Work Text:
7pm. The incredibly busy day at The Spotlight Diner finally drew to a close. Customers had flocked in all day, cluttered up each and every table and left behind all sorts of messes. Rachel was exhausted. Kurt was no help either, he only seemed to chat eagerly with Santana about a topic that remained an undisclosed secret to Rachel. Every-time she asked what they were both talking about they both suddenly were silent. To say the least, it was weird.
Rachel brushed it aside and instead focused on her remaining jobs, refilling coffee machines and cleaning tables and so on. Even this didn't help the sour mood she was in though, as no matter how hard she scrubbed the table in booth 12, it simply wouldn't become any cleaner. Maybe it was the cloth she was using or simply the age old tables scattered with peculiar stains that had been there for years prior to her working there. Either way she was growing more and more frustrated. With a huff, she stood up quickly, threw down the cloth in a nearby trashcan and stormed into the backroom to find a new one.
Santana and Kurt, sitting down at the bar, watched in amusement.
"So, what time is Q. arriving?" Santana spoke in a hushed voice, careful not to let Rachel hear.
Kurt turned to face her. "Her train set off a few hours ago, she should have arrived by now...I haven't gotten a text back in quite a while so it's anyone's guess. She'll probably be waiting for us at the apartment." He said.
"If that's the case then we should get back now, I won't let Quinn steal my bed, guest or no guest." Santana remarked.
Just then the backroom door flew open and Rachel emerged with a new cloth in hand. She side-eyed Kurt and Santana whilst walking back over to the booth.
"If you're not going to help you may as well just go home." Rachel said with a bitter tone.
"Fine." Santana lifted herself from the chair she was sitting on. She turned to Kurt as she walked towards to door. "Come on, Hummel."
Kurt gave Rachel a quick hug. "See you back at the apartment." He spoke as he broke free of the embrace. He then turned and walked out alongside Santana.
Rachel watched and gave a small wave before returning to what she was doing. Rachel hated closing up the diner and she especially hated cleaning. It made her back ache and her neck cramp, but it was a job that needed to be done, and if any-one was going to do it, it would be her.
It felt like forever had passed since the time the door closed and it opened up again. Rachel lifted her head, expecting to see Santana return to retrieve a jacket she had probably left, or a lost tourist inquiring about directions. Instead, Rachel saw Quinn Fabray standing in the doorway.
Quinn, here, in New York? Surely not.
Rachel stood up straight in surprise and blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't imagining things. But she wasn't. Quinn was really here, in all of her ethereal glory.
"...Quinn?" Rachel intended to state, but when she spoke it came out more like a question.
"Rachel. Hi." Quinn smiled at her.
She smiled back.
Rachel always liked it when Quinn smiled.
After a brief silence, Rachel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she spoke again.
"What're you doing here? Not only in New York, but this diner of all places?" She asked.
"Well, you always kept reminding me to use my train ticket and come visit you sometime, so here I am." Quinn shrugged slightly.
Rachel had about 20 different questions spewing in her mind. She was about to ask if Quinn really came to New York just to visit her, when Quinn cut her off:
"I came to visit the others too, I heard about Santana moving in with you and Kurt, and I just had to see her."
"Oh." Rachel felt a light stinging feeling in her heart. She bit the inside of her cheek. It was probably best not to let on about the feeling of disappointment that the sentence brought her.
Quinn looked around and scanned the diner. "Where are those two, anyway? Don't they work here?"
"They, uh, just left, actually." Rachel avoided eye contact and looked outside the window instead. It was fully dark outside now, the sun had gone down and the sky was a dark blue, almost black. She felt the eyes of Quinn on her and returned her gaze back to the blonde in front of her. "You look different." Rachel admitted.
"I do?" Quinn seemed taken aback. "I think you're the one who looks different nowadays."
Now it was Rachel's turn to be confused. "Different how?"
Quinn paused and looked at Rachel, taking in her appearance and every feature. "It's a good kind of different, more mature. You don't look like a Lima girl anymore...you look like a true New Yorker. You always were meant for this place." She finally answered.
Rachel looked down again. She smiled slightly and felt her cheeks grow warm. Then she looked up to see Quinn still staring at her. "Thank you."
Quinn walked over to the booth Rachel was cleaning and took a seat. "So, how long until you finish up here?"
"Not long. I just have to...clean some more." Rachel extended an arm and gestured to the other tables.
Quinn laughed. She knew how much Rachel disliked cleaning since she would always complain about how long it took to organize the choir room when the Glee club left it in disarray after every meeting. Even though there were janitors at the school, Rachel insisted on doing it herself, though she would grumble her way through it.
"Why don't you make me a coffee and I'll take over your cleaning duties?" Quinn suggested, propping her elbows on the table.
Rachel nodded and turned to the kitchen.
Quinn started: "I'll have-"
"-a salted caramel mocha, right?" Rachel answered, finishing her sentence. She turned back to Quinn, who looked slightly impressed.
"You know my coffee order?" Quinn said slowly, confused but simultaneously intrigued.
Rachel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to look casual. "Uh, yeah...I guess I just have a good memory." She hoped that it didn't make her come across as weird. She hadn't even meant to remember Quinn's order so well, but the many times she had been to the Lima Bean with Quinn and others had always stuck out to her that Quinn's order became almost second nature. Rachel received no response and disappeared into the kitchen.
Whilst Rachel was making her coffee, Quinn picked up the cloth that was left and started wiping down the tables. She thought it was oddly charming that Rachel would remember such a small detail about her. But then again it was Rachel Berry...more than half of the information in her brain must be scripts or songs she'd memorized, was an attention to detail so surprising? Still, it was sort of cute.
A few minutes had passed until Rachel returned from the kitchen. Quinn finished wiping the tables and was handed her coffee. The two settled into a corner booth and sat on opposite sides, in direct view of each-other. Rachel watched as Quinn sipped her drink and the whipped cream transferred onto the tip of her nose each time she brought it close to her lips. They sat in silence, not saying anything as they both looked at one another. Eventually the silence was broken by Quinn giggling.
"What's so funny?" Rachel asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"It's hard to drink my mocha when you keep looking at me. It makes me laugh, for some reason, when people stare at me." Quinn set down her cup and brushed the hair out of her face.
Rachel looked away. "If it's distracting you...I won't." She said sweetly.
"No, I don't really mind." Quinn assured her.
The two of them locked eyes again. They stayed like that until Quinn got out of her seat and stood up. Rachel did the same.
"Are we going somewhere? You haven't finished your drink yet." Rachel looked worried.
"No, I just..." Quinn's words trailed off. She looked into Rachel's dark brown eyes. They were quite easy to get lost in when you weren't paying attention to what was happening around you. Quinn had always thought that they were beautiful, the colour reminded her of rich chocolate, and in the direct light of the sun they would light up and seem almost like gold. Her eyes drifted to Rachel's mouth. She thought for a moment and bit her lip. 'I shouldn't do this...' she thought to herself. But she decided to do it anyway. She felt as if it was what she needed to do.
Quinn caressed Rachel's cheek with her left hand, leaned in closer and softly kissed her.
She pulled away about a second after. Rachel looked back at Quinn. She was surprised, she hadn't expected in a million years that Quinn Fabray would kiss her, but it had actually happened. Because of this, she was happy, happier than she could ever have thought. She grinned and pulled Quinn closer. She rested her hands on Quinn's waist, holding it loosely, and tenderly kissed her back. It was a longer kiss this time, about ten seconds, but it was sweet and sensual. Rachel felt like she had been waiting forever for this very moment, and now that it had finally happened it felt simply perfect. Quinn smiled in the kiss until they once again broke apart.
They both said nothing, only breathing out gently and still keeping eye contact. Rachel's eyes then fluttered down to the whipped cream that remained on Quinn's nose. She swiped it off with her finger as Quinn's cheeks turned a shade of cherry red.
"You had just a little something..." Rachel whispered. She then took hold of Quinn's right hand. She held it tightly but caringly. Quinn planted a light kiss on Rachel's forehead.
Rachel cleared her throat. "I guess that we should go to the apartment to meet up with Santana and Kurt."
"Yeah, probably." Quinn pulled away from Rachel but still kept hold of her hand. She directed her towards the door and left.
Together they walked down the sidewalk, into the night, hand in hand. For once, everything was perfect.