Chapter Text
Jesse
He looked around the living room of his and Rachel’s apartment, where about twenty people were making small talk with each other. It was a tight fit, with his friends, Rachel’s friends, and the joint friends they’d accumulated over the two years they’d been together.
They were celebrating a couple of things. First was Rachel taking over the workshop for Clueless the Musical , where she would be playing Cher Horowitz. The production had high hopes that the musical would finally be given the green light for at least an Off-Broadway staging, and Rachel would hopefully be originating the lead role. Second, and this one Jesse was very excited about, workshop would finally be starting in a new musical that he was directing. It was going to be his first foray into directing and he was determined to excel at it.
He looked over at Rachel, who was talking animatedly to one of their castmates from The Inner Life of Miss Havisham , the musical where they’d crossed paths again more than two years ago. Rachel had won a Best Featured Actress Tony for her role as Estella in that musical. Jesse was very happy for her, although he couldn’t help his chagrin at being snubbed for the Best Featured Actor award when he’d been playing opposite her as Pip, the main character in the original novel.
Jesse shook himself. It was no matter. That snub had been a year ago, both he and Rachel had taken on other projects since then, and now he was celebrating the start of a promising new project that he was certain would finally gain him the recognition he deserved.
Rachel had been hesitant to host a party simply because they would be doing new shows, but he’d appealed to Rachel’s love for recognition and was eventually able to convince her. There was another reason he wanted to have a celebration of course.
Jesse fumbled with the box that had been weighing heavily in his pocket and thought about what he was going to do. He was not nervous, no. Jesse St. James did not get nervous. He was almost very certain of Rachel’s answer, but he was anxious to finally get started.
He walked to the middle of the room and cleared his throat. A few of his closest friends, who were in on his plan, started taking out their phones to record videos.
“Everyone, may I have your attention please?” he said loudly, then waited a few minutes for the room’s occupants to focus their attention on him.
Rachel was looking at him questioningly. He winked at her. She hadn’t known that he was going to make a speech.
“I just want to say thank you all for coming here,” Jesse began. “For helping us celebrate our new projects. Rachel will be taking over the workshop for Clueless as the main character, and I will be starting workshop in a new show. I can’t tell you what it’s called, it’s all very hush-hush at this point,” he added as an aside, winking and speaking directly to one of the phone cameras pointed at him.
“It is a night of new beginnings,” he continued. “For both myself and Rachel,” he looked at his girlfriend then. She was smiling curiously at him. “It brings me back to the day I met her again, after years of losing touch, at our first day of rehearsal for Havisham . In honor of that day, and of how that musical brought us back to each other’s lives, Rachel, this is for you….”
Jesse moved to stand in front of Rachel and began to sing a song he’d sung day in and day out to her, as Pip to Estella, over the course of their first year together. It was a song about second chances and new beginnings, which fit them perfectly. He thought his and Rachel’s characters perfectly mirrored their real-life love story, having met young, losing touch, and meeting again to rekindle an epic romance.
When he finished singing, he directed his attention to Rachel, who was smiling now but still looked confused. Jesse took a deep breath, feeling the gravity of what he was about to do settle over him. He forgot his words for a moment -- maybe he was a little bit nervous -- but only for a moment, and then as always, he found his voice.
“Rachel. I meant it when I said that fate brought both of us to Havisham , not only because it opened doors for our careers, but more because it brought us back together. We met again when ‘we were surer of ourselves, of our hearts and our minds’,” he quoted from the musical.
“There is no one else that I would have chosen as the Estella to my Philip,” he used the character’s given name because the nickname sounded rather unelegant. “We’ve made such beautiful music together as two destined characters on stage. I think that we can make even more beautiful music off the stage, as two people who were always meant to be together.
“What I’m trying to say is,” he paused as he got on one knee and pulled out the little box from his pocket, opening it to reveal a lovely diamond ring. “Rachel Berry. My lovely star, the music in my life. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Rachel just stared at him in shock, smiled plastered to her face.
“Honey?” Jesse prodded after a moment when Rachel was still not saying anything.
Finally, she brought her hands to her mouth and started nodding. Jesse grinned happily, immediately standing up to slide his ring into Rachel’s finger. They kissed to the sound of loud cheers from everyone in the room. Jesse looked for one of his friends who were taking a video, looked into the camera, and shouted, “We’re engaged!”
He turned back to Rachel and looked into her big brown eyes, which were shining at him. He bent down and gave her a longer kiss this time, letting the cheers around them wash over him.
Much later, when everyone else had gone home after celebrating their engagement well past midnight, Jesse and Rachel finally retired to their bedroom. He was eager to start their own private celebration, but she was glued to her phone.
“Honey, what’s on that phone that’s even more interesting than your husband-to-be?”
Rachel gave him a smile. “I’m just sharing the news,” she replied quietly.
Her phone rang loudly in the silence that followed, and she excused herself to the bathroom. He let her be, understanding the need to share their news with everyone in excitement.
Rachel emerged from the bathroom after several minutes.
“Who was that?” he asked genially, wondering which one of her friends would still be awake at the late hour.
“That was Quinn,” she replied with a tired smile. “It’s just past six AM in London. She just read my message from a few hours ago.”
“Ah….”
Jesse knew that Rachel had kept up with Quinn Fabray since college, even when the other woman had moved to San Francisco then traveled all over Europe for one project or another. That friendship would have surprised him, but Santana Lopez had already been reintroduced to him as one of Rachel’s friends by the time that he had learned that she and Quinn Fabray emailed and even Skype-called each other every now and then. After the shock of Santana Lopez, Rachel and Quinn Fabray had almost made sense to him.
But it wasn’t a night to contemplate about Rachel’s friendships. It was a night to celebrate their -- his and Rachel’s -- relationship. Jesse patted the bed next to him, sending Rachel an inviting grin as he waggled his eyebrows.
Rachel gave him an apologetic smile. “Rain check, honey?” she asked gently. “I know we have a lot to celebrate,” at this, she looked down at the ring on her finger, “but we had such a long day and I think I’m milliseconds away from simply collapsing on my feet.”
He was tired too, so he acquiesced with only a little amount of disappointment.
“Whatever my star wants,” he said grandly, gesturing for Rachel to come to him.
She gratefully climbed into bed, curling against him as he slid down to a more comfortable position. He gently put his arm around her, drifting off to sleep with dreams of musical notes and Rachel.
Kaz
She woke up disoriented, noticing that the space next to her is empty. The clock on the nightstand said it was only a few minutes past six. She frowned in confusion. She always woke up at around six AM without an alarm -- years and years of early training practices had made sure of that -- but her girlfriend usually woke up much later, and always with the need of a very noisy alarm clock.
She climbed out of bed and padded softly out of the bedroom, pausing at the door as she looked across the living room into the dining room, where Quinn was standing, back to her and hunched over one of the cupboard counters. She was talking to someone on her phone, her voice soft and sleepy. Kaz stilled with the feeling that she was interrupting an intimate moment.
“I’m happy for you,” Quinn was saying. A few seconds, then, “This is… he’s good for you. I think you’re good together. I’m really happy for you.” A beat, then, “Of course.” Then, “Keep me posted, okay?” Then, “Yeah, you too.” Then, “Goodnight.”
Quinn hung up. Her shoulders seemed to sag lower, and she stood there for several moments, head down, until Kaz decided to make her presence known.
“Who was that,” she asked, walking towards Quinn.
Quinn spun around, wearing a huge smile that was in direct contrast of her stance from just a moment ago.
“Hi,” she greeted brightly. “That was a friend from back home. She just got engaged.”
Kaz started to smile herself. “Oh, who?”
“What?”
“Who’s your friend that got engaged?”
“Oh, well….”
“Q,” she said with fond exasperation. “I do know the names of your American friends,” she reminded her.
Quinn never said the names of her friends from back in the USA when talking about them, only referring to all of them as “a friend from back home”, always assuming that Kaz didn’t care to know who had done this thing or that.
Usually, she was right. Most of Quinn’s friends worked in the entertainment business, and while Kaz loved music and enjoyed the occasional movie and TV show, she wasn’t really interested in the day-to-day life of the people making them. But this was an engagement . It was a big deal, and Kaz was curious.
“It’s Rachel. You remember--?”
“Of course I remember Rachel ,” Kaz said, suppressing an eyeroll. “She’s only one of your best friends.”
She remembered Quinn flying to New York two years ago for an overnight visit just to watch a Broadway show that Rachel was on. A year later, Quinn had excitedly informed her that Rachel had won the Broadway award for that same show.
She smiled at Quinn, “That’s good news.”
Quinn smiled back at her, though there was an oddness to Quinn’s smile that she couldn’t quite figure out. She didn’t know whether it’s good or bad.
“Right?” Kaz added belatedly.
Quinn suddenly closed the distance between them. She put her arms around Kaz, resting her head on Kaz’s shoulder.
Kaz stiffened, her mind going a mile a minute trying to figure out what was causing Quinn’s odd mood. She hoped that her friend’s engagement wasn’t making Quinn think of taking their own relationship to the next level.
Yes, they were already living together, but it was partly out of convenience. She did love sharing her space and waking up next to Quinn, but the decision to move in had also been because she was traveling half of the time and it was so much easier to return to Quinn’s flat, which was near her team’s training grounds, instead of her own rarely kept one.
And yes, they’d been dating for almost two years, but Kaz still had so much to do before she could even think of marriage. She had just helped England to a Silver in the World Cup a year ago, and they were already preparing for next year’s European Cup, where they would be the defending champions. And this year there was the title race with her club team for the domestic and European league. Her focus right now was her career and she thought -- she hoped -- that Quinn understood that.
“What--?” she let out a squeak as she was released from the embrace.
Quinn looked at her with a radiant smile, so beautiful against the morning sunlight streaming in her hair that Kaz almost forgot all her misgivings. A kiss, and Kaz forgot what she was trying to ask in the first place.
Quinn pulled back and said, “I’m so happy I have you.”
“Yeah?” Kaz said, confused but smiling.
Quinn answered with her own question. “How long do you have until you need to go to practice?” she asked, backing away slowly.
“Erm…” Kaz hedged, feeling off-kilter with the sudden change in topic. “An hour, bit more.”
“Well then, just sit tight,” Quinn guided Kaz to a chair, “and since I’m already up, I’ll make your breakfast!”
Kaz watched as Quinn busied herself around the kitchen. She decided to let the oddness of the last few minutes go. Quinn certainly had her moments, but right now she was giving Kaz another kiss as she handed her a cup of tea before starting on Kaz’s trainer-approved breakfast.
Kaz smiled to herself as she took in the scent of her Earl Grey -- with a pinch of lemon, just the way she liked it. Her girlfriend was pretty amazing.
A few headlines on celebrity news sites
“Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James Get Engaged”
“Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James Engagement”
“Broadway’s Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James Get Engaged”
“Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James: 5 Things You Need to Know”
On a chat board titled ‘Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James’
Guest 1: stberry is engaged! [link to news article]
Guest 2: Ahhhh! Finally! I’m so happy for them.
Guest 3: kasdfareunksjoiejskfjas!!!
Guest 1: they’re so perfect together. *heart eyes*
Guest 4: Yes, StBerry! I hope the delusional shippers from Tumblr will finally shut up.
Guest 2: I’m pretty sure those are just a crack-ship thing.
Guest 4: They’re annoying and disrespectful to the people they’re shipping. It’s like they’ve forgotten they’re real people with real feelings. There’s this user who keep posting about how she’s dating that actress friend of hers from high school when they’ve never even been in the same city for more than a few days, let alone the same room.
Guest 2: Why are you following them, then?
Guest 4: I’m not following them. I don’t even have an account. And why are you here when you’re obviously one of those delusional shippers. Go to the Rachel Berry chat instead, they’re as delusional there as the Tumblr shippers.
Guest 2: I don’t “ship” Rachel with anyone. I’m a fan of her. I’m happy that she’s engaged to someone she loves and has been dating for a few years. It’s funny that they’re shipping her with a lot of other people, but everyone knows none of those are real. I don’t take it seriously. You shouldn’t either. :|
Guest 5: Yay StBerry!
On a chat board titled ‘Rachel Berry’
Guest 1: Rachel and Jesse just got engaged :) [link to news article]
Guest 2: Such a beautiful and talented couple. So happy for them. :)
Guest 3: yay, stberry!
Guest 4: but- but- berryjam! :(
Guest 5: No way, berryfield forever!
Guest 6: sunberry is the way to go man. they were in les mis together, and they’re actually good friends
Guest 5: Rachel’s not even gay. You people just want “eposette”, and you somehow think that it should translate to real life.
Guest 6: are you even reading what you’re saying? you’re shipping berryfield because of havisham. they’re not real either. you just have a problem with sunberry because they’re both women, when in reality they would make more sense because they’re actually friends.
Guest 7: Jfc, none of those make sense. Rachel’s with Jesse. Can this thread not post anything about them without devolving into a discussion on who else she should be with?
