Both Bokuto and Kuroo have been in my dreams the last two nights, both times they wanted help to win Akaashi and Kenma over after making them mad for doing something stupid. If that doesn’t say it all I don’t know what does.
WHAT: Rachel and Carole bump into each other at Breadstix.
WHEN: 02-14-2015
WHERE: Lima, Ohio.
NOTES: Opps?
Let it be known that Rachel Berry was a perfectionist and she prided herself in being one. There was just something about planning everything down to the second and watching as your planning goes on without a hitch. In planning the perfect Valentine's day for her and Sam, she had taken into account that she couldn't cook unless she wanted to burn down Sam's apartment and seeing as she doubted he would like that, she found herself standing in line at Breadstix.
What she hadn't planned, was Carole's voice greeting her as she stood in line waiting for her food. Her heart seemed to stop for a nano second as she turned around to face the smiling woman. "Hello Carole." she greeted almost awkwardly. She couldn't remember the last time she had talked to the woman and the mere fact caused guilt to pool in her stomach. After Finn's death she had made sure to call her at least once a week, but as Funny Girl grew closer the calls became far in between. And with Funny Girl actually on, the calls had all but disappeared. "I'm sorry. About not calling. Things have been quite busy lately." she apologized nervously.
Her nervousness was for naught it seemed as Carole smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. "He would be so proud." Rachel smiled sadly, her arms wrapping around the woman she once thought she would call her mother in law. "Thank you." she whispered giving her one last squeeze before pulling away. "What are you doing in Lima, Rachel? Don't you have a show?" Carole's question caused her to nervously shift on her feet, teeth nervously pulling her bottom lip between them. For a moment she contemplated lying and saying she was visiting her dads but she couldn't bear to lie like that to her. "I'm here to see Sam." Her chest tightened as she waited for Carole's response. Would she be upset about it? Would she disapprove. "I'm kind of with Sam. For a while now. Since New Years." she wished she could stop talking but the words seemed to spill from her lips without permission.
"That's... that's good honey." Carole's response surprised her causing her to tear up. "I didn't really plan it you know. Liking Sam. It just happened. We were living together in New York and we became friends, more so than when we were in glee club. And he was there when things were really bad." she couldn't seem to stop herself from stoping and the understanding look on Carole's face made it so she knew it was okay to talk about it. "I think, I started liking him then. But I wasn't ready and he knew that. But then he came back to Lima because he hated New York. And I really missed him you know. I missed having him around, I missed having someone to talk to when Kurt and Blaine were too busy with each other. I tried to not have feelings at first. It felt like I was betraying him." She didn't seem to realize tears were running down her cheeks until she tasted them as she talked. "But after a while, talking to him on Skype was the best part of my day, and his little encouraging text messages between shows was what got me to give the performance of my life." Her bottom lip trembled "Do you think, do you think Finn would be okay with it? I visited him over the Holidays to tell him and it felt good but I don't know. I don't know how he would feel. Would he be be okay with it? It is okay to like someone else? Feeling like this, it surely can't be a bad thing right?"
Feeling a soft hand in her, Rachel allowed Carole to pull her away from the line and towards one of the tables. "Rachel." Carole began, and she only cried harder at the tone of her voice. "Sweetie. It's okay. Finn... he would like you to be happy. He really would." Rachel nodded even though she didn't know if she believed her. "When I lost Christopher, I thought I would never find anyone else. But I met Burt and that is something I will never ever regret. I love him very much. You and Sam? It's okay Rachel. It's okay to find someone else. It's okay to love someone else. Do you understand me?"
Her breath hitched in her throat as she nodded at the woman, tears blurring her vision as tears slipped down her cheeks. "I do. Thank you." Rachel said tearfully, pulling the woman into a hug. "Thank you. So much." she whispered squeezing her thoughtfully before letting go. Upon hearing her name being called by one of the workers she took a deep breath, brushing away the tears and blinking rapidly in order to get rid of them. "I have to go. But I promise to call." With one last hug she rejoined the line, grabbed her stuff and made her way out of the restaurant.
A weight she didn't know she was holding, lifted from her shoulders and she was able to breath a little better.
