Spark
Title: Spark
Author: kalexico
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1756
Summary: Quinn Fabray lives in Britain. Her husband is fighting at the front in WWII. One day, her old school friend Santana Lopez visits her to recruit her for the Women’s Land Army. Both women find so much more than they’d expected.
_______
Quinn sighs as she folds the laundry. It feels so strange to be performing such mundane tasks in times like these. She can’t stop her mind from wandering to her husband, who is putting his life at risk for his country.
There’s no point in lying to herself - she has never loved Sam Evans. But he pursued her and didn’t give up. He makes her feel safe - made her feel safe, and he’s a good guy. She knows she’s never going to love a man, but she can’t act on those feelings anyway, so she might as well spend her life with someone who treats her right. Still, she worries about him. The war is dangerous, of course, and even though she doesn’t love him, life without him seems so surreal. The idea of him being dead - a healthy, strong young man - is so foreign to her. She can’t grasp it. Maybe she doesn’t love him, but she does care about him a great deal. After all, he was going to be the father of her future children.
_______
A few weeks later
Quinn is surprised to hear knocking on the front door. She hasn’t had any visitors in a while and for a second, she grows worried that she’s about to receive bad news about Sam. With a pounding heart, she walks over to the door and opens it, relieved to see a woman standing in front of her - a woman she remembers.
Santana Lopez.
They were in school together as kids. Quinn has always felt strange around Santana, strange and excited. She was entirely charmed by her, and when she looks at her now, a wide smile plastered on her face, that hasn’t changed. Santana would be quite mean a lot of the time, but she never was to Quinn. It was only years later that Quinn realised that she had felt something for Santana she was supposed to feel for the boys in the other school.
“Do you want to come in?” Quinn asks, opening the door wider. “Do you want a drink?”
“No, I’m fine,” Santana replies, stepping inside. “I came here to ask you about something. But maybe we could sit down first?”
“Sure, follow me.”
After a few minutes of sharing news regarding the war, Quinn reminds Santana of what she said earlier. “What did you want to ask me?”
“I was actually wondering if you’ve got a job yet.”
“No, but I expect the government to hassle me about it soon. I actually wouldn’t mind having a job. I’m sure it’s better than sitting between these four walls all day, wondering about the war, worrying about my husband.”
Santana’s smile falters for a second and Quinn wonders what that’s about, but shrugs it off. Santana is back to normal in no time. “That’s perfect, actually. I’m in the Women’s Land Army and I know that they are looking for more workers. I work at a farm nearby and they’re looking for people. I wouldn’t mind more helping hands either, so now I’m going around to see if there are any women without a job.”
“So what do you do then?” Quinn asks, intrigued.
“We look after the animals, plough the fields, dig up potatoes, harvest the crops, kill the rats, dig and hoe. We work 48 hours a week in the winter and 50 hours a week in the summer. You earn money, too. £1,85 for a full working week. The other women where I work are alright.”
“Hm,” Quinn nods. “It sounds like something I’d like doing.”
“It’s hard work, granted,” Santana freely admits. “But everything is, whether you’re a mechanic or a nurse. And to be perfectly honest - you’re the first woman I visit about this. I thought back to my school days and you immediately came to mind. You left quite the impression,” Santana winks.
“Thanks,” Quinn blushes. “I, uh… yeah, I think I’ll do it. Where do I sign up?”
“Just come with me tomorrow. I’ll stop here on my way.”
_______
Quinn finds the work to be hard, but rewarding. Santana was right - the other women working on the farm are alright. And then there’s the fact that she spends her days surrounded by young, healthy, sweaty women making her feel things Sam never could.
But most of all, Santana makes her feel things. The smiles, the winks, the innocent brushing of her arm - it makes her blush and gasp for breath. Santana also has a way with words and she can make everything sound dirty.
Quinn is tending to a draft horse when Santana passes by, holding a hoe. “Hey, Quinn,” Santana calls, wiping her brow.
“Do you need some… help?”
She’s doing it again.
“I’m fine, thanks,” Quinn smiles, her heart racing as her eyes meet Santana’s. She just looks so damn good in those pants. Sticky hair. Dirty clothes. Bare underarms. Quinn licks her lips involuntarily. The things she would do to Santana…
“Are you alright?” Santana asks worriedly. She walks over to her friend and stands so, so close. With a cheeky glint in her eyes, she rests her hand on Quinn’s cheek. Quinn’s breath catches in her throat and her eyelids flutter. Santana is only a few inches away, her lips slightly parted, looking so inviting. Then the tip of Santana’s tongue peeks out and Quinn nearly faints.
“I hope this doesn’t make you feel awkward,” Santana mutters, sliding her hand upward. “But I just wanted to check that you’re not ill,” she grins as she places her palm on Quinn’s front.
Quinn lets a long breath as Santana withdraws her hand. “Looks like you’re alright,” she winks, turning and walking away.
Quinn needs to sit down for a minute. Her entire body is throbbing and she’s not sure how much more of this she can take. She knows that Santana knows. There’s no way she doesn’t. And Santana has never been known to fancy a guy. She’s not married. She’s always charming the pretty girls. She’s always charming Quinn.
“Oh God,” Quinn mumbles. “Dear God in heaven, help me.”
_______
Quinn decides that she needs to do something about this. Another few weeks have gone by and Santana keeps doing those things to her. She feels something strange in her stomach every time she hears Santana’s voice, her laugh. She blushes when Santana winks at her. Santana’s dirty innuendos don’t help either. They’re always circling around each other, waiting for the moment to happen, but it never does. Quinn’s entire body is on fire every day and she can’t take it any longer. She’s aching for Santana’s touch and she knows it. So if the moment doesn’t happen, she’ll make it happen.
Quinn wraps the pie she’s made in a few towels and makes her way over to Santana’s house. It’s quite a long walk, but Quinn doesn’t mind. She needs to clear her head and gather her thoughts anyway. How exactly is she going to say this?
She smiles when she notices that the lights haven’t gone out in Santana’s house. She decides to surprise her and goes inside without knocking. She tiptoes her way to the living room, where she instantly drops her pie.
Santana is sitting on a chair, surrounded by weapons.
“Wow,” is all Quinn manages to say.
Santana looks up instantly, alarmed. “Quinn?”
_______
“Wow. Okay,” Quinn breathes. “So… isn’t it dangerous?”
“I just want to do my part,” Santana shrugs. “The government knows about most of the help we provide the French Resistance with, but they don’t know everything. And sometimes, their approval just goes too slow.”
“I still can’t believe it. So what do you do exactly?”
“I guess I’m some kind of contact person. People who can provide equipment deliver it to me and I find other people to bring it to the French. I’m not telling you where I hide what I receive, obviously. But I would really appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about this. The less people knowing about this, the better.”
“Of course,” Quinn nods. Then she takes a deep breath. “Santana… I want to help.”
Santana laughs, but immediately stops when she sees the hurt look on Quinn’s face. “I’m sorry. It’s just not that simple,
I’m afraid.”
“Is there really nothing I can do?”
“Well… I suppose you could help me with a few things. Sit down.”
_______
Quinn feels even more useful these days. She likes working on the farm, even though it’s exhausting. And at night, she helps Santana with her activities. But because of her surprise the other night, she hadn’t brought up her feelings for the other woman and it’s starting to weigh her down. She is a horny woman. Her days are also extra long because she goes home with Santana every night and it’s quite a long walk.
All those factors combined make her ask Santana to join her on a walk during lunch hour one day. They talk about work, but then suddenly Quinn cuts her off. “Santana, I want to ask you something.”
“Okay?” Santana frowns.
“I think it would be better for both of us if you moved in with me. Now hear me out before you answer - look at it this way. I always go to your house, which is a long walk after an exhausting day. My house is so close to the farm and it’s empty. And I’m also just lonely, you know? We could keep each other company.”
Santana smiles. “You didn’t need to convince me. I wasn’t going to say ‘no’.”
“But Santana, you have to see that - wait - you weren’t?”
Santana laughs. “You’re cute. I wasn’t. It’s a great idea. But in the spirit of honesty, I have to tell you that there might be
complications. To avoid these… complications, I’m going to have to ask you if you still want me to move in with you for the time being after I do this.”
Before Quinn realises what’s happening, Santana is cupping her face with both hands and smashing their lips together in a hungry kiss. As soon as Quinn catches up with her surprise, she kisses Santana back passionately, wrapping her arms around her neck.
They part, in need of air - both are panting. Santana licks her lips. “Yeah. I’ve wanted to do that for a while now. So… am I still moving in with you?”
“As long as you promise me more of this.”
“Oh, I’ll give you much more than this,” Santana winks.