"I missed you."
Santana's words are cotton soft, muffled against Brittany's sun-kissed skin. She traces the curve of Brittany's rib with her thumb and her tongue follows the same path.
Brittany releases a shaky breath. Her eyes close and the corners of her mouth tug upward. She hasn't been touched like this in so long, too long. She hasn't wanted this with anyone else. She doesn't ever want this with anyone else.
Santana's mouth meanders across Brittany's torso, the taught skin a canvas beneath the paintbrush of her tongue.
"Tell me you missed me," Santana hums, her bottom lip resting just above Brittany's navel.
Santana's heart thuds against her sternum as Brittany takes one, two, three deep breaths without answering. She swallows hard, silently willing Brittany to break the suffocating silence.
Brittany lifts her hand from the bed and tangles her fingers into Santana's hair, hair that is sometimes as smooth as silk but becomes a nest of knots if the right amount of coconut conditioner isn't used, hair that is black as night but smells like the warmth of summer. She pulls herself upward, the muscles of her abdomen tightening under Santana's mouth.
Santana retreats, the shift in Brittany's position creating a pit in her stomach.
As her lips leave the satin heat of Brittany's skin, Santana is guided upward by the hand now cradling the back of her head. Her fingers dig into Brittany's hips unintentionally, bubbles of anxiety coursing through her veins. It's only when her eyes connect with Brittany's that the pit inside of her seals shut.
Santana is drowning in the tide of Brittany's eyes. Oceanic blue ebbs over with words that haven't been properly defined yet, words that Santana can't place in any language, but she knows their meaning all the same. She doesn't have to look to Brittany's lips to see the smile that is beaming through the dark.
Brittany tilts her head slightly, a silent beckoning for Santana to draw near.
Santana releases a heavy breath, the vice of her chest easing and her lungs sighing with relief. She leans closer, her eyelids drooping as her forehead fuses to Brittany's.
The silence between them is no longer suffocating; it feels like home. Santana soaks in Brittany's sweet, damp breath and her cheeks ache from the smile that stretches to reach her ears.
Brittany shifts again, her nose tracing Santana's cheekbone before nuzzling into the downy hair below Santana's temple.
"I missed you." Brittany's lips are rose-petal soft and her words seep into Santana like red wine.
A shuddering breath fills Santana with everything Brittany and her chest feels two sizes too small as her heart flutters beneath her ribcage. She doesn't restrain the satisfied whimper that billows into Brittany's flaxen hair. This is what she's missed. Brittany is her home.