They were all waiting in the foyer, full of nervous anticipation, for the girl to appear through the backstage door. Muttering and talking excitedly, they were only a few of the large crowd of well-wishers waiting for the cast. They were beginning to grow impatient, before cheering as Rachel appeared with a grin.
"Hey, guys! What did you think?"
"You were awesome, Rachy!" Brittany grinned, pulling her into a hug and Jess clapped her on the back
"Definitely, I loved it"
"Santana cried." Quinn nodded as she pulled the smaller girl into a hug
"No way! You cried?" Rachel gasped and she scowled
"No I didn't." she gave the girl a small one-armed hug as she shook her head
"Yeah you did" Sam nodded with a smirk "We all saw you"
"It was fucking heart-breaking." She defended, blushing furiously and swallowing back tears again "She loves him, and then she dies, and I love that song." She squeezed Quinn's hand as she dropped her head onto the blonde's shoulder, and Quinn stroked her hair comfortingly with a giggle.
"Yeah. You were totally badass at that barricade and whatever" Puck nodded, giving the small girl a hug once Sam had placed the girl back on her feet after spining her round in the air in a tight hug.
They stayed at the theatre bar for drinks, all chatting a little awkwardly as the cast celebrated and Rachel schmoozed with the director and producer, before leaving for more drinks at the bar. As they walked down the streets, Santana, Brittany and Rachel walked together, and the two girls wrapped an arm each around the shorter girl between them
"That was amazing, Rach, we're so proud of you" Brittany grinned and Rachel hung her head to hide her blush, grinning as she wrapped her arms around the girl's waists
"Yes, very. You totally stole the show." Santana pulled her a little closer with a small smile, squeezing the girl, and Rachel grinned up at them
"Thanks, guys. You know I couldn't have done it without you and all your support" she bit her lip as tears sprang in her eyes, and Brittany shook her head furiously
"No, no tears! You'll set me off and I'll ruin my make-up!" she laughed, wiping her eyes, and Santana growled
"Ugh! You suck, hobbit. Fuck you" she scowled as she swallowed the lump in her throat, pulling Rachel in once again as she cried, before sniffling loudly and taking a deep breath
"Okay, come on guys. No more tears, let's go drink and celebrate!" Brittany grinned as she wiped her tears, and Santana dug in her bag for a tissue.
-ooOoo-
They all arrived at the crowded bar some time later, and Puck waded through the sea of people to the bar to order a round of drinks, while the group searched around for an empty booth, but of course there were none. They found an empty high table near the end of the bar and Santana scowled as Puck returned with the drinks
"What's wrong?" Quinn raised an eyebrow, and the brunette glared around
"I want a booth"
"Well, maybe it'll get less busy later?" she shrugged but Santana still frowned
"Maybe." She replied, clearly unconvinced, and Quinn giggled
"Although with that death stare I'm pretty sure it won't take long before you intimidate someone into leaving" she laughed, but Santana just nodded distractedly. The blonde sighed and turned back to the group with a small smile.
"Sammy Boy!" Puck swung an arm around the blonde boy's shoulder with a satisfied smirk "Tonight. You are my wingman."
"No." Sam shook his head,
"Yes! I am getting laid tonight!" he grinned and Sam grimaced
"No."
"And you are going to help!" he announced, scoping out the room
"Hell no." He wrestled Puck's arm off of his shoulders, shaking his head
"Hold on, I thought there was..." Jess frowned, pointing from Puck to Rachel "...something...?"
"Don't encourage them!" Brittany hissed, and Rachel laughed
"No, we decided to call it off while we could stay friends" she nodded, and Sam clapped Puck on the back sympathetically
"Dude. I'm sorry for your loss" he said seriously, and Puck hung his head
"I know." Quinn laughed, glancing and the brunette, but Santana was still gazing around the bar, uninterested in the conversation.
"Hey, San? You okay?" Rachel frowned and she quirked an eyebrow, not looking at the shorter girl
"Yeah, why?"
"No, nothing, just...you seem distracted" Rachel shrugged
"Just looking for a booth" she smiled, finally looking down at the other girl, who nodded and turned back to the conversation. Quinn frowned to herself.
-ooOoo-
A couple of hours later and they were all on the dance-floor. Santana had loosened up throughout the night, and after copious amounts of alcohol, but was still occasionally glaring around the bar at groups of people who looked like they were ready to leave.
"Hey, baby!" Quinn called over the music. She was hand in hand and dancing with Jess, who was currently wrapped around the taller blonde, while Santana was dancing with Rachel and Sam, and Puck was grinding on a random girl a few feet away
"What's up?" she shouted back with a frown, and Quinn leaned up to shout in her ear
"Will you get me another drink when you next go? I don't want to battle through the people!" she pouted with puppy-dog eyes and Santana rolled her eyes with a grin
"Fine! Will do!" she grinned, pecking the blonde again before they both returned to their dancing. She drained her drink a few minutes later and made for the bar.
She scowled as she pushed and shoved through the crowd, apologizing at first before deciding that she really wasn't that sorry, and started using her elbows to force her way through. She received a few disgruntled looks and protests, but after cutting people down with her death glare, she finally made it to the front, and waited patiently for the barman to notice her. A few moments later she was growing impatient, and pulled the v-neck of her top down slightly with an eye-roll, as a body appeared beside her. She turned, assuming it was one of the girls by their close proximity, but was surprised to find a small girl with dark red hair smiling at her."Hi."
"Hey" Santana frowned, slightly uncomfortable
"I need to ask a question," the girl shouted over the music and she raised an eyebrow "were you staring at me because you think I'm cute, or because you want me dead?" she laughed, and Santana smiled
"I definitely don't want you dead. Actually I was scoping for a booth" she shrugged with a small smile, and the girl nodded
"I see. So, what if I said I think you're cute?" the girl asked, resting her forearms on the bar, and Santana's eyebrows raised slightly in shock, and she smiled. Quinn watched, biting her lip with a small frown as Santana replied
"Thank you very much. You're not too bad yourself" she returned the compliment with a nod, but the girl raised an eyebrow
"Hey, I said if" she replied, holding up her hands defensively and Santana rolled her eyes
"Very clever, you got me" she shook her head as she finally got the barman's attention. The girl listened as she ordered her drinks, turning to her again
"So, is that your girlfriend? Is it her drink you're buying?" she asked warily, but Santana shook her head
"Um, no. I mean, it's her drink I'm buying, but she's not really…my girlfriend" she shrugged, shaking her head and the girl grinned again
"Okay, so if you're buying hers, could I buy yours?"
-ooOoo-
"Hey, who was that?" Quinn frowned, intrigued, as she took her drink from Santana with a grateful nod
"I dunno just some chick" Santana shrugged, and the blonde's frown deepened slightly
"Oh. Okay. She looked…interested?" she gave an awkward smile but the brunette shrugged again
"Yeah she asked if she could buy me a drink and get my number" they resumed their dancing and Quinn nodded
"Oh. I see." She waited for the other girl to continue, but Santana was silent "So?"
"So what?" Santana was growing impatient with the questions, and Quinn sighed
"Oh, come on!" she grabbed Santana by the hand and led her out to the quiet smoker's area at the back of the bar "So did you give her your number and let her buy your drink?"
"Yes, she bought my drink. Why does it matter?" Santana shrugged defensively and Quinn swallowed
"Okay, so did she get your number?" she asked. She realised she probably sounded like a crazy person, but couldn't help the feeling of dread spreading through her chest as she stared warily at the brunette in front of her, who was looking around, not meeting her eye
"Why?" she demanded with a frown and Quinn shook her head, speaking casually
"I dunno. Just wondering"
"Well yeah, she did. But I mean, it's not like we're exclusive or anything, are we?" she shrugged and Quinn shook her head, hiding her shock with a fake easiness she didn't really feel
"No, I just…I mean, I didn't realise we were, uh, doing…that" she trailed off, and stood staring at her feet
"Doing what?" the brunette sighed impatiently and rolled her eyes, and Quinn swallowed again
"No, I mean. It's cool I just hadn't been seeing anyone else that's all" she shrugged, and Santana raised an eyebrow
"Do you have anyone else to see?" Owch. That stung. Santana had spoke like it was a joke, but it was still a pretty low blow.
"Not really" she gave a small, fake, laugh "But I didn't realise you did. Well, cool" she grinned "I hope she calls." she had never wanted anyone to call someone less. Ever "I'm freezing, I'm going back inside" she nodded and re-entered the bar.
Jess frowned as she silently watched the exchange through the open back door, and Brittany raised an eyebrow when she realised they had lost the girl's attention "Hey, something wrong?" she nudged Jess, but the girl just smiled
"No. Sorry, I was away with the fairies then" she grinned, her eyes hesitating on the shorter blonde for a moment, before turning to Brittany reaching her arms up around the blonde's neck. She twisted her fingers into her hair and pulled her down into a long, slow kiss, and Brittany giggled when they pulled away, her arms snaking round the smaller girl's hips
"What was that for?" she said shyly, and Jess shook her head with a smile, her face still inches from the girl's
"Nothing. Just for being…you. And being perfect, and awesome. And I'm celebrating my own boody good luck." She grinned, and the blonde blushed
"You're more awesome. And English. I'm the luckiest, I love you" Brittany replied, and Jess took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the blonde and holding it in. Today she smelt like fresh linen and coconuts and sandalwood, mixed with the alcohol on her breath, and she smiled at the intoxicating effect the blonde had on her
"I love you too." She breathed, and Brittany smiled, closing her eyes and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
Quinn swallowed.
-ooOoo-
"So, do you wanna stay at mine?" Santana smiled as they all walked towards their neighbourhood.
"Um, I think I'm gonna just head home" she shrugged apologetically "I'm kind of tired, sorry"
Santana's face fell, before quickly pouting jokily, placing an arm around her shoulders "Okay, if you're gonna be boring" she giggled, and Quinn rolled her eyes with a smile, taking the brunette's hand in her own and lifting her arm off her shoulders, their hands swinging between them instead. Jess nudged her as Santana's attention was taken by Rachel, and Quinn turned with a polite smile
"Hiya. You alright?" she frowned, and the blonde raised her eyes innocently
"Yeah, sure. Why?"
"You seem a little off" the shorter girl shrugged, and Quinn quirked and eyebrow, her face straight
"Yeah a little. I'll be fine" she averted her eyes to look at the ground, and Jess nodded
"Okay, well you know where I am, newbie-buddy" she winked comically and Quinn grinned
"I do. Even though you're a complete dork" she laughed, and Jess pulled a mock-offended face as Brittany jumped in
"Shut your pie hole, Fabray, or I'll take you down" she hissed menacingly, and the shorter blonde giggled
"Yeah, Fabray. My girlfriend will kick your ass" Jess clicked her fingers in front of Quinn's face with a sassy head nod, speaking in a fake American accent, and Brittany flexed her muscles with a growl
"Well I'd better watch my back" Quinn rolled her eyes "Wouldn't want to be assaulted by Stretch and Elizabeth Hurley over here"
"I don't talk like her!" Jess frowned before dropping her voice "But I refuse to rise to the bait, because we finally got you laughing" she smiled warmly and Quinn nodded her thanks as the girls split off to their apartment.
Santana and Quinn reached the corner a few minutes later, and the blonde smiled as the brunette turned to her "Okay, cutie. Get some sleep" she grinned and Quinn smiled, snaking her arms around Santana's neck. She pulled the brunette into a tight hug, breathing in the familiar smell as she pressed her lips together, closing her eyes tight before pulling away
"I will. See you later"
"Tomorrow probably. We have a birthday coming up" Santana grinned, pulling the blonde closer again and resting her forehead against hers
"I see. Well I await your order with eager anticipation" she giggled and Santana grinned
"Okay. See you" she said in a low voice, before leaning in to kiss the blonde. Quinn relished the taste of Santana's kisses, fruity from her drinks, and she closed her eyes as the girl's tongue slipped into her mouth, curling her fingers into Santana's thick hair and pulling her close.
They pulled away and said their goodbyes a few moments later, and Quinn frowned, biting back the lump in her throat as she walked down her street, away from the brunette she had thought was hers.
-ooOoo-
Sure enough, Santana appeared, as promised, the next morning with a grin. "Hey gorgeous. Did you get your sleep?" she was about to lean over the counter to kiss the blonde, but Quinn jerked her head and she noticed a couple sat at the table beside them, and pulled back with a tight smile
"Yup, slept like a baby. So, tell me about this cupcake?" she smiled, grabbing her notebook as Santana began to rattle off details
"…and as usual, music notes please" she grinned "And what are you doing tonight?"
"Um…I have some laundry to do but it could wait an extra day." She reasoned with a small frown "Why?"
"Well…" Santana took a deep breath "I was kind of a douche last night" she said regretfully, and Quinn shook her head, opening her mouth to explain that it was fine and she understood, and to say lots of other things she didn't mean, but Santana put a finger to her lips
"I didn't mean to be. But I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. So I was thinking we could go to the movies tonight? And I'll buy you nachos to make up for it" Santana rested her forearms on the counter with a questioning smile and Quinn grinned as she played with the brunette's fingers as she spoke
"Okay, that sounds cool." She grinned "Do you wanna text Rachel or shall I tell Jess?" she raised her eyebrows, but the brunette shook her head
"No, I was thinking just…you and me?"
"Like a date?" Shit. Bigmouth. She hadn't meant to say that, but it had slipped out. She blushed, averting her eyes when she took in Santana's slightly alarmed expression, attempting to ignore the slightly awkward pause
Santana swallowed "Yeah, it could be like a date" she shrugged before the grin was back again and Quinn nodded
"Sounds cool, I look forward to it. You wanna swing by mine when you're back from work and we'll go?"
"Sounds awesome." She glanced at the couple before leaning down swiftly to kiss the blonde's fingers as they trailed over her own, grinning cheekily as she took a step back to leave "See you then, Cupcake Girl" she winked as she left the bakery, and Quinn grinned.
Official Date: Number Two.
-ooOoo-
They arrived at the cinema that night, Santana still in her good mood from that morning, swinging their hands between them and making Quinn laugh. "None of your Hungarian bullshit this time, Fabray!"
"Oh God, don't remind me!" She giggled "Something English, please!"
"Foreign is not an option" she mimicked in a stupid voice, and Quinn giggled at the mis-quote. She stepped behind the blonde, resting her chin on Quinn's shoulder as they read the board and times, wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist
"So what do you think?" Quinn turned to look at her, but Santana looked clueless
"I don't know, it's your choice."
"I hate choosing" the blonde pouted but Santana smirked
"Tough, I'm being polite. You have to choose" she giggled and Quinn looked back to the board, her face twisting with thought and indecision
"Can't you choose?" she whinged, and the brunette dug her chin into her shoulder until she squirmed away "Fine! Fine I'll choose! Can we join the queue so I have more time?" she grinned and Santana rolled her eyes as she obliged.
They reached the front and the guy behind the counter turned to them with a polite smile "Can I help you?" he asked and Santana nodded
"Hi, yes. I would like two tickets…to see…" she turned to Quinn, who was still staring at the board, biting her lip with a frown and puffing air into her cheeks before breathing it out in a long stream "Quinn?" the guy behind the counter frowned and Santana smiled apologetically
"Um…yes…two tickets for, um…that…no, that one. That one." She nodded and the man started typing at his computer screen, assigning their seats with a bemused expression. They headed through the foyer, but Santana tugged on Quinn's arm as she came to a halt
"Ben and Jerry's counter!" she grinned excitedly and Quinn nodded, wide eyed
"Oh, hell yeah!" she followed the brunette to the glass counter, and Santana read through the flavours as Quinn ordered.
"I don't know which one I want" Santana frowned, and the girl behind the counter replied
"Well, you can get free tasters of any flavour?" she grinned and Santana looked impressed, before narrowing her eyes
"Could I get free samples all of one flavour and put them in a pot?" she raised an eyebrow and the girl behind the counter giggled
"Well, I would let you, but my manager probably wouldn't like it" she laughed, and Santana shrugged as Quinn's jaw tensed
"Well I won't tell if you don't" she winked, and the girl shook her head
"I can't. But you can have as many free tasters of any one you want" she grinned and Santana sighed
"That will have to do" she complained jokingly, and the blonde bit her lip nervously as Santana tried various tasters, before finally choosing a flavour. The girl grinned and leaned into the counter, taking a large scoop of the chosen flavour, and placing it in the pot, before taking another scoop and piling it on top. She handed it across to Santana with a smile before typing the order into the computer. Santana paid and took the change before turning to walk towards the entrance to the screens, staring at the change in her hand "Hey! She only charged me for one scoop!" she grinned, and Quinn rolled her eyes
"Yup."
"Awesome, still got it" she sing-songed and Quinn stopped walking with a humourless laugh "What's wrong?" Santana frowned, stopping to look back at the blonde
"Are you shitting me right now?" she raised her eyebrows in disbelief and Santana's jaw dropped open slightly
"What? What's up?"
"Look I'm sorry, but what the fuck?" Santana recoiled a little at Quinn's curse, her eyes darting around at the people near them as she took a step towards the blonde "You're apparently here taking me on this date, paying for everything and whatever to apologize for last night…and yet you're flirting with some girl for free ice-cream?"
"I was not flirting!" Santana reasoned, rolling her eyes, and Quinn shook her head
"No, that was flirting. Just like last night at the bar when you were flirting and gave some girl your number." She said evenly and Santana sighed
"Well so? We're not exclusive or anything-"
"Yes I know. You made that perfectly clear last night, thank you. But there's a difference between not being exclusive and giving a girl your number, and flirting with another girl in front of your date." She turned on her heel and started to leave the movie theatre, dropping her ice cream in a trash can as she did so
"Where are you going?" Santana called as she followed her out onto the street with an impatient sigh "And I think you'll find, you said this was a date, not me!" she held her hands out in a defensive shrug and Quinn whirled around to face her
"Yeah I did. Because you asked me to the movies, just us. That is a date. Especially when you're doing it to apologize for being an asshole! Whether you want it to be or not, this was a date" she shouted and Santana scowled
"Well what do you want from me? It's not like we're a couple so why do you care?" she demanded and Quinn shook her head with a sad smile
"I just want to know what the fuck we're doing? Once minute you're sweet and cute and giving me your shirt and we're swapping stories and cuddling and" she lowered her voice to a hiss "having lots of sex! Then the next minute you're complaining about photos of us in my apartment and getting some girl's number and flirting with someone on what was basically a date, no matter what you want to call it!"
"Because on that photo we look totally like a couple when we're not!"
"I know we're not but we sure as hell fight like one!" she shouted as she carried on walking down the street
"Well, is that what this is about? You want to be a couple and you're pissed coz we're not?" Santana shrugged, folding her arms, and Quinn stopped, waving her hands in the air passionately as she replied
"No, I just wish you'd stop with this stupid hot and cold thing! You're either all over me or you barely talk to me! Like, at laser-tag we had so much fun and you were cute and sweet and you beat that kid for Brittany and it was awesome. Then we get back to my apartment and you freak out because of a photo where we look a little bit like a couple? And the apartment thing with me staying over because a fucking water pipe burst and you freaked the fuck out!" she stormed off down the street again and Santana chased after her
"Well you can't talk about freaking out! I gave you the key to my apartment and you practically moved to California, how's that for freaking out?"
"Because I thought you were asking me to move in, there's a big difference between an apartment and a picture!"
"Well, we're not a couple! So why does any of this even matter?" Santana demanded and Quinn stopped again with a big sigh, collecting herself to speak calmly to the brunette
"You're right. It doesn't" she nodded "So, I'm sorry to ruin this night, but, I think I'll just go home, sorry."
She turned and walked away before Santana could argue or chase after her, immediately getting lost in the crowd and ducking down the side streets to reach the nearest subway station.