As much as I would like to own them, all the characters of Glee belong to Fox – I own nothing. All the characters of The Fast and the Furious belong to Universal Studios, I'm just borrowing some of them. All writing belongs to me.
Hey guys, surprisingly this came out as a really long update but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Things are getting intense and I'm sorry for the day-late update.
Thank you to everybody who reviewed and faved and whatnot, we still have so much more to enjoy in the coming chapters! :D
Two cars sped around a corner at high speed. Both side by side they stayed that way as they fast approached the start line. One of the driver's radios burst to life and they reached over to the passenger seat to quickly grab it whilst they still had the chance.
"S, the start is fast approaching"
"Got you Q, I've got my eye on Brody"
"So have I. I'll see you at the finish line."
"Got you"
Santana looked up to see Quinn lent up against the side of her Skyline, the woman marking the start of the race. They shared a quick glance as Santana and Brody sped across the makeshift line, Quinn already speaking to her.
"Knock 'em dead S. Keep it tight"
"Got it. Santana out"
"Everybody marking speeds-both drivers are across the line. Be ready"
Standing up she got into her car and pulled onto the road, heading in the opposite direction. Meanwhile Santana and Brody were just getting started. They weren't really battling, just gaining speed. There were a few twists and turns but it wasn't enough to stop them from gaining the much needed speed that they would need. Santana hardly slowed down as she handled the first corner of the race, already seeing in the fast approaching distance the first speed catcher.
Stood to the side of the road by a white Honda civic was a woman holding up a speedometer, much like traffic cops who sat and watched how fast people were going to decide whether they could chase them or not. Neither of the two racers would know who won until they finished but Santana didn't care. All she had to do was go faster and she knew it wouldn't be that hard of she focused.
That focus was clearer than ever and cemented itself on her face as she passed the first speed marker. Although going at a high speed she knew that if she was going to hit the next one at an acceptable number she was going to have to play it smart. It didn't matter who was ahead so she didn't have the normal pressure of making sure she was in first place at all times. This ease came into play as she slowed down to handle the corner and as she did she watched Brody sloppily slide around it, the yellow Corvette screeching as the ratio of power to handling was thrown in all directions, the other driver having no control as he came out of the turn.
Santana shook her head as she shifted up, immediately picking up speed as she came out of the same corner in complete control of her car. Not letting the knowledge she had to play it safe get to her completely she still made sure to press her foot down as far as it would go, shifting up to gain speed as they both approached the next speed marker.
Parked on the side of the road were two Asian women stood next to a black Honda S2000 with a speedometer. Santana only looked at them briefly before focusing back on the road in front of her, pressing her foot down and hearing her engine growl in response to the boost in power. She knew she had that one in the bag as she had played it smart and Brody hadn't but they were coming up to a busy intersection and if they didn't pay attention to where they were going they could either end up in a collision or on a road going the opposite way they were supposed to.
The Latina's eyes flickered between each of the possible routes and with a final glance to the Corvette to her right she sped towards the path she was supposed to take. Luckily, as she pushed into the turn there was another person waiting to take their speed as they went through the hard shoulder, not the most ideal place for gaining pace. This being said she knew that after this point the next speed marker would be the fastest of the track overall and as soon as she came out of this turn she would have to come out fast and make sure that she avoided any oncoming traffic. She couldn't afford to crash now when she had the chance to set the bar for Brody to try and reach for the rest of the race.
So, as she passed the black and gold Dodge Challenger she felt herself grab the steering wheel tightly with her left hand whilst her other moved the gear stick as if was an extension of her body. Shifting up another gear she glanced to her right to see that she was staying on par with Brody, the Corvette pushing towards its natural top speed but the Supra was managing to hold itself. All the hours of careful modifications made under the hood came into play in perfect harmony with each other as she continued to push it, still not quite at the point where Nos would become necessary. She had faith in her car which was all she needed. If she believed it could keep up, she would and she needed to maintain her focus and control behind the wheel if she was going to give Brody a run for his money. She had no option but to win, she didn't have a choice. It was this or nothing and the reason why she continued to push as they reached the halfway mark between the previous mark and the next.
Her focus only seemed to grow as she shifted up into fifth gear, the Supra roaring at the raw velocity it was being fed, the highly tuned engine sucking in every last drop of power Santana knew it could handle. Unlike the Corvette the Supra's engine knew what to do with it, every last ounce was used and it's what allowed it to nose forward as they fast approached the speed marker.
Santana could see the yellow and black Mustang parked to the side of the road, two guys lent up against it, immediately standing up as they noticed both cars speeding towards them. Held up in the air was the speedometer as they rapidly approached and moments later they were clocking their speeds and sending them to Blaine at the finish line.
Both cars continued to gain in quickness as they shot towards the next speed marker and as she analysed the road in front of her Santana knew that the next one was placed on a hard turn, knowing that there was only one way to go around it. She knew Brody couldn't handle it but she possibly could. She had the car, the control, and she knew how to handle it a high speed (Nos included). There were a few winding turns ahead but this was the most important.
She watched as Brody stayed toe to toe next to her, the other driver looking over at her with a glare on his face. Shrugging it she turned back to the road and watched as the turn rapidly approached. Before Brody could realize what was happening she had shifted up to the final gear, everybody watching through Brody's dashboard camera as she sped ahead just a little, the Supra thrown into a hard slide.
Santana gripped hard on the steering wheel as she counter-steered, Brody not believing what he was seeing as his speed decreased as he tried to handle the large turn. It wasn't working for him in the least bit but Santana hardly lost any speed as she let her car speed past the red RX8 parked off to the side. She paid it no mind though as she continued to stay focused on keeping her car sliding at a perfect angle, an imaginary line in her head guiding her as she stayed ahead of the competition. She knew Nos had been an option and would have given her a definite edge but she knew that this marker was enough to give her a sizeable lead on Brody, the Corvette nowhere near good enough to go around that section of road without losing valuable speed.
It was only when the police scanner came to life in her car that she was brought out of her thoughts, paying equal attention to what was being said and the road at the same time.
"Illegal street race in progress. All available units respond"
"Any identification on the persons involved?"
"Only vague. We have reports of a blue Toyota Supra and a yellow Chevrolet Corvette"
"Location"
"Heading North past the dam. All units be advised that these two aren't looking like they're gonna stop by themselves so proceed with relative force and caution. Looks like they won't give up without a fight first"
Shaking her head she knew she couldn't focus on them right now, it had to be the race at hand and that's just what she did. Coming out of the turn she watched in her rear-view as Brody's Corvette slid around, smoke bellowing from his rear tires as he fought for control whilst trying to catch up at the same time. She handled the next hard shoulder with ease, this one much wider than the last and sped up as she approached the dam.
Water poured from the massive structure as both cars zoomed past, Santana just catching sight of two red and blue flashing lights up ahead. Brody didn't seem to care though as he overtook, not caring that he was coming up to two hard bends in the road. Grabbing her radio Santana knew that her gut was telling her to warn the people running the race, i.e. the people taking their speeds as they drove past. She had two turns to handle before the next speed marker so she took the opportunity to put the warning out there before any one of them were caught.
"Q, we've got trouble"
"How so?"
"5-0. Warn the people taking our speeds, they're in danger of being caught and a cop has just joined up with me and Brody going into the turn before the fifth speed marker"
"Got it S, I'll warn them"
"Good. Santana out"
She threw the radio to her passenger seat as she put her car into a drift, rapidly catching up with Brody who was trying to fight off the cop car that had just joined them. Taking in the road a millisecond at a time she saw a slot and threw her car into another slide, this time a little less violently as she let herself overtake the two other cars battling for dominance. She knew from studying the map that she had one last hard turn and she had to gain as much speed as she could to even make it worth it.
She watched the flash of red and blue lights in her rear-view as she pulled out of the turn, mashing her foot down on the peddle and thrusting as much speed into the engine as she possibly could as she passed the blue Plymouth GTX parked on the small space off the side of the crossroads, the Latina smiling happily at the fact that Quinn had worked fast, getting the word out immediately so that they were all ready to leave if they had to so that none of them got caught.
Not taking for granted that she was technically in the lead she focused on heading towards the last speed marker, knowing that this was her last chance to put herself ahead of the competition once and for all. She handled the next few bends with ease, glancing up at her rear-view every now and again to see Brody reasonably keeping up whilst fighting off the cop that had seemed to latch onto them. She made sure to keep her mph steady as she approached the last turn before the speed marker, hearing her radio spark to life next to her.
Without taking her eyes off the road she reached over and grabbed it, making a mental note in her mind to talk to the crew about getting ear pieces so that they didn't have to take their hands off the shifter or the wheel for more than a few seconds. It could make all the difference between winning and losing in those precious seconds.
"S, you there?"
"Loud and clear Q, what's happening?"
"According to Tina there's more cops closing in on your position."
"I could have guessed that. Two just joined us but they're keeping Brody busy"
She heard Quinn laugh on the other end. "Haha! Just how it should be! Just play it safe"
"Got you Q. Gotta go"
Throwing the radio back onto the passenger seat she focused back on the road, another cop waiting to join their chase. Not letting it faze her she just pressed down harder on the accelerator as she fast approached the final marker, seeing Matt parked to the side of his road in his all-black Mustang. She could just see the sight of a random girl, probably his girlfriend or something, holding up the speedometer. Seeing this she shifted up another gear and made sure to give it as much speed as she could whilst still keeping control around the cops and sped past Matt's car, giving him the final speed for her total.
It wasn't until moments later that Quinn was radioing through to her again. "Speak to me Quinn"
"Blaine just got the last time for both of you. Ignore the cops and go ahead with the plan. We'll be waiting for you on the other side"
"Got you, I'm nearly there now"
She continued to speed down the straight stretch whilst dodging traffic and cops alike before turning off onto the road that would take her to the next district of the city. As soon as she turned onto said road she could see the red smoke on either side of the road and saw Holly and Shelby sat in the blonde's Jaguar, the two women waiting to radio through to Blaine that they had finished the speedtrap and had started the sprint.
The idea had been that as Brody was a second-in-command they had to make things more interesting than the usual crew races so they had gone for a race that lead straight into another. The first had been relatively easy but now was the real deal, this time a race to the real finish. Now that she knew she was in the coveted first place she sped up, already speeding around the first corner and onto the first and longest stretch of the sprint.
She could see both Brody's Corvette and red and blue lights in her rear-view but she focused back on the road, making sure she avoided an oncoming collision with a station wagon as she glanced at her GPS. She had a pretty good idea of where she was going, having a photographic memory, but the quick reassuring glance at the screen next to her allowed her to feel a little more at ease as she fought to keep her claim on the top spot as a cop seemed to come out of nowhere from her left, the black and white vehicle speeding towards her in an attempt to ram her off the road.
She swerved violently as she struggled to keep up her control, the momentary lapse enough to let Brody catch up on the space she had put between them. He laughed over at her as he overtook, leaving her to deal with the cops as he sped ahead, Santana getting caught in between a group of four cars.
As she watched him pull away she could tell that she was slowing down sognificantly, already recognizing the signature move forming around her. However, she ignored it and pressed her foot down as the cop cars enclosed around hers, the two on either side of her running alongside and just touching enough to scratch the paint. Ahead of her Brody just laughed as he watched his opponent slowly being taken down, shifting up a gear and widening the gap between them even further as he shook his head, an evil grin on his face as he put Santana in what he thought was her rightful place.
She knew that she didn't really have to worry about getting caught, Cassandra and Roz would bail her out within hours, but she didn't really want to have to explain to the crew why she got out so early so as if this were real life, not an undercover job, she drove like being caught wasn't an option. She glanced over to her left and then to her right and just as the gap left in front of her was closing with the rear end of another cop car she put her foot right down to the floor, pressing down on both buttons in the center of her steering wheel. It wasn't the smartest move ever but she had no other choice, the sudden boost of power enough to dislodge her from between the two cop cars and into a freer space, the Latina using the sudden freedom to put some space between her and the cops as she made to catch up with Brody before he crossed the finish line in first instead of second.
She used her speed to slide around the corner at the end of the straight that would lead her into the finishing district and after a few more turns keeping distance between herself and the cops she finally caught sight of the tail-end of Brody's Corvette as he sped around another corner.
The cops kept on the pressure, Santana swerving as Brody managed to keep the lead even as he struggled around the corners at high speed. She ignored the niggling feeling in the back of her mind at the fact that he was so close to winning and instead focused on the fact that her winning would mean she would be one step closer to Puck and one step closer to this entire ordeal ending once and for all.
This is the thought that drove her around the last few crucial turns, the control flowing back to her as she stayed precisely on the mark, sticking to the lines in her head that mapped the perfect way around the track. Thanks to the twists and winding turns they had seemingly lost the rest of the cops that had been following them a few minutes ago and now it was an all out sprint to the finish without the distraction that the law created for them. They may have thrown Santana a little off course but her hands gripped so tightly at her steering wheel that her knuckles turned white, the determination on her face crystal clear as she threw herself around the second to last turn.
She caught sight of Brody and caught up with him as they entered the next bend, only one left before they reached the finish line. It was in those last few moments before that turn that she made a decision, seeing that she still had a little Nos left, enough to let her do what she had in mind. A small plot had formulated in her mind and she had a spilt second to pull it off.
She took one last glance over at Brody, seeing the determined look on his face, before focusing back on the road. Everybody ahead watched with baited breath as she threw her Supra into a hard drift, pressing down on the two Nos buttons in the center of her steering wheel.
Her car picked up speed dangerously and she seemed to thunder towards the finish line still in a drift. Blaine and the others rushed to push back the crowd as she rapidly approached, the Supra sliding across the finish in first place, Brody following moments later in second.
When it came to a stop, smoke from the wheel spin bellowing up around her the crowd seemed to just suck around the Supra like they were magnets, Brody completely lonely as Santana was immediately pulled into hugs and congratulations as soon as she stepped out of her car. She had pulled off the same move as she had last time and this time Brody knew how Quinn felt when she had done it back when she wasn't even an official crew member.
"Hold up, hold up. She hasn't won yet"
Of course Puck had to give his two cents. Her smile fading from her lips Santana watched as he walked over, a frown on his face.
"She won that though" Blaine cut in, effectively stopping Puck in his tracks. With the crew leader held at bay he turned to Mia who had a piece of paper clutched in her hands. With a nod to her she handed it over to the race organiser, then stepping back and into Letty's side embrace. "And I can announce that even though it was close she won the first race as well. That means you need to hand the keys to the Corvette over. That also means that she also gains the right to challenge the crew leader without protest."
He turned to Brody and the man handed over his keys, Blaine happily placing them in Santana's outstretched palm. Puck growled and shook his head, his anger visibly growing with every ticking second. He watched as the Latina slipped the keys into her back pocket before making his move.
He stepped up to her, his forehead against hers as he got up in her face, Santana feeling him breathing heavily. She didn't let it get to her though and took it in stride, puffing up her own chest.
"I don't care whether you have the right to challenge me, we're racing whether you like it or not. You made the wrong choice the day you picked that stupid crew over mine and now you're gonna regret it when we finally go toe to toe"
She raised an eyebrow. "First thing, you don't know the first thing about that crew. I chose them because I wanted to and I haven't regretted it once since I made that choice and I'm surely not going to regret it now. We can go toe to toe, I promise you that but the only thing I'm surprised at is how long it actually took you to get up off your ass and challenge me face to face like a man."
By now Holly and Shelby had arrived and as much as Letty wanted to step in, as well as Blaine, the two women decided that it was probably better that they got this out now verbally. They'd step in when they saw fit but for now they were actually comfortable to see Puck squirming for once, especially since it was someone like Santana doing the provoking.
"You really think I would wait this long?"
"Why else would you wait? You sat back whilst I took the entirety of your crews cars, which has left only you and a bunch of drivers without cars."
"You think you're so smart don't you?"
Crossing her arms Santana nodded. "I must be if I took all those pink slips. All I have left is one: yours, and I'm not going to stop until I have those keys in my back pocket"
"You wait, you'll regret the day you ever chose Ortiz and her stupid little minions over me, just you wait and see"
Now fuming he seemed to make the right choice and turned to leave, heading towards his Charger. His crew followed and hopped into their pick-up truck, now the only vehicle they could use as they had no others to drive individually. Puck grabbed his phone as he started speeding off, hitting speed dial and holding it up to his ear.
"I had better not lose or our deal is off"
With that he threw it at the passenger side door in frustration and pressed his foot down. He was going to beat Santana Lopez no matter the cost.
Back at the finish line Santana and the others were free to celebrate the way they had wanted to before they were interrupted and Letty pulled the younger Latina into an unfamiliar but welcomed hug.
"Congrats. I knew you were ready for this"
Santana smiled shyly as the crew leader kept her arm securely wrapped around her shoulders. "Thanks"
Letty let her go as the others made way to congratulate her and as they all buzzed with the excitement of winning and the grand finale to the race. Brittany let a small smile creep onto her lips as she stepped closer to her girlfriend, making note of the way Santana kept her hands balled into fists in her jean pockets.
"So, that was pretty good"
Santana raised an eyebrow. "Only pretty good?"
The blonde shrugged, purposely keeping her smile at bay. "I guess. That move at the end was good but I will say the same thing I did back when you first did it. It was stupid and reckless but..."
"But...?" The other woman prompted, stepping closer to her.
"But...it was right in the moment and it did look pretty damn awesome mid-drift. I think I might have to get a one-on-one lesson from the woman herself"
Santana couldn't help it any more and let her smile blow wide across her lips, stepping right up to her girlfriend. "I think that could be arranged"
"Yeah?"
Smiling the Latina nodded as she wrapped her arms around her waist. "Uh huh"
Letting Santana pull her into her embrace Brittany felt herself melt into the other woman's arms. "Then I can't wait"
"Me neither"
Brittany felt herself being drawn in and she let herself, leaning into the kiss and naturally wrapping her arms around her neck as arms wrapped all the way around her waist to pull her in as close as possible. They were only broken out of their daze when they heard Quinn calling to them. Not pulling out of each others arms they parted lips to look at the blonde who was trying to get their attention.
Quinn just shook her head and smiled as she stood next to Rachel. "You two, round of drinks at Kitty's on Letty."
"Ok, we'll see you there" Santana called back, watching as her best friend nodded in acknowledgement before slipping into her Skyline and driving off behind Dani in her Ford.
Before she too got into her car she pulled away slightly from Brittany to look over at Shelby, fishing the Corvette keys from her back pocket. "Shelby, heads up"
Turning her attentions to the younger woman she managed to do so just in time, catching the keys. "What are these for?"
Santana just shrugged. "You drive a Chevy so I guessed you'd wanna give it a test drive. Have fun and I'll see you at Kitty's"
The older street racer turned to Holly who just shrugged, communicating in that simple action that she was up for a drive as well, before turning back to the woman who had thrown her the keys with a nod. "We'll see you at Kitty's"
When she had left with Holly's Jaguar in tow Santana turned to Brittany, placing a kiss to the blonde's forehead. "Come on, I feel like celebrating"
Santana smiled as she entered the otherwise quiet house. Everybody else was still in bed enjoying what little time they had left before they had to go to work but Santana had decided to get up early and grab coffee for both her and Brittany. She could have just gone downstairs to make it but had ended up going out, deciding to enjoy the blooming of the morning, the sun slowly rising and signalling that it was going to be a warm day.
Nothing felt better as she felt the sun on her face as she walked down the street, the high of winning against Brody the night before still clearly evident in her body language. And she didn't care. She had won by the skin of her teeth and nothing felt better than winning by so little when her opponent thought he had already won.
That's what had led her to the choice to get the drinks on foot and from somewhere other than their kitchen, happy to take the walk for once. Now, as she entered the house where everybody was still asleep, she couldn't wipe the smile off of her face as she made her way up stairs towards her and Brittany's bedroom.
She quietly opened the door with her free hand and slid in, clicking it closed as quietly as she could with her foot as she looked towards the bed. Before she could react Brittany had sat up, a smile on her sleepy face as she saw the Latina holding two to-go cups and a small brown bag.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?"
The blonde couldn't help but chuckle as she shook her head at Santana's genuine concern. "No. I just couldn't fall back to sleep without you in the bed"
Santana knew exactly what she was talking about, having fallen into a similar routine as they spent more and more time together. It had started to get exceptionally hard to spend a night away from each other since they had started dating, especially after they had said that they loved each other aloud. Now it was impossible for them to sleep without the other in the bed with them, the situation now very relevant. If Brittany woke up and she couldn't feel Santana next to her she found that she couldn't fall back to sleep no matter how hard she tried. She had never felt something like this with anybody else she had dated before and that's how she knew that the Latina was different. No matter how much it may have frustrated her it felt right, it made the relationship feel the way every one should have been in the past and it was the one she had been waiting for.
Shaking her head of her thoughts she held out her arms. "You brought me breakfast?"
Santana nodded as she placed the mentioned bag down next to the cups on the night stand. "Uh huh"
Brittany smiled as she wrapped her arms around the Latina's neck, pulling her down towards her. Santana happily complied and smiled into the kiss.
"I love you"
Brittany beamed against her girlfriends lips. "I'll never get tired of hearing you say that. I love you too"
"I love you too"
They pressed their lips back together and continued to kiss until the sound of a stomach rumbling pulled them apart. Santana grinned down at Brittany's stomach, the blonde blushing. "I think someone's hungry"
Brittany felt Santana pull away and watched as the Latina made her way back around the bed until she reached the night stand, grabbing the food and sitting down on top of the bed. Brittany instantly snuggled into her side once she had taken off her jacket and shoes, taking the brown bag from her as soon as she had the opportunity.
"Eager much?" Santana chuckled, raising an eyebrow.
Brittany laughed and shrugged as she unrolled the top, taking a look at what was inside. Santana watched as she looked up, the blonde's expression growing excitedly. "You got me breakfast muffins? Banana ones too!"
Santana shrugged. "You mentioned back along that you loved them and I decided to get you some"
"You're amazing"
"I try"
Shaking her head Brittany cupped her jaw with one hand and pulled her in for a kiss. Once she had handed one to the Latina and had started her own muffin she decided to pick up on something that they still hadn't gotten to talk about. Sure, she would always choose what they had talked about instead over it any day but the truth of the situation was that she knew Santana was putting it off on purpose, also knowing that she hadn't actually called her grandmother when she had said she would. Now, after they had said that they loved each other she figured the other woman would be more open to talking about it. Most people may have called her stupid but she wasn't so blind that she couldn't see what her girlfriend was doing to herself and glancing over at her as she took a bite of her muffin she decided to take it upon herself to help her sort this situation out, even if it was as simple as giving some advice.
"Santana?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?"
Already knowing by the tone in her voice she looked up, a frown on her face. "Go ahead"
"It's about the other day"
"When we..."
"Said we love each other"
"Ok, what about it? You don't regret it do you?"
Immediately on the defensive Brittany shot up in her seat, grasping Santana's jaw with her free hand as she shook her head violently from side to side. "No! No, of course not. I would never regret that it's just that we started something that we haven't finished and I figured we could finally finish it now. I know you're still struggling with it and I wanted to help you"
Seeing how serious Brittany was being Santana nodded and placed her half eaten muffin down next to the two cups of coffee, grabbing one for herself and handing the other to the blonde. Once they were somewhat ready she made sure that she was looking at her.
"I know we didn't finish and I know that you have a right to know what's going on, it's just hard to talk about, especially after what happened to me afterwards. I know it was my own fault but I just couldn't help myself"
"Asking about your mom?"
Santana nodded as she sipped at her coffee. "Yeah. She's been gone so long I guess I just wanted to talk to her and have her tell me she wanted me back"
"But she didn't?"
"No. I shouldn't be surprised but it still hurt. She never called after she left and when she did on the rare occasion it was for money. I guess what hurt me this time more than any other was the fact that she figured I had something to give her in exchange for nothing. My abuela had nothing to do with it but I guess I just took it out on the first available person without thinking. Then again I've seemed to do that my entire life. I do something without thinking it through and it only ever bites me in the ass. The thing is, it does it without fail and I'm getting tired of it"
"What do you mean?"
"I've been moving around so much lately I figured that if I finally came back home I would go back to the way I used to be but it hasn't happened that way. With everything with my grandmother and Puck it's just getting to me. I don't want to break in front of the others but I can feel the cracks inside me and it's starting to scare me. What if I do something that I can't come back from? What if this time the mistake I make I can't get over and it ends up doing something to me that I can't heal from?"
As Brittany watched the Latina she could see the truth finally coming out. Sure, she didn't know the whole truth, boy didn't she, but from what she knew right now she knew Santana was afraid of breaking but who wasn't? The crew were such a unique group of people that sometimes it could seem intimidating to breakdown in front of them but if there was one thing Brittany had learnt from this it was that even if it was just one of them it would make you feel so much better and in this moment if it had to be her then she was happy to be that one person Santana could lean on for support. It wasn't because she was her girlfriend that she felt obligated to be that person, it was because she knew everybody needed someone to vent to no matter what they meant to them personally.
Leaning forward she covered Santana's free hand with her own, brushing her thumbs soothingly over her tanned knuckles. "Santana, I know it's hard but there isn't anything you can't come back from. I may not know exactly what it is you're going through but I know you can come back from it. I'm sure that right now your abuela is worried that you're not okay and that's probably what's making it worse for her, the not knowing rather than the incident itself. I'm pretty sure I would feel the same way if I was in her position. I'm also pretty sure that she's not mad at you, she understands that you're not mad at her but your mom. I can't tell you what to do, even as your girlfriend, but I can tell you what I think you should do. You can do this or not but just consider it. When you have some free time maybe you should go over to her house and say you're sorry. Apologize and she'll probably accept it and you can carry on healing with each other. Just don't do it over the phone, it's better to do it face to face, everybody knows that"
Santana averted the blonde's eyes, staring down at her coffee cup as she shook her head and took in what she had said. Smiling she looked up at her, Brittany mirroring her gaze. "When did you get so smart?" She grinned, Brittany mirroring the expression.
The other woman just shrugged shyly, a small blush tinting her cheeks. "I guess I'm just that awesome"
Shaking her head playfully at her girlfriend's statement she lent in. "I guess you are. Thank you"
"No problem" Brittany whispered back against her lips, sealing the deal a moment later. "I'm just doing my job"
"And you do it so damn well"
It wasn't until later that afternoon that they got a proper look at Puck's cars. They had just finished their project at the garage and with Burt's permission they had headed over to their storage garage with the additions of Holly and Shelby, both woman having other people cover for them as they couldn't bare to miss the opportunity to get a look under the hoods of the rival crew. Maybe it was the petrol heads in them but their curiosity had been sparked the moment Santana mentioned looking at the cars all at once. Now that moment had come they had happily 'ditched' work and headed on over to meet them to see what Puck was really packing into his crew.
"Wow, these look a lot more expensive than I expected" Shelby whistled as she looked at the engine bay of Sam's DB9.
"I know, it's like they're packed to the brim with modifications" Rachel replied as she stood over what was Mercedes' car.
"They may have had a lot added but it was done sloppily" Tina said as she and Marley stood around Rory's Mustang.
"Yeah, it's like they were rushed"
Tina nodded along with Santana's comment. "Like they were all put in at the same time"
"You think Puck rushed them in an attempt to stop Santana from taking them?"
Shelby nodded along with Marley's question. "It's possible. It wouldn't surprise me though."
Letty nodded from where she was stood next to Mia at Brody's Corvette. "Me either. If anything I'm surprised that these cars survived across the finish line"
"I'm surprised they even made it at all" Dani said as she studied the Mercedes at the start of the line.
"S, something's off"
Santana looked up at Quinn's comment and frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Come look at this"
The Latina made her way from where she was studying Mike's Impreza with Brittany and over to where Quinn and Shelby were looking at the DB9. "What am I looking at?"
"When would you say these mods were put in?"
The tanned woman shrugged. "I don't know. Not too long ago I guess"
"Exactly"
"What are you getting at?"
"Wait, I think I see it" Shelby cut in, leaning in to get a closer look. "If you're getting at what I think you're getting at then we should see the same over here"
Now all focused onto the main conversation everybody looked up from what they were doing and watched as Shelby walked over to the Corvette.
"Here, take a look" She waited patiently as Santana took a closer look at the car she had won the night before. "See it?"
"Yeah, I think I do. These mods are fresh and when I say fresh, I would say yesterday morning at the latest"
"But that's not possible" Quinn frowned as she and the others crowded around the newest addition to the 'fleet' of cars Santana had slowly been accumilating.
"It is but that's why the jobs so sloppy. It's not really that hard to miss. I bet if I were to try and tune this up it would be all over the place. Everything's off and I'm surprised he didn't blow the engine last night during the speedtrap when he pushed it"
"He blew the pistons though" Shelby said, crossing her arms. "Last night when I drove it I could tell. He'd pushed this thing to the limits and had only just made it across the line"
"I think he was desperate" Rachel commented.
"I think he was more than desperate" Letty added from beside her adoptive sister. "I bet you Puck ordered him to win at all costs and in return it fucked the engine up pretty good"
"I'll agree with you there" Santana nodded. "This thing isn't anywhere near race ready, even if we were to race with it, which I wouldn't"
"But if you were?" Mia prompted.
Santana shrugged. "The engine has been so modded I can't see any other way than to rip it out and put just the original back in. Even then the work needed to get this back to street racing quality without messing up the entire car would be way too costly and way too time consuming"
"So you think Puck pushed too hard and in return scarred not only the Corvette but every other one of his crews cars?" Quinn asked.
Santana nodded. "I think that if you look at all the cars one after the other the mods get worse."
"So you think the more pressure you put on him the more he grasped at straws in the form of quick fix mods with his crews cars?" Holly asked.
"I guess so, yeah. I would say right now that the Corvette is the worst and would be the most costly to repair if were were gonna race these things"
"Yeah but how did he even afford to get these mods in so fast? Surely all these parts would have cost him much more than he was making from races?" Marley pondered, everybody else thinking about what she had mentioned.
"Good point" Shelby replied.
Letty nodded. "He has to have had something on the side. Santana literally won every time. He couldn't have made the money from racing 'cause he was losing. There's got to be something else"
"Something illegal?" Tina suggested.
"Whatever it is he didn't get these parts from me. They're substandard at best" Holly said, peering over Shelby's shoulder to get a glimpse at the parts.
"Yeah, so wherever he got them from they were bad quality and the installation was rushed." Quinn confirmed.
"Overall a bad job"
"We just need to find out how and where"
"But what for?" Marley asked, turning to Santana.
She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just curious as to why he put so much effort into trying to stop me. He's obviously desperate but I think we underestimated just how much he actually was."
"So in other words his cash flow?"
Letty nodded at Dani's suggestion, taking over the conversation. "Yeah, I'm interested to see how exactly he paid for these mods, as well as how they were put in so fast"
"Whatever it is we'll find out sooner or later with the continued pressure which brings us to the next big question; when are you gonna race him?" Shelby asked, hers and everybody else's attentions turning to Santana.
"I was gonna call Blaine tonight and get him to set it up."
"Cool. For now let's leave these as they are and I'll do some digging on his operations. In the mean time lets get home. I feel like chilling for the rest of the day"
Dani grinned as she high fived her leader. "Word to that. Count me in"
"Me too" Santana said, sliding her hand into Brittany's.
The blonde smiled at the action as they put the hoods back down on the cars and pulled the tarps back over the tops. "Yeah, count me in too"
"Just think, soon we'll have a complete collection" Quinn grinned, clapping a hand on Santana's shoulder.
"Yeah, a Charger to top off the icing on the perfect vehicular cake" Marley smiled as they exited the storage garage and started making their way towards their cars.
"Yeah, but she has to win the damn car first. Let's just get home and we'll come up with a plan on how to make sure that actually happens"
At Letty's final comment they all got into their cars, following behind their leader as they headed back home. However the race against Puck turned out it was sure to be the race of the century.
Santana stared up at the house she grew up in as she lent up against the side of her Supra. She knew her grandmother was inside but she needed a few minutes to find the courage needed to stand up straight and walk up that path like a real woman. That's when Brittany's voice entered her head.
"Apologize and she'll probably accept it and you can carry on healing with each other. Just don't do it over the phone, it's better to do it face to face, everybody knows that"
She knew she was right, in fact she was dead on the money, but stood there just feet away from the front door she felt her nerves kicking in, threatening to take over and push her towards backing out. However, with Brittany's faith now within her she knew that she had no other choice. She had driven all the way here and she was damned if she was going to leave without coming to do what she had originally intended to do.
So, taking a deep breath she stood up from the side of her car and started walking, determined not to stop and run like she really wanted to. Memories of the night she walked out seeped into her mind but she ignored them as she took those final steps up to the front door, taking a deep breath before knocking.
She took a step back and waited anxiously for someone to answer, nervously rubbing at the jacket that was covering her scar. After what seemed like hours the door did finally open and as soon as it did both women seemed to freeze. Alma was the first one to recover from the initial shock and before she could give Santana a chance to ramble like she knew she would she closed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug.
Not caring they were on the doorstep Santana happily accepted the action and melted into her grandmothers embrace, instantaneously feeling her worries fizzle away as she fell into that familiar warmth she once again forgot she needed.
Keeping her arms wrapped tightly around the younger Latina Alma pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Why don't you come inside? I did some baking this afternoon"
TBC