Happy Birthday (Quinn/Rachel)
Name: Happy Birthday
Pairing: Quinn/Rachel
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Rachel's gone missing on Quinn's birthday.
Author's Note: Guys, I'm SRS. This was supposed to be angst, and then it...wasn't. Instead, it is a fluffy, fluffy mess featuring a heavy dose of baby Haley and Aaron and Michael. It's technically a missing moment in the Love Story verse. And I know I said I wouldn't write for two days. I lied, I suppose. But you just wait! The angst will get here eventually. Possibly with the R-rated things. And the title is from the Ting Ting's Happy Birthday, not the normal one.
Saturday mornings are the best mornings, in Quinn's humble opinion. Rachel doesn't burst out of bed at what is often the crack of dawn, in turn waking Quinn up due to the fact that they now share a bed (a development that had caused Rachel's dads to sit the girls down separately and have a long, uncomfortable talk). Instead, they tend to just lay there for a good hour after waking up, barring any previous engagements or Haley crying. It's sweet, and it's warm, and sometimes just thinking about it makes Quinn want to cry.
On this Saturday morning, though, Rachel is not curled up next to her, brushing back hair from Quinn's face and smiling down at her, and she's not in the next room over singing to Haley. In fact, she's not even in the house. Michael and Aaron both look as confused as Quinn feels when she asks where Rachel went.
"She said she was getting something," Michael says, sliding over a cup of coffee to Quinn as she collapses onto her stool at the island in the middle of the Berry kitchen.
"We assumed it was for you, for your birthday," Aaron adds, sitting next to Quinn with a jar of baby food, popping it open and looking at Haley sitting innocently in her high-chair, probably forming a battle plan. Feeding her daughter sometimes required a full-on team of people. Just last week, during a dinner party, it had taken Finn, Puck, and Mike to get her to finish off a jar. Whether that was due to their childcare ineptitude or her willfulness, Quinn wasn't sure, but all the same, it was amusing and required a large amount of paper towels to clean up afterward.
Quinn shakes her head, groaning, as she takes a sip of coffee and waving over at Haley, who giggles and kicks her feet as Aaron starts making the puttering noises of an airplane.
"I told her not to get me anything," she mutters.
"Well, it's not as though our daughter is known for her listening skills," Aaron interjects, right before a well-placed flail on Haley's part knocks the spoon out of his hand. He sighs, before turning to Quinn, silently asking, 'you wanna give this a try?' She knows he's not really upset because of the smile tugging at his lips, but she takes it from him anyway and trades spots with him. Michael pours her more coffee.
"Okay, baby, open up," she says, smiling at her daughter, who giggles once more and opens her mouth. She manages to get the bite to stay within Haley's mouth and looks triumphantly over at Aaron who just sighs dramatically, feigning defeat. She gets drawn back to Haley when she starts making a noise that sounds a lot like 'momma.'
In fact, they all stare at her with amazement, until she just starts kicking again, making happy noises at the three people staring at her.
"Does that count as a first word?" Michael finally asks, pouring himself a coffee and sitting at the stool across from Quinn.
"I think they have to say it clearly," Aaron says, watching as Quinn gets another bite of food in Haley's mouth. Quinn nods in agreement, before she voices what everyone's thinking.
"Where is Rachel?"
And so it begins.
//
They go to the park around the corner, Aaron fiddling with his cell, occasionally calling Rachel, but she never picks up. Haley's happily swinging along while Aaron berates Michael with terrifying statements like, 'What if she's been kidnapped and sold into child labor? What if she's been kidnapped, killed, and being sold for parts?' to which Michael says that they've watched way too many horror movies lately, when Quinn's phone rings.
She pulls it out of her sweatshirt's kangaroo pocket, nearly drops it at first, but then slides it open before she remembers to check caller ID. Santana doesn't wait for her to say anything.
"Q, your girlfriend has roped me into this, so just shut up and listen before I become overwhelmed by the sunshines and rainbows involved in what I'm about to tell you, okay?" Quinn knows she's not supposed to answer, so she just lets Santana talk. "Berry is sending you and your merry band of gays and your drooling offspring on a scavenger hunt to find her, even though it is your birthday. She says there's a reward waiting at the end. I did not ask, she did not tell, I don't want to know if you three can combine enough brainpower to find your little Smurf, so don't tell me. Your first clue is at Finn's. The end."
//
All three of them are standing outside the Hudsons' door, waiting anxiously, Haley making gurgling noises when Finn throws open the door and smiles excitedly.
"Hey Quinn, Mr. Berry and...Mr. Berry. Hey baby," he says, easily lifting Haley out of Quinn's arms and raising her above his head before turning to go inside his house. They follow him in, and he grabs a package from his coffee table, and hands it to Quinn.
"You guys are going to have so much fun today, I promise, little Drizzle." Quinn looks up from the unwrapping of the box to glare at Finn, who has enough sense to look sheepish, while Michael and Aaron giggle. "It's a great name, Quinn, I don't know why you have such a subjection to it," he mutters, smiling down at the baby, who gurgles in return.
"Objection," she mutters, right before she pops the box open to find a bright blue onesie. She pulls it out of the box, holding it up to the light, and reads what's written on the front: Where else can you find eyes like mine?
"Okay," Quinn hears Michael say, and she turns to look at him.
"I don't get it," Aaron mutters, pulling the onesie out of Quinn's hands, turning it over a few times as if a clue will just fall out of it. "Cute saying though."
"You do have pretty eyes, don't you, baby Haley," Finn remarks, and Haley laughs a little, before she starts trying to talk again. All of them pause their different thought processes. It still sounds like 'momma,' but it still isn't defined yet.
"She did that earlier," Michael says, and Finn looks even happier than he did when he was hopped up on vitamin-D, or that one time Puck had given him Pop Rocks mixed with Bacardi. With that thought, the clue slides into place. She leans over the coffee table and grabs Haley, who makes a noise of discontent at being pulled from Finn's arms, amusingly copied by Finn himself.
Turning the girl around, she looks at her eyes, and smiles, while one of Haley's hands grabs at a strand of hair hanging in front of her mom's eyes.
"I know where we're going," she says, and Haley gives a tug.
//
"You guys want some dip?" Puck asks immediately after opening his front door, right before he catches sight of Haley in Michael's arms. Haley recognizes her dad and starts squealing, and Puck hoists her into his arms, before he pulls a bag out from behind him and hands it over to Quinn.
"Their eyes do look the same," Michael remarks, while Quinn shuffles through the bag before she grabs hold of a rubber duck, then pulls it out, looking at it with consternation.
"Are we taking a bath?" Aaron asks, and Puck gives a snort, making Haley laugh a little and grab hold of his ear and making noises that he returns. Quinn's rather distracted by this scene for a moment, because Puck's never sweeter than how he is with their daughter, and it makes her smile.
Quinn is suddenly sidetracked by thoughts of the last time she and Rachel had taken a bath together, a week ago. So sidetracked, in fact, that Aaron waves his hand in front of her face to bring her back to the land of non-sexual thoughts, looking amused. She looks down at the duck in her hand, before she turns it over and sees the words, 'lean on me when you're not strong,' inscribed there.
"Brittany," she mutters, handing the duck to Michael and taking their daughter back from Puck, who smirks at her. Haley interjects, one hand landing on Quinn's shoulder and she starts vocalizing once more. They all stare at her before she dissolves back into normal baby noises.
"Damn our kid is cute," Puck says, nudging at Quinn, breaking the spell. "Now go get your hot girlfriend."
//
This clue is not helping Quinn to focus. Brittany seems unconcerned with the fact that she just handed Quinn a bra, and Rachel's dads are just laughing at the expression on Quinn's face. She recognizes the bra, of course she does, she very, very much does. Haley, makes a grab for it, but Quinn just scoots away from her daughter, running her hand over the teeth marks on both of those straps. On one of them, it's written in Sharpie: remember me?
Which is of course something Rachel would say just to be coy, because of course Quinn remembers. She just...would rather not remember in front of the lovely men who raised her girlfriend and are currently letting Quinn live with said girlfriend, because she can feel her eyes glazing over repeatedly.
She sighs, and half-wishes Rachel had just kidnapped Quinn and taken her to somewhere so they could, maybe, not wear anything for a few hours.
"We're going to the mall," she mutters, and tries to hand the bra back to Brittany, who shakes her head and says that it's Quinn's anyway.
//
The Victoria's Secret Lady hands her a pink bag after checking Quinn against a photo in her hand.
It's filled with candy hearts, and after sifting through them and eating a fair amount at the food court, she finds a letter.
Quinn,
I hope you've liked this so far, but now's the time for the rules to change. Dad and Daddy will take Haley home, the rest is up to you. You have a few more clues, of course, but I'll be waiting :)
Go to where you fell in love.
love you,
Rachel
//
She drops Michael and Aaron off with Haley back at home before following them in and hanging a quick left into the room where her piano is. Taped to the seat is a note saying: Go to where you proved it.
Quinn kisses Haley goodbye, and she comes thisclose to saying 'momma' once more, but it just disappears.
//
Quinn steps into the school hesitantly, almost terrified that a police officer is about to come at her and arrest her for trespassing. But the door is unlocked and it seems like every door she opens is unlocked, really. She finally steps into the music room hesitantly, smiling wider when she spots Rachel sitting on the floor, strumming a song on one of the guitars.
"Hey baby," Quinn says quietly, and Rachel looks up with a smile on her face, setting the guitar on the ground beside her carefully before bounding over to Quinn.
"You got here," Rachel says, stating the obvious. Quinn just nods, and she slides her hands around Rachel's waist while her girlfriend's hands do the same.
"Happy birthday," Rachel whispers, right before she leans up to kiss Quinn, who returns the kiss with fervor, pressing Rachel back and back and back until she's up against the piano.
"Baby, we've got a while," Rachel mutters, even as Quinn tugs her shirt over her head. Quinn ignores this and sucks right at Rachel's pulse point.
"Okay, never mind," Rachel says, right before Quinn captures her lips once more.
//
"I can't believe you had to use a bra as a clue," Quinn mutters, her head on Rachel's stomach, stretched out happily on the floor with the blanket Rachel had provided for a picnic underneath her. Rachel's hand just sifts through Quinn's hair, laughing a little.
"I can't believe you pulled it off with your teeth in the middle of the store," Rachel returns, and Quinn smiles a little at the memory now that Rachel's dads aren't sitting right next to her. That would be very uncomfortable at the moment, considering the two girls' current state of dress.
"It was in the dressing room," Quinn says, laughing up at her girlfriend. Rachel just shrugs, muttering something about payback being fair.
"We should probably go home," Rachel says after a while, pulling Quinn up to face her.
"Probably," Quinn says, a devilish smile and a dark look that Rachel could recognize anywhere coming over her face, right before Rachel once more forgets her entire thought process.
//
They finally get home two hours later, Rachel not wearing a bra due to a well placed bite snapping one of the straps. Quinn looks utterly smug, and is happily surprised to find Michael and Aaron sitting at the kitchen island that they had started their day at, lighting candles on a cake. They sing happy birthday, and right at the end of it, she feels Rachel's hand slide into hers, and Quinn has a vague urge to cry. She doesn't though, just laughs when the flame won't go out on the last candle and grips Rachel's hand. Michael mentions that there's a present upstairs waiting for her, and Quinn almost has a heart attack, because she doesn't need to remember that conversation and subsequent shopping trip at all.
They eat their cake in relative silence, just enjoying each other's company. Rachel finishes first and eventually starts playing with Haley, sitting her on her lap and letting Haley grip her hands and giggle.
"Momma!"
Immediately, everyone at the table freezes. Michael and Aaron look at each other quickly, before Aaron bursts into tears, while Quinn looks at her daughter wondrously, because the girl is not looking at Quinn. She's looking at Rachel, who's looking back at Haley with an awestruck look. The girl repeats it a few times, swinging Rachel's fingers around a few times and laughing before Rachel regains enough of her higher brain power to smile down at the girl and kiss her forehead, before she turns her gaze to Quinn with amazement on her face.
"I love you," Quinn says, and Rachel looks unbearably happy, and Quinn is deciding that this birthday is turning out even better than her piano birthday, or last year's birthday when Michael and Aaron went out of town and Haley stayed the weekend at Puck's.
"I love you, too," Rachel whispers, and that seals this birthday as the best she will ever have in her entire life.
And even though this is only her eighteenth birthday, she's really okay with the fact that nothing could top this.
the end.
Pairing: Quinn/Rachel
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Rachel's gone missing on Quinn's birthday.
Author's Note: Guys, I'm SRS. This was supposed to be angst, and then it...wasn't. Instead, it is a fluffy, fluffy mess featuring a heavy dose of baby Haley and Aaron and Michael. It's technically a missing moment in the Love Story verse. And I know I said I wouldn't write for two days. I lied, I suppose. But you just wait! The angst will get here eventually. Possibly with the R-rated things. And the title is from the Ting Ting's Happy Birthday, not the normal one.
Saturday mornings are the best mornings, in Quinn's humble opinion. Rachel doesn't burst out of bed at what is often the crack of dawn, in turn waking Quinn up due to the fact that they now share a bed (a development that had caused Rachel's dads to sit the girls down separately and have a long, uncomfortable talk). Instead, they tend to just lay there for a good hour after waking up, barring any previous engagements or Haley crying. It's sweet, and it's warm, and sometimes just thinking about it makes Quinn want to cry.
On this Saturday morning, though, Rachel is not curled up next to her, brushing back hair from Quinn's face and smiling down at her, and she's not in the next room over singing to Haley. In fact, she's not even in the house. Michael and Aaron both look as confused as Quinn feels when she asks where Rachel went.
"She said she was getting something," Michael says, sliding over a cup of coffee to Quinn as she collapses onto her stool at the island in the middle of the Berry kitchen.
"We assumed it was for you, for your birthday," Aaron adds, sitting next to Quinn with a jar of baby food, popping it open and looking at Haley sitting innocently in her high-chair, probably forming a battle plan. Feeding her daughter sometimes required a full-on team of people. Just last week, during a dinner party, it had taken Finn, Puck, and Mike to get her to finish off a jar. Whether that was due to their childcare ineptitude or her willfulness, Quinn wasn't sure, but all the same, it was amusing and required a large amount of paper towels to clean up afterward.
Quinn shakes her head, groaning, as she takes a sip of coffee and waving over at Haley, who giggles and kicks her feet as Aaron starts making the puttering noises of an airplane.
"I told her not to get me anything," she mutters.
"Well, it's not as though our daughter is known for her listening skills," Aaron interjects, right before a well-placed flail on Haley's part knocks the spoon out of his hand. He sighs, before turning to Quinn, silently asking, 'you wanna give this a try?' She knows he's not really upset because of the smile tugging at his lips, but she takes it from him anyway and trades spots with him. Michael pours her more coffee.
"Okay, baby, open up," she says, smiling at her daughter, who giggles once more and opens her mouth. She manages to get the bite to stay within Haley's mouth and looks triumphantly over at Aaron who just sighs dramatically, feigning defeat. She gets drawn back to Haley when she starts making a noise that sounds a lot like 'momma.'
In fact, they all stare at her with amazement, until she just starts kicking again, making happy noises at the three people staring at her.
"Does that count as a first word?" Michael finally asks, pouring himself a coffee and sitting at the stool across from Quinn.
"I think they have to say it clearly," Aaron says, watching as Quinn gets another bite of food in Haley's mouth. Quinn nods in agreement, before she voices what everyone's thinking.
"Where is Rachel?"
And so it begins.
//
They go to the park around the corner, Aaron fiddling with his cell, occasionally calling Rachel, but she never picks up. Haley's happily swinging along while Aaron berates Michael with terrifying statements like, 'What if she's been kidnapped and sold into child labor? What if she's been kidnapped, killed, and being sold for parts?' to which Michael says that they've watched way too many horror movies lately, when Quinn's phone rings.
She pulls it out of her sweatshirt's kangaroo pocket, nearly drops it at first, but then slides it open before she remembers to check caller ID. Santana doesn't wait for her to say anything.
"Q, your girlfriend has roped me into this, so just shut up and listen before I become overwhelmed by the sunshines and rainbows involved in what I'm about to tell you, okay?" Quinn knows she's not supposed to answer, so she just lets Santana talk. "Berry is sending you and your merry band of gays and your drooling offspring on a scavenger hunt to find her, even though it is your birthday. She says there's a reward waiting at the end. I did not ask, she did not tell, I don't want to know if you three can combine enough brainpower to find your little Smurf, so don't tell me. Your first clue is at Finn's. The end."
//
All three of them are standing outside the Hudsons' door, waiting anxiously, Haley making gurgling noises when Finn throws open the door and smiles excitedly.
"Hey Quinn, Mr. Berry and...Mr. Berry. Hey baby," he says, easily lifting Haley out of Quinn's arms and raising her above his head before turning to go inside his house. They follow him in, and he grabs a package from his coffee table, and hands it to Quinn.
"You guys are going to have so much fun today, I promise, little Drizzle." Quinn looks up from the unwrapping of the box to glare at Finn, who has enough sense to look sheepish, while Michael and Aaron giggle. "It's a great name, Quinn, I don't know why you have such a subjection to it," he mutters, smiling down at the baby, who gurgles in return.
"Objection," she mutters, right before she pops the box open to find a bright blue onesie. She pulls it out of the box, holding it up to the light, and reads what's written on the front: Where else can you find eyes like mine?
"Okay," Quinn hears Michael say, and she turns to look at him.
"I don't get it," Aaron mutters, pulling the onesie out of Quinn's hands, turning it over a few times as if a clue will just fall out of it. "Cute saying though."
"You do have pretty eyes, don't you, baby Haley," Finn remarks, and Haley laughs a little, before she starts trying to talk again. All of them pause their different thought processes. It still sounds like 'momma,' but it still isn't defined yet.
"She did that earlier," Michael says, and Finn looks even happier than he did when he was hopped up on vitamin-D, or that one time Puck had given him Pop Rocks mixed with Bacardi. With that thought, the clue slides into place. She leans over the coffee table and grabs Haley, who makes a noise of discontent at being pulled from Finn's arms, amusingly copied by Finn himself.
Turning the girl around, she looks at her eyes, and smiles, while one of Haley's hands grabs at a strand of hair hanging in front of her mom's eyes.
"I know where we're going," she says, and Haley gives a tug.
//
"You guys want some dip?" Puck asks immediately after opening his front door, right before he catches sight of Haley in Michael's arms. Haley recognizes her dad and starts squealing, and Puck hoists her into his arms, before he pulls a bag out from behind him and hands it over to Quinn.
"Their eyes do look the same," Michael remarks, while Quinn shuffles through the bag before she grabs hold of a rubber duck, then pulls it out, looking at it with consternation.
"Are we taking a bath?" Aaron asks, and Puck gives a snort, making Haley laugh a little and grab hold of his ear and making noises that he returns. Quinn's rather distracted by this scene for a moment, because Puck's never sweeter than how he is with their daughter, and it makes her smile.
Quinn is suddenly sidetracked by thoughts of the last time she and Rachel had taken a bath together, a week ago. So sidetracked, in fact, that Aaron waves his hand in front of her face to bring her back to the land of non-sexual thoughts, looking amused. She looks down at the duck in her hand, before she turns it over and sees the words, 'lean on me when you're not strong,' inscribed there.
"Brittany," she mutters, handing the duck to Michael and taking their daughter back from Puck, who smirks at her. Haley interjects, one hand landing on Quinn's shoulder and she starts vocalizing once more. They all stare at her before she dissolves back into normal baby noises.
"Damn our kid is cute," Puck says, nudging at Quinn, breaking the spell. "Now go get your hot girlfriend."
//
This clue is not helping Quinn to focus. Brittany seems unconcerned with the fact that she just handed Quinn a bra, and Rachel's dads are just laughing at the expression on Quinn's face. She recognizes the bra, of course she does, she very, very much does. Haley, makes a grab for it, but Quinn just scoots away from her daughter, running her hand over the teeth marks on both of those straps. On one of them, it's written in Sharpie: remember me?
Which is of course something Rachel would say just to be coy, because of course Quinn remembers. She just...would rather not remember in front of the lovely men who raised her girlfriend and are currently letting Quinn live with said girlfriend, because she can feel her eyes glazing over repeatedly.
She sighs, and half-wishes Rachel had just kidnapped Quinn and taken her to somewhere so they could, maybe, not wear anything for a few hours.
"We're going to the mall," she mutters, and tries to hand the bra back to Brittany, who shakes her head and says that it's Quinn's anyway.
//
The Victoria's Secret Lady hands her a pink bag after checking Quinn against a photo in her hand.
It's filled with candy hearts, and after sifting through them and eating a fair amount at the food court, she finds a letter.
Quinn,
I hope you've liked this so far, but now's the time for the rules to change. Dad and Daddy will take Haley home, the rest is up to you. You have a few more clues, of course, but I'll be waiting :)
Go to where you fell in love.
love you,
Rachel
//
She drops Michael and Aaron off with Haley back at home before following them in and hanging a quick left into the room where her piano is. Taped to the seat is a note saying: Go to where you proved it.
Quinn kisses Haley goodbye, and she comes thisclose to saying 'momma' once more, but it just disappears.
//
Quinn steps into the school hesitantly, almost terrified that a police officer is about to come at her and arrest her for trespassing. But the door is unlocked and it seems like every door she opens is unlocked, really. She finally steps into the music room hesitantly, smiling wider when she spots Rachel sitting on the floor, strumming a song on one of the guitars.
"Hey baby," Quinn says quietly, and Rachel looks up with a smile on her face, setting the guitar on the ground beside her carefully before bounding over to Quinn.
"You got here," Rachel says, stating the obvious. Quinn just nods, and she slides her hands around Rachel's waist while her girlfriend's hands do the same.
"Happy birthday," Rachel whispers, right before she leans up to kiss Quinn, who returns the kiss with fervor, pressing Rachel back and back and back until she's up against the piano.
"Baby, we've got a while," Rachel mutters, even as Quinn tugs her shirt over her head. Quinn ignores this and sucks right at Rachel's pulse point.
"Okay, never mind," Rachel says, right before Quinn captures her lips once more.
//
"I can't believe you had to use a bra as a clue," Quinn mutters, her head on Rachel's stomach, stretched out happily on the floor with the blanket Rachel had provided for a picnic underneath her. Rachel's hand just sifts through Quinn's hair, laughing a little.
"I can't believe you pulled it off with your teeth in the middle of the store," Rachel returns, and Quinn smiles a little at the memory now that Rachel's dads aren't sitting right next to her. That would be very uncomfortable at the moment, considering the two girls' current state of dress.
"It was in the dressing room," Quinn says, laughing up at her girlfriend. Rachel just shrugs, muttering something about payback being fair.
"We should probably go home," Rachel says after a while, pulling Quinn up to face her.
"Probably," Quinn says, a devilish smile and a dark look that Rachel could recognize anywhere coming over her face, right before Rachel once more forgets her entire thought process.
//
They finally get home two hours later, Rachel not wearing a bra due to a well placed bite snapping one of the straps. Quinn looks utterly smug, and is happily surprised to find Michael and Aaron sitting at the kitchen island that they had started their day at, lighting candles on a cake. They sing happy birthday, and right at the end of it, she feels Rachel's hand slide into hers, and Quinn has a vague urge to cry. She doesn't though, just laughs when the flame won't go out on the last candle and grips Rachel's hand. Michael mentions that there's a present upstairs waiting for her, and Quinn almost has a heart attack, because she doesn't need to remember that conversation and subsequent shopping trip at all.
They eat their cake in relative silence, just enjoying each other's company. Rachel finishes first and eventually starts playing with Haley, sitting her on her lap and letting Haley grip her hands and giggle.
"Momma!"
Immediately, everyone at the table freezes. Michael and Aaron look at each other quickly, before Aaron bursts into tears, while Quinn looks at her daughter wondrously, because the girl is not looking at Quinn. She's looking at Rachel, who's looking back at Haley with an awestruck look. The girl repeats it a few times, swinging Rachel's fingers around a few times and laughing before Rachel regains enough of her higher brain power to smile down at the girl and kiss her forehead, before she turns her gaze to Quinn with amazement on her face.
"I love you," Quinn says, and Rachel looks unbearably happy, and Quinn is deciding that this birthday is turning out even better than her piano birthday, or last year's birthday when Michael and Aaron went out of town and Haley stayed the weekend at Puck's.
"I love you, too," Rachel whispers, and that seals this birthday as the best she will ever have in her entire life.
And even though this is only her eighteenth birthday, she's really okay with the fact that nothing could top this.
the end.