(425):

you started crying because you didn't get to wear your rainboots this week so i turned on the shower and let you jump around in it

(206):

youre the best friend ever

Quinn craned her neck backwards as she tried to peer through the dark leaves of the tree.

"I don't think she's up there anymore, Puck."

Pucks called back, "Yeah, I know. She jumped from the branch to the roof. I'm going after her, but if I can't catch her in like ten minutes or so, call the fire department, ok?"

"Alright, good luck, I'm going to go check on Brittany."

Quinn sighed as she slipped in the back door of her house. This party was more parts exhausting than it was fun, especially since she and Puck were designated drivers which basically equated babysitting duty.

She started to follow the thumping bass back into the living room but Mercedes' voice called to her from upstairs.

"Hey, Quinn! Get up here, you gotta see this!"

Quinn changed course and climbed up the stairs, yelling back, "Is Brittany with you? I don't want her following Santana out onto the roof!"

"Oh my God, Santana's on the roof? This night just keeps getting better and better," Mercedes giggled as she took Quinn's arm with one hand, a red solo cup in the other.

She led Quinn into the bathroom and gestured to its contents, "She's been sitting in here for like fifteen minutes."

Brittany was sitting cross-legged on the tiny rug, sobbing softly. She was holding one yellow rain boot in her hands, and one on her foot. Quinn knelt down next to her and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"What'cha doing Britt?"

Brittany peered up at Quinn's face, her eyes squinting from the bathroom's fluorescent lights. She pouted her lower lip out and said, "San got me these brand new rain boots, but it hasn't rained all week and I really want to jump in puddles and… You can see the sky in puddles, like a portal to another world, you know? " She trailed off in a sob and hugged the boot to her chest.

Behind Quinn, Mercedes was collapsed against the counter, giggling. She managed to gasp out, "See! I told her it was July and that it probably wasn't going to rain, and she just sat down and started crying." Mercedes broke down into giggles again, and Quinn scowled at her.

"You are not helping."

Quinn turned back to Brittany, but before she could say anything the ceiling rumbled with loud, thundering footsteps. A muffled whoop and drunken laughter rang out before Puck roared, "Get back here, Lopez, you're going to break your damn neck!"

Brittany stared at the ceiling and wiped her nose with Quinn's sleeve. "She won't fall, she's a Fruit Loop."

Mercedes stared at the girl for a second before starting to laugh again. "You crazy, Brittany," she snickered before turning to Quinn, "I always thought Santana bawled when she got wasted."

Quinn sighed and grabbed some Kleenex to wipe off her sleeve as she explained, "I think she means Cheerio. Also, I guess once Santana stopped lying to herself she stopped crying so much. Stuff tends to work out that way," before standing up and opening the shower curtain. "C'mere, B. I'll make some rain for you, alright?"

Quinn turned the shower on and grabbed Brittany under the armpits so she could heave her into a standing position.

Mercedes snorted, "Oh no, girl, you are not going to put her in the shower."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? She wants to splash in puddles and I need to go get her girlfriend off of the roof. Put your other boot on, Brittany."

Brittany stumbled obediently into the bathtub and immediately burst into laughter.

"It's raining, Mercedes! I knew it would, I should be a gynecologist!"

Quinn ducked behind Mercedes to escape the water Brittany was splashing everywhere as she jumped around in her own personal rainstorm.

"I think she means meteorologist," she muttered to Mercedes.

Mercedes shrugged, "I dunno, from what Santana says, she'd be a pretty good gynecologist, too."

Wearily, Quinn shook her head and slipped out the door, calling over her shoulder, "Make sure she doesn't drown, alright?"

"What about her wet clothes?"

"Well if Puck ever gets Santana down, I'm sure she'll gladly take them off."

"S?"

Quinn was back where she started, staring up at a tree. She had circled back around the house trying to see how Puck was faring on the roof, but a rustling in the tree had caught her attention.

Before she could call out again, Santana's upper body swung down from a branch, narrowly avoiding clocking Quinn right in the face. She was upside down, her legs gripping the branch and her arms dangling as she reached out and squished Quinn's cheeks together.

"Your cheeks are squishy. I shall call them Squishy and they shall be mine and they shall be my Squishy."

Quinn squirmed out of her grasp. "Hi to you, too. Do you have a death wish tonight or something?"

Santana laughed one of her deep belly laughs that were usually reserved only for Brittany before answering, "Have a little faith, Q. I'm a Queerio, falling's not allowed."

Quinn sighed again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that tonight. "Honestly, you sound like Brittany. You're a Cheerio not a Queer- actually, you're right. Never mind." She stepped back into Santana's range and held out her arms. "Come on, I think it's time to get down. What'd you do with Puck anyway, is he still on the roof?"

"I think he's in the chimney. I was trying to find a reindeer for Britt Britt, and-"

"Alright, I don't want to know. Just grab on to me, would you?"

Santana grinned and drawled out, "Wanky," before wrapping her arms around Quinn's waist and, before the girl could turn her upright, her legs around her neck. Quinn stumbled backwards, her arms automatically wrapping around Santana's waist as she tried not to fall over.

"Santana! Get your crotch out of my face!"

"Wank-"

"Shut up!"

Santana clung tightly to Quinn like an upside down koala. Only after Quinn lost the fight to stay upright and fell backwards into the dewy grass did she relinquish her death grip enough to roll off of her more-than-slightly displeased friend.

They lay breathlessly for a few seconds, Quinn's head at Santana's feet and Santana's head lying on Quinn's ankles. The stars overhead were laid out in breathtaking constellations and the tiny sliver of moon was sending a glow over all of Lima. Quinn felt the annoyance of the night slowly seep out of her as the glow of the sky seemed to infuse her with a peaceful sense of calm.

"Thanks for getting me out of the tree."

"You're welcome."

"You have really cute underwear on."

Quinn nudged Santana's head with the toe of her shoe. "You are such a perv, Lopez."

"Yeah, but you love me."

For the first time that night Quinn let herself smile. She said softly, "Yeah, I do. I really do."

They laid in silence for a minute or so, letting the dew seep into their clothes and cool their skin. After a while Santana poked her head up and hesitantly asked, "You're not still broken, are you?"

Quinn frowned in confusion. "That's a weird question to ask, even for drunk you."

"I mean it, Q. The whole baby thing…you were broken; everything was. I know I wasn't there for you. I hate myself for a lot of things I've done, but that's one of them that I hate most of all." Santana squirmed uncomfortably before continuing, "I was scared, so scared. If Quinn Fabray, ruler of the whole school, could fall so hard, what hope was there for me? I was afraid to be around you, like it could rub off on me or something stupid like that. And I couldn't afford any mess-ups. If anyone found out what I was, about me and Brittany..." she shook her head slowly, "And look how that fucking worked out for me. Stupid Fetus Face and that stupid fucking commercial. Maybe if I had just stuck by you, stuff would've been different. Maybe…"

Quinn lay silent, letting the alcohol fuel Santana's rambling. When she fell quiet, Quinn reached over and held onto Santana's ankle. "That mess was my doing. I got myself into it; I shouldn't have expected you and Brittany to get me out of it."

"But you did expect it, and you had every right to. That's what best friends are supposed to do, get each other out of shit."

Quinn took a deep breath as she thought back to that time of uncertainty and isolation. At first, she had been furious with Santana for leaving her, but after a while it just didn't sting as much as it used to. Quinn was more perceptive then most people knew. She saw the tangle of emotions between Santana and Brittany, she had, after all, been a witness to it for years. She understood that Santana was fighting things as well, except her battle scars didn't show on the outside. Maybe in that aspect, Quinn had it easier. Her pregnancy wasn't a secret; people saw, they judged, and they moved on. Santana was essentially battling against herself, a much more abstract and complicated war.

In a way, Quinn had ditched Santana just as much as Santana had ditched her. Quinn saw what nobody else, except Brittany, did, and she shied away from it the same way Santana avoided Quinn's pregnancy.

The thoughts swirled around in Quinn's head and she debated whether to try and untangle them now or wait until Santana was sober. She decided on the latter and bent her head to kiss Santana's ankle.

"Forget about it, San."

"Quinn-"

"No, I mean it. It doesn't matter anymore. Look at where we are now. Not everything is perfect, but it all turned out ok. We're all here now, together, and even though the path to this point was a little rough, I'm glad we took it."

"I thought your name was Quinn, not Buddha," Santana said softly, breaking the moment, before she turned her head chomped on Quinn's foot, her teeth gently digging into her skin. Quinn yelped and sat up, tugging her foot away from Santana.

"Ok, Jaws. Jeez. Feelings time is over. Let's go get your girlfriend out the shower and then we can try to rescue Puck."

Quinn pulled her friend to her feet and Santana threaded their fingers together. Someone opened a window upstairs and thin strand of music floated out, guiding them back to their friends.

"Hey Quinn, guess what."

"What?

"I'm a lesbian."

"Yeah, Santana, I know. I'm proud of you."

"Guess what else."

"What?"

"You're not very good at this guessing thing, but I'll tell you anyway. You're the best friend ever." Santana paused, thinking for a moment. "Besides Brittany."

"Thanks, S."

"You're welcome. Why's Britt in the shower?"

"It's a bit of long story. I'll tell you on the way."

Author's note: Apologies for all the wonky italics and other mistakes, I'm trying to figure out how to use . If you have any texts that you would like me to use, post them in your review.