Ring

"Are you too cold yet?" Santana asked as they walked back from the play.

"No. You spiked my cocoa pretty heavily with rum, so I think warmth won't be an issue for a while," Rachel said, smiling.

Santana chuckled, and pulled her closer. "Want to take a little detour then?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Central Park," Santana said, nodding ahead of them.

"Lead on, Latin Ninja."

"Oh god, I'm never going to live that down…."

"Never ever," Rachel giggled.

Santana became more and more fidgety as they walked down the path light with Christmas lights.

"Is everything okay, San?" Rachel asked.

"Fine," Santana said, nodding. "I wanted to talk to you though. Ask you something, really."

"Yes?"

It didn't sound scared, or nervous, or anything. Just curious. Rachel trusted her. And in that moment, Santana felt that this might go better than expected. She took both of Rachel's hands and dropped to one knee.

"Probably looks familiar," she said, "but I hope it feels different." She took the ring out of her pocket and held it out. "You told me once that I made you feel safe. No matter where we were, or who we were with, I was constantly your rock. More than…anyone else." She'd teetered on the verge of saying "More than Quinn" but she really didn't want the blonde in her proposal. "I want to be that for…forever. Or at very least until you get sick of me." She stood and wiped a few tears away from Rachel's cheeks. "I know this is…a lot. But I love you. And if you want this to be the big kid version of a promise ring instead of an engagement ring, I'm cool with that too. I just want you to know that I'm on board for the long run. But I kind of hoped you'd be up for some wedding planning," she added with a smile. "Rachel Barbara Berry, will you— mmph!" she was cut off by Rachel's lips on hers. It was brief however, as they both heard raucous applause and pulled away. The Central Park Carolers and their audience had been watching apparently.

Rachel turned back to face Santana. "Please understand that their presence has nothing to do with my answer—I would have answered this way even if we'd been as alone as we thought we were. I will absolutely marry you, Santana."

Santana's grin was bright enough to power Vegas as she scooped Rachel up and spun her around.