A/N: Idk if anyone even reads these anymore lol but I've had this story saved for a while (and mostly complete?), so I figured I'd finally start posting some chapters. Idk how I feel about this first chapter, but this fic is very AU and it introduces the characters and stuff so I guess it was necessary.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the characters.
Friday Morning…
"Damn it, Puck!" Santana yells as she once again trips over a bag of garbage left in the middle of the hallway leading to the back door of the bar. "It's too early for this shit," she mumbles as she picks up the bag to bring outside. Santana had stopped in at Pucktana's, the bar they own together, to check the inventory and order what was needed since she didn't get a chance to the night before. She'd never admit it aloud, but Puck is the only person she trusted to go into business with. He's been there for her through thick and thin and as much as he can get on her nerves at times, he's like family.
As she opens the door to the alley in back, Santana hears some rumbling. "If you think you're gunna start something, I'mma go all Lima Heights on your ass! I've got razor blades in my hair and I'm not afraid to cut a bitch!" exclaims the feisty Latina as she scans the area around her. All of a sudden, a scared looking black and brindle puppy jumps out from behind the dumpster.
"Aww! So youuu were the one making all that ruckus?" Santana coos at the little pup. "Come here, cutie. It's okay," she says, trying to coax the dog over to her. It starts slowly creeping towards Santana, getting close enough to give her extended hand a couple licks, but then bolts away as the back door to the bar crashes open. Santana spins around as Puck comes out back carrying a few crates of empty bottles with the intention of tossing them in the recycling dumpster.
"What the hell, Puck! Do you always have to smash through the damn door?!" Santana yells at her best friend. Puck turns to her with a questioning look. "My arms are full," he explains, "besides, when has it ever bothered you how I exit this door?" She shoots him a glare and says "Since you decided to scare off a lost puppy!"
Puck bursts out laughing and once he catches his breath, he says to a scowling Santana, "Whoa, when did Santana Lopez start worrying about puppies?!"
Santana continues scowling and mumbles, "When I found one that actually seemed to like me."
"What was that, Lezpez?"
"Nothing, Fuckerman. Hurry up out here and meet me in the office so we can go over some stuff before I head out," Santana says while she walks back inside, but not before giving one more glance down the alley in case the puppy had decided to come back.
As Brittany walks into her Veterinary practice on the way to her office, she yells out "Good morning, Tina!" to her recently hired friend/assistant. Tina follows after her to inform her of the scheduled appointments for the day. "Dr. Pierce, you have a spaying scheduled in an hour and then a few check-ups, shots, and nail clippings scheduled for this afternoon," Tina informs her.
"Tina, how many times have I told you that you don't have to call me that? We've been friends for years now. Let's save the titles for our patients' parents, okay?"
"I know, I know. I was just trying to be professional, Britt."
"Ha! You know that's not going to happen here unless we're in earshot of the parents!" says Brittany with a bright smile.
Brittany and Tina finish the first appointment of the day smoothly and while Brittany brings the dog to the recovery area and instructs one of the volunteers on the necessary post-op care needed, Tina preps the room for their next patient.
The rest of the day goes by quickly, filled with simple, routine appointments. Once the last patient leaves with his parent, Brittany turns to Tina asking "What are you up to tonight?" Tina looks up from the paperwork she's filling out and says "Mike and I are going out to Pucktana's tonight with Sam. You should come with us! You know that'd make Sam happy," Tina says with a wink.
"Ha. Ha. You're so funny, Tina. You know I don't see him like that. Eww. He's like a brother to me so that'd totally be like incest or something. Besides, I'm strictly chickly!" Brittany says with a smirk.
"Yeah, I know Britt," Tina says with a laugh. "I'm glad he finally stopped hitting on you and repeatedly getting rejected, because that was just embarrassing! Are you going to join us? It's been too long since we've gone out dancing."
"Sure...but only if I can borrow your boyfriend for a few songs! You know Mike is the only one who can keep up with me!"
"Haha deal! You can keep him busy while I'm dying of exhaustion. You know that boy can dance circles around me! Sam's meeting us at our place first, then we'll swing by to pick you up around 9pm. Is that okay?"
"Works for me! I'll see you guys then!" Brittany says as they lock up and head to their cars to go home for the day.
Santana showed up at the bar again about an hour before the doors opened to customers. Sugar, her friend and favorite bartender, walked in right after her and started prepping the bar for the busy night ahead. "Hey, Sugar! How was your vacation?! We definitely missed you here this past week…so did our customers."
"Hi, Bosslady! It was amazing! Beaches and hot guys all week! I was sad to leave, but I'm actually glad to be back here. I missed you and Puck. Your crazy asses are the only ones who really get me," Sugar says as she shoots Santana a goofy grin.
"I still don't understand why you work here. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you do! But we both know you definitely do NOT need this job. Or any job for that matter."
"It's fun and I get to work with two of my favorite people! Plus, it keeps me busy. I get too bored when I don't have anything to do. You're stuck with me, little lady!"
Santana chuckles and says "Good, because I wasn't planning on letting you go anywhere any time soon." Santana unlocks the front door to let a couple more bartenders in for their shifts and shortly after, the first patrons of the night start trickling in.
Brittany had just finished getting ready when Tina texted her saying they had just pulled up outside Britt's apartment. She makes her way down to the car and they head over to the bar. As soon as they walk in, the guys go to the bar to grab some drinks while the girls try to find an open table. They manage to find the last unoccupied booth and quickly claim it for themselves. Mike and Sam join them and hand the girls a couple mixed drinks.
Brittany looks around the bar and then back to her group of friends. "I've never been here before, but it seems like a really good bar!"
Mike and Tina smile and nod their heads while Sam says "I come here pretty often. My buddy, Puck, is one of the owners of this place. They always have good music playing and the bartenders make the best drinks!"
"Let's get our dance on!" shouts Mike as a song with good beat starts playing.
The four of them head out onto the dance floor, Tina and Mike pairing up, which leaves Brittany and Sam left to pair off. They all dance for quite a while before Sam decides to call it a night and head home. Brittany heads to the bar while Tina and Mike take a breather at their table. When Brittany reaches the bar, she waits for the bartender to turn around so she can order another drink. The bartender turns to face her and instantly sports a genuine smile.
"Hi, Dr. Pierce!" yells Sugar over the loud music. "What can I get you?"
"Hi, Sugar! Fancy seeing you here! I didn't know you are a bartender. Can I get a Stoli Around the World, please?"
"Yeah, well, my friends own this place so I figured it'd be cool to work here and meet new people! One Stoli Around the World coming right up!"
As Brittany waits for Sugar to finish making her drink, she watches another bartender being taught how to make a drink by who she assumes to be either the manager or other owner, based on the fact that she isn't wearing the same uniform that Sugar and the other bartenders have on. The manager/owner looks up and Brittany's breath catches in her throat. This woman is the most beautiful woman Brittany has ever laid eyes on. Just as the woman finishes up with the other bartender, Sugar slides her drink towards her and follows her line of sight. Sugar smirks knowingly as Brittany quickly averts her eyes down to her drink. "Ah, haha," Sugar deadpans, "Santana must be having a blast teaching the newbie how to make our signature drinks!" At Brittany's confused look, Sugar explains "Santana, the Latina one, is my friend/co-owner of this bar. She hates having to teach newbies. They've already been through training, so if she has to help them once they get behind the bar, it's usually because they can't retain anything. Normally I get stuck re-training them."
"Ohh, I see. Well, good luck! And thanks for the drink! Make sure to give all your babies hugs from me when you get home! Haha."
"Will do, Dr. Pierce! See ya!"
Brittany makes her way back to the table and sees another blonde sitting with Mike and Tina.
"Britt, this is Kitty, we graduated college together. Kitty, this is Brittany, my friend and new boss!" introduces Tina.
"Nice to meet you," Brittany and Kitty say at the same time, making them smile at each other.
Brittany turns to Mike and asks, "Wanna dance while these two catch up?"
"Sure!" Mike says before leaning over to kiss Tina on the cheek and then slipping out of the booth. The pair push their way back onto the dance floor and start showing off what they're capable of doing.
Santana is currently trying to rein in the vicious insults she's about to unleash on this incompetent newbie. Seriously, if he can't even make a damn Screwdriver, he certainly is not going to last long behind the bar of her establishment. She grabs Sugar as she's walking by and tells her that she can't deal with the newbie any longer so she's got training duty for the rest of the night. If Sugar can't straighten this guy out by the end of the weekend, he's getting fired.
Santana moves over to the side of the bar to pour herself a shot. After she downs that, she looks over the crowd of the packed dance floor and notices a little circle forming. At first, she gets worried, thinking a fight is about to break out, but then sees that the attention is just on a couple dancers. A tall, Asian guy is facing her and he's dancing with a tall, fit blonde woman. That's the most she can tell of her at the moment because her back is turned to her. As they dance, the pair manage to turn themselves around, so now the blonde is facing Santana. The Latina's jaw drops when she finally sees the blonde's face. She is the most stunning woman Santana has ever seen. Even with the distance between them, she can clearly see the blonde's piercing blue eyes. She watches the woman dance through the rest of the song and the next and is convinced she is the sexiest woman alive. Santana sees her say something to the Asian guy and then start walking over to the bar. Her heart starts racing and she can't help but freak out at her own reaction to this woman. She sneaks into the back and watches as the blonde speaks to Sugar, apparently closing out her tab, and then disappears into the crowd.
Once she's back in her office, Santana distracts herself with some paperwork until she sees Puck plop down into the chair across from her.
"Wanna tell me what that was all about out there?" he asks.
"What, our new idiotic bartender? I swear to god, Puck, if he can't get his shit together, he's outta here."
"That's good to know, but I meant after you passed him off to Sugar. I saw you eying up that sexy blonde. I also saw you duck back here as soon as she started walking towards the bar. The old Santana would've made it a point to be the one to take care of her as soon as she reached the bar. So like I said before, what was that about?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I was surveying the crowd to see if it was under control so I could pop back here and get some work done. And what the hell are you talking about, 'the old Santana'?"
Puck just sighs and rubs his hand over his face, knowing that what he's about to say probably isn't going to end well. "The old Santana: the one who was either in a relationship, or when single, would pick up even more girls than me! I'm not saying you have to go back to that, but I know you were attracted to the blonde chick tonight, yet you ran in back instead of doing anything about it."
Defensively, Santana snaps, "Sorry if I don't want to whore myself out like a little slut. We aren't in college anymore, Puck. I don't see a problem with not wanting to have one night stands left and right."
Puck knows he's treading on thin ice here, but he continues because he's been waiting for the right time to bring this up and decides now is as good as ever. "You know, you can't keep going on like this. I wouldn't be as worried if you were at least playing the field a bit, but I haven't even seen you bring a girl home in months, let alone actually go on a date. I know it's not from lack of offers based on how many times a night you get hit on here. You need to put yourself out there again. I know you got burned in your last relationship, but not every girl is like…"
"Don't you dare even say her name, Noah. You know talking about her is off limits," Santana interrupts before he can finish his sentence.
After a few moments of silence, Puck softens his voice and chooses his next words carefully. "San, I'm sorry. I just worry about you. I haven't seen you truly happy in a long time and it sucks. You are such an amazing person once you let your walls down. It scares me to think that you won't allow anyone else to see that side of you. You deserve so much and have so much to offer. Please just say you'll try. It doesn't have to be anything drastic…just take baby steps. I just want to see you happy again."
Santana looks up at Puck with tears in her eyes. He quickly moves around the desk and scoops her up into a tight hug. She's quick to snuggle into him, whispering, "I don't know if I'll ever be ready to let someone else in." He holds her tighter and whispers back, "When you find the right woman, she'll find a way around your walls and into your heart. You just have to let her stay there."
They embrace each other for a few more moments before Santana pulls back and composes herself. "Thanks Puck...for everything."
He smiles. "Anytime, my lovely Latina. And I know, if I tell anyone you aren't as big of a badass as they think you are, you'll go all Lima Heights on my ass!"
This earns him a laugh and a slap on the arm. "Damn straight! Alright, enough of this sappy shit. It's closing time. Let's clean up so we can get out of here before dawn!"
Apparently everyone is in the same mindset, because they all work quickly to clean up the place and before they know it, everyone is heading out the door. Only Santana, Puck, and Sugar are left. Puck and Sugar are restocking the bar while Santana takes the last trash bag out to the dumpster. As soon as she turns around to go back inside, she catches some movement in the corner of her eye. She looks over and sees the little puppy from this morning. She quickly crouches down and calls the puppy over to her. Once the pup is in reach, she scoops it up before it can be spooked off again. "C'mon, stinky, let's get you inside."
Santana carries the dog inside, only to hear a loud squeal from Sugar once she sees what Santana has in her arms.
"No way! Is this the same dog from this morning?" asks Puck.
"Yup! He or she came back!" Santana says, smiling.
"What are you going to do with it?" Sugar asks as she coos over the excited puppy.
Santana lets her hold the dog and says, "I don't know. You have tons of animals, why don't you take it home?"
"Aww, I wish! Daddy says no more animals in the house. He's already had to build an extra wing onto the house for them AND hire extra people just to take care of them. He said if I bring any more home, he's getting rid of all of them!" Sugar says as she gives the puppy some water.
Santana looks over at Puck. "Okay, what about you? Want a dog?"
"I'd love one, but we aren't allowed to have dogs at my apartment complex. Why don't you just keep it? You're the one who found it."
"I can't keep it! I've never taken care of a puppy before. I wouldn't even know how to train it or anything! It needs a bath and food and a leash and toys…I don't have any of that stuff!"
Sugar smiles at her. "I have everything you need! Follow me home and I'll get you set up with everything you need right now!"
Santana looks down at the puppy, who had settled at her feet sometime during this conversation, and bends over to pick it up.
Santana finally makes it home with the puppy, who's now wearing a hand-me-down collar and leash, and a bag full of food, dog shampoo, a few toys, and the contact info for the Veterinarian Sugar brings her animals to. She lets the dog off the leash in the kitchen and sets up the food and water bowls. The dog immediately digs in and Santana can't help but wonder when the last time was that this dog had real dog food instead of scraps from the trash. It's a little bit underweight, but Sugar had assured her that with regular feedings, it would add the necessary weight back on in no time. Since she hasn't been able to think of a name for the dog yet, Santana just decides to call it "Puppy" or "Pup" for now. She gently gives the puppy a thorough bath, washing all the nasty grime from the alley out of its fur, before towel drying it and jumping in the shower herself. Once that's done, Santana brings the puppy outside one more time, hoping that by doing so, it won't have any accidents overnight. She brings the puppy into her bedroom and closes the door, not wanting it to have full access to her apartment just yet, and checks to see if there is anything dangerous left out for the pup to get in to. Santana then plops the puppy on the bed and climbs under the covers. She makes a mental note to call the Vet in the morning to schedule a check-up. The puppy snuggles up to her and they both fall asleep quickly.
A/N: I know, I know…there wasn't any real Brittana interaction this chapter. I promise that'll change for Chapter 2 so just bear with me! lol