Even though Mercedes was a tough one, Quinn was even worse. After days of pleading, the blonde in love had managed to get her friend to agree to a party at their house. Just a small gig with Tina and two of Santana's dearest friends. This would be a great opportunity to get a fresh start with Santana. And to be honest, Quinn was a bit overwhelmed by the fact she was about to meet her lover's friends. As time went by, the deadline loomed. In a few months, they'd be in the open and the adrenaline it induced was breathtaking... and overwhelming. After all, Mercedes could do this small thing for her, she owed it to her after the hell their friendship had been lately.
There was Mercedes, standing in the middle of the kitchen while looking at pictures on the fridge. Quinn and Santana weren't the type of couple to lip lock every three seconds. Mercedes hadn't seen them do even the smallest thing since she got here, less than an hour ago. However, the pictures on the fridge were speaking volumes, as if they were compensating everything Quinn and Santana couldn't do. Like kissing outside. Mercedes sipped her beer, deep in thought.
"I don't know what to do with myself!" Quinn let out excitedly, as her mind rushed with thoughts.
The kitchen was a mess. All the good food Tina and Mercedes had helped to cook was ready. Beers were cooling in the fridge. All they were missing were Santana's friends.
Santana laughed, enamoured. For the first time since Quinn's friends got here, Santana made a little loving gesture under Mercedes's awkward stare. She very softly tickled Quinn's neck, a playful motion to calm her down. "Relax," she whispered barely audible to her girlfriend's ear.
Mercedes cleared her throat quietly, uneasy by the show of affection. It would take her a lot more time than a couple of days to get used to seeing her professor hitting on her best friend like this.
The doorbell rang. "Oh god," Quinn whispered, eyes widening.
Grinning, Santana left what she was doing and dried her hands in a cloth. She went to open her door, skipping through the living space like a little girl on Christmas morning. Quinn was petrified. She came closer nevertheless, scared to the bone.
"Oh my gosh, I missed you!" Santana cheered as soon as the door was open.
A tall Asian man snuggled into her arms within a second and heaved her up, making her sway when her feet left the ground. "Almighty Mikey Mike, I need to introduce you to someone!" she let out between chuckles. He put her down, smiling wide and clear as Quinn came closer, her heart beating loudly in her own ears. "This is Quinn, my lady," she sang.
"Very pleased to meet you, Quinn," he softly said, so very happy to finally meet the mysterious girl Santana had refused to talk about for months.
"Same," Quinn replied all flustered.
"Don't start the partyyyy without meeee," a woman called from outside, her voice making Quinn think of a burst of colour and rainbows.
"Brittany," Santana breathed out, beyond thrilled with the new apparition.
The tall blonde woman came in, arms held out, already willing to hug her very dear friend. Laughing, they hugged tight as if they hadn't seen each other in years. Smirking, Brittany held out her pinkie for Santana to catch. "S, next time you come back home, you pay me a visit, your parents aren't the only ones there!" she teased.
Giggling like a schoolgirl, Santana grabbed her pinkie with her own and shook their hands playfully in a timeless gesture. "Yeah I know, but I got busy with..." she let go to catch Quinn by the hand. "With this one."
"I'm Quinn," she said around a shy smile.
"How surprising, a blonde," Brittany laughed, poking Santana in the ribs.
"Things never change," Santana shrugged, all pink cheeks and bashful smiles. "But don't stay out here, come in guys! You have more people to meet!"
The party started with embarrassed people around the table as, once again, Quinn and Santana explained their story. Mike listened attentively and nodded quite understandingly and Brittany seemed very... fluid. They didn't react like Mercedes had and merely shrugged their shoulders, which got the woman even more embarrassed. Little by little, Quinn and Santana relaxed on the couch, shrinking in the cushions, making themselves comfortable. Beer bottle caps flew open, nachos dipped in tasty guacamole, everything was present to create a nice and cool atmosphere around stories from high school, college years and old memories together.
"And then I slapped the crap out of Finn!" Santana laughed, as she recounted her coming-out story.
"So..." Quinn fidgeted uneasy. "You're actually Santana's first... ex?" she tentatively asked in Brittany's direction.
Brittany didn't really know what to say. Feeling a growing awkwardness, Santana came to her rescue. "Yeah, kinda. But it was like... 12 years ago? Gosh, it feels like past century..."
"Yeah, it was just a high school crush, nothing serious," Brittany winked at Quinn, trying to reassure her, even though Santana and Brittany themselves knew this was a big, nasty lie.
"You should have seen us in high school though, our dance moves were setting school girls pants on fire," Mike joked to ease the light tension.
"Including yours apparently," Quinn murmured under her breath.
Santana stroked her thigh. "Don't be jealous, really. Don't," she cooed, putting a light kiss on her cheek. Never had she seen jealousy on her lover's features. Even if it would make Mercedes uneasy, Santana couldn't care less. She went to hold her love. She shrunk deeper in the couch, taking Quinn in her arms. She pulled her into a deep kiss, they had never kissed like that in front of people before, including Santana's siblings. Quinn kept licking her own lips again and again, still enjoying taste long after they had pulled apart. She would let it pass for now. Snuggling, Santana dove back into the conversation.
"You know what, if you two ever marry, you wouldn't have to change your names," Santana said, creating a diversion.
"You're a Chang as well?" Mike sat closer to Tina, to her greatest pleasure.
"Cohen-Chang, actually," she answered blushing at the good looking guy.
"Chang-Chang... That sounds like a train rolling," Brittany laughed.
Santana snorted, "just don't pay attention to her, she's in her own world sometimes..." she explained around a joking smile while grabbing another beer on the table.
The party kept going, people actually starting to get to know each other. Until late that night, laughs and jokes resonated in the house. Tina started nodding off, alcohol and exhaustion kicking in. Little by little, everybody left after last hugs and happy smiles. Brittany was the last to go. She had insisted on staying to help them clean the mess they had made and with Quinn busy grabbing the empty bottles on the table y the sofa, Brittany took her chance to talk to Santana in private.
"So you two, it's serious then?" she inquired in a low mass, taking advantage of the noise Santana was making with the dishes.
Santana sighed. "Yeah, it is."
"Babe, I'm gonna throw that in the garbage outside, be right back!" Quinn shouted, already on her way out.
Santana waited for Quinn to leave, closing the door. She turned the water off and leaned against the sink. She shrugged. "Britt, I'll be honest with you. I don't want you to hear it from anybody else but me..."
"What?" Brittany frowned.
Santana scratched her head, uncomfortable. "I'm gonna ask her to marry me. I don't know when, but I'll do it."
Brittany stared at the ground. She rubbed her neck, sniffling.
"I'm really sorry, Brittany."
"Hey, it's fine! There's nothing to feel sorry about. It's... ancient history now," she said, cracking a weak trembling smile.
"Yeah I know but... you were my first. And I know you and I will always have this bond. It's part of us, that's why I need to be honest with you. I kept trying to protect you all along but with Quinn in the picture now, I can't do it anymore."
"Santana, I never asked you to run your love life differently because of me."
"I know but still. I care about you, I didn't want to hurt you... Britt, let's be completely honest, I know you still have... feelings," Santana cleared her throat. "But now, we can't keep going like this as if nothing was happening. That's why I wanted you to meet her, so you can see this is real and that you shouldn't..." she crossed her arms, feeling cold. "... keep hoping."
In the meantime, Quinn was coming back into the house. She wasn't sure why, but an inner voice told her not to go inside just yet. Instead, she went around the kitchen window and listened carefully. All night, she had doubts about Santana's blonde friend. Her stares and too kind smiles. Obviously, they had more history than Santana wanted to admit. That was worth a little spying, just to be sure.
"You're really sure this time?"
"What do you mean, 'this time'?"
"It was supposed to be serious with Lana as well... but it didn't stop you from coming back... home. How do you want me to stop hoping if you keep coming back to me?"
"Last time was a mistake," Santana stated coldly. "And it was the very last time. You and I won't happen ever again. Quinn is my home now. Lana was a joke compared to what I feel about Quinn. It's just... Yeah, she's the One for me. And I'm 100% sure about that."
Quinn heard Brittany sigh sadly. Discreetly, she peeked in the window. Brittany had a pouting smile stuck on her lips.
"How can you be so sure?" she almost threatened.
"She makes me want to have a family, marriage and kids... It's the first time I feel like this about someone."
"We're 28, it's our age talking," Brittany argued. "It's normal to want such plans for us, we're getting older. That doesn't mean anything. She's 21, she's not in the same place as us-"
"No, Brittany. She's the one for me. I love you, I really do but if I loved you in a way lovers are supposed to love each other, or even if it was only the age talking, I would have gotten those thoughts with you. But I didn't and for me, that's a clear enough proof. I'm really sorry, Brittany. But this time, I couldn't be more sure."
Brittany swallowed thickly. A long silence ensued, Santana looking at her friend with eyes that told a story of how hard it was for her to destroy every hope her friend might have. Santana's love for Quinn was obvious. It reassured the spying blonde even though the conversation had turned sour.
Brittany sighed again, cutting in back into conversation. She held her pinkie out. "Okay... Pinkie promise, I'll get over it... one day," she barely joked.
Santana caught her pinkie. "You will always be my friend, B. Quinn doesn't change that. Nobody ever will."
"I can work with that..." Brittany cracked a smile.
- o -
"Looking good, Quinn!" Isabel cheered as the couple passed the front door of Santana's parents house. Santana couldn't get enough of how well her sister and lover got along.
"Happy 15th birthday," Quinn sang.
Could they look more lovesick? Nope. Holding each other's hand, they dove into the crowded house, full of aunts and uncles, cousins running everywhere and chatting friends. All were united to make this day, Isabel's quinceanera, a wonderful memory. Quinn wasn't the first Santana had introduced as a girlfriend. Lana, her ex, had indeed tasted the joy of being introduced to the whole clan, four to five generations of Lopez's. However, she had also been the first to suffer from the awkward stares induced by the fact that there was a lesbian in the family. And even worse, a proud one. Santana's family had been looking for every black shadow in Lana's personality, which had led her to the conclusion that no, Santana's family wasn't fond of her. And especially not of her piercings and grunge look. To Santana's greatest exasperation, Lana had turned into a silly joke people told on Christmas Eve.
Quinn however, was another story. As the blonde made her way through the staring crowd, each member of the family was already counting the points Quinn was scoring. Santana's new girlfriend was wearing Maribel's dress which she had accessorized in her style. Fabray - 1 point. She looked like an angel, big smile, perky eyes, a nice word for everyone. Nothing like the Lana del Rage Santana had brought last time. 2 points.
"Of course I speak a bit of Spanish! Me alegra estar aquí," Quinn answered Santana's grandparents' question.
"Muy bien!" they laughed under Santana's happy gaze.
"Thank you! I have been learning for a couple of months so it's still a bit unsteady but I'm getting there! I really want to understand what Santana says when she speaks Spanish, I'd like to share that with her!"
Fabray - 98 points.
To the future career question, Quinn excelled. "Oh! I'm targetting a Law PhD. To be a lawyer obviously," she chuckled.
Fabray - 99 points.
Santana gloated. That was a faultless performance on Quinn's part. Even she had hard time talking to the blonde, since her family was monopolizing all of Quinn's time. Kept aside, Santana gazed at her love softly building her way into her family's heart. She leaned against the doorframe, away in her thoughts.
"Come on mi amor, don't just stay here like that!" her mom playfully pushed her with a little hip move.
Santana smiled, flustered. "She's too busy for me anyway," she joked.
Her mom laughed. "Marisa, make her pass the entrance test in the Lopez family!" she shouted to an aunt, Santana already facepalming at the exclamation.
Quinn frowned in her direction. The flustered Latina gestured to her that there was no need to worry. They barely had a second to exchange this silent thought before Marisa pushed the latest newborn of the family in Quinn's arms.
"The tradition says that if the last baby of the family doesn't like you, you're not going marry someone of this clan," Marisa explained loudly and proudly. "Never fails."
"That's stupid! It's just an old wives tale," Santana laughed. "Don't pay attention to that!"
Marisa glared daggers at her. "You're just saying that because last time, mi'ja farted in your ex's arms!" The assembly laughed. "Say whatever you want, but the tradition works. Proof! Where's Lana?! Ah! It worked for Carlos, Julie and Pasena, it works!"
Quinn began to rock the little baby that wasn't older than a couple of months in her arms. Memories kicked in, long buried but not forgotten mothering instincts rearing its head. Santana gazed at her girlfriend with a baby for the first time ever. Like a stab right in her ovaries, Santana shrunk against the doorframe. She couldn't be more sure about her proposal now. The baby smiled in Quinn's expert hands. Fabray - 100 points, bingo. She wasn't afraid to hold him at all. She was playing with him, putting little kisses against his forehead. Seeing her do this, the family was already betting on the wedding date in their heads.
"Aw, she has something with babies!" Maribel cooed in her daughter's ear before leaving to join the rest of the family.
Before Santana could stop her, her mom was already asking embarrassing questions Quinn didn't know how to answer.
"Yeah, I want kids but... after I finish my studies, when I have a stable job," Quinn stated. "I'm only '21 años', that can wait a little longer," she said lightly.
"Good! That's always what I told my kids, protect yourselves and be careful. One thing at a time, they must not do like me," Maribel explained, with words she had used what felt like the thousandth time. "If one of them has a baby before their thirties, I think I'm gonna rip their heads off!" she joked. Quinn smiled, embarrassed. In the meantime, Santana was dying on the other side of the room. "When we were young, we were getting married at 18 anyway, we didn't have any protection, nothing... But now the kids have everything they need not to make the same mistakes as us!"
Santana had enough. "Quinn, can you come over here? I need help getting Isabel's presents out of the car," she said frantically, throwing the first excuse she could think of. No need to be told twice, Quinn was already giving the baby away and skipping through the room. "Mom, can you come as well?"
"What did you buy her that requires three people to get it out of a car," Maribel laughed as she came around.
"Babe, it's fine..." Quinn reassured, whispering.
"No, it's not. I don't want her to tell you that kind of thing."
"What kind of thing?" Maribel inquired as she overheard their whisperings..
"Come outside, I need to tell you something," Santana clarified. Both mother and girlfriend followed Santana willingly. Outside, there would be no curious ears listening to them.
"I don't want you to tell her those things like ripping our heads if we had kids too early-"
Quinn pulled on her arm. "Don't, really, it's fine! Don't..."
"For me, it's not!"
"What's happening? Is one of you pregnant?!"
"No!" Santana blurted. "Quinn, she..."
"I gave up a baby for adoption when I was in high school," she admitted, looking at the ground.
"Oh..." Maribel took a step back.
"But it's fine! I totally share your opinion, it's just that... it happened nevertheless..." Quinn tentatively explained.
"But why didn't you keep them?" Maribel tried to understand, shaking her head.
"The father wasn't a man like your husband, I was kicked out of the house and living at a friend's... I had nothing. Barely any clothes, no money to keep her, and the woman who adopted her is incredible. I don't regret my choice, Maribel. Not at all."
Maribel took a second to swallow the news.
"That's why I don't want you to... say those things in front of her. I want you to respect her and her life, okay?" Santana made her point watching the way her mother's left eye twitched uncertainly.
"Okay. I'm sorry Quinn if I hurt you," Maribel apologized, a little bitterly, as if Quinn's spell had broken. She wasn't the sheer perfection Maribel thought she had been not a moment ago.
"It's fine! Really!" Quinn pleaded hands clasped in front of her .
"Can I go back inside now?" Maribel cut in sharply. Santana nodded, almost snarling.
The party resumed, but Maribel did not approach them again. The mother laughed and smiled to her family with an automatism only Santana and Quinn knew the source of. But thankfully - for the three of them -, the large family kept them busy all afternoon. When the party calmed, people exhausted by music and conversation which had lasted hours, Maribel started to frantically clean around the house. Santana wasn't a fool, her mother loved cleaning to ease her mind. Her stare over her mother was clear enough, Quinn worried.
"Maybe we should go..." Quinn whispered.
Santana snuggled closer. "Nope. It's her problem if she can't deal with it. Not ours."
"Santana, I really don't want to rock the boat..."
"You're not-" Santana recognized her ringtone escaping the mountain of coats and bags on a couch. "Hold on," she said on her way to grab it. When she peeked at it, she frowned. She gestured she'd take it outside, leaving Quinn alone on the sofa.
Saying that Quinn was very uncomfortable was an understatement. Arms crossed on the sofa, she waited patiently, answering a question once in awhile but now way less invested in the party then she had been. Passing behind her, Maribel tapped her on the shoulder, making her jolt. Maribel indicated the kitchen with a light nod and a deep glance.
In the kitchen, Maribel closed the door so they could stay on their own for a while. "I don't understand, Quinn..." she admitted. "How can Santana be so okay with this? I mean..."
"She knows I did the best for my daughter."
Deep in thought, Maribel served them drinks. She sipped her glass, seemingly replaying the same song in her head over and over again.
"What I don't understand is that Santana wouldn't be here if you had been in my position. She wouldn't have even existed."
"With all due respect, she would have, just not with you," she dared to say frankly. "My daughter is in good hands, very good hands, and I would never have been able to provide the life she's having right now."
"So she has a pretty house, expensive clothes, I get it. But she has no mom, you're not with her."
"She has a mom, just an adoptive one. Maribel, realize that I would have been alone with my baby. Completely alone, with no house, no money, no family. I couldn't provide her a future, or provide myself one."
"We had a hard time in this house, but that doesn't mean it lasts forever. See how Santana is, healthy and well-educated... You could have managed, there's no problem, only solutions!" Maribel blurted shaking her hands.
Quinn sighed. "I hear you, but I just made a difference choice-"
"The easiest choice!" Maribel accused.
Quinn's jaw dropped. "Because you think it's... easy... to give up your child? It's the hardest decision I've ever made! It killed me to do it, it killed me in every way... but I was just a kid, I had to think about what was best for her. I regretted it for years but now that time has passed and I know, I'm sure, that she's much happier where she is. Because I wasn't that serious student that rebuilt herself back then. I was a wreck, Maribel! A complete and absolute wreck! By getting her adopted, I saved both of us and neither what you or anybody else can think will change that," she finished, cold and angry as she thought of the pretty blonde child whose picture she still kept close.
Maribel took the argument as passively as she could, nodding but saying nothing. After having looked for Quinn everywhere, Santana stormed into the kitchen.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, body tense and voice strained as she took in the sight of her mother and girlfriend standing only a few feet apart.
"Your mother had questions for me..." Quinn explained.
Santana felt the rage growing. "What questions? I told you to respect her!"
"I want to understand why you are okay with this," Maribel let out, sniffling.
Santana closed the door and locked it. The click was ominous in the sudden silence. She came by Quinn and held her hand in support.
"Because who are we to judge? You only see the fact that she made a different choice than you, but me, all I see is that her daughter won't have her parents repeating over and over again the same old story about how 10 minutes can ruin your life!" she accused. "So yeah, I'm down with her choices because maybe that child is also a mistake, but she's the greatest gift to her adoptive parents and I'm sure they make a point of repeating that everyday!"
"But we love you! You're a gift to us!" her mother defended herself.
"Was I a gift as well when you saw two bars on the pregnancy test? Wasn't the wedding dress too tight?" she spat ironically, leaving her mother speechless.
Maribel took a seat around the table, dumbfounded.
"Come on Quinn, we're out," she softly said, trying to make her stand up from the chair she was sitting on.
"No, we need to talk about this! I don't want to start a fight with your family, I'd rather talk about it than leave," she tried to soften the atmosphere.
"But we gave you everything..." Maribel sobbed.
"Yeah, like free food coupons and discount vouchers as allowance. How can you blame her for having wanted better than that for her daughter? I don't, I really don't!" she threw through the heavy silence, piercing a bubble of unsaid feelings that had stayed locked in for years.
"So you mean you wished we had given you up?" Maribel let out sadly, her entire posture screaming defeat. "That you haven't been happy all these years?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying," Santana answered with a heavy sigh, calming somewhat. "I'm saying that both have drawbacks. There's no right or wrong choice, there's just different people with different stories."
"Okay..." Maribel gave up. "I'm sorry Quinn, I really am this time. I, hm... I didn't realize what Santana's point of view on this situation was ..."
"Thank you mom," Santana cracked a smile. "Come on, it's getting late anyway, we better go home," she insisted softly, pulling on Quinn's hand. This time, Quinn let herself be pulled along.
Maribel immediately stood up and went to hug her daughter. "But I love you..." she said strongly.
"I know..." she tapped on her shoulders, rubbing a bit to comfort her mother. "I love you too, mamita."
I'm still on my writing mood! But my beta isn't as available as previously (holidays should never end) so the updates might take a little longer than usual from now on!
Someone asked me if I was leaving the Brittana boat to travel to Quinntana land, the answer is no! I ship them both so don't worry sweets ;)
Thank you guys for your suggestions, they're all noted! You still can suggest more, I'm always open to news ideas! And to the 99-100 anon (you'll recognize yourself) you just made my day, you have no idea how much xD
Love you all! xo
