Can't Take My Eyes Off You || Quinntana

Nineteen

The next two days went by in a blur. Quinn and Santana joined forces to take Kitty down and get Marley into counseling with Ms. Pillsbury. It wasn't the same as real therapy, but it was a start. The glee club worked harder than ever to get their new numbers, Diamonds and Blow Me One Last Kiss, sectionals-ready. With everything going on, Quinn and Santana longed for some time for just the two of them. But today was not the day for that, because it was Thanksgiving, and they were about to eat dinner together at the Fabrays'.

Quinn had already briefed Santana about what she could and couldn't say to her mother. Most important was to avoid anything about politics, civil rights, or the LGBT+ community. Her mother was a better person than her father, but not by much. At this point, all Quinn could do was pray that everything went well.

She was checking her appearance in the mirror, admiring her light blue dress and grey cardigan, when the doorbell rang. It was time. She rushed down to the foyer to greet Santana, but of course, her mother beat her to it.

"Santana! So nice to see you." She gave the girl a hug, then stepped back to examine her. "What a cute dress! A little bit short, but cute!"

Santana gazed past Mrs. Fabray to give Quinn a look. They were used to her mom being a little judgmental. Santana always knew to cover up at the Fabray household. Quinn's mother had strong opinions about clothes and, well, pretty much everything.

"Good to see you too, Mrs. Fabray."

Mrs. Fabray led the way to the dining room, Quinn and Santana following behind.

"Santana, you look so healthy. Have you lost weight? I keep telling Quinn she could stand to lose a few pounds, but she won't lay off the bacon." Mrs. Fabray let out an unnaturally polished chuckle, like she'd been practicing her fake laugh for years. Knowing her, she probably had.

Quinn felt herself tense up. Her jaw tightened as the rate of her heartbeat increased. She was tempted to snap back at her mother, but Santana's fingers laced into hers, and she calmed down. They made eye contact, and Santana mouthed breathe. Quinn sighed and squeezed her hand.

Once in the dining room, they were met by Quinn's sister, Frannie, and her fiance, Bryan. They stood up, and there was an awkward moment where Santana didn't know whether she was supposed to shake their hands or hug them. She went with the handshake. It seemed like the correct decision.

They seated themselves around the table and began to pass around the turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It was a typical Thanksgiving, all the same dishes from Quinn's childhood. Although she had many bad memories from growing up, part of her savored the nostalgia. Her home life wasn't always bad. As a kid, it had been really nice—at least when her parents weren't fighting. Things seemed simpler back then.

"Frannie," Mrs. Fabray broke the silence, "Why don't you show them the ring and tell the story again."

Frannie smiled and lifted her hand to reveal a silver band with a giant diamond in the middle, surrounded by smaller diamonds. "Bryan popped the question in one of the libraries on campus at Harvard. It's where we first met, actually. We were both studying for a calculus exam, and he saw me, and—oh, Bryan, you tell the story." She looked to her left with dreamy eyes, giving her fiance a nudge with her elbow.

"Oh, uh—" Bryan scratched his beard and cleared his throat. "I thought she was beautiful, so I walked over and asked her out to dinner." Everyone waiting for him to continue, but he seemed to be done talking.

"Now look at us," Frannie picked up where he left off. "Four years later, we're in law school together, still studying at that same library, except now we're engaged."

"Oh," Mrs. Fabray exclaimed, "Isn't that just beautiful." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I keep asking Quinnie if she's met any special boys at Yale, but she won't tell me anything."

Quinn blushed and looked down at her lap. "I told you, Mom. There's no boys."

Mrs. Fabray's cheerful demeanor began to flake away. "You know, baby, it's about time for you to be finding a husband. You're only young for so long."

Suddenly, Quinn was finding it difficult to breathe. Each breath was uneven and jagged. The skin around her hands and feet was unpleasantly tingling. She could feel her face becoming more and more red.

A gentle hand on her leg stopped it from subconsciously bouncing up and down underneath the table. Something about Santana's touch sent calmness throughout her body, her breaths becoming steadier and the tingling in her skin fading away.

"I know, mom," she replied once she was confident her voice would be steady. "I'm looking."

Her mom smiled, satisfied with her answer, and moved onto her next topic of interest. "So, Santana, how has college been going for you?"

Santana plastered on her best smile. "It's going great. The cheerleading team is really fun."

Mrs. Fabray pushed further. "What are you majoring in again?"

Santana avoided her eye contact. "Oh, I'm actually undeclared right now. But I've been thinking about transferring schools to study songwriting."

At that moment, Quinn's hand accidentally hit her glass, spilling water all over the table. She picked it up quickly. The mess wasn't bad at all, just a damp table cloth, but she went back into panic mode. The tingling sensation in her hands and feet returned.

"Sorry," she blurted out. "I'm such a klutz."

"Quinnie, it's fine. Just a little water. We'll clean it up after dinner." Although her words seemed comforting, her tone was not. Instead, it was inpatient and, at least in Quinn's mind, slightly threatening. "Anyway," she segued, "songwriting. That's interesting! Not much of a steady career, though, is it?"

She looked ready to continue, but Quinn interrupted. With a shaking voice, she said, "My dress got all wet. I'm going to go upstairs to change." Without another word, she stood up and walked away as quickly as possible.

Santana didn't miss a beat. "Mine is wet, too. I'll change into one of Quinn's. Great mashed potatoes, by the way."

. . .

"This is how it's going to be for us, huh?" Quinn asked. She was sitting on her bed, shivering as a few tears slid down her face. "One of us has a meltdown, the other one helps, and we switch roles?"

Santana found her place beside Quinn and wrapped her in her arms. "That does seem to be the pattern," she remarked, sounding slightly amused. "But, it won't be like this forever. We're both going through a lot right now. This will all pass eventually."

"I hope my mother passes eventually," Quinn groaned. They both laughed.

"She is pretty bad, huh?" Santana replied. "But she eventually came around when you were pregnant. There must be some light inside that evil, twisted soul."

Quinn turned so she was facing Santana, gazing into her deep brown eyes. "Thank you for coming today."

Santana responded with a long, gentle kiss. She then stood up and adjusted the dress she'd changed into. "We should get back down there before your mom gets worried. But if she starts tearing you apart again, I'll fake an emergency to get us out of there."

Quinn laughed. "Okay," she said, "But i need one thing from you first."

Santana quirked an eyebrow.

Quinn grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for one more kiss. She needed all she could get if she was going to make it through the rest of dinner.