Glee Fic: Eventually, Someday, Definitely (Mercedes/Sam, PG)
Title: Eventually, Someday, Definitely
Author: bana05
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Mercedes/Sam, glee club
Spoilers: Up through Glee S2.
Word Count: 4890
Disclaimer: Glee ain't mine, unfortunately; otherwise, Mercedes would have a harem.
Summary: With the end of the school year looming, Mercedes prepares for change.
Author's notes: This is the last of the "Then Came You" series! It's been an interesting journey - one of the longest fics I've ever written, but it got me through the hiatus and allowed me to explore my favorite character and how she could possibly relate to the group. Honestly, didn't expect so much support, but thank you so much for it and I hope you enjoy this update! Although the main series is over, there may be outtakes posted as well. Again, thank you so much for reading and commenting! Please forgive errors and enjoy!
It seemed the school year went full throttle after the MLK break for Mercedes, and she wasn't sure if she liked that or not. After making love with Sam, they were stronger than ever, although in a weird way, sex still wasn't a focal point in their relationship. This was probably because her parents and the Changs were always around now, and they both felt uncomfortable doing it with them home; but their makeout sessions definitely helped keep the edge off.
The glee club won Regionals performing the same set list as Sectionals, but they tweaked it by adding a true a capella verse for "Man in the Mirror" with all the glee guys and having Brittany, Mike, and Tina perform a featured dance during the instrumental to "Waiting on the World to Change". It was a great way to welcome spring break.
So were the college acceptance letters.
Mercedes had been ecstatic she'd gotten into her first-choice Oberlin College, hugging Sam so tightly he'd almost turned red in the face. Sam's letters had gone directly to his house in Tennessee, particularly because he'd applied to state schools there as they'd been cheaper. He'd been so sure he wasn't going anywhere, so the three acceptances he'd gotten, plus a full ride to Memphis University on a football scholarship, had shocked the hell out of him.
"I'm goin' to college," Sam had breathed over the line. He'd gone to Nashville for his spring break to spend time with his family since their school schedules were off and had paid for the train ticket all by himself. Mercedes had hooked up his mp3 player with train-appropriate music and her brother had donated another comic for him to read-Static Shock this time-to keep him occupied.
"Was there any doubt?" Mercedes had asked gently, her voice full of pride and a bit of sadness.
"Yes, but none of y'all would let me wallow in it-you, Mike, Tina, even Quinn and Artie. Y'all are the best, for real," Sam declared, and Mercedes kissed him through the phone.
When she'd heard he'd gotten in, Mercedes had immediately gone to Google Maps to see how far away from each other they'd be. Over seven hundred miles there were, and that revelation had sent Mercedes into a melancholy she hadn't anticipated.
They were growing up. They couldn't turn back from that now.
All around people were discussing their plans upon graduation. Both Rachel and Kurt had gotten into Tisch School for the Arts in New York, thus fulfilling their goal to get to the Big Apple. Finn and Puck were staying in Ohio and going to Ohio State; and although neither got a full ride, their partial football scholarships would definitely help. Quinn was also staying in state but going to Miami University. Out of all of them, Mike was going the furthest away-Stanford-where he could excel academically and athletically by still playing football even if his scholarship were an academic one. Tina was taking the news like a trooper in public; but in private, both had sobfests over potentially being so far away from their boos.
"He won't forget me, will he?" Tina had asked, snuggled into Mercedes' chest as they cuddled on her couch.
"Oh, no, he loves you, Tina," Mercedes had assured her friend. "You two are going to get married and prove to Brittany you two will have Asian kids…"
Tina laughed so hard at that she almost fell off the couch, and that made Mercedes smile.
Lauren received a wrestling scholarship to King College in Tennessee, which had her and Sam bonding over his home state. Puck joined Mercedes in her melancholy over the news.
"We're gonna hafta break up," he'd said sadly, his head back in her lap when he'd come over after school one day.
"Why?"
"That's not fair to Lauren. She's too awesome to be tied down to me and I'm not there…and I have a wandering dick. It's bound to happen and the last thing I wanna do is hurt her."
Mercedes had rubbed his six pack over his shirt and Puck had squeezed her hand. "You really do love her, don't you?"
"Yeah…she may end up not being my greatest love, but she's a damn good one, 'Cedes."
Santana and Brittany weren't going to college-at least not right away. They were taking a year off to "shoot the shit" as Santana had so delicately put it and audition for dance shows.
"Las Vegas, baby!" Santana had said. "A bribe from my parents, but I'm not stupid enough not to take it…"
"Lord Tubbington said this could be the start of something big and I need to keep Santana out of trouble," Brittany said. Santana grinned and looped her arm through the blonde's kissing Brittany's cheek.
"We have to take courses, though. Tía Renée made us promise," Santana said with a small scowl.
"Good," Mercedes said, snickering when Santana shoved her affectionately.
With all of the upcoming changes descending upon the glee clubbers, Mercedes knew she could rely on Mr. Schuester to be same ol', same ol'. The proposed set list for Nationals, which they now knew to be at Disney World, was going to feature musicals, per the rules of the competition, and Rachel suggested using Disney tunes to double their potential points.
"I think we should perform 'Part of Your World' with me as the featured soloist-"
"White girl anthem," Santana muttered under her breath, and Tina, Mercedes, and Lauren hid their snickers behind their hands.
"Again, with the racism," Quinn said on a sigh.
"Well, it is!" Santana insisted. "Any time a white girl starts, all the other white girls join in. You call it racist; I call it observant-"
"Okay, enough," Mr. Schue said, shaking his head. "I'll note the suggestion, Rachel-"
"It's a sucky suggestion," Puck said. "It's only 'Ariel' singing the song, and I'm uninterested in standing with my back to the audience again while Rachel hogs the spotlight!"
"Er…should I be concerned you knew all that," Finn asked slyly.
"Knock it off! Little sister? DVD? Babysitting? You pick up things, dude!"
"Yep," Sam said with a nod, and they shared a brofist.
"Fine, I could perform 'Colors of the Wind'-"
"Again, a true solo; try again, Rachel," Puck said, almost growling.
"Besides, why should you get to sing the solo? We've gotten here without you singing any solos this year in competition," Quinn added.
"Because I'm the leader-"
"No, Tina, Artie, and Mercedes are," Lauren said. "And quite frankly, the one person in this group who's yet to be featured in anything is Mercedes, so she should get the Nationals solo!"
Rachel scoffed. "That can't possibly be true-!"
"And yet, it is," Kurt said quietly.
"Okay, fine, maybe for this year-"
"Ever, Rachel, ever," Tina corrected.
"And, no, wailing on the glory note doesn't count," Artie said, cutting off Rachel's sharp exhalation that was preparing her next argument.
Mercedes fiddled with the straps of her watches, feeling extremely uncomfortable by the conversation about her.
"I can't believe Mercedes hasn't had a solo yet," Mr. Schue said absently.
"I'm not suitable for competitions," Mercedes said with a shrug, hating how tight her throat was getting and the prickling in her eyes. "I get it. After three years of being in this club you learn a thing or two, so we just need to do whatever we can to make sure we have the best shot of winning. And if that means Finn and Rachel get all the solos, then let 'em have 'em."
The silence was very uncomfortable in the room after that and Mr. Schue sat on the stool before the class, a highly contemplative expression on his face.
"Seriously, guys, come on!" Mercedes said, perking up and bouncing in her chair. "Maybe-maybe Puck could do 'Be Our Guest'! I think that'd be amazing and can be cheesy, but in a good way. And the vocal arrangement on that is difficult enough to show our skills with the descants and the slight operatic feel-it worked for Vocal Adrenaline, right…or so Jesse kept reminding us last year that they did 'Bohemian Rhapsody'…"
"Oh, my goodness, yes!" Tina said, also bouncing. "And Mike and Brittany could some skit-dancing along with it-"
"I call Mrs. Potts's part," Lauren said deadpan. "She's boss."
"Hell, yeah, she is!" Puck said, and they slapped hands.
"I want Cogsworth!" Kurt claimed, clapping his own hands, his blue eyes sparkling.
Mr. Schue was laughing even as he held up his hands to stem the enthusiasm. "Really? That song?"
"Yes!" everyone exclaimed, and even Rachel seemed excited about it.
"Well, there's one down. We still need three more songs though, because we will place in the top ten this year!" Mr. Schue said.
"Oh! Remember when we were talking about 'Hairography'?" Rachel asked.
Mr. Schue slowly nodded. "Yes…"
"I think 'The Age of Aquarius' would be perfect for Mercedes to sing," Rachel determined.
Mercedes blinked hard and her jaw dropped. "Rachel?"
She shrugged and smiled shyly. "What? I think you would. If you're good enough for the glory note, you're definitely good enough for an entire song…" She shrugged again. "Besides, there are four songs; I'm bound to get a solo in one of them…at least a verse…?"
"But it's not Disney," Mercedes reminded her.
"Of course not! Don't you think every choir is going to sing Disney to suck up to the judges? We're going to be more eclectic than that!"
Rehearsals were long, arduous, sometimes tense, sometimes unproductive; but everyone felt much more truly confident for this trip to Nationals than last year. It helped there was no prom drama this year and they didn't have to perform there, either. Everyone went together as a group and no fights broke out during the dance, actually becoming much closer just in time to head to Disney World.
Sam and Mercedes sat with each other on the trip down instead of playing coy, linking fingers together and rest heads against shoulders. She squeezed Sam's hand during take-off and landing, realizing those two moments of the flight made him the most nervous; and like a gentleman, he handled both of their bags once they made it to baggage claim and even hauled Quinn's duffel on his extra shoulder.
Though most of them were just weeks away from high school graduation, all of them became little kids when they finally saw Disney World. Finn, Puck, and Artie had already circled where they were going to go in each of the major theme parks and Kurt had jokingly asked if they'd made time for the actual Nationals competition in their personal itineraries.
"Oh, yeah…" they'd all murmured, and everyone had laughed.
Sam, Santana, and Rachel stayed up with Mercedes and Kurt to put the final touches on their costumes, the group hanging out by the boys' room in the wide corridor of their hotel. There were other groups staying on their floor as well; but the New Directions contingent ignored them for the most part.
"I don't know how you do it, Rachel," Mercedes muttered, squinting at the cream-colored thread she was measuring out. "I feel like I'm gonna hurl every time I think about the competition."
"Luckily, I am as dedicated as an understudy as I am a star so I'll be more than happy to-"
"Stuff it, Hobbit," Santana hissed. "Ain't happenin'!"
"You'll be fantastic," Sam encouraged, kissing Mercedes' shoulder, and she smiled.
"You've waited three years for this," Kurt said, "and you've prepared. I can't wait to hoist that first-place trophy!"
"That's Artie's job, though," Santana said. "You know he gets first dibs."
"Fine, then I call second," Kurt said placidly.
"But, yeah, Señor Evans? No smooching the girlfriend onstage this year, 'kay? At least not during the performance. I can't promise not to wait to go all Lima Heights on folks before we leave the stage…"
The other three left Sam and Mercedes out alone when they finished for the night, Kurt taking the garments into the boys' rooms because the boys would be less inclined to take sneak peeks than the girls. Rachel reminded them of curfew, but neither had planned on leaving their positions against the wall.
"You'll be awesome and you'll rock it out," Sam said, hugging her shoulders tightly.
"I love you," Mercedes replied.
"Yeah…that's awesome too," he replied, and kissed her goodnight before walking her the ten feet across the hall to her door and kissing her again.
What the much of the rest of the glee club didn't know was this year there was a solo competition as well as the group competition, and Mercedes was performing in that as well. She'd let slip to Mr. Schue she hadn't auditioned for the Oberlin Conservatory because she didn't think she'd get in.
"You're not serious, are you?" he'd asked, clearly flabbergasted by her comment.
Mercedes had just shrugged. "I could never get any recognition in lil' ol' Lima…why would I think I could break out at Oberlin?"
Mr. Schue had gotten that grave look on his face, the one he got whenever he had to deliver bad news. "I'm so sorry, Mercedes…"
She'd almost said it wasn't his fault, except most of it kind of was. Instead, she just shrugged and grinned. "Not so bad. I can always see how I feel about auditioning next year for it."
He nodded slowly once. "You know…there's a solo competition in addition to the group ones. I was going to give the slot to Rachel, but I'm giving it to you instead."
"What? No! Rachel would kill for that opportunity and I already have a solo-"
"You deserve a chance to shine all on your own. I remember 'Night of Neglect'…and I really wish the entire student body had been there to hear what a treat you gave us. You're a star, Mercedes. Sometimes you think the brightest star is the one closest to you, when in actuality it's the ones further out with the most light."
"Did you just diss Rachel in front of me?" Mercedes had asked with an edge. As much and often as Rachel got on her nerves, the girl was still her best frenemy.
Mr. Schue laughed and shook his head. "Not really…just…making very bad Astronomy analogies. Good thing Sam wasn't here to hear it!"
Sam and the others were there to hear the organizers call her upon the stage as they waited for their turn to perform in the preliminaries. Mr. Schue gave her and Tina confident squeezes to their shoulders and told her to knock it out of the park. Her knees wobbled mightily as she walked down the aisle to the stage, gripping Tina's hand tightly, and Mercedes hugged her friend before she went to the piano.
"You'll be awesome!"
"So will you!" Mercedes said, then stepped up to the microphone as Tina settled before the keys.
If she had to judge herself, Mercedes would say she sang the hell out of The Color Purple's "I'm Here". She had her father to thank for that, too, because he knew all things "Black Broadway". And she remembered her and Kurt crying ugly tears when Fantasia had sung it at the Tony Awards a few years ago. But damn if a song didn't sum up her experience during high school, but particularly this last year.
The audience knew they'd heard brilliance because they'd given a seriously long standing ovation, to the point she, along with Tina, had to come back out and give another bow, embarrassment barely hidden by Mercedes' dark hue.
They only had two minutes between the end of her solo slot and the beginning of New Directions' performance so the club didn't have time to grill Mercedes, thankfully, but that didn't stop Sam from laying a heavy one on her in front of everyone and vowing they would discuss this later.
"Er…do I have time to change my pants after that?" Puck asked, and Lauren slapped him upside his head.
"Be Our Guest" was hilarious, with Puck really hamming it up like a good candlestick should while Brittany and Mike cut the proverbial rug; but the number that really brought down the house was "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun, a suggestion by one Rachel Berry that would feature everyone's voices. It was the ultimate "Boys v. Girls" for the glee club performed on the biggest stage, and they had so much fun with it they all forgot there was an audience watching them.
Girls totally won.
By the time everyone reached the hotel room, they were floating on the high of placing in the top ten and performing tomorrow. They also celebrated Mercedes having an opportunity to shine during the Showcase portion of the competition for the top soloists as well.
"It was my idea, guys," Mr. Schue admitted, and looked at Rachel with a worried expression. "So no arguing or harping over my choices until after we get home with our first-place trophy!"
"Unless the argument is who gets Mercedes' autograph first, I don't see what the problem is myself," Artie said with a nonchalant shrug. "And I'm totally getting that autograph first!"
To Mercedes' surprise, an argument over that really did start over that, with Sam and Artie in each other's faces in a way that made her doubt if they were really joking around or not. Someone grasped her wrist and tugged her out the room, blinking in surprise when she saw it was Rachel.
"I'm not in the mood to fight," Mercedes immediately said.
"I don't want to fight," Rachel said, almost somberly. "I want to say I have never been so moved by a performance that wasn't mine than when I heard you sing…that you always move me when you sing, and it's been an honor to share the stage with you, even if I tried to push you off it a few times."
"Literally."
Rachel huffed and rolled her eyes, but conceded the amendment. "Literally."
"And I fully expect to be fangirling in front of my television as you and Kurt win Tonys, okay?" Mercedes demanded.
"As long as you let me do the same when you get your Grammys," Rachel negotiated.
"I can work with those terms," Mercedes said, and the two divas hugged.
Rachel left just as Sam arrived to press Mercedes against the wall and kiss her much more gently, yet also more intensely, than he'd done right after her solo performance. She heard people giggle and snicker at them as they passed by in the corridor once Sam pulled away, but she didn't care. Nothing was going to make her ashamed for loving on his froggy lips.
"Tomorrow…after we win our first-place trophy…meet me downstairs in the lobby," he said.
"Why? You know we're gonna hafta celebrate with the group."
"Fine, we celebrate for five minutes, then we skedaddle," Sam renegotiated, curling his hands about her waist.
"Yeah," Mercedes said, smiling when he kissed her temple. "So glad Rachel and Kurt owe me from last year…I want my own 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' moment."
Winning the first-place trophy was everything the New Directions had imagined it to be and more, and no one, not even Lauren, had a dry eye as they accepted their prize. All had sung their hearts out as Mercedes sang lead on "Age of Aquarius", which had then transitioned into The Wiz's "Brand New Day" with her, Artie, Rachel, and Kurt filling in the extra lead slots. Mr. Schue had decided to let them have fun in the parks since they were leaving bright and early the next morning, thus saving the celebrating with family and friends back in Lima. Everyone double-checked the cell-phone tree Rachel had insisted upon and everyone made sure to have a buddy.
Sam immediately grasped Mercedes' hand. "Looks like we won't have to sneak away for our 'Breakfast at Tiffany's," he whispered into her temple, and she grinned, shaking her head imperceptibly.
Except hers would be "Dinner at Epcot", and she thought it was much better. Sam even sang the first verse of "A Whole New World" to her when they entered the World Showcase portion of the theme park and they had dinner in "Norway" in a castle. There were a few Disney Princesses milling about and Sam made sure they got a picture with Cinderella. Mercedes balked a little at the menu prices but Sam gave her his adorable half smile and promised he could take care of everything.
"I don't want you spending too much money on me, though…all of this is amazing. We could have water and bread and I'll be so happy because I'm with you," she promised, reaching across the table to grasp his hand. She'd blame her sappy speech on their surroundings…
Sam kissed the back of her hand and nuzzled it. "You're amazing, and you will always get the full weight of your worth with me, Mercedes, so stop trying to get me to shortchange you."
She wanted to leave right now so she could return the favor in sweaty, naked ways. The plan must've shown on her face because his green eyes crackled and his grin turned wicked, as did his tongue stroking the head line of her palm to make her shudder.
"Behave, lady."
"You love it when I'm naughty," she returned, licking her bottom lip with a quick dart of her tongue that had Sam squeezing her hand harder and immediately calling for the check.
They walked around the rest of the theme park with interlocked fingers, Sam sometimes dropping kisses on her exposed shoulder or the top of her head. When they reached "France" Sam got another tourist to snap a picture of them with Mercedes' cell phone, the breadth of the pavilion behind them.
"You two are super cute," the teenage girl said, one who looked on the brink of high school instead of ending it like they were. Mercedes smiled at the image she'd captured, of Sam's strong arm holding Mercedes close to him about her shoulders, and suddenly became very upset.
She wouldn't have this as easily during the next four years.
Biting her lower lip, she saved the photo as her phone's background; and as soon as she got home, it would be her laptop's background too.
"Mercedes?"
"Yes?" she asked, blinking fast to dry the tears that had started to come before looking at him.
Sam stood and shoved his hands in his slacks. He looked so handsome with a coral-green, button-down shirt that matched his eyes and charcoal slacks…she wondered how she got so lucky as to have him in her life.
Sam began pacing, he also biting his lip, and she frowned. "Sam?"
He stopped mid-pace and looked over his shoulder at her. His eyes softened along with his smile. "I just wanted to tell you that you look beautiful." Then he held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"
And unlike the first time he'd said these words to her, Mercedes didn't hesitate to take his hand. "I'd love to."
The floral summer dress she wore wisped about her legs as he twirled them about, Sam's arms solid and supportive about her waist. The small ensemble in the pavilion provided the music. She felt the beat of his heart underneath her cheek and sighed with contentment, enjoying the soft breeze swirling about them.
"Happy anniversary, Mercedes."
She frowned. "Happy anniversary?"
He chuckled. "Last year? New York? Was it that unmemorable to you?"
Mercedes gasped and shoved out of his arms, her hands over her mouth. "Really?"
Sam laughed outright now, clearly tickled by her faulty memory. "Yeah, really."
"That was all a year ago?"
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Sam said, nodding.
She approached him and framed his face. "A whole year? Sammy? It feels like yesterday sometimes…"
"And then others, a lifetime," he added, but the tone of his voice lost the lightness from earlier. Mercedes shivered, but she wasn't the least bit cold. She wanted to step back, to put some space between them for some reason, but his beautiful green eyes kept her rooted to the spot and made her heart speed up.
"Sam?" she whispered.
"That's what I want with you, Mercedes. A lifetime."
Her throat tightened, preventing any air from entering her lungs because breathing was too loud and she needed to hear exactly what Sam was trying to say.
He took her left hand from his face, the one that now bore the charm bracelet he'd managed to get her for Valentine's Day instead of the watches she usually wore, and kissed the four charms she now had-the last being the "I Love NY" charm he'd wanted to give her during Christmas.
"When we were in New York last year, I remember saying to Finn if I weren't homeless, I'd go for it with the girl I loved. But I couldn't wait until I wasn't homeless…I'd asked you out anyway, because you said you loved my family even though we had nothing but each other. I knew then I couldn't let you get away…"
"You loved me even then?" Mercedes asked on a whisper, feeling the tears starting to well in her eyes.
"Was starting to, yeah," Sam admitted with a lopsided grin. "I have another charm for you," he said softly and Mercedes nodded. He used his free hand to pull out the jewelry box and used his long fingers to pop open the lid. When she saw what was inside, she swayed, unable to deny her tears any longer.
"It's an engagement ring charm with your birthstone in it…peridot…jeweler said we must be destined because it's the same color as my eyes…."
Mercedes managed a laugh at that because he sounded so embarrassed being observed so carefully, but she shook her head, taking the box from him. "I've always said you have beautiful eyes, Sammy."
"Maybe," he mumbled, sliding a hand through his hair while squeezing hers with his other one. "But I'm completely with her about us being destined."
"Are you now?" Mercedes whispered, looking from the charm to his peridot-green eyes.
"Yes." Sam kissed her sweetly, resting his forehead against hers. "And I'd be honored, humbled and honored, if you'd marry me someday, Miss Mercedes Jones."
That he'd asked her to marry him the same way he'd asked her to go out with him that very first time wasn't lost to her, and she stood on her tiptoes to bury her face in his neck. She trembled mightily, and Sam whispered in soothing tones in her ear while rubbing her back.
"Obviously not today," Sam said, his voice firm and confident. "Just…eventually…down the road sometime? I'd really like to be your husband and the father of your children, if you don't mind."
She laughed and kissed the hinge of his jaw underneath his ear. "How could I ever mind that?"
He pulled away with a hopeful smile. "Seriously?"
Though they were still close to each other, Mercedes cupped his cheek and brushed a thumb across his mouth. "Down the road sometime…you ask me again to marry you, Samson Evans."
He grinned. "You bet I will."
Sam took the charm from the box to place it on her bracelet. Mercedes hugged her wrist to her chest and beamed at him, feeling very warm upon his returning smile.
"Is that why you wanted us to stop here in 'France'?"
Sam shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Puck said last year New York was the city of love. I Googled it when we got back home because I'd said it was Paris and I was right. But I can't afford to take you to Paris right now…I hope this Disney version of it is okay, though?"
"My harem helped you with this, didn't they?"
Sam snorted and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Mike helped me pick out the charm; Puck printed out the Epcot map and pointed out all the places I should take you; Kurt and Blaine helped me choose the restaurant where we ate; and Finn and Artie told me what song I should sing. Well, more Artie with Finn vigorously nodding his head with approval."
She was already sobbing again; if Artie chose the song…she knew she was going to be a mess after Sam finished singing it.
She was, Tony Terry's "With You" having been her jam since she was four and her father had lip-synced for her and her mother during their Sunday-evening performances. And though she'd decided a long time ago it probably wouldn't be her wedding song, it was perfect for this moment.
Sam wiped away her tears with his thumbs as he finished singing, a soft smile on his face. "Good?"
"The best," Mercedes said, kissing him. "I love you, Sam."
"I love you, too, Miss Mercedes Jones-Someday-Evans…"
The others seemed disappointed they hadn't returned as an officially engaged couple, well, except for Kurt, Quinn, and Puck, who accepted bills from the others as they'd apparently won a bet they'd all made against them.
"Eventually, though!" Mike declared, eyeing the pair with seriousness.
Mercedes met Sam's eyes and smiled. "Eventually, someday, definitely."