Author's Note: This is just a dedication to Faberry Week. I just feel this fits for this week's theme. I would consider Stardust to be a fairy tale, but yeah. Hope you like it. I'm sorry I haven't been writing. This will be in ongoing story, so I won't strictly follow the theme and that's why I'm not submitting it as an entry. I apologize for errors. Should I keep going with this? Anyway, enjoy!

A Gold Star and a Gardenia

Prologue

"Look, you got to help me, Quinn," Santana said, the sole of her high-heeled boots scraping the wooden floor as she paced back and forth.

"No," Quinn said, before sipping her tea quietly as she closed her eyes to intake the soothing smell of the bitter liquid.

"Please."

Quinn crossed her right leg over the other. She finally looked up at Santana after she placed the cup on the saucer. "No."

"And why the hell not? And since when do you drink tea?" Santana stopped right in front of the blonde just to throw her a grimace, her weight shifting to her right side.

"Because it's over the wall and you know no one is allowed to go beyond it," Quinn said, placing the tea by the table behind her and then went back to leaning against it. She crossed her arms and stared at the brunette. "Also it's another way to drown out all your yelling and screaming at me."

Santana balled her hands into fists before situating them on her hips. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever. Look, it's for Brittany, I promised her-"

"Exactly. You promised her, Santana." Quinn stood up and walked past her best friend, approaching the book shelf. "I am not responsible for your actions. And you try sneaking around Sue Sylvester."

"Oh, please. Brittany and I have sex all the time at that area." Santana turned around. "Like when I ate her out against the tree and—"

"Okay, just stop. Sometimes I just think you're just saying that just to make me uncomfortable." Quinn ran her fingertip over the blue spine before taking it out.

Santana smirked. "Well, it's just an example on how easy it'll be. Plus she taught us everything she knows."

Quinn finally faced Santana and tapped her nose with the book. "Exactly. So why don't you it?"

"Hah. No. You know I'm on her blacklist. But you're like… the poster child. You do no wrong in Sue's eyes."

"Well, that's for stealing breadsticks all the time for Brittany," Quinn said, her index finger playing with the worn out dog-eared pages of the partially opened book. "And I'm not perfect."

Santana let out a scoff. "Could have fooled me."

Quinn rolled her eyes at her best friend before wrapping her arms around the book against her chest. She sat back down and set the book on the table.

"Look." Santana closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, collecting herself for a bit. She needed to tread carefully this time. She was asking for a favor and this wasn't the time to have heated exchanges with the blonde.

Quinn hummed in response, her eyes scanning the first chapter of the book.

Santana sighed, a grim line forming her face as she finally looked up and proceeded to sit down beside Quinn, not looking at her. Her back against the edge of the table, Santana rested her elbows on the table and crossed her legs. "I'm sorry. I know I've been asking a lot of shit from you lately, but I just really like Brittany, okay? And this will mean a lot to her. She wants that star, Quinn. I don't want to let her down. Sue's been all over my ass lately and I can't even move without her doing that squint on me and fucking scream at me through the megaphone when she sees me even just at the border of the gate. And I don't trust anyone else here besides you and Britt-Britt."

Quinn propped her chin between her right thumb and index finger, the latter grazing her top lip. She stayed silent nonetheless. She was mildly surprised, though. Santana didn't usually throw out apologies as easily as she had done just now.

"...Alright, fine. I guess Brittany's going to be disappointed." Santana stood up and began walking towards the door. Santana's heels clacked against the surface once again, filling another interval of silence, and before Santana could turn the old knob, she could hear a book closing shut and a sound of resignation.

"You're whipped, you know that?"

"I know." Santana looked over her shoulder and placed the Babylon candle on the stack of books that didn't fit in the bookshelf.

And with that, Santana grabbed the hilt of her rapier that laid idly beside the door and went her way.