Santana woke to a much louder airport than the one she'd fallen asleep in. People were piling in, footsteps echoing everywhere as she drifted into consciousness. Even their little hall that once only held the two of them was filled with a few more stragglers, likely people with similar plans to escape the masses for a little while longer. One duo of presumably a mother and daughter caught her attention, seated across from them along a dividing wall. As Santana's eyes cleared ad her focus returned, she realized the girl was staring in awe at her guitar case. She smirked a little, recalling that she'd had the same reaction when she first had walked into a music store and saw the guitar she still lugged around. Sure, it was a little odd that a young girl was gaping in awe at her ragged guitar case, carrying an even more weathered guitar, but it was nice to know some kids still saw the magic in music.
Wiping the rest of the sleep from her eyes, she looked over to where Rachel was sitting, the woman not having moved at all from what she could remember; Rachel was just focusing intently on her phone's screen, so Santana figured she wouldn't disturb her. She stretched out for a moment, to try and relieve herself of the stiffness plaguing her body, before slumping back down against the wall she'd propped herself against for her nap. Santana wasn't sure how long she'd slept yet, but she was feeling a fair bit better already.
Rachel seemed entirely engrossed in whatever she was busy looking at, which left her with no real opportunity to relieve her boredom but tweaking her song, or perhaps pulling her guitar out to idly play some music. Santana wasn't naïve, she knew that there wasn't a consistency to people's love of buskers. In some places, people loved and welcomed them, but in some, they'd be chased out quickly with a lot of threats about bringing hell and physical violence and lawsuits or whatever stick got up someone's ass on a given day. She wasn't sure how the crowds nearby would take to her playing around, but she figured she was trapped with them and their mindless white noise jabbering, so her music would fit in perfectly.
Taking a moment to consider her options, she eventually caught a glance from the young girl across from her, who looked like she desperately wanted to say something but was much too shy. Santana made the call and dragged her guitar case onto her lap, opening it and pulling her old beauty out. It was her first guitar, and it had survived alongside her since her fourteenth birthday, when she'd bought it for herself in absence of gifts from her family. She brushed her hand over it, taking in all the wear and tear; it had busted and been knocked around so many times that it sounded very little like it did when she first bought it, but she loved the thing. It had character. It was enduring evidence of her first real effort to pursue her passion. Evidence that her dream, as fractured and weathered as it was, wasn't entirely lost quite yet. That it still had a bit left in it.
Santana quickly slung it over her shoulder, feeling the familiar weight before sliding her case off her lap and onto the ground, allowing the guitar to rest naturally on her crossed legs. She took a few moments to tune the guitar, as the tuning pegs had a tendency to slip a fair bit over time. Her baby was getting old, and she knew it wouldn't last all that much longer, but she'd keep it working as long as she could. If that meant taking five minutes to tune her guitar and shift the pegs to make them stick in place better, so be it. By the time she was finished, she realized that she had both Rachel and the young girl's rapt attention; she understood Rachel being curious about her music, and figured the young girl just wanted to hear something to drown out the blabbering of the masses.
She stole a brief glance at her roommate, who looked intrigued, before fully facing the young girl. "Any requests?" she asked simply, feeling kind of less grumpy than earlier in the morning, and much more charitable.
The kid immediately shot up from a seated position to her knees, stumbling forward a little bit. "Can…"
"Now, Grace, she's not a karaoke machine. Keep that in mind, alright princess? Don't try to goad her into anything." The older woman stated, cutting her daughter off, who looked positively remorseful.
Santana laughed at the pouting girl and gave a reassuring smile to the mother. "It's totally fine, I'll only play what I know, anyway. And, if you want, I can keep it strictly seasonal." Santana noted, before turning to catch Rachel with an excited grin on her face. "Heck, I'll even lure my Broadway friend here to help with the singing if she feels up to it."
Rachel blushed hard immediately, but gave a polite nod that did nothing to mask her enthusiasm. She knew the diva loved performing, it was her happy place; it was why glee was so special for the both of them.
"Can…can you play some Florence and the Machine? I saw the sticker on your case and I've been wondering if you're just a fan, or maybe a roadie, or maybe you know her, or maybe you just thought the sticker was cool, but then I figured that'd be silly and…" the girl rambled at a speed rivaling Rachel in sophomore year, which was kind of remarkable. Santana just held up her hand, trying to keep her amused smirk from getting any bigger; she didn't want to make the kid feel bad or embarrassed or anything.
"I know a song from one of her older albums, but I might need some help from a friend. And I don't know the song all that well on guitar anymore, it's been a few years." Santana said softly, her eyes darting to spot Rachel giving her a questioning look. "'Shake It Out', follow my lead… but jump in when it feels natural, alright?"
Rachel gave her a thumbs up and Santana started what basic chord progression she knew the song followed. She'd rarely played it since performing it to Bieste; it was a special moment and she didn't feel that much could be done to top it in her books.
If she were to be honest, the song was eerily fitting for both of their situations, at least what Santana knew of Rachel's. They both made mistakes along the way, they both had regrets and failures and for too long Santana knew that hers haunted her with every breath. She desperately wanted to shake out the skeletons in her closet and all her hang-ups, it was just hard to do alone. She'd tried before, only to just fail even worse. At least I still want to try, though…I'm not entirely out of this yet, I still have hope, as dim as it is at times. I still love doing this...I just don't want it to be the death of me... She mused to herself, knowing that as hard as it would be, she'd have to exorcise her past in order to get past it.
At the same time though, Santana really didn't want to kill off her entire history. She had a lot of great moments, mostly involving glee and those thirteen months spent in New York with Kurt and Rachel. Those moments, or the memories of them, were things she held dear and cherished when she was struggling and desperate. Letting go of that meant letting go of everything that helped get her through the past few years, and while her past was a reason why she'd struggled so mightily, it wasn't the only reason. Her career choice was not an objectively wise one when it came to financial stability, after all, and that had been the primary reason why her life had been so difficult.
And it WAS difficult, along with both her past and the prospect of dealing with it. Could she exorcise her past without exorcising Rachel? The girl was right beside her in the hallway, and if she were to be honest, Santana didn't want to say goodbye so soon. Especially when the other girl needed some cheering up still; though, as they finished the song, it was clear to see Rachel was already in a better mood. She just wanted that to extend to after performing too, and she kind of wanted to hear Rachel sing along in not just a backing role.
Her eyes quickly found the young girl, Grace, who was looking absolutely over the moon from the performance, clapping enthusiastically. It was only then that Santana realized her open guitar case had unexpectedly collected money. Mostly Canadian coin money, but money nonetheless. Enough for a sandwich or two, which was pretty awesome by her standards.
"Thanks for playing. You were both really good." The girl squeaked out shyly, biting the nail on her thumb nervously.
Santana was too busy enjoying the feeling of positive feedback to respond, which Rachel seemed to pick up on thankfully. "You're very welcome, thank you for the wonderful suggestion. It's been a while since Santana and I sang together…we used to be in the top show choir in all of the United States of America, you know?"
At that, the girl's eyes widened comically, her mouth gaping open for a moment before her head snapped to focus on Santana, then Rachel again, then her mother. "Th…those exist?! Mom, we need to find a school with one of those, I need room to develop my burgeoning talent and…"
"Easy, Grace. Take a deep breath… I'll do some research when I get home, sweetie." The mother noted with amusement, ruffling the young girl's hair much to Grace's annoyance.
Santana watched the interaction, the two of them reminding her a bit of her cousin's love for her child. It wasn't something Santana was certain she wanted for herself, she was only twenty six after all, but she wasn't opposed to the idea of having a kid of her own one day or whatever. She'd always envied the other kids and their loving, doting mothers growing up, and she wanted to know she could raise a child right. That she could do better than her mother.
"Seeing as I took a request from the munchkin, anything you want to hear while we're at it?" Santana asked the older woman, who merely shrugged.
"Something Canadian, I guess." The woman replied simply, an easy smile spreading across her face, which quickly grew as Rachel's excitement literally burst out of her.
"Santana… Santana, can…can I sing lead on this one? I have a fantastic song idea, and while it has been nearly a year since I last sang it, for an audition I managed to win mind you, I am confident that it would be fitting to the provided requirements." Rachel blurted out in one enthusiastic breath. Santana smiled and shook her head, having missed that unrestrained enthusiasm from her old friend. It was always a wild time when Rachel was in her bubble, but it usually turned out pretty special and memorable.
"I was actually going to ask that you take this one, because I want you to give these people an encore after your time here. Besides, I don't know much Canadian music, I'd probably just play something by The Tragically Hip, or Arcade Fire or whatever." Santana spoke, though it was kind of a lie. She'd practically buried herself in modern music when she started off, and got to be familiar with hundreds of Canadian acts. Secretly, she kept sending her demo tape to Arts & Crafts, but the record label never really called her back. It usually just resulted in added disappointment after each stretch of silence from the label, but it was her dream anyway, and she knew she had to have something to hang onto. She never expected to be signed to them, that just seemed unrealistic, but it was healthy to have a little bit of hope sometimes, no matter the odds. It was how Rachel made her way to the top.
Rachel clapped excitedly, and it was clear her and the young girl were sharing some crazy weird wavelength, both with their enthusiasm and long-winded rambling. "Excellent. Can you play the guitar for "To Love You More" by Celine Dion?" Rachel asked, positively chipper and hopeful, and while Santana thought it very well might be an impossible task, she just nodded. How could she turn Rachel down when she was so happy? THAT was an impossible task. She'd tried before, to no avail.
Santana bit her lip as she pondered how to play it, and how Rachel would sound singing it; she really wanted to hear the diva belt one of those crazy difficult ballads again, and she was handed the opportunity, however challenging. It was a song that was made for classical instruments, after all, not a single beaten up acoustic guitar. "You DO see I'm holding a single guitar in my hands, right? Not a cello or violin?" Santana asked as she chuckled at how ridiculously outperformed she'd be in a few moments. She hadn't expected Rachel's face to fall so fast at her remark. "I'll improvise… my guitar and some humming should help me meet the most minimal standards of the Rachel Berry musical rating system. Just warning you, because I know how you are about expecting perfection."
Rachel blushed, rolling her eyes. "I know that due to certain constraints, your ability to reproduce the song's backing music will be difficult, and you may not be perfect, but you're all I need right now." Rachel stated confidently, putting a curious bit of emphasis on that last bit. Santana just smiled and nodded at the compliment, deciding not to put too much thought into that quite yet.
"Alright, so I know all of you are probably Americans stuck here in this snowy wasteland…" Santana announced to the general area as she tuned her guitar to better accommodate the song. "But if any of you went and saw 'Mamma Mia!' here in the city that would desperately love to be the nation's capital, you might recognize the lady beside me who'll be gracing you with her presence. She's a much, much better singer than me, so adjust your standards accordingly." She joked as a fair bit of the people in their area turned and faced them. Santana smiled at the added attention, knowing Rachel was clutch under pressure. Or, she was years ago, and she couldn't imagine the diva lost that.
Rachel looked like she was about to interrupt, but Santana started playing, letting the diva know it was game time. Honestly, she was pretty happy with the approach she'd thought up on the fly; it was impossible to erase memories of how Rachel had trained for the Funny Girl audition with the song for weeks, and that had helped her know the song intimately. She eased into the song, but when Rachel's voice started up, she almost stumbled. It was one thing to hear her singing modest backing vocals, but when Rachel sang lead, she dominated people's attention. Even with Santana finger-picking like a pro, it only just accented the other woman's voice; not that Santana's skills were anything near a Stevie Ray Vaughan or Andres Segovia, but she knew her shit. She was just happy her shit was feeding into Rachel's performance, was all.
Her voice was just awe-inspiring, and while she really, really tried to multitask with humming and strumming, it was difficult with Rachel singing so perfectly and passionately. Midway through the chorus, Santana had to avert from the diva's gaze that had been locked onto her, unable to watch the girl fall deeper and deeper into her role. She knew Rachel's need to look at someone, imagined or real, while she sang, but she just couldn't keep it up without fucking the whole song over. So she just looked down, her heart thumping in her chest loudly as she played, as Rachel's immaculate voice transformed the song into her own creation. It was stunning.
Not just the vocal masterpiece Rachel was graciously and generously presenting to the passersby or the shocking emotional depth in every note the diva sang, but also what it was stirring up in her. Santana had never really been a target that a winged cherub with a bow and arrow would ever consider; no one had ever been infatuated with her. No one had ever fought for her, no one had ever sought out her love, no one had tried for her affection at all. Sure, Britt had been her best friend, and she enjoyed her company, but Britt sought out Santana for friendship, hugs, soulless sex and as a duck-watching companion more than she'd sought her out for romantic love. And more or less, the aforementioned things were expected from her when they'd taken things to the next level. Things were always easy with the blonde, but when Santana would hold off on her affection due to something or the other, Britt would just get what she needed elsewhere without any hesitation. She'd never been particularly special to Britt in that way, just useful, and that stung.
Truth was that the only person that had made her feel the least bit special was Berry, who sought out her friendship, who aggressively scheduled their free time so she could have her "Santana Time" after her classes and before Santana left for work each night. It was Berry who made her special sugar cookies just because she felt like putting a smile on Santana's face, and who argued with her that her body wouldn't get all gross if she ate more than two. That the girl had wanted to be around her, had wanted her in her life, and would hug her and speak to her so sincerely were huge. It was what she felt was the biggest culprit for why she'd started feeling shit for the pint-sized dynamo, and why she felt so guilty about it. For weeks, months, she doubted it was legitimate, that it was just a byproduct of feeling a sliver of what she'd wanted all her life from the other people that she cared about the most. It was only in the last month and a half of her stay with Kurt and Rachel that she came to know it was more than that, which was a big reason why she had vanished. Santana Lopez was a runner, and she more than solidified that reputation as soon as she'd left the apartment for good. At least she could admit it, right?
But hearing Rachel sing again, about something so personal and intimate, just brought all of those feelings back, crashing into her mind like a stormy November sea against a rocky shore. Except maybe not a rocky shore, because as seconds passed, she was feeling a lot less stable, at least emotionally. Because with how Rachel was singing, she kind of really did want to hope that Rachel could show her everything her heart needed to know, even if it was absolutely and utterly foolish to hope. It was too enticing having Rachel's gaze upon her, hearing a song traditionally sung for a male sung to her, talking about how Rachel would be better than some other girl for her, how she would STAY for her. Mostly because she was pretty sure Rachel WOULD be better than pretty much any other woman, even if that nugget of information didn't quite drown out the chorus of inner thoughts yelling that Rachel had left her six years ago. Was it such a crime that she let Rachel, singing about her wanting to find a way to get love back, distract her from those thoughts for a little while? Even if it was a pipe dream, even if it had always been a pipe dream, she just wanted to sit back and enjoy being sung to, pathetic or not. Santana had only ever been the target once before outside of glee, and that was when Rachel practiced some song from Wicked on her. Being focused on during a love song was something else entirely, even if the other woman didn't mean it at all.
The crowd around them, one which had at least doubled from what it was when Rachel had started singing, broke into applause as Rachel completed her powerful last note. Santana smiled as she fought her insecurities, only needing a quick moment before gazing up at Rachel, whose eyes were on her, a few stray tears rolling down her cheeks. She let herself be open for once, hoping her enormous smile would show the diva that she was absolutely thrilled about the song and about Rachel singing it, hoping it would show the diva how proud she was. Santana could see in the shorter woman's eyes that she needed a hug, so she put her guitar on the floor and stood up.
"Rachel Berry, everyone." She said proudly, before embracing the woman in a hug, one that Rachel reciprocated fiercely. The song had always worked her up, and those weeks before the final callback audition had been a huge emotional whirlwind full of hugs and tears and everything, and she was just as glad to be able to help then as she was in the airport hallway. Santana knew that Rachel got into her roles immensely quickly, which meant that the girl likely lived out her past heartbroken moments countless times while rehearsing; it wasn't something she envied the girl for, but it did make her respect the shit out of her. And she supposed it had caused a number of worried thoughts and the odd vague, argument with the diva over that stuff. She just didn't want Rachel hurting, even if it meant she wouldn't get as deep into some roles.
Santana let go after a few moments and rested her forehead against Rachel's, somewhat thankful the diva was wearing heels and she wasn't, putting them on a level playing field. "You're amazing, Rach." She whispered, wiping the tears from the girl's face with the pad of her thumb.
"Santana…" Rachel started as Santana pulled back, the diva looking at her strangely; Santana kind of really wanted to say it was an adoring expression, but it was really hard to say, and she didn't feel like getting her hopes thrashed by reality so quickly. She quirked an eyebrow at the diva, wordlessly requesting for her to continue. She watched Rachel open her mouth to speak, but then the diva composed herself for a moment, giving Santana a shy smile. "Thank you. For…for letting me sing."
She shrugged, wondering why that was so hard to say, but she supposed that the song had been tremendously emotional, and Rachel was still clearly working through it. "No worries, Berry. Any time." She answered, just pleased that they were both seemingly in a nice happy bubble. Santana knew she didn't want to leave it, and knew Rachel was clearly feeling a similar vibe. It reminded her of glee club and their silly sing-alongs in the apartment; it was a really nice feeling to have that joy and energy back. It reminded her of what she'd once had, and perhaps what she could have again, given the right motivation, luck, and a push from the right person.
Rachel Berry was a coward. Well, only a little bit of one, if she were to be honest, but still a coward. When the option to sing a Canadian song had been brought up, she knew exactly what song she had needed to sing. It wasn't a matter of want at that point; she needed to express herself, to work out her emotions, to see if she could really sing that song and feel it when singing to Santana.
And when she held the other woman's gaze for the first two verses and the first half of the chorus, she felt a lot of things. Mostly, sincerity; Rachel wanted Santana back. She wanted her hugs, she wanted to be her ex-roommate's anchor again, she wanted to be that person Santana ditched possible one-night stands for just to watch movies and hang out, just like they used to. She wanted to stay for the woman, she wanted to love her, if it came to that. She'd been so close when they were in their Bushwick apartment, and while it was something that scared and terrified her then, she was much stronger at that moment in the airport. She wanted Santana to believe that she could find happiness with her, because as she sang, she wasn't sure she'd ever been so certain of it; all the happy memories of their relatively brief time together had flashed through her mind, and she'd gained a sort of clarity that had been so immense that she couldn't help but tear up. Yet, it was the adoring, hopeful look in Santana's eyes that had caused the first tear to fall. It was a look that she'd seen so many times before, so many years ago; one that she must have refused to acknowledge emotionally, because all she could see in those eyes was how much the guitarist felt for her. If she wasn't Rachel Barbra Berry and didn't have excellent breath control, it would have taken her breath away. Instead, she merely struggled from the moment she noticed that expression until the end of the song.
So even when Santana looked away, blushing as she determinedly played along, surprisingly skillfully in her eyes, Rachel couldn't help but feel over the moon. And when Santana immediately understood that she needed a hug after such an emotional performance, she literally thought she'd drift away on cloud nine. It just felt right. And when Santana complimented her so earnestly, and so close up that if Rachel had leaned forward slightly, she could have taken those soft lips with her own, her thoughts were scattered to the winds of the airport's active heating system. And she wanted to blame her missed opportunity to confess her feelings right then and there on the fact that Santana had her all flustered, but she knew in her heart that she was scared of rejection, just like she once was back in Bushwick.
It still didn't dim her happiness, even hours later in the dark of the evening, as the both of them had continued to sing and enjoy each other's company and talents. Rachel hadn't sung for so long in one sitting before, but her voice didn't seem to be complaining due to her insisting on being properly hydrated; the young girl, Grace, would run off between songs occasionally with money from the guitar case to buy water for them. She was a cute little thing who reminded Rachel of herself. The crowd that had migrated to their hall certainly wasn't complaining either, aside from the odd grump who wasn't happy that they'd spent the past hour and a half singing solely Christmas music.
Every once in a while, Santana would stop playing and answer questions, take requests, or just chat a bit with the people around her. Rachel couldn't imagine the raven-haired beauty not being popular and well liked at her shows, given how casual and carefree the woman was with everyone. It was so difficult to imagine a crowd of patrons unwilling to engage with her on any level. It was baffling!
"I was born in a small town back in Ohio, and I went to high school with Rachel. We both went to New York when we graduated… the city won us over in junior year. She went to NYADA to be the next Broadway star and I worked at bars to pay my way while I figured shit out." Santana spoke, answering the same question for the third time that day, though always a slightly different way, yet with the same sincerity.
"So you two have been attached at the hip since?" One of the randoms around them asked, Rachel unsure who it was, as her focus was too entirely fixed on Santana to see.
"Nah, we split shortly after we moved there, but it's nice to know that half a dozen years later I can still sit down and jam songs out with her like old times." Santana noted happily, sparing her a soft glance before looking over to the young girl. Surprisingly, Santana had seemed rather enamored with Grace, and had often encouraged her to sing with them when she knew the words. The girl, of course, was ecstatic the whole time. It was nice to see Santana get a bit of an ego-boost, especially after hearing about her struggles. "And it's nice to see we have a successor in line to capture a nationals trophy in glee."
Rachel knew the girl would probably do quite well in a glee club, as Grace's voice was strong for her age. Perhaps not as strong as her own was back then, but certainly technically sound. "Santana, a single person can't win a nationals trophy. Not that I don't believe she'll leave high school without accolades, she'll simply have to recruit a strong supporting cast." She added at the end, not wanting the girl to feel down about it, but she didn't want Santana filling her head with false hope. She recalled how much her ego had harmed the glee club throughout highschool.
"Come on Rach, if she's anything like you…and she kind of is…she'll pull a team together like you did and come out on top." Santana scoffed, rolling her eyes, taking a moment to wink at the young girl, who seemed to be taking the criticism well. Rachel blushed at the compliment; she'd always enjoyed it when people pointed out her efforts to make glee successful back in their high school days. It gave her a stronger sense of accomplishment, like she hadn't quite failed at every level of her life.
"Point taken." She conceded, drawing a smug grin from the other woman. Rachel checked her phone briefly, noticing it was quarter after seven, and that they hadn't eaten anything substantial since breakfast, and she was admittedly feeling peckish. She nudged the other woman, who was scrolling through the playlist on her iPod for inspiration. "San? Are you hungry?"
Santana paused, her brow furrowing for a moment, before turning to Rachel with an expression like she'd just discovered gravity. "I'm starving actually. Wow." The woman said, looking down at her guitar with a puzzled expression. "My stomach is all over the place right now…how did I not notice that?"
Rachel giggled at the woman's obliviousness and pulled Santana to her feet. She looked over the crowd of people around them, some talking amongst themselves, some looking bored and checking their phones, some looking expectantly at them. Rachel cleared her throat and waved her hands, a gesture Santana broke out into laughter over. She was pretty sure it wasn't THAT funny or silly.
"Excuse me, I want to thank you all for spending time with us today. We haven't eaten since about nine this morning, so we're going to grab a bite to eat. We aren't exactly an official act, but when we return, we might still perform if we feel up to it. Either way, thank you again." She spoke cheerfully, many of the people nodding and walking off.
"Hey, sorry to bother you two, but could you guys watch our luggage while we're out? It's hard to haul that stuff all over the airport on an empty stomach, especially with how packed this place is and all." She heard Santana ask the mother and daughter combo. They gladly accepted the request and Rachel thanked them, before pulling Santana through the airport, eyes peeled for a decent place to eat.
Santana halted abruptly a few minutes later, in the middle of a large hall. "Wait…I have to pee."
Rachel let a loud laugh slip out, rolling her eyes at the taller woman. "I see you've kept your famous tact, Santana. It's nice to know you haven't lost that heartwarming trait." She spoke sarcastically, though she wasn't exactly lying. Sure, Santana's odd wit, bevy of insults and strange obliviousness to awkwardness could at times be trying, but it managed to be endearing and surprisingly charming at times. Rachel never knew exactly what to expect with Santana, and she was glad to see that part of her endured the past years.
Santana was pleased as shit to have a wonderful amount of food in her stomach. Being a musician, a part time barista and a part time dancer didn't leave her with a hell of a lot of money. She hadn't been lying to Rachel about having single meal days, so it was kind of awesome to have earned enough money to eat a nice big meal. That she earned it simply by having fun and entertaining herself and others gave her a nice, happy feeling. It had been good, playing to a relatively small crowd like they had, especially since they were interested. It was even better with her old friend by her side through it all.
More than anything, it was a great relief to know the two of them still sounded all kinds of awesome together. Ever since their duet on West Side Story, Santana had looked forward to the rare opportunities to sing with the brunette, something she wished she'd done earlier in high school. In truth, she kind of wished they had the room in their hallway to perform 'So Emotional', but it just didn't seem to be in the cards. Still, it was nice to have run into Rachel; having someone other than her cousin to talk to across the past four or five years was a rare occurrence, and she was just trying to enjoy it while it lasted.
The pair eventually found themselves back in their usual spot, Santana slumping down against the wall instead of on the seats. She was surprised to find Rachel sitting quietly beside her on the floor, rather close to her if she were to make a judgment on the distance. Well, it IS getting a little chilly in here…
A clearing throat brought Santana's attention over to the two across from them, still sitting against the median. The mother gave a brief wave, which Santana returned before dragging hers and Rachel's luggage back to their side. She spotted a brief glowing, excited smile on Grace's face before her mother mussed up the girl's hair.
"Grace, they played for hours and hours…you know as well as I that singing puts a lot of strain on the body." The girl's mother noted chidingly, and Grace gave possibly the third fiercest pout Santana had ever witnessed, obviously behind Brittany and Rachel's magnificently manipulative ones. Her mother, however, seemed entirely unaffected, thankfully; Santana's throat was a bit sore, and she was looking forward to a bit of rest. "If we're still here tomorrow, and if you ask nicely, I'm sure they could sing another song or two."
Grace just looked entirely crestfallen at the situation, much like how Rachel had when they once took a road trip back to Lima and the diva's request for a nine hour Barbra Streisand music marathon was denied. "I wish I could keep singing like my cyborg friend here…" Santana noted with a smile, pointing a thumb at Rachel, whose eyes were closed, the diva's ears plugged with headphones. "She can sing for hours without end. I'm only human, though, and I didn't really prep for that amount of singing, so I'm a bit sore. But yeah, if you two are here tomorrow and we're here, we can sing a bit more, no worries."
"Thanks for playing so long for us. It was a lot of fun!" the girl said, her eyes bright with enthusiasm. Santana couldn't help but grin at how much the girl reminded her of a young Rachel Berry, only taller. Which was kind of amusing in and of itself.
"It was, wasn't it?" she asked openly, her eyes glancing over at the diva yet again before moving to Grace's mother. "And thank you both for being the best audience I could ask for."
"I'm just happy that you made my daughter happy. She, as you can probably tell, is very much into music as well…whenever she's not singing, she's listening to music." The mother stated warmly, looking lovingly at her daughter, who just blushed a little.
Santana nodded and rested back against her coat-covered luggage. "Sounds exactly like my friend. You couldn't get her to stop singing. Literally, on bus rides to sectionals and regionals, she'd be singing or practicing scales even when people were yelling at her to be quiet, and the only time she'd stop was when she was resting her voice for performances, while listening to Barbra Streisand on her iPod or whatever." She said as memories of their glee outings flashed through her mind. Sure, Rachel had been annoying and overbearing at times, but it was all a little bit endearing and cute too.
"Could I ever be as good of a singer as her?" Grace asked quietly, biting her lip in anxiety, the girl's eyes darting between Rachel and Santana.
Santana was startled by the question, and had to take a few moments to honestly think about it. Memories of all that Rachel did to get what talent she had came to her mind, as well as all the memories of the other gleeks, and finally, her own work with her pursuits as a singer. She knew that everyone brought something to the table when it came to their voice, and as long as they brought their A game, they really couldn't do much wrong.
"I think that…if you work hard at it, if you love what you do, if you believe in yourself…then you can be as special as Rachel is at singing. I wouldn't say as good as or better, necessarily, because…well, everyone has a unique voice that's worth hearing. If you love what you do, if you put your heart into what you sing, then who's to say who's voice is better than anyone else's? Music…it's art, it's passion made audible, and if you can harness that, you'll be something amazing." She stated, trying not to stumble over her words as they came to her. She saw Grace blush and nod, and she was glad she'd appeased the girl; Santana hoped her words were true.
It was what she felt, either way; not everyone had Rachel's technical brilliance, but if everyone sounded like the diva, music would be a little boring, and Rachel's voice wouldn't be so special. And while Santana knew her own voice wasn't incredible or spectacular, it was what kept her afloat; despite everything else in her life falling apart, music had been a stable presence in her life. It kept her passionate, even if she hadn't seen the success that she would have liked. Santana just clutched onto the hope that Rachel would be successful, wanting to know that dreams could come true. She wasn't sure what she could do to help the diva in her pursuits, but she knew that she wanted to do what she could to get her where she deserved to be. She didn't want to leave the diva when they got out of there. Last time, she thought leaving would help the brunette reach her potential faster, would help her reach her dreams, but it hadn't seemed to help at all. Not that she felt her presence had a monumental impact on the diva, but she knew in the past that she'd helped. Santana just wanted to be someone Rachel could rely on to relieve her stress again, even if the odds were good that the diva would be out of her life minutes after they landed in New York.
"Tomorrow, can you sing one of your own songs?" Grace asked excitedly and wide-eyed, making Santana wonder if she was like Rachel in that she only stopped buzzing around energetically when focused on music or when sleeping. Again, she was taken by surprise, sitting there blinking at the girl as her mind tried to formulate a response.
"Um…how do you know I'm actually a musician? I could just be a girl who likes singing karaoke, and playing guitar." Santana noted apprehensively, prompting the girl to lift up her phone, showing Santana's website.
She shook her head and sighed, not sure whether to be amused over the fact that the girl was just as much of a research hound as Rachel, apparently. Her website got maybe ten hits a month, not including search engine bots or whatever. "Maybe." She stated as she shrugged, giving the girl an apologetic look. "It's like reading a book report in front of class, to give you an analogy, except they're the ones grading you, deciding if you pass or fail. And you're not the most popular kid around, and no one's read the book you chose except for you. It's…it's easier to sing songs you know that people like, than it is to show off the stuff that you put your heart and soul into, because no one knows it. You don't have the radio's high rotation on your side, you don't have nostalgia to build on, just your own words and the hope that the audience will have a good enough attention span to listen, and the musical tastes to enjoy it. It's riskier."
"But you won't know if we'll like it if you don't try." The girl stated with a megawatt smile, and Santana really couldn't retort that she HAD tried already, countless times, with no success.
"I might take the opportunity if it's here tomorrow." Santana stated, deciding that it's as much as she could commit to at the moment. Grace just smiled, and her mother rolled her eyes at her daughter's behavior and ability to rope people into doing things.
Grace's mom checked her phone momentarily and then got to her feet. "Gracie, the airport workers are setting up cots in the waiting room soon. If we're lucky, we can grab one." The woman said, and after a parting wave, the two ladies were off to find a more comfortable sleeping area than the floor. Santana was feeling the pull of sleep at the edges of her mind, but knew she could stay awake a bit longer. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rachel re-positioning herself to get comfier, so she knew the diva was probably close to flaming out as well.
I wonder how long she'll be awake for? I should probably ask… she mused as she scooted over toward the diva, figuring it was long past the woman's bedtime. But nothing was really all that normal, what with them being stuck in a Canadian airport just a few short hours from Christmas Eve.
A/N: Yay third chapter!
I wanted to bring up more of their interactions in the past through this chapter, show what they'd abandoned way back when, when they'd gone separate ways. Also wanted to get some audience interaction, bring in some nostalgia, etc.
Anywho, thank you al for your tremendous support. I know this fic's a bit 'darker' than other ones (in the fact that both are struggling to varying degrees), and normally people tend to read much fluffier stuff, so it means a lot that you all are giving this a shot. :)
Guest Reviewers:
-Guest14: I'm thrilled you're enjoying it :D Yeah, they definitely harbor a bunch of regrets over how they handled their split. Which are pretty clearly spelled out in this chapter as well. :)
-Guest: The sequel's coming! I've just had a slew of other little one-shots I've been writing as well that have been taking up my time. In the process of thinking up fun events for the sequel, I've come up with some that just didn't fit in that universe, but that were too fun or interesting to not do something about. But the sequel's almost ready.