The Promise (Faberry)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

May 2019

Quinn pulled out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from her pocket.

"You still smoke," Rachel stated without any judgement in her voice.

"Yeah," Quinn replied and lit the cigarette. "Don't worry. I'll keep the smoke away from you."

"So what are we going to do now?" Rachel asked and Quinn could hear her uncertainty. She wasn't sure whether Rachel was asking about the wedding or about their 'relationship' or whatever they were going to call this endeavor, but it didn't matter. Quinn felt too giddy to think about anything than the present. Even the nicotine wasn't of any help this time.

"How about re-joining the party?" she suggested for the lack of any better idea. She blew out some smoke, careful to turn her head in the process, so it would stay away from Rachel. "I mean, since we are kind of... dating now, shouldn't we attend social events together?" she reasoned while she tried not to blush as she stumbled over the word 'dating'.

Quinn managed to sound composed, so Rachel probably had no idea about the chaos that was reigning inside her. Actually, she wasn't able to fathom what she had just gotten herself into. Could it really be that easy? Agreeing to keep the promise and start dating? It sounded crazy in her head, but all she knew was that she wanted to see Rachel happier and if this was the path, she would take it.

"Let's just forget about the others and be happy for Brittany and Santana. Also, if we go back there will be tons of food," Quinn chuckled.

"I'm indeed a little hungry," Rachel admitted as she peeked through the balustrade down on the ongoing party.

"Let's go then," Quinn said. She put out the cigarette and got up from the floor, which took a moment since her legs had fallen asleep. She reached out her hand for Rachel to take and the brunette chuckled at the courtesy.

After they had shared one more second of intense eye contact, they went back into the garden where they joined the partying crowd. The blue sky was slowly being infiltrated with shades of pink and orange which bathed the scene into a pleasant light. Rachel was still holding Quinn's hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but no one seemed to notice their intimacy.

Both of them didn't really know what to do next, but thankfully, just in that moment, Santana and Brittany walked to the stage that had been placed at one end of the garden. Everybody cheered and clapped at the sight of the couple. Rachel let go of Quinn's hand and joined the clapping. Quinn wished she had just kept holding it.

"I'm not going to hold a long speech, since nobody is interested in listening to some blabla crap anyways," Santana spoke into a microphone.

"She just wants to get away so we can have sweet sex," Brittany chimed in from the side.

Silence fell over the crowd and Santana whispered something to Brittany with an embarrassed expression on her face. She cleared her throat before she spoke into the microphone again. "Anyways, dinner is being served now. Dig in." Then she grabbed Brittany's hand and pulled her from the stage.

Quinn chuckled at her friends' typical behavior. She had really missed their antics. She turned her head towards Rachel and gave her a warm smile. "Ready to have dinner?"