"Okay" Mike chimes in "I love you guys and I've missed partying with you all but I can't do that again. We're not in high school anymore."
Tina laughs, shaking her head "I agree with my handsome husband, everyone okay with us staying in and cooking dinner together?"
The group looks around, exchanging looks before agreeing.
.
.
With the music blaring, Rachel, Tina, Mike, Santana and Kurt work around each other in the kitchen, Rachel's OCD station assignments finally coming in handy.
Quinn leans against the kitchen table observing
"Instead of standing there, you could help you know" Tina says, looking up from cutting veggies
Quinn laughs and shakes her head
"Yeah right. Quinn in the kitchen? Hell would DEFINITELY freeze over" Santana throws over her shoulder, stirring the rice.
Quinn scoffs "I can cook, I simply choose not too"
"Lopez's, be good" Mike teases bumping Santana's shoulder "We've been married for five years and NEVER have I seen you cook. Even Judy cooks more than you do and that's saying something. Remember when….."
"Who said it was you I was cooking for" The words leave Quinn's mouth before she can stop them. Santana drops the wooden spoon and looks back. "Why do you always have to go there?" The hurt in her eyes takes Quinn by surprise, surely Santana knew Quinn would never cheat on her, right?
"It was a joke Santana"
"My wife, the comedian ladies and gentlemen. You're fucking HILARIOUS Quinn" Santana claps before returning her attention to the stove.
"Anywaysssssss" Kurt chimes in, turning up the music. "Let's get back to our stations, we definitely do not need a disaster under Rachel's direction" He gently squeezes Santana's shoulder. She briefly turns her head with a sad nod while Quinn exits the kitchen.
"Normally I'd be offended" Rachel huffs from her spot "But Kurt is absolutely right, we've all worked too hard for this to fall apart now"
"That's what I used to say too" Santana exhales under her breath
.
.
.
.
.
.
"This is hella good! Who made it?" Noah grunts, not looking up from his plate
"The greatest cook to ever live, Quinn Fabray" Santana says, making eye contact with the blonde across from her
"It's LOPEZ and no I didn't make it Noah." Quinn retorts, taking a drink of her wine
"Lopez huh? When? When it's convenient? When it opens doors for you?" Santana smirks, leaning back folding her arms.
The table falls silent as everyone sets their utensils down. They all knew it was a matter of time before Santana would be out for vengeance following the kitchen fiasco.
"I'm not doing this here with you Santana. We promised Mercedes we'd be civil, I know it's an impossible task for you but try and act like a grown up" Quinn says leaning forward.
The two now stare down, neither willing to cave. Santana gripping her fork and Quinn her wine glass.
"Can we not do this tonight, please guys" Rachel says. "WE all love you both so so much and as hard as it is for you it is for us. Can we please just have a peaceful dinner? Please?"
Santana is the first to break, she looks down and exhales "I'm sorry Rachel."
"WOW!" Quinn laughs "I didn't realize you knew those words"
Santana inhales and tosses her fork down "Fuck you Quinn."
"Not in a loooooooong time if I remember correctly" Quinn throws back
"Okay that's enough." Mike speaks up, attention shifting to him. "You guys either need to get it together or you need to stay separate. Tomorrow is the wedding and you think Mercedes and Sam deserve this? You think we like being caught in the middle of all this?"
"You're right Mike, I apologize. You guys don't. Mercedes and Sam definitely don't deserve any of this but I have something Santana deserves. Excuse me for a moment" Quinn says standing from the table, she heads up stairs.
"Ohhhhhh Quinn is leaving? Get a good look at guys, she's doing what she does best! Bravo Quinn"
Santana stands, slow clapping as the blonde disappears into her room.
"Come on Santana" Blaine says, pulling Santana to sit. "Is that really necessary?"
"Ugh. I'm sorry you guys, look I'm trying my best, I really am. It's just SO hard, she says one fucking thing and…" Santana apologizes to the table
"Look, this is the longest we've been around each other in a long time and as much as I love it, I hate it because…"
.
.
.
.
"Here you go" Quinn says, tossing the papers and pen down in front of Santana
"What did you think, Santana? We were going to spend almost a year apart, be stuck together for a weekend and magically be okay?"
"I'm not stupid nor am I naive Quinn but don't stand there and act like you we're perfect in all this. By the way, how's that corner office treating you?"
"Better than you ever did" Quinn interrupts, sliding the papers towards her
"What the hell? Are these? How long have you been planning this? Hang on a second….Did you all fucking know this was gonna happen?" Santana looks around the room, everyone avoiding eye contact. "Wooooow. And you all let me parade around here like a lost fucking puppy? Some fucking friends" Santana exhales, "Well Quinn, since you can't seem to get away from me fast enough, here" She removes her wedding ring, slamming it on the table. Santana places both hands on the table and leans in, her eyes almost black with fury "I hope it was worth it" Tears pool from her eyes as she storms out of the house.
Puck silently emerges from the back of the room "You know what? You could do a lot worse than Santana Lopez. You might even find someone who has more time than she does or isn't as ambitious as she is. Santana deserves someone who goes out of their way to make it obvious that they want her in their life. Straight forward. Sure, Santana has a lot of faults, hell we all know them but there's one thing she's always held close to her heart and that's been you. You know it too. So stop being stupid and get your fucking shit together Fabray"
"Wow" Artie exhales "Out of everyone who could have said something, I never expected it to be you, Puck"
"I did it for Santana. Not her" Noah shrugs, grabbing his jacket, before running after his heartbroken friend.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The young man pulls his jacket tighter against him, looking around. He had been searching for Santana for the past twenty minutes. About to give up he squints and smiles.
"You always did love to swing" Noah offers a gentle push, Santana repositions herself, gripping the chain on each side
"Did you know Noah? Honestly?" Santana asks, slowing the swing to a stop
"No" Noah says, taking a seat next to her "I had no idea. I promise"
Santana shakes her head, turning her attention back towards the park "I should have known she didn't want me anymore. And the sad thing is I can't even be mad at her because I chose my career too. I wasn't perfect in any of this trust me but I never thought we'd actually be…..here. Divorce papers? What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
"If she lets you go, it's her loss, not yours"
Santana smiles "I love you but don't forget, we've both had her and lost her. The only difference is I'm man enough to know what I had".
"Hey now" Noah raises his hands "That was high school, I was young and definitely very stupid back then. To be honest, I hated you for years for being the one who ended up with her but now that we're older, if I had to lose her to anyone, I'm glad it was you."
Santana's eyes fill with tears at the confession. When she and Quinn had officially told the group about their union, Noah began to pull away and Santana never knew why. They had always been such close friends through everything. Santana thought maybe he was still in love with Quinn so she respected his decision and stayed away because who wouldn't be in love with Quinn Fabray?
"Don't go getting all soft on me now Lopez" The young man jokes, playfully pushing the girl's shoulder "Look, I know we don't normally do this sappy shit but I really do love you and I promise to be by your side from now on, no matter what. Okay?"
"Okay" Santana sniffles, using her sleeve to dry her eyes
"Do you want to head back or stay a little longer?" Noah asks
Santana tucks her feet and pushes off "Can we stay and race, for old times sake?"
Noah smiles, tucking his feet and pushing off. The two friends laugh as they swing back and forth, neither winning nor losing. Simply just enjoying each other's company. With everything crumbling around her, Santana's heart was a bit full, at least she had her friend back.
.
.