fanfic: I’m Really Glad You’re Here, PG-13 (Finn/Santana)
Title: I’m Really Glad You’re Here
Author: ipickquinn & absentego
Pairings/Characters: Finn/Santana
Rating: PG-13 (mentions of abuse, swearing)
Word count: 4,388
Spoilers: none
Summary: Finn stumbles upon Santana at the park and helps her through a difficult situation.
Sequel to: Midnight Breakfast | Do You Know Karate? Because Your Body Is Kicking | Creeped Out And Flattered | Do You Like Me? Check Yes Or No | I Wouldn’t Mind Objectifying You
A/N: This fic was written by ipickquinn (as Finn) and absentego (as Santana)!
I’m Really Glad You’re Here
To say Santana didn’t get along with her mother would be a huge understatement. They fought often, having shouting matches, and on rare occasions when Santana was angry enough and Carmen Lopez was drunk enough, Carmen would hit her. Tonight had been one of those times. When Carmen stormed off to lock herself in her study and drink, Santana grabbed her keys and and a bottle of tequila her uncle had given her and left the house to do the same. She and her mother were a lot alike, though she refused to think about things like that.
Without realizing it, Santana ended up at the park where she’d met Finn on a midnight run a couple weeks before. Maybe she was unconsciously hoping Finn would come, or maybe it was just convenient. Her right eye throbbed, the skin around it swollen and red, as she twisted the top off the tequila. It would bruise in the morning and then she and Carmen would have another shouting match over that. With a scowl, she took a swig of tequila right from the bottle.
Santana was used to drinking, so she could hold her liquor well. Even so, one hour and half the bottle of tequila later Santana’s eye was starting to turn an ugly mottled color and she was feeling the effects of the tequila in her system. The the tequila loosened her up, the more what her mother had said to her got through her defenses and crushed her. And that’s how she ended up at the park, sitting in her car drinking tequila and trying not to cry.
Finn was having one of those restless days so he threw on his tennis shoes and running clothes before jogging out the door. He was on auto pilot, going through his usual loop when he ran by the park. He glanced over, grinning a bit. He loved that place. It was one of his favorite places because it was always a quiet place he could think. Except ... it was strange. There was a car parked there. And not just any car. He was 99% sure the car belonged to Santana Lopez.
He slowed his run down to a jog and eventually a walk as he approached the car. Once he was at the driver’s side he tapped softly at the window. No need to freak her out.
Santana jumped and glared through the window...right into the face of Finn Hudson. Her eyes swam so she closed them, but when she opened them again he was still there. “So, he’s real then,” she muttered. She considered checking the mirror real fast, but from the way her eye hurt she knew it was pretty swollen. No need to check and see how ugly she looked. She was so going to kill her mother later for marring her perfect face. Kill. There would be blood. And as she went down that train of thought, she totally forgot that Finn was standing outside her door.
Finn’s eyes widened in shock and horror when Santana looked at him. Her face was bruised and it kind of looked like she might have been crying? He waited for her to roll down the window or something but when she didn’t (and his panic continued to intensify) he knocked on the window again. “Santana?” Could she even hear him through the window?
Oh. Right. Finn was still out there. While Santana loved to drink, she was responsible about it so her car was off. Since the windows were automatic, she fumbled for the door handle instead and opened the door. “Hey. Want a drink?” She held up the bottle and laughed a little. Well, it was funny in her head.
Finn shook his head and his brows furrowed together. “Uh. No... thanks.” He continued looking at her, trying to see if she was hurt anywhere else. Eventually though he figured he had to speak. He couldn’t just stand over her all day. “What happened?”
Santana set the bottle in the passenger seat and shifted to slide out of the car but Finn was too close and it’s hard to move a giant so she didn’t try. “I walked into a door,” she said, trying to smirk.
“This isn’t funny, Santana,” Finn said sternly, still looking at her with concern. “What happened? You need to ice that. We should go get you some at the 7-eleven. But you can’t drive if you’ve been drinking...” he trailed off, still frowning.
“Mama hit me,” Santana said sharply, giving him as good of a glare as she could with one eye. “Guess I really pissed her off by breathing.” She sat back in her seat and glared out the windshield instead. “I know I can’t drive. I wasn’t planning to.” Grabbing her keys off the passenger seat, she held them out to Finn. “You can take them if you’re worried.”
Finn couldn’t even believe that. What kind of parent hits their own kid? Balling his hands into fists he took a few long steps away from the car and began pacing around angrily. He wanted to punch something right now. He wanted to march over to Santana’s house and yell at her mother. This just wasn’t right.
After another minute of pacing he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down as best he could, winced as he uncurled his fists and walked back over to Santana, kneeling down beside her. “Sorry... I just... Fuck.” Shit. He was probably not making this any better. He reached out slowly to grab the keys and looked up at her, wincing again as he took in her bruised eye. “We should go get you some ice.”
Finn’s pacing made Santana dizzy so she looked away and closed her eyes. When she felt him get near again, she reopened them. Reaching out, she lightly cupped his cheek. “You’re so sweet,” she said softly, her eyes on his. “Why are you so mad?” It didn’t make sense in her fuzzy brain. Fighting with her mom was such a normal thing to her, just another part of her life.
Finn closed his eyes when Santana touched his cheek. If he weren’t so mad he would have thought about how much he liked the feeling. Forcing his eyes open again, he looked at Santana with what he hoped was a non-threatening gaze. He didn’t want her to be afraid that he was going to lose his control and hit her too. He would never do something like that.
“Because she hit you. That’s not okay. You’re hurt and I--” This was a pretty weird reaction. They’d went on one official date. He could count the number of times they had kissed on one hand. But for some reason he really just cared. “I think we need to get you ice.” That wasn’t what he had intended to say but he didn’t need her to worry about whatever confusion he was going through right now. She just needed to get some ice, drink some water and rest.
Santana shifted forward and rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes. She was silent a long moment before she spoke, her voice still the same soft tone. “Okay, let’s go get ice.” But she didn’t move. She felt strangely safe here with Finn, like nothing could touch her or hurt her. Maybe it was the tequila - and she’d swear it was in the morning when she was thinking straight - but she was really glad he was here. Before her brain could stop her, her mouth spoke the words. “I’m really glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” Finn responded immediately then without really knowing what he was doing pulled back and gave her a long kiss on the forehead. Finally he pulled back and looked inside the car. “Can you hand me the tequila? I’m going to put it in the trunk. The last thing we need is to be caught with an open bottle.”
Santana’s eyes filled with tears when he kissed her forehead. It was something that made her feel so cherished. Taking a breath, she nodded and grabbed the bottle to hand to him. “You’re going to have to drive.” She looked back at him and giggled a little. “If you’ll fit in my car. You’re like a giant.” She sniffed and smiled a bit, not sure if giants could fit into small sports cars.
Finn attributed the tears to her eye hurting and hurried to store the bottle then returned to the driver’s side. “Well how am I supposed to fit if you’re in my way?” He asked, teasing slightly. “Scoot over. I’ll manage to squeeze in.”
Santana giggled again. “So pushy. Geez.” She scoffed then struggled to get into the passenger seat. After managing to bang her shoulder against the window, she was settled. “Your turn, giant man.”
Finn watched with amusement and winced when she bashed her shoulder, but she seemed just fine so that was good. When it was his turn he reached down and pulled the seat lever, pushing it all the way back, before getting in. He wasn’t entirely comfortable but it was good enough. “See, I fit.” He said before he started the car, backed out of the parking lot then turned at the next stop sign to make his way towards the store. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say right now so he just stayed silent, hoping it would be one of those comfortable silences rather than an awkward one.
Santana grinned and clapped twice. “You did it!” As he pulled out, she eyed him. “Don’t wreck my car.” Once she’d eyed him long enough to believe she got her point across, she rested her head back and closed her eyes. With the movement of the car she felt like she was drifting, floating, and while she knew Finn was there she couldn’t see him and had no real proof with her eyes closed. Holding her breath, she reached out and laid her hand on his leg, only then letting her breath out when she realized this was real and he really was there with her.
It took him by surprise when Santana put her hand on his leg but after a moment he smiled slightly and took one hand off the steering wheel to place it over hers. It didn’t take much longer for them to get to 7-eleven and once he was parked he turned to Santana. “Do you just want to wait here?”
Santana’s eyes opened as she turned her hand under his and held on. “You’re coming back, right?” she asked, her eyes searching his face.
“Of course I am,” Finn said, looking right back at her. Where did she expect him to go? He wasn’t going to just leave her there. Especially in her state. After giving her hand a gentle squeeze he pulled his out of her grasp and got out of the car.
He made quick work once he was inside, grabbing a small bag of ice, a large bottle of water and some advil that he thought would help with the swelling and pain.
Glad to see that Santana was still where he left her (though why he thought she was going to wander off, he wasn’t too sure) he slid back in the driver’s seat and turned to her. “Here, take these first,” he said, handing her the pills and water.
Even though he’d gone quickly, it seemed like forever before Finn came back. She didn’t realize how tense she’d gotten until he slid back into the car and her body relaxed. “You came back.” She looked at him, not registering he was wanting her to do something until she saw his hands out with the water and pills. Taking the pills, she popped them into her mouth and took a long drink of the water.
“Of course I did,” Finn said as he watched her as she took the pills, making sure she didn’t choke or something. He didn’t know CPR and he highly doubted the guy working at the 7-eleven did either. But luckily he was in the clear. He took out the ice next, hitting it over his knee to break up the ice a bit. He frowned when he realized he didn’t have anything to wrap it in besides the flimsy plastic bag and after a few more moments of deliberation took off his shirt and wrapped it around the ice. “Here, sorry if it’s a little smelly. It shouldn't be since I just put it on. But you know, fair warning.”
Santana took it from him and pressed it against her eye, jumping a bit and hissing at the pain. She held it there for a minute before she lowered it so she could look at him. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Finn shrugged slightly and looked back at her. “Seems like you needed someone to be nice to you.” He paused a few moments. “And because I want to be.” It was still a little odd to him but Santana wasn’t always the bitchy, robotic Cheerio she was at school. And she rarely let people see that side of her but Finn already felt drawn in and wasn’t about to give up on her now.
Santana smiled a little. “Thanks,” she said softly, her voice sincere. After a moment she leaned back and pressed the ice pack to her eye again.
Finn felt is own smile grow when he saw the one on Santana’s face. “You’re welcome. Your eye feeling any better?”
Santana nodded a little. “Yeah, it is.” She wanted to hold his hand again but turning her head to search for his hand seemed like too much effort. Instead, she rested her hand back on his legs in hopes that he’d hold it again.
It felt nice to hold Santana’s hand before so he laced their fingers together again as they sat there. As they sat there in silence he thought about how he was going to have to take Santana home soon. And how much he was dreading it. But they couldn't sit in the parking lot forever...
Santana’s fingers tightened in his. She was silent for a long moment, what felt like eternity, before she spoke again. “She hates me,” she said quietly, closing her eyes. “I used to try to be a good girl, a good enough daughter that she’d love me. I tried so hard when I was little, but nothing I ever did was enough so I gave up. Now I do stuff I know will piss her off. If she’s going to hate me, she might as well have a reason to.”
Finn gave Santana’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I like you. She doesn’t know what she’s missing.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. He didn’t know Santana’s mom though just on the events of tonight he knew he hated her.
Santana wasn’t sure how a nice guy like Finn liked her. He didn’t just like her looks, or that she’d be good in bed. Finn wasn’t that way. When he said he liked her, she knew he really meant it. “She’s a bitch. At least I still have Daddy.” She pushed thoughts of her mother away and lowered the ice pack to her lap and looked at him. “I-” Blinking, she cut off. “You’re not wearing a shirt.” When had that happened? And where did it go....?
Finn looked down at his bare chest as if he forgot he was shirtless as well. “Uh, I know. I mean, I wrapped the ice in it. I didn’t have anything else. It’s not a big deal,” he said so she wouldn’t worry about it.
“You did?” Santana looked down at the ice pack in her lap. Oh. Now his comment about the ice smelling bad made sense. She smirked a little and let her eyes rake over his chest. “It’s a nice look for you.”
Finn chuckled slightly and shrugged again. “Yeah, like I said, it wasn’t a big deal.” He was starting to feel a little embarrassed. She was acting like him surrendering his t-shirt for the sake of her health was the nicest thing ever. He was about to tell her she would probably do the same for him except... well it’s not like he expected anything in return from her so he just left it at that.
“Right.” Santana looked at him. “I don’t want to go home.”
He gave her hand another squeeze. He didn’t want her to go home either but he was pretty sure it would be bad news if he brought her back to his house. What would his mom say? Well she would probably understand if he told her the situation. But then again if he told her what Santana’s mom did his own mom would probably march over there and get in a brawl... That would actually be kind of badass.
He probably shouldn’t be doing this but he wasn’t about to send her home if she didn’t want to be there. After another moment of thinking he finally said, “Well you could come to my house. If you want...”
Santana started to smile a little. She’d been hoping he’d suggest that. If he hadn’t, she would have just told him to take her to Brittany’s. Brittany’s mom was as much of a bitch as her own, but she could just sneak in Brittany’s window like she always did. “Okay.”
Finn smiled back then (unfortunately) took his hand back so he could start the car and put it in gear to start to drive back to his house. “Do you want to stop and get anything else while we’re out?”
Santana’s voice was a little quieter when she spoke, but she wasn’t looking at him. “No. I’ve got everything I need.” She glanced at him then rested her head back and put the ice back on her eye.
As he drove, every so often he would look over at Santana. It was weird. She wasn’t making fun of anyone, she wasn’t seducing anyone, she wasn’t cheering. She looked sad and tired and he really didn’t like it. It was probably his job to try and cheer her up. “So. What do you want to do when we get home? We could um, watch a movie or something.” Because that had went so well last time...
Santana dropped the ice pack to her lap and screwed the top off the bottle of water. She made a face at his question before taking a long swig. If she didn’t start drinking water, she’d have a hangover from hell in the morning. “Is your mom going to watch it with us?”
Finn laughed nervously. “No. She’s at work until later actually.” He had forgotten that until just now. She was working a late shift and he would have to call her to let her know what was happening, but it would be okay.
Santana nodded then put the ice pack back on her eye. “Okay.”
It was quite for most of the short drive back and finally he parked on the street, leaving the spot in the driveway for his mom. He looked over at Santana, speaking gently. “We’re here.”
Santana had started to drift toward sleep, only noticing that they’d stopped when Finn spoke. She opened her eyes and looked at him, speaking just as softly. “Okay.” She looked at him for a moment then opened her door and slid out. When she stood, her head spun and she had to lean against the car for a moment until the ground stopped rocking beneath her.
Finn rushed around the front of the car when he saw her wobbling like that and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Come on, I got you,” he said as he led her up the sidewalk.
Again a small smile tugged at Santana’s lips. “You do, don’t you?” It was odd, being cared for like this. It wasn’t something she was used to. She never let anyone get close to her so no one saw her vulnerable enough to need to be cared for. Maybe this was what it was like when people got close and maybe, just maybe, letting someone in wasn’t such a bad thing.
Finn smiled back then led her inside and helped her onto the couch. “Do you want something to eat?” He thought it might help her sober up.
The thought of eating turned Santana’s stomach, but she knew it was a good idea. “Yeah. Like toast or something?” She toed her shoes off and tucked her feet under her on the couch. There was an advantage to being wasted - she could do things she normally wouldn’t and pass it off as the tequila. That could come in handy.
Finn nodded then went off to the kitchen and a few minutes later returned with toast. “I just put butter on it. Hope that’s okay,” he said handing her the plate as he sat down beside her. He looked her over slightly and checked her eye again. “Is it feeling better?”
“Numb,” Santana said, setting the ice pack aside. She didn’t ask if he wanted his shirt back. He wouldn’t be getting it back. She took a bite of the toast and considered him as she chewed. He was handsome, a lot of girls would say gorgeous. Tall. Great eyes. Great chest (which was only one of the reasons he wasn’t getting his shirt back). And he liked her. He wasn’t her usual type, but she was interested.
Well that was better than in pain, he figured, and nodded his head. “Good. Well I think that’s good...” He fidgeted nervously. “So, movie now? Or we could just uh... I dunno, we can do whatever you want.”
“Movie,” Santana said with a nod, then winced when it made her head spin and her eye throb. “Shit.”
Finn nodded again then went over to the tv, looking through their limited supply of movies. Most of them were action movies or sports related. Remembering how she had picked out that girly movie at the movie store he immediately went for one of the only chick flicks they had and popped in You’ve Got Mail.
He grabbed the remote then settled back on the couch with her. “Tom Hanks... uh, he’s a pretty good actor,” Finn said a little awkwardly, trying to make conversation.
Santana smirked a little at him. “Go put a shirt on, Finn. It’s not that I don’t like looking, it’s just distracting. A lot.”
Finn looked down at his chest, slightly shocked to see that it was bare. He was about to ask what happened to his shirt when he remember he wrapped the ice in it. Duh. “Oh, um, okay if you want me to,” he finally said blushing before getting off the couch. “Be right back then...” That was sort of embarrassing.
“It’s not about me wanting you to. I really don’t want you to. But if you don’t, I’ll do things besides watch the movie,” she said, chuckling a little. It was pretty obvious from the look on her face what those other things would be.
That left Finn a little speechless so he just stalked off to his room to get a shirt. He didn’t want to put one on either, but he didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. She was drunk and probably still sad. It wouldn’t be right to do anything with her when she was feeling vulnerable like that. So he unfortunately pulled on a shirt and went back to the living room and sat back down.
“There. Uh. All better.”
Santana nodded a little and sat back as the movie started to play. It wasn’t too late, but she was tired and before long she started nodding off. Shifting closer to Finn, her head dropped to his shoulder as her eyes slid closed.
Finn couldn’t really help himself and he wrapped an arm around Santana. If she asked he would tell her it was just more comfortable this way, but really he just wanted to do this. It was... nice. Who ever thought he would cuddle with Santana Lopez?
Santana made a soft sound but she was already half-asleep, too much to really notice what she was doing. Her brain was awake enough to register Finn’s warmth, and she curled against his side, falling asleep.
Finn didn’t even realize Santana was asleep until the movie was about three-quarters done. He was embarrassingly drawn into the plot of the movie and couldn’t believe that the chick didn’t know Tom Hanks was her mysterious pen pal. It was like so obvious. He was about to say as such to Santana when he noticed she was sleeping.
He started at her a few moments wondering what to do. He definitely didn’t want to wake her up so he decided the plan of action was to carefully take his arm away and just let her sleep on the couch. He began retracting his arm carefully, watching her to make sure he wasn’t moving her too much.
Santana started to move when Finn did. She didn’t wake, but she moved closer. Her arm went around his waist as if to hold him there. Even in sleep she felt safe with him. Her eyes moved under her lids as she started to wake up.
Shit. This wasn’t going how he planned. He had hoped he could just pull back and leave her to rest in peace. Except now she was sort of hugging him and he couldn’t move away without waking her up. He decided to just stay there a little bit, hoping maybe she would shift away as she got into a deeper sleep.
Santana didn’t let him go. She was comfortable, warm, safe. When he stopped moving, she began falling back into a deeper sleep. With a soft sigh, she was out again.
Finn focused back on the movie, giving up on trying to move away from Santana. An hour later when Carole came home from work she just smiled at the two kids fast asleep on the couch.
Author: ipickquinn & absentego
Pairings/Characters: Finn/Santana
Rating: PG-13 (mentions of abuse, swearing)
Word count: 4,388
Spoilers: none
Summary: Finn stumbles upon Santana at the park and helps her through a difficult situation.
Sequel to: Midnight Breakfast | Do You Know Karate? Because Your Body Is Kicking | Creeped Out And Flattered | Do You Like Me? Check Yes Or No | I Wouldn’t Mind Objectifying You
A/N: This fic was written by ipickquinn (as Finn) and absentego (as Santana)!
I’m Really Glad You’re Here
To say Santana didn’t get along with her mother would be a huge understatement. They fought often, having shouting matches, and on rare occasions when Santana was angry enough and Carmen Lopez was drunk enough, Carmen would hit her. Tonight had been one of those times. When Carmen stormed off to lock herself in her study and drink, Santana grabbed her keys and and a bottle of tequila her uncle had given her and left the house to do the same. She and her mother were a lot alike, though she refused to think about things like that.
Without realizing it, Santana ended up at the park where she’d met Finn on a midnight run a couple weeks before. Maybe she was unconsciously hoping Finn would come, or maybe it was just convenient. Her right eye throbbed, the skin around it swollen and red, as she twisted the top off the tequila. It would bruise in the morning and then she and Carmen would have another shouting match over that. With a scowl, she took a swig of tequila right from the bottle.
Santana was used to drinking, so she could hold her liquor well. Even so, one hour and half the bottle of tequila later Santana’s eye was starting to turn an ugly mottled color and she was feeling the effects of the tequila in her system. The the tequila loosened her up, the more what her mother had said to her got through her defenses and crushed her. And that’s how she ended up at the park, sitting in her car drinking tequila and trying not to cry.
Finn was having one of those restless days so he threw on his tennis shoes and running clothes before jogging out the door. He was on auto pilot, going through his usual loop when he ran by the park. He glanced over, grinning a bit. He loved that place. It was one of his favorite places because it was always a quiet place he could think. Except ... it was strange. There was a car parked there. And not just any car. He was 99% sure the car belonged to Santana Lopez.
He slowed his run down to a jog and eventually a walk as he approached the car. Once he was at the driver’s side he tapped softly at the window. No need to freak her out.
Santana jumped and glared through the window...right into the face of Finn Hudson. Her eyes swam so she closed them, but when she opened them again he was still there. “So, he’s real then,” she muttered. She considered checking the mirror real fast, but from the way her eye hurt she knew it was pretty swollen. No need to check and see how ugly she looked. She was so going to kill her mother later for marring her perfect face. Kill. There would be blood. And as she went down that train of thought, she totally forgot that Finn was standing outside her door.
Finn’s eyes widened in shock and horror when Santana looked at him. Her face was bruised and it kind of looked like she might have been crying? He waited for her to roll down the window or something but when she didn’t (and his panic continued to intensify) he knocked on the window again. “Santana?” Could she even hear him through the window?
Oh. Right. Finn was still out there. While Santana loved to drink, she was responsible about it so her car was off. Since the windows were automatic, she fumbled for the door handle instead and opened the door. “Hey. Want a drink?” She held up the bottle and laughed a little. Well, it was funny in her head.
Finn shook his head and his brows furrowed together. “Uh. No... thanks.” He continued looking at her, trying to see if she was hurt anywhere else. Eventually though he figured he had to speak. He couldn’t just stand over her all day. “What happened?”
Santana set the bottle in the passenger seat and shifted to slide out of the car but Finn was too close and it’s hard to move a giant so she didn’t try. “I walked into a door,” she said, trying to smirk.
“This isn’t funny, Santana,” Finn said sternly, still looking at her with concern. “What happened? You need to ice that. We should go get you some at the 7-eleven. But you can’t drive if you’ve been drinking...” he trailed off, still frowning.
“Mama hit me,” Santana said sharply, giving him as good of a glare as she could with one eye. “Guess I really pissed her off by breathing.” She sat back in her seat and glared out the windshield instead. “I know I can’t drive. I wasn’t planning to.” Grabbing her keys off the passenger seat, she held them out to Finn. “You can take them if you’re worried.”
Finn couldn’t even believe that. What kind of parent hits their own kid? Balling his hands into fists he took a few long steps away from the car and began pacing around angrily. He wanted to punch something right now. He wanted to march over to Santana’s house and yell at her mother. This just wasn’t right.
After another minute of pacing he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down as best he could, winced as he uncurled his fists and walked back over to Santana, kneeling down beside her. “Sorry... I just... Fuck.” Shit. He was probably not making this any better. He reached out slowly to grab the keys and looked up at her, wincing again as he took in her bruised eye. “We should go get you some ice.”
Finn’s pacing made Santana dizzy so she looked away and closed her eyes. When she felt him get near again, she reopened them. Reaching out, she lightly cupped his cheek. “You’re so sweet,” she said softly, her eyes on his. “Why are you so mad?” It didn’t make sense in her fuzzy brain. Fighting with her mom was such a normal thing to her, just another part of her life.
Finn closed his eyes when Santana touched his cheek. If he weren’t so mad he would have thought about how much he liked the feeling. Forcing his eyes open again, he looked at Santana with what he hoped was a non-threatening gaze. He didn’t want her to be afraid that he was going to lose his control and hit her too. He would never do something like that.
“Because she hit you. That’s not okay. You’re hurt and I--” This was a pretty weird reaction. They’d went on one official date. He could count the number of times they had kissed on one hand. But for some reason he really just cared. “I think we need to get you ice.” That wasn’t what he had intended to say but he didn’t need her to worry about whatever confusion he was going through right now. She just needed to get some ice, drink some water and rest.
Santana shifted forward and rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes. She was silent a long moment before she spoke, her voice still the same soft tone. “Okay, let’s go get ice.” But she didn’t move. She felt strangely safe here with Finn, like nothing could touch her or hurt her. Maybe it was the tequila - and she’d swear it was in the morning when she was thinking straight - but she was really glad he was here. Before her brain could stop her, her mouth spoke the words. “I’m really glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” Finn responded immediately then without really knowing what he was doing pulled back and gave her a long kiss on the forehead. Finally he pulled back and looked inside the car. “Can you hand me the tequila? I’m going to put it in the trunk. The last thing we need is to be caught with an open bottle.”
Santana’s eyes filled with tears when he kissed her forehead. It was something that made her feel so cherished. Taking a breath, she nodded and grabbed the bottle to hand to him. “You’re going to have to drive.” She looked back at him and giggled a little. “If you’ll fit in my car. You’re like a giant.” She sniffed and smiled a bit, not sure if giants could fit into small sports cars.
Finn attributed the tears to her eye hurting and hurried to store the bottle then returned to the driver’s side. “Well how am I supposed to fit if you’re in my way?” He asked, teasing slightly. “Scoot over. I’ll manage to squeeze in.”
Santana giggled again. “So pushy. Geez.” She scoffed then struggled to get into the passenger seat. After managing to bang her shoulder against the window, she was settled. “Your turn, giant man.”
Finn watched with amusement and winced when she bashed her shoulder, but she seemed just fine so that was good. When it was his turn he reached down and pulled the seat lever, pushing it all the way back, before getting in. He wasn’t entirely comfortable but it was good enough. “See, I fit.” He said before he started the car, backed out of the parking lot then turned at the next stop sign to make his way towards the store. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say right now so he just stayed silent, hoping it would be one of those comfortable silences rather than an awkward one.
Santana grinned and clapped twice. “You did it!” As he pulled out, she eyed him. “Don’t wreck my car.” Once she’d eyed him long enough to believe she got her point across, she rested her head back and closed her eyes. With the movement of the car she felt like she was drifting, floating, and while she knew Finn was there she couldn’t see him and had no real proof with her eyes closed. Holding her breath, she reached out and laid her hand on his leg, only then letting her breath out when she realized this was real and he really was there with her.
It took him by surprise when Santana put her hand on his leg but after a moment he smiled slightly and took one hand off the steering wheel to place it over hers. It didn’t take much longer for them to get to 7-eleven and once he was parked he turned to Santana. “Do you just want to wait here?”
Santana’s eyes opened as she turned her hand under his and held on. “You’re coming back, right?” she asked, her eyes searching his face.
“Of course I am,” Finn said, looking right back at her. Where did she expect him to go? He wasn’t going to just leave her there. Especially in her state. After giving her hand a gentle squeeze he pulled his out of her grasp and got out of the car.
He made quick work once he was inside, grabbing a small bag of ice, a large bottle of water and some advil that he thought would help with the swelling and pain.
Glad to see that Santana was still where he left her (though why he thought she was going to wander off, he wasn’t too sure) he slid back in the driver’s seat and turned to her. “Here, take these first,” he said, handing her the pills and water.
Even though he’d gone quickly, it seemed like forever before Finn came back. She didn’t realize how tense she’d gotten until he slid back into the car and her body relaxed. “You came back.” She looked at him, not registering he was wanting her to do something until she saw his hands out with the water and pills. Taking the pills, she popped them into her mouth and took a long drink of the water.
“Of course I did,” Finn said as he watched her as she took the pills, making sure she didn’t choke or something. He didn’t know CPR and he highly doubted the guy working at the 7-eleven did either. But luckily he was in the clear. He took out the ice next, hitting it over his knee to break up the ice a bit. He frowned when he realized he didn’t have anything to wrap it in besides the flimsy plastic bag and after a few more moments of deliberation took off his shirt and wrapped it around the ice. “Here, sorry if it’s a little smelly. It shouldn't be since I just put it on. But you know, fair warning.”
Santana took it from him and pressed it against her eye, jumping a bit and hissing at the pain. She held it there for a minute before she lowered it so she could look at him. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Finn shrugged slightly and looked back at her. “Seems like you needed someone to be nice to you.” He paused a few moments. “And because I want to be.” It was still a little odd to him but Santana wasn’t always the bitchy, robotic Cheerio she was at school. And she rarely let people see that side of her but Finn already felt drawn in and wasn’t about to give up on her now.
Santana smiled a little. “Thanks,” she said softly, her voice sincere. After a moment she leaned back and pressed the ice pack to her eye again.
Finn felt is own smile grow when he saw the one on Santana’s face. “You’re welcome. Your eye feeling any better?”
Santana nodded a little. “Yeah, it is.” She wanted to hold his hand again but turning her head to search for his hand seemed like too much effort. Instead, she rested her hand back on his legs in hopes that he’d hold it again.
It felt nice to hold Santana’s hand before so he laced their fingers together again as they sat there. As they sat there in silence he thought about how he was going to have to take Santana home soon. And how much he was dreading it. But they couldn't sit in the parking lot forever...
Santana’s fingers tightened in his. She was silent for a long moment, what felt like eternity, before she spoke again. “She hates me,” she said quietly, closing her eyes. “I used to try to be a good girl, a good enough daughter that she’d love me. I tried so hard when I was little, but nothing I ever did was enough so I gave up. Now I do stuff I know will piss her off. If she’s going to hate me, she might as well have a reason to.”
Finn gave Santana’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I like you. She doesn’t know what she’s missing.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. He didn’t know Santana’s mom though just on the events of tonight he knew he hated her.
Santana wasn’t sure how a nice guy like Finn liked her. He didn’t just like her looks, or that she’d be good in bed. Finn wasn’t that way. When he said he liked her, she knew he really meant it. “She’s a bitch. At least I still have Daddy.” She pushed thoughts of her mother away and lowered the ice pack to her lap and looked at him. “I-” Blinking, she cut off. “You’re not wearing a shirt.” When had that happened? And where did it go....?
Finn looked down at his bare chest as if he forgot he was shirtless as well. “Uh, I know. I mean, I wrapped the ice in it. I didn’t have anything else. It’s not a big deal,” he said so she wouldn’t worry about it.
“You did?” Santana looked down at the ice pack in her lap. Oh. Now his comment about the ice smelling bad made sense. She smirked a little and let her eyes rake over his chest. “It’s a nice look for you.”
Finn chuckled slightly and shrugged again. “Yeah, like I said, it wasn’t a big deal.” He was starting to feel a little embarrassed. She was acting like him surrendering his t-shirt for the sake of her health was the nicest thing ever. He was about to tell her she would probably do the same for him except... well it’s not like he expected anything in return from her so he just left it at that.
“Right.” Santana looked at him. “I don’t want to go home.”
He gave her hand another squeeze. He didn’t want her to go home either but he was pretty sure it would be bad news if he brought her back to his house. What would his mom say? Well she would probably understand if he told her the situation. But then again if he told her what Santana’s mom did his own mom would probably march over there and get in a brawl... That would actually be kind of badass.
He probably shouldn’t be doing this but he wasn’t about to send her home if she didn’t want to be there. After another moment of thinking he finally said, “Well you could come to my house. If you want...”
Santana started to smile a little. She’d been hoping he’d suggest that. If he hadn’t, she would have just told him to take her to Brittany’s. Brittany’s mom was as much of a bitch as her own, but she could just sneak in Brittany’s window like she always did. “Okay.”
Finn smiled back then (unfortunately) took his hand back so he could start the car and put it in gear to start to drive back to his house. “Do you want to stop and get anything else while we’re out?”
Santana’s voice was a little quieter when she spoke, but she wasn’t looking at him. “No. I’ve got everything I need.” She glanced at him then rested her head back and put the ice back on her eye.
As he drove, every so often he would look over at Santana. It was weird. She wasn’t making fun of anyone, she wasn’t seducing anyone, she wasn’t cheering. She looked sad and tired and he really didn’t like it. It was probably his job to try and cheer her up. “So. What do you want to do when we get home? We could um, watch a movie or something.” Because that had went so well last time...
Santana dropped the ice pack to her lap and screwed the top off the bottle of water. She made a face at his question before taking a long swig. If she didn’t start drinking water, she’d have a hangover from hell in the morning. “Is your mom going to watch it with us?”
Finn laughed nervously. “No. She’s at work until later actually.” He had forgotten that until just now. She was working a late shift and he would have to call her to let her know what was happening, but it would be okay.
Santana nodded then put the ice pack back on her eye. “Okay.”
It was quite for most of the short drive back and finally he parked on the street, leaving the spot in the driveway for his mom. He looked over at Santana, speaking gently. “We’re here.”
Santana had started to drift toward sleep, only noticing that they’d stopped when Finn spoke. She opened her eyes and looked at him, speaking just as softly. “Okay.” She looked at him for a moment then opened her door and slid out. When she stood, her head spun and she had to lean against the car for a moment until the ground stopped rocking beneath her.
Finn rushed around the front of the car when he saw her wobbling like that and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Come on, I got you,” he said as he led her up the sidewalk.
Again a small smile tugged at Santana’s lips. “You do, don’t you?” It was odd, being cared for like this. It wasn’t something she was used to. She never let anyone get close to her so no one saw her vulnerable enough to need to be cared for. Maybe this was what it was like when people got close and maybe, just maybe, letting someone in wasn’t such a bad thing.
Finn smiled back then led her inside and helped her onto the couch. “Do you want something to eat?” He thought it might help her sober up.
The thought of eating turned Santana’s stomach, but she knew it was a good idea. “Yeah. Like toast or something?” She toed her shoes off and tucked her feet under her on the couch. There was an advantage to being wasted - she could do things she normally wouldn’t and pass it off as the tequila. That could come in handy.
Finn nodded then went off to the kitchen and a few minutes later returned with toast. “I just put butter on it. Hope that’s okay,” he said handing her the plate as he sat down beside her. He looked her over slightly and checked her eye again. “Is it feeling better?”
“Numb,” Santana said, setting the ice pack aside. She didn’t ask if he wanted his shirt back. He wouldn’t be getting it back. She took a bite of the toast and considered him as she chewed. He was handsome, a lot of girls would say gorgeous. Tall. Great eyes. Great chest (which was only one of the reasons he wasn’t getting his shirt back). And he liked her. He wasn’t her usual type, but she was interested.
Well that was better than in pain, he figured, and nodded his head. “Good. Well I think that’s good...” He fidgeted nervously. “So, movie now? Or we could just uh... I dunno, we can do whatever you want.”
“Movie,” Santana said with a nod, then winced when it made her head spin and her eye throb. “Shit.”
Finn nodded again then went over to the tv, looking through their limited supply of movies. Most of them were action movies or sports related. Remembering how she had picked out that girly movie at the movie store he immediately went for one of the only chick flicks they had and popped in You’ve Got Mail.
He grabbed the remote then settled back on the couch with her. “Tom Hanks... uh, he’s a pretty good actor,” Finn said a little awkwardly, trying to make conversation.
Santana smirked a little at him. “Go put a shirt on, Finn. It’s not that I don’t like looking, it’s just distracting. A lot.”
Finn looked down at his chest, slightly shocked to see that it was bare. He was about to ask what happened to his shirt when he remember he wrapped the ice in it. Duh. “Oh, um, okay if you want me to,” he finally said blushing before getting off the couch. “Be right back then...” That was sort of embarrassing.
“It’s not about me wanting you to. I really don’t want you to. But if you don’t, I’ll do things besides watch the movie,” she said, chuckling a little. It was pretty obvious from the look on her face what those other things would be.
That left Finn a little speechless so he just stalked off to his room to get a shirt. He didn’t want to put one on either, but he didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. She was drunk and probably still sad. It wouldn’t be right to do anything with her when she was feeling vulnerable like that. So he unfortunately pulled on a shirt and went back to the living room and sat back down.
“There. Uh. All better.”
Santana nodded a little and sat back as the movie started to play. It wasn’t too late, but she was tired and before long she started nodding off. Shifting closer to Finn, her head dropped to his shoulder as her eyes slid closed.
Finn couldn’t really help himself and he wrapped an arm around Santana. If she asked he would tell her it was just more comfortable this way, but really he just wanted to do this. It was... nice. Who ever thought he would cuddle with Santana Lopez?
Santana made a soft sound but she was already half-asleep, too much to really notice what she was doing. Her brain was awake enough to register Finn’s warmth, and she curled against his side, falling asleep.
Finn didn’t even realize Santana was asleep until the movie was about three-quarters done. He was embarrassingly drawn into the plot of the movie and couldn’t believe that the chick didn’t know Tom Hanks was her mysterious pen pal. It was like so obvious. He was about to say as such to Santana when he noticed she was sleeping.
He started at her a few moments wondering what to do. He definitely didn’t want to wake her up so he decided the plan of action was to carefully take his arm away and just let her sleep on the couch. He began retracting his arm carefully, watching her to make sure he wasn’t moving her too much.
Santana started to move when Finn did. She didn’t wake, but she moved closer. Her arm went around his waist as if to hold him there. Even in sleep she felt safe with him. Her eyes moved under her lids as she started to wake up.
Shit. This wasn’t going how he planned. He had hoped he could just pull back and leave her to rest in peace. Except now she was sort of hugging him and he couldn’t move away without waking her up. He decided to just stay there a little bit, hoping maybe she would shift away as she got into a deeper sleep.
Santana didn’t let him go. She was comfortable, warm, safe. When he stopped moving, she began falling back into a deeper sleep. With a soft sigh, she was out again.
Finn focused back on the movie, giving up on trying to move away from Santana. An hour later when Carole came home from work she just smiled at the two kids fast asleep on the couch.