Title: The Reality Of Dreams
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,500
Pairings/Characters: Will/Rachel
Spoilers: None
Summary: Rachel never imagined how things would turn out when she was forced to return home to Lima.

A/N: My first entry for the 10iloveyou challenge on LiveJournal, filling 10. Your Choice. The prompt I gave myself was Failure. Please read and review; constructive criticism is always welcome. And thank you to everyone that has reviewed in the past or subscribed to my stories. Usually, I will thank everyone individually but life has gotten away from me and I am behind on that. Know that it is appreciated!

A/N 2: I would like to apologize for how long it has been since I have posted anything, especially the next chapter of Enduring Fate. My muse had left for a while, but she is back and really misses writing for this pair. I am half way done with the next chapter and a one-shot, and hopefully I will have them posted in the next couple of weeks. I also owe several authors reviews and I will be giving those in the next couple of weeks as well, depending on how much time work gives me. I'm sorry I've been slacking on that. I know how nice it is to receive a review, and I will usually do that. :)

When she steps off the plane in Ohio, it's the first time she feels like a failure. She tried to pretend she was just going home to visit her family and friends but that's not true. The truth is she couldn't make it in New York and she couldn't afford to stay there any longer. Nothing was going how she thought it would. She hadn't been in a play in two years. More than one casting director had told her it just wasn't in the cards. Her agent dumped her and she couldn't stand waiting tables. There was nothing left to do but leave.

She arrives at her dads' house - her temporary residence until she figures things out - and she has to try with all her might not to break down. This isn't where she thought she would be at 26; she expected to be starring on Broadway, to have won a Tony, to be married to the perfect man - or at least dating him. But instead she's 26, living with her parents and completely alone.

She's not sure what she's going to do. She never really had a back-up plan. She's not trained for anything else. She might have to go back to school and that makes her feel even more like a failure.

She decides she needs to stop dwelling on it, so she makes her way to the music store. It always makes her feel better when things aren't going her way. She's mulling around the Broadway section of sheet music when she hears a familiar voice. Looking up, she sees Will Schuester talking to the owner.

Her first thought is of how good he looks. He clearly hasn't shaved in a couple of days, and he definitely looks a bit older but not in a bad way. She takes a moment to think how sad it is that men always look better as they age, while women just lose their looks. It's really not fair. She notices that he's still in great shape - wearing jeans and a tight white t-shirt - and Rachel begins to feel the flutter in her stomach that she always had around him as a student.

He turns in her direction, smiling brightly when he sees her. She returns the smile, and he says goodbye to the owner before walking over. He doesn't hesitate as he embraces her. He still smells amazing. And when he pulls back, she's surprised that her first instinct is to look for a wedding ring.

She registers that he's talking. She hears Rachel, it's so good to see you and You look wonderful and What brings you to town? before she is pulled out of her search. She looks up at him and he's still smiling at her. He's looking right at her, and she feels the same as she always did around him, like he knows everything she is thinking and feeling.

She tries to stop it from happening but she can't. He's looking at her like he's actually happy to see her, and all she can think about is how embarrassed she is to be here. She starts crying. Right there in the middle of the music store, in front of her old teacher. She knows he's confused but he reaches out, pulling her to him in another hug. She wraps her arms around his waist, thinking about how much she failed him.

He asks her to come with him to lunch. She doesn't really want to, but she goes. She tells him about all the auditions and the agent who kept telling her to lose weight and the casting director that actually laughed at her. She tells him all about how she failed in the Big Apple.

Somewhere along the way, he moves next to her. And he looks her in the eyes when he tells her how proud he is of her for even trying. She doesn't believe him though; she thinks it's pity. He has to be disappointed in her for not succeeding.

He asks her to attend Glee rehearsal the next day, says he could use some help. She doesn't know how she feels about going back there but says yes anyway. It will get her out of her childhood home for a couple of hours, away from all the reminders it holds.

She's surprised by how much Glee has grown, at how respected it seems to be now. She's jealous at its success, at his success. When the kids sing, they sound amazing. But their voices move to the background as she focuses on him running around the room, going over a phrase in a song with one student, showing another couple how the dance is supposed to go. He looks amazing and carefree and happy. She wonders if it is the success of Glee or if there is a woman in his life.

She wonders who that woman might be. She saw Ms. Pillsbury's sign on her way in. She's no longer just Pillsbury, so it couldn't be her. She's so caught up in her thoughts that she doesn't hear him calling her name until he's standing right in front of her with a hand on her shoulder. She's feeling the color rise in her cheeks. She smiles apologetically and realizes that they're the only people left in the room. Rehearsal has ended.

He's looking at her with concern again. And all she wants to do is cry. Thankfully, he speaks before she gives into the emotion. He asks her to dinner and she accepts. She's not sure what she is doing, what she expects of her former teacher. She knows that she feels something, but is sure that for him, it's some residual mentor relationship, as if he still feels the need to pick her up when she's down. She wants to be angry with him but she's not.

They go to dinner and it's nice. They talk. He actually talks, instead of just listening as he did the day before. She finds out that things in his life are basically the same. Spanish is still Spanish. Sue is still tormenting him. Figgins is still ineffective. Glee is a success though, winning regionals every year and even nationals a few times.

He's talking about his ideas for this year's competition when she interrupts him to ask if he's dating anyone. He pauses and she steels herself for the rejection, for another failure that she's sure is about to happen. But it doesn't. He looks her in the eyes, lays his hand over hers and tells her that no, he's not seeing anyone.

They smile at each other and just like that they're dating. It's a little odd at first. He did use to be her teacher but they get passed that. They spend their nights together, usually at his apartment, making dinner or watching movies. He helps her apply to the local university. He helps her look for a new place. He talks Figgins into hiring her part-time as the co-director for Glee. He helps her get back on her feet.

And within weeks together, they fall in love. If they are honest with themselves, the feelings were always there, under the surface. But he wasn't allowed to act on them and she was afraid to. Now it's different. They are allowed to have these feelings. Allowed to do something about them.

It's a Friday night when he makes love to her the first time. They're in his apartment after dinner. She's washing dishes and he cages her in by the sink, presses against her back, and she can feel that he's aroused. He starts to kiss her neck, lightly biting her earlobe as he reaches to turn off the water and take the plate from her hand, laying it in the sink. She turns around to face him and he kisses her. She wraps her soapy hands around his neck, and he lifts her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.

When he carries her into the bedroom, she's sure this is a dream. They aren't really about to do this. But when he slides his hand under her shirt, massaging her breasts, she knows it's real. No dream could feel this good. They take their time. Touching and kissing and feeling, and when he finally pushes into her she cries out, overwhelmed by the emotions. It's never been like this for her. He kisses her, whispers her name over and over, squeezes her hand as they reach their climax together.

After, they're tangled together and he's looking at her with a mixture of love and pride. That flutter in her stomach has moved to her heart. She's happy. She's really happy. And she knows it's because of him. And for the first time since she stepped off that plane, she starts to think that maybe, just maybe, being a failure turned out to be the best thing that could have ever happened to her.

Please review. I would love to know what you think! :)