Brittany knows that silence is a sound too. Not many people get that. She thinks it's like how light looks like one color, when really it's all the colors working together.
You can usually only pay attention to and hear one thing at a time. Silence lets you hear them all together.
Brittany likes the feeling of being surrounded by silence, because everything happens in her head at once and it feels like a familiar friend comforting her.
She can think about all of Santana's laughs, all the tones of voice she's heard the words 'I love you' in, all the moans and gasps that Santana makes when they're closer than they've ever been with anyone else before.
Silence is always loudest when her head is full of Santana. It was loud after Santana broke in front of her at the locker and pushed her away as if her touch physically hurt. It was really loud after Finn decided to turn their world upside down. But it's never been as loud as it is now; in the stillness of night, lying exhausted on her bed, with Santana sleeping naked beside her, skin touching skin.
Tonight the silence is celebrating. It sounds like a festival, like happiness. Brittany hears 'cherish me as much as I cherish you', being overtaken by 'all I wanna be able to do is kiss my girlfriend', interrupted by 'Santana Lopez asked me if the God Squad would sing a love song for Brittany S. Pierce'. Everything's on a loop and it's all happening at once and it fills Brittany from head to toe, comforting her almost as Santana's arm draped over her stomach does.
Santana stirs in her sleep and Brittany snuggles in closer beside her.
"You 'wake?" Santana mumbles sleepily, without opening her eyes.
Brittany just stares at her and strokes the hair out of Santana's face, before replying. "Can't sleep."
"Hmm?" Santana mumbles again but makes it sound like a question, and Brittany knows that means 'why?'.
"Just… thinking about today, tonight," Brittany replies, and keeps stroking Santana's hair. "Now."
Santana smiles and makes a feeble attempt to kiss Brittany's shoulder. It's probably the cutest thing Brittany's ever seen, and she knows Santana's trying her hardest to fight sleep.
"S'perfect. Right?"
"Yeah, yeah it is," Brittany replies, not taking her eyes off Santana for a second.
Moments later Santana's breathing evens out and Brittany knows she's lost the battle between awake and dreaming.
That's okay though, because Brittany doesn't really know the difference any more.
