A.N. This dedicated to gg-lithium :)
A big thanks to veiledgreyskies for betaing this! :)
Nervous
Santana and Brittany were in Santana's room on her bed, flicking through a magazine, commenting on the latest celebrity couples' relationships and their breakups. They would read each page slowly and check with the other before turning the page, smiling happily at the way they could just do the simplest things around each other and feel more than content.
Their arms brushed each time Santana flipped the page, and when she stopped on a quiz that determined the type of man she would marry, both girls bounced on the spot a little and looked at the other with big grins on their faces, excited to see which result they would get.
Santana's eyes traced the arrows keenly, anxious to find out what type of man she would end up marrying; who wouldn't want to know that? Brittany had answered a few of the questions and then stopped, focussing her attention on Santana; observing the way the sun shone through the windows and reflected in her eyes, illuminating the gold flecks as though they were dancing in excitement with the way her eyes crinkled from the wide grin spread across her face.
Brittany bit her lip and looked from Santana's face and then back to the quiz, thinking. She knew who she wanted to marry; she had known for some time. She had known for six years, ever since Santana defended her in the playground when some boys a year older than her told her to take her stupid ponies and play on the grass; the sandpit was for big boys. Brittany had stood there, rooted to her spot like a deer caught in headlights. Her body refused to move because of the intimidation she felt from the boys.
Santana had noticed that something was happening and ventured over, piping up when Brittany wouldn't say anything. "It's a unicorn, not a pony. Unicorns are magical and don't listen to stupid boys who think that they can boss people around. You should leave and play in the tree over there, before the unicorn's horn ends up where the sun doesn't shine."
The boys had scampered away as soon as Santana had finished her speech, finding a place in the tree that Santana had suggested, not looking back once. Brittany had watched them in surprise before looking back to Santana, eyes widening a little. She wanted to tell the strange girl in front of her how pretty she was and that she was brave to chase those boys away, but she couldn't talk. Brittany had never been lost for words before; she didn't know what was wrong with her.
"I like your unicorn," Santana said, pointing shyly down at the animal placed in Brittany's lap.
"Oh," Brittany looked down at it, almost forgetting that it was there. "You can have it if you want," she extended her arm, holding it out for Santana to take.
"How about we share it?" Santana asked, sitting down opposite Brittany shyly, not moving too close to her, just to make sure that she didn't scare her. "A real unicorn should always have a toy one to remind her of what she is, if she ever forgets how to be brave."
xxxxxx
Brittany smiled fondly at the memory, remembering how that was just the beginning of Santana protecting her. They'd been inseparable ever since that moment, helping and supporting each other in their own ways, sticking by the other's side no matter what.
Brittany sighed out softly, thinking about a game that everyone in school was playing at that moment. She had no one to try it with, and Santana was the only person that she would trust enough to play it with anyway.
"San?" Brittany piped up when she noticed that Santana had finished her quiz.
"Yeah?" she hummed, still looking down at the magazine.
"You trust me, right?" Brittany asked quietly, almost unsurely, drawing Santana's attention.
Her head rose from the magazine and focussed on Brittany's profile, spotting her bottom lip captured between teeth. "Of course I do," she smiled, sitting up straighter to look her best friend in the eye.
"Do you trust me with anything? More than anyone else?"
"Yes Britt, of course I do." Santana's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why? What's the matter?"
"I want to play a game with you, but you'd have to trust me to do it. I trust you that much, but I think that you'd lose a lot if we played, so you might not want to."
"No I wouldn't." Santana crossed her legs and straightened her back, pushing the magazine onto the floor as she focussed her attention on Brittany. "What game is it?"
"Nervous," Brittany stated. Santana's face flashed with surprise, but then quickly evened out again.
"You think that I would lose?" Santana cocked an eyebrow, throwing Brittany a challenging smirk.
"Well…yeah," Brittany said, a smile curving at the corner of her lips.
"Okay then, just to prove you wrong," Santana shook her head. "I'll play your game." Brittany was surprised and let it show, not expecting Santana to give in so easily. They had always had an easy friendship before, but it had never been as physical as it was sure to get soon.
"We should go over the rules then." Brittany sat in the same position as Santana, so they both looked serious, like they were discussing a grave matter. "We will start at the ankles and move up, all over clothes. The person touching will ask if they're nervous, and they have to say yes or no. Are those rules right?"
Santana merely nodded slowly and watched as Brittany situated herself more comfortably next to her. She wanted to ask her best friend how it worked to take turns, whether or not they'd try at the same time, or if Brittany would have a go and then she would, but she didn't want to seem like she didn't know what she was doing.
Brittany beamed and then giggled "you have to move your legs out."
"Oh," Santana blushed, sitting so she was leaning her back against the headboard and her legs were extended in front of her.
Brittany moved so that she was by Santana's side and then reached to hover her hand over her friend's ankle, looking up one last time for permission. Santana nodded, so Brittany lowered her hand and rested it on Santana's ankle, gripping it gently.
"Nervous?"
"Nope," Santana shook her head, popping the p.
Brittany moved her hand higher, dragging it up Santana's leg to her knee, pausing there to ask "nervous?"
Santana shook her head, humming out a confirmation, but fixed her attention on Brittany's hand.
Brittany smiled and continued, stopping when her hand was curved around Santana's thigh, about half way up, where she was clearly able to feel the light trembling of Santana's body. "Nervous?"
Santana didn't need to look at Brittany to know that she was grinning, and it was just as well, because her attention was fixed on the hand on her thigh. She let out a shuddering breath and shook her head.
Brittany frowned and whined "Santana!"
Santana looked up and met Brittany's eyes, suddenly feeling a thousand times more nervous. She couldn't help the twitch that ran through her which quickly dislodged Brittany's hold on her thigh.
Santana blushed as Brittany laughed out delightfully "I won! Now your turn."
Brittany moved so she was sitting in the same position as Santana. Santana's eyes were wide and it took a few seconds before she realised that she was meant to move and she kicked into motion, scrambling over the bed to sit next to Brittany's legs that were only covered by a pair of shorts.
Santana gulped, suddenly unsure whether touching Brittany or being touched by Brittany would make her more nervous. At Brittany's probing look and teasing smile, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on Brittany's ankle furthest away from her, hoping that she wouldn't be able to feel Santana's hand shaking.
"Are you nervous?" Santana asked softly, pleased that none of her nerves could be heard through that question.
"No," Brittany hummed, leaning back more comfortably against the headboard.
Santana's hand skimmed up Brittany's leg to her knee, her fingers tapping against Brittany's skin delightfully. "Are you nervous?"
"No," Brittany hummed again, smiling wickedly.
Santana nodded softly for a few seconds before inching her hand higher, appreciating the smoothness of Brittany's skin and the heat that she could feel against her hand that was warming her up. She stopped just before the edge of Brittany's shorts, her hand almost hovering over her friend's leg, touching as little skin as possible.
"That's not fair," Brittany pouted. "You're cheating. And no, I'm not nervous; you need to actually be touching me for a chance of that happening." She poked her tongue out to show that she was somewhat joking, but Santana nodded seriously, letting her hand rest comfortably against Brittany's thigh, curling around it naturally.
"Are you nervous now?" Santana's hand was trembling against Brittany's leg, and she knew that her friend could feel it, so she pressed down firmer, her hand curving around Brittany's thigh.
Brittany's eyebrows rose slightly and Santana noticed a hitch in Brittany's breathing, from where she was avoiding eye contact.
"Nuh uh," she shook her head, grinning cheekily.
Santana unclasped her hand from Brittany's thigh and ran it up and over the shorts, stopping so that her hand was resting just under Brittany's hip bone.
"Are you nervous?" Santana's voice trembled and she glanced up, seeing that Brittany's hands were clasped on her stomach, her fingers tapping an imaginary beat.
Brittany just shook her head and Santana looked into Brittany's eyes, raising an eyebrow in challenge. "No, I'm not nervous," Brittany grinned out after taking in a deep breath.
"Okay," Santana bit her lip, unsure of where to move now. Her eyes glanced over Brittany's body and decided that it would be best to go up.
She moved her hand so that it was cupping Brittany's hip, at the side of her body now, before raising it to lay on Brittany's waist, her fingers gliding over the skin as it moved higher. Santana was leaning over her slightly, having to do so to be able to reach Brittany's side. Brittany shivered, but Santana couldn't tell whether it was from nerves or being ticklish.
"Are you nervous?"
"No," Brittany giggled out, happy, but also injected with a hint of nervousness that Santana easily picked up on. Santana didn't say anything though, knowing that she would win sooner or later, and she wouldn't resort to cheap tricks like Brittany had in order to win.
Her hand rose, lightly skimming up Brittany's side, a thin cotton vest being the only barrier. She stopped when she felt Brittany's bra strap above her hand, her thumb accidentally nudging against the bottom of the cup.
Santana blushed and a little squeak escaped Brittany's lips before she covered it up with a cough, a hint of red dusting over her cheeks and the tip of her ears. She wanted to move and shift up the headboard a bit, so that Santana could move her hand towards Brittany's back a little more, but she knew that if she did that she would lose the game.
Instead, she just chuckled a little, staying deadly still. Santana looked into Brittany's eyes, raising her eyebrow in a silent question, unsure if it was too much for Brittany. Santana knew that she herself was overwhelmed, and she was only touching Brittany. She couldn't imagine how nervous she would be if their positions were reversed.
"No," Brittany mumbled out, raising her eyebrow in challenge, knowing that her friend would soon reach her breaking point.
Santana shuffled forward a little, the position and angle she was in made her lean over Brittany more than strictly necessary, so much that she would probably fall on top of the girl if she wasn't careful. She knelt by Brittany's side, her knees nudging against the top of Brittany's thighs and short-shorts, and arm brushing against the headboard.
Santana was still leaning over Brittany slightly, having to do so to be able to reach Brittany's other side, and Brittany moved her head in Santana's direction. Their faces were startlingly close and Santana glanced into Brittany's eyes and gulped loudly before continuing.
Her hand skimmed up Brittany's side, brushing the side of her breast, before coming up to rest on her shoulder, holding on firmly for support.
"Are you nervous?" Santana asked, her eyes darting over Brittany, taking in everything about her. She suddenly felt a surge of confidence, sure that she would be able to win this.
"No," Brittany breathed out, barely audible, but loud enough for Santana because of how close they were to each other. Santana could feel something buzzing between them and she was sure that Brittany could too. The way Brittany's eyes darted over Santana's face and how her breaths were shallower than usual were telling signs.
Santana's hand moved slowly, almost automatically, sliding up Brittany's neck and cupping her jaw, fingers tangling in the hair at the back of her neck and thumb rubbing back and forth on her cheek.
Their faces were close together, both sets of eyes darting about, studying the other's face.
"Are you nervous?" Santana breathed out, half listening to the answer she knew Brittany would give.
Brittany bit her lip and worried it between her teeth before letting go and admitting "yes," in a small whisper. Santana startled and pulled back slightly, but before she could move more than couple of inches away Brittany shook her head. "No, let's-I want to…"
She couldn't articulate what she wanted and had heard that actions speak louder than words, so instead she grabbed Santana's other hand and pulled her towards her.
Santana lost her balance and took her hand from Brittany's grasp, placing it on the headboard directly next to Brittany's head. They were closer than before and their breaths mingled together.
Santana could practically taste Brittany's cherry lip-gloss. Brittany licked her lips as her eyes moved from Santana's eyes to her lips, watching the way they parted to draw in heavy gasps of air. She tilted her head up, nose brushing against Santana's upper lip and then nose, stopping so that her lips were hovering over Santana's.
Santana's breath hitched and she looked into Brittany's eyes one more time before closing her own and leaning forward, bridging the distance. Their lips rested there for a moment; top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom, matching perfectly yet parted slightly so that they breathed in each other's breath. Santana could taste the cherry lip gloss even more, but it wasn't enough. She wanted more of that; more of Brittany.
Brittany tilted her head up slightly, capturing Santana's top lip between her own, pulling it into her mouth and sucking on it the tiniest bit. Santana sighed at the pressure and reciprocated, moving her hand up Brittany's head so that it tangled in her hair.
Brittany's hand moved down to Santana's hip, using the other to grab her neck and pull her in so that their noses bumped together lightly. They both giggled shyly and Brittany's eyelids fluttered, fighting between the desire to immerse herself in the kiss or watch as Santana was so open and vulnerable.
Santana shifted, moving closer to Brittany so that her body was pressing up against her. Their movements were soft and unhurried, simply revelling in the here-and-now, not needing anything else in that moment other than the gentle intimacy they were sharing.
Santana didn't know how she suddenly had the courage to be kissing Brittany like this and Brittany didn't know how she got lucky enough that Santana was kissing her back, but what they were both sure of was that they had never heard of a game better than Nervous.