Happy Anniversary
"Hi Clara!" Rachel said into the phone, grabbing a basket. She looked around the store, deciding to start with staples. "I need a favor."
"Sure, darling!" Santana's mom said. "What can I do for you?"
"Can you email me the recipe to the chicken mole enchiladas you make? I'm going to attempt to make them for our anniversary dinner."
"Of course! Give me a few minutes and I'll send it."
"Thanks Clara!"
"No problem, darling. I'll talk to you soon."
"Bye." She slid her Blackberry back into her pocket and went in search of milk. Five minutes later, the phone buzzed, letting her know she had an email. With a smile, she glanced over the list and set about collecting the ingredients for dinner.
"I thought you were a vegan?" Kurt said, helping Rachel put all of the groceries away.
"Gave it up about a month ago. Remember that local play I did? The one about the boy with the sociopathic imaginary best friend? Well, those weren't fake eggs I was eating in the breakfast scenes."
"Got it. Will you be okay making all of this by yourself? I'm meet Karofsky."
"Karofsky's in town?"
"Finished junior college and he's thinking about NYU. I told him I'd meet him for coffee. Then I'm heading over to Brittany's for a Beyonce night."
"I'll be fine. Text me when you get there?" This was an old habit that Rachel couldn't let go of. When she, Kurt and Santana had first arrived in New York three years ago, they'd always sent texts to let the others to let them know where they were. Their parents had insisted upon it, but it was one of the things that had helped them through that first stressful year.
"I will."
This was not going as planned. Not at all. She'd mixed everything together, and measured just right. It still looked like they'd have enough to feed thirty people. Rachel huffed and moved on to the next step of the recipe.
"Now, you'll see most, if not all of these fallacies demonstrated in political campaigns—especially debates…."
Santana doodled in her notebook as the lecturer droned on. She didn't want to be here. It was her anniversary, damn it! Three years with her tiny diva, and she'd managed not to cock it up too badly. She wanted to be home snuggling with Rachel, watching cheesy science fiction movies from the 80s. Tapped the "enter" key on her laptop and waited for it to come back to life. Good. Rachel was online.
Whatcha up to, Ray?
I'm planning our anniversary evening. Why are you online during a lecture, Santana?
Because I wants my Ray of Sunshine and this is the only relief I'm getting for another two hours. Why did I pick back to back classes?
I believe you said something about getting everything out of the way on Monday and Tuesday so you'd have time to "do homework, drink heavily, and sex me up".
Oh yeah… :)
I'm not okay with contributing to your academic delinquency right now. :D
Too bad. You have to keep me entertained.
Well, I may have to leave you to your own devices for a bit….
Why?
Because.
Rachel Barbara Berry, my little gold star, you know how I am with secrets.
It's not a secret, baby. It's a surprise.
Raaaaaaaachelllllllllllllll!
Nope. Pay attention to your lecture. I'll see you in a couple of hours.
Rachel!
R. has signed off.
Santana huffed and returned her attention to the man at the front of the hall.
"Pumpkin seeds? What the hell? How did I miss that?" Rachel griped. "Why would I even need those…?" she muttered to herself. After rummaging on the counter for a moment, she located her phone under a bag of rice and dialed Kurt. "Hello, Kurt. Are you still hanging out with Karofsky? Oh…hi David! Right, I was just going to ask you to pick up pumpkin seeds if you were going to swing back by home. No big, I'll just do it without them. Yes…yes, I'll make enough to have leftovers. Yes, David can come too. Just don't come over before twelve tomorrow—I have a feeling Santana's going to keep me up late. Pfft…virgin ears, my ass. Yes, Santana's potty mouth is rubbing off on me. David! Ewww! I'll see you both tomorrow. Bye."
With a sigh, Rachel stared at the kitchen. "Alright…time to do some serious cooking."
The smoke alarm was blaring when Santana entered her apartment. Smelling only faint smoke and hearing an angry rant about defective sensors and promises of smashing coming from the kitchen, she couldn't help but smile.
"Need some help?" she asked, laughing at the intense look of relief that flowed over her girlfriend's face. Rachel didn't try cooking often, meaning things never went perfectly.
"Oh thank god. It was screaming for twenty minutes!" Huffing, Rachel greeted Santana with a kiss after she stood on a chair to shut it off.
"Aww," Santana kissed her back, grinning, "You're just too short, babe."
"Don't make fun," Rachel pouted.
"What were you making?"
"I was trying to cook the rice when it went off. It didn't even start smoking that much!"
"So no rice?"
"Yes rice, but the microwave kind instead of the fancy stovetop kind. Then I tried to make these fried dessert thingies, and…well…"
"So no fried dessert thingies?"
"Unfortunately no. The lumps of unidentifiable charred matter in the trash was dessert. Luckily two men came to my rescue."
"Two men?"
"Ben and Jerry," Rachel said, opening the freezer to reveal a plethora of ice cream.
Santana grinned and kissed her. "Well something smells amazing."
"Mama Clara was kind enough to email me the recipe to her chicken mole enchiladas. And as I'm no longer living a strictly vegan lifestyle, I figured this would be a good special occasion meal."
"I love you."
Rachel laughed. "Good, 'cause I love you too. Go change into something comfy so we can eat."
"Aye aye, captain."
Dinner turned out great, much to Rachel's relief. The enchiladas hadn't tasted exactly like Mama Clara's, but they were a decent stand in.
Santana had begged to watch Wedding Crashers, so they were cuddled up in bed watching Vince Vaughn get molested by a psychotic redhead.
"I think she might have a sex addiction…." Rachel quipped.
Santana snorted into her shoulder. "I'm going to the bathroom real quick."
"Want me to pause the movie?"
"Nah."
Rachel yawned and stared at the screen again. In the middle of her favorite scene, the screen went fuzzy. "What the hell? Santana! Something's up with the screen."
"Really?" the younger woman asked, snuggling back into bed. Rachel was messing with the remote control, so she didn't see her smiling. "Here, let me see."
Rachel handed over the remote just as Santana's face came onto the screen. "What the—"
"I figured since the movie was about crashing, I'd go ahead and crash the movie," on-screen Santana said. "Rachel Berry, I love you more than I can articulate without sounding like a Hallmark commercial. When I think of all that we've been through…all of the love and forgiveness and courage you've shown me through the years…I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to share everything with you—graduation, your first Broadway show, our kids' birthdays one day. Rachel Barbara Berry, will you marry me?"
Rachel felt Santana slip her arms around her, and a second later saw the ring she was holding. She turned in the younger girl's arms and kissed her.
"I take that as a yes?" Santana guessed a few second later.
"Yes!" Rachel said, tears in her eyes.
"Hey, none of that," Santana said gently. "Put on your ring so I can text a picture to Kurt and your dads."
Rachel laughed and let Santana slip the ring on her finger. "This is the best anniversary ever," she said, giggling.
"So far," Santana said. Snapping a picture with her phone. "I have years to top this, now."
Over breakfast the next morning, their phones were buzzing nonstop.
Congratulations, Princess! ~Dad and Daddy
It's about damn time! ~Q
Yay! ~Britt
Told you she'd like the ring. Dave and I will be over for lunch tomorrow, and we can start wedding planning. ~Kurt
Dayum, girl! ~Mercedes
Yes, I helped Santana hack the video. Keep it on the D/L though. Pretty sure what we did is illegal. ~Artie
Take care of her. ~Finn
LbN: There's still time left to vote! Thanks to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, etc.! Much love, you guys :)
