The after party was easily the weirdest thing Santana has had the misfortune of attending. No one really talked to her and they all stared at her from a distance as if she had a contagious disease. The party was at Sugar's mansion. From the start, it went wild. There was hugging and cheering and laughing, and for a little bit, Santana didn't feel like an outcast. But once they calmed down and took a few breaths, they all seemed to remember the incident and the awkwardness returned.
At one point there was a silence. They all sat around with food and drink in front of them but they were all silent. Santana sat by herself, leaning against the side of an armchair and staring dismally into her cup. No one spoke and she knew several of them were eyeing her.
"So it's legit, then?" Puck asked.
Santana knew he was talking to her. "Of course."
"But...why?" Sam asked.
"I don't know" she shrugged. "I didn't plan it. It just...happened."
"Did you have any doubts? Didn't something inside you wonder why him? We all hated him" Finn said.
"At first, I did, sure. There were several times that I wondered what I was doing and where it was going" Santana admitted. "But after a while, I saw how we clicked so well and I knew that I was seeing a side of him that not many others had seen."
"That's beautiful" Kurt whispered in awe.
"So you don't think it's a trap anymore?" Artie asked. "He's not going to backstab you?"
Santana shrugged again and took a sip of her drink. "Can one ever be sure? I highly doubt it. He's a good actor but he's not that good. And anyways, if you're worried that I'd be a mess if he did, you clearly don't know me very well. I'd get revenge so hard."
"Mhmmm" Mercedes said. "And you can bet that we'd all be right there helping you!"
Santana smiled for the first time in what felt like years. "Thanks."
At that moment, Sugar's mom came downstairs with a bunch of pizza boxes. All talk of Sebastian was forgotten as they all scrambled to get a slice. After that, they watched a movie and the touchy subject wasn't brought up again, much to Santana's delight. It seemed normal again.
At ten thirty, Sebastian heard knocks on his door. He put down the Wii remote and went to see who it was. To his surprise, it was Santana.
"Hey" she said with a small smile.
"Hi. Are you okay?" he asked, letting her in.
"Yeah, I'm fine" she said. She hugged him quickly.
"Then why are you here?"
"Aren't you happy to see me?"
He smiled. "I always am. But what are you doing here? What about your party?"
She shrugged. "It was fine at first but I realized I wanted to be with you. They don't need me enjoy our win. Besides, it's pretty much over now anyways."
"They didn't give you a hard time?" Sebastian asked.
"Actually no" Santana said. "I think they're coming to see the light."
"Good" Sebastian smiled and kissed her.
"But with them, it's hard to tell" Santana sighed with a small eye roll.
"Well, you did say you were going to tell them after Regionals."
Santana grinned. "And you did say you'd be there when I did."
Sebastian paused. "We should pick our words more wisely."
"So is it alright if I chill here?" Santana asked.
"Sure, yeah. My parents are actually not here all night. They went to Columbus to see a show" Sebastian said. He smirked a bit and lowered his voice. "So you can stay here the night, if you want."
Santana smirked back. "Hmmm, maybe I will."
He winked and Santana giggled.
"Are you hungry? Can I interest you in some strawberries or maybe some applesauce?"
So they went into the kitchen and sat down with a bowl of large, red strawberries.
"Seriously though, thanks" Santana said, staring at him. "Thanks for being there with me today. I literally couldn't have done it without you."
Sebastian smiled gently and put his hand over hers. "I love you. I'll always be there for you."
Santana smiled at him. "I know" she whispered.
For the next three months, things went fine. Santana's life consisted of her friends and New Directions during the day, and Sebastian in the night. They never mixed and therefore, things went smoothly. After a while, the novelty and obscurity of Santana and Sebastian's relationship went away. Sure, she was asked every once in a while if she was still dating him or how he's doing, but they didn't seem to really care. With their Regionals win, they were prepping for Nationals all the time. Not only that, but it was time for Santana and several others to think about their futures after high school.
It was the last week of May. June was a day away and the sun had been bright and warm all week. But no one in New Directions could tell because they spent every waking minute dancing, singing and getting ready. Nationals was coming and they were gonna kill it. So the day before the show, they piled into the bus and drove to Chicago.
Chicago was lovely. None of them had been there before so they were all staring around with wide eyes. But as time passed and the reality of Nationals approached, they got more and more nervous.
'Are you nervous?' Santana's phone buzzed with a text from Sebastian.
'I'm hyperventilating' she replied to him.
'Don't do that. You'll be fine :)'
'No but we are all freaking out. Kurt is near tears and Artie can't wheel straight!'
'Hahaha seriously, you guys have worked hard. You'll nail this.'
'Thanks but nothing can help calm us down' Santana texted him.
'I love you'.
'I love you too. Are you in class now?'
'No, I'm hanging with the Warblers' Sebastian's message said.
'Fun. Oh, I have to go. Show's starting! Omg I'm gonna die...'
'Calm down. You'll do fine. Bye!'
'Bye'.
Santana shoved her phone in her bag and followed her group out to the waiting area.
"Are you ready?" Quinn asked her as they watched Rachel glance out at the crowd in hopes to see some NYADA lady.
"I am" Santana said.
"We're gonna kick Vocal Adrenaline's butts" Brittany said joining them.
"Mercedes said that their lead singer is really good. It's that transgendered kid, what's the name, Special or something?" Quinn said.
"Unique" Santana helped.
"Right. Anyways, I think we'll do fine. Our Troubletone's number is gonna rock. Unless I fall" Quinn said, glancing at her feet.
"Don't worry, Quinn, you'll be fine. You practiced a lot" Santana said, smiling to herself at how that was basically what Sebastian had been telling her.
"Come on" Mike said, ushering them to where they were all standing, ready to go on stage.
"Here we go" Finn said under his breath and they went out.
They stood, on the stage, all holding hands tightly as they waited with eyes closed for the results. Santana held Mercedes and Mike's hands. Behind her stood Finn, who was mumbling something under his breath. Quinn in front of her was shaking as they waited. Why did the announcer talk so slow?
After the third place team was announced, it was just between New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline. Santana glanced over and saw their competition looking just as nervous as she felt.
"And the 2012 Nationals winners are...NEW DIRECTIONS!"
At the sound of their name, Santana and her group started screaming and jumping up and down. A shower of confetti fell on them and clapping rang out through the theatre. Santana was pulled into hugs from all over and she may have gone deaf from Rachel's joyful screams. Somewhere in the mess of happiness, they were handed a huge trophy. Artie took it and held it up high triumphantly as he grinned from ear to ear.
They were Nationals champions. Winners, for once. She couldn't really explain it, but this was the happiest Santana had ever felt. If only Sebastian was there too. That'd make it perfect. Vocal Adrenaline left the stage in defeat and New Directions took the moments to bow to the cheering crowd. Finally, they were ushered off the stage.
They were utterly euphoric backstage. There was more hugging and cheering and happy crying. Finn was doing a lousy job at doing a celebratory speech because he was tearing up a lot and smiling. After a good twenty minutes, Will said that they should leave and continue their party in the hotel. So they all got changed out of their outfits and headed to the lobby of the theatre.
When Santana got out there, she screamed. Leaning against a wall and looking very casual was Sebastian Smyth.
At the sound of her scream, he looked over and smiled. Santana dropped her bag that she had been carrying and ran across the lobby right to Sebastian, ignoring the looks from other people. Sebastian hugged her so tightly when she landed in his arms that he picked her up and spun her around.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Surprise!" he said. "You guys were awesome by the way. Those other teams didn't stand a chance."
"Did you come to watch us?" Santana grinned at him.
He shrugged but couldn't hide his smile. "Maybe."
Santana laughed and hugged him again. "Ahh, I love you. But you didn't have to do this."
"I wanted to see you guys perform" Sebastian said. "Besides, I had nothing better to do."
Santana rolled her eyes. By now, everyone else from New Directions had made their way over.
There hadn't been an interaction between Sebastian and them since Regionals so Santana quickly regained composure and wrapped a protective arm around Sebastian's waist.
At first no one spoke so Sebastian broke the silence.
"Congrats, you guys" he said smoothly.
"Thanks" Artie said.
"What brings you to Chicago?" Blaine asked.
"This" Sebastian answered.
"You came all the way out here to see us perform?" Finn asked incredulously.
Sebastian nodded and tried to play it cool. "Yeah, I figured why not. You guys are good and I was glad to see you guys perform when I wasn't secretly hoping you'd mess up."
They all laughed.
"Don't you have exams?" Blaine asked. "It's exam time at Dalton."
"Nah, finished three days ago" Sebastian said.
"Sweet. What're the Warblers up to?" Blaine asked.
"Oh, they're probably singing in some old folks home" Sebastian said.
"Without their lead singer?" Quinn asked in mock surprise.
Again Sebastian shrugged. "Well, I thought I'd give them a chance to shine. I heard Jeff singing a solo the other day and he's really good."
"Wow" Rachel said to the people in New Directions. "He really has changed."
Santana beamed at this part. They were finally accepting him.
Sebastian nodded. "Well, I better go. It was great seeing you and congrats again on your win."
Sebastian moved out of Santana's grip.
"See you" he said kissing her quickly. "I'll text you when I'm home, okay?"
"Likewise" she said. "And thank you so much for coming."
He smiled and winked. "Anytime."
As he started to walk away, Puck stopped him.
"You came all the way out here to see Santana and to watch us perform and...in our books, that makes you pretty cool" Puck held out his hand for Sebastian to shake.
At this gesture, Sebastian smiled and firmly shook the offered hand.
"Thanks" he said.
"See you around" Finn added with a polite smile, also shaking his hand.
Sebastian nodded then walked out of the building.
Santana was near tears. Finally, finally, she felt like she wasn't the outcast of the group because she was dating him. She finally felt normal with them. They accepted him and her. It was the perfect day. Santana picked up her bag and walked out to the bus with her friends, still revelling in their Nationals win. Santana was especially glad. In the grand scheme of things, she had one more than them and it felt great.
Six years later
"You can see everything from up here!" Santana gasped, staring at all the little lights that stood out against the dark sky, dotted with stars. She brushed a lock of hair back as she look excitedly around.
"Pretty spectacular, isn't it?" Sebastian leaned against the metal railing beside her and stared out at France. Yes, France. Santana had surprised Sebastian by organizing a trip back to Paris, where he hadn't been in several years. Currently, they stood at the top of the Eiffel Tower at night. Santana was amazed at the beautiful sight.
"So pretty" Santana sighed contently.
"Mhmm" Sebastian murmured and moved to hug her from behind.
"We should do this again someday" Santana said to him.
"Do what?"
"Take a trip somewhere. Maybe Italy next time" Santana suggested.
"I've always wanted to go somewhere tropical on my honeymoon" Sebastian said.
"Wait, honeymoon?" Santana asked, turning around in his arms so she faced him.
He shrugged casually, but she saw the glimmer in his eyes.
"Doesn't the word honeymoon imply marriage?" she asked. "We're not married."
"I can change that" Sebastian said, stepping back a bit. His hand went into his pocket and he pulled out a small blue box.
Santana's eyes widened as Sebastian slowly got down on one knee. He stared up at Santana wide shining eyes.
"Santana, we're not the normal couple because I'm gay and you're a lesbian, but after six and a half years, we've proven to be more that a beard. We've been through a lot and I've loved every minute of it. I love you so much and I never want to be apart from you. So...will you marry me?" He had the ring box open and sitting on a bed of dark red silk, was a ring. It had a smooth gold band that had three small diamonds on it. The middle of the three was the biggest and it sparkled magically in the moonlight. The ring was perfect, in Santana's opinion.
Santana had a hand over her mouth to stop herself from squealing. Her eyes were watery now and her heart was racing. This was happening.
"Yes" Santana said slowly.
Sebastian seemed to be holding back tears. "Yes?"
She nodded. Sebastian stood up and with shaking hands, put the the ring on Santana's finger. Santana didn't even get a chance to admire it because she launched into a kiss. She's kissed him many, many times, but this was their first kiss as fiancées. It was much better.
"I love you" Santana whispered to him. "I honestly can't tell you that enough."
"I love you too."
They simply stared into each other's eyes, living in the magical moment. It was only when Santana involuntarily shivered did they move. Sebastian took her hand and they slowly made their way back down the Eiffel Tower.
They're not a traditional couple. They had their fair share of problems. But it's all okay. They've learned to deal with it and ignore the disbelievers. Because they know that the only thing that matters is the deep love that they have for each other. As long as they have love, it's all good.
A/N
THIS IS THE END. No seriously, what you just read was the last chapter. I'm actually so sad here. I finished writing this a while ago but only now has it sunk in. It's done.
Happy ending! Yays! And a future setting too! If you've read any of my other stories, you know that I do tend to include future endings because I think they're always so cute and just give me closure. I also couldn't end it without ND and Sebastian being on good terms. Do y'all forgive ND now? :D
Ten weeks. If you've been reading this from the start, then you've been with me and in my heart for ten weeks. That's seventy days! Wow.
Anyways, I know that this pairing isn't all that loved and it's super unlikely that it'll ever be canon so I'm glad that I could play a small part in making it real in your mind.
Thank you all so much for reading this and not hating it. I swear, every new review I got put me in such a good mood and I wanted to just upload the next chapter right away. I love you guys so much, so thanks for supporting me in such a crazy story.
P.S. I was going to add another little ending bit about Sebastian and Santana having a daughter named Annie, but I decided against it.
P.P.S. I love you. Did I mention that?
P.P.P.S. Follow me on Twitter at AVeryMagicGleek or on my Glee blog at gleerificnewsstop{dot}wordpress{dot}com
P.P.P.P.S. So long, fellow Sebtana shippers! :)