My Escape (Quinntana)

Chapter 36

5 years later

Quinn let out a breath and turned to Santana with a smile. "I can't believe we're actually doing this." Her fiancée stood up and smirked. 

"I'm not surprised at all," she said quietly. They stood in comfortable silence until Quinn laughed and nudged Santana teasingly.

"Remember when you proposed to me?" She asked. Santana nodded- how could she forget.

Roughly one year ago

It was a nice day out. Santana and Quinn were walking hand in hand, strolling through a park. It was almost something out of a movie. Noticing Santana was strangely quiet, Quinn tilted her head. "Something's on your mind, isn't it?" No reply. They continued walking for a few more minutes, until Santana reached her hand out, stopping Quinn from continuing.

The Latina took a deep breath and turned to face her girlfriend. "Quinn," she began. "A few years ago, I never could have imagined that I would be able to have a relationship that lasted more than a couple of weeks. Now here I am, with my beautiful girlfriend of  over 4 years." She chuckled. "I also never believed that there would be anyone out there who would accept me for all that I am- even the ugly parts. And believe me, there are a lot of ugly parts."

Quinn was touched but didn't quite know where this was going. "I had... a lot of things going on. I was broken and didn't know how to put myself back together. It was like I was drowning, and I was trying to swim back up, but I just. Kept. Sinking." She quickly wiped away a tear. "Then you came along."

"You swam down, and even when you were presented with all the struggles and horrors that came with being my girlfriend, you kept on swimming down- until you reached me. You took my hand, and pulled me out." Santana took one more deep breath and got down on one knee.

"So. Lucy Quinn Fabray, will you marry me?"

For a moment, Quinn was speechless. However, she already knew what she was going to say- she had known it for years.

"Yes- a million times yes."

Santana blushed. "Yeah- it was pretty cheesy, huh." Quinn laughed lightly and wrapped her arms around Santana's shoulders. 

Leaning forward so that her lips were almost touching Santana's ear, a slight smirk crossed her face. "It was, but I liked it." Santana shivered when Quinn's breath hit her ear, and she pulled away to gently plant a kiss on her lips. "Come on, let's go say hi to our guests."

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Leaving their private room, they entered the main area. They were holding their wedding in Pennsylvania, as gay marriage wasn't legal in Ohio. The inn they picked out provided wedding services, and frankly, quite good services at that. The service was being held outdoors, and thankfully it was a pleasant day.

Santana's face brightened when she saw two men standing close to one another, chatting in a relaxed manner. "If it isn't my two favorite gays," she said with a smile. One of the men turned to them and held his arms out. 

"Aw, you two look gorgeous!" Kurt squealed. Santana walked into his embrace, while Blaine, the other man, did the same with Quinn. "Those dresses are wonderful." He wasn't wrong, they were quite beautiful- they were also quite expensive. "Aren't you excited?"

Quinn pecked Santana on the cheek. "You bet we are," she replied. "How have you two been?" Kurt and Blaine were also engaged and were planning to get married soon. 

This time, Blaine answered. "Well, we're planning to move to New York after we get married. Maybe rent a cute apartment, go blow our money on Broadway shows." Kurt rolled his eyes and pushed him playfully. "What?" 

Santana smirked and waved. "Well, Quinn and I better go and say hi to some of the others- but it was nice talking to you! Oh, and you guys better invite us to your wedding." They left, and Quinn caught sight of another familiar couple.

Making their way over to the familiar faces, they were both greeted with excited exclamations. "Oh my god! It's the bride and bride!" Rachel ran forward and grabbed each of their hands. "I'm so glad you invited us." At the mention of the word us, Finn stepped forward. 

Finn was just like he was in school- polite, slightly awkward, but sweet in his own way. He nodded at Quinn and Santana, and held Rachel's hand. "Me and Finn are planning to move to New York, like Kurt and Blaine, so I can get the leading role on a Broadway show. Or maybe more, who knows. Isn't that right Finn?" 

He chuckled quietly. "Uh, yeah. We are moving to New York so that we can live out Rachel's- I mean our, dreams." Quinn looked back and forth between the two of them, eyebrows raised. After a few more minutes of pleasant conversation, she pulled Rachel aside. 

"Hey, Rach?" The other girl titled her head, curious. "I'm sure you're going to do great on Broadway. But be mindful of Finn's dreams too, okay?" With that, she gave her friend a quick hug and joined Santana, who was already talking to some other guests.

A grin crossed Quinn's face. "If it isn't my two favorite non-Santana females," she joked. "Britt, 'Cedes!" After the usual embracing and small talk, they started catching up on their lives. "So, how's your dancing going Britt?"

The taller blonde smiled. "Pretty well! Guess what- I'm dancing backup for Beyonce. And what's even more awesome, Mercedes is singing backup on Beyonce's new album! We're like... Beyonce Background Buddies!" Brittany swung her arms around Mercedes, prompting laughter from everyone.

"That's great Britt," Santana exclaimed. "I always knew you could do whatever you set your mind on." She turned to Mercedes. "And I'll be listening for you on the new album- it's hard to miss your voice on anything." 

They said their goodbyes, and before they knew it, it was time. 

As gentle music played, they walked slowly down the aisle. Quinn's mother had come, and she was wiping a tear from her cheek. Santana felt a pang of sadness as she recognized that none of her blood family was going to be there. Then she felt Quinn's hand brush her arm, and that sadness was replaced by an appreciation- an appreciation for Quinn, and her new family that she had formed in Glee.

The officiant smiled at the both of them. "We gather here today to celebrate the marriage of Lucy Quinn Fabray and Santana Lopez." 

Quinn was surprised when the nerves that she had expected to have were nonexistent. "Santana, San, angel. Even before we started dating, I always knew we shared a connection. We fought, we made up, we hung out... but now I realized, that was just us not understanding our emotions. I was scared to face who I really was. You showed me that who I really was, was a girl who loved you."

"Lucy, Quinn, hermosa. I don't know what to say that hasn't been said already. In my time of darkness, you showed me that I was someone worthy of love. That my past didn't define me- my future does. And I want my future to be with you."

With that, they each took out the ring that they had been holding and slid it onto the other's finger. The officiant stepped back and dipped his head. "You may now kiss the bride."

And so they kissed. Two lost souls, who weren't so lost anymore... they kissed.

AN: So. That's really it, huh? God, this is kind of sad. I've enjoyed writing this story so much, and thank you, the reader- for coming with me on this journey. Don't worry, I'm going to add an Epilogue, but this is the end of the main story. Once again- thank you.