AN: This story is a bit different from the usual Faberry, but their personalities are still the same and Glee Club still exists... (You'll see it better next chapter) Also, Quinn is deaf, but it's not a sad story! Far from it... (If anything, is just a huge piece of fluff with hints of humor and tiny doses of drama.)

...

Part 1/4 – The Girl From Across the Street

Age, 6.

...

The tiny little girl rested her hands on the hips as she scanned the room critically before smiling to herself. It'd been a few weeks since she had moved to the new house and after days of sleeping in between her dads, she finally had her own bedroom.

She danced quietly for a moment, brushing her fingertips on the bright yellow walls (color she had chosen herself). She climbed into bed and jumped up and down against the soft mattress a couple of times, laughing happily until her father appeared at the door.

"So, Princess, what do ya think?"

The little girl didn't answer, just hopped out of bed and ran to him, hugging his legs tightly. Leroy laughed softly and leaned down to hug her back

"It's so pretty, daddy!" She gushed happily as he lifted her up. "Can I open my boxes now? The ones with my stuffed animals and the one with my dolls and the one with my music? Please, please, please?" She bounced anxiously on his arms.

"Of course you can, Little Star... Your papa is at the basement right now trying to find them."

She clapped with excitement and hugged his neck, eager to free her stuffed friends. "And my dance outfits? Can I have them too?"

"Mhum.." He agreed, carrying her to the walk in closet and opening the door to reveal all her clothes hanging neatly, organized by color and function. Her deep brown eyes sparkled and she squirmed until her daddy finally let her down.

She went straight to the dresses and chose a light pink tutu. "How many days and nights till I get back to my dance classes, daddy?"

"A whole month, Princess..."

"That's a lot!" She cried out, stomping her foot. She absolutely loved her singing and dance lessons, she was also thrilled about starting first grade at the grown up school, like her cousin Leon, who was already 8 and was heading to the third year.

She loved kindergarten, but also, like any child her age, couldn't wait to grow up.

"Will be over before you know it, you'll see..." Leroy answered kindly, pulling her hair up in a perfect ponytail. "Mrs. Martinez said some of the neighbors have kids too... Pretty soon, you'll make friends and then you'll want the break to last forever."

The tiny girl replied with a distant nod, losing focus of the conversation at hearing her papa's voice from the bottom of the stairs, requesting her help to bring up her toys.

...

After three days devoted to explore the interior of her new house, now completely built, the little brunette finally decided it was time to investigate the surroundings. It was August and the day was beautiful, sunny and the sky was clear. The backyard of the brick house was large and her papa, Hiram, worked deftly with a lawnmower while Leroy was engaged in hanging a swing on the big tree planted right in the middle of their garden.

Rachel sat on the low wall that separated the street from the front door as she watched the two men work. She had tried to help, but Hiram told her to stay away until the mower was off. She hummed softly to herself and looked around, trying to find evidence of other children in the neighborhood, but all the houses looked so silent and the only people on the street were old ladies who were walking with their dogs and a woman pushing a baby blue stroller.

The child inside of it was too small and Rachel didn't even bother to smile at the woman, worried about finding a more appropriate person to play with, preferably another girl. No one that fit that description appeared, and at the end of the day, the tiny brunette went back home a little disappointed.

Two days went by and after a short walk down the street (chaperoned by her dads), she gave up on meeting other kids and had no choice other than just talk with her toys and set up small concerts for them. Leroy felt a little guilty to see his daughter playing alone, he had hoped that other children would live in that street, but apparently Mrs. Martinez was wrong.

...

It was a Wednesday when they first met.

Rachel swung lazily on her red swing when the front door for the house across the street opened and a girl not much taller than herself materialized at the porch. The little brunette jumped to the ground right away, running towards the low wall.

The other girl had yellow hair that reflected the sunlight and delicate features. She held a pink teddy bear with a rainbow on his belly and Rachel smiled to notice that she had the same rainbow bear on her room, resting on top of her bed. The little blonde sat carefully on the steps and hugged the teddy, looking around until her eyes met Rachel's and widened in surprise.

Rachel felt her face split into a huge smile and promptly waved to her newest discovery. Her body was trembling with excitement and she wanted to run towards the other house so badly, but her dads had taught her it was rude to enter strange places uninvited. The girl passed the bear to her left hand before waving shyly in response.

"Hi! I'm Rach! Want to play? What's your name? Are your parents' home?" She inquired, unable to contain the whirlwind of words that bubbled up from her chest to her throat.

The other girl's eyes grew even wider and she glanced over her shoulder, as if expecting to see someone else standing in the doorway behind her. She sat still for a second before looking back at Rachel, who waved once again.

"What's your name?" She rested her hands on the stone wall, feeling the irregularities of it scratching her palms.

The little blonde shook her head no and Rachel frowned.

"No need to be shy, I'm a friend!" She said, walking up to the gate and opening it for a better view.

The girl raised a hand, drawing a circle against her chest with her small fist and a strange expression on her face.

Rachel mimicked the gesture with a questioning look, without knowing what it meant. "What is it?" She asked, stepping forward and looking both ways before crossing the street.

Once again, the little girl shook her head, more firmly this time, using the index finger to point at her ear and mouth. She repeated the movement a few times and the petite brunette didn't understand why she kept doing that.

"Have you lost your voice?" She asked, stopping near the big white house. "That happened with my papa last winter..." Being close enough, she could see that the eyes of her possible future best friend were from a beautiful shade of green that she had never seen before. "You have pretty eyes." She smiled, trying to make the other girl smile too.

The blonde's pink lips parted and Rachel clenched her fists, waiting for her to say something, but the only sound she heard was an incoherent mumble that made the blonde girl blush.

"What did you say?" She stepped closer, trying to understand.

Again, the same sound reached her ears, louder this time, and soon followed by a shriek that made her eyes bulge.

"Why are you yelling?" She asked, raising her voice.

The little blonde girl glanced over her shoulder once more and squeezed her teddy bear, repeating the circle against her chest with watery eyes before running back into the house.

"Wait! I just wanted..." She tried to say, but the door closed with a bang in her face and she was left alone, feeling helpless. Had she done something wrong? Why the girl had run away from her?

She sniffled, feeling a horrible tightness in her chest and crossed the street back to the brick house, wiping the tears that streamed down her face with the back of her hand.

"What happened?" Leroy inquired when he saw her running into the living room. Rachel hugged him tightly and cleaned her nose on his white shirt. "Rach, little star, are you hurt?"

"The girl from across the street don't want to be my friend!" She said between sobs and he cradled her gently, trying to calm her down before asking for more information.

The tiny brunette breathed shakily against his neck while grabbing his shirt with all the strength of a six year old and he was about to ask again what happened when the doorbell rang. Leroy squeezed her a little, kissing her hair before letting her down.

"Go wash your face, little star.. Then you can explain me what happened, okay?"

She nodded and went into the bathroom, climbing on a stool so she could reach the sink while her daddy answered the door.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Rachel heard his voice as she shut the faucet.

"Not sure." Said a booming male voice. "My daughter came home yelling and when I asked what happened she just brought me here."

The brunette got off the stool and wiped her hands, peering through the bathroom door to find a blond man and the girl from across the street standing by the door. A light seemed to flash through the green eyes and the little blonde pulled her dad's shirt, pointing towards Rachel.

"Rachel?" Leroy called, looking over his shoulder and making a sign to the neighbors. "Is this the girl you told me about?"

"Yes, it's her!" Rachel stopped beside him, leaning against his leg, trying to smile at the little girl, but worried she might start screaming again. "I went to say hi and she ran away from me..."

"Oh.." The blond man looked at his daughter in understanding.

"I swear I didn't say anything bad! I just said hi! "Rachel hurried to explain.

"I think there was a misunderstanding here..." The man continued, resting a protective hand on his daughter's back. The little blonde's eyes were fixed on Rachel and the tiny brunette bit her lip and shuffled on her feet.

"What do you mean with misunderstanding?" Leroy questioned, assuming the same defensive posture regarding Rachel without realizing he was doing it.

The man squatted and looked at the tiny brunette. "Quinn didn't mean to scare you. She ran inside to call me because..." He cleared his throat, glancing at the black man who still stood behind Rachel, and making the gesture with his index finger, moving it from ear to mouth, like Quinn had done before. "Quinn is deaf."

...

"Deaf?" Rachel echoed, peering at the blonde, who still stared at her intently.

Leroy's hard eyes softened, and his posture changed. He looked at the girl with golden hair and sighed before explaining. "It means she can't hear, little star..."

Rachel frowned and looked at her daddy blankly. The idea of not being able to hear made no sense for her, who had always lived in a world full of music and sounds. "Like when you're underwater in the pool?"

"Kind of..." He tried to think of a better way to explain it when realized that Quinn and her dad were still standing at the door. "Would you like to come in?"

The blond man signed to the little girl and she nodded her head.

"I think so.. But we can't stay long, we have to pick up my wife at work and my other daughter is home alone with a 'friend'." He grimaced when saying the word 'friend' and Leroy smiled to himself, thinking that in a few years he would probably be making the same face when Rachel started to bring her own 'friends' to the house (he had no idea how wrong he was at the time).

They entered the living room and sat down. Quinn looked around with wide eyes, as if absorbing every inch of the place.

"Want to play with me?" Rachel asked her, innocently.

"She can't hear what you say, Princess.."

"But ..." She looked at the little blonde, who swayed her legs off the couch, happily distracted. "How do I do to talk with her?"

"When somebody can't hear, they have to use their hands to speak." Russell told her, as if used to explaining that.

Rachel looked at her hands, still very tiny. "And how do I do to do that?"

"What do you want to say to her?" He asked in response.

Rachel thought for a second. "Hi."

He grinned and made the sign for 'hi'. Touching his forehead lightly, and then lowering his hand.

Rachel looked up and mirrored the gesture. "Like this?"

"Yeah..." He nudged his daughter's shoulder, pointing at Rachel with his head.

"Hi.." signed Rachel, earning a wide smile in response that made her heart flip inside her chest.

Quinn began signing frantically towards her and the small brunette widened her eyes looking at Russell without knowing what to do. The blond man laughed and put a hand over his daughter's, receiving an almost comic glare from the little girl.

"Calm down..." he signed, talking aloud so that Leroy and Rachel could understand what he was saying. "She doesn't know sign language yet..."

Quinn's shoulders fell in disappointment and once again the little brunette felt something strange in her heart. The blonde girl took a deep breath and made the circle sign against her chest again.

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked, straightening up on the edge of her seat.

"She's apologizing..."

"Ohhh... She did that before running away."

Leroy arched an eyebrow. "Very polite..."

Russell translated the compliment and Quinn smiled at him, sitting up and feeling proud. She looked at Rachel and signed something.

"My name is Quinn." Her father reproduced the signs to every word so that the little brunette could follow. "This is my sign." He asked her to repeat the gesture and she made a movement transforming a Q in F quickly. "We give a sign to everyone, it's like your name, but in ASL. It's easier than having to spell it all the time..." Russell explained before anyone could ask. "This is mine." He made the letter R and placed it above his lip like a mustache.

Quinn shook his arm, drawing attention back to herself.

"She wants to know your name."

"Rachel!" Exclaimed the brunette. "How do I tell her that?"

Russell spelled letter by letter of her name and the brunette reproduced them with ease, just missing the H, which was the hardest. "What did she say?" The little girl asked anxiously at seeing Quinn signing.

"She said it looks like my name. Rachel and Russell." He laughed softly and nodded to his daughter, who also smiled and asked if Rachel had a sign. "No, not yet, why don't you give her one?"

"What is she saying?" The tiny brunette jumped off the couch and put a hand on the blond men's leg, not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

"She asked if you have a sign and I told her to give you one." He paused and blonde girl kept talking. "She said she can't give you one because she doesn't know you yet, but will think of a really cool sign for you."

Rachel beamed and Quinn did the same. "How do I ask if she wants to be friends with me?"

Russell started to translate to his daughter, but the little brunette interrupted.

"No! I want to ask her!"

He blinked a few times, a bit surprised by her reaction. Usually people were afraid to talk to Quinn and he was used to translate the world for her. But at that moment he realized that his daughter had just made her first real friend and that whatever started between them that day would last for the rest of their lives (and he was more than right about that).

He taught the signs quickly to the brunette and she asked the question, with a little difficulty at the 'want'. Quinn stared at her and then looked at her daddy. She trembled on the couch, smiling and making a sound like "Mmmhumm" while firmly nodding with her head.

She glanced at her dad and pointed to herself and Rachel, making the sign for 'friend' and then the one for 'play'. "She wants to know if you are going to play with her now that you're friends."

"Of course she will!" Leroy answered. "Quinn can come and play with Rachel whenever she wants..."

Russell translated and Quinn boosted to the ground, jumping next to Rachel and wrapping her in a spontaneous hug. Rachel chuckled against her ear as the blonde just kept humming.

"Can she play here now?" The tiny brunette questioned, grabbing Quinn's hand in hers, ready to take her new friend to meet her new bedroom.

The blond man looked at his watch and his eyebrows rose considerably. "We're already late! I guess not today, dear..." He signed something to Quinn and the little girl let go of Rachel's hand to respond. "But tomorrow morning I can drop her here before work if you don't mind."

"There would be no problem. I'm on vacation until September, so they will not be alone..." Answered Leroy.

"Great.. My older daughter will be happy not having to babysit tomorrow." He stood up. "Let's go Quinn? Say goodbye to your friend..." He signed.

Quinn waved her goodbye to Rachel before accepting her dad's hand, making a last gesture with her thumb near her cheek.

"Yes, baby girl..." Russell grinned. "She said 'see you tomorrow'."

...

AN: I actually had to research the signs in ASL (American Sign Language) because I only knew the ones in Portuguese and they're completely different.. :P I'm also not sure about terminology.. Like, how to translate the act of talking in signs... Hope is not weird..

Next: Quinn teaches Rachel and they become real friends..

Please, review if you're enjoying this... The more reviews I get, sooner I'll update ;)