It was already one week into November, and Lima found itself in the early stages of winter. Not to where there was snow yet, but almost there. And Rachel loved this weather. "Handholding weather." Or so she calls it.

She was snuggling up with Quinn on the couch next to the fireplace on a particularly cold afternoon. Quinn had just gotten out of class about twenty minutes prior, and she wasted no time in rushing back to be in her girlfriend's arms.

"How are your classes going?" Rachel asks as she strokes the blonde head on her lap.

Quinn shrugs, "Good I guess. I have all A's right now."

"Of course you do," Rachel chuckles.

"Mhmm," Quinn hums. "The semester is going by fast."

"That's a good thing. Just one more month until Christmas break!"

Quinn quirks an eyebrow up at Rachel, "You seem more excited than I am."

"Of course I am. I'll get to have you more to myself again."

The younger girl shakes her head with a light laugh.

After a moment, she asks, "Did you do anything today?"

"Hmm, I talked to Blaine for a while."

"Blaine?"

"He called me."

"Oh."

It was no surprise, as Rachel had been spending more time with Blaine and Kurt ever since she reconnected with her former best friend. And Quinn was glad for that. Now Rachel could have someone else in her life to talk to.

She can feel Rachel's leg slightly bouncing in excitement and senses that the woman is eager to tell her something.

She smiles. "And what did you and Blaine talk about?" she asks as she sits up on the couch.

"He asked me if I would consider being the assistant coach for the McKinley glee club," Rachel blurts out.

Quinn's eyes widen. "Really?"

The woman nods fervently, "Yes! I mean—I won't really be getting paid for it."

"But still! Baby, this is a great opportunity for you."

"I know," Rachel grins. "I'm so relieved that you're supporting me with this."

"Are you crazy? Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I just –"

Rachel hesitates. She knows that she has to stop assuming that Quinn will eventually tell her pursuing something in music is just a waste of time. But this isn't her failed marriage. Quinn's already made it clear that she would support her no matter what.

"I just love you," she says sincerely.

Quinn frowns, "Rachel, you know I love you too. And who cares whether you get paid for this or not? You get to do something you love and that's good enough for me."

She leans forward to connect her lips with the older woman's.

"I don't deserve you," Rachel murmurs.

Quinn rolls her eyes, "Shut up and let me kiss you."

Rachel has no protest to that. But their moment is short lived when Quinn's phone starts ringing.

She pulls it out of her pocket and glances at the screen.

"I have to take this," she says to Rachel apologetically.

Before Rachel can ask who the hell it is that's important enough to interrupt a make out session, Quinn swipes the screen and answers. "Hey mom."

Rachel purses her lips and doesn't dare speaking another word.

"Oh no. I'm just with Marley."

It stings to hear Quinn say those words. But she knows that they agreed on this whole thing together, sort of. Yet it still hurts. Rachel breaks eye contact with Quinn and looks away.

Quinn gently cups her face to look at her again, but suddenly drops her hand and frowns.

"Tonight?"

Rachel furrows her brow in confusion. What about tonight?

"I guess I can ask," Quinn says into the phone. "Okay mom. I'll see you at home."

She hangs up the phone and looks at Rachel.

"What did she say?" Rachel asks.

"She wants me to invite Marley over for dinner tonight."

"Oh." Rachel nods. She's not surprised since Judy absolutely adored Marley.

"Don't worry. I'll just tell her that she's busy or something and couldn't make it."

"No, it's fine," she says quickly. "Judy hasn't seen her around that much lately. Wouldn't want her to start asking questions."

Quinn frowns. "Rachel –"

"It's fine, Quinn."

She just wants to prove for once that she's not the jealous, overbearing girlfriend.

Before Quinn can retort, Rachel's phone starts ringing from the dining room table. Rachel gets up from the couch and heads over to see a phone call from her sister.

She locks eyes with Quinn and takes a deep breath before answering, "Hello Judy."

Quinn cocks her head and listens intently. She already knows why her mother is calling Rachel. But she still wants to see what Rachel will do.

"Oh? What time?"

Looks like it's going to be another awkward family affair, Quinn sighs.

"Sounds great. I'll be there. Bye."

Rachel turns to Quinn and frowns at the look of worry on her face. "What's wrong? Do you not want me there?"

Quinn shakes her head and stands up to walk to Rachel. "Of course I want you there. I just don't want you to be upset again."

"What if I promised to keep it to myself?" Rachel smiles half heartedly.

The blonde presses a kiss to her cheek. "Never keep anything to yourself. I always want you to be honest with me. So I want you to really be sure that you're okay with tonight?"

Rachel blows out a puff of air. She really does miss her sister. And while she'll probably be annoyed for most of the night, having Quinn close by is always worth it. And she also has to make sure that Marley bitch doesn't try to pull anything.

"Don't worry, Quinn. I'm okay."

Dinner was going just the way Rachel had expected. Judy was gushing all over an annoyingly happy Marley. Everyone else was just furniture. Seriously, what an attention whore, Rachel thinks.

The woman was sitting across from Quinn, who was talking about school or something to Russell while Rachel just sat there awkwardly. Maybe it was only her that was the furniture?

She had tried to get Quinn's attention at different times throughout the evening. Just a moment of eye contact or something. But nothing.

Rachel knew that they always had to be careful in Russell and Judy's presence, but that didn't mean Quinn had to completely ignore her.

"Quinn loves that book." Marley takes a pause from talking to Judy to turn and say, "Right Quinn?"

"Mhmm." Quinn doesn't even know what they're talking about. But whatever.

Rachel scoffs.

Quinn feels something lightly nudge her foot. When her dad is looking away, she looks up to lock eyes with her girlfriend. Her actual girlfriend.

Rachel is giving her that expression she has when they both say they love each other. Quinn feels a pull in her stomach and wants so badly to utter those words right now.

"Quinn?"

They turn to see her parents and Marley standing up from the table and all looking at her with questioning gazes.

"I was just saying that it's getting late and I should probably get home."

"Oh, right!" She stumbles out of her chair to join them while Rachel suppresses a laugh. Quinn can be so cute sometimes.

They all gather by the front door, ready to say bye to Marley, when Judy asks, "Isn't Quinn staying the night with you? She's been there all week so I figured she would. Not that I mind, of course!"

Marley's eyes widen. "I..." She looks to Rachel, who gives a very subtle nod of her head. "...I think so?"

"So I guess I'll see you at your house?" Quinn asks.

Marley nods before she's sucked into another ridiculous hug by Judy, causing Rachel to roll her eyes.

After the girl makes her rounds on everyone and is finally out the door, Judy turns to Quinn and sternly says, "I hope you're being safe, Quinn."

"Mom!" Quinn blushes and looks down at the floor.

"I think Marley is wonderful. You know that. I just don't want you both to get caught up with some unexpected responsibilities while you're both young." Judy turns to her husband, "Russell, help me out here?"

He clears his throat, "I think Quinn is mature enough to make the right decisions."

"Thanks dad." Quinn turns to Judy. "And anyway, I'm leaving now."

She gives each of her parents a brief hug and smiles at the other person with them. "I'll see you later, Rachel."

When Quinn wraps her arms around her, Rachel can feel her lips sneakily brushing against her ear, causing her to squeeze tighter.

But Quinn suddenly pulls away too soon for her liking and is rushing out the door.

"I think I'm gonna take off too," Rachel yawns. "It's been a long day."

"Sure thing. We're beat too," Judy says. "Oh, and congratulations on that glee coaching thing at McKinley you were talking about earlier. I know you'll be great at it."

"Thank you." Rachel smiles, because finally, she exists. "Good night."

Quinn parks her car in Rachel's garage like she's been doing over the past month. Mainly to keep her parents from noticing her always being there instead of at Marley's.

Once inside, she plops down on the couch and turns on the tv. She's only there for five minutes before Rachel walks in through the front door.

She sits up says, "Hey."

"Hey," Rachel replies softly before heading straight to the bedroom.

Quinn frowns and turns off the tv and goes to the bedroom as well. She sees Rachel changing out of her clothes.

"You're going to bed already?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired," the woman answers.

When she disappears into the bathroom, Quinn takes the time to change herself and lie down.

After a few minutes, Rachel emerges and turns off the light. She climbs into the bed and lies on her side, facing away from Quinn.

Quinn thinks this is strange, as Rachel has never done this before. She scoots over and carefully molds herself into Rachel's form from behind.

"Are you okay?"

She feels Rachel nod her head, but hears nothing come from her.

She tries again, "I think tonight went pretty well."

"Do you?" Rachel finally speaks.

Quinn furrows her brow, "What?"

The older woman shifts to turn around and face her. "Do you really think it went well?"

Quinn shrugs, "I mean yeah, with all things considered. It could've been worse."

"Like worse than you ignoring me all night?"

"Rachel..."

"Well it's true, Quinn. When I said I was okay with going tonight, I didn't mean I wanted you to pretend that I don't even exist while you play happy couple with Marley."

"I didn't touch her once. You were there," she quips back.

Rachel sits up, agitated. "That's not the point, Quinn."

"Okay. I'm sorry." Quinn wraps a hand around the woman's wrist to gently pull her back down. "I'm just so worried about my mom finding out that I overthink it and try too hard. I'm sorry, Rachel. It won't happen ever again. I love you."

"I love you too," Rachel sighs. "And I know I said I'm okay with it, but honestly, it hurts too much. I don't want to keep up this whole charade with Marley anymore."

"Okay," Quinn says quickly.

Rachel frowns, "Okay?" That's it? No protest from Quinn?

"It's done. I'll tell my mom that things ended between me and her. I'll tell her tomorrow. The whole thing was probably stupid anyway."

When Quinn says this, Rachel can't help but feel elated. But she still has to be sure that Quinn isn't making snap decisions just because Rachel tells her to do something.

"Quinn, I want you to be really sure about this. That you really think it's best and not just because your girlfriend is overly possessive and you don't want to piss her off."

"Rach," Quinn chuckles. "Don't say that about yourself. And you are always my first priority. I told you that all you had to do was say the word and it would be done. I don't care about anything else. As long as you're happy."

"Thank you," Rachel says softly. "I'm surprised you can even put up with me anymore."

"We're in this together, baby. You're worth everything."

With that, Rachel grabs Quinn by the back of the neck and fuses their lips together in a needy kiss that Quinn eagerly returns.

When the younger girl pulls away, Rachel doesn't let her go very far.

"I love you," she whispers. "And I need you right now."

"I'm here," Quinn husks as she places kisses all over her chest. "I'm right here."

Rachel's breath hitches when she feels a soft hand cup her through her underwear. She quickly pulls Quinn's shirt off and brings their lips back together.

She lifts her hips and hikes her short night gown up when Quinn starts tugging her underwear down her long legs.

"Quinn," she moans.

She pushes the blonde onto her back and wastes no time in stripping her of her boxers. She then disappears under the covers to gladly take the hard member into her mouth.

"Oh god. Baby," Quinn groans. She reaches down to stroke Rachel's head as she expertly works her mouth up and down her shaft. "You're so good at that."

When she can't take the throbbing in her core anymore. Rachel releases Quinn's cock from her mouth and places a soft kiss on the head before crawling back up her body.

She straddles the girl and Quinn leans up to eagerly meet her in another passionate kiss.

"Fuck," Quinn's falls back on the bed when Rachel takes ahold of her member and easily impales herself on it. "Rachel..."

They fall into a fast paced rhythm and Quinn knows she may not last very long. She grabs ahold of her girlfriend's hips in an attempt to switch positions so she can be on top, but Rachel doesn't seem to be letting her. So Quinn just lays back as she allows her to take control.

The woman pulls the nightgown over her head before leaning down onto her elbows and placing both hands on Quinn's face, tenderly tracing her features in the dark.

When Quinn feels fingertips dragging across her lips, she lightly kisses them and increases the pace of her thrusting.

Rachel sits back upright and pleads, "Touch me, Quinn."

The girl does as she's told and covers Rachel's breasts with her hands, massaging the peaks to stiffen.

"You're so beautiful," Quinn murmurs. She can barely see Rachel above her with the soft moonlight coming in from the window, and she can easily see how amazing she looks right now. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

She uses one hand to hold her steady by the waist while the other caresses her neck.

"Keep going," Rachel pants.

"I could watch you all day. I always ask myself how could I have found something so perfect? God..."

She moves her palm along the side of Rachel's face, drinking her in. She knows how much Rachel needs this right now.

Quinn suddenly sits herself up and wraps her arms around her waist. Their foreheads rest together as their hips keep moving.

"That's it, baby," Quinn moans.

Rachel pulls in Quinn's head to rest against the crook of her neck. They're both getting closer to the edge.

"And you have the most beautiful heart." Quinn kisses her chest over where her heart should be. "I love you, Rachel."

Their hips frantically move as they hold each other like their last lifelines. Quinn finds herself wishing they could somehow be even closer than they are right now.

As soon as Rachel reaches her climax, Quinn is releasing inside of her. It's the same euphoric experience they've already shared many times before. But for Quinn, it's always as if it's the first time.

She cries out into Rachel's shoulder, and doesn't loosen her hold until she's feels herself completely empty.

After a few minutes, when she's able to breathe normally again, Rachel leans up to kiss the top of Quinn's head.

"I love you too."

Judy was incredibly upset when she was told that Quinn and Marley had broken up. Quinn had expected this much. She also knows that her mom can be quite overdramatic at times.

She tried to be as vague as she could when explaining it to Judy, even though the older Fabray relentlessly asked her question after question.

In the end, all Quinn had to say was just that it didn't work out and that she'll find the right person eventually.

Judy finally gave in and said that she just hopes Quinn will be happy. Quinn had sighed in relief and thought that was one of the longest hours of her life.

She did it the day after she and Rachel had talked, like she promised. That was over a week ago. And everything seemed to be okay now. Or so she thought.

After her classes are over for the day, Quinn heads over to McKinley to pick up Rachel after glee club was finished meeting.

Speaking of glee club, Rachel had been loving it so far. Seeing these kids with so much potential was really starting to inspire her to do even more. She could feel the excitement from her teenage years returning.

"And when me and Blaine sang that duet together, they went absolutely crazy! You should've seen it."

"Maybe I can come by sometime and watch? I'll just sit in the corner or something," Quinn smiles as they enter Rachel's house. "Or is that too creepy?"

"I'm sure Blaine would be fine with it." They settle together on the couch. Rachel rests her head on Quinn's shoulder. "I'm not sure about Sue Sylvester though."

"Well she loves me, so that shouldn't be a problem."

Rachel snorts, "That just proves my point that everyone loves you, Quinn."

"Oh hush." Quinn leans in to kiss her smirking girlfriend.

When they pull apart, Rachel husks, "I traded my shift to be off for the night." She trails her hand up and down the blonde's arm. "I was thinking that we could do something special and go out tonight?" she asks hopefully.

Quinn frowns, "I already told Marley that we would hang out tonight."

Rachel suddenly jerks back and scowls. "Marley? Seriously? I thought we were done with that whole thing with her?"

"Rach," Quinn chuckles. "We are. But that doesn't mean she's not my friend anymore."

With the broken look on Rachel's face, Quinn realizes this is apparently a much bigger problem than she thought.

"Hey, I'll just tell her tonight's no good, okay? And we can spend time together. Just you and me," she tries.

"No, it's okay. Just forget it." Rachel gets up from the couch and marches straight to the bedroom.

"It's not a big deal. I can just tell her some other time," Quinn says as she chases after her.

"I said forget it, Quinn," the woman repeats coldly.

Quinn enters the room and grabs Rachel's arm to turn around and face her. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Ever since we've been together, it's been 'Marley this' and 'Marley that', and I'm tired of it! I don't feel good enough for you when she's around!"

Quinn sighs. How many times were they going to have this argument?

"Rachel, I've already told you, I am not interested in her like that."

"But you've thought about it, haven't you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Tears fill Rachel's eyes as she unleashes all of her inner anguish in Quinn. "Just admit it. You know things would be so much easier for you if you were with her. Right, Quinn?"

"Rachel, stop being so ridiculous. You're acting like a child."

"You would be saving me a lot of trouble if you would just admit it."

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's not true!" Quinn cries out.

They both stand there, holding each other's gaze.

"I can't believe you're acting like this," Quinn mumbles angrily. "It's so fucking crazy."

Rachel flinches, then wipes her eyes and says, "I think that you should leave."

Quinn looks taken aback. "Why?"

"I think that would be best for us right now."