So...It's been almost 6 months. Too many excuses to list, but mostly I'm working my tail off to graduate in May and free time has not been an option since starting my senior year back in June.
On a happy note, starting with this chapter I now have a lovely beta . So a big Thank You to D. !
I was going to wait to post 4 and 5 together since it has been so long, but I'm just not happy with 5 atm. But finals will be done in two weeks! so soon! lol
After finishing off the stir fry, the girls loaded the dishwasher and (at Quinn's insistence) wiped down the countertops.
"So what now?" Quinn asked, fixing Santana with curious look as she hung up their dishtowels.
Santana just shrugged, she wasn't really sure what to do with the rest of their evening since she hadn't planned on Quinn spending the night. They'd just have to wing it, she mused. "I don't know. It's still kind of early; maybe we could put on a movie or just talk for a while before starting our homework?"
"Okay." Quinn nodded her approval and pulled out her phone. "Why don't you pick something out while I call my mom?"
"Sounds like a deal, Q."
Santana made her way to the entertainment center with a smile on her face. She had the perfect DVD in mind, one she knew Quinn had been avoiding for the past couple of years.
As soon as she was done leaving her mother a voicemail Quinn sank down on the couch next to Santana. The blonde carefully placed her phone on the armrest before tucking her long legs beneath her person to get comfortable. The corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly as she looked over to see the darker girl poised at the opposite end of the sofa, holding the remote. Santana smiled back at her, a little too sweetly, causing Quinn's brow to furrow in confusion. Why would…
Almost at once, the surround sound pulsed to life as familiar music from the dvd menu filled the room.
It was all Santana could do to keep a straight face as realization washed over the blonde next to her. She watched as Quinn's eyes squeezed closed, the skin around them scrunching adorably, partly from embarrassment, but also in restrained amusement. Ha, Santana thought, Quinnie definitely wasn't expecting that.
Quinn finally opened her eyes and looked at the brunette as if to say, seriously? Santana just winked back at her. After a few moments of staring each other down, the taller girl rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Alright, fine." Quinn challenged playfully, settling back into the couch and crossing her arms with a huff. The brunette sent Quinn a rather devilish smirk as she hit "play" on the universal. Quinn's eyes flicked to Santana's lips momentarily before meeting the amused gaze of her friend with defiance.
The girls let the film play in silence, occasionally laughing at the characters and their shenanigans, each enjoying each other's company without feeling the need to make conversation. I miss this, Santana thought fleetingly. She made up her mind right then and there that no matter what the future held, they wouldn't let anymore high school B.S. get in the way of their friendship.
About forty minutes in, they heard the sound of heels clicking swiftly down the stairs. Mrs. Lopez appeared behind them moments later.
"Oh! I love the Lion King," Maribel exclaimed excitedly! "You two haven't watched this in forever!"
Quinn's face flushed pink as both girls turned backward to look at the older woman who was standing behind the couch attempting to fasten in her second earring.
"I know Mami. It's such a shame because Quinn and I really love this movie." Santana offered, turning back toward her friend with an innocent smile.
"Um, yeah, it's such a great…story." Quinn replied, eyeing Santana with an expression that screamed, 'I am so going to get you back for this, just you wait.'
"Speaking of great," Quinn continued, recovering from her bout of shyness like the pro she was, "you look amazing Mrs. L, Dr. Lopez is going to feel like the luckiest man in town."
"Always such a flatterer, Quinn, one of the many reasons I love you," Maribel winked. She gave the blonde's shoulder an affectionate squeeze before bending over to place a kiss on top of her daughter's head. "Make sure you behave yourself this evening, mija. I'd like to see this one here," Mrs. Lopez gestured in Quinn's direction, "around more often, capiche?" And before either of the girls could answer, Maribel turned around and headed off toward the kitchen to retrieve her purse and keys. The older Lopez shouted a quick farewell before flipping off the lights, leaving the girls in darkness except for the soft glow of the flat screen, and heading out to the garage.
Quinn saw the short pause in their movie watching as an opportune moment to (escape) use the restroom and excused herself politely. She was enjoying being back in the Lopez's home and felt incredibly guilty when attention was drawn to the fact that she hadn't been around in a while.
While Quinn was taking care of business, Santana scooted over to the blonde's side of the couch to turn on the small lamp sitting on the end table. During her fumbling in the dark she ended up knocking Quinn's phone off into the candy dish below. It hit the patterned glass with sharp 'plang', signaling that the container was almost empty. The Latina just managed to pull the switch chord when she heard the device buzz loudly inside the dish. It's probably Quinn's mom getting back to her, I better check it to see if she's ok with Quinn staying over.
Santana unlocked the screen easily (What? She had casually noticed (intently watched) the pattern Quinn had swiped earlier) only to see a new text from Finn, who was wondering why his girlfriend hadn't made it home yet. Apparently he was supposed to come over tonight because Mrs. Fabray was working late. Santana chuckled inwardly before hitting 'reply'.
When Quinn returned from the bathroom she found her friend occupying her previous seat and typing on the phone. Wait, that's my phone…
"Care to tell me what you are doing with my phone, S?" Quinn smirked as arched a perfect blond eyebrow in her friend's direction.
"Oh, you know, just talking to your clueless boyfriend."
The grin was instantly wiped from Quinn's face and she palmed her forehead. "Shit! I completely forgot that he was coming over tonight…What did he say?"
"Just something about if you would be there anytime soon because his lard ass is sittin' in your driveway." Quinn frowned at this. "Don't worry though," Santana placated, "I told him it was my fault for inviting you over at the last minute, and that you would call him back as soon as we were done having mind-blowing sex." (Santana had actually apologized, saying that her mom had guilted Quinn into staying over and it wasn't his girlfriend's fault. She had only answered because Quinn was in the bathroom and Santana had thought it was Mrs. Fabray. Finn messaged back with: "thts ok. puck jst called me ovr 2 play COD. please tell quinn I said 2 have a good nite :))
Quinn's eyes widened in horror. "What?! O.m.g. Santana! Give me that!" The blonde dove for the phone but Santana had anticipated the move. She quickly pulled the device to her chest and rolled to the side causing Quinn to fall forward onto the couch. The Latina cackled at her friend's miscalculation which only served to irritate the taller girl further. "Hand it over now Santana," Quinn demanded. "Come and get it then," the darker girl taunted back, waving the phone high above her head.
This proved to be Santana's first mistake. Quinn pounced on top of the other girl who was now shielding the small device in both hands. In her attempt to pry it out of the Latina's clasped hands, she ended up tugging a little too hard. Her position atop Santana was rather precarious due to the context of their tussle and the swift movement sent them both sprawling to the living room floor with a loud 'thump'.
"Ouch! What the hell, Q?"
"What do you mean, 'Ouch'?" Quinn grumbled from underneath the brunette. "I'm the one who broke your fall!"
"Because…" Santana grunted as she rolled off her friend and onto her back. "I think your fucking hip bone has caused me to bleed internally."
Quinn snorted. "Serves you right for telling Finn we had sex."
Both girls looked over at each other for a moment before bursting out in in a giggle fit.
As soon as she caught her breath, Santana swiped the screen open on Quinn's phone and handed it to the blonde lying beside her. Quinn stared at the screen a few seconds before relocking it and setting it onto the coffee table above them. She turned her head back to the right, meeting her friend's deep gaze. Santana's brown eyes shone brighter than ever under the direct glow of the table lamp. Dark amber irises flickered with mirth…and a subtle endearment that Quinn knew would likely never be voiced. No matter what she said, underneath it all Santana Lopez cared, more than she would ever admit to anyone (well, to anyone other than Brittany), and in this moment it made Quinn's heart flutter almost imperceptibly.
"You could have just said that before I landed us on the floor, San."
"I know," the brunette replied warmly, propping herself up on one elbow. "But where's the fun in that?" She teased.
"True. Although," Quinn complained as she sat up. "It would have been a hell of a lot easier on my back."
"Yeah, sorry about that…" Santana thought about it for a moment and soon thought of a way to make up for her ill-fated joke, even though it was Quinn's fault they ended up on the floor. "Tell you what Quinnie-the-pooh (she ignored the way her friend's jaw dropped indignantly at the name), hows about you helps my ass out from under this coffee table and when we're settled back on the couch like civilized people, I'll rub your shoulders while we finish the movie. Deal?"
"Quinn chuckled before rolling her eyes and offering a pale hand. "How could I refuse a famous Lopez shoulder massage?" The blonde said with a wink.
"Beats me," Santana wiggled her fingers suggestively, "everybody knows these hands are magic."
This caused Quinn to laugh even harder as they struggled to pull one another off the carpet.
After both girls had made back onto the couch and movie had been turned back on, Santana scooted up against the backrest and guided Quinn to sit down between her legs.
"Q, take off your granny jacket so I can 'gets my massage on'." Quinn rolled her eyes at the remark but slipped out of her cardigan and tossed it to the side.
The darker girl started off on the back of her friend's neck and slowly began working down along the spine. On the way back up she spread out between slightly protruding shoulder blades and began kneading the myriad of knots taking up residence there. Even through gritted teeth Quinn couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath in minor discomfort every time the shorter girl hit a particularly sore spot.
Santana noticed the slight wince every time she attempted to work out any of the knots. "Damn Quinn, you're really fucking tense."
"However did you guess," The blonde joked sarcastically. "Ow!"
"My bad. You know, it isn't exactly healthy to be in a constant state of agony, Quinn." Santana remarked.
"Oh really, you think?!" Quinn snapped.
The blonde closed her eyes and sighed heavily before visibly deflating. "I'm sorry; I've just been really stressed lately."
No Shit, Santana thought. If I had been repeatedly worked up and left hanging I'd blow my freaking top! She felt a new wave of sympathy for her friend. To be honest Santana had no idea how Quinn had made it this long, she would have been touching herself constantly to stay sane if she was in that position. It's not like you gave her that option by promptly inviting her over here before she had a chance. Well crap. She supposed they needed to get this conversation over with anyway, so why not just rip off the Band-Aid now.
Quinn could tell something was coming. Santana wasn't usually this silent after a bitchy remark like the one she delivered a moment ago. The Latina generally puffed up like a porcupine, launching numerous verbal barbs when anyone so much as glanced at her in a challenging manner.
"Have you ever tried just showing him how you like it, Quinn?" Santana asked softly.
Quinn froze under Santana's hands. Whatever she had been expecting…yeah, it hadn't been that.
By the way the blonde went from semi-relaxed to completely rigid, Santana knew she had hit the nail on the head. Which meant Quinn had done no such thing. And knowing the former Christ Crusader, she had probably never even entertained the thought of giving verbal direction during sex. Lucky for her, Santana Lopez was an expert at telling others exactly what she wanted.
Santana resumed her work on the taller girl's muscles, determined to get through to her friend. "I'm serious Quinn, guide him through it when you have sex. Show him where it feels the best for you. You can even touch yourself while he watches. Trust me, that would be a huge turn on for both of you."
"Santana! I don't- We don't-," Quinn sputtered in embarrassment. When she finally pulled herself together, she replied in a hushed tone, "We don't have s-sex. I'm…not ready for that, not after having a baby. We just…you know, we just touch each other. And" Quinn hid her face in her hands, the words coming out slightly muffled through her fingers, "I've- I've never, done that. So I wouldn't know what to tell him anyway."
Holy shit. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Is she serious? "Are you serious?!" Santana asked before her brain caught up with her mouth.
She quickly moved on before Quinn could answer. "Sorry, that just slipped out. Of course you're serious. And it's no wonder you're so tense, how on earth did you make it through pregnancy?" Santana was dumfounded. No wonder Q was such a royal bitch; I can't even imagine how hard that was.
"I…can we stop talking about this?" Quinn deflected uncomfortably. "I should probably go home anyway, I need to do a lot of homework and—"
The blonde had reached for her cardigan and started to rise off the couch but was impeded by gentle hands on her shoulders. "Hold up, Q." Santana pulled her back down and wrapped her arms around her friend's waist in a reassuring hug. Resting her chin on Quinn's left shoulder, and speaking with a rare bout of sincerity, she apologized. " Hey. I'm sorry. I didn't realize, and honestly didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just trying to help you out because I hate seeing you this stressed." Plus you're a freaking time bomb if I let this go, Santana added in her head. "You have absolutely nothing to feel embarrassed about, alright? Well, except maybe that you're dating Bigfoot," She jested playfully. This earned her a slap on the arm, but more importantly, Quinn seemed to relax into her embrace. "We okay?" She asked hesitantly.
Quinn let out a long breath and began to minutely sway them from side to side. "Yeah, we're good. I shouldn't have gotten so defensive. But I really do need to do my homework. Like you said, I was a bit distracted today in a few classes," She sighed.
Santana didn't want to end their little moment, but she knew Quinn was right. She had to catch up on whatever she missed during biology. Good thing Quinn was thoughtful enough to grab my lab book or I'd have been screwed. This gave Santana an idea, hopefully one that would benefit them both.
"Hey, hows about you go out and get your backpack and bring it up to my room. While you're doing that I'm going to run you a scalding hot bath with lots of bubbles."
"Hmm. And what do you get out of this?" the blonde asked with a laugh.
"I," Santana replied, "get to copy your biology while you relax away some of the stress and as many of these, Santana tweaked one of the sore spots on the blonde's back for effect, knots as possible."
"That actually sounds pretty amazing, Santana." Quinn chuckled as she remembered the Latina running out of class. "By the way, how is your "nose"? The taller girl air quoted skeptically.
"Never better, Q. Never better."
Thanks to everyone still reading, feel free to tell me what you like and don't like! or drop by my tumblr :
mysteriousscorpio [] tumblr[]...
Also, I would love any good fic recs you might have (to read over the break) because I have been absent so long I have no idea what I've been missing! :/