A/N 1: This story is the sequel to 'Who Needs Tomorrow?' which is my version of the events from the episode 'I Do' and then sets up this fic. I am not the biggest fan of the style in which it is written, so if you don't get on with it, I have put the set up aspect here as the prologue. Please be aware that the actual fic will be written differently re: pov and hopefully better characterization (within reason because AU). I personally feel it is better quality.

A/N 2: Thank you to everyone that has followed me here from the previous fic. I am just editing the first chapter, so it should be out in the next day or so.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any characters etc

…

Prologue

Quinn woke with a groan, rolling to face away from the window and sun that had undoubtedly woken her. With a sleepy inhale, Quinn moved her hand across the bed to find the woman she'd fallen asleep with. She opened her eyes, noticing the absence of Santana. Looking around the room, Quinn's senses finally clicked in as she heard the shower come to a stop. She pushed her fingers through her hair, happy that Santana hadn't just left her there.

It was a few moments before the bathroom door opened, and a fresh faced Santana walked through. She had a hotel towel wrapped around her body, her wet hair lying in perfect waves down her back.

"You've decided to join me then?" Santana smiled at Quinn as she walked towards her bag.

"You should've woken me up."

Santana was bent over her bag, rummaging through it for fresh clothes when she looked over her shoulder at Quinn. "To be honest, I thought you could probably use the sleep."

Quinn leant up on her elbows, "Yeah, we did drink quite a bit." Surprisingly, she had no headache. More importantly, she was certain that she remembered every aspect of the night before.

Apparently, Santana had found what she was looking for as she walked towards the end of the bed and dropped a pile of clothing, "I was actually referring to you keeping me up all night." A smirk spread across her lips as her heart raced uncontrollably. She had been mulling over how to approach the subject whilst in the shower, and the best she could think of was to be her usual smartass-self.

Quinn quirked an eyebrow. The corner of her lip pulled, giving the tiniest hint of a smile, as she pulled the sheet down and stood from the bed. Walking towards the bathroom, Quinn looked over her shoulder to see Santana's eyes wide, pouring over her body, "Yeah; that will have something to do with it."

With that, Quinn walked into the bathroom, heart pounding as she closed the door behind her. She had no idea what she was doing, but surprisingly, she wasn't worried. Looking in the mirror, she gave herself a reassuring nod, before stepping into the shower.

…

Quinn and Santana were sat behind Kurt and Rachel as they flew back to New York. They had been flying for about an hour, and it felt like Rachel had spent the entire flight turned round, sat up on her knees to tell Quinn all about her latest auditions.

"It just feels like, even though we're all together, we haven't really had a chance to talk, you know?"

Quinn smiled, as Santana rolled her eyes half-heartedly.

"You haven't told us what you ate for breakfast yet, Rachel…" Quinn nudged Santana with her elbow, trying hide the grin tugging at her lips.

Rachel gave Santana a disapproving look, before returning her attention to Quinn, "Sorry, Quinn, am I boring you?"

Quinn composed her face, "No," she said in a tone slightly higher than normal, before giving a more convincing, "not at all."

Santana supressed a snort. She knew Quinn, and that was a terrible lie. Smirking to herself, she adjusted her arms on the armrests, looking around the cabin for something to distract her from the stories she'd heard a thousand times already. The soft brush of a finger against her own was enough to drown out Rachel, as she felt her heart jump into her throat. Trying not to draw attention, she glanced down out their hands, next to each other on the armrest. Quinn's hand seemed so natural, it could easily have been a mistake.

As though Quinn could read her mind, she curled a cream finger around Santana's. It felt like an act of comfort, of solidarity; Quinn's way of saying: I'm bored as hell too, but I'm here.

"Can I get you ladies anything?" The flight attendant seemed to appear out of nowhere, causing Santana's head to whip round, bringing her hands into her lap as she looked up at the woman.

"Just some waters, please." Quinn answered the attendant, worried that she'd crossed a line with Santana. She leant over her friend to accept the waters, and waited for the woman to move onto Kurt and Rachel –who was now sat back in her seat.

Santana looked to Quinn, accepting one of the water bottles with a smile, "Thanks." Quinn blushed, looking out the plane window in an attempt to hide it.

"It's no problem."

Santana worried her lip. The silence was welcome after Rachel's incessant talking, and she let her eyes follow the profile of Quinn's face as she looked out the window.

Quinn could feel Santana's eyes on her. She loved it. It made her heart feel hot as it beat heavy in her chest. Slowly, she let her eyes drop, turning her head back to the chair in front of her. Once there, she let her eyes meet Santana's. The tension was palpable –not sexual, not awkward, but electric. Clearing her throat softly, she glanced away nervously, "I umm, have my iPod if you want to share my earphones?" She wasn't sure why she felt so shy about such an offer –after all the years of riding the bus with the Cheerios, the two had shared earphones on hundreds of occasions.

Santana nodded with a smile, and accepted an earphone from Quinn as her friend fiddled with the device. The two spoke in soft voices, only meant for each other, "You probably won't like much of it."

Rolling her eyes with a smile, Santana replied, "When do I ever?"

"I can't help your bad taste in music." Quinn widened her eyes in challenge as a grin spread across her face.

Santana narrowed her eyes, placing the earphone in her outer ear, as Quinn did the same, "Just play the music, Fabray."

…

Walking out of the terminal, Kurt spoke over his shoulder, "How long's your journey from here, Quinn?"

Quinn grimaced, "About 4 hours."

Rachel snapped around in an instant, causing Santana and Quinn to walk straight into her.

"What?! No, you're staying at ours tonight." Santana rolled her eyes as Rachel turned to continue walking. Yeah, don't mind us, just walking here… "At least get some rest after all the travelling we've done this weekend."

Quinn hesitated, her words coming out in somewhat of a stutter, "I… No, I can't… You… I would just be in the way."

"Don't be ridiculous, Quinn, we all managed to fit when you last visited, didn't we?" Rachel didn't even look back to see Quinn's nod.

"As long as I'm not in the way." Quinn glanced sideways to gauge Santana's reaction. She had remained quiet on the subject, and the last thing Quinn wanted was to make Santana feel uncomfortable.

Santana's insides had turned to jelly. She hadn't prepared herself for this, and her brain was overloaded with a million and one thoughts. Why hadn't she thought to offer that? Would Quinn think she didn't care? Would Quinn feel awkward about staying over? Where was she going to sleep?

Deciding to take a calming breath, Santana glanced up with, and with a light tone of approval said, "If you can sleep through Rachel's snoring, then it'll be a miracle." Turning her head, she met Quinn's eyes with a smile in an attempt to assure her there was no problem on her part, even if she was having a minor internal freak out.

…

Santana sat on the chair with her legs pulled close to her chest. Rachel had taken the centre spot on the couch, as usual. Kurt was to Rachel's right, and Quinn to her left. Santana's chair was in front of Kurt, diagonally opposite Quinn. She had let Rachel and Kurt do most of the talking, secretly thankful that she didn't have to Tango in and out of conversations with Quinn. The lights were low, and Santana had spent most of the night watching her friends talk, tired from the flight and the constant energy needed to process her and Quinn's situation.

Quinn was somewhat quiet too –Rachel's stories were rarely two way. Between nodding, eating pizza and sipping at the red wine the four had been sharing, Quinn's eyes periodically made their way to Santana's. She wasn't thinking much, just keeping half an ear open in case Rachel was looking for any sort of response. Mostly, she felt calm.

"Anyway," Kurt stood from the couch. When did he start talking? Quinn and Santana silently wondered. "I'm heading to bed."

Rachel stood too, both of them collecting the pizza boxes and glasses before making their way to the kitchen area. "We should probably be heading to bed too, Quinn." Rachel's voice cut through Quinn's thoughts. She had been eyeing Santana's chair, noting it was big enough for two, and considered joining her. Turning her head to Rachel, Quinn gave a blank look, having only heard her name.

"Do you mind if we do too? I have to be up early tomorrow."

Standing from the couch, Quinn let a small yawn escape her lips, "No problem."

"Okay, I'll just move some stuff around, I won't be a minute." With that, Rachel went into her room of sorts, and Kurt gave a tired goodnight before disappearing into his own space.

Noting they were now alone, Quinn walked across the room to Santana, and sat next to her in the chair. It was clear Santana was tired, as she leant forward to let her head rest on Quinn's shoulder. Quinn pushed her fingers through curly locks, enjoying how silky they were against her skin. Quinn moved to drop a kiss on the top of Santana's head, only to second guess herself, before speaking softly, "You should get some sleep too, Tana."

Santana groaned, pushing her face into Quinn in stubbornness. Quinn laughed gently, "Come on." Quinn offered her hands to Santana, standing up from the seat. Santana contemplated them with a frown before relenting to let Quinn pull her up. She walked with Quinn to the curtain that lead to her room, hesitating at the entrance.

"Good luck with that lawnmower in your ear tonight."

Quinn's eyes widened as she shushed Santana with a grin, "It's not that bad. Just listen to some music."

Santana's face turned into a frown as she purposely raised her voice, "Lady Hummel still hasn't returned them."

Rolling her eyes, Quinn pulled the iPod from her pocket with earphones wrapped around it.

"Don't say I never give you anything."

Santana smiled and pulled her friend in for a hug.

"I would never."

They remained close until Rachel called from her room, "Ready when you are, Quinn."

Pulling back with a sigh, Quinn handed Santana the iPod, "I guess that's my cue."

"Are you sure you don't want these?"

With a nod, Quinn turned to walk to Rachel's section. Santana hovered at the entrance, watching her friend look back, before walking into Rachel's makeshift room, "Night, Q."

…

Quinn lay next to Rachel, staring at the ceiling. Her snoring definitely wasn't as bad as Santana had made out, unsurprisingly. Still, she had woken with a jolt about half an hour ago, and found she couldn't get her mind off the brunette who lay on the other side of the apartment. Peering over Rachel's sleeping body, she squinted to see the time on the alarm clock: 03:38. Great.

Gently easing herself out of the bed, Quinn finally decided it would be okay for her to borrow back her earphones from Santana. She would just pop her head in, and grab them along with her iPod from the bedside table: simple. She took steady steps across the loft, doing her best to be as quiet as possible. Biting her lower lip, she pulled the curtain back to Santana's room, stepping in on her tip toes as she eyed the bedside table for her iPod. Quinn frowned, letting her eyes wander the room as she tried to think where Santana may have left them.

Santana turned over in her sleep, causing Quinn to remain perfectly still, though she was sure she could hear her own heart thudding. Once she was sure Santana was still asleep, she pursed her lips at the sight of headphones still in Santana's ears, uncomfortably wrapped around her friend's arm after a night of movement. Quinn leant over, less bothered about having her earphones back, than from saving Santana from strangling herself in the night, and gently removed on of the earphones. Carefully, she managed to unwrap them from Santana's arm, pulling the iPod it was attached to. It was her own; Quinn picked it up with a furrowed brow, noting it was the same playlist from their plane journey.

Touching the iPod had caused the screen to light up, and Santana stirred in her sleep. Santana groaned, her eyes scrunched tight as she pulled the remaining earphone from her ear. Lifting her head, she squinted at the figure before her, and realised who it was. Her voice was thick with sleep as she spoke, "Quinn."

"Sorry, Tana, I couldn't sleep."

Closing her eyes again, Santana grumbled her response, "I told you about the lawnmower."

Quinn smiled, rolling her eyes as she readied to leave her friend to her sleep.

Santana rolled onto her back and pulled back the covers. Quinn hesitated.

"You don't have to, but it's cold, so make a decision." Santana wasn't at her best mid-sleep, but that didn't stop Quinn from leaving the iPod on the night stand and sliding into bed with her friend. She was surprised when Santana immediately pulled her closer, so they were face to face. This didn't mean much to Santana as her eyes stayed closed. However, Quinn took this opportunity to study Santana's face –as much as she could with the minimal light available. An unexpected hand found its way beneath Quinn's top and up her back. Santana traced her fingers over Quinn's creamy skin in an attempt to help her feel sleepy. Quinn let her eyes close at the touch, as a quiet hum emanated from her throat.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Quinn's eyelids to feel droopy, and by the time Santana's hand stopped moving, Quinn's breathing had slowed, leaving her to fall asleep in moments.

…

All of a sudden, Santana felt like a freshman in high school, again –standing at the front door after a first date. The nerves flew around her stomach as she pushed a hand through her hair.

Sensing that Santana wasn't sure how to say goodbye, the taller girl pulled her friend in for a hug, "It was good to see you, Tana." She kept her arm around Santana's neck, letting the embrace last a moment longer. She moved her head back, standing directly in front of the shorter brunette, their faces mere inches apart. Quinn's eyes fell to full lips, and back up to brown eyes.

Santana's heart lurched as she followed hazel. Contemplating for a moment, Santana moved to kiss a cream cheek, only it seemed Quinn had made the same decision, and as their faces turned, their lips touched awkwardly together.

Instead of letting the brush of lips pass by, Quinn pushed forward, capturing Santana's full lips in a firm kiss. Their eyes remained closed as they both took a steadying breath, only stepping apart at the sound of Rachel's heels back in the loft pulling them back to reality.

"I, um…" Quinn began, still recomposing after their unplanned kiss, "There's a party next week, if you, um, want to come?" She could feel the warmth growing in her cheeks, but refused to look away.

Santana glanced down, unable to cope with the tension between them, "Don't tell me you go to lame Frat parties, Q." Her words held no malice, only an attempt to bring them back to their usual banter.

Quinn smiled, grateful for a break in the heat, "Unless you want a liquor-free party, they're pretty much the only option."

"Frat house it is." Santana smiled as Rachel finally made her way out of the loft.

"Right then," Rachel cut in, "are we ready to head off?" She was rummaging through her bag for a set of keys, unaware of Quinn's eyes burning into Santana's.

Taking a breath, Santana mustered as much energy as she could, "Get a move on, Fabray. This short ass takes an age to walk anywhere."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at her friend, "We're practically the same height, Santana." Santana only offered a shrug in response.

With a shake of her head, Rachel walked past Quinn, calling after the blonde as Quinn gave her signature Fabray smile, "I'll see you next week."

A/N 3: Please follow to be notified of the first chapter being posted!