Author's Note: Thank you so much for the follows and reviews, it means a lot that people are enjoying this story. Hope you like this chapter, it's the longest one I've ever written but there was a lot to cover...
Chapter Ten: Engaged Bliss
It was midnight when Quinn and Santana climbed wearily out of the taxi cab and through the familiar weathered double doors to their apartment building. Quinn dragged her bag behind her, and groaned when she saw the out of order notice on the elevator doors. Her back ached, her contacts were irritating her eyes, and she felt grimy - in desperate need of a shower. She wanted nothing more than to stand under the hot water for ten minutes before putting on her pajamas and crawling into her comfortable, warm bed with her beautiful fiancée. Instead she now had to traipse up five flights of stairs. It may as well have been Mount Everest. She sank down onto the bottom step, groaning dramatically.
"C'mon, baby," Santana cajoled, rocking on the balls of her feet with the endless supply of energy she seemed to have. "The sooner you get upstairs, the sooner we can get you into bed. Remember, I promised you I'd finish what I started when we got home?"
Quinn glared at her murderously for a second, but Santana's pout was just too adorable and she couldn't stay annoyed. Nor was she willing to move just yet though either.
"San, I love you but I honestly don't think I have the energy for sex tonight," she sighed. "I don't even have the energy to walk up these stairs." She leant her head against the wall and looked forlornly at her fiancée.
Santana chuckled. "Well, I wasn't talking about sex, gutter-brain," she said with a grin. She plopped down lightly beside Quinn and rested her head against her shoulder. Quinn hummed appreciatively at the connection. "Not tonight anyway, we have the whole weekend for that." Quinn smiled at Santana's words despite her exhaustion. "I remember promising you a massage," Santana reminded her, "and I know your back is hurting you. If you can just manage to get up to the apartment you can take a nice, long, hot shower and then I'll massage it all better for you." She drew out her words slowly and teasingly, and Quinn had to admit it was pretty effective.
Summoning the last of her energy reserves, she allowed Santana to take her hands and pull her to her feet and they started the long climb.
"How did you know my back was hurting?" Quinn asked curiously as they rounded the first corner. Santana turned to face her and paused to consider her fiancée before answering.
"Your eyes," she said softly, brushing soft blonde strands of Quinn's hair away from her face. "You look different when you're in pain - your eyes kind of narrow and you get this cute little wrinkle right here." She tapped the bridge of Quinn's nose. Quinn scowled.
"I don't have wrinkles," she said plaintively. Santana merely shrugged and chuckled before resuming her climb.
Somewhere around the third floor, Santana took Quinn's bags off of her and proceeded to lug them all noisily up the remaining flights, not caring if she woke up their neighbors, while Quinn followed gratefully, wincing on every arduous step. Finally, the girls made it to their apartment and Quinn waited for Santana to unlock the multitude of locks before stumbling thankfully inside.
Once safely ensconced in her own home, Quinn's mood lifted and she felt her tired muscles begin to relax as she reveled in the familiar surroundings. They'd only been gone a few days but somehow it seemed much longer. She was glad to be home. She heaved her bag onto the bed and started to unpack but Santana grabbed her hand to stop her.
"Leave that until morning," she instructed sternly. "Shower, go, now!" She pointed towards the bathroom and Quinn couldn't help but laugh.
"Yes, Ma'am," she said with a mock salute. Teasingly, she stripped off her shirt as she headed for the bathroom, tossing it back towards Santana. She heard Santana's appreciative chuckle and she knew the brunette's eyes were fixed on her back, and moments later she was firmly ensconced under the steaming jets of the shower.
Wrapped in a towel, Quinn emerged from the bathroom to find her fiancée sprawled on the bed wearing shorts and a tank top and flipping through a magazine she'd bought for the flight.
"Feeling better?" Santana asked, patting the bed beside her and Quinn sank down onto the mattress with a soft groan.
"Much," she agreed, stretching out her legs and grinning when Santana couldn't help but run her eyes down the length of her towel-clad body.
"Lay down on your stomach," Santana instructed suddenly, reaching for the bottle of massage oil on her nightstand.
"You don't have to do this," Quinn told her gently. "You must be exhausted too. We can just go to sleep if you want."
Santana shook her head. "That's not what I want," she countered with a mischievous smile. "I promised you a massage and I've been looking forward to it all day. I've been dreaming about my hands all over your soft, warm skin." She trailed her hand up and down Quinn's thigh as she spoke. "Don't back out on me now, Fabray."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Quinn acquiesced, wriggling to get comfortable, as Santana climbed over her legs to straddle her. She eased the towel down so that it only covered the swell of Quinn's behind, leaving the expanse of her back bare. Quinn shivered at the first light stroke of Santana's palms over her skin. "Your hands are cold," she grumbled into the pillow. Santana merely chuckled in response as she set to work, her fingers performing magic on Quinn's knotted muscles, rubbing the back of her neck and kneading over her shoulder blades before moving lower across the expanse of her upper back, ghosting around to brush the sides of her breasts. Quinn relaxed into the touch, only wincing slightly when Santana began to work on the tender muscles at the base of her spine.
Their previous attempts at massaging each other had always turned into something more, neither of them able to resist the sensuous feelings of satiny soft, smooth flesh beneath their hands, but this time the brunette remained entirely professional, knowing that Quinn was too tired and sore for anything more, and when she was finished, she helped her into her pajamas and snuggled with her under the blankets as Quinn meandered between sleeping and waking.
"I love you," Quinn murmured sleepily into the sweet-smelling curtain of Santana's hair. "Thank you for the last few days. I know my mom's a lot to deal with."
"You're worth it," Santana replied, stretching away from Quinn for a moment to turn of the light. Quinn was still moaning her displeasure when Santana gathered her back into her arms protectively. "I love you."
"I love you too," Quinn replied through a yawn, closing her eyes and breathing in the delicious, familiar scent of her fiancée before she fell asleep.
The following day was Saturday and although Quinn would have loved nothing more than to spend a lazy morning in bed with Santana, errands, chores, and homework were calling.
The first thing that needed tackling was the discarded suitcases from their trip which were sitting in the middle of the floor waiting to be unpacked. Santana stubbed her toe on them three times before a sudden burst of energy hit her and she flitted around the cluttered apartment like a Tasmanian Devil, cleaning and straightening as she went. Quinn sat on the floor next to her suitcase and started to unpack but she was finding it hard to focus on the task at hand. For one thing, Santana looked utterly adorable dancing around the room in her tiny shorts and t-shirt, her long, toned legs on display, and her dark hair tangled and wild from sleep. For another, Quinn was unable to stop thinking about the engagement ring her mom had given to her for Santana. It was safely ensconced in her purse, but Quinn wanted it on her fiancee's finger as soon as possible. She was impatient, but she wanted the moment to be right. She'd had a few ideas already, but she'd need a little time to firm up her plans. They'd have Beth the following weekend, so maybe the one after that... Quinn really didn't want to wait that long but she knew that she wanted it to be special, so she didn't really have a lot of choice. Forcing herself to concentrate on the here and now, she tore her mind away from romantic images of her fiancée, and instead started mentally planning out the term paper she needed to write as she unpacked.
Under duress, Santana went to the market to buy groceries whilst Quinn got to work on their huge pile of laundry. She was sitting Indian-style on the wooden bench in the laundry room with her laptop propped open on her knees, trying to get a head start on her homework whilst she guarded the dryer when Santana came looking for her.
"Hey baby," Santana greeted, sidling through the laundry room door and grinning at her cross-legged fiancée. "Whatcha doing?"
"Flying a jet," Quinn said drily as her fingers flew over the keys of her laptop. She was almost finished with her term paper and she didn't look up at Santana, knowing that one look into those chocolate brown eyes and she'd be a lost cause. Santana was undeterred. She plopped down beside her fiancée and gave an exaggerated sigh. Quinn smiled to herself but studiously ignored Santana's attempts at distraction. The brunette stretched languidly, idly brushing her hand down Quinn's arm, and Quinn automatically caught her lower lip between her teeth as her body reacted immediately to the innocent touch.
"I went to the market," Santana said conversationally.
"Uh huh," Quinn murmured distractedly. She finished her paragraph and read back over it to check it made sense.
"They had the spaghetti sauce that you like on sale," continued Santana, "and I got you your ridiculously expensive shampoo." She tucked a few stray silky blonde locks behind Quinn's ear as she spoke, before trailing the back of her hand lightly over Quinn's jaw.
"Thank you," Quinn replied, as she started working on her conclusions, frowning at the computer screen and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
Santana started to hum lightly, tapping her fingers against the wooden bench, and Quinn was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain her train of thought.
"San, sweetie, " she said with an indulgent sigh. "I'm trying to concentrate."
"Sorry." Santana stopped humming and tapping, and instead jumped up from the bench and went to check how much longer the dryer program had to run. "Should we order Chinese food tonight?" Santana asked suddenly, opening the dryer door and causing the machine to beep angrily.
Quinn closed her laptop and fought back a wave of frustration.
"Santana," she said pleadingly. "I love you, and I'd love to be able to spend every waking minute with you but I'm trying to get this term paper finished. Why don't you go get started on your homework too and then I promise you I'll be all yours this evening."
Santana pouted. "I can do my homework tomorrow," she insisted. "That's why Sundays were invented."
"Santana!" Quinn put on her best HBIC voice to let her fiancée know she wasn't kidding around. "Go find something to do. The laundry is almost finished, and I need about another hour to work on my paper. Please?"
"Then can we do something fun?" Santana asked hopefully. "Please? I don't even care what we do, I just want us to spend some quality time together, just the two of us."
Quinn felt a pang of guilt at the brunette's words. It had been a crazy couple of days and they hadn't had a lot of alone time other than on the plane. 'Something fun' seemed like it shouldn't be too much to ask for. Placing her computer carefully onto the bench, Quinn stood up, unfurling her long legs and wincing at the stiffness in her muscles. She stepped between Santana's parted legs as her fiancée studied her curiously, then she cupped Santana's cheek in the palm of her hand and lowered her head to kiss her gently.
"Is that a yes?" Santana asked, her voice muffled against Quinn's lips.
"Mmm," Quinn affirmed, and Santana chuckled, snaking her arms around Quinn's waist to hold her tight. "So, when you said you don't care what we do..." Quinn began hopefully and Santana groaned.
"Don't make me regret that, Fabray," she warned teasingly as her hands stroked up and down Quinn's spine.
"I wasn't planning to," Quinn said, pretending to be offended. "But since you don't seem to trust me, you don't get to know where we're going." She wiggled out of Santana's embrace and skipped over to the dryers, opening the door and pressing the off button to silence the frantic beeping. She dumped the slightly damp clothes into her laundry basket, causing Santana to smirk. "What?" she demanded, feigning innocence. "I can be spontaneous."
"Sure you can, baby," giggled Santana, and Quinn glared at her.
"And just for that, you get to carry the laundry basket!"
True to her word, Quinn refused to tell Santana where they were going even after they got on the subway. Santana acted like she didn't care, but Quinn knew the brunette better than that, and she could tell that not knowing was driving her crazy. Honestly, the anticipation was making Quinn more than a little wired too. She was hoping, no - praying - that Santana would find her ideas romantic. She'd made a couple of frantic phone calls while Santana was getting ready in the bathroom, and it seemed like the Gods were on their side for once. Everything had fallen into place. The small, deep red box was in her pocket and she kept slipping her hand inside to touch it as they traveled.
Finally, they reached their first destination, and Quinn led Santana up the steps into the crisp, sunny but chilly New York fall weather.
"Central Park?" Santana asked in confusion. "Q, it's, like, forty degrees today. You want to spend the afternoon walking in the park in forty degree weather?" She wrinkled her nose adorably as she tried to figure out her fiancee's uncharacteristic desires. Quinn simply shrugged and clasped Santana's hand tightly to stave off the cold.
"I like the park," she stated. "Our first summer together we used to come here all the time, remember?" She stopped walking and tugged Santana against her, brushing her lips lightly across the brunette's.
"It's starting to come back to me," Santana agreed appreciatively, her fingers automatically winding themselves into Quinn's hair to keep her close. They kissed again, and this time Quinn's tongue stroked across Santana's lower lip, requesting access to the wonderful recesses of Santana's warm mouth. Santana happily acquiesced and deepened the kiss, groaning as Quinn's tongue caressed her own. All thoughts of the cold weather were forgotten as the girls lost themselves in the moment, but after several amazing minutes where Quinn considered abandoning her plans, taking a cab home, stripping Santana naked, and spending the rest of the day making love, she forced herself to break the kiss. Both girls were flushed and breathing hard, with swollen lips and tangled hair, and Quinn couldn't help but laugh.
"I love you," she said softly.
"Then why'd you stop?" whined Santana, trying to kiss her again. Quinn danced lightly out of the brunette's embrace.
"Because," she said enigmatically, "I have plans for you, Santana Lopez. The park is just a detour, and we need to get going if we're going to make the next show."
"What show?" Santana demanded, but Quinn shook her head.
"All in good time," she promised, grasping Santana's hand and leading her along the path.
They made it to their next destination with just a few minutes to spare. Santana had decided to be difficult, dragging her feet as she pleaded with Quinn to tell her where they were going. Quinn had remained resolute however, and Santana had been forced to wait. Her pout told Quinn she was not happy, but Quinn wasn't worried. She knew that by the end of the day Santana would have forgotten all of her irritation.
"We're here," she announced, stopping outside the beautiful old building. She was almost certain Santana wouldn't have even thought of visiting this place before, but she hoped that her fiancée would love it just as much as she did.
"The Natural History Museum?" Now Santana was really confused.
"The planetarium," Quinn corrected, laughing lightly. "You said you'd do anything, and this is what I want to do. It's romantic - we can cuddle under the stars. It's one of the few things I miss from home - there's so much light pollution here that I hardly ever see the stars. Please? Give it a try for me?" she begged, taking in Santana's still uncertain expression.
Santana reached up to palm her cheek, and her hand was warm against Quinn's cold skin.
"Okay," she agreed, licking her lips subconsciously as she studied Quinn's pleading expression. "You had me at 'cuddle'." They kissed again, and Quinn fleetingly worried about how increasingly difficult it was becoming to keep her hands off of her fiancée. Then, they really were running late, so they dashed to pick up their tickets and headed into the huge, dome-shaped auditorium.
Forty-five minutes later, the lights came back on and Quinn reluctantly lifted her head from Santana's shoulder. She'd barely heard any of the narration during the show, she'd been too awed by the amazing visuals - both the cosmos projected onto the ceiling, and the wondrous expression in Santana's chocolate brown eyes as she took in the spectacle.
"So, what did you think?" Quinn asked her fiancée excitedly.
"It was okay," Santana said nonchalantly, but her eyes were sparkling and Quinn knew she was teasing.
"Just okay?" she prodded, snaking her hands around Santana's waist and leaning towards her, before suddenly tickling her ribs. Santana squealed and squirmed under Quinn's ministrations.
"Okay, okay, it was awesome," she acquiesced. "So, what now? You want to grab some dinner?"
"Sounds good," Quinn agreed, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she realized that it was almost time to put the final part of her plan into action, "and I know the perfect place. Do you trust me?"
Santana nodded without hesitation. "Implicitly," she agreed.
Quinn insisted on using the bathroom before they left, and safely ensconced in the stall she sent a hurried text message. We're on our way...
It was dark by the time the train crossed into New Jersey, but mercifully the sky was still clear and although the night was cold it was also dry.
"We're having dinner with Rachel and Kurt?" Santana asked as the girls started down a familiar street and came to a halt outside the dilapidated apartment building which both of them had once called home.
"Not exactly," Quinn said, almost skipping into the building with nervous excitement. She hit the button on the elevator and tried to rein in her anxiety. Her palms were clammy and her fingers shook as she searched her purse for the key to the loft which Rachel had given her in case of emergency.
The elevator ride was excruciating. Quinn felt like a six year old on Christmas Eve, only magnified a thousand times, and Santana was pouting and had folded her arms sulkily. Much as they both loved their old roommates, Quinn knew that Santana had been looking forward to a romantic dinner with just the two of them. Silently, Quinn prayed that her fiancée would be happy with the end result.
She walked down the hallway on shaky legs, the butterflies in her stomach feeling like they were making a bid for freedom, then she lifted the key to the lock.
"Why aren't you knocking?" Santana asked curiously. Quinn giggled nervously.
"You'll see," she said hopefully, opening the door.
Her phone call to Kurt had paid off, and their friend had outdone himself. Quinn was going to owe him big time for this. Every surface of the apartment twinkled with candles and fairy lights. The floor was festooned with rose petals and the couch had been pushed aside, in its place was a blanket laid out over the floorboards and a myriad of multi-colored pillows. In the center of the blanket was a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, and two glasses. Beside them lay an unopened pizza box.
Santana's mouth dropped open in surprise as she took in the spectacle around them. Quinn shrugged off her coat and boots, then helped the stunned brunette do the same. It wasn't until she'd led them over to the blanket and urged Santana to sit on the pillows that her fiancée finally found her voice.
"Oh my God, Q, how did you do this?" she asked wondrously. Quinn couldn't help but blush at the undisguised glee on Santana's beautiful face that her plans had caused.
"I had a little help from some really good friends," she said, reaching for the champagne. "But don't worry, they've all made themselves scarce for a couple of hours." She poured two glasses of the bubbly liquid and offered one to Santana, who sipped it appreciatively. Santana peeked into the pizza box and a delicious scent wafted out from the open box. "Did Kurt get it right?" Quinn asked anxiously. "It should be the same pizza we had on the night we first... um, you know..." She broke off and blushed, causing Santana to laugh at her inability to say the words.
"It's perfect," Santana told her happily. "Even down to the bacon, although I still think you're a little crazy for putting bacon on a pizza." She beamed at Quinn, and suddenly Quinn couldn't put it off any longer. She'd planned to wait until they'd eaten, and she had a whole speech prepared, but somehow that didn't seem important any more.
"Marry me," she blurted out, her heart pounding irregularly in her chest. Santana chuckled and reached for her left hand, running her thumb lightly over Quinn's engagement diamond.
"I thought that was already the plan," she said softly. Her eyes sparkled in the candlelight and Quinn was overcome with a rush of emotion. She blinked back unexpected tears and tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she shook her head. Santana looked confused, and more than a little concerned. "Q?" she whispered.
"I love you so much," Quinn told her, her right hand reaching into her pocket for the small velvet box. "I thank God every day that we found each other and that we made it through all of the drama. If Rachel hadn't persuaded me to come here for the summer," she gestured at the loft around them, "I don't know if I ever would've had the courage to tell you how I really felt. You make me braver, Santana, you bring out the best in me... you always have. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you exactly what you mean to me." She paused and swallowed hard, her tongue sneaking out to wet her suddenly dry lips before saying the most important words she'd ever said. "Santana Lopez, will you marry me?"
Quinn held out the ring and watched as the emotion flooded over Santana's beautiful features. "Where did you get this?" Santana asked breathlessly, reaching out to touch the sparkling ring. "Quinn, it's... exquisite."
"My mom," Quinn explained simply. "It was my grandmother's."
"And your mom's okay with you giving it to me?" Santana's voice was hoarse, her tone incredulous. Quinn nodded.
"It was her idea," she admitted. "She sees how happy you make me." With trembling fingers, she took the ring out of its box and held it out before Santana. "Sweetie, you still haven't given me an answer," she reminded her gently. "I've agreed to marry you, and I'm wearing your beautiful ring, but will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
"Yes," Santana said through her tears, nodding vehemently. Quinn slipped the ring onto Santana's finger, feeling a rush of desire that was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Santana was hers, really, truly hers. Capturing her fiancée's lips beneath her own, Quinn tried to convey every emotion she was feeling at that moment. She felt, rather than heard, the low moan in Santana's throat at the intensity of the kiss. It was only the fact that they were in their friends' apartment that stopped Quinn from tearing off Santana's clothing there and then, but she didn't know how much alone time they had left before their undoubtedly excited friends would return, wanting to celebrate with them.
Reluctantly, she tore herself away from the kiss, panting hard.
"We should eat before the pizza gets cold," she said breathlessly. "And besides, I'm not sure how much longer Blaine can keep control of Kurt and Rachel. They could come back at any time." She chuckled. "I'm still partly deaf in my right ear - Rachel screamed so loud when I told her I was going to propose to you. Besides, we have all the time in the world to celebrate."
"We do," Santana agreed. "But Q, just so you know, I hope you weren't planning on getting any sleep tonight because the things I'm planning to do to you when we get home..." She licked her lips and raised an eyebrow, before nonchalantly taking a huge bite of pizza, leaving Quinn thrumming with almost painful desire.
Quinn pouted at her fiancée, knowing that Santana had a very good idea of the effect her words would have on her physically, but she couldn't stay annoyed. She'd done it, she'd asked Santana to marry her and Santana was wearing her ring. Right at that moment the world could have ended and Quinn couldn't have cared less. Santana was hers, and that was the only thing that mattered.