"Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking, we are preparing our landing in Columbus. At this time, we ask that you position your trays upright, put away any electronic devices, and fasten your seatbelts if you haven't already."
The plane descended towards the airstrip, landing as gently as planes tend to land, anyone that was napping on the flight was jolted awake by the bounce.
"Oh, shit." A Latina woman let out, rubbing her eyes for a few seconds. She glanced across the aisle from her to see a mother with her kid, glaring at her. The Latina bit her lip. "Sorry." She says quietly.
The Latina in question is named Santana Lopez, a McKinley High graduate that initially moved out of Ohio to New York to make a name of herself. Unfortunately for reasons that she has not talked about, it did not pan out the way she wanted it to.
Conversations with her mother convinced her to move back, and stay with her until she gets a job and finds her own place. Santana figured that made sense, and got the first one-way ticket back to Ohio.
She did not stay at the airport for too long as there were quite a few Uber drivers at the ready to pick someone up. Santana was able to hail one, and was on her way to her home in Lima Heights Adjacent, the wrong side of the tracks.
The Uber driver made small talk with Santana, it was kinda obvious that he wanted to get a 5-star rating, which Santana was going to give him anyway, but the talking did hammer it home a little too much.
Evening hit the town of Lima when Santana arrived at her house, she got out of the car, said thank you to her driver, grabbed her bags, and then shut the door behind her to walk to the front door to her house. She takes in the sight of the porch, memories of her and her mom having long talks at night. They talked about everything, whether it was a TV Show that her mom was watching, or Santana's accepting her sexuality, the talks were on this front porch, at night, where it was quiet, calming, and satisfying.
Santana approached the door, lightly hit it three times with her knuckle and then waited for an answer.
The door opens, and on the other side is an older Latina woman. She smiles placing a hand on her chest. "Mi hija!" she lets out and pulls Santana in for a tight hug, causing the younger woman to drop her bags.
"Ah ma." Santana chuckles and wraps her arms around her mom, letting in a deep breath. "Te extrañé mucho, mama." She says quietly.
"Yo también, yo también.." Santana's mother, Maribel, responds and then pulls from the hug. "Vamos, entremos." She says and helps Santana with her bags.
Santana nods, picks up the bags that her mom didn't grab, and follows her inside. "¿Cómo está tu inglés últimamente?" she asks.
Maribel sets Santana's bags on the couch in the living room. "No está mal, todavía necesito un poco de trabajo en ella."
"Alright, let's catch up and use it as practice." Santana suggests and Maribel nods in agreement. "So, how has things been with you?"
"Not bad, I got a new job, it's night shift, but it pays more." Maribel says before walking to the kitchen. "You look too skinny, are you hungry?" she asks.
Santana chuckles and sets her bags beside the other bags. "You always say that." She points out as she walks to the kitchen. "I'll take a water, I'm a little too tired to eat right now."
"I'll take a water." Maribel mocks in a joking tone before grabbing a bottle of water for Santana. "Y tu, how have you been, sweetie?" she asks.
"I've been fine, mama." Santana says honestly. "I busted some tail at my last job to get as much money as I could, sold most of my things so the move wouldn't be overwhelming." She takes the water bottle once her mom hands it to her.
Maribel leaned against the counter beside Santana, raising a brow. "Speaking of the move, why did you move back with me, hija?" she asks. "Not that I mind, you always have a home with me." she continues. "But you never explained why."
Santana took a sip of her water, keeping a glance at her mother. "I had a pretty big fight with Rachel, it was built up over the course of a couple years, but..." she starts explaining. "When Kurt moved in with Blaine, that's when things escalated." She bit her inner lip for a couple seconds. "Rachel was getting more acting jobs, and was bringing in a lot of money." Santana took another sip of water. "I was still waitressing, trying to get more gigs, but that didn't pan out too well..." she let out a sigh, looking towards the floor. "Rachel started asking me when I was gonna pull my weight around the apartment, and handle the bills that needed to be paid."
When Santana told her that Maribel saw red, she raised herself up trying to think of a nicer way to express her distaste towards Rachel. "I'm more than willing to drive up to New York, and trim that bitch's nose for you, mija."
A laugh came from Santana as she placed a hand on her mom's shoulder. "No te preocupes, mama." she gives Maribel an assuring look. "We had a long talk over the past few days, she understood where I came from, and she gave me her version of an apology." she explains. "But that diva attitude, without Kurt to be a buffer.. I couldn't deal with it anymore." Santana stood up straight, let out a yawn, then set her bottle on the counter. "I think it's for the better that I try to restart my life, or at least search for a different lease on it."
Maribel took in what Santana said, she reached her arm around her daughter's shoulder for a calm embrace. "Te amo, mija." She says before placing a kiss on Santana's cheek. "You can stay as long as you need, just promise you'll keep your… Adventuring out of my house."
"Ma!" Santana gasped.
"I gotta get ready for work." Maribel moved from Santana's side. "There's food in the fridge, if you aren't feeling it then I have a few bucks in the jar above the fridge, you can order something." She says before leaving the room to get ready.
Santana took that information, shrugged, and then proceeded to get her things to take them up to her room.
In the not-so distant part of Lima, near a college campus, there was a young brunette playing her music and getting some cleaning done while her roommate was out of town. She was singing along to some Faith No More, as it was one of her favorite bands to listen to when she wanted to focus on various tasks. She was finishing up her tasks when she heard one of her Alexa devices ring. The woman paused her music, walked to the kitchen and then tapped "Answer" on the screen.
"Hello?" she asks.
"Marley, can you see me?" the person on the other end asks.
Marley smiled at the sight of her mother on video call. "Hey mom." She said. "Is everything okay, you never call at this time."
"Yeah, everything's fine dear, I just haven't heard from you in a little bit, so I wanted to check to see if you're doing okay." Marley's mother, Millie, stated. "Have you been studying hard?"
Marley nodded. "I've pretty much done nothing but study since the year started." She explained. "Oh, and there are clubs for different activities recruiting for new members, I was thinking of heading to the activity fair next weekend, and see what they have to offer."
"You should see if there's any show choir clubs forming, you have a great voice, and are musically talented." Millie suggested.
A blush hit Marley's face when her mom suggested that. She was very shy about her voice, didn't like to sing around people, especially random people that she didn't know. "I'm… More of a backing track kind of girl, mom." She bit her lip for a few seconds. "I'd be happy just playing my acoustic, and be seen."
"Marley…" Millie rolls her eyes. "You got a gift, sweetie."
"I appreciate it mom, I just don't know about singing." Marley shrugs getting down to her knees so she can keep eye level to the device. "I think the last time I openly sung in front of anyone… Was when you and dad were together."
Millie was silent for a few moments; she could tell on the expression of her daughter that there was discomfort. She let out a soft sigh. "So, what other activities will be at this fair?" she asked.
Marley's face lit up a little bit, reaching for the flyer that was on the counter. "There's a bunch, like this painting one, oriental studies, it's a buffet of stuff." She explained. "Maybe I'll try this Pop Culture History club, since.. Well, you've seen my room and half of the living room." Marley was referencing the number of "Nerdy" posters, and collectables that filled her room, and the horror movie posters that are hung up in the living room.
A bit of laughter came from Millie's end of the call which brought a smile to Marley. "I miss you, kid." Millie starts off. "I'm so proud of you for getting into college."
"Thank you, mom.. I miss you too." Marley responds before standing up to stretch. "I have to finish cleaning, we have an inspection in the morning… Campus policy for new tenants, and crap like that." She pursed her lips and shrugged.
"I understand, hon." Millie smiles at the sight of her daughter. "You be careful, okay?" she asks and Marley nods. "Okay, have a great night, I love you."
"I love you too."
"Good night."
"Nighty night."
They hung up the call, and Marley let out a sigh. She felt some pressure from making it to college, she was the first one in her family to not only get through high school, but also get enrolled with credits. Marley wanted to do what she could to not waste the opportunity that she was given, she kept a strict schedule for when to study, when to take breaks and when to sleep. It was much to the chagrin of her roommate whom in comparison, was always lax on school in general.
Marley went from the kitchen to her room, she approached her desk, opened her laptop and went to check any emails she might have received while cleaning.
"… Nothing… Good." Marley said to herself before closing the laptop. She leaned back in her chair to look around her room, seeing the posters of her favorite games, and the figures from shows that she watches regularly. "I dunno, I could take it easy tonight." Marley thought to herself as she reached the remote on her desk to turn on the TV in her room. "Time to check on my Kingdom Hearts save." She said with some excitement in her voice.
The next morning hit Lima, the sun was able to beam upon the town through the clouds, which to a certain Latina, that was an inconvenience. Even more so because the blinds to Santana's window didn't do a good job at preventing light from bleeding in.
She turns her back to the window in hopes to avoid the light from hitting her face, but it was too late, her eyes were open, and her body was telling her to get up. Santana slowly sat up, groaning from having to wake up. She let her blanket drop to her lap, reaching for her phone that was charging on the nightstand. Mumbling a few curses for being awake as she unlocks her phone to see a message from a name that she hasn't seen popped up in a long time.
"Santana, I heard you were back in town. That true?" – BootyChin
Almost immediately, Santana snickered at the name. She forgot the name she gave her old teacher Mr. Schue when she attended McKinley. "How the hell did you hear that, unless you're stalking me which… I don't blame you, I'd stalk my fine self, too." She kept an amused expression as she hit send. "Jokes aside, yeah I moved back to this hell-hole."
"I saw your "check in" thing on Facebook, so I was curious. Welcome back." – BootyChin
"Ya coulda went along with the joke, Schue." Santana said to herself before typing away at her screen. "If you're the welcoming committee, I'm scared of what I'll get as a gift."
"If you're not doing anything today, you should come by, and we can catch up!" – BootyChin
A scoff comes out of Santana, and she rolls her eyes. "I know this man isn't thinking that I'll go to his house to catch up… That's some creep island shit." She says before getting out of bed. Santana walks to her dresser and pulls out her outfit for the day. She remembered that it was going to lightly rain, so she accounted for that.
Afterwards, Santana went to take a shower, hoping that she could get at least enough energy to run a few errands. As she showered, Santana kept thinking about Schue's text, and as weird as it was, she didn't oppose the idea of catching up with Will, and see how his married life has evolved since she last saw him.
Once she finished up with her shower and got dressed, she walked back to where her phone was resting, picked it up and started typing a message to Schue. "Send me your address, I'll come by while running errands."
She then shoved the phone in her bag, slung the bag's strap over her shoulder and walked down the stairs to see her mother asleep on the couch. Santana pursed her lips and walked over to her; she then covered her mother with the blanket that was sitting nearby. After that she placed a kiss on her mother's cheek, then walked to the door, grabbing the keys that were hung on the wall and proceeded to leave the house to go about her day.
When Santana got into her mom's car, she put in the address that Will had texted her and began driving. The further into the campus area of Lima that she got, the more Santana thought that she entered the wrong address. When she got to a stop light, she double checked Will's text, and… Nope, it wasn't wrong, she was heading the right direction. She drove a little bit further to a building with the following sign that said, "New Directions Vocal Academy" which gained a "What the fuck?" expression on Santana's face.
Santana pulled into a parking spot, got out of the car and observed the building as she got closer. It looked relatively new, like the construction workers had just placed the last tile of roofing on it. She walks into the building and sees a hall that has some instruments, sound proofing padding, and a familiar set of chairs that were on different levels in the choir room back at McKinley.
The waves of nostalgia hit Santana like a ton of bricks. "Holy shit…" she let out quietly, having a small smile on her face.
"For someone with a chin like mine, I didn't do too bad, huh?" a voice from the corner of the room asked out.
Santana looked in the direction of that voice, she was already trying to keep her emotions from bursting out, when she saw her old teacher Mr. Schue walk out of the room he was in, almost immediately she walked towards Will, lunging herself into him. "You sold pictures of your chin on OnlyFans, didn't you?" she asked but kept her head against Will's shoulder to hide some of the tears that were dripping.
This got a laugh out of Will as he wrapped one arm around Santana's back, and the free hand rests on the back of her head. "I missed you too, Santana." He said while holding the embrace for a couple more seconds. "I take it you like the place?" Will asked before pulling from the hug.
"It looks amazing, Mr. Schue." Santana answered honestly and continued to glance at different parts of the hall. "It reminds me of the old Glee club." She added on. "The good and the bad."
Will smiled a bit at Santana's words then walked over to a part of the dance hall that has some kitchen stuff in it. "Care for some coffee, I promise it's good." He offered, and Santana nodded. "How do you take it?"
"Make it match my skin tone, and heavy sugar." Santana said and then started walking around to see different news articles, flyers, and some pictures hung up of the old New Directions club. She noticed that Rachel was often in most of the pictures, and looked strangely aware of the camera in each picture. That made Santana shiver a bit as she continued to walk, approaching a figure that was covered by a red felt curtain. "What's this?" she thought, and as she reached to part the curtain...
"Hold up!" Will quickly walked with both their cups of coffee, hands Santana her cup, and then slowly pulls down on the string aside the curtain to reveal a small shrine that honored Finn Hudson. In this shrine, there was Finn's old football helmet, his jersey, a Lima News article celebrating when McKinley won their game, and in the middle sat a plaque that had the last school picture he took, with the quote that he was known for in Glee club.
Santana's expression changed upon seeing the shrine that Will made for Finn. Memories came pouring in, some good, some bad, some she regretted. She stepped closer to the shrine, reached towards the helmet and glanced at Will for approval, in which he nodded. Santana picked up the helmet, placing her forehead against it, almost as if she could see Finn still wearing it. "I miss you Doughboy…" she whispered before placing the helmet back on the shrine. "It's beautiful, Schue." She steps back letting out a deep breath. "A fitting tribute to a flawed, but caring guy."
Will placed a hand on Santana's back, sensing that she was feeling a tad more emotional than moments prior. "I appreciate that, Santana." He said. "Come, let's catch up real quick." He suggested before walking over to the table that was near the kitchen area, sat on the chair and waited for Santana to follow suit.
The Latina took another deep breath, trying to keep a calm composure. She took one more sip of her coffee, then walked over to where Will was sitting, sat across from him and relaxed in her seat. "You really did an amazing job with this place…" she said. "How'd you get this place anyways?"
"Long story short…" Will starts off before taking a sip of his coffee. "We got a new Ohio School Board, and they didn't take Figgins making most of the teachers do free labor, too kindly." He said as he set his cup on the table. "With most of the art programs in McKinley losing funding, they brought into question where that money went, which… You know where it ended up going." He continued. "I quit as soon as Figgins told me that Glee was done, along with a good chunk of the extra-curricular activities." Will pursed his lips for a few seconds. "When I was looking for new employment, the new board informed me that Figgins was forced to retire, and that all the teachers would be compensated for the free labor they did throughout the years, plus whatever mental anguish I suffered from having to leave."
"Holy shit." Santana raised her brows at the explanation. She can't say that she was shocked, if anything she didn't expect New Directions to last as long as it did. "They gave you enough to get your own studio?" she asked, Will nodded. "Well, it's good that the taxpayer's money is going to better use, now." She said casually.
Will gave Santana a chuckle as a response. "Right?" he adds, and then takes another sip of his coffee. "Oh!" he lightly smacks the table with excitement. "I already got a contract with Lima U for the year. They want to outsource their arts programs, and offered me a decent sum of money." He says which made Santana drop her jaw. "Yeah, they heard about what I was able to accomplish in McKinley, asked me if I was interested, and I told them that I needed this studio to pay for itself somehow."
Santana smiled and reached to high-five Will. "That's fuckin' awesome, Schue."
Schuester wasn't used to hearing appreciation from Santana, especially this much. "So, what about you, what made you come back?"
Even though she was just talking about it with her mom the night before, she still felt bad about the situation. She didn't want to spend most of her time with Will, being upset, so she shrugged. "Long story short." She said with a cocky smirk on her face. "Things weren't really working out for me in New York, I wasn't getting anywhere, so I figured I'd come back home and try to reinvent myself." She wasn't completely lying as that was one of the reasons she wanted to move back. "My mom told me I could stay with her as long as I needed, I figured I can get a small gig or two, save some money, and then get an apartment." Santana felt that made a lot of sense, still unsure of how she was going to do it, but she had something that resembled a plan. "Figured by that time, I'll have my shit sorted out."
All Will could do was listen; he really didn't know how he could make her feel better. He could tell that Santana was uncertain about a lot, and it worried him a bit. "You gonna be okay?" He asked.
"I have to be." Santana simply answers before finishing up her cup of coffee. "But I'm a Lopez, we always figure a way out." She says with some pride before standing up, sliding her cup towards Will. "I gotta go, Mr. Schue, thank you for the coffee, and inviting me into your new home." She joked towards the end. Santana moved from the table with the intention of leaving when…
"Santana." Will called out, she stopped in her tracks. "If there's anyway I can help you, please don't hesitate to ask." He said before standing up and walking over towards her, keeping a safe distance in case she got offended.
Santana took a deep breath, turned around, gave Will a slight smile before walking over to him and hugging him as tight as she could. "Thank you, Mr. Schue." She said as she parted from the hug to leave the dance studio.
Will watched as Santana left, folding his arms together and smiling some. "Proud of you, kid." He said quietly before going to work on any touchups to the studio.
Santana made to the car, sat down and rested her head against the steering wheel, letting out a stressful groan. "Come on, Snix, you can't go soft now." She says to herself. "You turned this whole town upside down when you were a kid, you can do more damage now." She continued in hopes to hype herself up. She sat up and looked at herself in the rearview mirror, let out a quick breath. "Con-fee-dahnce." Santana said and sported her trademark smirk. "There we go." She put on her seatbelt, started the car, and took off from the studio's parking lot.
A/N: Oh snap, I'm back at it again with ANOTHER Glee fic. This will be part of a small series that I do, this being the first in said series, and there will be a subtle prologue to the second story in the series later on in this fic.
This story will also serve as my tribute to Naya Rivera, whom we lost in 2020.
I hope you end up enjoying this journey.