Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 50th cycle. Now cycle 51!

"Firebirds"
AU!Rachel/AU!Santana
Berry-St series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

A/N: This week is dedicated to dear chazzaf for her birthday.
She asked for a 'Rachel week' and that is what she shall get!
Today Rachel and... Santana [as a relationship or friendship]

Back in the day, she would have very little to do in the way of effort when it would come to getting someone to go out with her, if there was any effort at all. It had been an easy way to go through life, but then none of it really meant a thing to her, not in the long run. And then there was this one…

Already finding herself at McKinley, the 'mentality' was different, overall but especially toward her. When she had returned to her world, she found she was still in the grip of that school, so the other one must have transferred to be closer to the rest of her people. She might have minded, begged to return to Carmel, if not for incentives to stay, primarily Santana Lopez. Once she had seen that, one world or the other, the cheerleader still had her like she'd clawed her way into her soul, her one goal in life seemed to have become getting her.

She had some things making it easier, like the time she had spent with the other version of her, who was for all intents and purposes the exact same girl. It gave her an in, for certain. But then the one difference, and it could be a game changer, was that with the other Santana, even when she didn't know the Cheerio too well, Santana had spent the past few years in the same classes as the other Rachel. Even if they didn't get along through most of those years, they did have a rapport. Now here, in her real world, this Santana she was hoping to seduce had barely a few months of knowing her, most of these with the 'softer' Rachel… Now she had to forge her own way.

This had been initiated with a meeting at Breadstix and an invitation to a duet, to run the Glee Club, both of them. Rachel could only remember leaving the restaurant with a new sort of excitement in her, knowing her work might not be nearly as impossible as she could have thought. Working on the duet, once she reminded herself she had to share the spotlight, and gladly would with her, had gone fairly well. Being with New Directions, as much as she'd hate to admit it, made her change. It made her love what she was doing again, made her love being good again. Back at Carmel, she was good, but everything had to fall in place. None of this with Santana would have even happened back at Carmel.

Seeing the pleased look on Santana's face when the duet had ended, Rachel had just sort of… smiled, so openly that when she'd caught Jesse and Quinn's eye, they were squinting and shaking their heads, wondering what was up with her, and she pulled it back in a snap.

"Hey, Berry," she heard as she left the choir room, and she turned to find Santana trailed after her. She paused, letting the Cheerio catch up.

"Great job on the duet, you nailed it, but we knew that," she threw in before she could say whatever she had to say, a tactic she knew would work well, which it did.

"Thanks, you did, too," Santana blinked.

"So what did you want to say?" Rachel gave her a smile, and seeing the thrown look on the girl's face was priceless, as much as watching her pull herself back on track was.

"I, uh… I was thinking we need to keep the momentum going, you know? I am more than happy if you want to be top bitch in that room, so long as I get to share that title."

"Equal footing," Rachel bowed her head.

"Yeah, that," Santana breathed out.

"Well, I wouldn't dream of having it any other way," Rachel promised. "Of course, you know if you double cross me…" she pushed innocently, and Santana pulled.

"Not going to happen… unless you double cross me, and then I'm taking you to the carpet," Santana matched her, and there was that damn smile again, on both of them.

"As much fun as that sounds, I think we understand each other, right?" she kept on, and she could see the underhanded little suggestion had thrown Santana again… Rachel couldn't say she was growing tired of that.

"Right…" Santana told her, blinking back on track. "So here's the deal, we get a couple of things ready, that way if the opportunity strikes…"

"… we strike back," Rachel finished.

"Like the empire," Santana agreed, then froze, wondering why the hell her brain had gone there. "Great, so… I'll call you or… something…" she wandered off, and Rachel watched her go, a great big smile on her face… This was too good.

This should have felt weird and complicated to her. She was in unfamiliar territory. She wasn't those fluttery hearts girls, chasing after someone and hoping to share anything more than whatever the moment brought. Santana Lopez had made her want a relationship, and she should have hated her for it. They hadn't even done anything, and she had no idea what she'd be getting herself into, but… she kind of didn't care… She wanted a shot at her, a real shot. If she had to take all the steps, however many there were, then so be it.

Their next private rehearsal would tell her if and how she was progressing. They met in the choir room over lunch, where they were to find and start working on at least one new duet. "You should always have something ready for yourself, too, you know?" Rachel told her as she took a seat, staring back at her. "Sort of like your arsenal…"

"Got your arsenal right here…" Santana muttered under her breath, so Rachel stood.

"Alright, well… we need a song," she stepped up with a nod. "Ideas? We can keep in the same style…"

"And get typecast, forget it," Santana cut her off, and Rachel smirked.

"I do like the way you think," she told her, and Santana gave silent agreement. "How about a mash-up, your guy Schuester seems to like those…"

"Sure, why not," Santana nodded, half chuckling to herself. I'll take one, you'll take one, and we'll just…" she mimed something that would have to mean they would mash the two. "I could do something like…"

"Hips don't lie?" Rachel teased, and Santana turned back on her.

"Okay, seriously, what's your game?"

"Game?" Rachel asked.

"Don't play dumb with me. Standing there all smiles and innuendo like I don't see what you're doing."

"And… what is it exactly that I'm doing?" Rachel stared her down, daring her to answer. Santana was stumped, not ready to answer, not having expected to have to, or…

"I…" her face was trying not to let any sort of weakness through, but it was having a hard time at succeeding. Rachel stepped up, and she could see Santana hesitate before her.

"It's just you, and me… Whatever you want to say, it'll stay between us… Top bitches' oath," she borrowed from the Cheerios' vocabulary, and it seemed to grant her levity.

"Don't do that," she begged, quieter.

"We're just having fun," Rachel shrugged. "And that can mean a lot of things, whether it's singing our hearts out better than anyone else in that room, or throwing a joke or two around… There are worse things than being friends with me…" Rachel extended, and as much as she had seen the girl thrown by her before, she had never seen her nervous, not like this. It made Rachel want to be kinder, more open, and she didn't know where it had come from.

"Is that what we are?" Santana asked, like she didn't know how to respond to that.

"We can be whatever you want, I'm game," Rachel shrugged. Santana stared at her.

"I don't think you're ready for that."

"Try me," Rachel took a couple more steps, and Santana stopped her.

"Hold it right there. Whatever it is you think's about to happen…"

"Oh, it's happening, I can see it in your eyes," Rachel smirked, and she could see the other girl practically shivering.

"Nothing's happening in here, when we're as good as in public," she tried to sound strong and firm, but all Rachel could hear was fear.

"It can happen whenever, wherever, and it's like I told you, I'm game."

"Are you just going to song drop Shakira the whole way? And don't pun 'Underneath your clothes' right now," she stopped her before she could speak, and Rachel bit back a grin.

"I wasn't, but that does have promise…" she moved right up to her before continuing along to the piano. "We still have a mash-up to do."

After a few more distracted beats, they had managed to get somewhere with their number. She didn't worry about Santana, even without the feelings she had for her she would know this girl had a phenomenal talent, and she was serious about it. If anything, that might have been one of the things that drew Rachel to her in the first place. She also realized that she might be in for a lot of running around and hiding, but right now if she could just get her foot in the door, that'd be something.

When they'd left the choir room, it was time to head to class. She was walking out of class when she felt someone walk up behind her and start leading her up to the side toward a door without a window. If she hadn't caught the scent of Santana's perfume she might have started smacking but instead, she let herself be lead, right until she was nudged into the janitor's closet.

"Okay, what are you…" she started, while she door was being closed.

"Just dig deep here and shut up for a second," Santana told her, and then her arms were around Rachel, and soft yet strong lips were on hers, determined but curious at the same time. To Rachel it was like a shock of cold water followed by soothing warm honey. She responded, bold, not too much. When they pulled back, it took a moment for Santana to let her arms down, but when she did, she looked ready to bolt. Rachel caught up her hand, shaking her head.

"You don't have to go." And she didn't.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!