Exam season. It hit both girls hard. Practical exams were draining. Rachel's throat stung like a bitch. Her muscles ached from the dancing and her eyes were stinging from all the pretend tears she was forced to cry as she attempted to demonstrate everything that was being asked of her. Quinn was feeling the exhaustion too, she may have not experienced the insane singing and dancing like her girlfriend but she was being tested on her acting ability very intensely. She also had written a written literature examination and a creative writing assignment which she'd neglected over the holidays. She wasn't as flustered and stressed as her girlfriend was. There was only so much revision she could handle whereas Rachel could continuously rehearse until she was blue in the face. January was literally a blur, after New Year, they'd spent a couple of days just relaxing at Rachel and Kurt's apartment before Quinn caught the train back to Yale.
This was her last weekend in Yale before getting the train to New York to see her girlfriend. She'd set herself a mammoth task. She needed to find a Valentine's Day gift for Rachel; one that would top the bracelet she gave her at Christmas. How on earth could she top that? She'd set the bar far too high. Her second option was tickets to a show on Broadway, but that really was her second option. She wanted something incredibly special. It was their first Valentine's Day together and while normally she hated it there was something so special about sharing this one with Rachel. She scoured shop after shop until her imagination finally sprang into life. She had the perfect idea.
Rachel had found Quinn's Valentine's Day present a few weeks earlier, she was very pleased with what she'd bought and she hoped Quinn would be just as happy; though she really doubted Quinn would say if she disliked it. Kurt was going home to spend Valentine's Day with Blaine so Rachel had decided to try and make the most of their weekend. She was going all out. She still had one whole weekend to wait though.
18:32 [Rache;]: 'Can it be next weekend already? xxxx'
18:35 [Quinn]: 'You have no idea how much I wish I had a Delorean. xxxx'
18:36 [Rachel]: 'Delorean? xxxxx'
18:37 [Quinn]: 'Rachel, please tell me you've at least seen Back To The Future? xxxx'
18:39 [Rachel]: '...no. xxxxx'
18:41 [Quinn]: 'WHAT?! xxxxx'
18:42 [Rachel]: 'Sorry baby. :( xxxxxx'
18:45 [Quinn]: 'I'll bring mine with me next weekend ;) xxxx'
18:46 [Rachel]: 'I thought you wanted me to watch it? ;) xxxx'
18:47 [Quinn]: 'I do... xxxx'
18:48 [Rachel]: 'Well if you watch it with me, I can guarantee we WON'T watch it. ;) xxxxx'
18:50 [Quinn]: 'You flirty devil, Rachel Berry. :P xxxxx'
18:51 [Rachel]: 'Can you blame me? I miss you! xxxx'
18:53 [Quinn]: 'I know, I miss you too. xxxxx'
18:54 [Rachel]: 'Can I call you? xxxxx'
18:56 [Quinn]: 'I'll call you soon, I'm just a little bit preoccupied at the moment. xxxxx'
18:59 [Rachel]: 'Oh. Okay. Speak soon. xxxxx'
Rachel put her phone down and tried to find something to do. Kurt was busy almost all day every day. He'd left his internship in favour of working at Vogue. He was doing magnificently in his job and had been head hunted to work exclusively for Vogue. He was still only a personal assistant but he got to see and be a part of so much more. Rachel was proud of him. She grabbed her laptop and began browsing for ways she could make next weekend that bit more special. Quinn was busy working on her Valentine's Day present for the diva. She couldn't say that of course because she would never hear the end of Rachel's incessant questioning about what it was. The task itself wasn't too difficult, it was narrowing everything down which was the tricky part. Quinn revised everything and began to dial the diva's number. She needed to hear her voice.
"Hello!" Rachel exclaimed as she answered the phone.
"Hey you!" Quinn said with a broad smile across her face.
"How are you?"
"I'm good, better now that I'm talking to you."
"Such a charmer," Rachel mocked.
"How are you baby?"
"I'm fine, I just really miss you!"
"I know, I miss you too."
"Only two and a half years more of this distance."
"Oh don't say that," Quinn moaned. "It's hard enough knowing you're only eighty miles away, then you go and put a time frame on it."
"It's more like a prison sentence," Rachel joked.
"I know!"
"Will we live together once we graduate?" Rachel mused.
"I hope so. I'll come to New York to be with you. You know that."
"I know, but I'd go with you wherever you needed to go too."
"No Rachel. You belong on Broadway, so that's where you'll stay. Let me help you make your dreams come true."
"They already are." Rachel sighed honestly. She just wanted to kiss her girlfriend right now. Quinn always found a way of saying everything so perfectly.
"Rachel?" Quinn said breaking the brunette away from her thoughts.
"Hmmm?"
"I know we've already talked about the future, but does it not scare you a little bit considering we've only been together for what, two months?"
"Of course it does. I'm terrified. I'm not pinning my hopes on it just yet though Quinn. It's fantastic to discuss things with you but everything is so new, that at the moment we're just fantasising." Rachel replied.
"Thank you. I'm glad you said that because I'm doing the same."
"I'm terrified of losing you and then the world crumbling again."
"Rachel, I promised you and your Dads that I want to spend the rest of my life making sure you're safe, loved and looked after. I meant that."
"I know you did, I really do."
"I love you Rachel. There's no other way I can say it."
"I love you too, Quinn."
They spent the remainder of the night just discussing the small things in life but the phone call had really helped Quinn's mind settle. Her gift was going to rock. She just needed to find the time to finish it.
Friday approached ridiculously slowly for both girls. They were counting down the days. It had been over a month since they'd seen each other. Talking and texting was only so much. Quinn really needed to upgrade her phone too. Rachel had been desperate to try FaceTime but Quinn's phone couldn't support the feature. She was going to have to upgrade to an iPhone at some point. If only to please Rachel. Quinn had suggested Skype but Rachel didn't want to have to settle down in bed with her chunky laptop. She really was hard to please; not that Quinn minded. She would do anything to make the girl happy. So here she was skipping her final seminar of the afternoon, it was only a seminar on Arthur Miller and his tragic heroes. She could definitely catch up on that. The train was speeding down towards New York and Quinn couldn't stop smiling. Her gift was in a separate bag, she couldn't risk it being broken. She'd worked incredibly hard on it. They were exchanging gifts tonight but they weren't having their Valentine's day dinner until tomorrow. Rachel was too excited to exchange gifts so she'd scheduled their weekend so she could do that tonight.
Rachel was sitting at the platform and had been for over thirty minutes. She knew Quinn's train would be another twenty minutes or so but she didn't want to risk it being incredibly early and not being there to meet her gorgeous blonde. Everything was pretty much set. Her room was immaculate. The lounge area had been decorated with red throws and scented candles were ready to be lit. This was going to be perfect. The announcer came over the tannoy and said that the train from New Haven would be arriving shortly. Rachel jumped to her feet and began bouncing on her toes until she saw the familiar grey carriage pull into the station. A flash of blonde hair was at the window as the train pulled into the station and Rachel knew immediately whom that hair belonged to.
"QUINN!" Rachel screamed as she got off the train. Unlike the last time, Quinn had managed to place her bags on the floor before Rachel dived on her. Good job really, she couldn't tell Rachel she had something breakable because the diva would be a little interested and she wanted to wait just a while longer.
"Hi Rach," Quinn mumbled when she finally saw the diva's face. She leant down and placed a soft kiss to the diva's lips. "You look beautiful," she noted as she ran her eyes up and down the brunette's body. "I'm so glad I get to spend the weekend with you,"
"You are such a charmer Quinn Fabray. I never expected this." Rachel laughed as she laced their fingers and began walking out of the station. "Can I carry a bag?" Rachel offered.
"No, it's alright. Thank you."
"How was your journey?"
"Long! It dragged so much. I got bored of my book, then I couldn't find anything that I really wanted to listen to. I was just so bored and I wanted to hurry and get here."
"Well you're here now."
"I am."
"So you got my schedule?"
"I did, I have your present right here and I can't wait to see your face."
"Likewise. Kurt's gone home too, which you already know, but I thought I should just mention we have the place to ourselves already." Rachel said rather deeply and it caused Quinn to gulp. Her eyes widened with the insinuation her girlfriend had just made.
"You mean...?" Quinn stuttered but couldn't finish the sentence.
"Maybe." Rachel simply replied. "If you want to,"
"I do." Quinn blushed.
"Me too."
"Wow!" Quinn stated as she set foot into the lounge of the apartment. "It's gorgeous in here, Rach."
"I tidied for you,"
"You know you didn't have to. Besides, I can't imagine it ever being untidy."
"I've been lounging around like crazy this past week just to try and relax a little bit."
"How do you think your exams went then? I know we only spoke about it briefly on the phone." Quinn said sitting down on the couch, Rachel sat down beside her and snuggled into the blonde.
"I think they went well, I couldn't have been more prepared. I was up until all hours of the evening just going over everything."
"You'll have done perfectly. I hope so. I just want to show everyone that I deserve my place in the school."
"Rachel, Carmen Tibideaux wouldn't have given you a place if she didn't think you deserved it. You need to stop doubting your place in those halls. You have worked so hard baby."
"I know, I'm just worried that I'm not good enough. You haven't seen the others in class, they're phenomenal."
"So are you,"
"You don't know, Quinn!"
"I don't need to know Rachel. I believe in you and your abilities. You are the most amazing, talented and hard working person I have ever met. You will make it. I know you will. I'll be there to see it all."
"You really are perfect."
"Well I do try. Seriously Rachel, please stop with the doubt because there's only so many times I can tell you that you're amazing before I lose patience and just begin to agree with you."
"I'm not self-deprecating just so you compliment me. I don't do it just so you can tell me how amazing you think I am. I'm genuinely concerned."
"I know you are Rachel, but you have to remember that I believe in you, your Dads believe in you, your friends believe in you. You just have to get some of that confidence back, I don't know where it's gone but I'd really like to see it make a comeback."
"I'll try, I promise." Rachel replied solemnly. She leaned closer into Quinn and kissed her cheek affectionately. "Let's do presents." She whispered trying not to let her excitement escape.
"If you insist." Quinn laughed and went to get Rachel's from her room.
They sat opposite each other on the couch, both were sitting with their legs crossed underneath them just smiling at each other wondering who was going to make the first move. Quinn could see Rachel itching to speak. "Rachel, do you want to go first?" Quinn said laughing.
"No, I went first at Christmas. So I think it's your turn."
"Any excuse, you just want your present first." Quinn sniggered as she handed the diva her gift bag. "Be careful," Quinn warned.
"Okay, now I'm scared."
"Don't be, just be careful because it's breakable."
Rachel pulled the present out of the gift bag and carefully unwrapped the present. Her eyes narrowed as she pulled out a glass bottle which was filled with what looked like little pieces of paper curled up. There was a small gift tag wrapped around the bottle, Rachel picked it up gently and twisted it so she could read it. In Quinn's perfect cursive handwriting it read: 'Twenty five reasons why I love Rachel Berry'. A small smile landed on her face when she looked up to see Quinn who was observing her closely. "Open it," Quinn said softly.
Rachel pulled off the cork and tipped the bottle upside down. The little pieces of paper fell onto the couch in the space between them. She unfurled the first one and read it, once again in Quinn's perfect handwriting: 'She's determined', she smiled when she read it and she picked up another one. 'She doesn't care what people think about her'. She continued reading them: 'She has ambitions', 'She cares for her friends', 'She's a good kisser', 'She has the voice of an angel', 'She likes to cuddle when she sleeps', 'She's hard working', 'She knows exactly what to say and when to say it', 'She's beautiful: inside and out', 'She leaves a lasting impression', 'She supports me and my decisions', 'Her hugs are like being wrapped in a sleeping bag', 'She's honest with her feelings', 'She's full of hope', 'Her smile stretches from ear to ear', 'She gets excited when I call her', 'Her flirty text messages', 'She's going to make a fantastic wife and mother someday', 'Her ridiculously long legs', 'She looks so peaceful when she's asleep', 'Her voice cheers me up', 'Her love for musicals', 'Her expressive brown eyes', 'She loves me back.'
Rachel slowly and carefully picked all of the reasons up and put them all on the coffee table. She moved the bottle and placed that gently on the floor. She leant across and wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck. Staring deep into those hazel eyes that swirled with love she gently pressed her lips to the blonde's. The kiss started off gentle but soon became hurried as Rachel swiped her tongue across Quinn's bottom lip searching desperately for entry. Quinn granted access and immediately her mouth was filled with Rachel's tongue. God how she had missed this. Rachel straddled her waist and was continuously pulling her closer. Quinn's arms were running up the back of Rachel's shirt and were grazing the back of her bra. "I missed you so much," Quinn panted when they broke apart.
"God me too. That gift was amazing. Seriously, you have a gift for picking gifts." Rachel said breathlessly before diving in for another kiss.
"You liked it then?" Quinn sniggered before she thrust her tongue into the diva's mouth.
"Mhm, you could say that." Rachel replied. "Too much talking going on right now," She said before forcefully reconnecting their lips.
"What about my present?" Quinn joked.
"You're serious?"
"Well I would like mine but I guess I could wait a little longer," She said before laughing at the diva's bemused face.
"Hmm I hope so," Rachel laughed, "You're right though," She conceded climbing off her girlfriend's waist before reaching over to the coffee table and grabbing the box off it. "Happy belated Valentine's Day, Quinn." She said as she handed the velvet box to the blonde.
Quinn slid the box out of the cardboard that was supporting it around the middle. She opened the box cautiously and pulled the bracelet out. "Rachel this is gorgeous.' The bracelet was sterling silver and was moulded to fit to Quinn's wrist. "There's more, look on the inside," Rachel suggested. There was an inscription which read: 'Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.'
"Aristotle," Quinn said quietly. Rachel only nodded in agreement. "Rachel this is beautiful. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it. The quotation took forever to find. I just couldn't get one that seemed to fit. But you and I, we share something amazing and it's reached the both of us to the depths of our soul and has found its way of making us one soul. Whether you're right here beside me or in New Haven I know we share something special."
"Oh baby." Quinn moaned and this time she was the one who sprang forward and covered Rachel's lips. "I love you so much," Quinn said as she quickly pulled away and looked deep into the brown eyes that she loved so much.
"I know you do, I have twenty five reasons why you love me."
"There's so many more than twenty five. I just couldn't write them all down."
"You're the sweetest."
"Once again we amaze the other with our ability to pick gifts," Quinn laughed as she rolled Rachel onto her side so she could lie behind and spoon her.
"That's how it should be," Rachel said as she joined their hands together across her stomach.
"Mhm, I agree." Quinn said leaning forward to press light kisses to the brunette's neck.
"Don't start something you won't finish," Rachel warned.
"Who said I wouldn't finish?" Quinn mocked, biting the flesh lightly. "You wanted this, right?" Quinn asked.
"I-I-I did." Rachel stammered.
"Are you sure?"
"Definitely." Rachel said as she twisted awkwardly on the couch so she was facing Quinn. They stared at each other intensely. "I love you," Rachel said.
"I love you too Rachel, so much." Quinn replied as their lips met. Their kiss was sweet and filled with the love they shared for each other. Their hearts were racing as their passion consumed them, soon enough hands began to wander as breathing became laboured and forced. "Take me to bed, Q." Rachel panted. Quinn beamed at the nickname.
She crawled over Rachel and held out a hand for her girlfriend. When Rachel stood up and laced her fingers with Quinn's, Quinn looked deep into Rachel's eyes, they were filled with hunger and lust. The brunette's lips were swollen and Quinn imagined that she looked exactly the same. Turning the lights off as she passed, she walked slowly into the diva's bedroom. Once inside she closed the door as Rachel perched on the bed.
"Is everything okay?" She asked timidly as the diva watched her approach.
"Everything's perfect." Rachel replied as Quinn got closer. She hooked her fingers in the blonde's belt loop holes and pulled her down so the blonde was straddling her waist. Their lips met again and this time there was no caution; it was driven with passion and desire. Quinn's hands met the hem of the diva's top. Working on instinct she pressed a hand to the brunette's toned stomach and revelled in the feel of bare skin. Not to be outdone, Rachel took control and flipped Quinn over and pushed her tee up. She saw the blonde's abs and her heart beat even faster.
"You can take my shirt off if you want, you know?" Quinn said drawing the brunette out of her trance. Rachel only nodded as they shifted so they could take their shirts off. They met in the middle of the bed and began to kiss again, their chests touched and they realised they still had too many clothes on. Reaching around, Quinn unclasped the bra on her girlfriend's back and slid the straps off her shoulder. Taking a minute she stared at the topless beauty in front of her. She took a deep breath and thanked the Lord for giving Rachel to her.
"See something you like?" Rachel mocked.
"Definitely."
"I want to see you too," Rachel stated as she reached around to unfasten Quinn's bra. Reacting in the same way as her girlfriend, Rachel was mesmerised. Arousal hit them both hard as they pushed towards the other and began kissing furiously. Quinn pushed on Rachel's bare shoulder and she landed between the pillows of the diva's double bed. Quinn kissed down the diva's body; she started on her lips, then moved to her neck, the valley of her breasts and down her toned stomach until she reached the brunette's jeans. She looked up at Rachel who gulped and nodded. Quinn unclasped Rachel's jeans and slid them down her legs. Rachel bent her knees slightly so Quinn could get them off with ease. Rachel quirked an eyebrow at the jeans covering Quinn's legs and taking the hint, the blonde quickly took hers off. Their legs tangled together as Quinn resumed her place on top of her girlfriend.
"Are you still okay?" Quinn asked. She wanted to make sure everything was perfect for the diva. It was what she deserved after all.
"I'm fine baby, I'm more than fine. If you want, you could, you know, even check how fine I am for yourself." Rachel stammered as her eyes left Quinn's and shyly looked down her body. She was nervous because this had to be perfect. She was about to have sex with the girl she loved more than anything in the world. It hadn't been an epic experience with Finn, this was her time to do it the right way. Quinn gulped at the brunette's words.
"Trust me I will." Quinn replied when she regained the ability to speak.
Moans filled the room as their kisses became more passionate and more desperate. Hands and mouths explored. Both Rachel and Quinn knew this was perfect; it was with someone they loved. They were so consumed with love that they knew they would only get stronger with every single day. They were glad they waited. Now felt right. It was perfect, just like Rachel had hoped.