Love Can Alter Your Perceptions
Chapter One: At First Sight
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
Warning: AU. Femslash.
Santana glared at the textbook in her lap, she really should have read the course description before signing up for the class. It was originally Puck's bright idea, her idiot roommate slash best friend slash lesbro slash mother's step sister's cousin's nephew had convinced her that Anatomy, the study of the human body, was totally a class they'd ace. Santana really needed to stop listening to Puck. The semester had been filled with boring lectures and tons of course work. Not to mention Puck hadn't shown up for a single class after the first week, she was surprised he hadn't been kicked out yet. One didn't get into a prestigious four year university on a whim.
Frustrated, Santana released a heavy exhale, allowing her bored stare to roam the busy courtyard in search of a pretty face to take her mind off of studying. She zeroed in on a cute blonde snoozing under the shade of a tree and chuckled to herself. Santana recalled seeing the blonde around campus, at a few parties, and from her Chemistry class last semester. In a random sequence of unfortunate events the cute blonde had managed to set her textbook aflame on three separate occasions. Though Santana found the blonde's body smoking hot and her ditzy antics cute she had never attempted to make a move on her. However, Santana was bored and her Anatomy textbook felt super heavy in her lap. Maybe it was time she properly introduced herself to the girl.
She made her way across the courtyard toward the blonde, a devious smirk upon her lips. Santana gave the blonde two minutes before she was falling all over her. Girl didn't stand a chance. She plopped down on the grass next to the dozing blonde and woke her from her slumber with a simple, "Hey."
The blonde didn't even seem shocked. She simply cracked one striking blue eye open and peered warily over at Santana. "Hello."
"This probably isn't the best place to take a nap." Santana offered the blonde a charming smile.
"Totally." The cute blonde stretched her sore limbs, oblivious to the fact that Santana was blatantly staring. Her response was muddled by a yawn. "Might wake up to strange brunettes talking to me. Unless this is a dream." She turned toward Santana. Imparting the full effect of her cat like electric blue eyes on the brunette. "I am awake, right? You aren't going to turn into a giant duck and chase me around demanding I feed you hamburgers? Because I don't have any more hamburgers."
Santana chuckled at the unusual response, thoroughly amused. "You're definitely not dreaming."
The blonde canted her head, puzzled expression slipping across her face. "You look familiar."
"We had Chem together last semester." Santana flashed the blonde another charming smile and offered her hand. "Santana."
"Brittany." Brittany moved to take the extended hand. Yelping in surprise when their fingers brushed and a jolt of static electricity zapped her. She held back her hand as if burned, scrunched her nose cutely, and peered cautiously at Santana through squinted eyes. "Were you the girl whose eyebrows got singed when my textbook exploded that one time?"
Santana arched a brow at the blonde's reaction. Retracting her outstretched hand and shaking her head.
"Oh. Ok." A bright smile broke out across Brittany's face. The dazzling smile suddenly disappeared with a furrow of the blonde's brows. Her mouth formed into an 'o' and she pointed accusingly at Santana. "You're Santana Lopez."
Santana grinned. "That's me."
"I know what you're trying to do and I'm not interested." The statement was said with such baffling seriousness and clarity that Santana wasn't sure she was talking to the same girl.
Not one to be deterred, Santana turned up her infamous Lopez charm. She leveled Brittany with a smoldering stare, sensual smirk, and flirtatious tone. "And what is it you think I'm trying to do?"
"That." Brittany's expression grew admonishing. She gestured lightly to Santana's sex shark gaze. "Stop that."
A throaty chuckle. "Am I not allowed to appreciate a beautiful woman?"
Brittany rolled her eyes and Santana noted that the blonde wasn't even blushing. She gathered her belongings and stood abruptly. Towering over the arrogant brunette, her blue eyes piercing and indecipherable all at once. Brittany knew all about Santana's reputation around campus. The brunette was full of charm and attitude and sexual fluidity. The girl was a heartbreaker without a conscience. Brittany knew her type, had the brunette instantly pegged. Santana Lopez was the kind of person who was used to getting what she wanted despite any consequence or repercussion. "I'm not going to have sex with you."
The bluntness of the statement left Santana stunned and speechless. She watched the blonde twirl away and head across the courtyard. A slow grin etched itself across her face. Brittany was definitely intriguing to say the least. She admired the blonde's blatant honesty and was amused by her strange remarks about ducks and hamburgers and hats. It also didn't hurt that, Santana canted her head as her dark gaze settled on Brittany's ass, the girl was hot.
"Listen, Katie, we had fun last night but I'm not looking for a repeat."
"My name," The stunning dark haired, green eyed, red faced woman glowered at Santana. "Is Erica."
Santana shrugged the comment off with a roll of her eyes. "Whatever."
The dark haired woman gaped at Santana. "How dare you-"
"Hold that thought." Santana held her hand up in the universal 'one moment' sign. Her dark gaze had trailed wearily away from last night's random hookup to the familiar blonde girl dozing lightly under the shade of a nearby tree. For the past week Santana had waited in vain for Brittany to return to the main courtyard. She never gave a thought to the intriguing woman finding a new napping spot to avoid her. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed someone gingerly pick up the sleeping blonde's bag and walk away. Without a word Santana headed in Brittany's direction. Really, barely a week ago Santana had warned Brittany about the repercussions of napping in public places.
"Hey. Brittany." Santana nudged the blonde's leg with the toe of her shoe. Amused grin never leaving her face when the perplexed blonde roused from her sleep. Cloudy azure eyes catching Santana's mirthful gaze. Santana gestured in the direction of the thief who was halfway to the safety of the science building. "Someone stole your bag."
Before Brittany was even fully on her feet Santana was chasing after the culprit. She watched on with wide eyes as Santana slowed behind the thief. The brunette looked over her shoulder and threw Brittany a cheeky wink. Santana turned back to the thief, tapped him lightly on the shoulder, said something that made the guy glare, and gestured toward Brittany. The guy moved to bolt away from Santana. Prepared for the reaction Santana made a grab for the thief. She had him on the ground with her right hand pressed into his shoulder blade and her left holding his in a wrist lock. After a painful moment and a harsh threat she released him, chuckling as he ran away. She snatched up Brittany's bag and jogged back over to the baffled blonde.
Santana made a bowing gesture and handed the bag over to Brittany. Eyes shining a brilliant rich chocolate and a satisfied smirk playing at her full lips. "Milady."
Brittany accepted the bag with a noticeable blush and tentative smile. She was starting to think that maybe she misunderstood Santana when they first met. Maybe the brunette was a sensitive, sweet, good natured person behind all the sexual promiscuity and arrogance. Maybe Santana's reputation did not precede her. Maybe she had her all wrong. Her thoughts were completely obliterated by the next few words to come out of Santana's mouth.
"Now for my reward. I'm thinking you and I can get dinner or," The brunette fixed Brittany with a sly grin. "We can skip the pleasantries and go straight for dessert."
Brittany, thoroughly disgusted by Santana's lewd suggestion, turned away with the full intent to indignantly storm off. The blonde paused midstride and turned back to the brunette. The woman was insufferable but that didn't mean Brittany wasn't grateful for the kind gesture. In spite of Santana's obvious ulterior motives behind retrieving Brittany's stolen bag. She offered Santana a terse 'thank you' before actually storming away.
The entire exchange left Santana grinning like an idiot. Brittany's actions only seemed to further peak Santana's interests. The thrill of the chase had gotten to her. She watched Brittany stalk angrily away, eyes trailing down to the gorgeous blonde's butt. She was really getting used to the view.
Brittany had planned to turn around and head in the opposite direction when she stumbled across Santana talking with a random blonde haired woman in the hallway of her dormitory. Her entire floor was being used for some loud, seemingly never ending party. All she wanted was to get to her dorm room and make sure some rowdy couple wasn't fooling around in her bed. Brittany had walked past Santana and what looked like her newest potential fling, fully intending to completely ignore the infuriating brunette and continue on her journey until she heard something strange. She cursed herself for sparing a backward glance. Had she continued on her merry way she wouldn't have noticed Santana's slurred proclamation that what she had with the woman was a 'one time deal'. Wouldn't have noticed the way the woman caught Santana's wrist. Wouldn't have noticed Santana's squinted, clearly intoxicated, glare or the way she sloppily tore her wrist out of the blonde's grasp. Most of all she wouldn't have noticed the woman forcefully shove Santana against the wall with a brutal kiss. If Brittany had looked away she wouldn't have seen the frightened bulge of Santana's eyes.
As it was, she saw the entire scene play out with a wild churning in her gut and couldn't quell the urge to jump between them. Brittany felt a little bad for pushing the woman so hard but Santana clearly wasn't responsive. Brittany looped her arm around Santana's waist to steady the stumbling brunette as she led her to her dorm room. She hoped to whatever higher power was listening that she didn't end up regretting it in the morning.
Brittany flicked on the light switch and was immensely pleased to find the room empty. She carried Santana into the room and sat her on the bed before moving to sit on the opposite side of the room. They sat in silence for what felt like hours until Santana finally found her voice. "What happened back there… that's never happened before. Case you were wondering."
"I believe you." She smiled gently at the distraught brunette.
"You must think I'm a total bitch right now." The words slipped out of her mouth before Santana could even think them. Tears pooling in her dark eyes and falling down her flushed cheeks.
"Hey. It's ok." Brittany got up to sit next to Santana as worry and genuine care etched into her features. She rubbed comforting circles into Santana's back. "I don't think you're a bad person, Santana. Look, you can even stay here tonight. It'll be like a mini sleep over."
Santana suddenly felt tired despite the blonde's excited tone. Brittany's hand was warm and soothing at her back and Santana's eyelids were drooping. She didn't have the energy to even think about the many lewd remarks Brittany's offer left wide open. She simply nodded, sniffled, and pulled her legs to her chest.
"I'll get you something more comfortable to wear." Brittany didn't give a second thought to affectionately brushing Santana's dark, silky hair behind her ear.
The gesture had Santana's pulse thudding in her ears. Had her heart swelling with an emotion she had never felt before. That small gesture held more affection than Santana had ever experienced in her life. Held ten times more tenderness and warmth than the rare awkward half hugs she shared with Puck. When Brittany handed her a printed t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants all with a gentle smile the puzzling emotion seemed to intensify. She noticed with a coy smile how Brittany turned away, hands covering her closed eyes, while Santana got dressed. Everything the blonde did was so endearing and adorable.
"All done." After changing Santana resumed her perch atop Brittany's bed and stared down at her hands in her lap. She fiddled with the hem of the shirt. Bleary, intoxicated vision failing to make out the letters stretched across her chest.
"Don't be sad." Brittany squatted in front of Santana. Fingers lifting the brunette's chin and bringing their gazes together. That same gentle, reassuring smile trailing across her lips and reaching her dazzling blue eyes. "Sad doesn't look good on you."
The statement brought a hint of a smile to Santana's lips. They were practically strangers and there Brittany was making Santana feel better, taking care of her and letting her sleep in her bed. Santana wanted to say thank you, to somehow repay the blonde for her kindness. She'd never met someone so generous and caring, so pure and good natured to the point of implausibility. She resolved to say thank you in the only way she knew how. She leaned toward Brittany, drowning in those depths of blue, her dark lashes fluttering shut along the way.
Brittany captured Santana's shoulders to stop her from moving any closer. "You should get some sleep."
The next morning Santana woke up with a throbbing headache, examining the strange room with squinted eyes. Trying to figure out where she was and how she got there. The night's events returned to her in a series of flashes. Brittany rescuing her from the compromising situation with an ex fling. Brittany carrying Santana to her room and comforting her. Brittany giving Santana a fresh pair of clothes to sleep in. She remembered the curious feeling she got and tried to rid herself of the memory. She sat up in Brittany's bed, gaze immediately landing on the blonde sleeping in the bed against the opposite side of the room. Brittany had a death grip around her pillow, appeared to be drooling slightly, and was snoring ever so softly.
Santana chuckled to herself. The blonde was too fucking adorable. She stood from the bed, ignoring the pounding in her head, and gathered her discarded clothes from the floor. A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand told Santana she was going to be late for her History class if she didn't hurry. She noticed the two tablets of aspirin and bottled water on the nightstand, a wide smile breaking out across her face. She scooped up the pills and read the note lying beneath them.
Santana,
These are for you because you drank a lot and will probably have a hangover. Take them. Also, if you wake up before me, please don't try any funny business. And don't steal my underwear. I mean it.
-Brittany
Santana rolled her eyes, swallowed down the aspirin, and chugged back some water. The quirky blonde really thought she was creepy enough to steal her underwear. A light bulb seemed to flicker on in her head. She grabbed a pen and flipped the note over. Scribbling her own little message before slipping out of the room.
Brittany awoke nearly an hour later. She didn't notice the note until she was dashing crazily about the room trying to figure out where she put her Math homework. She plucked the note from the nightstand, her lips twitching into a smile at the thoughtfulness of the gesture. The smile quickly disappeared after she finished reading what Santana had written.
Thank you for everything. Wasn't up for panty snatching this morning though.
P. S. If you want these super comfortable clothes back I guess you'll have to find my apartment ;)
"Welcome to Casa de Puckerman, ladies." Puck ushered the two stunning women into his apartment with an arrogant grin and a wiggle of his dark brows. He let his eyes trail their figures as they walked past him and into the apartment. His grin faltered when the second woman caught him checking them out. He really hadn't planned on a ménage à trois. The sexy little blonde number practically invited herself and her intention, it was abundantly clear, was to destroy his hookup with her hot friend. He offered his arm to the more agreeable of the duo. "Ready for the grand tour?"
Brittany kept a watchful eye on Noah Puckerman. The only reason she was in his apartment was to keep her idiot roommate from sleeping with the total jerk of jerks. His reputation was just as bad as, if not worse than, Santana's. "I'm actually starving. Why don't we all grab something to eat? There's this diner near campus that-"
Puck was a second away from telling the blonde that she could go to the damn diner by herself when Santana sauntered out of her room. Hair a sexy disheveled mess, lips smeared sultry red, mouth set in a lazy smirk, wearing nothing but a pair of sexy lace panties and a tight printed t-shirt. Brittany's t-shirt. Brittany watched on in horror as a blonde woman, just as disheveled as Santana, exited the room after the infuriating brunette. The blonde woman's eyes widened when she noticed the company and she made a mad, embarrassed dash out of the apartment. Brittany was stuck on the fact that Santana was wearing her shirt after doing god knows what with some random woman. The thought made her grimace.
"Hell yeah, Lopez!" Puck gave Santana a hoot and a high five.
Santana nodded to the two hotties Puck had lured into their lair and noticed Brittany. Her lazy grin widening and dipping into the realm of deviousness. "Hey, Brittany."
Brittany watched Puck walk over to the dark haired vixen and fix her with a pointed look. Santana's eyes kept shifting away from Puck, landing on Brittany and getting brighter and brighter with each passing second. Brittany watched as the two infamous heartbreakers seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes. It was quick and subtle and gave Brittany a bad feeling.
Santana turned her attention to Brittany, capturing the blonde's bright blue eyes with her dark twinkling chocolate. The action was enough to distract Brittany from her goal. She caught the tail end of Puck asking her roommate if she wanted to see his room. Her stare snapped away from Santana and to her eagerly nodding roommate. She caught the other girl's arm. "You have a Modern Lit exam tomorrow!"
"You have a Modern Lit exam tomorrow. Brittany, listen," She shuffled closer to Brittany and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I'm a big girl and I can make my own decisions. Puck is all kinds of hot and I'm going to sleep with him. His roommate is totally sexy." She gestured to Santana with her eyes. "I know you don't put out because you have this old school fairytale fantasy about meeting 'the one' but why don't you, like, let loose and I don't know. Flirt with her or get your mack on or something PG-13."
Brittany bristled at the suggestion. Her roommate made it sound like meeting someone who saw her as more than a one night stand was a bad thing. Like finding someone she felt more than just a passing physical spark with was a crime. She wasn't waiting for some old school fairytale fantasy to sweep her off her feet. All Brittany wanted was to find someone she had an actual connection with. So what if that person had to be smart, charming, kind, sweet, caring… okay, so maybe the list went on and her standards were kind of high. Point was Brittany didn't want to jump on the bandwagon and hop from warm body to warm body. She didn't want to flirt or make out with Santana. She didn't even want to be left alone with her! All Brittany could do was watch her roommate walk away and disappear into Puck's room. She avoided Santana at all cost since she could literally feel the brunette's eyes blazing a lusty trail along her body.
"I guess you found my apartment." Santana was enjoying the little game Brittany seemed to be playing. She plucked at the front of her borrowed t-shirt, the action catching Brittany's attention. "Are you here to take this back?"
Brittany huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and settling Santana with her most frightening glare, which had her looking for all the world like a kicked puppy.
Santana giggled at the response. An easy, genuine little smile at her lips. "I have this huge urge to pinch your cheeks right now."
Brittany noticed Santana's smile. It was different from the lewd grins and salacious smirks. Completely free of mischief or motive. Not at all tentative or frightened like from Santana's drunken breakdown in Brittany's dorm room. It was open and beautiful and it shocked Brittany to the point of suspicion. "Are you on drugs? Because you're really happy and it's creeping me out."
Santana rolled her eyes, smile never faltering or dimming, and started obnoxiously singing. "I just had se-e-ex! And it felt so good!"
She didn't know if it was the brunette's good mood or the way she put her voice into that silly song but Brittany found herself giggling along with Santana. Despite the vulgar context, Brittany actually found it cute.
"You want a beer?" Santana's grin returned. Something inside of her felt elated in a way that went beyond physical or smug. She enjoyed Brittany's laughter. Even more, she enjoyed being the cause of that laughter.
Brittany nodded and accepted the chilled bottle if only to have something to do. She wasn't big on drinking. Mainly because it led to bad decisions like the one her roommate was currently making. "Thanks."
"So you're taking Modern Literature? Who with?" Santana hopped onto the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the living room and took a healthy swig of her beer. "Elliot or Stevenson?"
Brittany rolled her bottle in between her palms. "Professor Stevenson."
"Lucky. I had to sit through Elliot's class last semester. The lady is a total bitch."
Brittany briefly wondered why Santana was bothering to make small talk with her. Why the usually flirty brunette wasn't trying to put the moves on her like all of their previous encounters. "Santana?"
The brunette simply nodded and took another sip of her beer.
"I really want my shirt back." Brittany's tone was dripping with trepidation. Her cheeks reddening as she glanced at the shirt almost longingly. The memories associated with it flashing through her mind. "It's my favorite."
"Oh," Santana adopted a sexy little smirk. Setting her beer bottle down and hopping off of the breakfast bar. She fingered the hem of the shirt, biting her plump lower lip and staring at Brittany through her dark lashes. "You want this back?"
Brittany nodded cautiously. Before she knew what was happening, the blonde found herself staring at the bare hint of exposed skin between the top of Santana's sexy underwear and the rising hem of her shirt. The fabric uncovered Santana's delicious caramel skin inch by inch. Ghosting over her mouthwatering stomach and then higher and higher. The shirt stopped just short of exposing the undersides of Santana's braless breasts when Puck's voice sounded past the barrier of his closed bedroom door.
"Mortal Kombat!"
Santana dropped the hem of the shirt to cup her hands around her mouth. "Finish her!"
Brittany was completely and utterly mortified by the exchange. She merely gaped at Santana. What the heck just happened? Did they really-
The thought was left unfinished as her disgruntled roommate suddenly had a death grip around Brittany's arm. Shot a fierce glare in an outright laughing Santana's direction and tore out of the apartment. Dragging Brittany, who was still so very confused, along with her.
"Brittany, wait!" Santana jogged down the end of the hall toward the blonde, a strange expression across her face. Dark eyes twinkling and wide grin still firmly in place.
Brittany noticed, utterly peeved, that Santana hadn't bothered to slip any pants on. She flushed a deep shade of scarlet. "Normal people don't chase strangers down the hall in their underwear, Santana!"
"I never claimed to be normal." Santana chuckled, stopping in front of Brittany.
"Why did you stop me?"
The brunette's grin grew impossibly wide. "I like you."
"I already told you I wasn't interes-"
"No, I didn't mean it like that." Santana rolled her eyes, paused, let her gaze trail Brittany's figure, and shrugged. "Okay, maybe I would still love to fuck you." Santana quickly caught the blonde's wrist before she could turn away. Her dark eyes were playful and bright. A glimmer of hopefulness shining beneath the overabundant amount of confidence that Brittany permanently associated with Santana Lopez. "I like you and I wanted to let you know that you and I?" She gestured pointedly between them. "We're going to be friends."
'Live a little, B. Don't be such a sourpuss, B. Crash this frat party with me, B. Drink this, B. I'm gonna go make out with that hot guy with the mohawk, B.'
Brittany was positively fuming. She didn't know why she even listened to her step sister. A few days ago when Quinn breezed into town with her choppy dyed hair and her bright red lipstick and her trademark smirk Brittany knew she was in trouble. The fact that Brittany couldn't actually formulate the word 'no' around her sister was the reason she found herself at a raging party, a ripple of pink intoxication across her cheeks and vision blurry as she searched the large crowd for that neon pink head of hair.
The room spun and Brittany squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head against the onslaught of dizziness. She just needed to find Quinn and get the hell out of there. The beat of the blaring music was grating on her pounding head, the sharp scent of sweat and cologne and alcohol making her stomach queasy. Brittany made her way outside. If she spent one more second in that room she was sure she was going to barf.
She leaned heavily against the outer wall of the large house, taking a settling breath. The thick, sweet scent of smoke tickled at her nostrils and her eyes landed lazily on the figure settled nonchalantly atop the hood of a blue Mazda, phone in one hand and a cigar in the other. Santana was staring out into nothingness, a dejected expression across her face. Brittany watched as Santana's hand tightened around the phone, her brows furrowing and jaw clenching. She took a deep drag of her cigar and Brittany found the smoke billowing from her full lips amazingly sexy. Brittany blamed her fuzzy head and the sudden ache in the pit of her stomach for the smirk curling at her lips and blamed her impaired judgment for leading her over to Santana.
"Hey."
Santana's dark gaze shot toward Brittany who suddenly appeared a few feet away from her. In a matter of seconds, Santana's whole face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hey."
"You know those are bad for you, right?" Brittany giggled and moved forward, almost tripping over own feet.
Santana tossed her cigar aside, rushing forward and catching Brittany before her face introduced itself to the cement. "Whoa, are you ok?"
"Yeah." Brittany's head felt even fuzzier with Santana's sudden closeness. She could smell Santana's spicy perfume mixing dangerously with the cigar smoke and it sent a curious shiver down her spine. Before she could process the action Brittany felt her arms wrapping around Santana's waist, her face buried in dark tresses. "You smell like awesome."
Santana chuckled at the compliment. "Wow. Now I'm sure you're completely plastered."
"You!" Brittany pulled away from Santana abruptly, stumbling slightly, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. She could feel the brunette's hands against her hips, steadying her. Sapphire eyes met twinkling brown and Brittany forgot what in the world she was meaning to say. Instead, the blonde found her hands on Santana's face, poking at tanned skin and full ruby painted lips. "Why are you so hot?"
Santana only rolled her eyes and grabbed Brittany's hands. "Good genes."
Brittany's face scrunched in thought. Her blue eyes trailed Santana's figure, momentarily sidetracked by the generous amount of cleavage her tight dress exposed. "But you aren't wearing jeans."
"Hey." Santana smirked, slipped her fingers beneath Brittany's chin, and brought that striking sapphire gaze up to hers. "My eyes are up here."
Brittany swatted at Santana's hand and pouted. "I know where your eyes are. Your boobs distracted me."
"Okay." Santana's brows lifted and she shook her head. Brittany really needed to let loose more often. The blonde's actions definitely warranted a lot of teasing from Santana once she was sober. "I'm thinking it's time to get you back to your dorm."
Brittany's pout worsened. "You still have my shirt. I want it. You can't have it because… it's mine."
Santana laughed at Brittany's randomness. "I told you that you had to come and get it."
Brittany stepped out of Santana's hold, features set in determination. She poked Santana lightly in the chest. "Take me to your place."
"I don't think that's such a good idea." The brunette lowered Brittany's arm, eyes darkening to a playful hazy leer. She bit at her lower lip and let her gaze wander along Brittany's alluring figure. "With the state you're in, you might take advantage of me and we can't have that." Santana's tone dipped into seriousness, her sultry stare contradicting every single word. "I told you I only wanted to be friends, Brittany."
"You… you're…" Brittany struggled to find the word she wanted to say. Her foggy mind had her distracted by Santana's full lips and lusty gaze. "An…encore… incorrigible!"
"That's a new one." Santana grinned. "I usually get sexy, arrogant, irresistible, gorgeous, or my personal favorite; heartless bitch."
Brittany's train of thought was lost the moment words started coming out of Santana's mouth and she made the idiot mistake of looking at her lips. She was sure Santana forgot kissable. She was definitely kissable. Brittany swooped forward, completely oblivious to her own intentions. Her mouth connected with Santana's, eyes fluttering shut at the feel.
'Yep. Totally kissable.' The thought slipped errantly through Brittany's mind and she found her arms curling around Santana's neck.
Santana stumbled backward at the force of Brittany's sudden and completely unexpected lunge. The backs of her thighs hit the hard bumper of the car and the pain shocked Santana to her senses. She managed to detach her lips from Brittany's long enough to speak. "What are you-"
"Shh!" Brittany pressed her finger against Santana's lips, sapphire eyes hazy beneath hooded lashes. "Be quiet so I can kiss you."
"Brittany, wait a sec-"
She claimed Santana's mouth once more, deepening the kiss.
Brittany groaned, sluggishly pulling her comforter down over her face. It took almost all of her nonexistent strength to pry her eyes open. She blinked up at the ceiling in attempt to fight the onslaught of the worst hangover she ever had the misfortune of experiencing. Somewhere in the middle of wondering when her ceiling had been painted and why her bed smelt of cinnamon and something sweet Brittany realized she wasn't in her own bed. She jolted into a sitting position, big blue eyes roaming frantically about the room.
"What… where… oh my god!" She brought her hands to bare stomach split second before her wide eyes landed on her bra clad torso. She threw the comforter off of her body, nerves calming when she found her jeans still on.
"Morning, sunshine." Santana popped her head through the doorway with a grin and leaned against the frame. "I was wondering when you-"
Brittany yelped, scrambling to cover her chest with the discarded comforter. Her frantic stare taking in Santana's loose fitting t-shirt and the bare thighs peeking out from beneath the fabric. She paled considerably. Santana better have underpants on under that. "Oh my god no! This isn't happening."
"You know," Santana's smirk grew. She laughed softly at Brittany's reaction. "I had no idea you were so flexible."
Brittany sniffled, big blue eyes staring into playful brown. She was on the verge of tears and Santana's grin disappeared instantly. Her features contorting, brows furrowing, mouth agape, and eye twitching.
"Are you… shit… are you going to cry?" The notion had Santana panicking. She wasn't good with crying women. Her usual practice in scenarios like this was to walk away. "I was just joking. You know, hahaha." The laugh was forced and uncomfortable and did nothing to assuage the glistening tears in Brittany's eyes. A fact that only doubled Santana's obvious anxiety. "Fuck, please don't cry. I swear we didn't-"
Brittany did a complete one eighty. Her mouth shifted from a trembling pout into a large, mischievous grin. Bright blue eyes twinkling as she erupted into a fit of giggles. "You're so easy! I can't believe you fell for that!"
Santana's panicked expression softened, a genuine smile tugging at her lips. She giggled along with Brittany, shaking her head.
"Thanks," Brittany bit her bottom lip shyly, a light blush coating her cheeks. "For taking care of me."
Santana shrugged. "You were hilarious."
"Oh wow," The blonde's blush deepened. "I didn't do anything weird, did I? The first time I ever got drunk I ended up with a tattoo and my sister has this video of me flirting with a statue that she uses for blackmail."
Santana was hardly surprised by the admission. While Brittany didn't flirt with a statue she did try to cuddle with a park bench. She had also managed, though Santana had decided to never tell the blonde, to strip out of her t-shirt and perform a very suggestive dance on a table at the McDonalds down the street. "Let's just say you're a very spontaneous drunk. Great kisser too."
"Tell me I didn't!"
"That would be lying." Santana felt the words fall easily from her mouth, felt herself smirk and offer Brittany a nonchalant shrug. On the outside Santana was her arrogant, teasing, aloof self. On the inside she was having all kinds of feelings. She could remember every single detail of their kiss and having Brittany in her bed, all pouty and cute, made Santana feel things she didn't want to feel. She shook the thought from her head and cleared her throat, breaking the silence that had settled between them. "I was going to make pancakes but that didn't go so well so, um, we can grab something from the diner down the street if you want."
Brittany considered the offer. Santana wasn't as bad as she initially thought. There were sides of other woman that Brittany found herself eager to know. "I'd like that."
"Good," Santana grabbed a pair of jeans from her bedroom floor, shimmying into them before tossing one of her clean shirts at the blonde. "Because the pancake batter might have, kind of, sort of, ended up everywhere except the frying pan and I do not want to be here when Puck wakes up."
When a loud "what the hell" sounded from the kitchen, Santana and Brittany stared wide eyed at one another before practically running toward the door, Puck's voice following them all the way into the hall.
As they made their short trek toward the diner at the end of the block, Santana couldn't help stealing glances at Brittany. She couldn't help admiring the way her mess of wavy golden hair flittered in the soft breeze, the way her blue eyes glimmered in the sunlight. She couldn't deny the soft, almost unnoticeable flutter in the pit of her stomach when Brittany's gaze caught her own. Words couldn't describe the way Brittany's bright, easy smile made her heart swell. If she were anyone else and believed in anything even remotely close to love Santana might have attributed her strange nerve wracking emotions to falling into it. But she wasn't anyone else and she didn't believe in love. One drunken kiss from the beautiful woman next to her wasn't going to change any of that. Not even if it was the kind that gave her butterflies in the pit of her stomach, made her heart race, took her breath away, had her so dizzy she was sure she'd been spinning in circles even though she knew she was standing still. Not even if, in that moment, Santana had felt like her world suddenly shifted.
They reached the diner entrance and Brittany stopped abruptly, turning to face Santana with a thoughtful smile. "I think you were right."
"About?" She gave Brittany a grin in response, ignoring the way her heart was thudding in her ears.
"You and I?" The blonde gestured between the two of them, a playful twinkle in her eyes. "We're going to be friends."