. Rachel smiled and leaned up to kiss her on the cheek.
"It really seems like you two have been together for much longer than you're letting us in on," Kurt noted. "Have you been sneaking around our backs?"
"Oh stop," Mercedes said. "They're obviously in their honeymoon phase, Kurt."
"Which means they're going to be making out every five minutes," Santana said, reverting back to her grumpy mood. "Ugh, gross. It'll be like watching an elf make out with a human. Or in Q's case, part-human."
"I prefer you when you're crying," Quinn said.
"I promise you that we will not let our new-found relationship interfere with our competition preparation," Rachel said primly. "It is in its beginning stages where I admit everything is new and exciting, but I plan to continue without letting my personal life interfere with our goals."
"Of course you wouldn't," Puck sighed, sounding disappointed.