"Hh…hi.." was all Naya could say when her eyes met dark ocean blue eyes. The owner of those ocean blue eyes couldn't say anything either.
After what seemed like an eternity, "He…hey..." was all Heather could utter back with a nervous smile. Still staring back at chocolate brown eyes.
Neither of them knew what to say, they have never been loss for words, they always had something to say to each other before. They used to easily fall into fits of endless laughter even for the smallest or most trivial of things, from watching their favorite reality shows to doing a simple chore, like washing the dishes which will usually ends up in them getting into a water throwing fight and afterwards, both soaking wet on top of each other on the kitchen floor, out of breath from laughing so hard. Or just spending time on the set, waiting for their scenes to be shot or just in the choir room background, whispering to each other about anything with never-ending giggles even while the camera is rolling. Even if there was no dialogue between them, they would hold hands or pinkies, sit close to each other and lean on each other's shoulders and these gestures would be enough, that even if no actual words were uttered, the mere presence of the other would make each other feel that they had the most interesting conversation.
But now, it felt like there was no single word in the English dictionary that they can think of – to say what or how they are feeling this very second. This very second when they are finally alone in the dance studio This very second when both are seated in the couch, yes this couch, which has become an iconic symbol to what the fans call as "He(ather) (na)YA being on" while it holds so much wonderful unforgettable memories for both of them, a time when things were simple and less complicated.
May 2009
"Finally! after five fucking hours, you all got it! We're done here. Rehearsals again tomorrow, same time. " yells chief choreographer Zach Woodlee.
With shoulders slouched and feet in pain, Naya started moving towards Heather who was at the other side of the studio getting towels and bottles of water while some of the actors lingered in the dance studio, most of them looking tired but still talking excitedly with each other.
" Fuck, not another five hours of rehearsals tomorrow. My body cannot take another day of punishment" groans Naya
" Oh come on Nay, you love dancing too, so what's another 5 hours?" teases Heather
"It fucking hurts! , my knees are almost bleeding & my palms are full of scratches… I'm no Heather Morris, she can dance for 8 hours and can still do cartwheels after for another 2 hours straight " Naya whines while stretching her back to ease the soreness.
" Ha ha ha.. yeah she definitely can" answers Heather laughing and looking at Naya with a glow in those blue orbs and raises her hand to drink from a water bottle while handing over another bottle and a clean towel to Naya.
" You're the Queen of all dance monsters Heather, you can never stop dancing while the rest of us are crawling in pain from a 5 hour non-stop rehearsal" complains Naya while wiping sweat from her forehead and neck with her towel on her right hand and gulping down her water bottle with her other hand. .
Heather beams out a huge grin and nudges Naya on her right side and Naya yelps " Ouch…"
" Actually, I'm really tired too... would you like to rest on the couch for awhile before we head home or would you like to go straight to the trailer?" asks Heather while gently massaging Naya's shoulders. She looks around and everyone in the rehearsal room was gone. They were the only ones left.
"God! I could hardly walk. I'm so dead beat… yeah, let's rest for awhile." Naya replies as she nods her head in agreement and looks at Heather with a tired but sweet smile nonetheless.
Heather looks back at her with a tender look in her eyes and takes Naya's left hand into hers and raises it to her mouth and brushes her lips at the back of Naya's hand.
Naya smiles at her lovingly and gently squeezes Heather's hand as they walked, still holding hands, to the couch located at the dance floor that they were rehearsing in earlier.
" Naya! Heather! Aren't you leaving yet?" yells a familiar voice from the door of the room.
They both turned around to the sound of the voice –
" Hey Di! not yet, we'll rest for awhile, my legs are killing me" shouts back Naya
"Yeah, my feet are sore too. Will drop by my trailer first to get my things then will head straight home," answers Dianna
"Bye Di. See you tomorrow!" Naya replies and smiles weakly.
"Drive safely Di!" Heather shouts back.
Dianna smiles and waves goodbye and closes the door. .
With fingers intertwined in each other's hands, Naya and Heather walked towards the couch and slumped down together.
Naya exhales and says loudly " God! Am so fucking tired, my legs are numb, my back is sore! hell my whole body is sore! Like I've had a 5- hour sex marathon!
"Didn't hear you complaining last night" chuckles Heather while wiggling her eyebrows looking at Naya.
Naya blushes and slaps Heather's left arm and says " this is all your fault, you caused me all these body pains and…. " whispers in Heather's ear "… and tingles all over" as she winks at Heather.
" What can I say? I'm the best!" replies Heather smirking while pump fisting in the air
" Pfffh… such modesty" Naya laughs and pokes Heather on her left side.
" Come on, let's rest for awhile." says Heather now lying down on the couch w/ her left elbow propped up on the couch.
She pulls Naya's waist towards her and gently whispers " here, lie down beside me, let's rest a bit before going home"
Naya lies down on her left side w/ her back against Heather's body while Heather wraps her right arm around Naya's waist and pulls Naya closer to her, acting as the big spoon. Naya suddenly jolted when she felt a hand slowly crawling under her shirt from her left side and finally settling in her stomach. Then, Heather starts to gently caress Naya's firm abs while nibbling her left ear.
" Heather… someone might come in…" Naya says as she blushes from the tingling feeling that is starting to take over her whole body.
" ..( continues to nibble on the hairline at the back of Naya's right ear).. no they won't, besides, the door is closed. We can always stop canoodling the second the door opens" Heather replies smirking while continuously raining soft kisses on Naya's right cheek this time.
Because she badly wants to totally make out with Heather but realizes that they're still in the dance studio, mustering enough strength, Naya suddenly turns around to face Heather and holds Heather's face with both her hands and lands a kiss on Heather's lips saying:
" Heather Elizabeth Morris, if we will continue doing this ( KISS) And when somebody comes in from that door (KISS), we have no choice but to stop( KISS) and I'll just be sexually frustrated ( KISS) and not to mention embarrassed " pretending to admonish Heather and kisses Heather on the lips longer this time. Heather's mouth opens to welcome Naya's mouth and both their tongues crashing together to share a hot but sweet lingering kiss.
They continued kissing for a couple or minutes when Naya grudgingly pulled away not because she wanted to but because she was running out of breath.
Both of them were flushed and both with swollen lips, gazed lovingly at each other's eyes. Heather pushes away a lock of hair from Naya's face while kissing her nose. Naya snuggles in closer to Heather and wraps her left arm to Heather's waist while Heather holds Naya's waist with her right arm.
Heather stares at chocolate brown eyes and smiles lovingly and feeling complete at this very moment, that nothing could wrong with Naya beside her, Heather mouths the words " I love you."
Naya blushes and still feeling that tingling sensation in her body, replies : "love you too" and gives Heather a tight embrace, resting her face on the Heather's neck and inhales that distinct sweet smell of Heather who still smells so sweet after a sweat inducing 5-hour dance rehearsal.
"Baby, can we just rest for awhile and I promise you when we get home later, you'll have that mind blowing 5-hour sex marathon that I mentioned awhile ago" says Naya wiggling her eyebrows and giving Heather her most seductive smile.
Heather smirks and pretends to be thinking, her eyes looking up, with pursed lips and her right index finger tapping on her chin as if seriously considering Naya's proposal : " Mmmhhh.. If you'll make it a 6- hour sex marathon, it's a deal!"
" Oh pity lil' ol' me…I'm turning into a pretty lil' sex slave" replies Naya in her best southern belle drawl but smiling lovingly at her girlfriend.
" Ye betcha hot ass Missy, let's be clear that yer MY sex slave and I ain't gonna let any cowboy steal yer jewels from me." grins Heather and replies with her own cowboy accent while kissing Naya on the lips again.
Naya smiles and turns her back from Heather, nesting her head on the armrest of the couch while Heather wraps her right arm on Naya's waist as she spoons her again, both feeling tired and wasted from the rehearsals earlier. Heather then lays the left side of her head between the Naya's left cheek and left shoulders. Just before closing her eyes, Heather whispers very softly in Naya's right ear " love u."
Naya smiles and snuggles closer to Heather's body and gets heather's right hand and writes the following letters at the back of Heather's hand using her left index finger " L-O-V-E U T-O-O" and brings Heather's hand to her mouth and gently kisses the back of Heather's hand.
A huge grin is plastered on Heather's face, with her eyes closed, she tightened her arm's grip on Naya's waist.
They were in this position for sometime, Heather spooning Naya and both fell asleep.
After some time, Naya suddenly gains consciousness when she feels something tickling her face. She refused to open her eyes because of tiredness but the persistent ticklish feeling doesn't want to go away. She finally opens her eyes and realizes that her face was covered with parts of Heather's hair. She smiles and pulls up Heather's hair away from her face with her left arm tries to hold it up. This movement awakens Heather and smiles too when she sees Naya holding up parts of her hair, she snuggles closer to Naya with a sleepy smile on her face.. then…
A light like a flash of a camera startles them both… " Oh look, look how cute the two of you are.." Kevin hollers as he snaps another photo of them using his phone.
" Jesus Bee! That light almost blinded me." says Naya frowning a little while Heather stirs from her position to sit up.
" Wow! Aren't we cranky today?" replies Kevin still smiling. " You two looked absolutely adorable in these pictures "
Let me see them.." Naya sits up while Kevin moves near the couch and hands over his phone to show the photos.
" Yup, it's official.. we are indeed adorable" Naya bobs her head and smirking. " What do you think Heather?" Naya looks at Heather who is now seated as well and trying to fight off sleep.
Naya particularly liked the second photo which had her holding up Heather's hair. Although her eyes were closed in this picture, still, she had that contented smile beside a sleepy but a cute looking Heather who was wearing a soft smile and whose right arm was draped over Naya's waist and right arm. She feels a certain glow and warm feeling just by looking at the photo.
Heather looks at the photos on Kevin's phone and replies: " Oh yeah, absolutely cute and adorable, so much cuteness that it's blinding.. ha ha ha" as she snakes her left arm on Naya's waist.
" Ok you two, am sending the photos to your phones now via blue tooth" Kevin answers and asks after: " Hey aren't you going home yet or do you plan of staying the night here? " asks Kevin with a smirk on his face and wriggling his eyebrows looking suggestively at Naya and Heather.
" Actually, we have plans of camping here for the night and cook dinner and watch TV…. " replies Naya almost snorting.
" Wait, let me get the pillows and blankets from the trailer and some popcorn and wine …." chimes in Heather while grinning from ear to ear.
This elicited a hearty laughter from Kevin and Naya smiles too and looks at Heather with that loving look.
"Of course we're going home silly. Infact, we're leaving now… by the way, what time is it?" Naya asks looking at Kevin
Kevin looks at his watch and replies: "it's 7:20 already: and asks after: "how long have you been here? "
" We didn't leave after the rehearsal ended at 6:00. That means, we had more or less an hour of sleep in this couch" replied Heather.
" One hour has passed? Yeah, I'm probably so dead beat that I forgot the time. Has everybody gone home already?" asks Naya
" Just me and Chris who was talking to some fans at the parking lot when I passed by him on my way here. Some production people still doing some stuff in the choir room and at the recording studio. I'm leaving in 30 minutes or so. Aren't you leaving yet?
" Yup.. we are.." says Naya and stands up from the couch and Heather stands up too.
" Okay, I'll go ahead Bee. Bye Hemo. Take care both of you!" says Kevin while he kisses Naya on the cheek then does the same to Heather before going out of the room.
Heather pulls out her phone from the left pocket of her jeans to check the photos sent by Kevin earlier. She smiles when she looks at the photos again. She especially liked the second photo, the one where Naya had her eyes closed and was holding her hair. She tells herself: " my girl looks absolutely adorable in this picture. I'll keep this forever"
She feels a set of arms wrapping themselves around her waist and Heather takes the right arm and raises the hand to her mouth and kisses the palm and turns around to face Naya, both their arms wrapped in each other's waist, " Hon, ready to go home? I'm so dying to have a bath, with you of course and take you up on that ahhmm. marathon thingy that you mentioned earlier What kind of marathon is that again?" teases Heather.
" Ah, I already said it earlier and I'll not say it again. Just remember, I won't let you cross the finish line if you don't know what kind of marathon it is, ha ha ha!" laughs Naya as she tilts her head up to meet warm soft lips belonging to a beautiful girl with beautiful blue eyes. And the owner of those cerulean orbs drowning in the tenderness of those equally beautiful chocolate brown eyes.
Back to Present Day
She remembers that day, when they first made out and slept on this couch and a number of times they did those again later on. She remembers posting her favorite couch photo of the two of them on her Facebook account a day after it was taken and Heather posted her own reply. But here they are now, feeling awkward and uneasy, alone together for the first time in what seemed like forever.
She never had a difficulty striking a conversation with her, she babbles and talks and laughs with Naya to no end. She's usually the one who is giddy and excited when they are together. She practically bounces when she's with Naya but she can only stare at those soft lovely chocolate brown eyes and couldn't will her mouth to say something. Until finally…
" How..." Naya starts and Heather says at the same time " What…"
They looked at each other for a few seconds and just like that, the gap is broken, the awkwardness starts to slowly fade away. They both started laughing.
"You first.." says Heather still chuckling but looks down on her hands clasped together on her lap.
Naya hesitates a little bit and looks away from Heather's face and doesn't really know how to form her sentence but mustering enough courage, she blurted out "H..how are you?"
Releasing a deep sigh, Heather looks into Nayas's eyes and hesitates a bit before finally answering " I'm fine, I'm good. Yeah, things have been good for awhile. I teach dance lessons to some kids but on a special arrangement basis only. Also been doing some short films with Ashley and attended a few rounds of small independent film festivals.. I attended one recently and I've seen two awesome movies in that festival, totally funny which I know you would really like …" She stops and realizes that she was blabbering again and a shade of crimson covers her cheeks.
" Really? Coming from you, I'm sure I would really enjoy them. I'm glad you're pursuing one of your passions- film making.. I know how you love taking videos and photos all the time and being able to make not just one but several films is a dream come true for you….I'm so happy for you" Says Naya with pride in her voice and smiles gently at Heather.
Heather grins and gets warm feelings all over " Thanks… I always think of you everytime I make one and …. Pffff.. enough of me, how about you? How've you been? How's the album coming along?
" Oh, it's making progress. Although I feel it's a slow progress but I have gone through a couple of materials already and have regular meetings with the producers and the production people. I have recorded three songs last year but had to stop because of our tour and Season 3 filming but will resume recording again this summer after this season ends. I do hope we can release the album before the year ends." says Naya while she flashes a sweet smile and unconsciously touching Heather's right arm repeatedly while she was talking. Heather didn't miss the touch and hears blood rushing in her ears everytime Naya's hand lands on her arm.
" That's great! I'm really happy too that your dream to make an album is coming true. You deserve it and I know how talented you are." Says Heather also with pride in her voice while she smiles showing her perfect white teeth.
Heather's smile.. that sweet sweet smile of Heather which Naya had longed to see and had missed seeing for sometime now. She smiled in return too and looked into Heather's eyes.
" Yeah, I never thought that I'll be making an album this soon. Sure it was a dream of mine but I didn't expect that just after two years in Glee, I'll be making one. " says Naya
" I never doubted that you will make one. Infact, I know that you'll be making lots and lots of them in the future and make sure you reserve a hundred for me. I'll give it as a Christmas gift to all my neighborhood friends in Arizona. It will be the best Christmas gift ever and I'll have them play your songs the whole day at the same time. Infact, I'll petition our local council to pass a city ordinance that will allot one day as "Play Naya Rivera Songs Only at the Same Time Day! Wouldn't that be cool? ." Replies Heather with a beaming smile.
" Ha! Ha! Ha! That would definitely be cool and awesome! While you're at it, why don't you campaign for a statewide ordinance so that it wouldn't just be for a hundred albums but hundred thousands or millions more? Ha ha ha!" chuckles Naya
" Hey, wait a minute. If we're talking of millions here, I'd like to have a percentage of the sales and when that happens, I will replace your business manager. I can be your business manager you know." Replies a giggling Heather.
" Sure you can, if you're that good, you can replace my PR manager as well. Ha ha…" Both of them stopped laughing with the mention of "PR"
Silence again.
Heather nods and looks at her clasped hands once again while Naya has a faint smile on and was looking at Heather's bowed head. They are wrestling internally on whether they should ask the one thing that has really been bugging them for sometime now. That thing that they have evaded for so long – them ( Taylor and Matt). But now is not the best time to talk about "them."
To quell the sudden uncomfortable silence, Heather clears her throat and taps Naya's left hand saying " Who would have thought we'll be where we are now, huh?
With a deep sigh, Naya replies " Oh, I remember how we often talk about our plans, our dreams when we were starting out. Everything was simple then. Remember, we used to joke around and pretend that we were Hollywood A-listers already rubbing elbows with the Brangelina and Ellen and Oprah?"
" We used to horse around and pretend to be either a paparazzi or a superstar. We used to talk about what kind of house that we'll buy, how many and what cars will line up our garage… " says Heather dreamily.
Silence. Again.
Naya looked around thinking and hoping that Kevin or anybody from the cast or crew would come by to help break the awkward feeling.
Heather stared down on her clasped hands again and wanted to open her mouth to say something but no words came out. Then she looked up and caught Naya staring at her.
" Hey…." Says Naya
"Hey there…." replied Heather with a shy smile but her warm blue eyes lighting up her beautiful face. And Naya remembered the many times she stared at those ocean blue eyes and thinking how she would love drowning in the blueness of those angelic eyes…
" Well, are you ready for our next scene?" Naya asks
" What scene is that?" Heather replied
" The very first kissing scene of Brittana" says a voice coming from behind them.
" Bee!" Naya jumps up to hug him.
" Hey Kev" says Heather looking up at Kevin
" Well… well…. Brittany and Santana! Darn! This is where Brittana has been hiding all along huh?" quips Kevin
"We're just lazing around here, waiting for our call…" chimes in Heather
" Telly has been looking all over for you Nay, says he needs to see you pronto!" " You two aren't practicing for the next scene, are you?" teases Kevin wiggling his eyebrows
" Psshh… Christ… we don't need to practice Bee, we're damn experts in the kissing field" replies Naya
" Ha ha ha ha" laughs the three of them
Silence.
"Ahhhmmm…" Kevin clears his throat, " Well, my scene with Sugar and Rory scene will shoot in 20 minutes so I gotta get ready then… See you later guys"
" Sure Bee…." Says Naya
" See yah later" replies Heather.
" Nay.." Heather starts to say
" Uhmm..?" Naya looks at her inquiringly?
" How're you? How've you been doing?
" I'm fine…. I'm good…" replies Naya " and you?"
" I'm okay and I'm good too" says Heather.
" How are you and…..M…Matt?
" Ahmm… we're okay. How's Taylor by the way" asks Naya
" Uhmm… he's doing fine. He has moved in to my place me last month and we're still fixing my place"
" That's good to hear…"
Naya changes the topic and asks " We're still on for Mexico in May right?"
" Of course we are… Not even a hurricane can stop me from boarding that plane. He he he" quips Heather
Naya smiles back at her. She misses this… she misses this simple relaxing conversation.
Naya is thinking I'll be there wherever you are in heartbeat… in Mexico or Zimbabwe….anywhere.. and when you wear that bathing suit… I won't even care if it's the Bermuda Triangle or planet Mars.."
"What's funny?" asks Heather
Naya loses her train of thought…. " huh….? What's that?"
" You have this huge smile on your face earlier like the face of Sylvester the cat when he finally swallowed Tweety bird." says an amused Heather…
" Oh nothing… I was just thinking of you in a bathin…" says Naya but stops midway in her sentence
" Go on… what do you mean by that? You were thinking of me taking a bath?" teases Heather
" No no… of course not…. Why will I think of you taking a bath? Christ…. Why would I think that?" says Naya with an embarrassed laughter
" Well, I was thinking of you in bathing suit too you know…" Heather teases again
" Huwaat?" replies Naya pretending to look shocked.
" Yup, the minute you said Mexico, all I can remember is the sand, beach, tequila and you in bathing suit…. So…."
" Wow… Heather Elizabeth Morris… after all this time you're still a big tease"
" You're a bigger tease Naya Marie Rivera for bringing up Mexico this early"
They both laugh at the same time.
Silence.
They were still looking at each other when…
"Nay, I'm glad we talked today.. It has been awhile and I miss talking to you… I … miss you…." Says Heather who wanted to hug Naya so hard since they saw each other that day.
" Hemo, I miss talking to you too… I really miss you so much.."
( Naya was thinking…." To hell with this" ) and she took both Heathers hands and pulled the other towards her and just gave her a tight embrace….
" I just miss you…" Naya whispers in a longing voice
" I miss you so damn much Nay… more than you'll ever know" says Heather as she tightens her embrace not wanting to let go.
When the finally broke the hug, both of them had tears in their eyes….
"What happened to us Nay? Do you think we did the right thing?" asks Heather while wiping a tear from her right cheek
Naya takes Heather's right hand and clasped hers into it. She lets out a deep sad sigh and replies " We did what we both felt was the right thing to do Heather. Timing was not right… You had issues with your Mom finding out about us and our PR team advised us that being apart would be the best thing for both of us… especially for our careers…" says Naya quietly
" You know, sometimes, I think that I should have stood up against PR.. that I should have gone through it even if my Mom was against it… I thought that I should have fought for you… for us…but… " replies Heather almost in a whisper
" Hey, it's okay…. " utters Naya while wiping another tear from her face. " Don't think about it too much Heather, this is where we should be right now… someday, when things are meant to happen again for us, they will happen and when that time comes, I promise you… I won't ever let go…ever"
Heather looks at those loving beautiful brown eyes… the eyes that made her feel she can do anything… the eyes that encouraged her everyday… the eyes that inspired her every single day since she started with Glee…. The eyes that belong to the one person she loves with all her heart but one she cannot be with right now… and with that thought she shed another tear.
As Naya saw Heather's tear, she took her in her arms and hugged her real tight once again… " We'll be alright Heather…I'll always be here for you…no matter what…"
Heather gives out faint smile and replies " And I'll always be here for you too Nay… always…. "
They broke up the embrace and just sat there for a minute in silence looking around the room but not really seeing anything.
" Oh there you are…"
And both of them look up to see Telly walking his way towards them.
" Goodness… I've been looking all over for you Nay! Hey Hemo… glad you're here too. I want to talk to you Nay right now and Hemo, costume department needs to see your for your fitting…."
" Are you two okay?" asks a concerned Kelly seeing both girls with puffy eyes and smudged make up. .
" We're fine Telly" says Naya not looking at Telly
Heather just nods her head with a faint smile
As Telly has been a first hand witness to their story for the last two years, he understood and didn't pursue the issue anymore. He just tactfully replied:
" Alrighty… Nay see me at the dressing room in 10 minutes. Hemo, just look for Alison in the costume department, okay you two?
The two girls just nodded their heads in agreement, not looking at Telly.
Heather was the first to break the silence, clears her throat " Ahhm… hey, do you think we should take up Kevin's suggestion and practice for our very first Brittana kissing scene? We need to be really convincing you know.."
" As if the fans need any convincing… the fans know Hemo… they know and they can see through us…but I think practice makes perfect so I think I'll take you up on that challenge… I betcha this kissing scene will be epic. Ha ha ha" laughs Naya
" Well, you can really bet your sweet ass, this kissing scene will be talked about for generations to come…it will be all over tumblr…" says Heather with a huge smile on her face
" Tumblr? You don't even have a twitter or Facebook account and you know tumblr? Whatever happened to the Hemo that promised to ban any form of social media?"
" Hey, I still know what's happening around the internet you know…I have my sources… He he he"
With that, Naya heaved a sigh of relief and smiled.
" Shall we prepare for that epic kissing scene then? unless you're too chicken to do some practicing ?" teases Heather with a wink
" Me chicken? My oh my Hemo, you've forgotten how tough this Latina is … tough and hot… Santana's a bitch, doesn't back down.."
" We'll see how tough you are… Shall we? Asks Heather smiling and offering her hand for Naya to take
" You betcha….Let's go Brit-Brit" says Naya smiling and takes Heather's hand.
They stood up from that memorable couch and walked hand in hand to the exit. As they reached the door, Naya looked back at the couch and smiled once again, a smile which is a mixture of sadness and at the same time relief… relief that she and Heather are talking again after avoiding each other for a year.
Heather caught Naya's smile and she smiled as well … She understood that smile and she squeezed Naya's hand tightly as they left the room. In her mind, she said to herself "there's still hope …. someday….someday "
*** the end …. for now ***