Sorry for the wait. I'm excited to tell you guys that just last week I heard a story from a woman who just returned from deployment in Afghanistan, and I plan on using a part of her story to tell this one. That'll come up later, but I just wanted to tell you all about that.
Santana's POV
I had to make a quick stop at home. I needed to shower and put on something decent so I didn't look like a scrub next to Quinn. She made me close my eyes while I left her house, but she didn't let me leave without kissing me on the cheek. She was such an angel. I made it back to my apartment in fifteen minutes and I was pulling my shirt over my head when Sugar walked in and sat down on my couch.
"Hey." She said nonchalantly. I pulled my shirt back down and gave her a curious look.
"Uh…hi, what are you doin?" I asked taking my remote control out of her hands before she could even turn it on.
"Just hanging out." She said with a shrug. I knew her better than this, and she knew herself better than this. Something was wrong. I sat down on the couch next to her, listening to the water hit the tiles in the shower for a few moments before I looked at Sugar again.
"Is something wrong?" She stood up and walked into the kitchen, so abruptly that I forgot to even follow her.
"Why are you showering now? Do you have a date?" She asked clearly trying to avoid talking about whatever was bothering her. She was good at that; she was always good at that.
"Yea I'm taking Quinn to Mom's Kitchen…but you already knew that." I stood up and opened the pickle jar for her so that she could eat one of her favorite snacks. "What is this about?" I asked her quietly.
"I'm not gonna ruin your night. Go out, have fun…we'll talk about this later." One thing was certain, I knew Sugar. And when Sugar was concerned about something, then it was something important.
…
Quinn didn't stop asking me about where we were going the entire time. She even tried using Beth as leverage to get me to spill. When she got to the threats I couldn't help but laugh. "You're trying to interrogate the detective? What's next on your agenda?" I asked teasingly.
"Waterboarding." Quinn said with a serious expression. I parked the car on the street and rushed to the other side of the car to open the door for Quinn. She took my hand and pulled me towards the building. She was adorable when she was anticipating a surprise. I opened the door for the both of us and nodded towards the man who greeted us.
"Table for two, Lopez?" I told him yes and he led us towards the back of the restaurant. Quinn turned and gave me a warm smile as we were seated and handed menus. The restaurant was classy, and even if it was a little expensive, I still wanted to treat Quinn well. This restaurant was in all of the magazine, the chef was world renowned and Quinn looked like she was in heaven as our red wine was being poured.
"Is this a decent enough surprise?" I asked her.
"I'm gushing Santana." She reached across the table and grabbed my hand, pressing my finger tips to her arm. "And I have goosebumps! This is better than I could've hoped for."
…
Quinn's POV
The perfect dinner. The perfect date. I couldn't ask for anything better. She was so sweet, and she didn't mind joking around with me, or spending an hour just talking about Beth. She cared about her. She wanted Beth to be okay, and I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my evening with.
"Did I fail to mention how stunning you look tonight?" I nudged Santana's shoulder and she grabbed my hand and grinned.
"Stop telling me that I look beautiful…i-it makes me feel nervous." I told her truthfully. Santana continued to walk beside me wrapping her arm around my shoulder which made me feel like I was invincible. She kissed the top of my head.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"Ready for what?"
"You'll see." We headed towards a small shop with a little hand made open sign hanging in the window. When we walked in shelves filled with baking tools and ingredients surrounded us. The smells from the shop made my mouth water.
"Santana, sweetheart come here." Santana walked over and kissed both cheeks of the elderly woman who looked to be the owner. "God she's such a doll, Quinn, is it?" I walked over and the woman wrapped me into a warm hug. "You are stunning!" I blushed and looked back towards Santana who was pulling on an apron.
"Thank you ma'am." I said. "What are you doing weirdo?" I asked as Santana tossed me an apron.
"Follow me." She said grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the back of the store. I waved goodbye to the lady and she smiled and waved back. "Ready for the second part?"
"No…yes…maybe?" We entered the back room and Santana and looked back at me with a smile. I looked around the room and saw a fully functioning kitchen with mounds of ingredients laid out. "What's this?" I asked as she led me over to the countertop.
"Um…it's me letting you have a normal kitchen for a change." She laughed and pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. "And I thought we could have a little dessert. I mean only if you want." She teased. We cracked two eggs each and Santana rattled off the next few ingredients.
"We're making red velvet cupcakes?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"And cream cheese frosting." She said with a grin. "You wanna get started on that?" I nodded and took the sheet of paper out of her hand. I grabbed a bowl and the ingredients and started mixing them together.
"So how did you know about this place?" I asked her.
"My neighbor, she worked here when she was younger, and when we're bored and want to eat ourselves into a coma, we get all of our baking ingredients from this place." She explained. "I didn't realize how much I loved cooking until I returned from Afghanistan." I nodded my head and told myself not to push the subject at all, she would tell me what she wanted to tell me.
I finished up the frosting and grinned at Santana. "Taste this and tell me if I should retire as chef or take my talents to the Food Network." Santana dipped her finger into the frosting and tasted it, letting out a moan of approval.
"God, I pass the reigns to you Ms. Fabray, teach me your ways." I dipped my finger in the frosting and held it up in front of Santana's lips. She licked the frosting off slowly and smiled. "Come on let's pour the batter.
She grabbed my hips and stood behind me, brushing my hair over my shoulder. "You're really going to make me do all the work?" I asked playfully.
"We I did pay for dinner so…yes." I laughed and poured the batter into the cupcake pan before putting them in the oven.
"You're sorta an idiot." I told her. "But at least you didn't ask for sex instead."
"Well I want that too." She said pausing before laughing. "Do you want to know what I want, Quinn?" I stopped pouring the batter and she stood next to me being sure to make eye contact with me.
"Um more frosting? A kangaroo? Immortality?"
"No." She said with a smile. "I want you, and not in the sense of like possession or anything. I just want to know that if I am craving popcorn in the middle of the night that you'll go with me to the movie theatre for we can watch some stupid RomCom at three in the morning and pay 10 dollars for a bucket of popcorn. I just want to know that if I need you, you'll be there." I looked into her eyes and smiled. She was sweet and kind, and I would totally watch a stupid RomCom with her at 3 in the morning because she was so totally worth losing sleep over. "I'm happy you nearly burned down your house because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do this." She leaned in slowly and connected our lips together. It felt different than before, there was something behind the kiss that I couldn't quite understand. She pulled back and smiled like she was smiling for the first time in her life, like she was figuring something out in this exact moment. "I want to know everything about you."
"Everything?" I asked.
"Yes, everything." She responded. "When I'm around you I don't have to think. I don't have to pick you apart or pretend to be someone I'm not. It's different."
"Different is good." I said resting my hand against her cheek.
"Where have you been all my life?" She asked before wrapping her arms around me and lifting me up on the counter top. "I didn't think…I mean after I came back…I didn't think that I could ever find someone like you." Her eyes were so warm, that I couldn't look away. She kissed me again, this time her arms pulled my body close to hers, I ran my hands through her hair, and she groaned at the contact.
I pulled back from the kiss at the sound of the beeping from the oven. The cupcakes were ready. Santana pulled them out and set them on top of the stove. They looked delicious. "They look so yummy." I said practically drooling. Santana laughed and took one cupcake out and put the frosting on top like a pro. She held the cupcake out for me to take. I peeled off the paper and tossed it in the trashcan. I held it up to my lips and smiled. "Come on goober." She smirked and took a bite of the other side at the same time that I took a bite.
"I've truly outdone myself." She said before sneaking another bite.
"We've truly outdone ourselves." I corrected. "You're sorta good at baking…so how are you at cooking?" I asked curiously.
"I put iron chefs to shame, no big deal." She said with a wink. "And I can prove it to you if you want."
"Are you inviting me to dinner again?" I asked hopefully.
"You and all your friends. I'm having a get together at my apartment Saturday night, there'll be a bunch of cops there, a few friends, I'd be awesome if you could be there." She said with a smile.
"What about Beth?" I asked.
"Bring her, a few of the guys have kids of their own that'll be running around, I'd love for her to be there too."
"You're really good with her." I told her. "And you're really good with me. I like you a lot." I told her truthfully.
"I like you too." She whispered before leaning in and kissing me again.
"Santana Rosa Maria de la Naples Lopez!" We both turned to see the older woman standing there at the door. I immediately hopped off the counter and fixed my dress. "Didn't I teach you better?" She asked before walking over and turning off the oven. "Always turn it off when you're not using it or you'll burn down the place." She explained.
"Quinn's really good at that." Santana muttered. I stomped on her foot and she gave me an innocent smile.
"Now, go back to whatever you were doing." She said waving over her shoulder and exiting the room.
"Rosa Maria de la Naples." I said in a cheesy and overly girly voice.
"Stop it." Santana said.
"What? It's adorable."
"I am not adorable." She said firmly.
"Yes you are!" I told her before dipping my finger in the frosting and dapping it on her nose. "See…" I whispered before licking it off. "Adorable."
Are they adorable or what?