It was the smell of waffles that caused Santana's eyes to flutter open. It takes her a moment to realize that she's not in her bedroom, and the panic sets in for a second before she recognizes her surroundings as Charlie's bedroom. She tries to remember what happened last night, but all she could remember was that she'd stayed to watch Charlie on the television to make sure that Charlie didn't do anything reckless. She hadn't even noticed that Brittany and Mike had chosen to leave. She must have decided to use Charlie's bed instead of simply crashing on the couch.
The sizzle of bacon and the smell of coffee is enough to bring a small smile to her face, as she kicks off the sheets and looks down at herself, making sure she hadn't stripped down. She wasn't sure how Charlie would react to seeing her close to naked, but thankfully she had on all her clothes. Deciding that she was good, she immediately heads out of the room to grab coffee. She knew for a fact that Charlie didn't like coffee, the smell bothered her, which was why she planned to—
Santana stops in her tracks when she spots the large terrarium on Charlie's kitchen island. As far as she knew, it certainly hadn't been there last night. She rubs her eyes to make sure she's not hallucinating before licking her lips, "Charlie?"
"Yeah?" Charlie called out from where she was watching the bacon sizzle in the pan. She pulls away and grabs a mug and pours some coffee into it. Santana liked it black. She didn't know why it was incredibly bitter to her.
"Why is there a terrarium on your island?" Santana asked, suddenly feeling tired. She was certain she wasn't going to like the answer, and going back to Charlie's nice warm bed was probably a good idea. She wasn't much of a day person.
Charlie ducks around the island carefully balancing a mug of coffee, "I got a pet."
"You got a pet," Santana repeated as she took the cup, staring at the terrarium for a moment trying to see what Charlie could have decided to bring home. She sounded pleased with herself, which probably meant that she really wasn't going to like the answers to her next set of questions. "Where did you get this pet and what is it? And where is it?"
"I found it in California—"
"Charlie, please tell me you didn't bring home what was causing the fires to your apartment," Santana interrupted. She should definitely go back to bed. She finally looks at Charlie closely, immediately noting how she had long scratch marks all over her hands and a few burns marks. Santana closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, Charlie didn't even have the good sense to look guilty, there was just a pleased smile on her face. "What is it?"
"A slaad," Charlie said with a shrug and tapped on the glass of the terrarium. She doesn't flinch when a red scaly frog-like creature literally pops out from the fake cave and stares at her. One eye closes and opens slowly before it's repeated with the next eye. Charlie laughs and turns to look at Santana, expecting her to be just as amazed by her new pet as she was.
"A what?" Santana repeats, shivering. It was not something furry and cute, she could understand something furry and cute. Well she wasn't really a pet person, but she could understand why people would want something cute and furry. Whatever this slaad thing was it had crossed into the creepy territory.
"A slaad, a red one. It was a lot bigger but after I dunked it in water a few times it shrunk to be this size. The fire was making it bigger." Charlie explains as she grabs a piece of bacon and teleports it into the enclosure. She watches as it grabs onto it with it's long human-like fingers with it's sharp black talons and sits there eating the bacon. "I named him Bill."
Santana blinked slowly; a monster wasn't a pet. She didn't care how tough or magically gifted Charlie was, that thing had burned down a huge chunk of California. "You can't keep it," she says after a moment, hoping that would be the end of this discussion.
Charlie puffed out her cheeks, "Why not? It likes bacon." Charlie teleported another piece of bacon inside the enclosure for emphasis.
"It likes bacon—Charlie you needed to stop that thing from burning down California. It's far too dangerous to keep as a pet." Santana lets out an annoyed sigh, "In case you're wondering a pet is like a cat or a dog. So, get a cat or a dog not whatever this thing is!"
"Bill probably didn't start the fires Santana, it just got bigger because of all the chaos from the fire. He doesn't have a home anymore. And if I didn't save him the Templars would have killed him."
Santana pinched the bridge of her nose, "Look at what it did to your hands Charlie."
"It was scared."
"Yes, and now I'm scared," Santana grumbles reaching forward to touch Charlie's hands so she can heal them. "You can't just go around picking up wild animals and trying to domesticate them Charlie. Pretty sure that's frowned upon."
Charlie watched as her burns healed and the cuts were slowly closed, "Brittany does it all the time," she pointed out calmly. She'd seen Brittany's place, it had plenty of animals in it. When Santana opens her mouth to retort, she gives Santana a pointed look. "You did it."
Santana freezes as she studies Charlie's face for a moment, but she could never get a good read on Charlie, "You weren't a wild animal and I didn't domesticate you."
"I'm keeping Bill," Charlie insists teleporting another piece of bacon inside the terrarium.
"Charlie—"
Charlie pulls away from Santana and goes back to attempting to make breakfast. "I was dangerous too, if you hadn't fed me good food, I might have killed you."
"Well you would have certainly tried," Santana scoffed, she follows Charlie and gently prods her stomach, "Look Charlie, I know you think that thing might be cute, I personally think you're blind. But you have to know that it's dangerous, and even if I grant you that you could probably handle it. You've got a busy job, and you travel frequently. You simply don't have time to take care of this pet."
Charlie looks ready to protest, Bill was the perfect pet, but there is a sharp knock at the door. This causes her to turn to the door before teleporting towards it. She frowns getting ready to attack if it was someone dangerous. It wouldn't be the first time that someone had found out where she lived and entered her space. Though it was more likely that Sebastian had simply come to yell at her for deciding to not kill Bill. She opens the door and tilts her head in confusion. "I thought you were in Louisiana?" Charlie prompts frowning slightly. "I'm pretty sure I just helped you."
Santana's body went absolutely rigid, and she nearly dropped her coffee. The last person she had ever expected to show up uninvited to Charlie's place was Quinn, from what Sebastian had told her they weren't that close. Showing up uninvited was pretty damn close. "You gave your twin your address?" Santana asked in a clipped tone.
Quinn took Charlie's lack of resistance to mean that she could enter and she glances around Charlie's apartment. It was certainly nicer than her apartment, which probably meant that Charlie was probably just being a cheap-ass and making her pay for meals that she could easily afford. "Of course, she didn't give me her address." Quinn finally answers when Santana steps in front of her stopping her from going any further. "The Templar's know exactly where Charlie is most of the time. Titan isn't nearly as secure as they would like to believe. I believe it's tit for tat as far as we're concerned."
"Why are the Templars monitoring me?" Charlie asked as she closed her door slowly. She looks at Quinn for a moment before teleporting to continue making breakfast.
"You're kidding right? They think you're a threat, in fact they're all but certain that you are. The reason you're safe for now, is because you're too famous for them to take you out and they're not certain how powerful you are—" Quinn's words died in her throat as she stared at the terrarium that was on the counter and she reflexively reaches for her gun. The moment her fingers touch her gun, it's suddenly gone.
The action causes her to twist to look at Charlie, and sure enough her twin was currently holding her weapon in her hand, an annoyed expression on her face. It was evident that Charlie was already far more powerful than she had been the first time they'd tangled. She had spent a fortune on attempting to block Charlie's teleportation abilities, the Templar's had invested heavily in it. She would be forced to let her grandfather know that it hadn't worked. "Why the fuck is there a slaad in your kitchen?"
"That's Bill." Charlie sighs as she takes apart Quinn's gun. "He's my pet."
Quinn stared at Charlie like she was mad before turning to face Santana, "You're okay with this?"
Santana scowled; she was going to have a long talk with Sebastian about security for Charlie. "On principle I should disagree with you because agreeing with you feels like I'm killing a bit of my soul. I already told her she couldn't keep it as a pet. She's insisting."
"I'm right here." Charlie reminded both of them.
"Charlie, a slaad isn't a pet. It's basically a parasite. I mean out of all the creatures you could have taken home, why in the world would you decide on taking home a slaad? Those claws of it injects an egg into the host and once that egg matures it kills the host and basically eats it way out of the hosts head."
"What?" Santana stared at Charlie, there had been scratch marks all over her hands. She swallows her worry it would do her no good to freak out right now. "Sit and let me give you a proper examination."
"But—"
"Sit." Santana snaps at Charlie who sits on the seat sulking at being told what to do. "You are not keeping it. Even if you're immune to what that thing does, other people might not be and this is a populated building. Like I said you can't keep an eye on it twenty-four seven."
Quinn flicked her eyes towards the terrarium again, watching as the creature ate the bacon slowly. One eye blinking and then another following soon after. She had never seen a slaad up close before, but it was as ugly as the pictures in the books. How Charlie had even managed to capture it was beyond her. "Look, I understand you might not want to kill it—"
"Bill." Charlie corrects.
"Right, Bill. But you can't keep it in a crowded area like this. These things are smart and they're dangerous, and most people don't know they've been infected until tadpoles are crawling out from their ears, after they've dropped dead." Quinn turns as Charlie begins to fuss and Santana grips onto her arm and begins to dig her fingers into Charlie's arm.
"Ow, Santana." Charlie huffs at this and glares at Quinn, she had almost been able to convince Santana but Quinn had ruined it. "Why are you here?"
Quinn rolled her eyes at Charlie, "I have a few days off and I thought we could spend them together. I got tickets to a show on Broadway, two of them and I thought you'd like to come with me?"
"Broadway?" Charlie repeated looking at Santana for clarification.
"It's basically like a show, that they perform in front of you," Santana replied digging into Charlie's arm again to remove another egg. "Lots of singing and dancing, or if it's a play then it's usually about a very serious topic."
"Would you like to go to Broadway?" Charlie asks her wincing as Santana stitched her open wound back up.
Santana stopped and turned to look at Quinn who was desperately trying to keep her face neutral. It was obvious that Quinn didn't want to drag her along, and it was also obvious that Charlie didn't quite know what to do with Quinn in her life. "She wants to introduce you to her girlfriend Charlie; it would be awkward considering that Rachel and I used to date. Small world isn't it?" Santana smirks at Quinn.
"What?" Quinn sputtered.
"She used to date your girlfriend." Charlie repeated as if Quinn was an idiot. She was then quiet for a moment before looking at Quinn. "Okay. I'll go with you," she says finally. "But I want to meet your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend," Quinn muttered, still slightly shocked that Rachel had dated Santana. She eyed Santana carefully, she seemed to be taking great pleasure in her discomfort. "She broke up with me." She watched as Charlie exchanged a small look with Santana. "I haven't had time to follow your advice. That's why I'm glad you're coming." Charlie doesn't say anything in response, and she studies the enclosure for a moment.
The slaad was just sitting there eating the strips of bacon, one eye blinking and then the next. How Charlie could find this scaly humanoid frog creature with long black talons and a sharp row of pointed teeth cute was beyond her. "You know, we've got people who are experts on magical creatures, they might be interested in this slaad."
Santana could feel Charlie tense immediately at the words, and the reflexive use of magic that causes her to wince. "That's not happening," Santana snapped narrowing her eyes at Quinn.
Quinn met Santana's harsh gaze for a moment, before turning to look at Charlie. This wasn't about her. "You can trust me Charlie, I can find a good home for Bill. We study magical beasts all the time—"
Once again, she felt that reflexive fluctuation of magic come off Charlie like a wave. "Can you hear yourself?" Santana asked incredulously.
Quinn pauses for a moment thinking over her words and her eyes flick towards Charlie for a moment, the first time she's noticed that Charlie looks uncomfortable. "—I didn't mean that."
"Bull-fucking-shit." Santana snapped pulling away from Charlie for a moment and moving to get in Quinn's face. "Bullshit you didn't mean what you said. That's how you view us isn't it? Animals to be studied? Sure you 'care' about Charlie because you're her twin but what about the others."
"What others?" Quinn frowns.
"Don't give me that shit, you think Charlie is the only one? Probably the one who is that powerful, but you think she's the only one that you have locked up? How many more of us are you experimenting on?"
Quinn frowned, she needed to pick her words carefully, and instead she looked to Charlie, "Our grandfather has been dismantling those programs, he doesn't want what happened to you to happen to anyone else. We're trying to finally start integrating magic-touched into the Templars—and you know we're needed. We beat back the darkness—"
Santana almost feels sorry for Quinn, almost. How could she still believe and toe the organization line? "It's almost sad how you believe that. I mean I was certain that Templar's didn't really believe the shit they were spewing they just got off on oppressing us, guess I was wrong. They've lied to you your entire life; you know what they did to her and you're going to stand there and just parrot the party line?"
Quinn bristled but it wasn't Santana she needed to convince it was Charlie, "I'm not saying it's going fast enough; I'll admit that. But there is change in the organization. If you just met him Charlie, you'd know that not all Templars are like our father, or like what she tells you they are."
Santana turned to Charlie who finally stood up, she hadn't expected Charlie to say anything but she finally looked ready to say something.
"I know that the Templars hurt me. I know that your first reaction when seeing Bill was to try and shoot him. Santana didn't tell me these things, they just happened. I'm not a child anymore, I can make my own decisions about things," Charlie says finally flicking her eyes between Santana and Quinn for a moment. "You're not taking Bill; I'll find him a home where they'll feed him bacon." Charlie doesn't say anything more than that as she teleports another piece of bacon into the enclosure, smiling when Bill moves to go and grab it.
Santana turns to smirk at Quinn, "You can leave now."
Quinn glared at Santana before reaching into her pockets to pull out one of the tickets. "I'd still like you to come with me." She places the ticket on the counter and picks up her gun. "I am sorry Charlie." When her twin doesn't say anything, Quinn sighs and chooses to make her leave.
Santana turns to look at Charlie watching as she smiles as she feeds Bill, maybe she did need something to take care off. "Sebastian will probably find Bill a home where you can visit. But we're not done, you still have several eggs inside of you, so sit."
Charlie made a face but took a seat on the stool. "Sebastian will probably yell at me, and then do it. Maybe I should tell Blaine to make Sebastian be nice." Charlie said as she turned to look at the ticket that Quinn had left behind. It suddenly appears in her hands; she fiddles with it for a moment as Santana worked in silence.
"Are you actually going to that?" Santana asked as she pulled out the last egg and magically stitched Charlie back up. She would have to let Sebastian know to do a full scan of some sort to make sure Charlie didn't have any other eggs hidden to her magic.
"You don't think I should?" Charlie asks looking at her.
Santana kept her face neutral, as much as she hated that Quinn was in Charlie's life, she needed to not let her opinions influence Charlie, and she knew that at this moment Charlie would probably do whatever she said. "Why do you want to go with her?"
Charlie hesitated for a moment and looked away. Santana hated the Templars and their little verbal spat had made it clear that Santana didn't approve of her spending anytime with Quinn. "I'm curious," she admits after a moment.
Santana blinked, that wasn't the response she had expected from Charlie at all. She had never wanted to get to know the people who had abandoned her, but three years was a long time. She could accept Charlie's curiosity, "I don't trust them. So, if you're going to do this, all I ask is that you be careful."
Charlie's nose crinkled slightly, "Is Broadway that dangerous?" Santana's about to respond when Charlie flashes her a small smile. It had been a joke.
Santana gently pats Charlie's head, "Let's start making some calls about Bill."
