grandiosely | (no subject)

Jesse St. James

Rachel Berry

WHERE New York City, NY • Rachel & Jesse's Apartment
Jesse gets home to find Rachel buried in bills that show just how much debt she is in. WARNINGS None.

all these bills pile up my desk

While it had theoretically been one of Jesse's days off, he'd felt like he'd been busy from the time he woke up until the moment he had gotten back into his car to go home. It had been appointments and interviews and meeting with his agent and one thing after another. Usually he enjoyed the time to relax, to get to actually spend the day with Rachel when they were usually so quickly in and out of the apartment that sometimes it felt like they barely even got to say hello to one another until they went to bed. He had warned her it might be another day like that unfortunately, but by some miracle, he'd actually managed to finish everything he'd needed to by dinner. At least one person had cancelled on him and few others had been faster than he'd expected them to be.

Rather than texting her to let her know, Jesse had decided to surprise Rachel by coming home early. He'd picked up some food, making sure to get the dish she loved most and a few drinks. He was sure they could rent a few movies, settle in on the couch, and make a night of it together after all. He still had another day away from the stage, so he knew they wouldn't even have to worry about getting to bed early, or about not having more time tomorrow to lie around with one another as well.

In hindsight, surprising her probably hadn't been the best idea, given how Rachel hated having her plans interrupted, but he figured a simple and nice surprise like this one wouldn't have been that big of a deal. Pushing open the door, he went to hang up his keys and jacket as he called out to her. "So apparently my agent actually knows how to cut a meeting short instead of just running over," he started as he headed towards the dining room, holding up the bag as he got closer. "I picked up some Thai. I got you one of their teas, the ones they mix with coconut milk? I figured we could eat noodles, watch some movies..."

He trailed off as he saw the papers on the table in front of her, forehead wrinkling a little. He was pretty sure she took all her notes electronically and most of them looked like letters. He put the bag down on the table as he picked one of them up curiously to look it over, not thinking that maybe she wouldn't have wanted to share. His brows raised as he saw the numbers on the page, figuring out fairly quickly what it was he was looking.

"Rachel, are these all bills?"

CODING

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As far as she saw it, he'd be doing her a great favor getting her back to a place where she could better help with the situation. Rachel also figured that together they could come up with a plan and that she could let him help her with reminders and maybe they could even check in monthly about their finances. While being rescued isn't an appealing thought, learning who to budget together is. It's a terribly boring thing, that's a reality to owning a home and having a life together, so naturally she's charmed by the novelty of it.

Her cheeks turn red as he nudges her and makes the comment about that being a married couple kind of thing, and of course...that really makes sense, but did it matter? She knew there were lots of married couples who screwed each other over in debt, and plenty of couples who weren't married who didn't. Thankfully that back and forth was going on silently in her head. "I mean, yes, uhm, that makes sense." Though marriage was a natural progression in relationships like this, she didn't want to presume. "Joint credit cards definitely should be for marriage." Right?

Luckily, he brings her back around with a decidedly less embarrassing comment, but perhaps less settling one. She brought her nail up to her teeth to chew on it gently as she thought about how to respond, or even why she'd been so scared at all.

"I guess I just thought it was going to lead to a big argument, where you get upset with me and I desperately try to defend myself whether I'm right or wrong, because I just don't want you to be mad at me." That was how she'd been in other relationships. It was even how she'd been back in high school with him, trying to defend a music video she really had no right to defend because she had been in the wrong. Finn had a tendency to get frustrated with her when she was careless and depending on the gravity of her carelessness he'd often step away and not talk to her. They always came back together, but she hadn't wanted to get into a fight, or hear from him how much she'd messed up. It wasn't that Jesse hadn't done the same, but Jesse got mad in a different way.

"I really shouldn't be so nervous. You've never lost your temper with me." She reaches down to place a hand on his knee. "Sorry, I sometimes forget we are grown adults figuring this out together. I guess I am still struggling with the high school mentality of breaking up being just around the corner." Which was a sharp contract to her fantasies of joint credit cards.

He listens to her reasoning quietly, nodding at the explanation, and doing his best to not read in between the lines, because he doesn't technically know for sure that there's any reading to do. Jesse had never approved of the way that Finn had treated Rachel, and while he had certainly no room to talk when he hadn't been the shining example of a perfect boyfriend in high school, it was sometimes hard to see the damage his temper had left behind. He knew teenagers could be irrational and angry, he couldn't really blame the guy for not having it all together when he was only nineteen, but that didn't make the impact any less real.

"I think it's easy to forget when we haven't really been out of high school that long. Even if it did lead to a fight, though... That's not something we can always avoid. I'd rather fight and work things out than try to keep it all quiet until it comes out on its own."

He lets out a small sigh, nodding, and reaching out to brush some of the hair away from her face. His pauses to gently run his thumb over her cheek, before he lets his hand drop to his lap again, looking back to the pile of papers with his lips pursed and his brows raised a bit.

This was going to take a while.

"Alright. Let's... eat. And relax. Get some energy back in you. Then we can come back and tackle all..." He waves his hand a little vaguely at the pile of papers. "This."

Rachel had been through a lot in a short amount of time, and it sometimes made her forget that she was barely out of her teen years. She'd done some college, had a career, lost someone she loved, fallen apart, and was only just starting to put herself back together. It made sense she didn't have it all figured out. It also made sense that some of the more faulty areas of her previous relationships still got her hung up.

She and Jesse had been incredibly mellow in their interactions with each other, to the point where she was almost surprised they hadn't fought. They'd bickered lightly, but they'd grown enough. It was hard to not worry about a big fight, and she was sure it was inevitable, but that didn't mean she wasn't apprehensive of it happening. To hear him say that they would just work it out is reassuring.

He heart swells with love at his words and she leans in to press her lips against his, parting them just enough to kiss him deeply before she pulls back. "You're right. I know you're right."

Looking over the papers, she still can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. His suggestion of eating some food and relaxing before they tackle it together is the wisest solution and she finally nods. The food smells amazing anyway. "Now that sounds like a good plan." She stood up and brushed out her skirt. The papers could wait a little bit. "I'm sorry I come with debt and baggage, but thank you for supporting me. I promise you that I'm working my way through it." She offered in reference to both her debt and her baggage.

"So, food?" A little distance, his company, and a good meal would make everything better.