A/N: This is the one-shot as promised for Somewhere in Brooklyn hitting a thousand reviews! Again, thank you sooooo very much to everyone who has supported my writing and stories. I can't say enough how much it means to me :)
Just a fluffy as hell little one-shot. No real plot and all the toddler adorableness you can handle!
Enjoy...
Coney Island Dreamland
"Say cheeeeese, Gabriel!" Brittany flashed an exaggerated smile in hopes her son would give her one back. She held out her phone, attempting to take the perfect picture while her and Santana gave him a bath one Saturday morning.
Instead, Gabriel ate a tiny handful of his bath bubbles and continued crashing his favorite sharkie and duckie toys into one another. Brittany giggled and took the picture anyway.
"Awwww," she cooed after seeing how the picture came out.
"All these naked bath pictures you take could potentially be the death of Gabe's future political career when he runs for congress in twenty-five years, Britt." Santana joked and leaned over the tub to wash Gabriel's hair.
"Can he make it past preschool first before you force him into politics, babe?" she laughed. "Besides, he's too cute right now to pass up taking a million pictures. And it's not like I'm spamming all our friends' emails with them anymore."
"Well, maybe you should still go ahead and spam Quinn. She deserves a little payback lately with all her nauseating honeymoon pictures from Brazil. If we get one more picture of her horseback riding and frolicking on a São Paulo beach, I'm going to throw up..." Santana rolled her eyes and gagged.
"Aww, don't be jealous of Quinn's trip." Brittany grinned at her. She geared up to take another picture as Santana worked the baby shampoo into their son's hair. "I promise, baby. We'll get our Greek Islands trip soon."
"We better! With all the hours Eva has been working you lately, I expect a freaking private yacht tour of the Mediterranean too!" she teased.
Brittany laughed and snapped another picture right as Santana washed the shampoo out of Gabriel's hair. She tilted his head back and gently poured a cup of water over his light brown soap-matted locks. Gabriel momentarily whimpered at the inconvenience before going right back to his playing, like his mothers weren't even there.
They were both content for a while to lean over the bath tub and play with their son. Lately, It was rare they were both able to get some bath playtime in with Gabriel. It was usually one or the other giving him his baths. Saturday mornings were turning out to be the best day for them to catch up, as everyone's summer schedule seemed to allow for a little family time. Santana was looking forward to spending the hot July day just relaxing with her wife and children. The fact that it was the Fourth of July was even more of a plus. There was just something about watching fireworks in New York that felt more special than any place else.
"So, what should we do today?" Brittany finally spoke up after a while.
"I don't know," Santana scrunched her brows and placed some bubbles on the tip of Gabriel's nose. "But it's the Fourth of July and the weather is too nice today! We definitely should do something exciting as a family, Britt. Maybe, just pick a neighborhood in Brooklyn and have a fun day like we used to before the kids?"
"We totally should!" Brittany lit up. "Is Gaby gonna see fireworks tonight?" she baby-talked, causing Gabriel to splash in excitement.
"Only if Gaby can stay up," Santana chuckled.
"Knock, knock!" Roxie interrupted the bath time with a dramatic entrance. She tentatively stood halfway in her mothers' bathroom doorway with her hands covering her eyes. "Is it safe to come in or am I gonna catch all three of you in the tub again?" she shuddered.
"Oh please," Santana rolled her eyes. "You didn't even see anything that one time. Our boobs were hidden by the Mr. Bubble bath anyway."
"Can we please not? I really don't want to replay that horrible moment, Tía."
"You can look. We're decent," Brittany shook her head with an eye roll.
"Oh, thank god!" Roxie removed her hands in relief. "I just wanna ask if we can get a move on brunch this morning? Zoe's meeting us there in a few and Roberta's stops selling their breakfast pizza at ten o'clock. I've been craving it for like a week."
"Whoa, calm down! This is our relaxing, lazy Saturday morning bubble," Santana gestured all around her, "and you're kind of bursting it with your energy right now, Rox."
"I'm just hungry!" Roxie whined.
"Wow! Who's the baby here? You or Gabriel?" Santana pointed out.
Brittany giggled at the teenager. "Give us a few minutes, honey. We'll be down after we get dressed."
"Fine..." Roxie grumbled and walked away.
"Aww, she's adorable..." Brittany lovingly smiled at the doorway.
"You think that's adorable?" Santana scowled. "She's not invited to our Fourth of July fun day. I just decided, Britt!" she joked.
"Be nice..." Brittany chuckled and leaned over to plant a kiss on Santana's cheek.
The couple continued to enjoy bath time with their son without picking up the pace like their daughter had requested. Because, unlike their life lately, that day would be about taking the time to suspend each and every moment as much as possible.
"Ah, ah, ah! Hands off! The last slice is mine, mija." Santana smirked and knocked Roxie's hand away from the pizza tray in the center of the table.
"No way!" Roxie knocked Santana's hand away. "That slice has the last poached egg on it. It's mine!"
"Fine! I'll Rock-paper-scissor you for it then," Santana shrewdly propositioned.
"Mmm'fine... game on!" Roxie squinted her eyes after she seemed to carefully think over her odds. "Alright, go!"
Mother and daughter couldn't contain their giggles, but held onto their game faces while quickly shouting out the famous Rock-paper-scissors' three-count in unison. Brittany smiled to herself while she fed Gabriel some cut up pizza in his high chair. And Zoe sucked on her morning Diet Coke in amusement.
"Ha! Rock beats scissors!" Santana gloated.
"Dammit!" Roxie rolled her head back in defeat.
"You should know by now you can't beat me in anything, Rox." Santana laughed and picked up the slice. "Bowling, Monopoly, Sorry, Connect Four, Guess Who?, Battleship... have I missed any?"
"That's not fair, Tía. How about the best-of-three?"
"I don't think so," Santana laughed some more and took an exaggerated bite of her pizza. "It would just end up the same way for you anyway. Because you have a major poker Tell when it comes to Rock-paper-scissors."
"I don't have a Tell," Roxie scoffed.
"Yes you do!"
"Okay, what is it then?"
"Uh, why would I tell you, mija...?" Santana knitted her brows in confusion. "That just wouldn't be smart. Come on now."
"God, I swear you learned some of Auntie B's Jedi mind tricks..."
"You could say that," Santana grinned through a mouthful of pizza. "I'll let you have the crust for your troubles," she teased some more.
"Your mom is playing with you." Brittany shot in. "You don't have a Tell, sweetie."
"Yes you do," Santana mouthed at Roxie.
"She's just teasing, baby." Zoe quickly kissed Roxie's pout away and fed her a bite of her own pizza.
"So, what should we all do today?" Brittany changed the subject and gave Gabriel his sippy cup.
"We should definitely hit up some record stores or something. Preferably inside somewhere, because it's way too hot today." Roxie suggested and took another bite of Zoe's slice.
"We should see a movie then," Zoe recommended.
"How about the Bronx Zoo? Gaby loves the monkey's." Santana smiled at her son.
"All that animal poop will smell even worse in this heat, Tía." Roxie scrunched her face in disgust. "That's a no vote for me."
"Well, I don't care what we do as long as we see some fireworks tonight." Brittany finished her pizza.
"Hey, do you remember that textile factory rooftop in Park Slope we used to sneak on top of in college to watch the fireworks, baby?" Santana asked. "We would have a little Fourth of July picnic on a blanket every year."
"Oh yeah," Brittany's eyes sparkled at the memory. "We could see all the ghetto firework spectaculars in Red Hook from up there. It was the best!"
"Do you remember what else we used to do on that rooftop?" Santana nuzzled into Brittany's cheek and hummed.
"Mhmmmm..." Brittany giggled into a long kiss.
"Please stop..." Roxie looked grossed out again.
"Hey, you don't see us gagging every time Zoe hand-feeds you pizza like you're some Roman emperor." Santana playfully tossed a packet of parmesan at Roxie.
"I got it!" Zoe announced. "Coney Island! There's something for everyone there, right? There's a beach, boardwalk, amusement park, and the Brooklyn Cyclones always have a firework display after their Fourth of July games."
"Ew... you couldn't pay me to watch a minor league baseball game, Z." Santana shook her head at the teenager.
"Well, we don't have to spend the whole day together. We can just do a little family beach day and then split up in the afternoon or something." Brittany reasoned.
"Alright, I'm down," Santana agreed. "It'll be fun."
"Ugh, a beach day?" Roxie slightly snarled. "That means I have to wear a bikini..."
"I know it does." Zoe flickered a brow and squeezed Roxie's thigh under the table.
"Come on, Roxie." Brittany pouted. "You can't deny Gabriel his very first beach day, can you?"
"Yeah, you can't deny your baby brother." Zoe put on her best pout as well.
"Just look at his adorable face, mija." Santana pointed. "Just imagine how cute he's gonna be at the beach today."
"Come on, Rox." All three of them chimed together.
Roxie looked at brother, who had no idea what was going on. Gabriel looked curiously between everyone in his highchair and then continued chomping on his soggy piece of pizza. He really was the most adorable little guy on the planet and there was just no way she could deny him.
"I hate you guys..." Roxie finally gave in with a reluctant smile.
"Actually, I think you love us." Santana winked at Roxie and sipped her orange juice.
They smiled at each other from across the table and Santana had that warm & fuzzy feeling again she often got whenever she was having a great time with her family. She never wanted it to end and simply wished she could push pause on it forever.
Santana grinned like a crazy person and readjusted Gabriel on her hip as the family made their way towards the sunny shoreline that early afternoon. Their son squinted in the high noon sun and couldn't stop looking around. He shot his head in all directions, pointing everything of interest out to his mothers. It must have been like an alien world to the toddler, and so far he was taking in the new environment quite well. He hadn't even seen the crashing waves yet and the couple couldn't wait for his reaction to the sand.
They soon found a spot on a low sand dune overlooking the beautiful Coney shoreline and set up. It wasn't as crowded as Santana first thought it might be and there seemed to be a good mix of families around them instead of the typical Saturday, drinking college crowd.
"There's like a pound of sand in my converse." Roxie squinted as she let the sand pour out of her tattered shoes.
"Oh, now you know you're a hipster when you wear sockless converse on the beach." Santana laughed, stripping off her t-shirt and shorts. She straightened her black bikini straps and tied her hair up.
Roxie rolled her eyes, but really wasn't that annoyed with the banter. It was always lighthearted and just a normal part of life with her mother. She looked around for a second and was reluctant to strip off her Smiths band t-shirt and frayed jean shorts as fast as everyone else was. She wasn't the most confident girl, but was learning to appreciate her body more with the help of her girlfriend. Zoe worshipped Roxie's body and never missed a chance to tell her how beautiful she was. She decided to do away with all her worries and just strip off her clothes, like ripping off a band-aid, and finally exposing her royal blue bikini in the process.
"Woo, Roxie!" Santana hooted. "Boobs!"
"Ugh, Tía!" Roxie blushed and slightly covered her chest.
"What? I'm just saying it's about time you let those puppies breathe."
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, babe. You have nice boobs!" Zoe chirped as she rubbed suntan lotion on her legs.
"Zoe!" Roxie shot her a shocked look.
"They're just boobs, Rox." Brittany giggled. "We all have them."
"That is true, honey. But they're not all as good-looking as mine." Santana pulled her sunglasses down some and flickered her eyebrows at her wife.
"Truth!" Brittany pointed. She laughed and continued rubbing sunblock on Gabriel.
"Whatever! Yours don't count, because they're totally not real!" Roxie gave it back to Santana.
"Wait, they're not?" Zoe poked her head forward for a better look at Santana's chest.
"Zo, please stop staring at my mom's boobs." Roxie playfully slapped her girlfriend's knee.
"I-I wasn't," she stuttered. "I was staring at something else..."
"Who? That old lady over there?" Roxie pointed past Santana.
"She actually has nice boobs for an old lady," Santana nodded after looking behind herself.
"She really does..." Brittany agreed.
"Okay, staring at some random old lady's boobs at the beach is just crossing the line now." Roxie laughed. "And can we please stop saying 'boobs' before it turns out to be Gabriel's first word?"
"That actually wouldn't be a bad first word," Santana laughed out.
"San, look." Brittany tried to get Santana's attention without alarming Gabriel. "Get the camera ready."
Everyone watched as Brittany helped the toddler stand on the sand. At first, Gabriel didn't know how to react or where even to focus his attention. He stood in his blue sharkie swim trunks and wobbled on the strange substance. He looked up in confusion at all the weird people playing in the water in front of him and looked unsure of what to make of it all. His wispy locks danced in the beach breeze as he finally lowered himself onto the sand. And it took no more than a second before Gabriel gave the whole beach day idea his tiny stamp of approval with a grin and his infectious laugh.
"Awwwww!" Everyone cooed and took pictures.
Santana and Brittany's eyes met through their sunglasses as their son played with his beach toys in the sand. She couldn't see her wife's eyes, but Santana knew they were probably as misty as hers. It was just a small reminder that no matter how busy and chaotic life could be, it was the little moments with the people you loved that could still take your breath away. Santana laid back on the beach blanket and took a deep breath. She would enjoy the rest of the afternoon with her beautiful family.
"You suck, Cyclones!" Roxie yelled after the last out was registered and the teams started to clear their dugouts.
Her and Zoe sat in their seats in the upper deck at MCU Park after taking in a Brooklyn Cyclones game later that evening. They had decided to buy some cheap tickets on a whim halfway through the fourth inning after they couldn't really decide on what to do following the beach day with her family. It turned out to be a perfect choice to take in a lazy minor league game with her girlfriend as the sun went down on Brooklyn. Some of the fans were leaving the ballpark, but Roxie and Zoe had decided to stay to watch the fireworks show.
"Oh, come on! They barely lost," Zoe reached over to grab a garlic fry out of the basket they were sharing.
"That doesn't make it any better, Zo. They had bases loaded twice since the fifth inning and couldn't get a run home!"
"You have to admit it was a good game though," Zoe ran her fingers through her damp hair. "And since when did you become the little baseball nerd, Mrs. I-hate-all-sports?"
"I said, I hate playing sports," she laughed. "Get it right."
"I guess I forgot that minor technicality," Zoe chuckled and took a swig of the lime rickey they were also sharing. "By the way, can I tell you how you have seriously become that much more sexy for deciding to watch a baseball game with me?"
"I actually really like baseball. I'm a Mets fan."
"Aaaaand now you're not sexy to me anymore with that little admission," she laughed. "I'm a Yankees fan, baby. We could never be."
"Ewww, a Yankees fan? The fucking Evil Empire?" Roxie turned and looked at her in disgust.
"Yeah, and?" Zoe smiled. "I half grew up next to the Bronx and my dad was a season ticket holder. Derek Jeter is still the only man I would ever marry!"
"I have to agree with you there," Roxie nodded. "Derek Jeter is God."
"See, you have a boner for Derek Jeter too." Zoe fed Roxie a french fry, then kissed her lips.
Roxie cozied back up against her and took in the beautiful scene. The field was the most exquisite shade of green she had ever seen and the stadium lights illuminated the field making the blades of perfectly cut grass sparkle like emeralds. She stared in a daze at the baseball diamond and got lost in her memories.
"What are you thinking about?" Zoe licked her lips after studying the side of Roxie's face for a long minute.
"Nothing," Roxie subtly shook her head. "I just remember going to Cyclone games with my grandpa when I was a kid."
"You never told me that." Zoe turned in her seat, giving Roxie her full attention.
"He was a Mets fan too," Roxie softly smiled. "Actually, he was an old Brooklyn Dodgers fan from way back. But when they moved to LA he said they broke his heart, so he unpledged his allegiance. He didn't root for another team again until the Mets showed up."
"Wow..."
"I just remember I could always have all the kettle corn and soda I wanted whenever we came out to the game." Roxie's eyes lit up at the memory. "I miss him..."
"You should tell more stories about him, Rox. I can see how happy you get just from talking about him."
"You know who else makes me happy?" Roxie grinned.
"Who?"
"You, dummy." she went in for a kiss.
"Oh, I didn't see that one coming." Zoe giggled against her lips.
The young couple stole a few more giggles and kisses until a staticky voice through the stadium speakers announced the fireworks show was moments away and for everyone to take their seats. Zoe snuggled under Roxie's arm and seemed to breathe her in. They both smelled of coconut suntan lotion, the Atlantic ocean, and concession snacks. And it was oddly intoxicating.
Roxie held Zoe tighter around the shoulder and kissed her forehead as the two teenagers tried their best to melt into one another in the July nighttime heat. And as the opening trumpet line from Ray Charles' America The Beautiful startedto play through the speakers along with the first few fireworks exploding above the ballpark, Roxie closed her eyes and prayed the moment would never end.
"Maybe, it's time you try another game, sweetheart...?" Brittany bounced Gabriel in her arms and looked concerned for her wife.
"Uh uh," Santana shook her head and aimed the water gun at the target. "I'm getting my son a prize even if it costs me another freaking ten dollars."
She shot a scowling look at the game booth worker and thought briefly of spraying him with the gun. The portly man smacked his gum, leaning against the counter. He was making a fortune off Santana for the last hour and seemed smug about it. The bell sounded and Santana shot as many stupid frog targets as she possibly could before the timer rang.
"Ha!" she yelled. "Finally! I want my prize, carny!"
"Alright, alright." He laughed and croaked through a thick Brooklyn accent. "And seeing how I made close to seventy bucks off you's, I'll let you pick anything up here."
"What do you want, mijo?" Santana asked her son. "You want the froggy or the monkey?"
"Oh, I know! How about the teddy bear, Gaby?" Brittany cooed and pointed at the giant brown stuffed animal.
Gabriel looked confused again and seemed more interested with the random patrons walking along the Coney Island boardwalk than he did his own parents. He had a slight new tan and kept rubbing his tired eyes into his jean jacket.
"Aww, he's too tired to pick a toy." Brittany brushed his hair back.
"Aww, okay." Santana pouted, then turned to pick one for him. "How about the-"
"Ball!" Gabriel suddenly blurted before Santana could pick out the stuffed monkey. And Santana and Brittany both stared in shock at their son.
"Did he just say...?" Santana asked.
"Ball!" Gabriel reiterated and this time he pointed up towards a toy stars & stripes decorated bouncy ball.
"Oh my god! He just said his first words, San!" Brittany's mouth was wide open.
"Yay, Gaby!" Santana and Brittany both took turns kiss attacking their son in the middle of the busy boardwalk.
"Give me a break. The kid said ball," the man rolled his eyes. "It's not like he recited the opening prose to MacBeth." He laughed and handed Santana the toy.
"You have a good night robbing more people of their hard earned money." Santana narrowed her eyes at the man.
"Believe me, I will!" he grinned back.
It had gotten oddly personal between the two throughout the last hour. And Brittany laughed while pulling Santana away from the booth before things got really ugly. They finally made their way along the boardwalk once more and were able to hit all their old favorite snack stands like old times. They enjoyed everything from Nathan's famous hot dogs to salt water taffy while strolling along.
Santana was daydreaming as she pushed the stroller and hadn't even noticed Brittany stop at a random bench on the boardwalk.
"What's wrong, Britt?" Santana cocked her head to one side and tried to figure out how the bench was of any importance.
"This is the place..." Brittany smiled.
"Okaaay..."
"Come here," Brittany waved her over. "Sit down with me."
Santana nervously laughed and walked back over to take a seat at the bench with her wife. "Oh, this old bench..."
"You totally don't remember, huh?" Brittany giggled.
"Nope, not at all."
"San, this is where I told you I wanted to start a family with you three years ago."
"Oh wow..." Santana looked around again. "It is."
The memory came back to Santana clear as day. She could almost taste the salt-tinged air again and could picture Brittany's wind swept locks blowing across her face like a beautiful mute painting.
"I brought it up right here and you looked like you wanted to barf," Brittany teased.
"I did not!"
"Oh, you so did!"
"Okay, maybe for a split second." Santana finally gave in. "It was a little unexpected, I have to admit."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that..."
"No, baby." Santana quickly corrected. "Look, I'm glad you brought it up when you did. I never knew how much I wanted a family until that day. It was like a revelation and now look at us."
The couple instinctively looked at Gabriel in his stroller. The toddler was clearly up way past his bedtime and staring up at the clear Brooklyn night sky. He yawned and babbled away to himself.
"Yeah, look at us..." she whispered and smiled.
"Two kids," Santana chuckled. "Who would have thought, huh?"
"I love you," Brittany leaned into a soft kiss.
"Mm, I love you too..."
"So... since we're at our famous bench, is it an appropriate time to discuss baby number three...?" Brittany joked.
"Oh god!" Santana laughed. "Can baby number two at least be potty trained first?"
Brittany laughed and leaned over to pull their son out of the stroller. She sat him on her lap and cozied up under Santana's arm, laying her head against her chest. And right on cue, the fireworks started to light up the boardwalk. They whistled and popped. Red, white, and blue sparks tattooed their faces as they looked towards the midnight blue sky. Santana felt like she was in some sort of dreamland as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. And it was a dreamland she wished no one would ever pinch her to wake her up from.