I’ve been asked a couple of times now how I would write Faberry if it was to happen on the show.
First of all: Before I started receiving these requests I never considered Faberry would actually happen on Glee. I’d rather have Rachel and Quinn to be single at the end of the season. They both need a friend right now more than anything.
Also, I’m tagging this as Faberry and Finchel, because the messages I received came from both fandoms. Feel free to scroll on.
But, if your’re interested, here’s my response:
I would tell their story in short, simple scenes and start off with exploring their individual lives first.
Quinn and Joe would form a friendship due to the connection they have via religion. That’s why he comes to physiotherapy with her. A relationship between the two doesn’t make sense, simply because he’s a sophomore and she just said goodbye to all the boy-drama. We gradually see her getting better. She’s also going to psychotherapy (which is long overdue). We’d never see her sessions, though, because I hate it when shows let their characters tell their stories to a therapist.
Of course, Rachel and Quinn are at the point where they regard each other as good friends, too. Rachel is pretty occupied with her Finn drama. We would, however, see them sitting together in Glee or in the library more often. I’d add little moments in which it became palpable their friendship is going strong.
Then Finn realizes the education he applied for is actually a Master’s program (which it is) and that he’s not eligible. He starts to question why he wants to go NY anyway and comes to the conclusion that if it weren’t for Rachel, he wouldn’t go. Instead of confronting her about it again, he finally ponders on what’s best for him and him alone. What would he do if he didn’t have a girlfriend? What would he do if his future was only his and if he didn’t have the pressure of keeping up with Rachel’s plans?
He realizes that he doesn’t want to feel like he’s not good enough and that he’d be ok with not making it big. He’d be ok with running Burt’s tire shop and he’d actually have fun with that. (Because really, Glee puts everyone in some arts program and it’s condescending towards those who don’t strive for such a career. Running a tire shop is not a bad job! It’s a pretty good job actually if that’s what you want to do [/rant])
Rachel on the other hand realizes that this whole getting hitched plan without working on a future together is beyond crazy. She never meant to push Finn to become someone he’s not. She also doesn’t want to compromise the dreams she had since she was a child.
They break up on friendly terms and agree to stay in contact after graduation. They’ve finally realized that living in this romaticized fantasy does them both more harm than good and the only way to ensure they’re both happy is to go seperate ways.
From then on Rachel and Quinn will spend even more time together- as friends, because that’s what both really need. Rachel is just out of a long term relationship and Quinn has just survived a car crash. They support each other. In the meantime Achele will work their magic and stare at each other like they’ve been doing since season 1 and instead of confusing every gay girl on this planet those glares would now be a confirmation of their connection. They study together, they laugh together, they sing together.
After recovering and ditching the wheelchair Quinn wins prom Queen but gives the crown to Rachel. After being the school’s loser for so long (to which Quinn participated) she wants her to have this one night at school, in which she feels special and loved by her classmates.
They dance. Again it’s not (very) romantic. But they both realize how important they are to each other.
In the last episodes we’d see them hold hands and hug, because friends do that. I’d always show them as idividuals first, not Brittana- like as one item in which one of them is bound to vanish. Rachel would get into NYADA and Quinn be there to celebrate with her.
They win Nationals.
After that there’s a scene where we see Faberry with no other people around. Can be a bathroom scene or hotel bedroom scene. They’re both beyond happy about their recent victory and Rachel says: “You were the only one who always believed in me. You were the only one who never doubted I’d go to New York.” And Quinn answers: “You were the only one who believed in me enough to stop me from being crazy.” They hug and it lasts longer than a usual hug between friends would. Rachel kisses Quinn’s temple. Quinn takes Rachel’s hand and they leave to celebrate with the others.
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(That would be as far as I’d go for season 3. As I said before I’d want them to be single and I’d want them to be best friends. To me all the great stories are not about romantic love. They’re about growing together and supporting each other. Friendship is the force behind everything good. Faberry are a good example for that. In the pilot we are introduced to Quinn through Rachel’s MySpace. From the very beginning on the writers made it clear that their stories would be intertwined. They started of as rivals, of course. But they’ve come a really long way since and at least to me it’s the only story on Glee that actually made sense. They reconciled through all the drama and especially Rachel supported Quinn when no one else was there. She helped Quinn to get her head out of her own ass and do something productive with her life instead. And Quinn never once doubted Rachel’s future. Not once. She looked up to her, even in season 1 when she still bullied her. Why would she feel threatened by someone she considers a loser? Quinn knew Rachel had a chance with Finn and Quinn knew Rachel would achieve more in life than her. Quinn knew Rachel didn’t care about her flaws like Quinn did about her own. That’s what made her so furious.)
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At the start of Season 4, which will take place in the summer between school and college, there’s a group scene. The former ND members are sitting together on a patch of grass, having a giant picnic.
Rachel is already there, but Quinn arrives later.
When she does, she sits down next to Rachel and casually puts her arm around her waist. They kiss. It’s soft but firm, not brief but not a Brittana- big- romance- fireworks kind of kiss, either. It palpable that they’re together and it’s no big deal to anyone. The love they shared as friends has grown to more.
There wouldn’t be much drama for them ahead. In my opinion Quinn is at a point where gay panic would be below her. After all she’s been through, why would she care about what people think about her anymore? And Rachel has two dads. She has a rainbow flag in her locker. Why would she panic? They’d be in love. And they’d have a future together, because Yale and NYADA are not too far away from each other.
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So, this is not a perfect outline, of course. I wrote this pretty much from the top of my head so it’s bound to be flawed.
