forever fades away

chapter 36

Rachel tried to hide the fact that she was crying, knowing Finn was going to make fun of her. She always cried at the end of ConAir. Between Nicholas Cage finally meeting his daughter, and that damn LeAnn Rimes song, it was just too much. 

Finn looked over at Rachel as the credits started rolling. He sighed, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. “Don’t cry.” He murmered into her hair as she ran his fingers up and down her back. “Its ok. Nick got to meet his daughter, she got her teddy bear... all is good.” 

“Its so sad!” Rachel wailed, burying her head in his chest. 

“Shh.” He soothed her, twirling a strand of her hair in his fingers. “Its ok, baby. Please stop crying, you know I hate it when you cry.” 

There was something in the tone of his voice that made Rachel lift her head. It was only after she did that she realized how dangerously close their lips were. Finn lifted his hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks, letting his hand linger a little longer then necessary. 

They slowly moved into each other, as if pulled by an invisible string. Just before their lips touched, Rachel cleared her throat, moving away and sitting up. She took a deep breath, wiping away the last of her tears. “You’re right. Its just a movie.” She laughed slightly at herself. 

She got up from the bed, turning off the TV and DVD player, not wanting to make eye contact with Finn. “You need to get some rest.” She finally said, looking up at him briefly. “I’m gonna go find a guest room.” She hitched her thumb over her shoulder towards the bedroom door. “Yell if you need anything.” 

“Rachel, wait.” Finn stopped her before she could make it out the door. “Stay in here with me? Please?” 

She slowly turned to look at him. Once she made eye contact, she knew there was no way she could say no. She slowly nodded her head. “I’m just gonna go find my suitcases and see if I have any clean pajamas.” 

“First drawer in the dresser behind you, you can wear a pair of my boxers. Drawer right under that is t-shirts.” Finn told her. 

She turned and grabbed a pair of his boxers before grabbing a t-shirt and making her way into the bathroom. Once she was all changed, she looked at herself in the mirror. “You’re an idiot.” She mumbled to her reflection. 

She took a deep breath before emerging from the bathroom and crawling into the bed with Finn. He scooted down and rearranged his pillows before turning off the bedside lamp, bathing the room in darkness. 

He turned over as best he could, wrapping an arm around Rachel's stomach and pulling her across the bed and into his arms. 

Rachel didn’t fight him, because it felt too good being there. She let herself relax as she put her hand over his, which was still resting on her stomach. “Goodnight, Finn.” She whispered, bringing his hand to her lips and kissing it. 

Finn brought her hand back to his lips, leaving a soft lingering kiss there. “Goodnight, Rach.” He whispered back. 

He buried his face in her hair for a moment before kissing her temple and settling down to fall asleep. 

It didn’t take long for Rachel's breathing to even out, and Finn knew she’d fallen asleep. He couldn’t stop his mind from thinking over everything that had happened since Rachel came back into his life. 

He knew, without a shadow of a doubt that this was what his life was missing. This was why, no matter how many points he scored, or how many games the team won, or how much money he made, that he was never completely happy. 

Before he let sleep claim him, Finn made a vow to himself that he was going to do everything in his power to win back Rachel's heart, and keep her in his life forever.