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I find myself runnin' home to your sweet nothings
“Yes it is, you're so frustrating. And that is why you can't write a good song, because you live in this little schoolgirl fantasy of life, Rachel. If you keep looking for that happy ending, then you are never going to get it right. Yes it is, you're so frustrating. And that is why you can't write a good song, because you live in this little schoolgirl fantasy of life, Rachel. If you keep looking for that happy ending, then you are never going to get it right.”
“Mommy…mommy…” A high pitched voice and someone crawling over her, kicking along the side of her ribcage pulled her from peaceful slumber. Gone were the morning she gave herself the luxury to sleep in or just jump on the treadmill, to keep herself in shape. Gone were the lazy Sundays, wrapped in a warm cocoon of thick covers, arms wrapped around her and a silhouette pressed up into her, preferably with no clothes separating them.
“I’m up…I’m up.” She sat up just in time not to get slapped in the face, by tiny hands that could still hurt. “Mason, stop it.” Hands reached for the small body lying in the space occupied by someone else, with the same hazel eyes and mischievous smile.
”Mommy…kiss?” His arms locked around her head, chubby fingers tangling in her hair, when his lips found her cheeks and nose, leaving sloppy kisses behind.
“Good morning baby.” She nuzzled their noses together and down, burying her face against the side of his neck to blow a raspberry where he could laugh harder. Where he could squeal so happily, that her heart filled with joy. There was no better sound. No better sound to define her happiness.
“‘Fast?” He said between the giggles.
“Yes, let’s go have breakfast.” She dropped him back on the mattress and threw the covers over him, tucking him in as she reached for the robe thrown on the armchair by the bed and put it on, along with her fluffy pink slippers.
“Mommy!!!” He huffed. He pouted and huffed, struggling to escape but Rachel just lifted him with ease, carrying him in her arms and out of the bedroom. It was a quick walk down the hallway and into the living room, where she could get a glimpse of the open kitchen and the stack of fuming pancakes, piling up on the island.
“Is Sam coming over or something?” Reaching the kitchen, she sat Mason down into his high chair and strapped him to it, to avoid any other incident. One trip to the hospital in the past 6 months was more than enough and she didn’t want to relive that.
“No, why?” The blonde by the stove didn’t turn around and kept piling pancakes one on top of the other, like there was a magic and infinite batter in the plastic bowl on the counter. The kitchen didn’t look like a battlefield. There was no flour thrown all over the black marble counter or the stoves. There were no stains on the pristine floor. It was perfect. It was perfect like every single time the blonde took over her reign.
“More than 15 pancakes for the two of us? You need to tell me something, Fabray?” She sneaked her arms around her waist from behind, resting her forehead between her strong shoulder.
“You’ve got mad skills, Berry, but you can’t knock me up.” Chuckling, she flipped the pancake with one hand and covered the hands laced over her stomach with the other. Her thumb brushed over the wedding band on Rachel’s left hand. She caressed it from her nail down to the base of the knuckle and back up.
“Not that I haven’t tried.” She leaned up on her tiptoes to place a kiss at the base of her exposed neck.
“Go sit, Romeo.” She shrugged her off with a soft push and smirked when the brunette took a seat beside Mason, cutting through a smaller pancake for him. “and we’re done.”
”Which are the vegan ones?” Rachel looked at the tower that threatened to fall and ruin what looked like a perfect stack of homemade pancakes.
“All of them?” Quinn dropped 4 pancakes in each plate and cut a hole in the center, just to drop some mapley syrup in it.
“Quinn…” Rachel sighed.
“What? Do you think I could forget my wife is vegan? After all these years?” The blonde leaned over the counter to drop a soft kiss on her lips. When she tried to pull back, though, warm hands cupped each side of her face and their lips met again. And again.
“You taste good.” She whispered against her lips.
“Batter than yesterday?” Quinn grinned at the annoyed look on her face. She knew her jokes sounded bad, but she always managed to put a smile on Rachel’s face.
“Eat, before it gets too cold.” Rachel started digging in her own pancakes.
“Yeah mama, eat!!” Stuffing his mouth with the pancake, he looked at them both with his usual cheeky grin.
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”Is it good?” Looking up from the script, she caught sight of Quinn carrying the baby monitor in one hand as she sauntered over to where she laid, crawling in the space between her body and the couch.
“I read batter.” It was Rachel’s turn to make a bad joke that earned a grin and roll of her eyes.
“Be careful, Berry, my bad sense of humour is sticking with you.” Lying on her back, she reached for the script and read through some of the lines, while Rachel just snuggled up into her, draping a possessive arm over her waist.
“It’s Berry-Fabray.” She muttered against the fabric of her Yale sweater. The cotton was still soft, despite all these years.
“You’re gonna take it?” She dropped the script aside and turned towards Rachel, settling on her side to face her and take better advantage of the small space they were lying on.
“The pay is good and it’s not a musical, for once.” Moving forward, she tucked her head under her chin and caressed along her forearm. “But it’s not Oscars material.”
”I am sure Cassie will find you something else, if you’re not sure about this one.” Lips brushed along her hairline. She kissed her forehead. She circled the back of her head with her other arm, tucking her closer. It never felt close enough.
“I think we should give it another try, Quinn…” She whispered against the column of her throat. Her fingers were brushing along the sliver of skin exposed by the loose hem of her sweatpants. “Mason is 3 and the age gap would not be too much.”
“And you’re 100% certain that you want to carry this time?” Pulling back, their foreheads just came together. She looked down into her brown chocolate eyes, losing herself into them like the first time she had seen them up close. Like the first time she had fallen in love with her.
“Yes, I am.” Leaning up, she nibbled on her bottom lip and tugged. She tugged lightly, earning a low moan that gave her tingles everywhere. That made her feel heat pool just below her navel. That made her fingers itch for more skin. Less clothes.
“What about the movie? The Oscars?” She breathed out, almost kicking herself for having mentioned it, when Rachel’s fingers were dancing along her hipbone and lower.
“There’s time for that. Hollywood ain’t going anywhere.” Rolling them over, she crawled over the blonde and pinned their arms above their heads, against the arm of the couch.
“Me neither.” She looked up into her eye but she couldn’t read an ounce of doubt. There was nothing that said otherwise. Nothing that said anything different from ‘I want your baby’.
“I want this okay? I want to expand our family and give Mason a little sister or brother to grow up with.” Leaning down, she looked into her eyes and then at her lips. She looked at those delicious lips, that she couldn’t wait to feel all over her body.
“I want that too, baby.” Quinn went to lean in and join their lips, when a sudden cry could be heard through the monitor. “Damn.” She dropped her head back, breathing in deeply through her nostrils.
”I’ll get him, don’t go anywhere.” She dropped a quick, yet promising kiss, on her lips and crawled off her. Fixing her own sweater, she made sure to add an extra sway to her hips as she left the room.
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“So, where are we meeting your dear wife?” Cassie held the door of the cab open, helping her out.
“Her office is just across the street, she’s gonna be here any minute now.” Checking her phone, she pondered whether to give her a call but she decided against it.
“I’ll take this inside and get us a table. Under Fabray?” When Rachel nodded, she just walked inside the cafè, already speaking on the phone with some of her other clients.
“Mrs. Berry a word?” Flashes came out of nowhere. One moment, she was looking at her phone for any message from Quinn. The other, she found herself tucking her face inside the lapels of her coat. How did they even find her?
”No comment.” She tried to move towards the restaurant, but the entrance was blocked as well. She had nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. Pushing through, she managed to take a few steps on the sidewalk when they caught up with her.
“Is it true? Are you turning Stonenberg’s movie down for the rift with St. James?” They walked with her. She just wanted to get away and find Quinn. Where was she?
“I said no comment.” Standing at the edge of the crosswalk, she pushed on the button. She pushed hard. She pushed again, hoping the harder she pushed, the quicker it could change.
“What about Miss Jones’s word? Are you afraid she’s going to replace you on stage?” When they advanced on her, she just took off. She just took off, running down the street without looking. She crossed without looking left. Without looking right.
She needed to leave them behind.
She needed to run away.
She needed to get to the other side of the crosswalk, like a castaway reaching the shore.
“Rachel!!”
It happened in a blink of an eye.
It happened so fast that she had barely seen the cab coming her way.
It happened so fast that she found herself falling hard.
It happened so fast that she didn’t see Quinn.
But she felt her.
She felt her body pushing her out of the way, taking the hit for her.
And she watched.
She watched her getting thrown over the hood of the cab and hitting the pavement so hard, that her heart stopped beating in her chest.
She hit it so hard that the traffic faded and all that was left was a deafening silence around her.
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“Quinn!!! Quinn!!” Sitting up, she heard herself scream before she could even stop herself. The name was caught in her throat, like a strangled cry for help.
“Rachel…Rachel, stop.” Gentle hands pushed her back down and a washcloth was pressed against her head, giving her some sort of relief.
“Kurt? Kurt, is that you?” Focusing on the silhouette, she recognized the guy who had supposedly been her best friend during her high school years and that, after that, had just gone on his way and they had never kept in touch.
“Who else? Geez, Finn did more damage than he thought.” He helped her sit up. “Do you still feel dizzy?”
”Mmm no, I don’t think so.” Tentatively, she stood from the gurney in the infirmary and got back on her feet. “What happened?”
”Well, we were trying a group number and Finn just knocked you out.” He hovered around her, as she took tentative steps around the room. “You’ve been out of it for almost 2 hours.”
“Oh, so it was a dream…” She looked around and then at herself. The sweaters and the checkered skirts were still there. She was back in high school. She was back to where it all started.
“And would you like to share why you woke up screaming a certain cheerleader’s name out? Was it one of those dreams?” He winked at her, making her blush. “Oh my god, it was?”
”God no, perv.” She swatted at his arm. “I just had a nightmare, that’s all.”
“Sure, if you say so.” He nudged her back. “If there’s anyone who could make me doubt my sexuality, that would be Quinn Fabray.”
“Oh stop it.” She tried to slap his arm, but he moved out of the way before she could deliver it. “Has everyone gone home?”
”Yeah, I offered to drive you home…Shall we go?” He took her by the hand and just opened the door, only to find a familiar blonde leaning against the opposite wall, still in her casual clothes.
“Quinn? What are you doing here?” Rachel had to lean against the doorway. Her knees had suddenly gone weak, at the sight of the familiar blonde. Years had been so good to her that she could barely spot any difference from the Quinn of her dreams. Her Quinn.
“I wanted to check on you, after what Finn did.” Pushing herself off the wall, she stood in front of her and leaned down, at her eye level, to check for any mark that he had left behind. “Are you okay?”
“Mmmh.” She could barely hold her gaze. Not after what she had shared with her. Not after what she had done with her, in what felt like an alternative reality more than a simple figment of her imagination.
“Quinn, would you mind taking her home? I…” Checking his phone, he slapped his forehead dramatically. “I totally forgot my Dad had asked me to run an errand for him. You don’t mind, do you?” Without hearing any weak protest, he just walked down the hallway and gave the brunette thumbs up, as soon as Quinn had turned her back on him.
“Okay, that was weird.” Quinn chuckled.
“Look, Quinn, you don’t have to take me home. I can get the bus or call my Daddy.” She went to move forward, but her legs trembled and she ended up collapsing against the blonde, who just held her upright.
“I didn’t know I had that effect on you, Berry.” The blonde’s arm circled her waist, helping her to stand.
“Oh, shut up.” Rachel blushed and just turned her face, to try and hide it.
“Your chariot awaits you, milady.” Shouldering both their bags, she kept her solid grip around her waist and just half carried her down the hallway towards the parking lot or maybe something more…
The End