Nothing Can Change This Love - Part V
pairing: rachel/omc
rating: eventual NC-17
disclaimer: I own nothing relating to Glee. I can claim the OMC but if it saves me being sued, you can have him
summary: Maybe hitting bottom is just what they needed to see that they have had all they needed the entire time.
warning: occasional skipping though storyline.
They stayed like that all night, dozing as Sam Cooke’s album played on repeat. Josh woke around dawn to the sound of Galina letting herself into his apartment, their eyes meeting over Rachel’s head. To her credit, she didn’t say anything about Rachel’s presence in the apartment, nor did she ask after Quinn. She just shot him a knowing look and left to get supplies for breakfast.
The first rays of dawn’s sunlight were just breaking across the horizon of the city and Josh wanted nothing more than to stay right where he was, curled up with Rachel. He knew it was only a matter of time before this peaceful calm would be broken so he was going to enjoy it while he could.
True to form, his apartment was packed with their sympathetic friends by the time the now brunch was ready. They all sat scattered around his living room, Blaine and Kurt flanking them while Kat and Ian sat cross-legged on the carpet. Everyone was balancing plates in their hands as they all danced around the millions of questions Josh knew they were just dying to ask.
It was Kurt who broke the silence first. “You know we are blacklisting their friendship, right?” He said, taking a dainty bite of croissant and gazing pointedly at Rachel. “You don’t have to worry about ‘friendship wars’,” he continued, “we are all on your side.”
The others nodded their agreement. “I just can’t believe Quinn even bothered to try to reason with me.” Kurt continued, pissily dipping his biscotti in his coffee and taking another delicate bite. “Like any excuse she had would be good enough.”
Josh met Blaine’s eyes over Rachel’s head, his gaze loaded with unexpressed emotion, but none of it appeared judgmental, just aware. It made Josh feel slightly uneasy how quickly Blaine assessed the situation, made him wonder how long he had known. Was he really so transparent?
Brunch moved on to dinner and a movie no one really vacating their chosen places, dishes and snacks piling up around them in an attempt to be comforting and offer their camaraderie. Rachel appeared to be holding up rather well given the situation. She smiled and joked, though most of the smiles were brittle, like if given a second, they would shatter under the strain of trying to make them believable.
Dinner turned into a sleepover, which turned into the whole weekend. Rachel took the guest bedroom while Kat and Ian took his. Blaine and Kurt were sleeping on an aerobed in the living room while he took the couch. If he were ever grateful to Quinn for her excessive spending habits, it was in this moment. The luxurious sofa felt like sleeping on a cloud, and his mind sent her a slightly sarcastic thanks as he snuggled down into it for the third consecutive evening.
By Sunday he was ready for everyone besides Rachel to go the hell home. Not that he didn’t love his friends, but they were eating him out of house and home, which was a pretty difficult feat to accomplish. An introvert by nature, Josh wasn’t one for extended sleepovers with a crowd of people, so he was already on edge when the lobby rang him.
“Mr. Greene?” Henry, his doorman asked when he said hello. “A Ms. Fabray is in the lobby asking to speak to you, sir. I see she’s on the watch list, what steps would you like me to take, sir?”
Groaning to himself, he pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to stave off his already increasing migraine. “Tell her I’ll be right down, and start loading her boxes into a taxi please. Thank you. ” Josh bit out, regretting the undeserved but inevitable edge to his voice. He made a mental note to tip Henry double this Christmas in exchange.
Sighing to himself, he hung up the phone, whirling around at the sound of Rachel’s voice. “Quinn is downstairs?” She asked, her body language vulnerable.
Josh nodded. “Yes, she is. I’m just going down to get her key and have one last talk with her.”
Rachel nodded, silent for a second. “Can I come with you?”
Taken aback, Josh’s eyes widened. “Of course you can, Rachel. I would never stop you from doing something you wished, but do you think it’s wise? I would hate for you to reopen fresh wounds.”
He could see Rachel’s resolve steel at his words. “There is nothing that can make this hurt more.” She admitted, her soft voice clashing with the strong, straight line of her posture. “I want answers and she is the only one I am going to get them from. She will tell me the truth. We were friends once. She won’t lie to me. She has no reason to.”
“Then of course, Rachel. Whatever you wish.” Josh replied, opening the door for them both and leading her to the elevator.
Quinn was standing by the front desk when the elevator doors opened, her eyes going wide as her gaze landed on Rachel. She looked like she wanted to flee at the last minute, but instead adopted what Rachel would later refer to as her ‘Queen Bitch Face’ and stayed where she stood, only moving when Josh and Rachel took seats opposite a bench.
“I wasn’t really expecting an audience.” She said under her breath as she sat, her gaze on Rachel for mere seconds before turning to Josh. “So these boxes, the watch list. I take it this means we are over?” She asked, her voice steady but her nerves causing her to fiddle with the hem of her dress.
“Among other things, yes.”
Quinn nodded, mostly to herself. “You know I’m not the only one to blame for this.” She said. “What Will and I did was wrong but you don’t know how hard it’s been for us. It’s lonely being in a one-sided relationship. We are only human, there is only so much we can take before we snap.”
Josh sighed, “Then you talk to us. Don’t go sleeping with your best friend’s husband. How are we supposed to fix it if we have no clue there is anything even wrong?”
Quinn narrowed her eyes. “But would it have made a difference?” She asked, her gaze only on Josh, a knowing look causing her dagger like expression to cut deeply.
If he was honest, he would have tried, if only to save Rachel this pain. He would have done whatever he could, pretended whatever Quinn wished if it meant sparing her and Maddy this heartache. “It might have.” He answered honestly.
The silence that followed was stifling until Rachel raised her head. “How many times?”
Quinn look startled for a beat. “Pardon?”
“How many times?” Rachel repeated, her voice louder but nowhere near the yelling Josh thought she was within every right of doing. “How many times did you sleep together before we found out?”
Quinn looked uncomfortable, like she didn’t want to answer. She swallowed thickly, “At least once a day for almost two months.” She finally said, gaze down at her lap.
Rachel didn’t respond other than inhaling sharply. Josh could feel her trembling beside him, but he didn’t say anything, just rubbed her back in soothing circles. If this is what she needed to hear then he would make sure he was here for her.
“Did you ever meet at our apartment?” Rachel asked, drawing shocked expressions from both blondes.
Josh’s stomach sank at Quinn’s expression. “Yes.” Was all Quinn said.
Rachel didn’t even looked up, just nodded curtly. “Okay, I’m done here. Thank you for answering my questions, Quinn.” She said before making a hasty retreat into the elevator.
When Josh was sure she was safely ensconced in the elevator he turned on his ex. “Their apartment, Quinn?Really? Is nothing sacred anymore? Did you at least turn down all the photos of the family you helped ruin before you started screwing like bunnies? They were a family, Quinn. A family.” He spat, disgust clear in his tone.
Quinn’s face scrunched up, her tone quiet but harsh as she jabbed in his direction. “How about you direct some of that scorn on yourself, Josh? Were you reminding yourself they were such a happy family when you were spending hours on end at their apartment? Were you telling yourself you aren’t really Madeline’s father on all those trips to central park?
“No, you weren’t. You are fine playing househusband. I wasn’t blind you know. Neither was Will. He came to me concerned about your attachment to Rachel, actually looking to me to disprove it. He wanted me to argue against it. I couldn’t. This is just as much my fault as yours so how about you hop off your high horse for once.”
Josh’s jaw ached from how hard he was clenching it, fighting against lashing out. “You don’t get to blame me for this, Quinn. This was your doing. Yours. I will take responsibly in the demise of our relationship. I wasn’t as committed as I should have been, but I didn’t cheat either. I never approached Rachel or behaved inappropriately. Yes, I love her and have for years but I wouldn’t cross that line.”
He paused at Quinn’s stricken expression, impressed how she momentarily made him feel wrong before the anger returned full force. “No, Quinn. You don’t get act shocked and betrayed. We are past that now. So far past it I can’t even see it anymore. I love Rachel and have for as long as I’ve known her. Starting a relationship with you was wrong. I admit that.”
Josh gestured to the ceiling. “I love her, but it is a real love. I want her to be happy even if it means me not being with her. I would have never destroyed what she had. Even if she had come on to me, approached me, I wouldn’t have done anything until her marriage was over.” Quinn looked like she was going to interrupt but Josh cut her off, “I mean really over. On the road to divorce officially, not just someone feeling lonely.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, Quinn. I am sorry I hurt you so badly. I’m sorry that I drove you to such desperation, but your actions are on you. You can’t blame me for this going badly. I can only hope Will is willing to take you in, because you most certainly not welcome here any longer.”
With that he turned, stepping into the elevator and leaving her behind for good.
PART SIX
rating: eventual NC-17
disclaimer: I own nothing relating to Glee. I can claim the OMC but if it saves me being sued, you can have him
summary: Maybe hitting bottom is just what they needed to see that they have had all they needed the entire time.
warning: occasional skipping though storyline.
They stayed like that all night, dozing as Sam Cooke’s album played on repeat. Josh woke around dawn to the sound of Galina letting herself into his apartment, their eyes meeting over Rachel’s head. To her credit, she didn’t say anything about Rachel’s presence in the apartment, nor did she ask after Quinn. She just shot him a knowing look and left to get supplies for breakfast.
The first rays of dawn’s sunlight were just breaking across the horizon of the city and Josh wanted nothing more than to stay right where he was, curled up with Rachel. He knew it was only a matter of time before this peaceful calm would be broken so he was going to enjoy it while he could.
True to form, his apartment was packed with their sympathetic friends by the time the now brunch was ready. They all sat scattered around his living room, Blaine and Kurt flanking them while Kat and Ian sat cross-legged on the carpet. Everyone was balancing plates in their hands as they all danced around the millions of questions Josh knew they were just dying to ask.
It was Kurt who broke the silence first. “You know we are blacklisting their friendship, right?” He said, taking a dainty bite of croissant and gazing pointedly at Rachel. “You don’t have to worry about ‘friendship wars’,” he continued, “we are all on your side.”
The others nodded their agreement. “I just can’t believe Quinn even bothered to try to reason with me.” Kurt continued, pissily dipping his biscotti in his coffee and taking another delicate bite. “Like any excuse she had would be good enough.”
Josh met Blaine’s eyes over Rachel’s head, his gaze loaded with unexpressed emotion, but none of it appeared judgmental, just aware. It made Josh feel slightly uneasy how quickly Blaine assessed the situation, made him wonder how long he had known. Was he really so transparent?
Brunch moved on to dinner and a movie no one really vacating their chosen places, dishes and snacks piling up around them in an attempt to be comforting and offer their camaraderie. Rachel appeared to be holding up rather well given the situation. She smiled and joked, though most of the smiles were brittle, like if given a second, they would shatter under the strain of trying to make them believable.
Dinner turned into a sleepover, which turned into the whole weekend. Rachel took the guest bedroom while Kat and Ian took his. Blaine and Kurt were sleeping on an aerobed in the living room while he took the couch. If he were ever grateful to Quinn for her excessive spending habits, it was in this moment. The luxurious sofa felt like sleeping on a cloud, and his mind sent her a slightly sarcastic thanks as he snuggled down into it for the third consecutive evening.
By Sunday he was ready for everyone besides Rachel to go the hell home. Not that he didn’t love his friends, but they were eating him out of house and home, which was a pretty difficult feat to accomplish. An introvert by nature, Josh wasn’t one for extended sleepovers with a crowd of people, so he was already on edge when the lobby rang him.
“Mr. Greene?” Henry, his doorman asked when he said hello. “A Ms. Fabray is in the lobby asking to speak to you, sir. I see she’s on the watch list, what steps would you like me to take, sir?”
Groaning to himself, he pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to stave off his already increasing migraine. “Tell her I’ll be right down, and start loading her boxes into a taxi please. Thank you. ” Josh bit out, regretting the undeserved but inevitable edge to his voice. He made a mental note to tip Henry double this Christmas in exchange.
Sighing to himself, he hung up the phone, whirling around at the sound of Rachel’s voice. “Quinn is downstairs?” She asked, her body language vulnerable.
Josh nodded. “Yes, she is. I’m just going down to get her key and have one last talk with her.”
Rachel nodded, silent for a second. “Can I come with you?”
Taken aback, Josh’s eyes widened. “Of course you can, Rachel. I would never stop you from doing something you wished, but do you think it’s wise? I would hate for you to reopen fresh wounds.”
He could see Rachel’s resolve steel at his words. “There is nothing that can make this hurt more.” She admitted, her soft voice clashing with the strong, straight line of her posture. “I want answers and she is the only one I am going to get them from. She will tell me the truth. We were friends once. She won’t lie to me. She has no reason to.”
“Then of course, Rachel. Whatever you wish.” Josh replied, opening the door for them both and leading her to the elevator.
Quinn was standing by the front desk when the elevator doors opened, her eyes going wide as her gaze landed on Rachel. She looked like she wanted to flee at the last minute, but instead adopted what Rachel would later refer to as her ‘Queen Bitch Face’ and stayed where she stood, only moving when Josh and Rachel took seats opposite a bench.
“I wasn’t really expecting an audience.” She said under her breath as she sat, her gaze on Rachel for mere seconds before turning to Josh. “So these boxes, the watch list. I take it this means we are over?” She asked, her voice steady but her nerves causing her to fiddle with the hem of her dress.
“Among other things, yes.”
Quinn nodded, mostly to herself. “You know I’m not the only one to blame for this.” She said. “What Will and I did was wrong but you don’t know how hard it’s been for us. It’s lonely being in a one-sided relationship. We are only human, there is only so much we can take before we snap.”
Josh sighed, “Then you talk to us. Don’t go sleeping with your best friend’s husband. How are we supposed to fix it if we have no clue there is anything even wrong?”
Quinn narrowed her eyes. “But would it have made a difference?” She asked, her gaze only on Josh, a knowing look causing her dagger like expression to cut deeply.
If he was honest, he would have tried, if only to save Rachel this pain. He would have done whatever he could, pretended whatever Quinn wished if it meant sparing her and Maddy this heartache. “It might have.” He answered honestly.
The silence that followed was stifling until Rachel raised her head. “How many times?”
Quinn look startled for a beat. “Pardon?”
“How many times?” Rachel repeated, her voice louder but nowhere near the yelling Josh thought she was within every right of doing. “How many times did you sleep together before we found out?”
Quinn looked uncomfortable, like she didn’t want to answer. She swallowed thickly, “At least once a day for almost two months.” She finally said, gaze down at her lap.
Rachel didn’t respond other than inhaling sharply. Josh could feel her trembling beside him, but he didn’t say anything, just rubbed her back in soothing circles. If this is what she needed to hear then he would make sure he was here for her.
“Did you ever meet at our apartment?” Rachel asked, drawing shocked expressions from both blondes.
Josh’s stomach sank at Quinn’s expression. “Yes.” Was all Quinn said.
Rachel didn’t even looked up, just nodded curtly. “Okay, I’m done here. Thank you for answering my questions, Quinn.” She said before making a hasty retreat into the elevator.
When Josh was sure she was safely ensconced in the elevator he turned on his ex. “Their apartment, Quinn?Really? Is nothing sacred anymore? Did you at least turn down all the photos of the family you helped ruin before you started screwing like bunnies? They were a family, Quinn. A family.” He spat, disgust clear in his tone.
Quinn’s face scrunched up, her tone quiet but harsh as she jabbed in his direction. “How about you direct some of that scorn on yourself, Josh? Were you reminding yourself they were such a happy family when you were spending hours on end at their apartment? Were you telling yourself you aren’t really Madeline’s father on all those trips to central park?
“No, you weren’t. You are fine playing househusband. I wasn’t blind you know. Neither was Will. He came to me concerned about your attachment to Rachel, actually looking to me to disprove it. He wanted me to argue against it. I couldn’t. This is just as much my fault as yours so how about you hop off your high horse for once.”
Josh’s jaw ached from how hard he was clenching it, fighting against lashing out. “You don’t get to blame me for this, Quinn. This was your doing. Yours. I will take responsibly in the demise of our relationship. I wasn’t as committed as I should have been, but I didn’t cheat either. I never approached Rachel or behaved inappropriately. Yes, I love her and have for years but I wouldn’t cross that line.”
He paused at Quinn’s stricken expression, impressed how she momentarily made him feel wrong before the anger returned full force. “No, Quinn. You don’t get act shocked and betrayed. We are past that now. So far past it I can’t even see it anymore. I love Rachel and have for as long as I’ve known her. Starting a relationship with you was wrong. I admit that.”
Josh gestured to the ceiling. “I love her, but it is a real love. I want her to be happy even if it means me not being with her. I would have never destroyed what she had. Even if she had come on to me, approached me, I wouldn’t have done anything until her marriage was over.” Quinn looked like she was going to interrupt but Josh cut her off, “I mean really over. On the road to divorce officially, not just someone feeling lonely.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, Quinn. I am sorry I hurt you so badly. I’m sorry that I drove you to such desperation, but your actions are on you. You can’t blame me for this going badly. I can only hope Will is willing to take you in, because you most certainly not welcome here any longer.”
With that he turned, stepping into the elevator and leaving her behind for good.
PART SIX