part one | part two | part three

((ps this is rated M))

iii.

She’s typing out an update on her phone when Cory finally returns from his trip to the VIP tent. She smiles up at him widely after she sends her tweet, accepting the kiss he places on her cheek. He hands her a bottle of water, and she gladly accepts.

“You look so pretty today,” he tells her as she uncaps the bottle, raising it to her lips so she can take a sip. He’s shouting a bit to be heard over the music.

She bites her lip after she swallows the water. “Thank you,” she tells him sweetly, leaning up to peck his cheek. He grabs her elbow, keeping her close, pressing his face against her hair as she giggles.

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part one | part two

ii.

She smiles against his mouth, her hands running through his hair as she moves to straddle his waist. His hands settle on her hips as he kisses her back, his tongue probing the inside of her mouth.

“Mmm,” he murmurs throatily, “you know that’s not a dress, right?” His hands slip under the fabric, rubbing circles on her thighs.

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Her breathing is ragged as he grips her wrist, her heart pounding in her chest. She knows she should be afraid of him, knows she should hate him, but she doesn’t. She can’t. He’s keeping her here, but she doesn’t resent him.

In fact, she may have even grown to love him.

“Finn,” she says softly, looking not at his eyes but at his lips, seemingly getting closer and closer to her own. “Finn, please believe me.”

“You can’t mean that,” he says, his voice low and rough. “When you say love, you can’t - you can’t mean that about me. No one can mean that about me, Rachel, least of all you.”

“But I do,” she breathes, and her gaze flickers up to his eyes, still intense, but softer. “You may put up these walls and try to act like you’re some kind of monster, but you’re not. You’re actually a really nice guy, Finn. And you can’t tell me how I feel, because I do, I do love you—”

She’s cut off when he presses his lips against his, crushing her to him, kissing her hungrily. She sighs, arms wrapping around his neck as she breathes him in. 

“I love you, too, Rachel,” he breathes as he pulls away. “But I - I’m not good for you—”

“Let me be the judge of that,” she tells him, and then he stands on her tiptoes to kiss him again.

(i think i took this in a different direction but i hope that’s okay!!!!)

She says the words, but she doesn’t need to, because he can kind of see it, right in front of his face. It’s hard to miss, really.

He hasn’t seen her or heard from her in six months, but now she’s in front of him, and he’d be a complete idiot if he didn’t notice the obvious change.

But she says it anyway, spells it out for him.

“I’m pregnant, Finn.”

He just gulps, looking down at her protruding abdomen. She doesn’t just look pregnant - she looks like she could give birth at literally any moment. 

“I see that,” he manages to get out. “Who - who’s the lucky guy?” His heart aches a little, because obviously it happened when they were together. He thought they broke up because he felt he was holding her back, not because there was someone else. 

“That’s what I need to talk to you about,” she says slowly, hand resting on her stomach. 

Oh, no. He really doesn’t want to talk about this with her. “Rach, really, it’s fine, it’s in the past—”

“But it’s the future, too, Finn,” she says, and suddenly he is completely lost. “Our future. I - I want you to be a part of the baby’s life.” She looks down, and her voice grows quieter. “I want you to be a part of my life as well.”

Suddenly, it hits him. His eyes grow wide. “The - the baby’s mine?”

“Of course it’s yours!” she exclaims. “Who else could it be?”

He wants to laugh, but instead, he takes her face and he kisses her, kisses her for the first time in six months, his lips pressing urgently against hers. Her hands rise up to tangle in his hair, and she’s still the same, still Rachel. Only now she’s carrying his baby.

He pulls away, resting his forehead against hers. “You really mean that? You want me to be apart of this?”

“You always have been apart of it,” Rachel confesses softly. “It was stupid of me to let you leave, and - and then I found out I was pregnant, but I couldn’t call you, because you deserved to live life without a burden like this weighing you down.”

“Rachel, I love you,” he cuts her off. “And you’re not a burden, and neither is this baby. You never will be, alright? And I’m not going anywhere, not again.”

She smiles, her eyes watery, and she stands on her tiptoes to press her lips back against his. “I missed you, Finn,” she murmurs. 

“I missed you, too,” he says, gripping her hand in his. He repeats, “I’m not going anywhere.”

How could he? He has a family now. And it may not have happened conventionally, but honestly? He wouldn’t have it any other way.

He’s leaving tomorrow. She really doesn’t want him to go.

“This place is beautiful,” he breathes, his eyes trained on the New York City skyline, but Lea’s watching him inside. She smiles slightly at his wide-eyed wonder similar to that of a little boy, and she squeezes his hand gently.

“I knew you’d like it,” she tells him serenely, and he glances down at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“I wish I didn’t have to go,” he says quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

She sighs, leaning her head against the shoulder. They look out at the skyline together, his arm looping around her, tugging her to him. He presses a kiss to her forehead. “I wish you didn’t, either,” she admits.

“This trip has been amazing though,” he tells her. “And this moment, this perfect moment, sums it up quite nicely I think. The perfect view with the perfect girl.”

She blushes.

He takes out his phone then, snapping a picture of the view. He taps a few keys, then he smiles down at her. “Just tweeted that,” he announces proudly.

She laughs, pressing her face against his shoulder. “You’re a dork,” she murmurs.

“Now you take a picture,” he insists, nudging her lightly.

“Cory, we can’t keep this relationship on the downlow if we’re tweeting pictures of the same thing one right after the other.”

He waves that aside. “Then tweet it when you’re missing me.”

She thinks about that for a second, then she takes out her phone. She takes the picture, studying it for a second, then shows him.

“Beautiful,” he says, but she notices he’s not looking at the picture.

She ducks her head, giving him a playful shove.

And the next day, when she’s missing him, she tweets the picture.

He texts her a smiley face in response, and he says he misses her, too.

She makes a mental note to visit their special place the time they’re both in New York. 

She can’t handle looking at all the tubes, all the wires and all the machines. So she closes her eyes, a tear snaking down her cheek as she grips her lifeless hand in her own.

She can’t even sing to him today like she usually does. She knows it’s no use. The doctor already told her she’ll need to say goodbye. He can’t hold on much longer.

“Hi, Finn,” she says quietly, the tears already building up and constricting her throat. “I - I never thought I’d actually have to do this…” She sniffs, wiping at her eyes with her thumb. “I love you, Finn. I always will. So much so that I - I don’t know how I’ll go on without you.” A few more tears slip down her cheeks, and her eyes become cloudy, so cloudy she can barely even see through her tears. 

“We’ll see each other again one day though,” she chokes out, smoothing the back of his hand with her thumb. “One day, it’ll all work out. I - I p-promise.”

A sob escapes her throat, and she lays her head against the bed, her cries slightly muffled by the stiff, white hospital bed sheet. A resounding, elongated, high pitched tone sounds then, and she cries harder, because she knows he’s gone.

He’s gone, and he’s never coming back.

He really can hardly believe his luck. Rachel Berry, the one with the voice of an angel, is sitting across from him at the library table, her teeth biting down gently on her plump bottom lip, her nose wrinkling adorably as she tries to figure out the math problem in front of her. 

He’s had a crush on her since middle school, so when she needed a math tutor, he jumped at the chance to spend time with her. He’s trying not to get his hopes up though - he’s just an awkward, tall kid who likes math a little too much to be considered cool or even normal. 

“So… the answer is seven?”

He blinks a few times, snapping out of his reverie, to see Rachel Berry smirking at him, almost like she knows the affect she has on him. Hastily, he turns her paper towards him, glancing down at her work. “It looks good, Rach.” His eyes widen as he lets the nickname just slip out, but she doesn’t seem to notice.

“Really?” she asks, her smile blinding. “It’s right? I got the right answer?”

He nods. 

She squeals then, throwing her arms around his neck, practically causing him to tip over in his chair. He gets a whiff of her shampoo - strawberries - and he hesitantly squeezes her back. She kisses his cheek as she pulls away, grabbing her math book and turning it back towards her. 

“Let’s try another one,” she says, her tone excited. “I think I’m getting the hang of this.”

He nods dumbly as she flips the page, reaching up to feel the place where her lips had brushed his skin.

Agreeing to tutor Rachel Berry was the best decision ever.

“Look what I got, Rach!” Finn beams, carrying a large, cardboard box into their apartment.

She eyes him warily. “Finn…” she says slowly, but her lips are already quirking upwards into a smile at the sight of his huge, dimpled grin. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

In response to her question, a head pokes up out of the box, big brown eyes and large, triangular ears. 

“Now, I know I should have consulted you first,” Finn says quickly, setting the box down on the carpet and lifting out the small, corgi puppy, “but Ted was giving him away for free and I - I couldn’t say no! Just look at that face.”

Rachel bites her lip to keep from smiling, her heart melting as the puppy reaches up to lick Finn’s cheek. 

“I mean, our apartment complex allows animals, and I promise I’ll take him out every morning. Just… please don’t be mad?” Now he’s the one giving her puppy dog eyes.

She sighs, running a hand through her hair. He’s watching her carefully, his gaze pleading.

“Alright,” she says finally. “We can keep him.”

Finn wraps an arm around her then, hugging her while still holding the dog, who begins to lick her face, causing her to giggle.

“On one condition though!” she manages to gasp out. 

He pulls away, still grinning, and the dog seems to be smiling at her as well. “Whatever you want, Rach,” he vows.

Her eyes sparkle. “I get to name him.”

(*)

Four hours later, Rachel and Finn are curled up on the couch, her feet in his lap and the newest member of the family, Demetrius Hudson, curled up on her own legs. He closes his eyes as she scratches behind his ears.

Finn chuckles. “You already love him,” he teases. 

“Not as much as I love you,” she promises.

He just rolls his eyes, but he smiles. 

Rumors have been circulating since she and Finn announced their engagement, but she didn’t let them affect her until today. She takes in a deep breath, trying to keep the tears that threaten to spill over at bay as she pushes through the crowded hallway. She needs to get to the choir room. She needs to block out the whispers, the judging looks.

But she keeps hearing the word as she passes, and it stings. 

Pregnant.

It’s not true, of course, but it hurts all the same. Why would that be the only reason Finn would ask her to marry him? Can’t they just be in love? 

She finally manages to reach the choir room, pushing the door open and walking briskly inside. It’s miraculously empty. She heads over to the first row of chairs, collapsing onto one of them, her bottom lip trembling as the tears finally break loose, spilling down her cheeks, leaving hot, wet trails on her skin.

Someone else comes in then, and she does her best to cover her face with her hands.

“Rach?” Finn’s strong arms are suddenly around her, drawing her to him. “Rachel, what’s wrong?”

She leans into him, pulling her hands down, and she whimpers, “D-Did you know that there’s a rumor that I’m p-pregnant, Finn?”

“Wait, are you pregnant?” She can tell he’s alarmed, and his hold on her tightens. “Is that why you’re crying?”

“N-no!” she wails. “B-but they all assume I am, and th-that’s why you asked me to m-marry you!”

“Rachel,” he says quietly, smoothing her hair with one hand. 

“I mean, why can’t we just be getting married because we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together? Why is that so hard to understand?” 

“Because,” he begins, and she rests her head on his shoulder, “they don’t get it, Rach. They haven’t experienced something as wonderful as what we have, so they don’t understand it. So, in order to explain it, they make up these vicious, stupid rumors, because they can’t possibly get that we already know that we’re supposed to be together for the rest of our lives, because they don’t know that feeling.”

She lets that soak in for a moment, and then slowly, she nods, craning her neck so she can look up at him. “You’re right,” she says. “And - and I guess it shouldn’t matter what they say. Because I’m not pregnant, and I’m still going to marry you, regardless of what they think, or what they say. No one’s opinion matters to me besides yours.”

He smiles then, kissing her soundly, and she knows that she’s making the right choice. Let everyone talk and make up vicious rumors. As long as she has Finn, she could care less. 

He keeps telling himself that she’ll be okay. She has to be. 

She’s been unconscious for a week now, ever since she was in the car crash, and Finn’s kind of going insane. He needs her here, absolutely needs her to be okay. He can’t be okay if she isn’t.

He hardly leaves her side, sitting by her bed day and day, her hand limp in his. Sometimes he sings, his voice hoarse and scratchy, but he thinks that if anything will help her wake up, it’ll be singing. So he sings, his voice soft in the small, quiet room.

He’s singing some Journey, his lips barely even moving as the words leave his lips, as the melody escapes his throat, when he feels her fingers twitch within his own.

His eyes widen, and he abruptly stops singing. She’s still breathing; her eyes are still closed. He wonders if he imagined it.

He sighs, and he begins to sing again. 

He’s only been singing for a few seconds when he feels her fingers move again, and he stops once more, staring intensely at her hand, which is now gripping his.

“Mm, why did you stop singing?”

He looks up to see Rachel blinking at him, smiling just a little bit.

“Oh my God, Rach,” he breathes, and then he’s kissing her, softly, gently, his hand cradling her face as if she might break. He’s crying a bit, a few tears landing on her cheeks, but he smiles as he pulls away, pressing another kiss to her forehead. “I wasn’t sure if you’d wake up, Rachel. You scared me. Don’t ever do that to me again, alright?”

She nods, tears filling her own eyes as she clasps his hand tightly with her own, kissing the back of it. “I promise,” she whispers.

He studies her: the wide brown eyes, the soft smile, trying to make sure she’s real. To prove she is, he kisses her again. 

She’s real and she’s here and she’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. He has her and everything will be fine.