These strange steps

14

Sunlight streams into her eyes the next morning, and they flutter open unexpectedly, before she grimaces and rolls over onto her other side-only to be face to face with Quinn, who is just lying there. And looking at her.

She stills, to the best of her ability, and watches as Quinn's eyes flit from some spot to her left-her hair, maybe? Is it sticking out funny? She reaches on instinct, and then watches as Quinn just pulls the covers up to her chin with her hands, curled into loose fists, and then peers at her from above it-just two eyes and a nose.

Rachel feels her own nose crinkle in response, and then says, "... what are you doing?"

"Pretending I'm under water," Quinn says, muffled by the covers.

That silly, teenage sensation of noticing another person for the first time-really noticing them, in the sense where they make up a body and a personality and a being that could slot in next to her own-washes over her again, and she's not awake enough to really control her response to it.

Thankfully, it's just an urge to do the same thing, and then they're just dumbly staring at each other, hiding grins behind the covers, until Quinn shifts a little again and runs a hand through her ever-messy hair.

"I... was going to wake you up by um, going down on you, but... some people don't like that kind of thing, so I thought I'd ask first."

"Some people being you? Because-by all means, next time the urge strikes you," Rachel says, her lips brushing against the sheets; they're tingly, now, and she knows a kiss would soothe them right quick, but-

One step at a time, and for now, Quinn is in her bed. Talking. About wanting to go down on her.

There are worse ways to wake up.

Quinn hesitates, and then rolls over onto her back and folds her arms under her head. "I think... most people would be in mortal danger if they tried it, honestly, but..."

She trails off completely, and rays of sun play across her face-highlighting the length of her eyelashes, and the perfect tip of her nose, and the way her lips are still rosy and bruised from what they did yesterday.

"God, you're so beautiful," Rachel thinks-only realizing belatedly that she's said it, or sort of sighed it.

Quinn glances at her briefly, before frowning and then stretching out her entire body. "You're biased."

"Well, yes, but even objectively..." Rachel smiles faintly and lowers the covers. "Is it really that hard for you to believe that-"

Quinn shrugs. "No. I spent a lot of money-or well, my parents did, to get me looking this way. Clearly it's satisfying some objective beauty standard."

"Quinn," Rachel says, a little more seriously, shifting in closer just because she can, until her hand is stroking down Quinn's cheek and then cupping her chin lightly.

The skin around Quinn's eyes crinkles momentarily-it's one of very few things that gives away that Rachel is not alone in suddenly getting closer to 30 than to 20-and then relaxes again. "I'm... not saying you're being dishonest, Rachel. I just ..."

"What do you see, when you look in the mirror?" Rachel asks softly, brushing her hand down further, until she's drawing a small circle on Quinn's sternum with just the tip of her index finger.

Quinn grips her finger after a moment, and then says, "Ask me something easier."

They reposition almost automatically after that, until their only point of connection is Rachel's knee against Quinn's thigh, and they're looking at each other again.