Water, pure water, water is always the same, but tears change. Tears, these tears, the ones that Brittany can't seem to stop, these tears are different, depending on the mood, depending on the moment, depending on the cause.
These are not the tears blown by a bitter wind. They are not the tears of allergies. These are the tears of the truly bereft, jagged, biting, painful tears, tears accompanied by ugly gulping sobs.
Brittany has no idea how long she's been sitting in the choir room. The lights in the hall are out, and it's dark outside. She's never figured out how the kids never get chased out of the school and how it always seems to be open, but it doesn't matter.
Santana's gone.
And with her, a jagged chunk of her heart. Her chest just aches, aches as though someone has detached her ribs from her sternum and just left them in there, floating. Every breath, every move, each gulp, each sigh hurts. Every single thought seems to pull unpleasantly at what's left of her heart.
She presses the heels of her hands into her eyes, hoping they will counteract the pressure, so it's a surprise when cool hands press gently into her throbbing temples. She debates moving for a moment, then decides it would be better to know who is offering comfort. She looks around to find, oddly enough, Sugar Motta.
They stare at each other, tipping their heads from side to side, as if to get as much information as possible before speaking.
"Hi," rasps Brittany.
"She left, I know," says Sugar, and tears again stream down Brittany's face. She doesn't try to hide them. She doesn't try to stop them. She's sloppy and a little irritated. Brittany waits for Sugar to become embarrassed or uncomfortable, but she doesn't. She just stares. Just as Brittany is becoming embarrassed and uncomfortable, Sugar averts her eyes and mumbles something.
"What?"
"Moms will be okay," whispers Sugar.
Brittany tips her head to the side again.
"She loves you. She loves you like water. Like, it ebbs and flows, and sometimes it's sweet and sometimes it's salty, and sometimes it has little creatures in it. It runs downhill and it finds its level and… you get what I'm saying, right?"
"No."
"She loves you. She may have taken your heart, but she gave you hers. She's never gonna give it to anyone else. Because— because— who would? You're awesome. You. And her. You're gonna be okay, okay? I know this for a fact."
Tears drip out again, but their chemistry is changing, their molecules thinning and spinning into tears of hope, tears of relief, as Brittany makes the shift she needs.
"And you know this because?" says Brittany.
"I know this because— because I'm—"
"I know who you are." Because suddenly Brittany does.
And Sugar throws her arms around Brittany, weeping her own tears of relief, gasping "Mama, I've missed you so much!"