Love Story (Quinn/Rachel)
Name: Love Story
Pairing: Quinn/Rachel
Rating: PG-13
Length: ~4500
Spoilers: If you haven't figured out Quinn's pregnant by now, you're probably not that smart. Sorry.
Summary: Sometimes, a love story comes from the most unexpected of places
Author's Note: This is pretty much an epic fic of FLUFF. And it's late, so if I screwed something up, don't hold it against me. And yeah, the title is kind of cliche. But guys, there's FLUFF.
When Glee actually resumes, after their almost miraculous celebration it becomes crushingly awkward. Mr. Schu spends half the time convincing them all to do something other than glare at each other, and the other half becoming exasperated trying to choreograph something that won't cause someone to burst into tears (which is hard, because Quinn is pregnant and sometimes he notices her getting teary-eyed over strange things like conjugation tables in Spanish, and he hadn't really meant it when he said Barbara Streisand was only okay in an attempt to make Tina feel better about attempting the song and Rachel had immediately rushed out with tears in her eyes as if he had crushed all her dreams).
He understands, of course, why the club is so very split up, but he can't figure out a way to make them a team again, and when Rachel walks up to him before anyone else had arrived in the room and suggests that she work with Quinn personally, he fears quite strongly that if he would allow such a thing to happen, either of them could die a vicious and horrible death. He isn't exactly blind to the occasional bouts of strong animosity that would brew between the two girls, but he also has seen curious moments of absolute tenderness between them, and so he doesn't just laugh in Rachel's face when she asks.
"Why would you want to do that, Rachel?" he asks calmly, hoping she doesn't have some sort of long-winded speech prepared. She whips out a piece of paper from behind her back, causing him to almost groan, and starts reading from it.
"Because Quinn would benefit deeply from my help in her singing, and as you have noticed, the rest of the club shows an inherent unwillingness to work with her in any capacity. I would also like to volunteer my services because I believe I can mold her into a star like myself. I have looked into past Cheerio competition numbers, and I have come to the conclusion that she has star energy just waiting to be released!" she finishes, looking up to him eagerly. Will holds in his urge to ask exactly what star energy is, and instead changes his question.
"No, Rachel. Why would you want to do this, personally? I mean, to be honest, you two don't seem to like each other."
Rachel just cocks her head to the side, her eager smile turning into a slight frown and she doesn't answer. For a moment he actually thinks he's stunned her into silence and wonders if this is a first for all-time, until she looks down to her loafers and mutters something quietly.
"I want to help her, Mr. Shue. I mean...I like her, even if she doesn't like me, and she really actually does have star energy. And I think...she could use a friend."
The answer's unexpected, and it's the first time he's really seen Rachel look vulnerable, and he finds himself nodding that he would ask Quinn for her. And Rachel's face lights up once more, a smile overtaking her face.
//
A week later, after forgetting numerous times in between wondering how on earth to get into his house without having to come face to face with his wife (or, whatever) and trying to stop Finn from punching Puck in the face, he tells Quinn to wait after practice so he can talk to her.
Will's been teaching Quinn since her freshman year, and it's amazing how much she's changed just over the past few months. She doesn't look quite so confident when she looks up at him now, with her hair cascading in waves around her face and her eyes looking sad.
"Are you going to kick me out?" is the first thing she asks when everyone leaves, sitting down on the piano bench as he leans against the piano itself, directly across from her. She doesn't look up at him, but down at her hands, which seem to be running over the keys.
"What? No, why would I do that?"
This time, she does look up at him, her eyes still betraying vulnerability even when her words come out strong and unwavering.
"Like you haven't noticed that everyone hates me," she says, then looks back down at the keys and starts playing this time, lightly, like her playing could somehow offend him or someone or anyone.
"That isn't true at all, Quinn. In fact, the reason I asked you to stay after was because someone asked to work with you. And I don't hate you either," he says, and she looks up once more, her hands not stopping.
"I don't really know why you don't hate me," she says, glancing down in the middle of the sentence and her voice cracking on the last two words.
He sighs, and moves to sit next to her on the bench, watching her play for a moment.
"Of course I don't hate you, Quinn. What Terri...what she wanted from you was wrong, and I don't blame you for it. She was wrong, not you," he whispers, knowing she can hear it because she misses a few notes as he's speaking, the first ones he's noticed since she's started playing.
She only nods, but he can see a few teardrops hit the keys she's leaning over and he can hear a few sharp intakes of breath.
"I didn't know you played," he says, trying to draw her away from the upsetting topic. But she seems to take this statement harder than the last somehow, missing more notes and visibly shivering.
"I...I've been playing since I was four. I haven't been to a lesson since my...they kicked me out," she mutters, right before she lifts her hands off the keys and brings them to her eyes, rubbing vigorously.
Not exactly knowing what to do, he reaches out and rubs her back.
"Rachel asked me if you wanted to work with her personally," he asks, and expects a firm rebuke. But Quinn stills, and looks to him with surprise, not distaste, on her face.
"Why?" she asks, her eyes clearing while her face remains bright red, a frown prominent on her face.
"She...said she wanted to help you. People care about you, Quinn," he says, his hand still on her back.
He still expects the no, even though she doesn't seem as averse to the idea as he had expected her to be, but he's even further surprised when she just nods.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt, huh?" she says, and smiles weakly, but he realizes it's the first time he's seen her actually smile in a long time.
//
Despite both girls displaying strange amiable feelings about this 'Rachel helping Quinn' thing, Will still sits high up in the dark auditorium as Rachel waits for Quinn, ready to prevent any homicides that could occur.
When Quinn actually enters through the auditorium doors and walks up the stage, she doesn't look at Rachel, just sits on one of the stools Rachel's set out and faces the empty (to her knowledge) auditorium, sighing.
"Thank you for helping me, Rachel," she says, not looking back at Rachel herself, but still smiles when Rachel replies.
"You're welcome, Quinn."
Will is still kind of stunned that they haven't called each other some horrible names (he's heard quite the original insult come out of Quinn's mouth on many an occasion), but by the end of the help session he's amazed. They seem like easy friends, somehow, and he's still sitting open-mouthed as they walk out together in silence.
//
It's only a month later when he finds out that Rachel is dating the male vocalist of Vocal Adrenaline, and he finds out via Quinn berating Rachel loudly in front of the entire glee club.
He had heard the shouting as he was coming towards the room, and at first thought realizes that finally things have settled to normalcy and he can finally feel normal about worrying over significant injury to either girl.
But when he walks through the door, neither seem to be interested in a physical confrontation, placed a solid three feet apart, and even though Quinn's fists are clenched, he realizes that she's attempting not to hurt Rachel, to hold in her anger.
"Are you really going to do this?!" is the first thing he hears, and the club sitting in their seats are just watching as if its a show.
"I mean, he's USING YOU!" is the next, and then the entire club sits up, as if a boy in Rachel's life is news to them. Even Finn and Puck look confused, and Will realizes Quinn is not shouting about either of them.
"How could you assume such a thing? You met him once, and even though he is in our rival glee club, he is a respectable, talented - "
"And he's RANDOMLY into you? I mean, come on, he's obviously some sort of minion who's been sent to, I don't know, assimilate into your life and then break your heart right before regionals - "
"Is it so hard to believe that a boy could just like me, Quinn?"
At this, Quinn immediately pauses, like she's just considered what she's saying. Rachel looks at her expectantly, and the entire club seems even more confused, in some combination of 'Why would Quinn know about this?' and 'Why hasn't Quinn said something insulting yet?', just like Will, who is neglecting his teacherly duty to break up fights just because he himself is also confused.
Quinn for her part, seems to know exactly what's going on in both her head and Rachel's, and steps forward to reach for Rachel's arm hesitantly, then pulls at it until Rachel's somehow within her arms, and they're actually hugging in the middle of the choir room in front of the entire glee club.
And no one's been killed, and yet again, Will feels awkward about expecting Quinn to pull a knife out of nowhere and go crazy.
//
Four months after that incident, Rachel and Adam (whose name Will only learned because he had to listen to much of the club complain about him when Rachel wasn't there to hear it) are still very much together, and she and Quinn were very much still friends. So much so that Rachel immediately rushed into the delivery room at Quinn's side as she went into labor, leaving the rest of the glee club to sit in the waiting room.
Quinn's water had broken in the middle of a routine, and for a moment, the room had been silent, until Rachel was ordering people to do different things, calling one of her dads to get The Bag (and she said it as if it needed to be capitalized, with a reverence and with emphasis).
Everyone still seemed taken off guard by Quinn and Rachel being friends, and Will had more than once heard bets about who would kill who first, but for some reason, it seemed right when Rachel came out hours later with baby Fabray wrapped up in blankets, looking tired and with a finger on her right hand in a splint, but still smiling down at the baby like it was the second coming of Liza Minelli.
//
A week before summer vacation starts, they go to nationals and place fifth, a huge, enormous feat, considering they started the year with only five members. Will hadn't been able to sleep, and had wandered down to the auditorium in the hotel where they had gotten cheers louder than ever before, thunderous, and just sat in the darkness of the upper balcony, contemplating the still lit stage and soaking in the magic of the room.
He had been in there for about an hour when Quinn had walked in and sat down on the stage, her legs dangling over the edge into the pit, just looking around the room with an eager smile that looked eerily like Rachel's. Even though she appeared to have on pajamas covered with penguins, she looked absolutely radiant, somehow, and her smile brightened then took on a nervous shade when Rachel walked in quietly and sat beside her.
"How'd you know I was here?" Will hears Quinn ask, and watches her deliberately not look at Rachel, her entire upper half subtly lean away from her friend. Rachel doesn't seem to notice, just looks down at their dangling feet.
"I guessed. I know the aphrodisiac that is the stage, I suppose," she says, and Quinn gives a shaky laugh at that, her face taking on a strange expression. Rachel's face looks cloudy, like she's working through something in her head.
"Quinn?" she finally says, but Quinn doesn't answer, just looks down into the pit, almost looking like she's contemplating jumping in.
"Quinn." Rachel tries again, and reaches out to grasp Quinn's fingers in her own. Even from here, Will can still see the slight bend in her index finger on her right hand, because Rachel had refused to wear the splint while performing, which apparently was most of the time. He had noticed more than once Quinn looking at it with guilt on her face.
Quinn looks over at Rachel, her body leaning back towards her, another different, but still strange, expression coming over her face. Will can't place it, but it looks familiar to him. Almost like...
His thoughts are cut off though, when Rachel leans even closer to Quinn, so close that he almost thinks they're going to kiss, but she stops as Quinn seems to take a deep breath.
"Rachel..."
"I think...we should try this. I want to try this. I...like you, a lot, Quinn. More than I really should like a friend, in that I...can't stop thinking about what happened. And I want to try. I mean, if you want to - "
"Rachel." Quinn cuts her off by slipping her hand out of Rachel's and lifting it to the side of Rachel's face, pushing back a loose hair almost absentmindedly, and this time, Will knows what's about to happen, and he knows he shouldn't watch, and he knows he shouldn't want to know what event Rachel was referring to, but just like every time before, he can't quite stop himself from doing so.
"I want to try," is all Quinn says before she closes the gap between them and presses what looks like the sweetest kiss in the history of earth to Rachel's lips.
Will leaves right after that, quietly and not interrupting the easy silence that had enveloped the two girls, smiling all the way to Emma's room to tell her about this latest development.
//
The next time Will sees either Quinn or Rachel is when school starts, and many things are different. Quinn is suddenly back in her old Cheerios uniform, her hair tied back into their trademark ponytails, and she looks on the surface like the Quinn Fabray he knew before she got pregnant and joined glee and became friends and more with Rachel Berry.
But he knows she's still that Quinn when she spends five minutes after class before her lunch talking to him about his summer and his plans this year for Glee, an easy smile flitting around on her face. When he asks her about rejoining the Cheerios, she just smiles once more and says that she really did love cheerleading, even if Coach Sylvester was a little insane.
He doesn't ask about Rachel, and she doesn't mention her, and so Will begins to suspect that they tried and failed, and he's rather surprised at how saddening he finds that prospect.
//
Two months later, Rachel walks into glee with a cherry slushy staining her shirt and dripping down her chin, and the entire club gasps. They've gained even more members by this point, and with Quinn back on top of the social heap, Will's realized that there's been much less random attacks. Much less in the sense of none, and the look on Rachel's face is almost heartbreaking, like she finally expected a reprieve and this is what she got for it.
What's even more heartbreaking is the look on Rachel's face when Quinn takes one look at her, then stalks out of the room without a word.
//
One month later, and his entire club has resorted to wearing raincoats in the hallways again, and even the 'popular' ones, Finn, Puck, Santana, and Brittany are not spared. The only one who remains untouched is Quinn, and most of the club seems to find this information as evidence that she's the one behind the attacks, and Will himself finds it rather condemning.
But one day, Sue Sylvester walks in the music room and locks her eyes on Quinn with a look that can only be described as predator hunting prey.
"Q, Q, Q," is the first thing she says, shoving her hand in Will's face when he tries to stop her from saying whatever egregious thing she's about to spout in front of his kids.
Quinn rises up out of her chair and steps forward, looking only mildly surprised.
"I've been ordering random attacks by my Cheerios on your little glee friends for about a month now, Q. To test your loyalty, as it were. And I am thoroughly disappointed."
Quinn's face changes from calm to frenzied rage so quickly that Will tries to step in again, and Rachel stands up from her seat next to Quinn to grab her right as she rushes toward Sue with what looks like an attempt to do serious harm. For her part, Sue just laughs at Quinn with her smirk still in place. The entire club is now on its feet, gathering behind Quinn, who's still struggling against Rachel's hands.
"You of course found out who their attackers were and made them run twenty laps, every time it happened, without fail. By my standards, that was a walk in the park, as you know, but by your weak-hearted, doe-eyed standards, it was cruel." Quinn isn't struggling anymore, but is watching Sue with fire in her eyes, one of her hands gripping Rachel's around her body. Even in this strange moment of confrontation, Will notices the small gesture and wonders if he's been missing things.
"But that? Wasn't the worst part. Here's something your little hi-hos don't know: I've lost around half my Cheerios because you have declared them unfit to be one of my Holy Knights in Crimson, citing the disgusting offenses of weight being over 140, eating more than 1500 calories a day, every reason that can be found in my training guide. But I realized, there was a pattern to your choosing. Every time one of your fellow champions threw an iced beverage in the face of the mouth-breathing, travesty of fashion Ethel Merman wannabe currently holding you back from doing no harm to me, you vindictively threw them off your team without a second thought."
Quinn now looks intent upon running Sue over repeatedly with a large SUV, and Will notices Rachel's grip tighten to keep Quinn in the same place.
"I quit," Quinn practically spits, her hand white on Rachel's arm.
And Sue doesn't look the least bit surprised, just surveys the two of them thoroughly entwined in each other and smirks some more.
"Then I expect your uniform on my desk tomorrow."
When she turns and leaves the room, the entire club remains silent, watching the back of Quinn's head as she surveys the situation, her hand sliding down Rachel's arm to grip her fingers.
//
The club finds about Quinn and Rachel's relationship when Quinn's father actually walks into the middle of a dress rehearsal of their regionals setlist.
Finn, Puck, Santana and Brittany all recognize Mr. Fabray and immediately clump around Quinn, who looks unsurprised by his appearance, but its Rachel who looks angriest of all.
"How dare you come here?!" Rachel is suddenly shouting, looking angrier than anyone in the room has ever seen her, and Will notices that even Quinn looks surprised. Mr. Fabray looks undaunted, just shouts right back at her.
"How dare you?!" he yells, jabbing at Rachel in a way that's exceedingly accusatory, as if she's committed murder. "How dare you corrupt my daughter to your...sinful ways?!"
The entire club gasps, and Quinn steps forward, not even noticing the rest of the club's complete shock and pulls Rachel behind her before stepping up to her father with anger written all over her face, anger that reminds Will of the one time he accidentally found a goose's nest and the thing had squawked at him as loud as possible to protect its eggs.
"So now I'm your daughter?" she asks, calmly, but her white grip on Rachel's hand behind her betrays her anger. Mr. Fabray's eyes don't leave Rachel, however, and his accusatory finger returns once more.
"You need to come home, young lady, and stop defiling yourself in God's eyes by canoodling around with that...thing!"
Quinn actually shoves him this time, sending him backwards a few feet, her eyes murderous. The club is now completely in shock, and Will sees that Finn's eyes have crossed with the knowledge of the girls' relationship.
"That 'thing' has a name, and it's Rachel Berry. I am in love with Rachel Berry. And until you can respect that and her, then you can stay as far away from me as possible," Quinn says, her voice taking on an eerie tone, Mr. Fabray seems to realize he's fighting a losing battle and turns on his heel and leaves, giving a last disdainful look toward Rachel before slamming the door to the auditorium shut.
No one moves until Quinn turns around to face Rachel, who immediately wraps her arms around the trembling girl (though Will can't tell if it's from anger or sadness) and pressing a kiss to her forehead as Quinn curls into her.
//
Will watches Emma walk around her living room, bouncing little Haley Fabray up and down, and explaining to her in an Emma's special endearing way how to disinfect a shower in an attempt to get her to sleep. They're babysitting for Quinn, who had a piano recital to play at, encouraged by Rachel, and they've been trying to get her to just close her eyes for just over an hour when the doorbell rings.
Will reluctantly tears his eyes away from the sight of his girlfriend looking down at the baby with affection and gets up to answer the door, smiling down at both Rachel and Quinn at the door. Rachel immediately rushes past Will and eagerly approaches Emma who gratefully hands the baby off and watches Haley's cooing over Rachel. Quinn watches until Will breaks her thoughts.
"How'd the recital go?" he asks, and she pulls her eyes to him and smiles sheepishly.
"It went really good. A lot of people liked it," she mutters walking in the doorway from the cool night. "How was it here?" she asks, her eyes trailing back towards her daughter.
"Oh, it was pretty good. Does your kid ever sleep, by any chance?" he asks jokingly. Quinn laughs, and Will realizes how much the girl has changed even over the past few months, with her and Rachel's relationship out in the open. She's noticeably more relaxed, and it seems as though Rachel's toned down from being with Quinn.
"On her own schedule. The only way to get her to sleep when you want her to is when..." she trails off as she hears Rachel start singing and her eyes drift back to her, and Will turns around to watch as Rachel sways back in forth, never breaking eye contact with Haley, who for her part, actually starts to close her eyes as Rachel softly sings You are my Sunshine.
"...well, like that," Quinn finishes turning to look at Will with a smile on her face, before looking back at Rachel with the smile growing wider.
//
A year later, his very first glee members all graduate, and he watches as Quinn delivers her valedictorian speech and her eyes never seem to leave Rachel's in the audience.
"...High school is a place to find who you are, and my time at McKinley High has allowed me to grow into a person better than I could have ever expected, thanks to my teachers," she turns her eyes to Will and Emma, sitting hand in hand and smiles, "and my friends," her eyes drift over the crowd, picking out people and her smile growing, "my love." Her eyes land once again on Rachel, and the moment is so sweet that the crowd of several hundred don't think to laugh that Quinn's basically just declared her love for a girl to the entire town.
//
About four years later, Will and Emma arrive in New York to see Rachel star in an off-broadway musical. He hasn't seen her for a year, and he knows that the fact that she's already successful as young as she is is almost unheard of, but when she stands in the spotlight on the stage and absolutely kills the finale, he knows its no mistake for the entire audience to burst into rabid applause.
They meet her backstage, and she squeals when she sees the wedding rings on their fingers, and while she and Emma are talking excitedly about the wedding, Will lets his eyes wander around the room, finally landing on a picture of Rachel looking out a window, black and white, and wonders how whoever took it seemed to catch the very essence of Rachel Berry.
She takes them back to her apartment for dinner, talking excitedly all the way, still very much the old Rachel, just older and no longer wearing argyle and schoolgirl skirts. When she throws open the door to her apartment, Will smiles even wider, because there's a five year old Haley Fabray barreling into Rachel's waiting arms, calling her 'momma' and jabbering on about her day.
//
It's only a half a year later when they get the wedding invitation. New York's just passed the law, and when they watch Rachel and Quinn exchange vows in front of new and old friends, Will can't help but remember the days when he was constantly waiting for them to just kill each other already, letting the tension break, but now he wonders if it was a different type of tension entirely.
But when they both say 'I do,' and the entire room bursts into applause as they meet in a kiss, he figures it doesn't matter, because he's had the chance to see a love story unfold and change and finally grow into this moment, and that's better than just about anything.
//
the end.