A/N: Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
Warnings: I don't own Glee or any of the characters or any of the songs I may use. This will include lesbian sex, maybe some hetero but it's not likely. Possibly Finn bashing, I'm not entirely sure how yet, but I'll try to find a way. Maybe some triggers but I don't want to give anything away. Angst. I have done a bit of research but all mistakes are still my own.
It had been two days. Two days of resisting the urge to leave more voicemails and text messages because certainly Santana had gotten the several I'd already sent. Two days, of staring at my phone from the couch while Shay tried to convince me whatever happened wasn't my fault. Two days of trying not to take it personally as the bartender suggested when he wouldn't inform me about Santana's whereabouts. It had been two days and finally, I stood outside the familiar door, my hand raised to knock. My left palm rested on my thigh, rubbing my skirt anxiously. Muffled music hummed through the door and I rested my right palm lightly against it, trying to ignore thoughts that my knocking would go unheard.
Suddenly, a noise caught my attention. I jumped before looking to the left to see an old woman staring at me with some sort of agitation. I waved politely but her demeanor didn't change as she slipped into her apartment. I turned back to Santana's door, and sighed, finally deciding to knock. I wrapped at the door three quick times. When nobody answered and the music didn't settle I knocked again. This time I got an actual response, although not the one I expected. I heard a loud thud and scratching before the music was finally turned down. The scratching stopped before a series of locks were undone and the door was opening. Santana didn't see me right away as she urged her dog away, trying to look past the cracked door.
When she finally got a good view of me she hardly seemed pleased.
"Santana, I don't know what happened the other day but I'm-"
I was surprised as she slammed the door shut in my face. I was about to bring my fist to the door again when she opened the door fully, stepping out of the way to let me in.
I looked to her questioningly but her expression remained blank. That was the first time I noticed the cigarette between her lips. She closed the door behind me and finally let Kovu go and shut the door, following with the many locks.
Kovu wasted no time jumping up to greet me with far more urgency than his owner.
"Hey," I smiled shyly as I urged him down and petted between his ears. I glanced over to Santana, although she seemed uninterested in me.
She waved me on as she sat on a barstool and patted herself down, searching for a lighter, I presumed.
"Um, well, I wanted to come over and apologize. I'm sure you've gotten my messages," she rolled her eyes at that, "But I wanted to come in person and say that I'm truly sorry for whatever Shay or I said or did that might have offended you."
She seemed to have finally found a lighter when she stopped to look at me. Santana didn't bother lighting her cigarette as she dropped the lighter onto the counter. She brought her hand up to draw between her fingers and ran them easily through her hair. Her lips curled into a less than amused smile, "You don't know?"
I shook my head slightly, "I'm sorry I-"
She waved for me to stop. In one simple motion, the cigarette was slipped easily behind her ear and her hands were flowing in those intricate motions with meaning I couldn't quite decipher. I tried watching her lips, hoping for any semblance of understanding but I couldn't gain any from the few words I could make out.
"Santana, Santana, please slow down," I stepped forward, trying to calm her down. "I don't understand."
The woman's hands dropped to her lap and her lips formed a tight line. Her eyes widened before forming slits, but I could only see her reaction before she was walking to the room, leaving me to look on with confusion.
When she came back she was typing ferociously at her phone, responding to each new message quickly. When she finally seemed satisfied she roughly handed me the phone. The name Quinn ran across the top of the screen and the message read, "Be there in fifteen. Stay calm."
"Quinn's coming?" I questioned, feeling more and more guilty by the minute.
"You don't understand?" She sneered.
I worried my lip before fidgeting where I stood. "Can I at least sit down?"
She waved me towards one of the couches and I sat, letting the playful dog climb onto my lap, although he didn't quite fit.
We fell into an uncomfortable silence. Santana finally lit her cigarette and sat at the kitchen counter smoking silently. I played with Kovu's ears, unsure if there were anything I could say to improve the situation. In the time it took Quinn to get home nothing occurred to me. When the blonde finally did come through the door I had to breathe a sigh of relief. Kovu left my lap to greet her before she dropped her stack of books onto the counter. It looked like quite a bit of reading.
"Alright, somebody want to tell me what happened?" Quinn finally addressed both of us, "And you know I hate when you smoke in the living room." She reached to take the latest cigarette from between Santana's lips. She was about to put it out when she asked, "Am I going to need this?"
Santana shrugged and nodded.
The blonde rolled her eyes before bringing the white stick up to her own lips, "I hate you," she reminded her friend before looking to me, "So what happened?"
"I don't really know. The other day Santana and I were talking with my roommate Shay and something happened and she just left."
"That's what happened the other day?" Quinn wondered.
Santana offered another shrug before beginning her rant.
"Slow down," Quinn urged between understanding nods.
That seemed to anger her further but she did as told.
"Really?" The taller girl gave a breathy sigh when she got confirmation and moved to sit on the couch beside me. "You said she didn't speak normally?"
I thought back to the conversation I'd gone over in my had dozens of times and my eyes widened as I remembered that. I gave a curt nod and brought my hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose. "I hadn't meant anything by it, just-"
"Save it," she waved me off, "Just don't do it again." The woman moved off of the couch and headed to her own room.
Santana was surprised and jumped to follow the girl, trying to get her attention while she signed frantically at her.
"San, you're acting like I've never said ignorant shit to you. Hell, most of what I said was intentional." The blonde reminded. "I've got pamphlets," both rolled their eyes at that, "If she meant to piss you off would she be here?"
Santana looked over to me uncertainly.
"And I can't understand you when you go to that rage place," she waved vaguely at Santana. "You," she pointed before wagging her finger at me, "Follow."
I nodded before following after her, passing by Santana. She ground her teeth as I passed but walked back towards the living room.
Quinn's room was almost an organized sort of chaos. Where Santana's was bare with the mess designated to each area, Quinn's seemed to spill over. Several bookshelves lined the walls with empty spaces a bit obvious. On the bed, desk, and nightstand were a great deal more books, but certainly more than could fit in the empty pockets of the shelves. I didn't know exactly what I was supposed to do as I watched her go to the shelf and pull a couple of books down before returning them. She found a couple and dropped them onto the bed before a small stack had formed. What looked like a textbook formed the base for the stack of workbooks and pamphlets.
"She's brilliant," Quinn finally intoned, breaking the more comfortable silence that had fallen over us.
"Excuse me?" I replied, drawing my eyes from the growing pile.
Quinn turned the current book in her hand over to read the back. "She's brilliant. Most people don't realize how smart she is. I mean, it's probably for the best because she's a complete asshole, but when you understand her it's different." She slipped the book onto her desk before opening up the desk to reveal more books. "To you it's just broken sentences and jumbles of phrases, but if you could understand half of what she's saying," she sighed and shook her head.
"I want to" I assured, "I really do want to get to know her better." I went to pick up one of the workbooks, examining the generic characters on the front, and running my fingers over the embossed title. "I want to understand her, and I really don't want to upset her again. I'd have come sooner, but-" I shook my head, "I wouldn't have, I'd have sat on my couch, trying not to be clingy and trying to wait for her to text back."
Quinn scoffed at that, "She gets pretty dedicated to her grudges. What made you finally come?"
"My roommate took my apartment keys," I sighed.
She nodded thoughtfully before mumbling, "I'll have to try that." She pulled out a couple more pamphlets before handing them to me. "Those will be your best friends in your venture. Now, take this," she waved to the pile on the bed, "and try not to get her riled up because I need to study and I can't do that if I'm sitting around translating your arguments."
"Quinn," I called as I collected the small pile, "Thank you."
"Whatever," she took on the same uninterested attitude as Santana before reminding, "Just get her to quit smoking. She's always the one that makes me start again."
I nodded before leaving the room to find Santana sitting on the couch with her dog.
I settled beside them, dropping the books onto the coffee table.
Santana reached out to take one from the top and scanned it quickly.
"Would," I started, "Would you mind if I stayed here a bit longer? Shay took my keys."
She raised an amused eyebrow at that but shook her head before returning the book to it's spot and taking another.
"Are these all Quinn's?" I wondered, taking one of the pamphlets.
She gave a quick nod, leaning back in her seat and flipping through the book.
I picked up the textbook, flipping through the first pages before turning to the index. I searched for a moment before going to my desired page. I felt eyes on me but didn't look up until I was certain I'd found what I was looking for. I looked up to catch Santana watching me, although she didn't bother to hide the fact. I brought my hands up before me and, if only a bit hesitantly signed, "I'm sorry." It fell from my lips just as nervously.
"Don't have to," she shrugged and waved to the book. "I over-reacted."
"No," I assured, closing the book and hugging it loosely to my chest before looking away, "It was horrible of me to suggest that because you communicate differently," I paused to look at her, only continuing when I was certain she wasn't offended, "it wasn't normal. I've spent enough time with you to know you're personality and intelligence are hardly limited, whether I'm able to understand you all the time or not." I worried my lip, "But I do want to."
Her eyebrows knit tightly together for a moment. She worried her lip and got up. Kovu easily curled up on her spot, growing comfortable as we both watched her get her phone from the kitchen bar. She typed something out and I hardly had a second thought about taking the offered device. "It's an entire language. I really wouldn't advise taking it on for a couple of dates."
"Even if this doesn't go beyond a couple of dates I would still like to be your friend."
She looked genuinely surprised at that. Her arms crossed over her chest defensively and she examined my face closely.
I felt my cheeks burn slightly but didn't look away.
Finally, Santana's arms uncrossed and she sat in front of me, moving the books out of her way. She took my right hand in hers and fixed it. Showing me a slightly different motion from the gesture I'd used. "M," she pulled away to show my first sign and followed with the second, "Am."
"Thank you," I smiled, repeating the gesture.
}{
"So, what's your name sign?" I wondered, as I looked through one of the textbooks.
Quinn, who hadn't put down her book in the last hour since she'd joined us finally did so, showing an S before bringing her hands up to her forehead, thumbs on her temples and bending her middle and index fingers.
"S-moose?" I asked uncertainly.
Santana covered her mouth as she laughed and Quinn even cracked a smile.
"S-Satan," Quinn corrected.
"Oh." I nodded, trying to remember it before, "Well what would mine be? How do I get one?" I grew a bit excited at the prospect
Santana flashed what I recognized as an R followed by bringing her index finger and thumb away from her lips.
"What's that one," I wondered, mimicking it.
"A good time," Quinn intoned.
Santana waved her off, "Berry."
Santana typed out on her phone, glancing over at Quinn as she did. When she handed me her phone I couldn't restrain my laughter, "Quinn goes by many names, if you ask nicely she'll reply to anything. Bitch is my personal favorite."
Quinn didn't seem too thrilled at our confidentiality and came to snatch the phone from me. She glanced at the screen before shoving Santana from where she sat on the arm of the couch. "Head bitch, in case you forgot."
Santana barely caught herself from completely hitting the ground and hurried to stand up, scowling at her friend. Santana almost got to pull it off with some sort of grace before Kovu realized he'd found the perfect opportunity for a game.
When Santana finally got the dog off of her and stood up, Quinn thought it best to remind her, "He needs to go for a walk."
The raven haired girl seemed to have a few words for her friend, but when the dog sat before her wagging his tail she could only roll her eyes and smile. "Come?" Santana asked me.
"Of course," I smiled at the opportunity and stood up, following Santana and Kovu to the room although she had to stop and wash her face.
In the room she pulled on a jacket, checked for her phone, and grabbed the small whistle from her desk. I watched as she put Kovu's harness on. When she looked to me she noticed my own outfit. "Skirt?"
"Um, my skirt?"
"It's cold out," she reminded, moving to her closet. She pulled out a pair of sweat pants and another jacket.
"I'll be fine, really," I assured.
She raised an eyebrow but insisted, placing the clothes into my hands and walking out of the room.
I changed quickly before going out to the living room. It seemed as if Santana and Quinn had gotten into a small argument.
"Santana, it's not unreasonable, this isn't exactly the best neighborhood. Excuse me for acting like I care."
I couldn't quite decipher what Santana was saying.
"I always ask because you forget. You've left your whistle and phone before during the day but it's entirely different at night."
Santana seemed absolutely frustrated.
"Adults get kidnapped, raped, and murdered too Santana."
Still, Santana went on.
Quinn huffed, ready to turn and walk away when she saw me. "Rachel," she called me over, "Is it so unreasonable for me, Santana's best friend and roommate, to insist she carry her phone and whistle?"
I looked between them both, both girls particularly menacing. "Well," I looked to Quinn first, "It is important, that she carry those. Anybody walking about at night should." Quinn looked smug, "But Santana is an adult, and as such I'm sure she doesn't need to be constantly be reminded of the dangers of not being able to call for help should anything happen." It was Santana's turn to grin. "I'd still be very grateful to have a roommate who cares so much about my well-being."
"You're the one making something out of this San," Quin began darkly, "Even people who can scream for help need someone to watch out for them." That seemed to be the end of this conversation. I moved out of the taller girl's way as she passed.
}{
Kovu really was a sweet boy; he hardly let the earlier argument dampen his walk. Even at night he still sort of led the walk. Santana and I followed him around the neighborhood, laughing at his playful nature. I developed a good appreciation for Santana's strength when she handed me the leash. The dog almost pulled me over. Santana had to balance me a couple of times. Finally, when the walk came to an end we sat on the stoop outside of the apartment building, Kovu sitting beside me with his head on my lap.
"Traitor," Santana reached to pat the dogs head.
"Quinn really does seem to mean the best," I pointed out, looking at Santana. Between all the street lamps we didn't get much time to chat on the walk.
Santana shrugged and nodded.
"I understand being an adult and not wanting to be pestered, but maybe you could cut her some slack."
"Mom's not even that bad," she mentioned, smiling almost bitterly.
"To be fair, I'd probably be the same way."
Santana pursed her lips in thought before standing. She held out her hand and I took it, standing up quickly. "I'll take you home," Santana offered.
"Oh, I should call Shay."
She nodded and we made our way upstairs.
}{
"Shay!" I yelled into the handset.
"I'm sorry, okay, but at least you two made up. Spend the night. Have fun. Get laid," Shay rushed out, "I have to go."
"What happened?"
"Shay's spending the night at some girl's, and she has my keys," I groaned, dropping my head onto my palm.
"Stay."
I blushed slightly and looked down as I offered, "I could sleep on the couch."
"What? No," Santana shook her head.
"Are you sure it wouldn't be odd?" I worried.
She gnawed her lip but nodded, "Of course not."
"Alright."
Santana fished out her phone, "Come on, I'll make Quinn order some Chinese food."
Quinn was anything but thrilled to find out she was being forced to order dinner, but she did it, although not without cursing afterwards and reminding Santana she was paying. We sat and watched television until the food came. Even while complaining Santana picked off of my sweet and sour tofu. It was sort of cute. Kovu and Santana ended up in a stare down when she finally broke down and acknowledged his begging. That proved enough distraction for him to "accidentally" knock her last egg roll from the table. That prompted me to share my spring roles. Quinn only watched in silent amusement over her Teriyaki chicken. By the end of the night we'd worn ourselves down fairly well. When we finally went to bed we had to deal with the ordeal of convincing Kovu he would be fine sleeping alone. Mostly, that entailed Santana holding the door until the scratching subsided and we heard the floor creak in the living room's general direction.
"It really is fine if he sleeps in here," I assured.
Santana nodded but didn't seem convinced.
I played with the hem of my borrowed t-shirt, although when I looked up I couldn't hide my awkwardness as Santana slid her sweat pants off before moving behind me on the mattress. I followed her with my eyes as she checked to make sure the window was shut tightly.
Finally, she got down on the bed and under the covers. That seemed to be when she noticed me watching. "Heater," she pointed to my own sweats.
"Oh," I blushed, climbing under the covers beside her, "I'll be fine."
"Sure?" She asked.
I nodded my affirmation once more, lying down.
She shrugged and turned off the light before following.
I honestly couldn't tell you how long it was, but it certainly wasn't some remarkable amount of time, before I was struggling to take off the thick terry-cloth pants without waking the girl beside me. I pushed them down, just below my hips and had to kick a bit to get them any farther. Of course, I regretted not listening earlier, but that was the least of my worries. I was about to give up and suffer when soft skin brushed between my legs, taking the pants completely off. I couldn't stifle an unexpected moan as I felt the leg between my own.
"I didn't mean to wake you," I began, feeling an entirely different heat.
In the dark I could make out the dark shake of her head.
"I should have listened to you earlier," I tried to keep my tone hushed.
If there was a response, I didn't realize it. I was mildly disappointed when the leg between my own moved, but not far.
I resisted the urge to search out a hand beneath the blankets.