AN: Next Chapter sorry it's so late all that snow.
Charlie finished her hot chocolate and sniffed holding the mug out to her father for more. He rolled his eyes but took the mug away from her anyway shaking his head as he went back to the kitchen to make some more. She looked back at her mother who had a thoughtful expression on her face. "They don't want to be my submissives anymore," she said in a sulky tone.
"With how you were acting Charlie did you expect any differently? You were never the type to forbid them anyway, you promised them as much freedom as possible—"
"But it's Starchild. He's my mortal enemy. Brittany shouldn't want to work with him on principle alone," Charlie interrupted angrily.
"You're being dramatic," Judy said patiently.
"He screwed me over. The optics on this alone, if people find out my soulmate—my submissive is helping him? Then—"
"Then what? You don't even care what the critics think about you. You know people are going to talk regardless you've learned that lesson years ago. You know how to spin this easily." Charlie didn't say anything to this and Judy continued. "Now, your feelings for Elliot aside, do you think this is a golden opportunity for Brittany?"
Charlie was quiet for a moment, but she nodded making a face. "Elliot was always a better dancer than me, and his videos were always these huge dance numbers. It would show off her skills for choreography, and she'll get more jobs so long as he actually gives her credit for her work." Charlie grumbles. "I don't want her working with him, that's not terrible is it?"
"You have a valid reason to hate Elliot. You even have the right to not want Brittany to work with him because of your dealings with him in the past. But if this will be good for her then you need to learn to put your personal feelings aside and let her work. You don't have to trust him but you need to trust Brittany, she's not doing this to hurt you or to be vindictive. She's doing it because it could really help her career. Something you should support like she would support you no matter what." Judy rubs Charlie's arm slightly. "You could have handled it better."
Charlie grumbles and pinches the bridge of her nose leaning back on the couch. She wants to go home and crawl into bed with Santana and Brittany and for everything to just be okay. "So what do I do? I don't know what to do. They don't want to be my submissives anymore and I—I don't know how to fix it."
"Start with I'm sorry, and then the next time you fight and there will be plenty you don't run to your mother to fix your problems," Russell said handing Charlie another mug. "You don't go to bed angry, you don't let them wonder and worry if you're going to come home. You communicate with them. Sometimes even if it bothers you, you just have to plaster a smile on and bear it because it makes them happy. It's her life and her career Charlie let her blossom, once she has the luxury of picking who she wants to work with and who she doesn't like you have, then you can tell her you really don't want her working with Elliot again."
Charlie smiles as takes the drink from her father, hot chocolate with whipped cream on top and a healthy caramel drizzle. She takes a sip and sniffles a bit and nods. Curling into her mother and closes her eyes for a moment. "Can I stay here for the night?" Charlie asks her mother.
Judy glances over at Russell who immediately shakes his head. Charlie has a notorious reputation for overstaying her welcome. She'd tried to keep Quinn from murdering her twin several times. But it's late and Charlie is their daughter. "You can stay the night Charlie it's late. You aren't going to stay six months because you refuse to deal with your problems."
Russell groans slightly but reaches over and messes up her hair like he did when she was young before getting up. "If you're going to stay here Charlie, then you aren't sleeping on the couch, go to your room. Your mother didn't change anything in it."
Charlie flicks her eyes to her father for a moment, "Everything is just how I left it?"
"Like you never left—your mother wouldn't let me change your rooms in case any of you ever needed to come home. Since none of my children think it's important to give their old man grandchildren—"
"I just met them," Charlie hissed at him.
"Yes well, you're the only one who has an excuse. What's Quinn's excuse or Frannie's?" He grumbled as he got up. "I'm going to bed I have to be up early tomorrow." He pauses and looks at Charlie. "You'd better be out of my house by noon at the latest."
Charlie rolled her eyes but nodded. She didn't want to be here any longer than she needed to be. She watches her dad scratch his head and lean in and kiss her mother before heading upstairs.
"He thinks the house is to empty, he wants to retire but he'll be bored. Hence why he wants grandkids to help look after and spoil rotten." Judy explained and Charlie shifted. "Don't think because I'm not as open about it as he is that I don't want them as well." Judy pats her daughter's leg and gets up. "Hurry up and fix it."
Charlie watches as her mother leaves her alone with her hot chocolate and sips it letting it warm her as she sits alone on the couch with her thoughts. She finishes her cup and heads to the kitchen to wash her dishes before heading up the stairs and turning left to her room. She looked at the familiar keep out tape and rolled her eyes grabbing it and ripping it off as she opened the door tossing the tape into the trashcan. It had been a long time since she had been in this room and she looked around at all the instruments that probably needed to get new strings. She walked past it and ran her hand over her old keyboard. The headphones were still locked in. She had always gotten in trouble for taking them out and disturbing the house at weird hours. Her dad had taken it away from her several times because apparently she had been a menace playing it at odd hours in the middle of the night waking up the household. She put on the dusty old pair of headphones. She wouldn't be able to sleep in her tiny bed anyway. And she could hear Santana's voice making fun of her for the Batman bed sheets. She had really fucked things up and she wasn't sure that just saying sorry was enough. She bit her lip as she took a seat on her bed and turned on the keyboard.
Santana frowned slightly as she woke up on the couch, the house was quiet and Brittany was laying against her. The events of last night coming back to her, she winced a bit. It was clear that they had fallen asleep last night waiting for Charlie. She remembered turning on a movie and then that was about it. She sighed and gently got up laying Brittany down to go see if Charlie had come in after they had fallen asleep. She checked their bedroom first but it hadn't been slept in and her frown deepened, but she went to the spare bedroom to make sure Charlie wasn't making some statement. The spare bedroom was empty and it was quickly becoming obvious that Charlie hadn't come home last night. She swallowed a bit quickly going over what was said last night and a part of her felt guilty for her hurtful words. Even if Charlie was being a bit of a prick. Brittany would be upset that Charlie hadn't come home. So Santana did the only thing she knew to do in this situation after checking her phone to see if Charlie had texted them where she was. She called Puck.
"Santana, I'm already on my way to pick you and Brittany up for work," Puck said with a yawn. "You want me to stop and get coffee?" he asked as he tapped his hands on the steering wheel.
Santana bit her lip, it didn't sound like Puck knew what had taken place last night. "Did Charlie crash with you? We got into a fight and she said she was going for walk but I don't think she came back last night." She said keeping her voice down and looking over at the couch.
Puck frowned, "She didn't show up at my place last night and if she was with Quinn or Frannie, Rachel would have sent me a text as would Joe. Look don't worry she does this from time to time. She usually turns up relatively unharmed," he said with false cheer.
"What do I tell Brittany? She'll be upset." Santana demanded. Brittany would want to know where Charlie was and why she hadn't come home.
"Did you try calling her?" Puck asked and Santana winced.
"We got into a bit of a fight last night and I yelled at her and told her we didn't want to be her submissives. She was acting like a prick though," Santana explained quickly. "I didn't want her to just take off. I thought she just went to blow off some steam. I don't think she'd pick up if I called," Santana admits honestly.
Puck frowned it was worse than he thought. He quickly ran his head down the list of places Charlie could be. Many of the clubs and bars that she had frequented topped his list. "Look I'll drop you off, and then I'll look for her and keep in touch. If I find her you'll be the first to know."
Santana relaxed a bit, "Thanks, Puck." She said and he grunted in response letting her end the call as she went to go check in on Brittany. She didn't know what she was going to say to the dancer but she would need to tell her that Charlie hadn't come home. Their dominant had better have an excellent reason if she thought that this behavior was going to be anywhere close to acceptable. Charlie couldn't get away with making the two of them worry. She tapped Brittany on the arm gently waking her up with a smile. "Hey, we need to get ready for work."
Brittany's smile froze for a moment, as she realized that they were still on the couch. "She didn't come home last night?" Santana grimaced and shook her head causing Brittany to frown. "I'm not going to take the job and then maybe she'll come home," Brittany said.
The look on Brittany's told Santana that her mind was made up and she frowned at the idea that Brittany was throwing away an opportunity because of Charlie's tantrum. "Look she'll probably just crashed on someone's couch and she'll show up tonight. Talk to her then and see if she's come around?"
Brittany sighed and nodded, biting her lip. "Alright San, but no more yelling when she gets back," Brittany lectured.
Santana made a face she couldn't promise that but she'd try.
All her usual haunts were empty all the bars and the clubs. Quinn hadn't heard anything and either had Frannie. He really didn't want to call his boss to tell him that he had lost one of his daughters. He liked his job it was easy and he made money for basically goofing off. Really the studios were his last attempt of trying to find her. It was clearly where he should have been looking first because Charlie was just sitting in one of the chairs talking to one of the audio engineers, listening to a brand new song with Charlie tapping her hands on the board carefully a pleased look on her face. She was still in the clothes that she had worn yesterday, and she looked tired. A can of Red Bull was beside her. She was fine. Which was good because he was going to murder her before Santana got the opportunity to. "Where the fuck did you run off to? Fuck did you even look at your phone today?" Puck said angrily watching as she froze and looked at him wheeling around.
Charlie blinked and looked at him blankly. "Puck?" she asked a confused look on her face before smacking him off her arm. "I went home to talk to my mom, I took a town car. I came in with my dad this morning and I went to work. You know my phone is on vibrate when I'm in the studio and I don't keep it on me."
"I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere, or you were sleeping off a hangover in someone else's bed. Santana and Brittany have been worried sick and you're here in the studio instead of being at home fixing the mess you probably made."
"Brittany's going to be working for Elliot," Charlie said and Puck deflated.
Puck frowned no one had told him this shit. That still didn't excuse the phone. "That doesn't mean you stay out all night and don't call them to let them know that you were okay. What the fuck were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that I wasn't going to go back empty handed with just a stupid grin and hope they forgive me," Charlie grumbled rubbing her arm. "I've been here working on my apology, for hours."
"They're worried, the least you could do is text them to let them know you're okay and that you'd be home before they got back," Puck said with an irritated sigh. "What do you mean Brittany is working for Starchild. I told her what he did."
Charlie moved to go get her phone, "I could have handled it better. I should have handled it better. They were at work by the time I got into the city this morning, so I just came here with dad. I wasn't going to bother them at work." She said as she texted them. "She told me yesterday that he offered her some work and she wants to do it, I said no. Santana got angry and yelled, I walked out after she said that they didn't want to be my submissives. So I went to go see my mom and just stayed there instead of coming back."
Puck studied his friend for a moment, "You know I could have given you advice."
"Getting naked as a way to solve my problems was not helpful in the situation. My dick isn't a magic cure all and I really screwed up Puck. Hence all this and I was going to get some flowers and make dinner and apologize properly."
"And take a shower, and get dressed in clothes that aren't a day old and take a nap because it looks like you've been awake for days. And if you're going to do something make it nice—you know what I'll help you because you're bound to screw this up on your own. Then you'll be miserable and I don't want to party hard for the rest of my life because you're an idiot. Are you done here? We have two hours to make you presentable before I have to go pick up Santana and Brittany."
Charlie nodded and waved to the sound technician before following Puck and looked at her phone. "I didn't want them to worry—I just didn't know how to say sorry and I thought that they were still mad," she admits rubbing her eyes.
"You don't run away from your problems, that's rule one. Even I know that. You're going to be gone a lot soon, you can't miss any more time with them. And you can let them worry about you. Don't be an asshole." Puck said patting her on the back hard causing her to stumble forward.
"You can't yell anymore San," Brittany lectured as the elevator opened to their floor.
Like hell she couldn't. She'd been missing for over twelve hours and had just sent them a message saying that she'd be home for dinner again. There had been no more messages after that and Puck wasn't talking about it. Charlie had better have a damn good explanation for making Brittany worry like that. She'd better have a damn better explanation for making her worry. Santana grumbled as she opened the door. The house was quiet and the smell of a roast in the oven. The table was set with a nice bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine. Santana blinked, she had expected Charlie to still be sulking or still trying to justify she was right. The apartment is spotless.
Brittany peeks her head in and frowns, "Where's Charlie?" she whispers quietly lighting up when she sees everything. Santana shrugs and Brittany rolls her eyes entering their home, she's about to head straight to the bedroom when she sees Charlie lying on the couch fast asleep. Her shirt riding up exposing her stomach and Brittany smiles at her. She motions for Santana to come over and she gently runs her finger along Charlie's abdomen. Charlie shifted and rolled over onto her side mumbling something under her breath. "Charlie," she said gently shaking her trying to wake her up but the musician didn't acknowledge her at all. Brittany smiled playfully. "Charlie—I'm naked," Brittany said resting her elbows on the back of the couch watching in amusement as Charlie sat up still half asleep.
Santana snorted, as she watched as Charlie began to work on her shirt still awake. She counted to three as Charlie rolled off the couch hitting the ground hard. Charlie groaned and sat up now fully awake. "Enjoying yourself?" Santana asked and Charlie turned to them and her eyes widened. She watched as Charlie scrambled backwards as she also moved to get up only to trip on the rug and fall onto the coffee table.
She had fallen asleep, she had everything planned out. She had finished the song that Brittany had liked and she had made dinner and showered and gotten all dressed up and she'd even gotten flowers. Falling asleep on the couch while she waited had not been the plan. "I'm sorry," she sputters out. She'd had a huge long speech ready about what an asshole she had been but now that they were both looking at her, the words disappeared. "I—was an asshole yesterday."
"Yes you were," Santana says and Brittany swats her arm gently. Santana sighs and bites her lip. "I shouldn't have said that we didn't want to be your submissives."
Brittany smiles, pleased that there is no yelling. "I'm not going to work with Starchild," she says. "You don't like him and he said some really mean things about you. I should have said no to Mike."
Charlie bites her lip hard, she wants to just let Brittany quit but she sighs after a moment. "You should take it. You deserve it, and it'll help with your career. I'm sorry that I said what I said, I just—he really gets under my skin. You're a fantastic dancer and I don't want that dipshit to come between us. I don't want you to become this pawn in our war. After you become super successful and you can choose your clients you won't work with him again right?" Charlie asks biting her lip.
Brittany smiles and nods, "And I'll always choreograph all your videos. Even if I'm super busy." She bites her lip. "Are you really okay with me working with Starchild? I know he's like your nemesis, I'll be okay if you really don't want me to work for him. I like teaching classes."
Charlie nodded, "I'll be fine, besides you're not going to be working for him forever, and it's just a couple of weeks. And I'll watch the video and everything." They could mute the video after all and she could just take in the dancing. "I'm really glad you got the job Brittany. I'm sorry that I was such an ass about it." Charlie said and she was rewarded with Brittany pulling her in for her a hug. She relaxes into the hug and bites her lip as she looks at Santana.
"Where the hell were you last night?" Santana demands angrily.
"San," Brittany says immediately because Santana's raised her voice again.
Charlie rubbed the back of her neck, "I went to my parent's house. I took a town car and it was late when I got there and I stayed the night, and came in with my dad this morning. By the time I came in you were both at work and I didn't think you wanted to see me after last night. So I just went to the studio to work on some new music. I'm sorry I didn't tell you both that I was fine. I was sort of lost in the music—not that it's an excuse. I just needed to finish a song."
"You made Brittany worry," Santana snaps at Charlie pointing at Brittany. "You made her sad to. You just can't disappear like that. No calling, making us wait for you. I thought—we thought something had happened to you," Santana finishes.
Brittany leans in, "She was super worried about you and sad." Brittany informs Charlie in a matter of fact tone.
"I'm not—I shouldn't have just disappeared like that without telling you where I was going. I just—I thought I had really fucked up and you were going to leave so I went home to ask my mom how to fix it. Because I really can't lose either of you and I thought you were going to leave and I'd be alone again—and I really didn't want to fail at being your soulmate," Charlie explains making a face. "I was a jackass—and I'm sorry. I should have come back last night."
Brittany looks over at Santana who is studying Charlie carefully. "You should have." Santana says, about ready to end the conversation when Brittany shoots her a look. "I thought you had left and you weren't coming back," she mutters under her breath. "I would have called but I thought that you were—still mad."
Charlie shakes her head, "I'm more—angry at myself for being an ass. I shouldn't interfere with your jobs, and I won't I promise. I mean I'll bother Frannie but that's cause she's my sister but what goes on at your job is between you and well whoever you're working with. I'm not going to forbid you from doing anything again."
"And you're not going to turn into a raging asshole—"
"Santana." Brittany huffed.
Santana looked over at Brittany and looked at Charlie. "You can't just walk out and expect us not to worry, call. At least promise to call if you're going to spend the night. Shit happens, and I shouldn't have said that we didn't want to be your submissives. We do. I was just upset that you were being a dick to Brittany."
Charlie nods kicking at the ground, "I promise to call," she says. "I'll try not to walk out to. Do you still really want to be my submissives?" she asks biting her lip.
Santana nods, "You're our soulmate—of course I want you as our dominant. I mean who else am I going to mock in my head."
"You mock me out loud," Charlie says pointing at Santana who smirks at her and Charlie smiles back relaxing. "I'm really sorry, I'll try and be better."
Santana leans in and kisses Charlie who smiles into the kiss wrapping her arms around Santana and kissing her back. "Don't be a dick to Brittany." Santana says firmly and Charlie nods.
Charlie nods and looks over at Brittany pulling her closer and kissing her to, "I finished the song—that you liked. I worked on it all night—I'm putting it on my album and everything. It's another bonus song."
Brittany grinned widely, "Really—what do you mean you worked on it all night?" she demanded after a moment. Well it explained why Charlie was asleep on the couch.
Charlie flashed her a small smile but Brittany wasn't impressed and Santana had a very similar look on her face. "I couldn't sleep without you?" She says truthfully.
Brittany softens, "Then always come home," she says and Charlie smiles at her and nods letting Brittany kiss her again.
AN: So next chapter more stuff happens =D