A/N: Not entirely sure why my "Meet the Family" story starts with smut, it just kind of happened. Hope you guys enjoy Day 3!
"Santana," she breathes, surprised that I'm standing at her door.
"Hi," I whisper with a small smile.
I don't let her speak another word, pushing her back into her apartment and dropping my bag off my shoulder as I bring my mouth to hers.
Quinn's hands fly to up to my hair, pulling me against her, as my hands grip her hips tightly. I don't waste any time, sliding my tongue into her mouth at the first opportunity and swallowing the hot moan that comes from her throat. We lick and nip at each other's lips, competing for dominance.
I walk her backwards to the nearest wall and press her firmly against it, grabbing her hands and pinning them above her head as I move my mouth to her jaw and neck.
"Jesus…" she sighs quietly when I suck hard at her soft skin.
She pushes me back and immediately reaches down to pull her shirt off, not even pausing before bringing her hands behind her to unclasp her bra as well.
I stand frozen for a moment, taking her in. I'd almost forgotten how beautiful she is.
Quinn takes in my expression and smirks at me, reaching out to undo the buttons on my uniform top. Her movement snaps me out of my reverie and in just minutes we have left a trail of clothes on our way to the bedroom. She pulls me by my hand as I stare at her perfectly round ass.
There is no way I can wait another 20 steps or so.
I stop and grip her hand tighter, turning her back to me. She flashes me a questioning look as I press her body between yet another wall and myself, but I chase it away with a kiss, my hands braced on either side of her head for the moment.
My breath catches as her fingertips glide lightly up and down my sides, hitting spots that only Quinn knows will make my muscles jump involuntarily. She grins against my mouth as my body reacts to her touch, and I feel a rush of love and desire for her.
I slide my hand down between us, pulling back to look at her face as my fingers slip along her wet slit. The widened hazel eyes, the harsh gasp, the way her forehead falls to my shoulder, I never realized it was possible to find such individual reactions from a person so fucking sexy.
I use just enough pressure to part her swollen lips and ghost over her clit, reveling in the way she bucks against my hand, seeking more from me. I refrain from indulging her just yet, even though I want to be inside of her more than anything. She picks her head up to look at me from half-lidded eyes.
"Santana," she breathes my name again, but now her voice is harsh and deep, "please."
Quinn says "please" like it's an oath, a substitute word falling from her lips when she'd rather be saying "fuck." It's more air than sound, and she sucks in a short breath when she's finished with it, her mouth dropping open as her eyes snap shut.
Sexy looks so fucking good on her.
My fingers slip down to her entrance and I slowly insert one finger, watching her face as her head falls back against the wall. The uneven breathing coming from her heaving chest mesmerizes me as I begin to move inside her, but Quinn wants more, her need evident in the taut lines on her face and the way she tries to meet my hand. She shakes her head in frustration.
"More, San. Harder."
It's a simple whisper that sends heat through my body. I will always have a weakness for Quinn's raspy sex voice telling me what it is she wants.
I oblige, adding another finger and picking up the pace immediately. A smile flashes across her perfect mouth and she wraps her leg around me, pulling me even closer.
She tilts her head down to kiss me. It's a hot, wet, sloppy kiss because I'm thrusting into her so hard and she is canting her hips to meet my hand.
This beautiful blonde girl is coming undone around me and it's intoxicating. I angle my hand so that my palm slaps her sensitive mound as my fingers work inside of her. The change hits Quinn immediately and her straightened knee gives, dropping her slightly before I pin her to the wall with my body.
I laugh lightly at her whine as I slide my fingers out of her and wrap my hands under the curve of her ass, pulling her up so that she can wrap both legs around me. She kisses me intensely as I walk us the rest of the way to the bedroom and lay her on the bed.
Her legs fall open as I hover over her, the expression on her face so incredibly needy. I don't wait, sliding my fingers back inside of her and slowly building the rhythm back up. Quinn's body arches into my touch as I take one of her perfect nipples into my mouth.
I play with her hardened peak, my tongue flicking against it before my teeth graze it lightly. Quinn opens one eye for the barest hint of a second, snapping it shut again when she sees the inside of my bottom lip run over her nipple. A smile forms on my lips of its own accord and I brace myself above her as I concentrate on bringing her to the edge.
My hand picks up speed and a steady stream of swear words begin to fall from Quinn's mouth. One of her fists grasps at the sheets, the other comes up to grip my shoulder.
"Oh God. OH GOD! So close, so close, baby so close," she promises, her voice desperate.
This face, her expression, are almost my undoing. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment, her eyebrows rising even as her eyes stay shut. The lip falls free when she sucks in a deep breath and quivers beneath me, every muscle going rigid as she rides out her orgasm.
She's beautiful. She's sexy. She's mine.
I've missed her so much my heart aches just thinking about it.
Quinn sighs. It's a deep, contented sound that washes over me as I move up her body and lay down next to her. Hazel-green eyes slowly open to look into mine, and a smile plays at perfect lips. She reaches out, pulling my body against hers, and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead.
I prop my head up on my hand and just look at her, overcome, as I often am, by how gorgeous she is. Quinn gazes steadily back at me, so vulnerable and yet so comfortable at the same time. We share a soft kiss.
"I've missed you," I whisper, closing my eyes. Those simple words don't even come close to the emptiness I've felt without her.
"Oh baby, I've missed you too," she answers, and tingles shoot through my body. I've never wanted to be loved by anyone the way I do with Quinn. "Why didn't you tell me you were back?"
"They kept changing the dates on us. I got stuck in Kuwait for days, which, by the way is still a complete and total hell hole," I tell her, rolling my eyes at the shit mess my travel back from Afghanistan has been. "I didn't have much internet access there and once I got back to the States I realized I somehow forgot to turn my cell service back on. So I just hopped in the first cab I saw and told the guy to take me to you. Besides, seeing the look on your face was so worth not telling you."
"You're so mean! I thought I was imagining things at first!"
I raise my eyebrow and smirk.
"You must have a very vivid imagination."
"So you have 15 days starting today?" Quinn asks, ignoring my suggestive statement.
"I have 15 days starting tomorrow, and I'm all yours until I have to go back," I promise.
Quinn's brow furrows with concern.
"You won't be seeing your parents at all?" she asks in a small voice. This is a sensitive topic, and I don't really want to discuss it right now. I flop onto my back and look up.
"No. My mother wants me to come home but I have no interest in seeing her and her new boyfriend. And my dad is still in Afghanistan. He doesn't get to take mid-tour just because I am. I'll see him when I pass through Bagram again."
Quinn nods. I don't tell her that I had lunch with my dad when I stopped there on my way home, so we're good for another year or so. Any other lunches are just bonus.
"Well then we better not waste a minute of our time," my girlfriend says lightly, leaning forward to give me a quick kiss. "And step one is to get you in the shower. You smell like sand and sweat and foreign countries."
I laugh at that, because I don't doubt that it's true.
Quinn's calves are on my lap and I'm rubbing them absently, enjoying the feeling of her smooth skin under my fingertips while we watch the Walking Dead and wait for the Thai food we ordered. I'm woefully behind on so much pop culture, but this is my favorite show and it's nearly impossible in the Stone Ages of Afghanistan to download a full episode of the new season without the internet going out and starting the download over. It's infuriating.
The screen freezes and I turn to Quinn in confusion as she puts down the remote.
"So I was wondering…" she begins, her hazel eyes dropping to her hands. It's rare to see my pretty blonde girl so hesitant. She's usually such a driven, confident person.
"What, baby?"
Quinn sighs and brings her eyes to mine, gathering the courage to ask whatever it is.
"I was wondering if you'd be willing to come with me to my family's vacation house next weekend," she finally admits, her gaze steady but her body language apprehensive.
My eyes widen in surprise. We've been together, officially, for almost a year. I've been gone for nearly six months of that, but even when I was still stateside I wasn't exactly close by. We've built our relationship around long weekends, Skype, and an instantaneous connection that took us both by surprise.
I'm ready to marry this girl, but haven't given much thought to when I'd meet her entire, humongous family.
I'll never forget the conversation in which Quinn told me about her family, sparking a small envious flame in me as she described how close-knit her mother's side is.
"So wait, you're all numbered? How exactly does that work?"
"Basically, when someone is born or married into the family, they get their number. So, for example, when I was born on June 5th, 1984 there were 21 people in my family already, so I am number 22."
"Wow. So how many are there now?"
"My niece just brought us up to number 49."
"49?! You have 49 family members on one side, and you actually know all of their names?"
Quinn laughed.
"Yup. Every summer since I was an infant we've gone to our vacation house, which we just call the House, and spent holidays or summer weeks there, so I actually know my cousins pretty well."
My mouth dropped open. This idea was unimaginable to me.
"Wow. That sounds kinda awesome."
"Yeah, it's pretty cool."
Quinn is looking at me expectantly.
"Umm, yeah. Sure babe, if that's what you want to do, then I'd love to," I finally tell her, swallowing down my nervousness.
The most beautiful face in the world brightens radiantly when I agree to meet her gigantic family in one place, over one weekend. I've only ever spoken to her mother on Skype one time, and now I'm about to meet a family of 49 people.
"Oh my God, you will? Thank you, San, thank you so much!" Quinn leaps up and straddles me, her arms draped over the back of couch. "They're going to love you. I've pictured you coming to the House for so long now."
"Really?"
"Well yeah, baby. I talk about you all the time, I want everyone to finally see how amazing you really are."
"You talk about me?" I don't know why this is so surprising to me. Probably because my dysfunctional family is so detached that we rarely talk unless something big comes up. Quinn cocks her head to the side and studies my face.
"Santana…you are…you're the most important thing in my life. Of course I talk about you. My entire family has been waiting to hear that you're back in the States ever since I mentioned your mid-tour break would be around this time. They made me promise to bring you to the House if you were home during one of the big weekends," she tells me earnestly. Her eyes are intent on mine, trying to read my reaction.
I lean up and kiss her gently, my hands resting on her slender hips.
"You know I love you, right? I think about you all the time, over there. Whether I'm out on foot, walking some shitty mountain, or back at the base, hitting the gym—you are always on my mind. Every minute I'm there I'm just counting down to seeing you again."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, babe."
Quinn smiles and ghosts her lips over my own.
"I love you, too."
I'm holding Quinn's hand as she drives us towards her family's vacation home. My mind is being blown by the speed at which we're moving, having only driven in weighted down armored trucks on nonexistent roads for the past 5 months. I haven't moved at a speed greater than maybe 25 miles an hour on the ground, and that's on a good day. Right now we're going almost 60. I have to keep reminding myself that this is normal, and absolutely not a reason to crush my girlfriend's hand with my death grip. She keeps smiling over sympathetically, unsure what will ease my discomfort.
"We're almost there, San. Do you need me to stop or something?" Quinn asks gently.
I shake my head and marvel at the telephone poles whipping by. It bothers me more than I expected that things in America seem weird to me now. This isn't my first rodeo, I've come back from deployment before, but it's still a fresh feeling, and it makes me worry about how I'll feel after 6 more months over there. I close my eyes and focus on the good things.
Quinn. Fresh air. Real mattresses. Reliable internet. Quinn. Food options. Civilian clothes. Quinn. Alcohol. Movie theaters. Quinn.
"Santana, open your eyes."
I comply with Quinn's request and am instantly overwhelmed. Lining a long driveway are the members of her family, holding up American flags and signs welcoming me home. I know it's her family based on the matching shirts adorned with big numbers.
At first I just gape at them, but then roll my window down and smile and wave, listening to them cheer as we pass by until we finally park next to a beautiful house. Before we get out I look at my girlfriend and shake my head at her, overwhelmed. She gives me a radiant smile and a kiss before jumping out of the car and starting to greet her many family members.
I climb out of the car and take in my surroundings. The House is clearly pretty old but well maintained, a recently repainted white. A large American flag hangs from a balcony in the front, in good shape but faded from being flown regularly. Another sign hangs next to it that says "Welcome Home SSG Santana Lopez."
I blink back the tears that have begun to form. This family that isn't mine has gone to such great lengths for me. It's amazing.
Quinn makes her way over to me and takes my hand, leading me slowly to the House, where her extended family has slowly started to gather after walking back down the driveway.
I immediately recognize Quinn's mom, Judy, when she steps forward to wrap me in a tight hug. She's wearing a shirt that says "5."
"Welcome home, Santana. We're so glad you're here," she says in my ear before releasing me.
"Thank you so much. This is really just…too much," I reply.
A handsome older guy wearing number 1 loops an arm around Judy's shoulders in a brotherly manner and smiles at me.
"Welcome to the House, Santana. I'm Quinn's Uncle Charlie and the old man around here. We've got cold beer in the coolers and dinner is getting started shortly. I hope you like good old fashioned American barbecue?"
"Yes! God, definitely. I've missed real barbecue so much," I confess with a grin.
"Good! We're going to let Quinn here take you up to the room you'll be staying in, but I just wanted to welcome you as the patriarch of the Carlson family. Oh, and Quinn, your new family shirt is up on your bed."
"Thanks Uncle Chuck, we'll be right down," my pretty girl says with a light squeeze of my hand.
I'm introduced to a few more people as we pass through room after room and then head upstairs. Quinn stops at a room with two twin beds in it and an air mattress.
"This is where I always stay. I'm the youngest of the first cousins, so I've always gotten a sleeping bag on the floor. For your visit though, I finagled us an air mattress big enough for both of us." She looks adorably contrite, as if this would bother me at all.
"Q, I've been sleeping on a three inch thick foam "mattress" thrown on top of a piece of plywood. An air mattress next to you sounds like heaven to me," I say, leaning in to give her a light kiss that she smiles into.
She picks up her family shirt from the air mattress and quickly changes, turning to proudly present her "22" designation. I outline the numbers with my fingers and shake my head.
"You know this is kind of crazy, right?"
"Oh, totally. I love it though. Coming here has always been a kind of refuge for me. After dinner I'll show you some of my favorite places. I was that kid that always wandered off to read a book in some hidden location, I'd love to show you." Quinn has the cute shyness thing going for her right now.
"I'd love to see anything you want to show me," I whisper truthfully, my hands on her hips. I get a big grin in response, along with a slight blush. This girl is seriously the most adorable human being on earth.
"Let's go downstairs, babe. I apologize in advance for any stories about my childhood you have to endure, and also the high likelihood that my older guy cousins will try to corner you and ask your intentions for me. They take no small amount of pride in intimidating the significant others of their younger cousins, but it's all for show, don't worry."
"First of all, yes to all of your childhood stories, I cannot wait to see you blush when they start telling them. Secondly, I'm not worried about your cousins because my intentions are nothing but pure."
Quinn laughs at me.
"Liar," she whispers.
This family is amazing. I don't know how else to put it. We are sitting at one of the many tables set up for dinner and I am being regaled by Quinn's greatest hits while she is, predictably, blushing.
"Wait, wait, wait. Has anyone told the story about when she was a flower girl in Rob's wedding?" Quinn's sister Frannie interjects as she passes through holding Quinn's gorgeous niece. The whole table reacts excitedly when they're reminded of a story they'd evidently forgotten.
"Oh God, no. Come on Fran, give me a break!" Quinn is already burning a brighter shade of red than I've ever seen and I'm so excited to hear this story it's not even funny.
"Okay, so get this: Quinn is like what, 9 years old? Anyway, she's around 9 and she is the flower girl for Robbie, one of our older cousins. So it's maybe a week or two before the wedding and she and I are playing soccer or something in our backyard, and the ball goes in a slightly wooded area."
Quinn has her face buried in her hands and she's shaking her head.
"Well Quinnie goes running after it, just a little ball of energy, she really never stopped running. So she grabs the ball and turns around, still running, and just catches a face full of tree, she just runs straight into it."
"No!" I interject, because I did not see that coming.
"Oh yes, and her face is just completely gnarly. Half of it is covered in bark and blood, it was actually quite horrifying to look at."
"Aww, baby!" I kiss Quinn's cheek even though she's still covering her face.
"Miraculously, her face healed enough before the wedding that she didn't look like a hot mess, and she obviously didn't grow up looking like Harvey Dent. Still, I'll never forget her just turning and full on sprinting into a tree. Classic Quinn." Her sister laughs in an affectionate way that tells me this is a story Quinn is used to being teased about.
My girlfriend shakes her head at everyone, rolling her eyes in mock irritation. One of her cousins clears his throat and speaks up.
"Okay, all of the Carlson's, we're going to need you to clear out so that we can have a little conversation with Santana here."
"Guys…no. It's the first day!" Quinn objects, but I just cover her hand with mine.
"No, it's fine Q. I don't mind at all." In truth, my stomach is clenching nervously, but I give her a smile anyway.
"You're sure?" Her eyes search mine.
"Absolutely. Go hang with the rest of your family. I'll come find you when we're done."
Quinn gives me a quick kiss and glances back at me as she heads outside with her mom and aunts and uncles that were sitting with us. I look back at the five guys left in the room.
"Okay, gents, before you ask, I'll just go ahead and tell you. I intend to marry your cousin. I'm absolutely positive that she is the one for me, and I will do anything to make her happy for the rest of our lives. The ring is upstairs in my bag, I just need to find the right moment and ask Judy first. Now, what are your questions?"
Five slow smiles spread across handsome faces and I know I've made allies out of Quinn's "intimidating" cousins.
"Just one: what can we do to help?"
It's our last evening at the House, and I'm taking a walk with Quinn over the slight rolling hills of a meadow on the property. All of the pieces have fallen into place perfectly, and I know I'll soon have my chance to ask this incredible, perfect girl to be mine forever.
The cousins worked up a ruse to distract Quinn and get me time alone with Judy so that I could ask permission first, which was a big step. I felt confident that she'd grant it to me, but I was still so nervous. Quinn and her mom are extremely close after surviving the fall out of Judy's divorce from Quinn's dad. She doesn't talk about it much, but I get the impression he disowned Q after she came out and Judy chose her daughter over her marriage. Having Judy approve of us getting married is huge.
I listen to Quinn talk about wandering around out here as a little girl and try to picture her as a tiny blonde ball of energy going on adventures with a book and her brilliant imagination. Our fingers are loosely intertwined, and I pull the back of her hand up to my lips for a moment. We're almost to her favorite spot, and I need to steady my nerves.
As we walk into the clearing she like to read in as a child, Quinn pauses, taking in the sight before her. The five eldest Carlson boys have set up dozens of electric tea candles around the clearing, contained in various white lanterns and holders that Frannie promised to pick out, not trusting the Boys with the task. It's not very dark out, but the candles shimmer beautifully against the dusky light of the evening.
I continue forward, leading Quinn to the center of the clearing. She gives me a questioning look that surprises me because she is so smart and I thought for sure she'd have picked up on what this is by now. I'm glad though, as I lean forward to gently brush her lips with mine before taking a step back to look her in the eye.
"Quinn," I begin, more than nervous than I've ever been, "I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of loving. Every single moment we have spent together has been pure magic, proof to me that soul mates do exist and that you are mine. I want, more than anything, to spend the rest of my time on this earth loving you and being there for you. So…"
I shakily remove the princess-cut diamond ring from my pocket as I kneel down, hazel-green eyes widening as she watches me.
"Will you marry me?"
Decades, centuries, millennia, eons pass in the breath between my question and Quinn dropping to her knees in front of me, kissing me as she squeals, "Yes. Yes! YES!"
Yes. She said yes.
I pull back reluctantly from her barrage of kisses and grab her left hand, sliding the ring over her finger. It's a perfect fit and she stares at it for a second before kissing me again, slower this time.
"I love you, Santana. I can't wait to start our life together."
My heart swells at her sweet, soft voice telling me that she feels exactly how I do.
"I love you, too."
We lie together in the meadow for a little bit. Quinn won't put her hand down unless I wrap my fingers in hers and pull it down. I love the way the ring feels on her finger grasped between mine.
Before we get up to walk back we've agreed on a month and debated a few locations for our wedding. I've promised to help as much as I can with the planning while I'm away. She has admired her ring for the thousandth time. We've kissed for the hundredth time.
We can both hear the hushed din of her family waiting for us to return as we get closer to the House. By now I'm sure the Boys and Judy have told everyone that I've asked Quinn to marry me. I smile at my fiancée as we emerge and the Carlson family seems to hold its collective breath.
"I said YES!" Quinn shouts, holding our linked hands up in the air.
There is a loud cheer and then we're surrounded by a wave of family love that buoys me, lifting me somehow even higher than the ecstatic joy of being engaged to Quinn has taken me. I'm hugged over and over before Uncle Charlie quiets down the Carlson crowd.
"Now, as we all know, it is tradition to welcome our new family members with a shirt bearing their number once they've officially joined the family. We're going to break tradition just this one time since Santana will be returning to Afghanistan in less than a week," he announces, taking a shirt from someone behind him and holding it up to display the large "50" it bears. "It's been pretty clear to us for a while that Quinn wants to spend her life with you, Santana, so we had this shirt made with the rest of ours in anticipation of you joining the family eventually. We'd like to give it to you a little early, so that you can have it while you finish your tour overseas. Welcome to the family!"
Tears are rolling down my cheeks as I take my new shirt and hug Quinn's uncle fiercely. This family has embraced me in such unexpected, amazing ways, and it's just mind blowing that I get them along with the girl of my dreams.
The Boys start handing out beers and directing us towards the bonfire pit, and the engagement celebration is under way.
It doesn't end until the early morning hours.
"Look at me, baby."
Quinn's eyes slide slowly up to mine, and my heart contracts at the sadness I see in them.
"Please don't cry, Q. I'll e-mail as soon as I get somewhere with internet access, okay? We're halfway through, I'll be back before you know it."
It's never been harder to wear a brave face than it is right now. I know that if I cry neither of us will be able to stop. I shift my focus to the noise and bustle of the airport for a moment to regain control over my emotions before I look back at my favorite face.
Quinn is nodding in a way that tells me she doesn't really agree, but is trying to be brave too.
"I love you," she finally whispers.
"I love you too, more than anything. I can't wait to make you my wife, Quinn Fabray."
I finally get a smile out of her with that, and I lean down to capture it with a light kiss.
"Talk to you soon, babe." I hoist my heavy pack onto my back and give her a smile before I turn to walk inside the terminal.
"Santana."
I turn back to her and wait.
"You have to come back. Promise me."
Her beautiful mouth is twisted to the side as she fights back her tears.
I don't want to promise her something I can't control, but I know it's what she needs to hear from me to be alright with this. My throat is so tight I'm not sure how I'm breathing.
I nod first, trying to get enough control to speak to her without wavering.
"I promise," I say solidly, offering a light smile that doesn't match the heaviness I feel.
It takes all I have in me to turn from her and walk inside, praying to everything holy that I won't break that promise.