A/N: I don't own Glee or the characters
A/N: Santana, Quinn, and Brittany never quit Cheerios and Lauren never joined Glee Club
"Santana, what on earth are you doing?" Rachel asked as she was pulled into one of the bathrooms in William McKinley High School. The minute the door was closed and locked, the cold HBIC look that had previously occupied the girl's eyes vanished and the look that Rachel had become quite familiar with outside of the school building (and sometimes even inside the school building) appeared. "Santana?"
"Rae, baby, please. You don't need a nose job." Santana whispered. Rachel looked away so she wouldn't have to see the tears in her girlfriend's eyes.
Some background information may be necessary at this point. Santana Lopez and Rachel Berry had been dating for close to two months. Shortly after Sectionals and the Finchel breakup, Santana had approached Rachel to apologize. They'd been at Puck's New Year's Eve party and Santana had seen Rachel sitting alone and immediately felt guilty, knowing it was her fault.
FLASHBACK
"Hey Berry." Santana said, sitting down next to the diva. Rachel glared at her and Santana looked down uncomfortably.
"What do you want?" she asked in a tone that Santana had never heard out of her mouth before.
"Look, I know you hate me and probably don't want to hear this, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for sleeping with Finn and I'm sorry for how I told you. That wasn't cool of me and I'm sorry." Santana said softly. Rachel looked up, surprised.
"Santana, I don't hate you. I don't like what you did, but I don't hate you." Rachel said.
"I really am sorry, Rachel."
"What did you just say?" Rachel asked. Santana's brow furrowed.
"I really am sorry?"
"No, after that. You called me Rachel." the diva said. Santana nodded slowly and the girls heard the countdown to the new year in the background.
"Ten!" Santana smiled at Rachel.
"Nine!" Rachel smiled back.
"Eight!" Santana bit her lip.
"Seven!" Rachel mirrored the action.
"Six!" Silently, the girls asked the other's permission with their eyes.
"Five!" Silently, the girls granted the other's unasked question with their eyes.
"Four!" Santana moved in slightly.
"Three!" Rachel mirrored the action.
"Two!" Both girls leaned their heads in.
"One!" Their lips connected.
"Happy New Year!"
END FLASHBACK
Santana knew how cliche it sounded, but she felt fireworks the first time she'd kissed Rachel and she still felt them whenever she kissed her Hobbit. The next day, Santana went to Rachel's house and they talked things over. It took a while, but Rachel eventually realized that Santana wasn't playing her and that she really did feel something in that kiss and they'd decided to start a relationship, but keep it between themselves while they figured everything out.
All the talk about nose jobs had started during Glee Club. They were practicing dance moves for Nationals and Finn (being his normal clumsy self) had whacked Rachel in the nose with his humongous hand. As the diva fell to the ground while crying in pain, Santana had wanted nothing more than to run over and make sure her girlfriend was all right. The only thing stopping her was the fact that... well... no one really knew about the couple. Rachel and Finn hadn't been broken up that long (even though Finn moved on to Quinn fairly quickly), and Santana knew that even though the future Broadway star did have feelings for her, she was still slightly hesitant and had reservations about their relationship, considering how Santana had treated her practically their entire lives and how Santana had cruelly blurted out that she had slept with Finn the previous year. Santana constantly apologized, not believing that she deserved Rachel.
Santana completely understood why Rachel had her reservations about the relationship, but she also knew that the tiny brunette was trusting her more and more each day. She knew that she had to be patient and that when Rachel was completely sure that this wasn't some kind of prank, she'd be ready to come out. Santana was willing to wait as long as it took. She loved everything about Rachel. How confident she was in her talent, how she never let anything get to her, and how she embraced herself and didn't listen when certain people (Dakota Stanley) told her to get change herself. Which is why the Latina was confused as to why her beautiful, confident girlfriend was even considering getting a nose job, especially considering how Rachel felt about plastic surgery.
FLASHBACK
Santana and Rachel were making out on Rachel's bed. Santana was totally loving having Rachel's hands all over her, but when they landed on her chest, she pulled away slightly. "San? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Rachel asked. Santana shook her head.
"Look, Rach, I'm fine. Can we just not... go there?" Santana asked. Rachel's brow furrowed. "Rachel, I... I got a boob job over the summer and I'm kind of self-conscious about it." Rachel nodded. "You hate me now." Santana said.
"I don't hate you. I don't exactly agree with plastic surgery, but I don't hate you for getting a boob job." Rachel said. Santana looked away and Rachel kissed her softly.
"Santana Lopez, you're beautiful and I plan on showing you exactly how beautiful you are." she whispered.
END FLASHBACK
She had almost volunteered to take Rachel to the hospital herself, but Finn had opened his mouth first, saying he felt terrible for what had happened and he wanted to make sure that Rachel was all right. Sighing, Santana stood back as her girlfriend's ex-boyfriend accompanied her to the hospital and went home after Mr. Schue dismissed them, stating the Glee Club was over for the day. The Latina stared at her phone, waiting for Rachel to call. She finally realized that calling her would probably not be the first thing on Rachel's mind and decided to send her a text message, just to let her know that she cared about her.
To: Rachel
Hey baby, just wanted to make sure that you're all right. Call me if you feel up to it, but I understand if you don't. Feel better Rachel and I miss you :)
Santana waited a few minutes before her phone buzzed.
Incoming Call
Rachel
"Hey Rach." she answered.
"Hey San."
"How's your nose? Is it broken?" Santana asked.
"Yea, it is. But they said that they don't need to set it, so that's good."
"I'll kill Frankenteen." Santana growled.
"Its okay, San. Really. I think he's shook up enough."
"Fine. How do you feel? Do you need anything?" Santana asked.
"Can you come over for a little bit?" Santana was off her bed immediately.
"I'll be there in ten." she said, hanging up. When she got to the Berry house, she was told to go straight up to Rachel's room. Not bothering to knock on the door, Santana went straight into the diva's bedroom. "Rach?" she said, seeing the girl curled up on her bed. The diva turned her head and smiled softly.
"Hey." she whispered, motioning for Santana to join her. As Santana laid next to her, she held her closely.
"What's up, baby?" she asked softly. Rachel shook her head.
"Nothing, just... lay with me." she requested. Santana nodded and the girls stayed like that until dinner. Santana felt like Rachel was thinking about something, but she knew that the diva didn't want to share just yet. The next day, Rachel made an announcement in Glee Club.
"Oh my god. You're getting a nose job." Quinn said. Rachel shook her head.
"I'm having a light procedure to repair my deviated septum." Rachel said, avoiding Santana's eyes.
"So... a nose job." Santana said, brow furrowed. What the hell was going on with her girlfriend?
"Rachel, are you sure about this? You've always loved your self." Mr. Schue said.
"The doctor said that this could possibly improve my singing, which will help us all for Nationals. I'm doing this for us." Rachel said.
"Possibly, but what are the side effects?" Mr. Schue said.
"Hold up. I hear Rachel's got a bit of a shnozz. I wouldn't know because... like Medusa I try to avoid eye contact with her. But can we all stop acting like there aren't things that we'd like to change about ourselves? I'm sure Sam's been at the doctor's and rifled through pamphlets on mouth reduction. I bet Artie's thought about getting his legs cut off since he's not really using them anyway. And I'm definitely sure Tina's thought about getting an eye deslanting." Santana said.
"That's extraordinarily racisist." Tina said.
"I'm keeping it real."
"My dancing kinda bothers me. And it almost killed Rachel, but... I like the way I look." Finn said. Santana scoffed.
"Oh please. You have weird puffy peeramen nipples. You could sprinkle them with powdered sugar and pass them off for some kind of desert. Look, maybe Rachel likes having an enormous beak. Maybe she needs it to crack hard seeds. All I'm saying is... if you don't like something about yourself, you should change it." Santana said, with a shrug as she sent Rachel a look saying 'This ain't over yet.' Dejected, Rachel sat down in her chair. As they were dismissed from the choir room, Santana immediately caught up to Rachel. "Berry, we need to talk." she hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her into an empty classroom.
"Yes Santana?"
"Rachel, why?" Santana asked.
"The doctor said-"
"This ain't about a damn doctor, baby. You don't let people influence you like that. Why?" Santana asked.
"I don't feel pretty." Rachel whispered. Santana's eyes widened.
"Rae, you're beautiful." she said.
"No I'm not. San, I'm doing this. Please support me." Rachel said. Santana shook her head.
"I can't do that. I know how you feel about plastic surgery and I'm not going to let you do something that you inevitably will regret later." Santana said, walking out of the room. A few days later, Rachel was passing out pictures.
"This is what I'll look like after the surgery." Rachel said. Santana looked at it closely. She knew that nose, but she didn't know from where.
"This doesn't really look like you, Rachel." Mr. Schue said.
"I want to look less Hebraic and more... Fabrayic." Rachel said. Santana's jaw almost dropped. It was Quinn's nose! She almost spoke up, but someone else beat her to it.
"Rachel, don't do this." Finn said. Everyone turned to him. "You're beautiful." he continued. Santana glared at him, but she agreed.
"If you guys can't support me, that's okay. But I'm going to do this." Rachel said, walking out of the choir room when the bell rang.
Which brings us to present time...
"Santana, what on earth are you doing?" Rachel asked as she was pulled into one of the bathrooms in William McKinley High School. The minute the door was closed and locked, the cold HBIC look that had previously occupied the girl's eyes vanished and the look that Rachel had become quite familiar with outside of the school building (and sometimes even inside the school building) appeared. "Santana?"
"Rae, baby, please. You don't need a nose job." Santana whispered. Rachel looked away so she wouldn't have to see the tears in her girlfriend's eyes. "Rachel, please don't do this." Santana pleaded.
"Santana, please just let me do this." Rachel said. Santana shook her head.
"Rachel, you're the most beautiful girl in school. You don't need plastic surgery." she said.
"San, I've considered this. I've thought about long and hard. I think this is the right decision." Rachel said, kissing the girl softly before walking out. Pissed, Santana kicked the closest stall door. Pulling out her phone, she called Kurt. The next day, they had a "Barbravention." All Santana could do was pray that it worked. When they were in the auditorium to sing Born This Way, Rachel was nowhere in sight.
"Okay everyone. Let's reveal our shirts." Mr. Schue said. One by one, the Glee Club members opened their jackets.
Puck was wearing I'm with Stupid with an arrow pointing down.
Brittany was wearing I'm with Stupid with an arrow point up.
Mercedes was wearing No Weave.
Mike was wearing Can't Sing.
Finn was wearing Can't Dance.
Artie was wearing Four Eyes.
Tina was wearing Brown Eyes.
Kurt was wearing Likes Boys.
Quinn was wearing Lucy Caboosie.
Sam was wearing Trouty Mouth.
Mr. Schue was wearing Butt Chin.
Ms. Pillsbury was wearing OCD.
"Okay, Santana. Its your turn." Mr. Schue said. Taking a deep breath, Santana opened her jacket and revealed her t-shirt, Lebanese.
"I thought you were Hispanic." Finn said. Santana nodded.
"I am. It's supposed to say Lesbian. Brittany made it for me." Santana said. Everyone nodded in understanding. "I'm a lesbian and I'm accepting it because its who I am. If anyone has a problem with it, I'll be happy to help you figure it out." Santana said. Everyone smiled and Santana knew that they were accepting who she was.
"Okay. Where's Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Her appointment is today." Kurt said softly. Santana looked down.
"And she's missing it!" They all turned toward the voice and Santana didn't even bother trying to hide her smile as Rachel ran up the stairs to the stage.
"What made you change your mind?" Artie asked. Rachel smiled.
"Someone really special to me helped me realize that I don't need a nose job to feel beautiful." Rachel said.
"Who?" Mercedes asked. Rachel bit her lip and just smiled.
"I love you." Santana said, forgetting about the rest of the Glee Club. Rachel looked over in shock and Santana nodded. "I love you, Rach." Santana said as Rachel broke into a large smile.
"I love you too." she said, motioning for Santana to join her. Grinning, Santana ran over and lifted the girl off the floor in a hug. Laughing, Rachel wrapped her arms around the cheerleaders neck and kissed her.
"So you guys are dating?" Tina asked. The two broke apart and Santana set her girlfriend down.
"Yea we are. And I love her more than anything in the world, especially now that she's not getting a nose job. Rachel's the most beautiful girl in the world and she's the best person I know." Santana said, kissing her again.
"And Santana is the sweetest girl in the world and she's the best girlfriend in the world." Rachel said, smiling up adoringly.
"So Santana's a lesbian and dating Rachel... this day is weird." Kurt said. Santana glared and channeled her inner HBIC.
"Got a problem with that?" Santana asked. Smiling, Kurt shook his head and Rachel wrapped her arms around Santana's waist. "Wait... what's Rachel's shirt say?" she asked, taking off the diva's jacket to reveal Nose. Laughing, Santana kissed her. "You're amazing, babe." Santana whispered. Rachel saw Santana's shirt and raised an eyebrow.
"Lebanese?" she asked.
"Brittany made it. She meant to put Lesbian." Santana explained. Rachel grinned.
"You're amazing." she breathed against her girlfriend's lips.
"I love you so much." Santana said.
"I love you too, Santana. So much." Rachel said.
"Okay guys, let's sing Born This Way." Mr. Schue said. Smiling, Rachel grabbed Santana's hand and they went through the song, smiling at each other the entire time, Santana wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist as the song ended.
"I was born this way, hey." they sang.
"I was born to love you." Santana whispered in her ear, smiling as Rachel shivered.
"As was I, baby. As was I." Rachel whispered.