Title: Give Your Heart A Break
Chapter: Four
Author: J.R. Boone
Tumblr: JRAbraxas
Rating: Wouldn't be me if it wasn't M.
Disclaimer: Yada yada yada I obviously don't own Glee. If I did it would be like the musical version of The L Word.
"Get up," Santana said already shoving her things in her bag and pulling off her lettermen's jacket.
"Excuse me?" Rachel asked looking at her wide eyed, her body completely still except for the ever present small shivers.
"Get up," Santana repeated walking around the table and pulling the petite girl up by her hands. Even as she spoke she was wondering what the possible repercussions for this would be but she shifted them to the back of her mind when Rachel gave her the tiniest of smile.
Gently the Latina hooked her fingers under the edge of Rachel's soaked sweaters and waited for the other brunette to nod in understanding. When she got that she swiftly peeled the soaked hoody off of the shorter girl and dropped it atop the bag of other slushied hoodies.
Santana was not prepared to feel heat rise to her face at the sight of Rachel's rather tight black shirt that showed off just the right amount of cleavage to be ridiculous, but that is exactly what the Latina felt. She must have been gawking because when she looked up she noticed Rachel was blushing bright red and had wrapped her arms around her midsection protectively.
Shaking the sudden influx of lust from her system Santana quickly snatched up her Cheerios jacket and wrapped it around the smaller girl's body. "Let's get out of here," she said grabbing her backpack.
"Wait," Rachel said putting her hand on the girl's tanned arm and squeezing slightly. "You know you don't have to do this Santana?"
"I know," she murmured before grabbing Rachel's backpack and slipping it onto the girl's shoulders. "I'm not just going to sit here and let you freeze to death while we study chemistry. I'd like to think even in the last few years I've never been that bad."
"You haven't," Rachel said shaking her head softly. "A lot of the other popular people…I think they do what they do because they're just horrible people who know they are going to be stuck in this town after graduation forever. But with you I always assumed that there was something deeper going and this was the only way you could protect yourself."
Santana was silent after the admission but she did nod sadly before leaning down to grab the discarded bag of slushied clothing. "Jesus Christ," she growled when she felt the weight of it. "This has got to be like thirty pounds. How many slushies did you get today?" She asked incredulously, her eyes wide as she put a hand to the small of Rachel's back and lead them out of the library.
"The one I got just before I came in here made it eight," the Diva murmured shaking her head. "For some reason the Baby Cheerios are all really upset with me today."
"No guessing there," Santana grumbled shaking her head as they walked out of the school and into the parking lot. "Quinn squelched on the whole car ride deal. Told them they had all failed."
"That would explain it," Rachel murmured looking over as they passed Quinn's silver convertible, the only one left in the student lot except for Santana's.
"I don't know why they would want to ride with her anyways," Santana said rolling her eyes as she unlocked her car. "Fabray gets here like thirty minutes before the rest of us to inspect the locker room. Considering we already have to be here hella early that just seems stupid." Suddenly she paused as a foreboding sense of realization washed over her. "Hey Berry, how the hell did you get to school today?" Santana asked looking curiously around the empty lot as she tossed the bag of clothing into her backseat along with her book bag.
"I walked," Rachel almost whispered as she sat down in the car next to Santana and wrapped the Cheerio's jacket tighter around her body.
"In this fucking weather?" Santana asked flabbergasted as she quickly started up her car and cranked up the heat to full blast. It was only October but they were in freaking Ohio. It was already down the forties and fifties daily.
"My car is in the shop," Rachel explained, her voice starting to sound drowsy as she nestled down into her seat and let the hot air warm her body.
Santana frowned over at the smaller girl's explanation. She was frowning because hello? Rachel weighed like twenty pounds and she didn't have one person she could call for a fucking ride to school. That pissed her off and what pissed her off even more was the fact that she most likely had a large part to do with that.
As the Latina was backing out of her space she spotted movement at the school and she craned her neck to see Quinn standing at the door they had just exited, her face obviously contorted into fury. Santana had the sudden urge to jump out of her car and start beating the ever loving shit out of the girl but a small snore made her look over and she smiled to see Rachel had nodded off. The exhaustion of eight slushies had obviously caught up with her.
Turning her head back towards Quinn she smirked when the blonde yelled something and slammed her fist against the wall, hazel eyes still directed straight at her. Rolling her eyes the Latina raised her hand and waved at Quinn before driving off the lot, extremely pleased with herself even if she was still fretting what would happen tomorrow.
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As soon as they got into Rachel's house Santana deposited their bags on the floor and sent the sleepy brunette upstairs to take a shower.
When the smaller girl was out of the room Santana wandered around the downstairs until she found a laundry room and she unceremoniously dumped the soiled sweaters into the washer for later. Looking around the room she saw a load of clothes done in the dryer and stared uncomfortably down at her Cheerio's uniform.
It felt wrong to be wearing it in this house after the day Rachel had had. Pulling open the dryer she sorted through the laundry and grabbed a pair of sweats and a black t-shirt. After quickly stripping out of her uniform and pulling on the sweats she shook out the t-shirt and stared slightly opened mouthed at it. It was simple in design really. Just the word pride spelled out in rainbow letters, but it was so bold…and it was Rachel's.
Quirking an eyebrow Santana tossed it back into the dryer and pulled out a plain black t-shirt, her mind warring on the discarded one. Rachel's fathers were gay so that was probably the reason why Rachel had it, but something in back of her mind was examining another explanation all together.
The sound of the shower stopping over head pulled Santana out of her musings and she quickly shut the dryer as if she had been caught doing something bad. Shaking her head the Cheerio switched on the washer and quickly made her way out of the laundry room to wait for Rachel to come back down the stairs.
Whilst she waited the Latina wandered into the kitchen and began poking through the diva's fridge, hoping to find something edible.
She had been expecting an array of fruits and vegetables and that's what she found, in addition to a number of vegan substitute things that just looked absolutely horrible. Pulling open the bottom drawer of the fridge she laughed loudly when she saw a package of bacon sitting by itself double encased inside zip lock bags and pushed far away from everything else.
In her mind she could just see the Diva raising a fit when no doubt one of her fathers brought it home and attempted to just put it in the fridge. She didn't doubt that if Rachel had access to a small bio-hazard bag the bacon would be safely tucked inside of it. Pulling it out she frowned slightly though when she noticed that the bacon was way past expired, like over a month ago expired.
Shaking her head she shoved it back in place and started pulling out the stuff for what she expected was going to be a very bad ass salad considering the many options. Just as she was chopping up some strawberries she heard a throat clearing and looked up to see Rachel wrapped up in a fresh sweater and a pair of thick flannel pants.
"Hey there Shorty," Santana chuckled at the girl's wide eyes. "Hope you don't mind I raided your fridge."
"No, I don't mind," Rachel said smiling softly and walking into the kitchen. "I'm just surprised you stayed. You really didn't have to," the shorter girl said stepping up the table and picking up a knife to start cutting the celery Santana had laid out.
"Yah, I'm not sure if you're aware but I'm not exactly the biggest social butterfly at the moment," Santana murmured sadly, shaking her head as she dropped the strawberries in the bowl and moved on to some spinach. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Rachel staring at her clothing. "Oh by the way. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed some of your clothes…my uniform seemed kind of awkward."
"That I definitely don't mind," Rachel quickly told her. "I actually prefer it. I like to keep my home life as separate from my school life as I possibly can." Santana might not have been the best on picking up on people's emotions but she could hear the appreciation in Rachel's voice. She couldn't help but mentally pat herself on the back for making the right decision.
"I can totes understand that, I feel like this year is never going to end and we're only a couple of months into it." Santana groaned, choosing to not make a big deal about her clothes change. Rachel obviously appreciated it and for that she was happy.
"The feeling is very much mutual," Rachel huffed shaking her head and tossing the celery into the mixing bowl.
Santana asked unceremoniously dropping the lettuce in the bowl before looking curiously around the kitchen. "So where do you keep the bowls?"
Rachel blushed and glanced over towards the dishwasher at this, "in there most usually," she mumbled.
Santana looked to the appliance and then back at Rachel's reddened cheeks before noting the height of all the cabinets and grinning. "Oh my god you're so short," she laughed without malice as she was pulling open the dishwasher door and grabbing two bowls and some forks.
"I am not short," Rachel grumbled fighting a smile. "I am a perfectly acceptable height."
"Whatever you say Shorty," the Cheerio chuckled before carrying the bowls over. "Bona petite," she said setting out the bowls as Rachel grabbed a couple of barstools and dragged them over.
"Hey Santana?" Rachel asked, her voice hesitant.
"Hey Shorty?" Santana mocked back, earning her a shallow glare from the girl before motioning for her to continue on.
"When you said this school years already been long what did you mean? I mean I know that Quinn has been…rather uncouth towards you for the last few days, but what about the rest of the year?" The diva asked, carefully picking her words.
"Correction," Santana sighed pouring some vinaigrette over her salad. "Q has been as you put it, uncouth to me for the last month."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, tilting her head curiously to the side.
Taking a bite of her salad Santana let herself think of the question for a moment. She didn't know Rachel all that well but so far the girl had been nothing but understanding towards her for the last few days. Normally she was a very stand-offish person when it came to discussing her personal life, but for some reason she felt…safe around the girl? Like she could talk about the shit bugging her.
Straightening up in her chair the Latina cleared her throat. "Okay so you know about Brittany and I…and you said you gathered that something went down between us right?"
"Yes," Rachel said nodding and leaning forwards across the counter.
"Well what went down is she broke my heart," Santana murmured sadly. "I mean I don't blame her for it in the least…but it still really sucked. Like really. I just…I waited to long to show her what she meant to me. I mean really meant to me. I kept her a secret."
Across from her a glimmer of empathy passed over the shorter girls face before turning into a frown. "What does that have to do with Quinn?" Rachel asked softly.
"Well you know I told Quinn about it. I was hoping for a little…I don't know? Support? Advice? And she inferred that I had made a good decision," Santana murmured chewing on her bottom lip.
"She said that?" Rachel asked, obviously upset as she stared down at her plate.
"Not in so many words," Santana sighed leaning back in her chair. "But I got the picture that she was happy that I didn't come out of the closet for some reason. Anyway ever since then Quinn has been purposefully pushing my buttons knowing that without Brittany around to balance out my shit I'll go loco and scare all the other children away. Why? Beats the hell out of me. I guess she suspects that now that I've lost Brittany I don't have a lot left to lose. I think she's trying to keep me from coming out."
"I can't believe she would do that," Rachel murmured, tightly closing her eyes and gripping the counter.
Santana realized that this was obviously hitting a nerve with Rachel. Part of her wanted to push deeper and find out if this had anything to do with the weird interactions between her and Quinn, but the other part was desperate to erase whatever was bothering the girl. The second part surprisingly won out.
"Yah, it's whatever I guess. Just Quinn Fabray being her usual fucked up little ball of sunshine," Santana snarked taking the last bite out of her salad. "Now come on. Let's not talk about it or I just might go loco."
Instantly Rachel's mood brightened and she nodded in agreement. "Yes let's not. Though seeing as your "loco" wouldn't be directed at me I might find it mildly amusing and justified." The Diva chuckled, actually making the finger quotes before taking the last bite of her salad and standing up to grab their bowls. "So do you want to work on our project?" Rachel asked moving over to the sink gingerly setting down the dishes.
Santana thought about that for a moment as well before dismissing it in favor of just hanging out with the girl. "Nah. The two of us could ace that thing if we did it the morning we had to turn it in. Wanna just hang out and watch a movie or something?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from sounding desperate for the girl to say yes. She really didn't want to go home to an empty house and think about tomorrow yet.
Instantly Rachel's face lit up in a warm smile and she nodded. "That actually sounds great. I'll admit besides sporadic moments with Kurt I've never actually just hung out."
A pang of guilt shot through Santana like a lightening bolt but she managed to school her face into an equally warm smile. "Then let's get to it Shorty," she said hopping up from her stool and making a beeline into the living room to study the Diva's movie collection.
"What are you in the mood for?" Rachel asked sliding up next to the Latina and making her shiver at the sudden closeness.
For some odd insane reason something in the back of her head screamed Romance and Santana almost had to literally throw her hand over her mouth to stop herself from saying it. Shaking her head and beginning to doubt her sanity the Latina went back to studying the selections and positively beamed when her eyes landed on The Addams Family Values. "Oh my god I fucking love this movie," Santana said grinning like a mad woman as she snatched up the DVD and held it against her chest. "Brittany's fat ass cat ate my copy of it last Halloween."
Rachel just grinned and plucked the movie out of the Cheerio's hands before kneeling down to set up the DVD player. "You know," she said conversationally as she popped in the disc. "Someone really should talk to her about acceptable feline dietary staples."
Santana laughed hard at this, holding up a hand as she plopped down on the couch and got comfortable. "You know I tried, and it worked for a little while, and then the tubby piece of lard ate a pack of my cigars and I just gave up trying to influence that particular aspect of his life."
"Oh god," Rachel snorted shaking her head and sinking down on the couch next to the Cheerio. "Does it make me a really horrible person that I just compared Brittany's cat to Finn?"
"No it makes you awesome, do tell?" Santana laughed facing the smaller girl and grinning maniacally.
"Well…he has a bad habit of eating things that are just…not right," Rachel shuddered as she fumbled for the remote that was stuck in between the couch cushions.
"Oh god please tell me. Please," Santana begged, pouting as hard as she could and grabbing the girl's arm.
"Well amongst the list of items I have personally seen him digest there is styrofoam cups, erasers off of pencils, bits of paper, and most recently I watched him eat a piece of plastic," Rachel listed thoughtfully.
"Oh my god that is hilarious," Santana cackled falling back onto the couch and holding her stomach.
Rachel was obviously holding back laughter and trying to take this entire thing seriously but one nudge from Santana's foot set her off as well. "It's not funny," she tried to defend through her laughter. "I looked it up. It's a real medical condition called Pica. I tried to tell him that but he just looked confused and made a vague reference to Pokemon."
"I'm sorry, it's just…it's Finn," Santana laughed sitting up and wiping away tears. "He's like this big popular guy who eats literally everything that comes close to his mouth and people still think he's a god. Why the hell did you ever date him again?"
At this Rachel sighed, her body still shaking slightly with laughter as she turned on the T.V. "You do uncharacteristically inane things for love."
"I guess," Santana said relaxing back down next to the diva as the DVD menu popped up. "But I'm for one fucking glad you're done with him. You're way to good for his shit."
Rachel's head instantly snapped to look at her and Santana's heart gave the tiniest jump at the smile stretching across the brunette's face. "Santana I think that is the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
Pushing down defensive emotional fucktard Santana for the moment, Santana smiled back at the girl and ducked her head slightly. "Well I meant it. He treated you like shit. Usually like he was ashamed of you. Which even I could see was idiotic seeing as you're easily the most likely to get out of this town and make a name for yourself. Idiot should have been on his knees thanking you for dating his ass."
Rachel eyes shined slightly with tears before the girl turned her head back to the screen and hitting play. "Thank you," she said, her voice wavering slightly.
Santana could literally feel the restrained gratitude rolling off of Rachel and she smiled easily. "Any time Shorty. I only speak the truth," the last sentence she sing songed, which drew out a large beaming smile from Rachel as the infamous theme song to the Addams Family started playing.
"Two musical references from you in less than a week. I'm beginning to believe that your caustic reputation is malarkey Santana. I really like this side of you," the smaller girl giggled, her eyes shining with genuine happiness.
Santana chuckled at this and reached behind them to pull a blanket over their laps in an attempt to distract from the self-satisfied smile she wore. "Yah well you're still wordy as fuck but I'm beginning to think your know it all prissy reputation is a bunch of b.s. too."
Rachel glared at the Latina for a second but Santana could see right away that there was no anger behind it. Suddenly leaning in close to the Cheerio, her face serious Rachel whispered almost conspiratorially, "we mustn't let the general population know about our true natures. It would cause complete anarchy in the hallways."
"Oh my god you're a dork," Santana laughed, her eyes wide as she pushed Rachel away from her, partly because her heart beat might have started to become erratic at the closeness. "Now shut up so I can get my Addams fix."
"Yes your surprisingly nice highness," Rachel teased sinking back into couch and smiling as a young Christina Ricci's voice filled the room.
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A little while later Santana smiled dreamily as her favorite scene of the movie played before them, and couldn't help but to quietly murmur to Rachel. "I love Morticia and Gomez's relationship."
"Oh I definitely concur," Rachel smiled as the couple on T.V. stood to dance the tango.
"I want to find love like that," Santana sighed forlornly.
"Ditto," Rachel smiled, her eyes reflecting the dance. "I would also love to be able to dance like that."
"What do you mean?" Santana asked quirking an eyebrow. "You're a great dancer already."
"Thank you," Rachel said nodding and smiling softly. "But I was talking about the style of dance they are doing. I would love to learn how to tango."
"Hold up," Santana said grabbing the remote and freezing the Addams mid dip. "Are you telling me Rachel Berry doesn't know how to do something Broadway related?" She asked incredulously.
"It's true," Rachel sighed turning to look at the Cheerio. "With all my acting and vocal classes I have taken over the years I've fallen short in my dance training. I mean I believe I am superb in ballet and jazz, but I've never taken more than a handful of ballroom dance classes." At this her eyes darkened and her voice became insecure. "It's actually something I worry about. Next year if I get into NYADA I'm afraid I'll be behind the other students in my class because of it."
"Oh wow," Santana said shaking her head, still recovering from slight shock. Suddenly a bright idea came to mind and she quickly sat up. Warring only very slightly with herself she decided to go for it. "I could teach you."
"You could teach me what?" Rachel asked, her forehead wrinkling in confusion.
Santana shook her head at this and laughed. "How to walk on the moon," she said sarcastically before standing up and grabbing the diva's hand. "Come on," she said pulling her off of the couch and towards the door to grab her backpack.
"What are we doing?" Rachel asked, looking over her shoulder at the movie as Santana drug her into the dining room.
Rolling her eyes Santana pulled out her laptop and quickly turned it on. Laughing at Rachel when she noticed the girl tapping her foot impatiently Santana made short work of pushing away the table and chairs before firing up her iTunes. "Come here."
Rachel seemed very dubious but she walked towards Santana and allowed the girl to take her hands. "You know how to tango?" She asked as Santana maneuvered her petite body into position very carefully.
"Duh," Santana chuckled nodding before going and hitting play and starting the tango that had just been playing on the movie.
Fighting down the sudden nerves bubbling up in her chest and the what the fucks running through her mind, Santana gingerly pulled Rachel's body against her own until their torsos were just barely touching.
Rachel stared up at her with wide eyes, a small smile gracing her lips and Santana felt her knees shake a little as she placed her right hand on the small of the shorter girl's back and gripped Rachel's right hand loosely, raising the both of them up into the air until their elbows were just slightly bent. "Now put your left hand on my right shoulder," Santana explained, smirking slightly at the rather adorably intense expression Rachel had on her face.
"Like this?" Rachel asked gently laying her hand on Santana's shoulder.
"Yah…like that," Santana managed to say keeping her voice light even though her heart was racing a million miles an hour and she was seriously questioning her own sanity.
"Now what?" Rachel asked, her eyes wide as she looked back to Santana's face with red cheeks.
"Okay," Santana said shaking her head slightly to ground her. "I'm going to slowly step forwards with my left foot, heel first and then toes. You need to slowly step backwards with your right foot landing your toes and then your heels. Got it."
"Yes," Rachel said clearing out her throat and looking down at their feet.
"Alright," the Cheerio started stepping forwards and smiling widely when Rachel stepped back perfectly. "Now I'm going to step with my right and you're going to step back with your left. Same concept." Again the move was performed perfectly. "Alright, here's where it gets tricky," Santana murmured, her eyes watching Rachel's smile in fascination.
"I'm ready," Rachel quickly answered, her eyes still looking down at their feet.
"Okay. I'm going to quickly step forward with my left foot, then immediately slide my right foot quickly to the right side and shift my weight to that foot. You need to mirror me, but backwards."
Rachel's smile vanished instantly and Santana chuckled at the determined yet confused frown that took it's place. "I promise it only sounds hard," Santana laughed before clearing her throat. "Just let me move you."
"I trust you," Rachel said chewing on her bottom lip, her eyes intense.
Again Santana's heart gave a slight lurch but the Cheerio shook it off before expertly moving their bodies using, her hips to guide Rachel backwards and then to the side. "See easy as pie," she murmured.
"What next?" Rachel asked, her voice sounding slightly husky and her cheeks reddening.
Taking a deep breath and ignoring her inner voice who was screaming a laundry list of suggestions Santana continued on with the instructions.
Soon she had gone through all of the steps with the exception of the dip, something that she was considering avoiding altogether because she knew that that would put their faces inches apart and the only reason she was gasping from confusion and arousal was because Rachel's eyes had mostly stayed directed at the floor.
Forgoing the dip for now Santana started to lead Rachel through the dance again, smiling when the girl became surer of herself and the dancing became more and more fluid. "You're an amazing dancer Santana," Rachel whispered, her smile awed as she glanced up at the Cheerio.
Instantly snarky, sarcastic, and sexual responses came to mind but Santana squashed them deep down and offered a simple thanks.
Within twenty minutes their dancing had begun to really flow and Santana was moving Rachel across the dining room as if the Diva had been born to tango. As they danced their bodies began pressing closer and closer together and Santana could feel Rachel's heart beating against her chest. As the music picked up the dance moved faster and faster until the girls were dancing circles around the living room, their breathing erratic.
When Rachel's eyes looked up at Santana the Cheerio sucked in deep gasp at the intense look the shorter girl was giving her. The diva's face was flush with exertion and her breath came out in tiny pants as her hand dug into Santana's shoulder. Caught up in the moment Santana dipped the smaller girl in her arms just as the music stopped.
The room was thick with obvious sexual tension and Santana's heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. In her arms Rachel stared up at her, her eyes burning intensely. Just as Santana was about to lean in and kiss her the sound of two cell phones broke through the silence and Rachel practically jumped out of her arms as Santana instantly righted her body.
Laughing awkwardly to break the tense air Santana rifled through her bag to find her phone. "That scared the shit out of me," she said grabbing the still ringing phone as Rachel pulled her own out of her pocket.
"I agree," Rachel said shakily, her face still red and her eyes flitting spastically around the room.
Unlocking her phone Santana didn't know whether to be intensely pissed off or intensely relieved that a Facebook update from Brittany had interrupted…well whatever the hell was about to happen.
Opening up the message she frowned slightly when she read the girl's status.
Brittany Pierce: Are dolphins aware that they are just gay sharks? Brittany Pierce check in at Breadsticks Lima, Ohio with Artie Abrams, Quinn Fabray, and Sam Evans.
Sighing at the slight sting of reading about her exes double date with the wonder bread twins Santana looked up to see Rachel staring down at her phone, her bottom lip quivering slightly.
"Hey are you okay?" Santana asked quickly stepping across the room and resting a hand on Rachel's shoulder.
Instantly the Diva plastered on a rough fake smile and stuck her phone in her pocket while shaking her head. "I'm fine. Just lost an Ebay Auction," Rachel quickly explained before striding back into the living room.
"Hey wait up," Santana yelled quickly running over to turn off her laptop before running back into the living room where Rachel had already sat back on the couch. "Are you sure you're okay. That seemed like a pretty big reaction for an auction loss."
"Sorry," Rachel said shaking her head as Santana sat back down next to her. "I tend to be over-dramatic sometimes."
Santana did not believe her at all. Obviously something had happened to make the girl look like she was moments away from crying. But it was also obvious that whatever it was the girl did not want to talk about it. Shoving down the feeling of sadness that thought gave her Santana decided not to push.
"Okay," she said simply leaving it at that before moving slightly closer to the shorter girl. "So how about that Tango?"
"You're an amazing dancer," Rachel said turning to her and smiling widely despite her reddened eyes. "How did you learn to dance like that?"
"Well I sat in on a lot of Brittany's classes for one. But more importantly my mother was an amazing dancer. She took me to all of her ballroom dancing lessons and taught me everything from the waltz to the cha-cha," Santana explained, smiling at the memories of long hours spent at her mother's studio.
"I would love to meet her sometime," Rachel said, resting a tiny hand on Santana's arm.
Santana frowned sadly at the girl and shook her head. "She died a few years ago."
"Oh Santana I'm so sorry," Rachel said scooting closer to the Latina and looking at her with wide apologetic eyes.
"It's okay, you didn't know," Santana murmured fighting the sudden urge to cry. "No one really knows but Quinn and Brittany."
"How did she die?" The diva asked, squeezing Santana's arm gently before pulling one of her hands into her own.
"A heart attack," Santana murmured shakily staring down at their joined hands. "She was always a super athletic person and she had an undiagnosed heart condition…it was too much on her body."
"So it's just been you and your father?" Rachel asked, her voice gentle.
"Yah," Santana nodded swallowing the lump in her throat. "Thankfully he's pretty amazing. He works a lot but he always makes time for me when I need it."
"I'm sure he's a great man; to take care of you during something that had to be hard. I would love to meet him some day," the shorter girl said softly before reaching over and handing Santana a tissue box.
"Thanks," Santana said, laughing in major embarrassment. "That could be arranged. He would love you no doubt." Throwing away the used tissues Santana leaned back into the couch and a sudden thought occurred to her. Glancing over at a clock at the wall that was nearing ten already. Frowning she turned back to Rachel. "Speaking of parents, when do I get to meet yours?"
"Oh," Rachel said sitting back quickly and sighing forlornly. "About that…"
"Rachel…what's up?" Santana asked, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up ominously.
Fidgeting with her hands Rachel sighed again before looking up at the Latina. "I might have over-exaggerated the relationship I have with my fathers over the last few years."
"What do you mean?" Santana asked frowning and moving forwards. Rachel seemed to war with herself for a few seconds before Santana set a hand on her arm and squeezed gently.
Taking a deep breath the shorter girl looked up at her, her eyes questioning. "I can trust you right?"
"Yes you can," Santana said quickly, not a sliver of doubt in her voice. "I know that that seems weird given our history but you can."
"Okay…" Rachel said nodding her head. "The truth is you probably won't meet my fathers any time soon. They…well the thing is they don't live here," Rachel explained, her voice trailing off at the end.
"What do you mean they don't live here?" Santana asked, swiftly straightening her shoulders and looking intensely at the brunette.
Sighing Rachel's shoulders slumped and the small girl fell back against the arm of the couch. "They live in Columbia. My daddy, Hiram works at a law firm there, and my dad, Leroy owns his own architectural firm."
"Wait so you just live here by yourself Rachel? Jesus how long has this been going on?" Santana yelled in shock, anger coursing through her veins.
Rachel had obviously given up on hiding it and it was evident when she shrugged sadly. "They started taking trips there during seventh grade and they made the permanent move a few days before Freshmen year started," she explained, her voice monotone.
"Jesus Christ," Santana growled, her mind running through just exactly what could happen to a small defenseless girl like Rachel living alone by herself.
"It's not all that bad," Rachel murmured chewing on her bottom lip. "They pay the bills on the house and once a month they deposit money into my savings account for whatever I need."
"Rachel you just told me your fathers basically abandoned you when you were fifteen years old. That's fucked up," Santana growled through gritted teeth.
"It is what it is," Rachel sighed sitting up and rubbing her temples.
The thoughts were running through Santana's head like a horror movie as she imagined what Rachel's life had been like the last few years, but one in particular made her feel as if she were about to throw up. All these years Rachel had been put through hell and each night when she should have gone home to loving parents who could at least try and make it better she had come home to an empty house. It was officially beyond fucked up at this point.
"I'm so sorry," Santana murmured shaking her head and grabbing one of the girl's hands. "If I had known…"
"I don't think it would have changed anything if anyone had," Rachel mumbled sadly. "It probably would have made things more difficult at school…you know ammo for the masses."
"No," Santana said shaking her head. "It would have made a difference. My mother…she didn't choose to leave me…but I lost a parent all the same. I know I would have done something different."
Rachel looked at her, her eyes shining slightly as a small smile curved her lips upwards. "You really mean that don't you?" She asked in slight awe.
"Yes, I do." Santana said nodding her head. And she did. With all of her heart.
"I…I really appreciate that Santana," Rachel said dipping her head and smiling. "I'm going to hug you now."
Santana had to laugh at this. She had heard stories of the Rachel's penchant for warning people. Lately everything they both had been doing seemed so unlike them that it kind of made her dizzy. But this was a classic a Rachel Berry move she had never gotten to see due to her own insecurities. "Okay," she laughed shaking her head and surprising the girl by pulling her into her own arms first.
It was a quick hug but it was probably one of the best hugs she had ever had and Santana was sad when it ended. Looking around the living room she sighed before turning back to Rachel. "You know I really don't feel comfortable leaving you here all alone now. You weigh like twenty pounds."
At this Rachel's eyes shined and the girl smiled. "I appreciate your concern Santana but I assure you that I am fine on my own. The house is equipped with a state of the art security system and I have a black belt in karate."
"Wait, wait hold up," Santana scoffed holding up a hand. "You mean to tell me you're a black belt. You, Rachel Berry, are a black belt?"
"Why is that so unbelievable?" Rachel pouted crossing her arms and glaring at the Latina.
"Oh I don't know, because you could fit in my pocket?" Santana teased shaking her head at Rachel's rather indignant pout.
"That's a laugh coming from Santana Fucking Lopez, ballroom dancing extraordinaire," Rachel teased back, uncrossing her arms and laughing when Santana became visibly huffy.
"You know I don't think I like you," Santana mumbled glaring at the shorter girl. "You're very not nice."
"Okay, I'm sorry," Rachel chuckled before her eyes lit up in an obvious idea. "How about a trade? You teach me all the ballroom dances you know and I will teach you all the karate I know?"
"I was just kidding you're fucking awesome!" Santana exclaimed eagerly at
the thought of learning an even better way to kick ass.
"I figured that would appease you," Rachel laughed shaking her head.
"Oh Shorty you know me so well," Santana laughed leaning forwards and ruffling the girl's hair.
"Not really…but I would like to," Rachel murmured suddenly serious as she looked down at her hands.
"I think I would like that too," Santana said swallowing the sudden feeling of butterflies in her throat.
"Really?" Rachel asked, her head tilting to the side and her face clearly eager.
"Totally," Santana said nodding. "You're kind of a secret badass."
"I appreciate the compliment," Rachel giggled sinking back into the couch.
"I'm curious," Santana said sitting up and staring at Rachel. "You're not like this at school and these days you're not like you were at school. What's up with that?"
"Like I said," Rachel hummed. "I like to keep my home life and school life separate…it keeps things…I guess easier if I can just come home at the end of the day and have everything be how I want it."
"Fair enough," Santana said nodding before standing up and stretching out her muscles. "Are you sure you're okay here alone?" The Latina asked looking around the empty house.
"I'm sure," Rachel said nodding softly before standing up as well. "Santana I really want to thank you…I…you didn't have to take me home today and you didn't have to stay and hang out with me but you did. Why is that?"
Santana sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and thought about that for a good moment. To tell the truth she wasn't exactly sure why she had done that, but seeing Rachel standing in front of her and realizing that the last four or so hours had been the best night of her life in years an answer suddenly came to her.
"I guess…I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that I wanted to. And I wanted to because you asked me a couple of days ago if I was okay even though you didn't have to. Even though it was obvious seeing me in the choir room made you slightly uncomfortable. My…well my Mami…she had this saying about small things. Little moments that add up. I just…I think inside I wanted to do what she would have wanted me to do because I haven't done that in the last few years. In fact I've done the complete opposite because I've been terrified of my own big gay shadow…so short answer; because I wanted to." It was a lengthy explanation, probably up there with Rachel's penchant for ramblings. At first it was wavering but towards the end Santana found her voice and squared her shoulders, meaning every word she was saying.
Rachel looked at her intensely, her eyes shining with emotion before she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around the Latina. "I think you're mother must have been an amazing women to raise such an amazing daughter," she said gently tightening her arms around the taller girl.
"I haven't been all that amazing," Santana sighed sinking into the comfort of the diva's arms.
"Well tonight you have," Rachel said looking up at her and smiling widely. "And you said your mother said small things add up. Maybe this will add up to all of the amazing you can be."
"Maybe…I really hope so," Santana murmured squeezing the girl in her arms tightly before stepping away. "Hey Rachel," she said when she put her hand on the door knob.
"Yes Santana?" Rachel asked looking at her searchingly.
"I know you said you're okay here alone but text me if you need anything all right. I might not know karate but I've got a bitching aluminum baseball bat I stole from Puck a few years ago," Santana mumbled dipping her head slightly.
"I'll keep that in mind," Rachel giggled as Santana stepped out into the cold air. "Oh wait your jacket," she shorter girl said grabbing the Cheerio's lettermen.
"Keep it tonight," Santana said crossing her arms slightly and digging her keys out of her bag. "I'll get it tomorrow at school…you'll have your car right?"
"I should yes," Rachel said nodding shyly.
"All right then Shorty, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight Santana," Rachel said a wide smile on her face as Santana ran out towards her car a very stupid grin plastered on her face.
Getting into her car she smiled even wider when she saw Rachel watching her pull out from the still opened door. She was positive even the panic about tomorrow wouldn't set in until it was actually tomorrow, right now? Totally worth it.
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The panic was indeed high the next morning, but the Latina walked confidentially down the halls none the less. Her eyes staring straight ahead as she headed to Rachel's locker and smiled when she saw the shorter girl holding her Cheerio's jacket over one arm.
After a quick good morning and making plans to hang out again after school the Diva raced off after hearing the first bell and Santana turned feeling eyes on her. Across the hall Quinn stood, her arms tightly crossed in front of her body, and her eyes cold.
Santana stared back at her, not breaking the gaze even as random students passed between them. She was expecting one of two things. Either Quinn was going to come across the hallway and literally rip her uniform off of her body, or every jock and cheerio in the school was going to suddenly appear with slushies.
Instead she got neither. Quinn looked as if she was about to start yelling when the blonde's eyes shot down the hall and immediately flicked back to Santana before shooting her one last glare, clenching her jaw, and walking away.
When the blonde was out of sight Santana looked in the direction she had looked to see an empty hallway. But she had a simple theory about what had caused Quinn to retreat. Rachel Berry.
So references in this chapter are obviously The Addams Family and the fact that Gomez and Morticia are clearly the best couple of all time, hands down.
I reference the disorder known as Pica not with the intent of making fun of it so please no flames. Truth be told I seriously ate paper till I was like twelve and my mother had the good sense to take me to a pediatrician.
And as for the musical Santana reference? First person to guess correctly totes gets a shout out in the next chapter.
As always please review if you don't mind! And add me on Tumblr so we can become buddies if you want!