It took her way too long to come to terms with her sexuality, but what she had now? She wouldn't trade it for anything.

It was one month into Senior Year, and Santana was finally out and proud, dating Brittany publicly. It took them way too long, and way too much unnecessary angst in Sophomore and Junior year to get here. But if Santana had to go through all of that again just to get to this blissful moment? She would do it in an instant.

Right now, she was staring at Brittany who was happily eating shrimp on the other side of the booth – it was one of their weekly dates on Friday where they went to Breadstix. Brittany was eating with her hands, popping shrimp after shrimp into her mouth with a slight slurping sound and Santana felt her legs clench tighter as her mind floated to what those luscious lips could do behind closed doors.

"You know, as your birthday is coming up in two weeks…" Brittany started excitedly.

Santana looked up. "I know, Britt… I'm well aware."

"There's nothing to be scared of!" Brittany enthused, popping another piece of shrimp into her mouth. "You said it yourself, we are forever."

"Right," Santana gulped. "Your name is going to appear, right?"

"And yours will appear on mine when it's my 18th birthday too," Brittany beamed, taking a sip of her coke.

Santana never understood it herself, but in this world, a name would appear tattooed, etched into somebody's skin the minute they turned eighteen years old. Not just any name. The name of their soulmate.

She and Brittany were soulmates… surely?

Santana gulped and swallowed a sip of her Fanta.

Only time could tell.

Five days to her birthday and Santana was getting stressed. What if Brittany's name didn't appear? What if it was a name Santana hasn't even heard of? She couldn't imagine a life without Brittany. She couldn't imagine not growing old with her. She couldn't imagine the inevitable breakup should Brittany's name not appear on Santana's skin.

Damn, she was so scared. She worked so hard to get here, and all of that could be ruined in five days.

"Ha, Santana, suck it!" a voice appeared to her left.

Santana whipped her head around, and sure there she was, Quinn Fabray, grinning at her triumphantly with that cocky gleam in her eyes.

Fire started to burn in her blood as she shot Quinn a harsh glare, hoping to vaporise the blonde on the spot. Unfortunately, Quinn just kept on grinning.

"How do you know you have won yet?" Santana growled, frustrated. "I could've got higher than you in the test."

"Doubt it," Quinn said with a small, mocking pout. "Don't think you can beat… a hundred percent!" She waved the paper that read a huge 100% in red on the top right, flaunting it in Santana's face.

Oh, how Santana wished to slap that complacent smile off Quinn's face right now.

"Well done, Santana!" Mr Schuester handed Santana's test back. "Just one small mistake, but no biggie!"

Santana looked at her paper. 99%.

"Ha!" Quinn laughed. "You speak fluent Spanish, and yet I still beat you in the test!" Quinn kept on laughing.

Santana really wanted to rip Quinn's face off now.

She blinked, and before she knew it, her left palm was stinging. Quinn was clutching her right cheek with both hands, hair a bit tousled.

"Santana!" Mr Schuester scolded. He said something else, but Santana tuned him out.

Okay, maybe she accidentally slapped Quinn in the face, but that bitch deserved it.

It was the early morning of her birthday, and Santana had a very bad night's sleep. She had kept on flipping because the pillow seemed to be too warm. She had woken up at midnight to look at what name was engraved on her skin, but she forced herself to wait. She wanted to vomit.

Now it was… half past midnight. Not able to take it anymore, Santana ripped the covers off her body and walked towards the bathroom, stripping herself naked so that she could see where the name was.

It took a bit of time for her eyes to constrict due to the light, but when it finally did, she twisted and turned in front of the mirror, wondering where the hell the name would be.

She couldn't find it.

She turned around, looking at her back, and there, she could see a little bit of black ink near the small of her back.

The name.

Hurrying back to her bedroom, not caring how she was still naked she grabbed her phone and ran back to the bathroom. There, she took a few pictures of her back so that she could see what it was.

Her heart was pounding erratically as she opened up the pictures she just took.

The first few missed the name completely, so she kept on scrolling, until she saw a picture that captured the name clearly.

Santana read it, feeling her heart drop.

It wasn't Brittany.

It read… Quinn Fabray.

What the fuck?

"San, are you okay?" Brittany said worriedly as Santana stared at her lap, on another Friday date at Breadstix. "You've been acting very… distant for a few weeks now."

"Yeah," Santana gulped, feeling this weird sense of guilt rush through her. "I'm fine."

She wasn't. She remembered when she had seen Quinn's name on her back. She had deleted the pictures from her phone as quickly as she could, then took a hundred more pictures of her back, hoping to God that it was a mistake. And unfortunately, they all read Quinn's name.

She didn't understand. Quinn? A straight girl with Catholic parents, a person Santana hated the most because she always seemed to beat Santana by one mark?

Fuck her life.

She would never love Quinn in her whole life, never never never.

It didn't change anything. The soulmate name thing? It was all conspiracy. She still loved Brittany, and she was going to have lady babies with her and grow old.

Nothing was ever going to change that.

Brittany's birthday came in February, and all Santana could feel in the leading days to the bubbly blonde's birthday was dread.

What if Brittany's soulmate was Santana, and Santana's wasn't Brittany's? What the hell would happen?

God, Brittany would find out one day. Santana had been very careful to not let Brittany see the name on her back under any circumstance. It was hard because they were naked together so often, but she managed to do it.

They had been going so strong too… the past few months Santana had managed to forget the name she had etched into her skin was her nemesis' to some extent, and she was able to put all of her attention to Brittany and her wild yet creative ideas.

She was in love with Brittany. She was.

And now, this soulmate thing she had grown to hate might pull them apart again. Because… what if Santana's name didn't appear on Brittany's skin either?

Santana bade Brittany goodbye after school the night before the blonde's birthday, feeling unwell the whole walk home. God, she was so scared… it was like her 18th all over again.

She couldn't sleep that night. Her adrenaline levels were too high.

She may have called Brittany three times overnight just to hear the name that was on the blonde's back… or hear her voice at least. Brittany didn't pick up.

When Santana turned up at Brittany's house the next morning, ready to get to school, Brittany wasn't at the gate waiting for her as usual.

Santana didn't see Brittany through registration either… until the very last minute when they were just about to leave for class when the tall blonde ran into the room, hair wild and eyes puffy.

And then, Santana knew that something was wrong.

Santana tried to talk to Brittany but the blonde steered well away from Santana, even running away one time when Santana thought she had Brittany cornered.

It took her the whole morning, but finally at lunchtime, she had Brittany trapped in the lunch queue.

"Britt!" Santana hissed. "Why are you avoiding me?"

Brittany turned a fearful gaze onto Santana, as her brain seemed to be working in overdrive. She was seriously considering fight or flight, and Santana held a hand onto Brittany's wrist just to prevent her from escaping.

Brittany opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out and she scrunched her face up, bursting into tears.

"I-I can't do this here, Santana…" she whispered.

"It's okay," Santana nodded, hugging Brittany as the blonde cried into her shoulder. "Let's go the bathroom, okay?"

Brittany vaguely nodded.

A few minutes later, Santana and Brittany were in a bathroom for disabled people, doors locked.

"What's the matter?" Santana whispered.

"I'm so sorry," Brittany cried.

"Is it the soulmate name thing?" Santana said, feeling her heart drop. "Did my name… not appear?"

Brittany contemplated for a bit, before she shook her head.

"I-It didn't…" she was full out weeping now. "I'm so sorry, Santana… I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault," Santana caught Brittany in a tight embrace. "All of this soulmate stuff, it's bullshit anyway. Who are they to say who our soulmates are? We are each other's soulmate, both of us know that, ain't no name on our skin going to change anything."

"R-Really?" Brittany sniffled.

"Yes," Santana nodded, placing a soft kiss onto Brittany's lips. "I love you, Brittany, no matter what."

Brittany cracked a small smile through her tears. "Thank you so much for understanding, San. I love you too."

They stayed hugging each other for a few minutes, before Santana's curiosity broke out.

"Who appeared on your skin, Britt?" she asked as she rested her head against Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany slid up her sleeve and showed Santana her upper arm. "Mike Chang," she whispered.

"Oh," Santana mumbled. Even if she and Brittany were not meant to work out, Mike was the best option for Brittany, she guessed. He was a gentleman, he would treat Brittany right, 100%. "Um, Britt, I have a confession to make too."

"What is it?" Brittany said.

"Look… your name didn't appear on my skin either."

"No?" Brittany frowned.

Santana shook her head, flipping and lifting her shirt so Brittany could see her back. "According to this hocus pocus, Quinn is my soulmate."

"Quinn?" Brittany giggled. "Quinn Fabray?"

"Can you believe it?" Santana grumbled.

"I thought you hated each other," Brittany snickered.

"All the more reason to believe all this soulmate stuff is a bunch of crap," Santana laughed, kissing Brittany again.

This "hocus pocus" was maybe not as useless as Santana felt, because sometime in March, something between her and Brittany changed.

And she had no idea why.

She remembered how they were so in love only a couple of weeks ago, but now? Their dates were quite lacklustre, neither her nor Brittany seemed to be in it and it felt a lot more like an obligation than a privilege.

Maybe they really were not meant to be.

Damn, there was some really dark magic running in their veins.

"Look, Britt," Santana started as Brittany wordlessly ate some spaghetti on the other side of the booth at Breadstix. "I can tell that, um, neither of us is enjoying our dates as much anymore… do you agree?"

Brittany shrugged. "I guess… I don't even know why though, and it makes me sad."

"So um… I was thinking… maybe we should just take a step back from this whole thing and go back to being friends," Santana suggested, fearing for Brittany's reaction.

"Yeah, I agree with you," she said dejectedly, setting down her fork. "I… really wanted us to work out, Santana. I loved you so much, you have got to know that."

"I know," Santana nodded. "Everything we went through, it was real. But maybe we got too much of each other and aren't enjoying each other's company as much. So um… let's take a step back and see what happens, okay? If we fall in love again we can always start dating again, right?"

"That's a good idea," Brittany concurred. "But um, Santana, you know that I still love you, right? Maybe I'm not in love with you anymore, but I still love you."

"I know exactly what you mean," Santana said. "I love you too, Brittany. You'll always be my best friend."

Quinn's birthday was in mid-April, and she didn't come to school that day.

Santana's heart dropped. It couldn't mean… no, that was truly the worst-case scenario.

What if… Santana's name appeared on Quinn's skin?

Mutual soulmates.

Oh no.

Quinn Fabray, of all people?

Her life was such a mess.

When school ended, Santana couldn't hold in her fear and curiosity for any longer. She bade goodbye to Brittany who left with Mike to drive straight to Quinn's house. Why she knew where Quinn lived, she had no idea.

When she arrived at Quinn's house, she knocked on the door. A few moments later, a fair-haired lady who looked a lot like Quinn opened the door.

"How can I help you?" she asked kindly.

"Hi, Mrs Fabray," Santana said courteously. "Do you know if Quinn is home?"

"Yes," Mrs Fabray nodded. "She's very upset though, she wouldn't tell me what's going on. On her eighteenth birthday too! Teenagers," she finished with a sigh.

"Well, I am a… friend," Santana wrinkled her nose at that term. "Of hers. Do you mind if I come in?"

"Of course!" Mrs Fabray stepped aside to let Santana in. "Quinn's just in her room upstairs, second door on the right."

"Thank you, Mrs Fabray," Santana smiled.

"No problem, and please, call me Judy."

"Santana," Santana offered a hand, and Judy took it graciously.

Walking up the stairs, she realised that Quinn's house, which she never set foot in, was very nice. It was neatly decorated with a cream aesthetic. She needed to convince her parents to redecorate their house, it was nothing compared to this.

Santana knocked on the door that read Quinn on the front, but there was no answer. She knocked on the door again, but still no answer.

So she just opened the door and walked inside.

Quinn was at her desk, ripping apart some paper at her desk.

"Quinn?"

Quinn jumped and whipped around fearfully, but her hazel eyes hardened when she saw who it was.

"What the hell are you doing here, Santana?" she growled.

"You missed school today, and I was just wondering if you were okay," Santana said.

"Since when did you care about my wellbeing?" Quinn snarled.

"Since now," Santana shrugged. "By the way, I collected your set of Spanish homework, here it is," she said, handing Quinn a folder of sheets.

"Oh," Quinn's expression softened. "T-Thanks," Quinn breathed as she reached out to take it. Their hands brushed which sent electricity through Santana's spine.

What the hell?

"Um, also…" Santana hesitated, not sure how to steer the conversation in the right direction to what she came here for. "Happy 18th birthday, Quinn."

Quinn glared at Santana. "Some birthday this is," she scoffed.

Santana nodded emptily, and since she didn't know how to dance around this topic, she just got straight to the point. "Who is your soulmate, Quinn?"

Quinn froze, staring at Santana wide-eyed. "W-What?" she stuttered.

"You heard me, Q," Santana said. "You know, it's your 18th? A name will appear somewhere on your skin, saying who your soulmate is."

"I-I…" Quinn suddenly looked very fidgety, very unlike her school self. Santana found that endearing… wait, what? Did she just think that?

"Look, Santana, that's not really important right now–"

"Is it me?" Santana said and Quinn gaped at Santana, unable to utter a word. "Because…" Santana's voice dropped to a whisper. "You're the person who appeared on my skin on my birthday."

"R-Really?" Quinn looked to be at a loss for words.

"Yes, I could hardly believe it. I mean, the greatest bitch I hate more in the whole world is my soulmate? It was impossible."

"Y-You hate me?" Quinn's lower lip quivered a bit.

"Well," Santana didn't really want to hurt Quinn's feelings, despite their differences. "Sometimes. But when you aren't flaunting your grades in my face, you're okay."

"Oh…" Quinn nodded and averted her gaze.

"So, um, Quinn, I told you my soulmate, who's yours?"

Quinn looked up and there was a different look in her beautiful hazel eyes. One… with less animosity and something tender.

The air changed.

"You," Quinn whispered. "Your name is on my skin."

"Mommy, why do you have Mama's name tattooed on your shoulder?" Laura asked as she sat on Quinn's lap, Santana right next to them as they watched a "family-friendly" TV show.

Quinn and Santana shared a knowing look.

"Because…" Santana said. "While we didn't know it at first, your mommy and I are…"

"Soulmates," Quinn finished for her, smiling.