Disclaimer: I own nothing of Glee and everything related to it. Just borrowing Quinn and Rachel for a bit.
Spoilers: Flashback scenes from '2.04 - Duets' forward.
"Oh my God! Yes!" Brittany half-shouted, dropping to her knees and joining the brunette.
Santana slipped the ring on to the dancer's delicate finger and brought her left hand to her tear-stained cheek, laying the softest, most love-filled kiss she has ever given on the blonde's lips, as cheers from the other side of the lake met their ears.
Brittany unwillingly broke apart from her fiancé, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her own little baby boy blue box with an ivory white, satin bow wrapped around it. With arms wrapped around her blonde, Santana brought a hand to her shocked mouth, mimicking the dancer from moments earlier.
"Britt, what is that?" she managed to ask as Brittany unwrapped the bow and opened the box.
"This, my love, is the exact same engagement ring you just put on my finger. I have wanted to ask you for a very long time, but I could never find the right ring until two months ago when this came out. Looks like we both had the same thing on our minds for a while now?" she smiled, grasping the Latina's hand and standing them up.
"I wanted to ask you today while we were here, but you beat me to it. But I'm still going to do it, because you deserve it." She paused, taking the ring out of the small box, tucking it into her pocket and taking her brunette's left hand in her right.
"Santana, I have always loved you. Even when I was with Artie after breaking your heart and through the whole Sam debacle after you graduated, I was and still am very much in love you with since a few days after I defended you in the fifth grade when you returned to me the same kindness by telling those same boy that I wasn't stupid and that I was the smartest person you had ever met. You still maintain that belief to this day and I could not be more thankful for that as I don't know where I'd be without you in my life." She paused, taking a deep breath and continued on, kneeling as she did.
"I will always love you in every way I possibly can, whole-heartedly, undoubtedly and unconditionally from now until forever and every day in between. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you for who you are and everything that you've become and I am yours, proudly so, if you'll have me?"
"YES! Oh baby, yes!" Santana half-screamed, tackling the blonde in a searing kiss, full of love and promises of forever.
"I love you, I love you, I love you." Santana recited against her fiancé's lips as more cheers and a wolf whistle erupted from the other side of the lake.
"Like never before." Brittany finished, wrapping the lawyer up in her arms, kissing the life out of her.
"Oh my God you guys! I am so happy for you! Congratulations!" Quinn said, rushing to the happy couple that had now stood back up from their laid position moments earlier.
"A double proposal?! Wow, you guys really do know how to go all out! Congratulations ladies!" Kurt added, hand in hand with Blaine.
"Congratulations! About time damn time you guys!" Blaine added happily.
"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod! That was incredible to witness you two. That could definitely be up there on the list of best proposals ever. Congratulations!" Rachel finished excitedly, looping arms around both the couple's necks; bring them in for a crushing, pint-sized hug.
The happy, and very much in love, couple shared hugs with the others and Kurt then fished out a bottle of Dom and five flutes, popped the cork and poured some into each glass. Quinn walked over to Santana's side and gently nudged her with her shoulder.
"San, do you mind if I say something?" Quinn asked, locking eyes with the raven-haired lawyer.
"Sure Q." she smiled happily, tucking herself into her fiancé's side.
"Okay, I know that I've been around you guys for a while and I have never seen two people more in love with each other after everything they've been through. So, having said that, here's to many more years of love and friendship with two of the best, genuinely kind-hearted people I know, and yes San, that includes you!" she winked at her best friend.
"Q, I don't even care. I just got engaged to the love of my life. Not even an attempt at standing up for my badass rep can deter me from how happy I am right now." She grinned happily at Brittany, leaning up and placing a longing kiss on her lips.
"So, congratulations and here's to Brittana!" she laughed, raising her glass, cheering it with the others.
The six of them finished off the bottle between them whilst finishing feeding the loaves they'd brought along to the ducks, enjoying light chit-chat and ring ogling and decided to head out to dinner to celebrate. They took two cabs from the corner of W 101st Street and 8th to Ai Fiori down on 5th in the Theater District, with Kurt and Blaine detouring via Chelsea to drop off the picnic basket from earlier in the park.
They enjoyed a lovely old-Italian dinner filled with plenty of jovial conversation and laughter as they decided that a drink was definitely on the cards. Heading a couple of blocks down, they walked in the doors of Connelly's Pub; with Santana and Quinn b-lining it to the bar after asking the rest of their group for their drink order.
"I'll have the usual for me, Britt and Q plus another vodka cranberry, a bottle of champagne for the boys and six shots of tequila thanks Joe." Santana asked the bartender, getting a "No problem Santana." in return and turned to Quinn and nudged her arm, turning the blonde's attention from Rachel back to herself.
"So Q, you and Rachel done it yet?"
"Shit San, you waste no time getting to the point do you?! And not that is any of your business; we haven't done anything since Italy." Quinn stated, watching the bartender mix the drinks for their group.
"You know me Q; straight to the point, seeing as I'm actually not and all." She winked, nudging the lawyer playfully at her joke. "So you're gonna take it slow this time I assume after what went down in paradise?" she continued.
"Yeah, I am. I have to. Especially after the whirlwind that was Italy. Even though it was the best six weeks of my life, we both got a little carried away with the romance of a foreign country and no interruptions whatsoever. I want to spend the rest of life with Rachel and this is our only chance to get it right. If we don't this time, then I know I will be completely done. My heart won't be able take that much pain after the last seven years it's been through." She affirmed.
"All I heard was a lot of doubt there, and having said that, that's fair enough. But Q, what if this time, it is forever?" Santana asked, giving the bartender two bills, feeling generous with her tip after the best day of her life.
"Aww San, you getting all sentimental on me now?" Quinn played, helping the fellow lawyer and grabbing the tray of shots.
"No fucking way Q-tip. I've just had the best day of my life and I'm feeling the love tonight alright?!" she shot back, grabbing the other tray off the bar and turning on a heel to find their table with the blonde following her path.
"A bottle for the gays, two vodka cranberries for Faberry in the corner, tequila for my fiancé and vodka rocks for me." Santana said, passing out each drink as she listed them off, with a round of thanks following the others.
"Damn, that is good!" Brittany exclaimed, sitting her drink back down on the table.
"As is mine too, Britt. How come I've never been here before?" Rachel asked Santana.
"Well Berry, this is usually where just the Unholy Trinity comes for a drink. When B and I are with you, it's usually somewhere different each time. We never really had a 'place' to call our own, although I wouldn't mind you joining us here to call it your own if you and Tubbers over there are gonna be spending a lot more time together." She said, resting her hand back down on Brittany's thigh from air-quoting.
"Gosh, Santana, thank you for bestowing an invitation to include me into calling this place my own with you guys. I really do appreciate it." The singer smiled, taking a sip of her drink.
"Yeah, well just be lucky that my happiness is overwhelming my need to be a badass bitch tonight, otherwise I wouldn't have extended that invitation, as you put it."
"Nevertheless, thank you Santana." Rachel replied, feeling Quinn watching her.
"Again, you're welcome Berry." Santana finished, leaning into Brittany, placing a kiss on her lips.
"Alright, enough with this sentimental bullshit. Q, pass out those shots and let's get this party started!" Santana stated, feeling all kinds of energised from their night so far.
"Some of us have to work tomorrow you know Santana!" Kurt stated, placing his near-empty flute back on the table.
"Yeah, says the on that order a bottle between the two of them." Santana shot back, accepting her tequila shot from Quinn. "Good thing for you all that I already called your offices, Kurt and Quinn, and your directors, Blaine and Rachel, and went all Lima Heights, telling them that you won't be coming in tomorrow. I needs my bitches here to celebrate with us and I'll be fucking damned if I have to wait until Saturday night to do that!" she stated, nodding her head in finality and licking a stripe along Brittany's collar bone and shaking some salt on the damp skin.
"Santana! You can't just do that!" Kurt and Rachel shot back at the same time with Quinn and Blaine not saying anything, knowing it was better to agree with the brunette than challenge her on it.
"You heard the lady guys, we all now have the day off tomorrow and besides, we can't wait until Saturday to celebrate otherwise you would never hear the end of it from S and you all know it's true!" Quinn piped up, knowing Santana would have booked the day off for them all the minute she saw her bend down on one knee.
"Alright, alright, I recede. Looks like we have no other choice then -" Kurt began.
"But –" Rachel interrupted.
"No buts Rachel! Best be doing what the lady says or we're toast." Kurt finished.
"Fine!" Rachel huffed, licking a spot on her hand and shaking salt on it.
"Here's to life, laughter and love with the best of friends." Blaine said, raising his shot glass to the centre of the table.
A round of cheers and clinks of glass followed as everyone licked their salt and took their shots, with Kurt and Blaine and Brittany and Santana placing their lime between their teeth for their partners to take from each other in turn.
Rachel looked at Quinn as she swallowed the last of her shot, silently questioning whether or not she wanted to take the lime from her lips. Quinn slammed her glass down on the table, picking up her lime and placing it between her teeth, challenging Rachel with a raised eyebrow to come and get it. Seeing the playful spark in her eye, the singer lent forward, eyes locked onto the blonde's and took the lime from between her teeth, painfully not touching her lips at all. She bit down on it, letting the bitter sweetness flood her tongue and took it out, placing a fresh slice in her mouth for Quinn to take. Quinn lent forward and took hers from Rachel, using every once of will power not to spit the lime out and kiss Rachel for everything she had. She deposited the lime on to a napkin and took a sip of her vodka cranberry, eyeing Rachel as the singer mimicked her own moves and took a sip of her drink as well.
"Oh, for fuck's sake you two?! Will you two just do me a favour, think of it as an engagement gift to us if you will, and go home and fuck the ever-living shit out of each other and just make it official because I'll be damned if I'm sitting through the agonising Rachel and Quinn Before Sex Show again. Once was bad enough!" Santana stated, hoping up out of her seat and taking the trays back to the bar to order another round of shots, with a middle finger flipped up at her from Quinn left in her wake.
"My God, she is on fire tonight." Blaine deadpanned, swallowing the last of his drink and going for the bottle, pouring another drink for Kurt and himself.
"I think she just wants it to be about us tonight." Brittany said, taking another sip of her drink.
"When is it not about her B?" Quinn played, a teasing smile adorning her face.
"True, but you and I both know that she doesn't drop her guard very often and stuff." The dancer replied.
"I know Britt, I'm just playing." The lawyer continued, leaning back in her seat and eyeing Rachel from out the corner of her eye.
"I know, I'm just saying is all." The blonde happily replied, taking another sip of tequila.
Santana rejoined them with another tray of tequila in her hand and passed them all out, shouting "Cheers!" and smashing back her shot, she thanked some high power for the best day of her life as she watched her friends take their shots, faces screwing up at the burn of the liquid running down their throats.
Several shots and a few more drinks each later, the party of six were well on their way to being drunk and with Santana and Brittany doing everything but taking their clothes off in the corner, they decided to call it a night and let the love birds get home so they could really celebrate their engagement by having 'lots of sweet lady sex' according to Brittany.
The two couples hailed taxis, waving and hugging their goodbyes to each other and took off down the streets, leaving Rachel and Quinn standing on the sidewalk in front of the pub where the last of the patrons for the night were slowly filtering into the pub.
"So I guess this is it for tonight?" Quinn asked, taking a step closer to the brunette.
"Well, not if you don't want it to be." The singer began, taking one of Quinn's hands in her own.
"I don't." Quinn replied, relishing in the warmth of the shorter woman's soft hand.
"I'm glad you said that, because I have something I want to show you, if that's okay?" Rachel asked, living for the soft, circular motion that Quinn's thumb was making on her hand.
"That's okay. What is it you want to show me?" Quinn asked.
"Well I can't tell you that now can I? That'd ruin the beauty of it." Rachel answered playfully.
"Okay then. Let's go to this thing you want to show me." She smiled, wrapping an arm around the brunette and hailing a taxi.
They climbed in and Rachel lent forward, giving the driver the address as they took off down the street.
The cab finally came to a stop as Rachel leant forward to pay the driver and then proceeded to open the door, stepping out and holding out her hand for the blonde to take. Quinn slung her purse over her shoulder, slid across the back seat and swung her legs out of the taxi, her hand finding Rachel's, and she stepped out, smoothing her skirt down with her free hand and stepping out of the way to let Rachel close the door behind her with a soft thud.
"Um Rach, what are we doing in front of your building?" Quinn asked, hand still gently entwined with the brunette's.
"It's not what you think. We actually won't be in my apartment for very long, so stop asking questions and come on!" she said excitedly, dragging the confused lawyer behind her.
They made their way inside, greeting the doorman on the way in and strode over to the elevators, with Rachel pushing the up button and an elevator dinging open almost instantly. They stepped in and Rachel pressed the button to her top floor and they rode it up, hands still entwined, sparkling eyes stealing sideways glances as the elevator finally came to a stop. The doors slid open, with the singer leading the blonde to her door on the right. Rachel let go of the soft hand and dug around in her purse, finding her keys and shoving it into the lock, hastily opening it and letting Quinn in her apartment, closing the door behind her and relocking it behind them. She put her things on the hall stand and motion for Quinn to do the same.
Quinn did as she was asked and had a quick look around the apartment around her; hardwood floors, classic, yet modern furniture with an in-wall stone fireplace. Framed Broadway memorabilia lined the walls as did the framed posters and playbills from Rachel's plays she'd starred in lined the hallway she currently walking down from where Rachel had called her from, standing in a McKinley Titans jumper, sweatpants and Ugg boots and gave one of each item and a spare pair of boots to Quinn, asking her to put them on.
Quinn came back out of the guest bedroom from where she had changed and found Rachel waiting, with a shy smile on her face, in front of an open door where a slim staircase going up was encased. Quinn walked up to her, taking a look inside the door.
"Rach, why is there a staircase inside your apartment? You live on the top floor. What is there above you?" Quinn asked, thoroughly confused, with Rachel chuckling at Quinn's inquisition.
"It is a staircase Quinn, and where do they usually lead when they are on the top floor?" she asked the still-confused blonde.
"The roof, usually. But why is the access for it in your apartment?" she pressed on, feeling Rachel's hand slip into her own again.
"Can you stop stressing and stop asking questions and just take a leap and follow me?" Rachel grinned, pulling Quinn by the hand and leading her up the stairs.
They got to the top of the stairs and what Quinn saw when she stepped on to the flat roof, took her breath away.
"Wow!"
A/N: I love writing me some Brittana and writing Santana finally taking that leap is something I've always wanted to do. Hoping y'all are enjoying this as much as I am writing it at the moment :) - K