Today is the day I will marry the love of my life and finally become Mrs. Santana Lopez-Pierce.
God, I love the sound of that, especially when I think about the woman I'll have the pleasure of spending the rest of my life with.
For me, Brittany is like the breath of fresh air you suck in after swimming underwater for a long time, bringing life back to my bones as she courses through my veins. She's my everything, and I would do almost anything to make her as happy as she has made me.
Unfortunately, that doesn't mean I've always made loving easy for either of us.
Back in high school, I found myself so far in the closet that I was practically in Narnia, which meant I was willing to do anything possible to ensure that I maintained my top bitch status. Over they years, I perfected the art of locking people out, and by the time I was a junior, I had built my walls so high that I was virtually untouchable.
I finally had everything I thought I wanted, but then, the beautiful, wonderful unicorn that is Brittany slowly started to break down my defenses. She made me open up and talk about the thing I feared most of all: feelings.
After our Landslide performance with Holly Holliday, I managed to verbalize the feelings I had for Brittany, and although I didn't get the response I was expecting, I understood that I had still taken that first step in my journey to self-acceptance. What I didn't know was that the road I was on would also one day lead me to the exact spot I was currently seated in.
A sudden knock on the door quickly snapped me out of my thoughts. Looking away from the mirror I had been staring into, I told the person that it was okay come inside and watched as my father popped his head through the crack that was made between the door and its frame before stepping into the room.
"Oh, Mija, you look so beautiful," he announced in awe as he looked at me in my wedding dress for the very first time.
Returning the smile he was giving me, I replied, "Thank you, Daddy. I'm guessing it's time to get this show on the road?"
"Yep, it sure is. Are you ready?" the man asked as he mad his way over to me, holding out a hand to help me up from the chair I was sitting in.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I chuckled as I straightened out my dress and slipped my hand in the crook in his arm.
We were silent as he led me out of the room and down the hall towards a pair of double doors. Halting our progression once we reached them, we stood there for a moment before hearing the quiet piano rendition of Songbird fluttering into the room from outside, causing my heart to beat wildly inside my chest.
That song would never fail to give me butterflies. Every time I hear it, it's like I'm being transported back to the time when Britt and I were alone in the choir room. Back then, I was still too afraid to sing in front of the rest of the Glee club, but I knew I had to at least tell her how I felt, even if I could only express it through song.
As the music to played on, my father informed, "You know, I've got to be honest. If it were anyone else I was giving you away to, I'd refuse to let you go, but Brittany has been around for so long that it's almost like she's always been a part of the family. It's also easy to see the love and devotion you two share for one another, and because of that, I have come to realize that Brittany is the only person I would ever trust to make you truly happy."
"Thank you, Dad. That really means a lot to me," I quietly mumbled as I tried to keep myself from crying.
Damn emotions.
Realizing that we were both on the verge of tears, the man lightly shook his head and shot me a small grin. "Alright, enough of these waterworks," he joked as he wiped his eyes with his free hand. "Let's go get your girl."
All I could manage was toothy grin as I sent him an eager nod in return, fearing that my voice would betray me if I even tried to speak. He seemed to get the message, however, and gave Kurt and Blaine a quick thumbs up to show that we were ready.
As the two ushers opened the double door's separating us from the rest of our family and friends, my dad leaned over to press a gentle kiss to the crown of my head and quietly whispered, "I love you, my little Santanita."
"I love you, too, Daddy," I repeat in the same tone, afraid that anything louder would break the mood. My father gave me one last reassuring smile before turning his attention to the pathway we'd be walking down, taking a deep breath as he started to lead me forward.
Approaching the grassy aisle, I became over whelmed by how beautiful everything had turned out. The walkway leading to the makeshift altar was littered with autumn leaves and was lined with everyone who had come to witness the ceremony. Off to the left, Brad continued to play the sheet music I had sent him after he agreed to perform for us.
Getting to the very last row of seats, I looked ahead of me at the beautifully flowered arbor where our wedding party was already gathered. To the left, there stood Quinn and Puck, who were my maid and man of honor.
Holly Holliday stood beside them, ready to officiate the wedding. Much like Brad, we had been forced to track her down since she wasn't even in the country, let alone the state. We eventually managed to get in touch with her, however, through the help of Mr. Shue, who just so happened to still have her number. Of course after calling her to ask if she would be interested in being our marriage officiant, she immediately replied with her signature I thought you'd never ask, which made Britt and I each roll or eyes as we looked at one another with matching smirks.
My eyes then stopped their steady progression as they spotted my most favorite person ever and began taking in every little detail they could find.
Her long blonde hair had been tied up into a curly side bun with her bangs tucked neatly being her ears, and on her head sat a mini top hat with a small birdcage veil that had been quirked to the side. Her sleeveless wedding dress hugged her in all the right places before flaring out just past her hips and pulling at the floor below her.
She looked like an absolute fairytale.
I'll never forget the small smile that graced her face as we neared where she stood. Watching her take a shaky breath, I realized that was starting to get emotional, too, which only made me want to get to her even more. When our glassy eyes finally met, it was like my brain short-circuited, causing me to involuntarily started to walk faster. Dad was quick to notice this, however, and pulled me back with a small chuckle.
"Slow down, Mija. We're almost there," he quietly assured as he placed a gentle hand on top of the one I still had gripped around his arm.
Without looking away from my favorite pair of blue eyes, I took a deep breath and focused on keeping in step with the man beside me, silently repeating the word soon like a mantra in my head.
Originally, I had tried to offer Britt a chance to be the one who walked down the aisle, but she had instantly refused, saying that it wasn't important to her. All she cared about was us being married to one another by the end of it. Now that this is actually happening, I'm honestly glad she had turned down my proposition because I don't know if I would have been able to just stand there as she slowly walked towards me.
Of course, Brittany remained steady as ever as I closed the last bit of distance between us.
"I love you," I eagerly told her in a tone that was louder than I had intended, causing our guests to break out into a loud fit laughter. I didn't care, though. It's not like it wasn't true.
She seemed to completely understand as she reached over to take my hand, giving my father a quick hug before pulling me into her arms to quietly reply, "I love you, too." After placing a light peck to the side of my head, she pulled away and allowed us to move on with the ceremony.
Stepping into my proper place, I quickly peaked around the blonde to catch sight of Lord Tubbington and Boy Chang, who were acting as her best men. 'God, I hope someone has taken a picture of this by now,' I thought to myself as I tried to stop myself from laughing.
Poor Mike apparently couldn't find it in himself to turn Brittany down after she asked him to hold the overweight feline, though I will say that it was his own fault. I had clearly warned him not to fall victim to Brittany's puppy dog eyes like I had when she had first announced LT's inclusion in our wedding because once you do, there's no way you'll never be able to tell her no.
Glancing back over to Holly, I found the woman standing there with a broad grin as she allowed a short moment of silence to pass before beginning her opening monologue.
"As many of you already know, we are here to honor the love and commitment of two very special women of whom I've had the pleasure of knowing for many years now," she told the audience while maintaining her focus on us. "The first time I ever met Brittany and Santana, they were still juniors at William McKinley High School, and they had just started to notice the not-so-subtle changes in their relationship."
Shifting her gaze to the people seated behind us, she informed, "Over time, these changes had begun to cause the lines between friendship and something more to blur, which naturally incited some confusion within the pair. Eventually, they learned how to love each other wholeheartedly despite the fears and insecurities they may have, and I've got to say that nothing makes me more proud than to be standing with these two lovely ladies as they take their next big leap into the great unknown. Not everyone gets the chance to find their soulmate, but thankfully, they've found theirs."
Fighting back the tears welling in my eyes, I leaned over to rest my head on her shoulder and squeezed her hand in mine as I realized that we were on the verge of starting the rest of our lives together. I felt Brittany look at me as she tightened her grip on my hand, but I stayed glued in my spot. There was no need to meet her gaze. We didn't need any kind of reassurances to make sure we were ready for this. We had already been waiting for this moment our entire lives.
The rest of the wedding passed by quicker than I could have ever imagined as we each took turns saying our I do's and got ready to recite our vows. Looking over at Mike, Britt let him give her the ring he taken it out of LT's vest pocket, repeating the words Holly told her to recite as she slipped the band onto my left ring finger.
Now that it was my turn, I glanced up at the blonde with a smirk and reached into my cleavage to retrieve the ring I had strategically placed there. Realizing what I had just done, Britt rolled her eyes and shook her head with a tight-lipped smile. When I had first mentioned the idea to her, I had, of course, been joking, but the more I thought about it made sense. I mean, Quinn knows I love her to bits, but we all knew who my real maid of honors were.
Sending my soon wife-to-be a quick wink, I held her left hand and slid the ring onto the appropriate finger as I repeated the same words she had said to me.
With both of our rings in place, Holly announced, "By the power vested in my be the state of New York, I now pronounce you wife and wife. You may now kiss your bride."
Sending me a giddy grin, Brittany slid a hand around to the small of my back so she could pull me against her and used her other hand to brace my head as she pulled me into the most passionate kiss I've ever experienced. The sounds of the crowd's applause fell on deaf ears as Britt and I continued kissing for a few seconds. Eventually, Quinn had to give me a small nudge to remind me that we had an audience. Pulling away from Britt, I stared up at her with all the love and affection I could muster, which she immediately returned.
Without leaving my gaze, she laced our fingers together and brought our joined hands to her lips before raising them up in the air, causing everyone to loudly cheer once more.
The dance floor of our reception cleared as Puck started to strum the strings of his guitar to the tune of Landslide. Noticing my wife standing up from her spot beside me, she helped me up and led me out onto the floor so we could take our first dance as a married couple. Suddenly, Quinn's crystal clear voice could be heard ringing out as she sang the opening verses of the song.
My wife held me close as she slowly made our way around the room, quietly singing the words we both knew by heart. We continued on like that until the end of the song, where we were forced to bring our movements to a stop.
"Oh, God, I'm crying like a freaking baby right now," I teased as I wiped the tears from my eyes.
Pushing my hands away, Brittany continued the gentle motions so my make-up wouldn't smudge. She knew better than anyone that I would leave the room to fix it if that were to happen, which she definitely wanted to avoid if at all possible. She wanted me glued to her side at all times, just like how I wanted her by mine.
"There! Perfect," she announced with a wink as she leaned in to press a quick kiss to the tip of my nose.
Once we were done with our father-daughter dances, Britt and I continued making our rounds to all our guests until it was time to toss the bouquets, which Rachel and Brittany's little cousin, Jessica, managed to catch. After a quick photo opp with the pair, we cut the cake and got ready for our money dance.
I swear must have gone through twenty people by the time Ms. Holliday walked up and pinned two hundred-dollar bills to her dress.
"Holy shit, Holly! What the hell?"
"Don't worry, Sweet Cheeks. There's plenty more where that came from. Just wait until you open your gift," the woman stated with a suggestive wag of her brow.
Feeling my eyes shoot wide open, I inquired, "Holly, what did you get us?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out. Now, give me my dance before the guy behind me decides to knock me out with his cane."
"Um, that's Brittany's seventy-two-year-old grandfather," I informed as I spot the man standing a few feet away. "I'm pretty sure he wouldn't even hurt a fly, but that doesn't mean he won't eventually take a swing at you if we keep standing here like this," I stated without making any move to dance with her.
"Are you seriously trying to sass me into taking back my money right now?" the ex-substitute teacher questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Why? Is it working?" I joked as I allowed my face to break out into a smile.
"Nice try, but I have a very strict no cash back policy when it comes to weddings. Now, come on. Let's get our dance on," she chucked as she placed my right hand on her shoulder and took the other on into her hand.
We stayed quiet for a few seconds with her leading the dance before she told me, "You know as well as anyone that I don't get serious very often, Hot Stuff, but I do want you to know that what I said during the ceremony was true. I really am proud of you. You've come a very long way from the girl I first met."
Shifting my eyes nervously at the unexpected praise, I replied, "Oh, well, uh-Thank you, Holly."
"Don't even mention it," she responded as she brought our motions to a standstill. Releasing my hand she added, "Thanks for the dance. Now, it's time to go boogie with your girl."
And with that, she was gone.
I ended up dancing for another thirty minutes before making my way back to the head table where Brittany was already waiting for me.
"Hey, Wifey. Did you have fun?" Brittany asked as she stroked the large cat that was sleeping on the table.
"Yeah, but feet are killing me."
"Oh, well I can massage them for you if you'd like."
Scrunching up my face, I replied, "Ew, Britt. As sweet as your offer may be, my feet are all sweaty and gross right now."
"Well, then I guess I would just have to take a trip to the restroom to wash my hands. You can come, too, if you'd like."
"For the last time, we are not sneaking away for a bathroom quickie, Brittany Susan Pierce!" I instantly scolded, but my efforts didn't even seem faze her.
"Actually, it's Lopez-Pierce now, and Lord Tubbington already said he would guard our spots."
"No, Mrs. Lopez-Pierce," I repeated with finality.
"Please, Baby. We'll make it fast, I promise."
And then came those damn puppy eyes.
Releasing a groan, I reluctantly conceded, "Fine, but we're going to need to keep it down, okay? And we're also using the bathrooms that are all the way over on the other side of the building. God knows the last thing I want is for one of our guests to walk in on us getting it on."
"Oh my God! I love you so much right now. You're not going to regret this, I swear!" the blonde exclaimed, giving me a firm kiss as she tugged me up out of my chair and started leading me towards the door located on the far side of the room.
I swear this girl is going to be the absolute death of me… and I wouldn't choose to have it any other way.
Author's Notes:
Thank you so much for checking out this fic. The idea came to me a few days ago after the news broke out about the Brittana engagement. As soon as I heard about it, I thought about how much I would love to see Holly officiate their wedding and decide to make it happen since I know it will never happen in the actual show. So yeah, here it is.
I would also like to announce that I now have a Tumblr account, so if you are interested in that, here's the link:
lochnessie17. tumblr. com
Anyways, thank you so much again, and I hope to see you all again soon!
P.S.: Brittana is so on!