Seeing is Believing (8/10)
Name: Seeing is Believing (8/10)
Rating: R (yeah, R! CHECK IT!)
Length: 3615
Spoilers: Home
Pairing: Quinn/Rachel
Summary: I have had many adventures as an invisible man - H.G. Wells
Author's Note: I thought this chapter was a lot longer. *huffs* Well, anyway, as you can see, I have boosted the rating, mostly by pure force of will and with a sense that none of you will actually think it warrants an R. This chapter is for five people. Are you ready for this? This is for madndizzee and motylik , because their birthdays are May 3rd and May 4th. You guys might actually get some other stuff, but for now, this is your present. This is also for sunsofwhiterain , who I am now beating again in our competition. This is also for trustisalie , who gave me a shout out in her new chapter and who promised she would post something tomorrow if I posted this. I would also like to dedicate the end of this chapter to insaneantics21 . You will all understand why when you read it.
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Quinn is unprepared for the feeling of Rachel's soft lips on hers. Completely, utterly unprepared. And by the time she has a chance to process this occurrence, Rachel is kissing her all over, on her forehead and her cheeks and crying and Quinn can't even breathe because Rachel's holding her so tight and she can taste strawberry lip gloss on her bottom lip.
And then Rachel is pushing her head underneath Quinn's chin, thunking almost painfully against her collarbone, and she's so small, and she's shaking, crying, pulling at Quinn, and Quinn can't think of anything to do.
"I'm sorry," she whispers into the girl's hair. "I'm so sorry, Rach. I'm sorry. I didn't think when I left, I'm sorry," she mumbles, pulling Rachel almost into her lap, trying to gather the girl into order. It hurts, knowing she's done this to Rachel, but it's kind of awesome that Rachel cares enough to completely lose control of her emotions, even if it is heartbreak.
"You're here," Rachel whimpers against Quinn's collarbone, clutching at the invisible shirt on Quinn's shoulder and pulling herself as close to Quinn as possible. "You're here," she whispers, leaning further into Quinn and pressing her forehead into Quinn's neck, right before she presses a kiss there.
They both freeze simultaneously.
Rachel is the one to break the moment, shoving herself backwards and hitting her closet door with force, fear written all over her face. "Quinn, Quinn, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was doing, I'm sorry," she whimpers, tears gathering again in her eyes at full force. Quinn just stares at her, unsure of what to say.
This moment feels like a very important one, like something she can't screw up. So she just says it, what's been building in her for a year or more, forever.
"I love you," Quinn whispers, and Rachel freezes again, tears running silently down her face as she opens and closes her mouth haplessly. "I love you, Rachel."
"What?" the other girl whispers, looking around the room wildly, probably looking for some sign of where Quinn is. Quinn stands up and steps closer, her heart pounding in her ears.
"I love you. I've loved you for a long time now. I love that you don't shut up and that you shut up when I tell you to. I love the way you laugh...I love you, Rachel. I love you so much that I can't even explain why. I just do," she says, reaching for Rachel's hand and gripping it tightly. Rachel looks stunned, a glimmer of something in her eyes that Quinn can no longer ignore.
She surges forward, pressing her lips against Rachel's and feeling the other girl give a whimper and she can't help but give one back because Rachel's kissing her back, letting go of her hand to slide her small arms around Quinn's waist, pulling them as close as possible. And they keep kissing, Quinn pushing Rachel further into the closet door, her hands landing in Rachel's hair and pushing through the locks and moaning when Rachel bites her lip, because this is happening.
This is happening, finally.
Rachel pushes her back and they just gasp for air for a moment, before Rachel breathes out, "I love you, too, Quinn," and Quinn doesn't even have a chance to think I can't believe this before Rachel's pressing her back and back and back, kissing her neck and her knees hit Rachel's bed, making her fall backwards. She scrambles up onto the thing fully, pulling Rachel with her before rolling them over and kissing Rachel again, moaning when the girl's mouth parts and her tongue slides in and god, this is amazing.
"I love you," Quinn breathes, pulling away from Rachel and kissing down her neck. "I love you."
Rachel moans when Quinn licks at the skin at the base of Rachel's neck because this is happening and Rachel's skin tastes amazing, better than Quinn could've ever imagined. She tastes something like home, and she keeps licking until Rachel's hip surge upward and press against Quinn's and she stops, looking back up to Rachel. Rachel herself looks hesitant, almost apologetic, until Quinn takes all the courage she has left and uses it, rolling her hips back towards Rachel, and watches as Rachel's eyes flutter for a second, before they come back open darker than Quinn's ever seen them. Rachel grabs at Quinn's head, pulling her up for a desperate and hard and amazing kiss, their tongues sliding languidly against each other and it's so hot Quinn can't even breathe because Rachel's hands are sliding all over Quinn and it's just so amazing.
She feels Rachel's hands grab at the hem of her shirt, and even though it's not like Rachel will see anything, because, duh, invisible, Quinn freezes, because if she gets her shirt off, then Rachel's is coming off too and then Quinn won't be able to account for her actions because every fantasy she's ever had about Rachel is culminating here and she dreams about this too often for it to not happen if it gets that far. She'd die.
Rachel pulls back, her hands sliding up from the hem and landing around Quinn's rib cage, kissing across Quinn's invisible face with her eyes closed before Quinn can feel her breath by her ear, hot and wet, and she feels more than hears Rachel's whispered, "I love you, Quinn." She can't help the shiver that runs through her, and she turns her face towards Rachel's, kissing her once again, letting her own hands slide towards the buttons on Rachel's shirt and starting in on them, pulling back and kissing at the skin that gets revealed with every button, listening to the hurried breathing Rachel's exhibiting now, feeling Rachel's chest rise and fall quickly underneath her mouth.
"I love you," Quinn whispers into the soft skin of Rachel's stomach, kissing at Rachel's belly button before she gets pulled back up by a light tug at her hair, and is greeted with a soft kiss from the smaller girl, and smiles when she feels Rachel's hands tug once more at the hem of her invisible shirt.
//
Rachel is completely certain that she has died and gone to heaven, because she can feel Quinn underneath her, can feel the girl's hands running up and down Rachel's back as they kiss, can feel their top halves pressed tightly against each other, completely bare and god, it's amazing.
If this is a dream, Rachel is going to absolutely kill her subconscious because it seems so real.
It seems so real when she feels Quinn kiss her way up her legs, skipping over the underwear the girl is pulling down at the same time, biting at her hipbone and earning a deep moan from Rachel, who wishes she could see the other girl so much, but forgets when her eyes slide shut at the feeling of Quinn's fingers and tongue slipping and sliding there.
And it still seems real ten minutes later when she feels Quinn's breath catch underneath her as Rachel watches the way it seems her fingers are disappearing into thin air except she can feel how tight and wet and amazing it is, and she can feel the way Quinn is trembling around her and beneath her when she gives a soft, keening cry, whispering, "I love you, I love you, I love you," into Rachel's ear.
It feels so real, and this time, it is.
//
Rachel is woken up a few hours later by a shout up the stairs by her daddy. Quinn gives a grunt of acknowledgement next to her, but just presses her head closer to Rachel and pulls her tighter. Rachel however gives a little squeal, pushing at Quinn's arm and falling out of bed with a thunk. This appears to wake Quinn up, and from her position on the floor, she can hear Quinn ask with alarm, "Rach, are you okay?"
Rachel has a vision of a naked Quinn asking her this, because Quinn is currently naked, just invisible. Not for the first time, Rachel momentarily curses said invisibility, but then her dad yells again and Quinn squeaks and rustles around on the bed, probably feeling around for her clothes.
"Where's my underwear?!" Rachel whisper-yells over her shoulder, shrugging her bra and shirt on while she's scrambling around for the bright green panties she remembers putting on this morning and Quinn pulling off her a few hours ago.
"Your underwear? Where's my underwear?!" Quinn whisper-yells back, just as Rachel's searching hands hit Quinn's invisible underwear. She ignores the dampness of them and throws them onto the bed. "Oh. Thanks, I guess. Do you happen to know where my pants are while you're down there?"
"Rachel! Quinn!" her daddy shouts, sounding louder and closer. Rachel reluctantly gets up and grabs her pants along the way, yanking open her dresser and pulling out a new set of underwear and whispering, "sorry!" over her shoulder before she walks into the bathroom, just as her dad opens the door.
"Hello?" she hears her daddy ask, and Quinn reply, "Uh, hi," like she hasn't just had (really awesome) lesbian sex with Rachel.
Rachel manages to get her underwear and pants on in the correct order and facing the correct directions and throws open the door, distracting her dad from looking interestedly at the way Rachel's blanket is settling over Quinn's invisible legs. Rachel is momentarily struck by the thought of Quinn's visible legs.
"Oh, there you are. Okay, so you're both alive and well. Rachel, your hair is a mess," her daddy remarks, distracting himself. "And your dad wants you guys down to help make dinner. So, hurry up and get down here so he'll stop telling me to do things and I can't sit down and watch TV."
They both let out a sigh when her daddy closes the door behind him. Rachel starts to move forward, before her foot catches on what feels like Quinn's pants. She throws them over to the bed and Quinn giggles a little.
//
Dinner is going swimmingly until Evan raises his eyebrows at the ever-deepening blush on Rachel's cheeks and the strange giggling sound emanating from Quinn as her foot advances up Rachel's (unfairly) jean-covered leg.
"Okay, what the hell, you two?" he asks, glancing back and forth between Quinn's hovering fork and Rachel's now bright red face. Rachel looks anywhere but him and Quinn retracts her foot, thunking it painfully against the leg of the table and cursing to herself. On her other side, Adam watches as Rachel opens and closes her mouth haplessly at her dad.
"I mean, you won't stop giggling. You haven't giggled this much since you were four and we took you to see Cats, Rachel! I mean, you haven't looked so happy since..."
Evan trails off, looking over in Quinn's direction suspiciously. Adam gasps and jumps up from the table, then proceeds to bounce around the dining room, screaming something about, "I knew it!" He stops at his husband's side and proffers his hand, palm up, shouting that he knew it right in his ear.
"No, you don't know anything. Stop it!" Evan shouts at Adam, who doesn't even look chastised, just smiles wickedly at Rachel, who looks both confused and a little afraid at the look she's being given.
"Rachel, honey," Adam starts, walking around to Rachel's side and kneeling beside her. "Can I ask you something?" he asks, and Rachel looks wide-eyed across the table, probably asking Quinn for some sort of help.
"No?"
"Okay, fine. Quinn, did you give Rachel the hickey she's currently sporting on her neck?"
Quinn is inherently thankful that no one can see the blush on her face, because she's probably turned purple it feels so hot. She doesn't even know what to say, except that yes it was her and it was amazing. She's rather distracted by this series of thought and grunts when Rachel swings her leg and kicks her shin.
"Um. No," she says, rubbing at her shin and glaring at Rachel, even though she can't see the death waves she's being sent by Quinn's eyes.
"Okay. Well, Quinn, I think you should know that Rachel is completely in love with you. Like, a lot. And that you love her too, if you didn't know. You're very repressed," he says, tapping his chin with his index finger as if her being repressed is something that needs to be pondered.
"What?!" Rachel screeches, shooting up from her seat and looking between her dads indignantly. "You've known all this time?!" Quinn groans and hits her head on the table after she shoves her plate away from her.
"Honey, everyone knows," Adam says soothingly, patting Rachel's shoulder. "Seriously. That latina girl keeps telling us that, 'Celine and Preggo just need to jump each other already.' And the one boy with the lovely fashion sense mentioned that he knew already too," he says.
"I knew Santana still called me that," Quinn mutters, shaking her head a little at the stupid nickname that Santana swore she didn't call Quinn anymore. Twice over. And on her teddy bear, Hannigan.
"So you've finally gotten together! This is so great, I wish we could memorialize the moment. Why do you have to be invisible, Quinn? It's so unfair to the gay men who update their scrapbooks incessantly at any minor life moment," Adam says, frowning in Quinn's direction.
"It's not any minor life event, okay? Stop spreading lies about my scrapbooking," Evan interjects, before he slaps two twenty dollar bills in Adam's hand and shoves him back toward his seat. "So, you're together now, that's great. Thanks for losing me forty bucks," he snaps, stabbing at his salad angrily.
"He's happy, girls, really. He's just upset because he expected you two to break later on," Adam says, smiling widely at Rachel and then over in Quinn's direction.
"So...you're not upset?" Quinn asks quietly, looking back and forth between them.
"Upset? Hell no. I mean, I am upset about losing forty dollars, yes. But no, no, not about you two. Even if we had been in the beginning, we would've had a lot of time to adjust. You guys have been doing this dance forever. I was getting a little tired of waiting, actually. Would you have minded if I locked you in Rachel's closet?" he asks, looking over at Quinn questioningly.
"The argyle might've got to me eventually," Quinn finally says, trying to ignore the lump forming in her throat.
Because, this is what her family is now. These people know everything about her worth knowing, and accept her with arms wide open. It's amazing, feeling this welcome. It's worth everything. This is everything.
//
They go to sleep several hours later, this time somewhat clothed and Quinn's invisible clothing placed carefully at the side of the bed. Quinn's head is resting on Rachel's shoulder and her hand is on Rachel's flat stomach, and she can't stop kissing the the area she can reach without moving herself drastically. Rachel's hand is running up and down Quinn's back, enjoying the feeling she gets from having Quinn's skin up against hers and how wonderful an afterglow is. Because it's wonderful.
She whispers into the darkness, like she did in her very first dream the night Quinn went missing. "I love you."
The answer was infinitely better.
"I love you, too."
//
Quinn goes with Rachel to school again the next day, after a small argument about how Rachel's panties from the day before got under her bed that ended with the pair Rachel was currently wearing almost on the floor to join them.
It's strange and amazing, having Quinn with her, truly with her. She doesn't even know how it's happened, except that it has, and Quinn says she loves her and it's like Barbra Streisand has descended from her home to sing to her, because it's amazing. It's amazing when Rachel goes to the bathroom in the middle of Spanish and she comes back with a flushed face and her shirt halfway tucked into her skirt. It's amazing when Santana walks up to her and asks if she knows the combination to her locker because things keep disappearing from it and into her home ec oven, things Rachel doesn't even want to know about judging from the look on Santana's face. It's all amazing, from her math teacher's books being arranged across the floor to spell out 'I love you' to Coach Sylvester racing down the hallway after a screaming Jacob Ben Israel with what appears to be pizza sauce rolling down her head and Jacob clutching a camera.
It's all amazing until she gets to glee and Brittany is crying again, while Finn's Elmo impression is doing nothing today, and everyone looks worn out and disgusted with life, except for Rachel, who's hand is wrapped in Quinn's and whose disposition is so sunny she could light the entire building if hooked up to the electrical system. She drops Quinn's hand quickly as the other girl stops and gasps, and moves over to Brittany and grabs her, pulling her into a hug and looking at Santana questioningly. The girl just shrugs, sighs, and pulls Brittany to her, giving Puck an opening to pull Rachel into a bear hug.
"We're sorry we didn't stop by for dinner. We just thought...you wanted to be alone," Finn says, and Rachel can do nothing but nod as Mr. Shue walks in and looks at Rachel gingerly. She speaks up.
"Mr. Schuester, I would like to formally apologize for my behavior yesterday, even though I firmly believe Quinn will be here for our competition. I will be happy to help you with your songmaking decisions," she says, and she feels a small bout of whispers start up around her. Kurt leans over her shoulder and whispers, "She'll be okay, Rachel."
They don't get very far into Mr. Schue's first number, Let the Sun Shine In, even though they got through it only two days ago. By the time they all leave, everyone's hugged Rachel and several have cried on her, and even Mr. Schue had shed a few tears. When everyone's gone, she feels Quinn come up behind her and wrap her long arms around Rachel, kissing the back of her neck.
"I need to get visible again," Quinn whispers there, and she sounds so upset, like this is something she's thought about and knows needs to happen but she doesn't want to do anyway. And that's what it is, because, would any of these things have ever happened if Quinn hadn't been this way?
Would she still have Quinn when she could look into Quinn's eyes again?
//
"I went home yesterday," Quinn whispers in the silence of Rachel's room. "I sat up in my treehouse for a few hours and watched my dad and sister throw pine cones into piles."
Rachel pauses in her math homework, looking up to where she assumes Quinn's head is, judging by the indentation in her pillow.
"Chelsea's home?"
Quinn nods, even though Rachel can't see it. It had been so strange, watching them. It was obvious they were upset - her dad would grunt in anger every time a pine cone didn't land perfectly in a pile and Chelsea had looked like she was about to burst into tears it any moment. Her mom had come out a few times and hugged them both, and said a few things, words like 'police' and 'missing' being thrown around.
It had been upsetting, to her, watching her family suffer while she was so happy to be with Rachel.
But the message hadn't been sealed until she had walked into glee that day, watching her best friends in the entire world crying at the thought of her being missing. She didn't really want it to end - being invisible was kind of fun, especially when she could kiss Rachel without anyone noticing or put itching powder in Coach's tracksuits and protein shakes. But she knew it had to, eventually. She just didn't know how.
"Rachel."
Rachel looks up from her book again, before she catches onto the tone of Quinn's voice and closes it, crawling up the bed towards Quinn's head. Quinn happily greets Rachel with a kiss that deepens immediately, Rachel climbing almost on top of Quinn in her exuberance.
God, this is amazing, is all she can think before she feels a buzzing against her hip and a song blaring out from between them. Rachel pulls out her cell phone from some inner pocket of her skirt that Quinn didn't know existed and glares at it and then blushes at the song lyrics that have now taken on a new meaning for her.
"It's that stupid number again," Rachel mutters, rolling off Quinn with a groan.
"Just answer it so they'll stop calling," Quinn whispers, and Rachel nods a few times before she flips it open and raises it to her ear.
"Hello?"
Rating: R (yeah, R! CHECK IT!)
Length: 3615
Spoilers: Home
Pairing: Quinn/Rachel
Summary: I have had many adventures as an invisible man - H.G. Wells
Author's Note: I thought this chapter was a lot longer. *huffs* Well, anyway, as you can see, I have boosted the rating, mostly by pure force of will and with a sense that none of you will actually think it warrants an R. This chapter is for five people. Are you ready for this? This is for madndizzee and motylik , because their birthdays are May 3rd and May 4th. You guys might actually get some other stuff, but for now, this is your present. This is also for sunsofwhiterain , who I am now beating again in our competition. This is also for trustisalie , who gave me a shout out in her new chapter and who promised she would post something tomorrow if I posted this. I would also like to dedicate the end of this chapter to insaneantics21 . You will all understand why when you read it.
[ one ] [ two ] [ three ] [ four ] [ five ] [ six ] [ seven ]
Quinn is unprepared for the feeling of Rachel's soft lips on hers. Completely, utterly unprepared. And by the time she has a chance to process this occurrence, Rachel is kissing her all over, on her forehead and her cheeks and crying and Quinn can't even breathe because Rachel's holding her so tight and she can taste strawberry lip gloss on her bottom lip.
And then Rachel is pushing her head underneath Quinn's chin, thunking almost painfully against her collarbone, and she's so small, and she's shaking, crying, pulling at Quinn, and Quinn can't think of anything to do.
"I'm sorry," she whispers into the girl's hair. "I'm so sorry, Rach. I'm sorry. I didn't think when I left, I'm sorry," she mumbles, pulling Rachel almost into her lap, trying to gather the girl into order. It hurts, knowing she's done this to Rachel, but it's kind of awesome that Rachel cares enough to completely lose control of her emotions, even if it is heartbreak.
"You're here," Rachel whimpers against Quinn's collarbone, clutching at the invisible shirt on Quinn's shoulder and pulling herself as close to Quinn as possible. "You're here," she whispers, leaning further into Quinn and pressing her forehead into Quinn's neck, right before she presses a kiss there.
They both freeze simultaneously.
Rachel is the one to break the moment, shoving herself backwards and hitting her closet door with force, fear written all over her face. "Quinn, Quinn, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was doing, I'm sorry," she whimpers, tears gathering again in her eyes at full force. Quinn just stares at her, unsure of what to say.
This moment feels like a very important one, like something she can't screw up. So she just says it, what's been building in her for a year or more, forever.
"I love you," Quinn whispers, and Rachel freezes again, tears running silently down her face as she opens and closes her mouth haplessly. "I love you, Rachel."
"What?" the other girl whispers, looking around the room wildly, probably looking for some sign of where Quinn is. Quinn stands up and steps closer, her heart pounding in her ears.
"I love you. I've loved you for a long time now. I love that you don't shut up and that you shut up when I tell you to. I love the way you laugh...I love you, Rachel. I love you so much that I can't even explain why. I just do," she says, reaching for Rachel's hand and gripping it tightly. Rachel looks stunned, a glimmer of something in her eyes that Quinn can no longer ignore.
She surges forward, pressing her lips against Rachel's and feeling the other girl give a whimper and she can't help but give one back because Rachel's kissing her back, letting go of her hand to slide her small arms around Quinn's waist, pulling them as close as possible. And they keep kissing, Quinn pushing Rachel further into the closet door, her hands landing in Rachel's hair and pushing through the locks and moaning when Rachel bites her lip, because this is happening.
This is happening, finally.
Rachel pushes her back and they just gasp for air for a moment, before Rachel breathes out, "I love you, too, Quinn," and Quinn doesn't even have a chance to think I can't believe this before Rachel's pressing her back and back and back, kissing her neck and her knees hit Rachel's bed, making her fall backwards. She scrambles up onto the thing fully, pulling Rachel with her before rolling them over and kissing Rachel again, moaning when the girl's mouth parts and her tongue slides in and god, this is amazing.
"I love you," Quinn breathes, pulling away from Rachel and kissing down her neck. "I love you."
Rachel moans when Quinn licks at the skin at the base of Rachel's neck because this is happening and Rachel's skin tastes amazing, better than Quinn could've ever imagined. She tastes something like home, and she keeps licking until Rachel's hip surge upward and press against Quinn's and she stops, looking back up to Rachel. Rachel herself looks hesitant, almost apologetic, until Quinn takes all the courage she has left and uses it, rolling her hips back towards Rachel, and watches as Rachel's eyes flutter for a second, before they come back open darker than Quinn's ever seen them. Rachel grabs at Quinn's head, pulling her up for a desperate and hard and amazing kiss, their tongues sliding languidly against each other and it's so hot Quinn can't even breathe because Rachel's hands are sliding all over Quinn and it's just so amazing.
She feels Rachel's hands grab at the hem of her shirt, and even though it's not like Rachel will see anything, because, duh, invisible, Quinn freezes, because if she gets her shirt off, then Rachel's is coming off too and then Quinn won't be able to account for her actions because every fantasy she's ever had about Rachel is culminating here and she dreams about this too often for it to not happen if it gets that far. She'd die.
Rachel pulls back, her hands sliding up from the hem and landing around Quinn's rib cage, kissing across Quinn's invisible face with her eyes closed before Quinn can feel her breath by her ear, hot and wet, and she feels more than hears Rachel's whispered, "I love you, Quinn." She can't help the shiver that runs through her, and she turns her face towards Rachel's, kissing her once again, letting her own hands slide towards the buttons on Rachel's shirt and starting in on them, pulling back and kissing at the skin that gets revealed with every button, listening to the hurried breathing Rachel's exhibiting now, feeling Rachel's chest rise and fall quickly underneath her mouth.
"I love you," Quinn whispers into the soft skin of Rachel's stomach, kissing at Rachel's belly button before she gets pulled back up by a light tug at her hair, and is greeted with a soft kiss from the smaller girl, and smiles when she feels Rachel's hands tug once more at the hem of her invisible shirt.
//
Rachel is completely certain that she has died and gone to heaven, because she can feel Quinn underneath her, can feel the girl's hands running up and down Rachel's back as they kiss, can feel their top halves pressed tightly against each other, completely bare and god, it's amazing.
If this is a dream, Rachel is going to absolutely kill her subconscious because it seems so real.
It seems so real when she feels Quinn kiss her way up her legs, skipping over the underwear the girl is pulling down at the same time, biting at her hipbone and earning a deep moan from Rachel, who wishes she could see the other girl so much, but forgets when her eyes slide shut at the feeling of Quinn's fingers and tongue slipping and sliding there.
And it still seems real ten minutes later when she feels Quinn's breath catch underneath her as Rachel watches the way it seems her fingers are disappearing into thin air except she can feel how tight and wet and amazing it is, and she can feel the way Quinn is trembling around her and beneath her when she gives a soft, keening cry, whispering, "I love you, I love you, I love you," into Rachel's ear.
It feels so real, and this time, it is.
//
Rachel is woken up a few hours later by a shout up the stairs by her daddy. Quinn gives a grunt of acknowledgement next to her, but just presses her head closer to Rachel and pulls her tighter. Rachel however gives a little squeal, pushing at Quinn's arm and falling out of bed with a thunk. This appears to wake Quinn up, and from her position on the floor, she can hear Quinn ask with alarm, "Rach, are you okay?"
Rachel has a vision of a naked Quinn asking her this, because Quinn is currently naked, just invisible. Not for the first time, Rachel momentarily curses said invisibility, but then her dad yells again and Quinn squeaks and rustles around on the bed, probably feeling around for her clothes.
"Where's my underwear?!" Rachel whisper-yells over her shoulder, shrugging her bra and shirt on while she's scrambling around for the bright green panties she remembers putting on this morning and Quinn pulling off her a few hours ago.
"Your underwear? Where's my underwear?!" Quinn whisper-yells back, just as Rachel's searching hands hit Quinn's invisible underwear. She ignores the dampness of them and throws them onto the bed. "Oh. Thanks, I guess. Do you happen to know where my pants are while you're down there?"
"Rachel! Quinn!" her daddy shouts, sounding louder and closer. Rachel reluctantly gets up and grabs her pants along the way, yanking open her dresser and pulling out a new set of underwear and whispering, "sorry!" over her shoulder before she walks into the bathroom, just as her dad opens the door.
"Hello?" she hears her daddy ask, and Quinn reply, "Uh, hi," like she hasn't just had (really awesome) lesbian sex with Rachel.
Rachel manages to get her underwear and pants on in the correct order and facing the correct directions and throws open the door, distracting her dad from looking interestedly at the way Rachel's blanket is settling over Quinn's invisible legs. Rachel is momentarily struck by the thought of Quinn's visible legs.
"Oh, there you are. Okay, so you're both alive and well. Rachel, your hair is a mess," her daddy remarks, distracting himself. "And your dad wants you guys down to help make dinner. So, hurry up and get down here so he'll stop telling me to do things and I can't sit down and watch TV."
They both let out a sigh when her daddy closes the door behind him. Rachel starts to move forward, before her foot catches on what feels like Quinn's pants. She throws them over to the bed and Quinn giggles a little.
//
Dinner is going swimmingly until Evan raises his eyebrows at the ever-deepening blush on Rachel's cheeks and the strange giggling sound emanating from Quinn as her foot advances up Rachel's (unfairly) jean-covered leg.
"Okay, what the hell, you two?" he asks, glancing back and forth between Quinn's hovering fork and Rachel's now bright red face. Rachel looks anywhere but him and Quinn retracts her foot, thunking it painfully against the leg of the table and cursing to herself. On her other side, Adam watches as Rachel opens and closes her mouth haplessly at her dad.
"I mean, you won't stop giggling. You haven't giggled this much since you were four and we took you to see Cats, Rachel! I mean, you haven't looked so happy since..."
Evan trails off, looking over in Quinn's direction suspiciously. Adam gasps and jumps up from the table, then proceeds to bounce around the dining room, screaming something about, "I knew it!" He stops at his husband's side and proffers his hand, palm up, shouting that he knew it right in his ear.
"No, you don't know anything. Stop it!" Evan shouts at Adam, who doesn't even look chastised, just smiles wickedly at Rachel, who looks both confused and a little afraid at the look she's being given.
"Rachel, honey," Adam starts, walking around to Rachel's side and kneeling beside her. "Can I ask you something?" he asks, and Rachel looks wide-eyed across the table, probably asking Quinn for some sort of help.
"No?"
"Okay, fine. Quinn, did you give Rachel the hickey she's currently sporting on her neck?"
Quinn is inherently thankful that no one can see the blush on her face, because she's probably turned purple it feels so hot. She doesn't even know what to say, except that yes it was her and it was amazing. She's rather distracted by this series of thought and grunts when Rachel swings her leg and kicks her shin.
"Um. No," she says, rubbing at her shin and glaring at Rachel, even though she can't see the death waves she's being sent by Quinn's eyes.
"Okay. Well, Quinn, I think you should know that Rachel is completely in love with you. Like, a lot. And that you love her too, if you didn't know. You're very repressed," he says, tapping his chin with his index finger as if her being repressed is something that needs to be pondered.
"What?!" Rachel screeches, shooting up from her seat and looking between her dads indignantly. "You've known all this time?!" Quinn groans and hits her head on the table after she shoves her plate away from her.
"Honey, everyone knows," Adam says soothingly, patting Rachel's shoulder. "Seriously. That latina girl keeps telling us that, 'Celine and Preggo just need to jump each other already.' And the one boy with the lovely fashion sense mentioned that he knew already too," he says.
"I knew Santana still called me that," Quinn mutters, shaking her head a little at the stupid nickname that Santana swore she didn't call Quinn anymore. Twice over. And on her teddy bear, Hannigan.
"So you've finally gotten together! This is so great, I wish we could memorialize the moment. Why do you have to be invisible, Quinn? It's so unfair to the gay men who update their scrapbooks incessantly at any minor life moment," Adam says, frowning in Quinn's direction.
"It's not any minor life event, okay? Stop spreading lies about my scrapbooking," Evan interjects, before he slaps two twenty dollar bills in Adam's hand and shoves him back toward his seat. "So, you're together now, that's great. Thanks for losing me forty bucks," he snaps, stabbing at his salad angrily.
"He's happy, girls, really. He's just upset because he expected you two to break later on," Adam says, smiling widely at Rachel and then over in Quinn's direction.
"So...you're not upset?" Quinn asks quietly, looking back and forth between them.
"Upset? Hell no. I mean, I am upset about losing forty dollars, yes. But no, no, not about you two. Even if we had been in the beginning, we would've had a lot of time to adjust. You guys have been doing this dance forever. I was getting a little tired of waiting, actually. Would you have minded if I locked you in Rachel's closet?" he asks, looking over at Quinn questioningly.
"The argyle might've got to me eventually," Quinn finally says, trying to ignore the lump forming in her throat.
Because, this is what her family is now. These people know everything about her worth knowing, and accept her with arms wide open. It's amazing, feeling this welcome. It's worth everything. This is everything.
//
They go to sleep several hours later, this time somewhat clothed and Quinn's invisible clothing placed carefully at the side of the bed. Quinn's head is resting on Rachel's shoulder and her hand is on Rachel's flat stomach, and she can't stop kissing the the area she can reach without moving herself drastically. Rachel's hand is running up and down Quinn's back, enjoying the feeling she gets from having Quinn's skin up against hers and how wonderful an afterglow is. Because it's wonderful.
She whispers into the darkness, like she did in her very first dream the night Quinn went missing. "I love you."
The answer was infinitely better.
"I love you, too."
//
Quinn goes with Rachel to school again the next day, after a small argument about how Rachel's panties from the day before got under her bed that ended with the pair Rachel was currently wearing almost on the floor to join them.
It's strange and amazing, having Quinn with her, truly with her. She doesn't even know how it's happened, except that it has, and Quinn says she loves her and it's like Barbra Streisand has descended from her home to sing to her, because it's amazing. It's amazing when Rachel goes to the bathroom in the middle of Spanish and she comes back with a flushed face and her shirt halfway tucked into her skirt. It's amazing when Santana walks up to her and asks if she knows the combination to her locker because things keep disappearing from it and into her home ec oven, things Rachel doesn't even want to know about judging from the look on Santana's face. It's all amazing, from her math teacher's books being arranged across the floor to spell out 'I love you' to Coach Sylvester racing down the hallway after a screaming Jacob Ben Israel with what appears to be pizza sauce rolling down her head and Jacob clutching a camera.
It's all amazing until she gets to glee and Brittany is crying again, while Finn's Elmo impression is doing nothing today, and everyone looks worn out and disgusted with life, except for Rachel, who's hand is wrapped in Quinn's and whose disposition is so sunny she could light the entire building if hooked up to the electrical system. She drops Quinn's hand quickly as the other girl stops and gasps, and moves over to Brittany and grabs her, pulling her into a hug and looking at Santana questioningly. The girl just shrugs, sighs, and pulls Brittany to her, giving Puck an opening to pull Rachel into a bear hug.
"We're sorry we didn't stop by for dinner. We just thought...you wanted to be alone," Finn says, and Rachel can do nothing but nod as Mr. Shue walks in and looks at Rachel gingerly. She speaks up.
"Mr. Schuester, I would like to formally apologize for my behavior yesterday, even though I firmly believe Quinn will be here for our competition. I will be happy to help you with your songmaking decisions," she says, and she feels a small bout of whispers start up around her. Kurt leans over her shoulder and whispers, "She'll be okay, Rachel."
They don't get very far into Mr. Schue's first number, Let the Sun Shine In, even though they got through it only two days ago. By the time they all leave, everyone's hugged Rachel and several have cried on her, and even Mr. Schue had shed a few tears. When everyone's gone, she feels Quinn come up behind her and wrap her long arms around Rachel, kissing the back of her neck.
"I need to get visible again," Quinn whispers there, and she sounds so upset, like this is something she's thought about and knows needs to happen but she doesn't want to do anyway. And that's what it is, because, would any of these things have ever happened if Quinn hadn't been this way?
Would she still have Quinn when she could look into Quinn's eyes again?
//
"I went home yesterday," Quinn whispers in the silence of Rachel's room. "I sat up in my treehouse for a few hours and watched my dad and sister throw pine cones into piles."
Rachel pauses in her math homework, looking up to where she assumes Quinn's head is, judging by the indentation in her pillow.
"Chelsea's home?"
Quinn nods, even though Rachel can't see it. It had been so strange, watching them. It was obvious they were upset - her dad would grunt in anger every time a pine cone didn't land perfectly in a pile and Chelsea had looked like she was about to burst into tears it any moment. Her mom had come out a few times and hugged them both, and said a few things, words like 'police' and 'missing' being thrown around.
It had been upsetting, to her, watching her family suffer while she was so happy to be with Rachel.
But the message hadn't been sealed until she had walked into glee that day, watching her best friends in the entire world crying at the thought of her being missing. She didn't really want it to end - being invisible was kind of fun, especially when she could kiss Rachel without anyone noticing or put itching powder in Coach's tracksuits and protein shakes. But she knew it had to, eventually. She just didn't know how.
"Rachel."
Rachel looks up from her book again, before she catches onto the tone of Quinn's voice and closes it, crawling up the bed towards Quinn's head. Quinn happily greets Rachel with a kiss that deepens immediately, Rachel climbing almost on top of Quinn in her exuberance.
God, this is amazing, is all she can think before she feels a buzzing against her hip and a song blaring out from between them. Rachel pulls out her cell phone from some inner pocket of her skirt that Quinn didn't know existed and glares at it and then blushes at the song lyrics that have now taken on a new meaning for her.
"It's that stupid number again," Rachel mutters, rolling off Quinn with a groan.
"Just answer it so they'll stop calling," Quinn whispers, and Rachel nods a few times before she flips it open and raises it to her ear.
"Hello?"