Author's Note: I've been writing way too much angst lately, so this is more for my own sanity than anything else. It's short, but I figured I would share it anyway. Enjoy :)
Like Pieces Into Place
"Santana, this is perfect," Quinn breathes, leaning against the doorframe as she surveys the master suite. It is a sensational room with a plush, king-sized bed overlooking a stone fireplace. On the far side, there is a jacuzzi bathtub that is large enough to swim in. Outside of the French doors leading to the balcony, snow falls steadily, leaving a blanket of fluffy, white powder behind. It feels like a fairytale and a dream all wrapped into one amazing weekend.
"Yeah, I know," Santana replies smugly, dropping her bag at Quinn's feet and wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's waist. "Happy graduation, you over-achiever."
Quinn moves into the room with Santana following and collapses onto the huge bed. Santana stands at the edge enjoying the view of Quinn's hair fanned out in every direction against the charcoal bedspread and the blissful expression painted on Quinn's face. She doesn't hesitate to climb onto the bed at Quinn's silent beckon. She swings her legs on either side of Quinn's hips and she leans down to give Quinn the softest of kisses.
Quinn pushes up, trying to take control from the bottom, but Santana pulls away so that Quinn couldn't reach her lips. The blonde groans in mild frustration and Santana releases a girlish giggle while tightening her legs around Quinn to hold her in place.
"You always were a control freak, Fabray," Santana teases, though the soft undertones of affection bleed through. Quinn squirms beneath her, but Santana's grip is too tight. "This weekend, you're mine."
Quinn would be lying if she said that a dominant Santana wasn't one of her favorite things in the world. Normally she'd fight Santana for control, the struggle between their eerily similar personalities turning her on more than anything else ever managed to do. But tonight, in this room, she relinquishes it all.
~!~
"What are you so scared of? You've gone skiing with your parents every winter as long as I've known you," Quinn comments as they stand at the base of the mountain. Santana had complained the entire drive over and their friends had taken off as soon as they saw the chairlift in the distance, leaving the two of them standing outside of the ski lodge.
"I'm made to be lying on white sand holding a delicious island beverage, not to be falling on my ass on freezing cold snow," Santana whines again.
Quinn rolls her eyes dramatically and stares at her girlfriend. She loves Santana in a skimpy bikini, but the image in front of her is pretty perfect. Santana is wearing bright white snow pants and an oversized snowboard jacket that has a green, black, and white pattern across it. Her black helmet covers most of her dark hair and she looks beyond adorable with her goggles pressed over her eyes.
"This is my graduation present and now you're not even going to the top of the mountain with me?"
The guilt trip works; Santana sighs loudly and drags her skis onto the snow, slamming her boots down into the bindings until they click into place and glides towards the lift line with practiced ease. Quinn's face lights up with a smile and she takes off after her.
Once Santana is actually on the mountain, she finds that it's not so bad. She's hated most of these trips with her parents and little brother because she really just isn't made for cold weather, but watching Quinn zigzag happily down the trail a little bit below her makes it all worth it. The blonde is a natural and she moves with her typical grace. Every once in awhile she looks over her shoulder to make sure Santana is still following and Santana can't help but melt at the sheer happiness on Quinn's face.
It's past her normal lunchtime by the time she finally convinces Quinn that they should take a break. Her stomach is growling and she curses all of her warm layers as they enter the sweltering ski lodge. She hardly slows down to deposit their jackets on a table before dragging Quinn over to get some food. Quinn links their fingers as they wait to pay and Santana pulls her in for a kiss that is a little too heated for a public family location. The acne-ridden teenage boy working the register seems to have enjoyed it because he throws in a couple of free cookies when he rings them up and Santana accepts them happily as she hands him her debit card to pay for their lunch.
The sun is setting beyond the mountains as they make their last run for the day. Santana can feel the burning ache in her thighs and swears to herself that she'll start going to the gym more after winter break when she gets back to school. Quinn hasn't slowed down even a little bit, easily skiing circles around her and all of their friends. Rachel squeals as she flies down the mountain mostly out of control with Finn chasing after her to keep her from colliding with trees. Sam and Puck shred on their snowboards, taking every opportunity to shower people in snow as they stop short.
It's been a fun yet completely exhausting day and by the time they make it back to their ski chalet, Santana strips and immediately limps over to run a bath in the amazing tub. Quinn enters the room shortly after, her hair a mess from wearing her helmet all day. She licks the lips at the sight of Santana leaning over the edge of the tub, testing the temperature of the water before climbing into it with an appreciative sigh. She leaves a trail of her clothes as she walks over to join Santana.
Santana pulls her down into the tub, causing the water to splash over the edges and soaking the floor and Quinn squeals loudly as she crashes down into Santana's lap. The water is warm and Santana reaches over and pushes the button to turn on the jets. The water feels great on her tired muscles and Santana's hands find the knot in her neck and start massaging it softly as they sit together. It's the perfect way to end the first great day of their vacation.
When they wake up in the morning, it's snowing so harshly that it's impossible to see, so they decide to stay at the house for the day. The group makes hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps and roasts marshmallows in the giant fireplace in the living room. The blizzard slows down in the late afternoon and they venture onto the front lawn to have a snowball fight. Santana shoves a handful of snow down the back of Quinn's jacket and Quinn screams bloody murder before tackling her into a snow bank. They sink into the fresh layers of white powder and Quinn is straddling Santana, who is perfectly okay with this punishment for her prank. They don't stop kissing until Puck and Sam bombard them with snowballs.
That night they all get drunk and sing karaoke and play drinking games. Somehow Quinn ends up topless after a poorly played game of truth or dare and Santana is glad she doesn't really blush because even after three years together, the sight of Quinn still makes her heart race.
The king-sized bed comes in handy when Santana drags a still bare-chested Quinn into their room. Tonight, she willingly lets Quinn top her because there really isn't anything sexier than an insatiable, drunk Quinn Fabray straddling her legs with her pupils completely blown from her desire.
All of them hit the mountain early the next day after nursing their hangovers and take advantage of the feet of fresh snow lining the trails. Santana finds herself having more fun today as they zip down the hill, catcalling and chasing one another. Quinn is completely in her element and looks more carefree than Santana has ever seen her.
In the afternoon, they trade their skis for snow tubes and spend the rest of the day racing one another down the snow slides. Santana doesn't remember ever laughing as hard as she did while watching Rachel and Finn try to ride down on a tube together, ending in an epic crash and a squealing Rachel rolling down the rest of the course.
Santana's nerves kick in as soon as they return to the house. Quinn is singing from the shower and she is sitting on the bed, all dressed up in the outfit she picked out weeks ago for the occasion. She fusses with her hair and smoothes out invisible wrinkles, her nerves truly getting the best of her. The little square box feels enormous in the pocket of her jeans and she knows that it's obvious. Quinn emerges from the shower and she covers it with her hand, stumbling over her words when trying to respond to Quinn's question.
Quinn is dressed and raises an eyebrow when Santana ushers her out of the room, saying she'll meet up with her in a minute. Their friends had promised to make themselves scarce, knowing Santana's plan and Santana prayed that they kept it. She takes two more deep breaths, checks the ring before slipping it back into her pocket, and then follows Quinn out of the room.
The blonde is standing in the kitchen holding a bottle of champagne that Santana had put on ice a little while ago.
"You want a glass of this?" she asks Santana, who can't bring herself to do anything but nod. This was her event, yet it feels like Quinn was dictating her plan and her internal freak out gets kicked up a notch.
She accepts the champagne from Quinn, who has managed to uncork the bottle and pour two glasses with ease. Santana is grateful, knowing her shaky hands would have easily ruined the moment. She takes Quinn's hand and prays that her girlfriend can't feel how sweaty her palms are.
They turn the corner into the living room, which is set up just like Santana had asked her friends. Candles shimmer from all over the room and she hits the play button on her iPod to start the playlist she had made for the occasion. Snow is falling slowly again outside of the huge picturesque windows and Quinn looks around the room before fixating on Santana.
Santana leads her further into her room and takes the champagne glass without a word, setting them both down on the end table. She pulls Quinn into her and they slow dance silently, the tension thick in the room.
The song changes and Santana knows it's her moment. She pulls away slightly, slipping her hands into Quinn's. Her heart is hammering in her chest and she feels like she can't breathe, but Quinn smiles at her reassuringly, her eyes showing her unwavering affection. It's all Santana needs for her to know that she's doing the right thing and she falls onto one knee clumsily. Quinn freezes, her hands still in Santana's as she starts to realize what's actually happening.
Santana forgets the speech she had planned and speaks completely from the heart. The tears slip from her eyes as she bares herself to the one person that she's ever truly let break down all of her walls. Quinn is crying too, but smiling with happiness as Santana extracts the box from her pocket and fumbles to open it. She finally gets it open and the diamond sparkles in the candlelight and Quinn is murmuring her assent before she pulls Santana up and embraces her tightly, kissing her with more passion than Santana has ever experienced. She's still clutching the box in her hand and when they finally break to catch their breath, she wrestles it out of the box and slides it onto Quinn's left hand.
"I told you that you were mine this weekend," she says quietly into Quinn's ear with a little chuckle, her happiness completely overtaking her as they start to slow dance again.
"Actually, I'm yours forever," Quinn replies before kissing her again.