"Am I that privileged?" Quinn asks as she stares at the ceiling while Rachel gets ready for her date with Santana.
"No...of course not..." Rachel drags her words the way she always does when she's lying.
"Are you serious? You think of me that way too?" Quinn sits up and looks into the en suite bathroom where Rachel is curling her hair.
"I don't. Not in the way Santana does...but she isn't exactly...wrong Quinn. Everything has been handed to you. You lied about your internships for your job and school because Russell knew someone, when I got summer jobs you never thought to apply for one. The only thing you've really worked for is your degree, which I am very proud of you for...but it's the only thing your parents didn't acquire for you." Rachel says honestly and Quinn lies back down.
"I'm a fucking trust fund baby...and had no idea. How pathetic is that?"
"You're not pathetic. You were just more fortunate than some, you don't need to feel bad about that." Rachel says, walking out of the bathroom.
"Are you having a crisis? because I can cancel. I don't want to win that desperately." She says as she comes to sit next to Quinn on the bed.
"No, go have fun. I need some time to myself." Quinn says and Rachel nods her head.
"Are you actually interested in her? You've obviously gotten closer to her than I have" Quinn asks with a soft sigh.
"Not...necessarily. We get along but I don't feel a romantic connection." Rachel shrugs softly as Quinn nods.
Quinn didn't mean to wait up for Rachel, but she did. Partially because she was concerned for her safety and partially because she can't stop thinking about what Santana said or Santana in general. She doesn't know why, but she's still interested in getting to know Santana...even though she finds her incredibly infuriating. Quinn is sitting in the living room with headphones in her ears and is on her laptop facing the front door so she doesn't miss Rachel coming home.
It's 11:30 now and Quinn is becoming irritated. If Santana has an early morning, why aren't they back yet? she wonders. Santana ended up coming to get Rachel because where ever the were headed was closer to the Fabrays. Soon, she sees Rachel walking into the house, a wide grin on her face. Quinn pulls out her headphones, expecting Rachel to close the door, but instead she turns around and begins talking. Quinn watches curiously as Santana takes Rachel hand and kisses the back of it. Holding in her groan, Quinn sits her laptop down next to her on the couch and stands, slowly walking over to Rachel as she closes the door.
"Fun night?" She asks as Rachel smiles at her.
"Yes, but I really have to use the bathroom. I'll be right back." Rachel quickly runs down the hall but not before sitting a leather jacket on the banister of the stairs as she hurries past them.
Quinn's eyebrows furrow, knowing Rachel doesn't wear leather but she isn't able to think about it long as there is a knock on the door. Opening the door, Quinn avoids looking at anything other than Santana's eyes which is proving to be incredibly difficult with how low cut her purple dress is.
"Hola, Princesa." Santana husks, throwing Quinn a wink and thoroughly confusing her. Quinn isn't sure why Santana's tone is more...seductive but she can call Quinn whatever she likes if it sounds like that.
"What do you want?" Santana smirks at Quinn's dry tone.
"Rachel has my jacket." Santana takes in Quinn's appearance. She looks comfortable. Sporting a gray sweatshirt with a faded school logo, purple pajama pants with white bunnies, her blonde hair up in a messy bun and Santana thinks she looks gorgeous. Quinn nods her head and quickly grabs the jacket from the banister.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Santana asks as Quinn walks back to the door.
"I needed to make sure she made it back here safely."
"Because I'm obviously some psychopath." Santana says sarcastically.
"It's always the ones you least expect." Santana nods.
"You a fan of bunnies?" Santana asks, not wanting their exchange to end yet. Quinn furrows her eyebrows until a look of realization settles across her features.
"The pants...right. Uh- no they were a gift and before you say anything, it was from a friend not my parents." The mild irritation in her voice cause Santana to laugh softly.
"I actually wasn't going to comment...this time. You look cute." Santana says softly.
"Well you look like you're on your way to your night job." Quinn retorts with a smirk.
"Did you really just insult me?" Santana says around her chuckle.
"You've insulted me since we met." Quinn says with a small smile as she presses her shoulder into the frame of the doorway and leans against it.
"I kept it real."
"Yeah, real fucking rude." Santana laughs again and shakes her head.
"Let me make it up to you." Santana says, a sly smirk on her lips as she steps closer to Quinn.
"I'm not sure that's even possible at this point." Quinn straightens as she looks into Santana's eyes.
"Don't get all defensive Princesa. What are you doing this weekend?" She asks and Quinn shrugs.
"You're coming with me. I'll pick you up, 7 a.m sharp Saturday morning. Dress comfortably but no Gucci flip flops. Gucci shoes are fine though." Quinn can't help herself from chuckling.
"Fine, but I want coffee and a muffin if you're waking me up that early. 2 creams, 1 sugar and a pump of caramel with a double chocolate muffin." Santana chuckles.
"There's a delivery fee." Quinn shrugs.
"I'm sure you can cover it." She says playfully.
"I actually can't." Santana says softly as she reaches her hand out to touch Quinn's hand that's holding her jacket. Santana gently rubs the back of Quinn's hand with her thumb and moves into Quinn's personal space.
"What's the fee?" Quinn asks quietly as her face moves closer to Santana's. They're lips ghost near each other as Quinn feels her head spinning from inhaling Santana's spicy sweet scent.
"I'll see you soon." Santana smirks as she grabs her jacket from Quinn and begins to walk back to her car. Quinn watches her get into her car and waves as she pulls away before closing the door.
"Oh my god! You two are adorable!" Rachel shrieks as she jumps up and down excitedly.
"How long have you been standing there?" Quinn asks as she looks to Rachel who's now standing near the stairs.
"Not long enough! How didn't I see the chemistry between you two earlier? No wonder you were all we talked about tonight." Quinn laughs at her friend as she leans back against the front door.
"You talked about me all night?" She asks curiously.
"Oh, yes. Santana is definitely interested in you."
"So, what was that kiss about?"
"It honestly may have been an effort to charm me into sleeping with her." Quinn rolls her eyes but nods as she pushes off the door.
"You're sure you're not into her?" Quinn asks again.
"If tonight did anything, it solidified that I only like her in a strictly platonic way. I'll tell you all about the details of my night upstairs. I'm oddly tired." Rachel finishes with a yawn and begins to climb the stairs with Quinn following behind.
"You look like you need this." Santana says as holds the cup of coffee out to Quinn as she climbs into her truck. Quinn rolls her eyes and doesn't respond until after she takes a long pull from the cup.
"Are you less likely to murder me now?" Santana says as she pulls out of the gate at Quinn's parents house.
"Yes, you're lucky you got my order right and I'm a sucker for those cheeks."Quinn says before she realizes it. Santana chuckles but doesn't comment.
"You're going to need your energy so I got you an extra muffin." Santana says, nodding to the bag sitting on top of her cup holders.
"Thanks. What are we doing today?" Quinn asks as she takes another sip of her coffee.
"Working, Princesa." Santana says with a smirk as she merges onto the highway.
"Working? And why do you keep calling me that?" Quinn asks as she grabs the bag and takes out a fairly large muffin.
"You know exactly why I call you that." Santana deadpans and Quinn rolls her eyes.
"Why are we working? Are you still convinced I can't do anything for myself?"
"You haven't proven you can." Santana says and Quinn rolls her eyes.
"I'm not going to keep doing this with you. What is your deal? Why does this one part of my background bother you so much?" Quinn asks and Santana glances at her briefly.
"My issue with people who grew up never having to work for anything is their sense of entitlement. Do you know how many people think they can flash some cash or name drop and get whatever they want they want? I hate it and I haven't met anyone from that background who isn't an entitled douchebag."
"Well maybe if you would've given me a chance, I could've changed your mind." Quinn says before biting her muffin.
"I've given plenty of women the opportunity to change my mind and I've been disappointed every time but...I don't know...something about you seems...different. I've gotten a lot of different reactions when calling someone out on their shit but you came back. That was a new one." Santana says with a shrug.
"So...what I'm hearing is, you are giving me a chance and you're as interested in dating me, as I am with you." Santana chuckles.
"How are you a lawyer drawing conclusions like that?"
"Deny it all you want, I know what I heard." Santana rolls her eyes and Quinn feels a small pang of guilt in her chest.
Santana feels like Quinn kept pursuing her out of genuine interest but in actuality it was a combination of interest, her competitive spirit and her need to prove to Santana that she isn't some entitled rich kid. As they continue their drive, Santana actually attempts to get to know Quinn and the conversation mostly revolves around her, other than Santana explaining her business to her.
Lopez Enterprises started as a pool cleaning service, then Santana expanded to installing pools before she found her love of constructing homes. Over time, Santana got multiple degrees, certifications and licenses to expand her business, adding multiple business partners as well. Quinn can't help but feel admiration for Santana for having done all of that on her own. Quinn doesn't have anything like that under her belt.
Their first stop was a house Santana's company is building. Quinn learned a lot about drywall, insulation and multiple tools because she had to use said tools and help put those things in the house. The next stop was a construction site, in the process of building a strip mall. There, Quinn helped lay down cement, take measurements and carry glass which she never thought would've been so heavy.
The whole time, Santana was by her side either helping her, making a joke about her or just talking to get to know her. Quinn talked to a lot of the employees and learned a lot about a few of them. Listening to their backgrounds and their stories, Quinn realizes how she's never truly known anyone like these people. Almost every friend she's had has been wealthy and she's never known anyone simply from the middle class.
Quinn wanted to complain, she wanted to refuse to do any more manual labor but she knew that wouldn't help her with Santana. It's not that Santana doesn't think she's capable, it's that she wants to see if Quinn is really willing to step outside of her comfort zone or does she think she's too good to work hard? Like the other women Santana has encountered. So far, Santana is sure Quinn is tired but hasn't said anything about it and Santana admires that and is admittedly impressed by Quinn's effort.
"Hungry?" Santana says as she walks up to Quinn, who just finished her conversation with one of the construction workers.
"Starving." Quinn responds before draining the water bottle in her hand of its contents.
"I'll meet you in the truck. I know a great place not to far from here." Quinn nods as Santana hands her the keys then walks off.
Quinn gets inside the truck and melts into the seat, relieved to be off her feet. They'd been working since 7:45 and it's now 3 o clock and the longest break she's had was only the 15 minutes they spent in the truck driving to the next site. Quinn looks down at her hands, noting the redness in her palms. They ache and she's sure she can see the callouses forming but she'll suck it up. At least they were going to get food now.
Soon, Santana joins her in the truck but Quinn doesn't have the energy to maintain a conversation. All she can do is close her eyes and drifts to sleep.
"Despierta Princesa, I thought you were hungry?" Quinn's eyes jolt open, Santana having startled her and Santana laughs slightly.
"Come on, we're late." Quinn sits up, confused but doesn't question her and gets out of the truck.
They approach a large building with bright colors on the outside. Santana grabs the yellow doorknob and pulls it open so that Quinn can walk inside. Once inside, Quinn notices a reception desk and the women behind it smile and nod at her politely before speaking excitedly to Santana. Once they finish their conversation, Santana takes Quinn's hand and pulls her along until they reach an elevator. Once inside, Santana presses three and once the doors open, they walk into a room that resembles a cafeteria. There's a few kids scattered around the room but Quinn isn't there long enough to continue observing as Santana pulls her into the kitchen.
"I gotta go make a few phone calls but I'll be back. In the meantime, you get to have fun with Sue." Quinn looks at Santana curiously but Santana doesn't acknowledge it as they turn a corner. Near an oven is an older, taller woman with short blonde hair wearing what seems to be a red tracksuit under her apron.
"Sandbags, about time you made it in. We don't have time for your dawdling." Sue says in a sharp tone and Santana rolls her eyes.
"Who's the barbie?" Sue says, sizing Quinn up.
"Fresh meat. Get her started and I'll be back soon." Santana says then turns on her heels but leans into Quinn's ear before leaving.
"She can smell fear. Have fun." Quinn glances at Santana as she walks away smirking and rolls her eyes.
"You look like you know your way around a kitchen or drive thru window." Sue says. Quinn isn't sure what she meant by that but to her it sounds like a strange implication.
"Did – did you just call me fat?" Quinn asks curiously.
"No, this is me calling me you fat. You're fat." Shaking her head and disregarding the comment, Quinn asks.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I'm glad you asked Blondie, follow me." Sue brushes past Quinn, who turns to follow closely behind, quickly glancing at the workers who send polite smiles her way. They come to a stop in front of a metal table with 3 large sacks of potatoes on it and a large metal bowl.
"Fill the bowl with cold water, peel the potatoes, put them in bowl. Got it?" Sue says as she holds out a potato peeler that seems to have just appeared out of thin air.
"Got it."
"Good, now stop your yapping and get to work. Find a sink and wash all that filth off you before you touch anything in my kitchen. I'll be back with your apron." Sue slams the peeler on the table along with a hair net then leaves Quinn.
Sighing to herself, Quinn finds a sink and hopes the rest of the kitchen staff isn't like Sue. Santana didn't reappear for over an hour and Quinn hasn't even filled the bowl half way, which lead to Sue reprimanding her. Quinn isn't sure she's ever been called pathetic over something as small as her pace before. Later than Quinn would have liked, Santana finally comes back, grinning at her.
"You're still here? I would've bet Sue ran you out of here crying. She does it at least once a month to some newbie." Santana says as she stands next to Quinn.
"Why are you peeling potatoes?" Santana asks curiously.
"This is what that monster wanted me to do. Why the hell do you put up with her?" Santana laughs at the annoyance in Quinn's voice.
"I owe her. How long have you been doing this?" Santana asks, eyeing the peeler in Quinn's hand.
"Since you disappeared. Where did you go?"
"I text you. I had to head to a site to handle something. So...did Sue not mention there's an electric peeler mounted on the side of this table?" Santana says, trying to hide back her smirk as Quinn's face drops in disbelief.
"You've gotta be – Ugh! She's more infuriating than you!" Santana laughs and grabs the peeler from Quinn's hand.
"I don't know why she did that but the food we're actually serving is already done."
"No one is even eating the potatoes?!" Quinn questions angrily. Santana lets out a short laugh as she shakes her head.
"Not unless you eat potatoes on your tacos." Santana watches as Quinn's cheeks turn a light pink and she grabs her hand.
"Go sit down and I'll get us something to eat."
Quinn doesn't protest and takes off her apron then walks out into the sitting area, finding an empty table across the room. Kicking her feet up in the empty chair near her, hoping they stop throbbing soon Quinn pulls out her phone to entertain her as she waits. Santana eventually returns with two plates of tacos and bottles of water. Quinn doesn't even give Santana the chance to sit down before she digs into her food.
"Don't forget to breathe." Santana jokes as she watches Quinn duck her head shyly while finishing the food in her mouth.
"Sorry." She says and Santana shrugs.
"How's your day been?" Santana asks before biting her taco.
"Exhausting to say the least. This has been...an eye opening experience." Santana's eyebrow quirks upwards.
"Do tell." Quinn finishes her first taco before speaking.
"I don't know...I just realized a lot today. Mostly that I've been pretty sheltered all my life and...you were right. I haven't seen or experienced a lot of the real world." Santana nods.
"Weird to see how the other 99 percent live?" Quinn shrugs. She'd never done so much work a day in her life but she knew someone did it.
"Not weird...different."
Santana and Quinn continue talking until some kids approach the table, sitting with their food to talk to Santana. Quinn talks to the kids and some of them share their stories of how they ended up in the shelter. A lot of the stories were so sad, Quinn found herself holding back tears because their situations are real and it feels a lot different when someone is telling you their story to your face, as opposed to hearing about it. After eating, Santana and Quinn helped the kitchen staff clean up then head back to Santana's truck. As Quinn settles in her seat, she looks at the time laughing humorlessly to herself, seeing that she's exhausted at 8 PM.
"Where to now?" Santana can hear the exhaustion in her voice.
"You're not tired?" Santana asks and Quinn shakes her head, not having the energy to lie aloud.
"Are you trying to impress me? Because it's working." Quinn chuckles and shakes her head again.
"I live 20 minutes from here. We could go back to my place or I could take you back to your parents."
"Any bed I can get to the quickest." Quinn says as her eyes begin to shut.
"Had you said that when we first met, you'd be exhausted for a better reason." Quinn offers Santana a tired smile as she feels the vehicle moving.
"Please tell me this means I lost the bet?" Rachel says as Quinn comes back to the house after spending the night with Santana.
"We didn't go on a date. She worked me until I felt like my limbs were going to fall off, but she made it up to me." Rachel grins mischievously. Quinn shakes her head as she sits at the island in the kitchen.
"Not like that. I was given a very long foot massage that I passed out from at some point." Quinn continues and Rachel laughs.
"Did you sleep together? And I don't mean sex." Rachel clarifies.
"Yes. We started on opposite sides of her humongous bed but we somehow still ended up cuddling."
"Is it to early to ship, you guys? I feel like I have a front row seat to the beginning of a romantic movie." Rachel says as she pours herself and Quinn a glass of orange juice.
A/N: Hope it was good. Also in the wake of today's pandemonium over this virus, I hope everyone is taking care of themselves both physically and mentally, stay safe everyone and thanks for reading.