Notes: Cross posted to Tumblr and ao3.
A place for all of the First Tour!Verse prompts. Title from "Feel Again" by OneRepublic.
Chapter titles based on where in the tour they are, even if the location is not mentioned in the prompt.
turtlepug337 asked: 5. "I can't sleep. Can I sleep here?"
Brittany thinks that Santana Lopez is pretty much the prettiest girl she's ever seen in her entire life.
From the moment they met, that very first day of rehearsals for Mercedes Jones' first ever tour, Brittany's kind of become obsessed with making Santana smile. Brittany had been running late, and she wasn't paying attention when she collided with something solid right in front of the front doors and fell down on her ass, something solid and, Brittany realized through her daze, very, very pretty. The something solid and pretty was also a little dazed from where she sat on the ground, and as her dark, deep eyes focused on Brittany, Brittany's heart skipped about two beats or ten. There was a brief moment of confusion before they realized they were both there for Mercedes Jones, Santana as a backing singer and Brittany as a dancer, and they quickly introduced themselves as they entered the studio, getting lost together throughout the large building until they eventually stumbled into the correct room, except it was empty. It turned out the rehearsal times had been changed, and they were actually over an hour early, and Brittany knows she was a goner as soon as Santana shot her that dimply, amused smile at the whole situation.
Everyone else seems to be scared of her (except Mercedes, who teases her and calls her Satan without fear and receives fond eye rolls in response), but Brittany notices the awkward way she plays with her hands when she sings and the dorky way she lights up whenever she starts to ramble about something she likes and her dimply smile whenever she hears someone compliment Mercedes in passing and, especially, the way her eyes brightens whenever Brittany smiles at her backstage.
Brittany thinks that Santana Lopez is pretty much the prettiest girl she's ever seen in her entire life; and Brittany also thinks that she might have pretty much the biggest crush in the world on her.
They've been touring together for a couple months now, and as each day passes Brittany starts to feel pretty comfortable in calling Santana her best friend. They generally end up sharing a room, more often than not; but due to a booking error by the management team, they end up two rooms short tonight. Santana ends up on the pullout couch in one room and Brittany ends up on the other one in the conjoining room. Management had split them by singers and dancers, and Brittany's been staring up at the ceiling and tossing and turning for hours. She likes Sasha and Josie well enough, but she's gotten so used to hearing Santana's steady breathing across the room that she feels restless and unmoored without it. When she realizes that it's nearing three in the morning, and they have an early performance morning, she mutters screw it and throws her blankets off, creeping across the room and easing open the conjoining door.
She's surprised to find Santana still awake, curled on her side on the pull-out couch and staring across the room, her dark eyes lit by the streetlights streaming through the side of the curtains. "Britt?" Santana mumbles, and despite the sleepiness to her tone and the exhaustion evident on her features, her eyes are bright and alert.
"I can't sleep," Brittany whispers, "Can I sleep here?"
Santana quickly pushes herself into a sitting position and nods eagerly. "Of course, Britt," she says, and Brittany's breathe catches at the nickname; no matter how many times she hears it, a small thrill shoots through Brittany every single time.
Santana shifts around and adjusts the nest of blankets she's in, shoving her pillow over so Brittany will be able to share it. Brittany crosses the room on quiet feet and slides under the blankets that Santana holds up for her. It's warm underneath the covers as Santana settles them over her; Brittany's heart is pounding in her ears as she lays her head on the other side of Santana's pillow, and she's sure Santana can probably see the blush she feels hot on her face as she snuggles into the warmth Santana left when she made room for Brittany.
"I couldn't sleep either," Santana confesses in a whisper. "I'm so used to hearing you snoring on the other side of the room that it feels really weird without it."
Brittany pinches Santana's side in retaliation, quickly covering her mouth to stifle the shriek she lets out, giggling quietly and craning her neck to see if they've disturbed Emily and Cecilia, but there's no movement from the beds. "I don't snore," Brittany finally retorts as she resettles, and Santana's sparkling eyes and her hot breath on Brittany's palm make Brittany's heart stop.
"Sure you don't," Santana mumbles behind Brittany's hands. Brittany rolls her eyes, but her body quickly tenses in surprise when Santana reaches up for her wrist and tugs her hand away from her face. She tangles their fingers together between their bodies, and Brittany's pretty sure if it wasn't so dark she would be able to see Santana blushing. "We should sleep though."
Brittany squeezes Santana's hand briefly and smiles gently when Santana's eyes soften, like molten shadows. "Goodnight, San," she murmurs.
Something flickers in Santana's eyes, and Brittany wonders if it's the same thrill Brittany gets when Santana calls her Britt. "Goodnight, Britt," she whispers back.
Despite how her heart pounds at Santana's hair tickling her face and Santana's fingers tangled with hers and the warm solidness of Santana just a couple inches away, Brittany finds she falls asleep quicker than she ever has before.