As Santana annoyingly taps her perfectly manicured nails against the marble island in the kitchen, she looks out into the living room, filled with endless amounts of people.

It's her parents' annual Christmas party and everyone seems to be having a good time... well, everyone except for her. As she hears the copious amounts of laughter coming from all directions, she sees the happy looks on all of her friends' faces, mixed in with the elated expressions beaming from their parents. She's seriously thinking about swiping one of the many glasses filled with champagne that sits before her.

I could've sworn that this was sparkling grape juice, Santana thinks to herself as the excuse she will use once her parents smell the alcohol on her breath.

Santana then begins scanning the crowd, seeing the adorable exchanges between each of the young couples.

First, there's Finn and Rachel. He's awkward and tall while she's small and annoying. It kinda works, Santana thinks to herself. Then there's Quinn and Noah. Q is super smart and going places with her life while Noah is still trying to figure some things out. While Santana thinks her blonde friend can do so much better, she believes that Quinn has actually tamed the bad boy formerly known as Puck.

Then, there's Tina and Mike, or the Asian Sensation - a nickname that the Latina came up with herself. Enough said. Next, there's Artie and Kitty. Like herself, Kitty can be a straight up bitch like 99% of the time. But then, there's that 1% that can be sweet and actually nice when it comes to Artie. That pairing kinda surprised her at first cuz Artie can be a real douche sometimes, but then again, that's probably what attracted the younger cheerleader to him in the first place.

Of course, there's the other odd pairing of Sam and Mercedes. While she's loud and a diva, he's completely dorky and more reserved. Santana didn't understand how 2 people that seemed completely opposite of each other could be so damn compatible. But, whatever the case may be... they make it work, just like the other mismatched couples of their little rag tag group.

And last but not least, there's the token gay couple, made up of Kurt and Blaine. While Kurt's gayness can be seen from space, it's amazing that his boyfriend can see anything with those crazy eyebrows of his.

Everybody's got somebody, except for her.

Yeah… that's a lie.

As Santana continues to look on, she feels a mixture of things coursing through her body. As much as the Latina makes rude jokes at the expense of her friends, deep down she knows that it's just a front to cover up the bitterness and loneliness she feels inside. She's so angry at the world because she's afraid to just admit to herself what she's pretty sure everyone else already knows.

She's in love with Brittany.

For the life of her, Santana can't figure out why she just won't tell the poor girl and put her out of her misery. It's not that she's afraid of people making fun of her because she's into the ladies. Everybody knows that you don't fuck with Santana Lopez, otherwise some very bad things will happen to you... cosas malas.

Santana isn't even afraid that her parents might disown her. She's knows that despite their heavy religious beliefs, Maribel and Jon Lopez will always love her unconditionally. From the subtle comments that both of her parents have made in the past about how sweet and wonderful Brittany is and how they wish that their little Santanita will end up with someone just as incredible as the blonde dancer, yeah... she's 100% sure that her parents know how crazy she is about her best friend.

So, what is it then?

Ultimately... Santana is afraid of herself.

More than anything, Santana wants to say 'the hell with it' and just let herself feel everything that she feels for Brittany. She wants to be able to let her walls down and give herself completely to the blonde. She wants to be able to call Brittany hers and maybe even shout it out from the rooftop of McKinley High, just so that everyone else knows as well.

Santana knows that Brittany loves her. She sees it in the way the blonde looks at her. She hears it in the way Brittany softly says her name. She feels it in the way she carefully touches her.

Brittany deserves more - so much more - than just all of the stolen kisses and quickies that they've shared in various locations. Brittany deserves to be loved openly and treated like the princess that she is. She deserves to be showed off as someone's girlfriend as opposed to a secret that only she and Santana are privy to when they're all alone.

And that's exactly what the problem is.

Santana's afraid that once she asks Brittany to be hers and makes their relationship official, everything will change. She's afraid that everything will be more real, which will open herself up to possibly being hurt. She's afraid that once Brittany sees how unromantic and inexperienced she is, she'll leave her. She's afraid that eventually, Brittany will realize that she can do so much better. After all, Brittany is gorgeous and has an amazing personality. She's kind and loyal. She beams brighter than the sun.

Let's be for real… who wouldn't instantly fall in love with her.

Santana's never been in a relationship before. At most, she had been content on hooking up with whatever random jock when she needed a release. At some point though, she figured out that she much rather enjoyed the feeling of a girl's - well, only one girl in particular - touch. Since she made that realization, Brittany had been the only person that she had been intimate with, although she led her best friend to believe otherwise.

Still, there were other factors to consider.

In just a few short months, Santana and her friends will graduate and go their separate ways. Being as bright as she is, Santana can go to any school that she wants to; however, the problem is that she doesn't exactly know what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Brittany, on the other hand, has a plan. She wants to go to Juilliard and eventually become a professional dancer, which will open up endless amounts of opportunities for herself. Santana desperately wants to be a part of that journey, but in the same sense, she doesn't want to get so lost in Brittany's dreams that she accidentally ignores her own.

And that perhaps is the saddest part about it all...

Santana, for sure, knows that if the roles were reversed, Brittany would follow her anywhere in a heartbeat... all she has to do was ask.

As Santana scans the room once again, her eyes finally land on the beautiful specimen she's been thinking about all night. As her eyes connect with cerulean orbs, a small smile graces Brittany's face before she goes back to cracking up at whatever Mercedes just said.

That smile alone can light up the darkest room, even in the middle of a blackout. That smile is the reason why Santana is so damn happy all of the time... well, 99.7% of the time. More importantly, that smile alone is what makes Santana want to be a better person.

And then... it all suddenly clicks.

Despite all of the insecurities she might have, it doesn't matter because Brittany will love her just the same. Brittany has always loved her and will always love her. So finally, Santana decides to get over herself and stop being so damn stubborn and afraid of all of the possible 'what ifs' clouding her mind.

In one shift motion, Santana pushes herself off of the island and walks directly to where Brittany is currently standing, conversing with the girls from the Glee club.

As Brittany looks up, her face lights up as she see her best friend approaching their little group. "Hey San, where have y—"

Before Brittany is able to finish asking her question, her words are swallowed by Santana's lips which are coincidentally attached to hers now. Her eyes briefly widen in surprise before she quickly closes them and relishes in the feeling of her best friend's luscious lips pressed up against hers... in public! She feels Santana lightly grasp her waist as she softly moves her lips against hers.

Knowing that they are currently surrounded by a group of people, including both of their parents, Santana delicately detaches her lips from Brittany's. Although short in duration, the kiss spoke volumes to the blonde, who was still in a state of stock from this turn of events. As she attempts to gather herself, she raises her right hand and lightly brushes over the spot where her best friend's lips were just touching.

"San... w-what was..." Brittany starts to say, but then stops. She then literally shakes her head quickly from side-to-side in hopes of getting rid of the cobwebs that are slowing down her brain functions. Santana smiles at her adorableness. "What was that for?"

"Because it's Christmas, silly!" Santana coyly replies back.

Brittany then scrunches up her face as she looks towards the ceiling. Obviously feeling very confused, the blonde then looks back at the Latina. "But... there's no mistletoe?"

Looking up at the ceiling herself, Santana realizes that she didn't exactly think her first response through. "Oh... right," she says back. Once she sees the still perplexed look on Brittany's face, she decides to just be honest. "I guess I just really wanted to kiss you," she whispers out before bashfully looking down at her shoes.

In doing so, Santana misses the endearing expression on Brittany's face that makes her eyes a little misty. However, before she can respond to her best friend's sweet words, she gets interrupted.

"Damn Satan... that was actually pretty smooth," Mercedes teases.

Feeling her face grow all kinds of red, Santana quickly responds. "Shut it, Wheezy! I'm tryin' to have a moment here," she hisses out.

As the other girls in the group quietly giggle amongst themselves, Santana looks back at Brittany, whose smile is the brightest she's ever seen before on the blonde. This, in turn, makes her smile back just as wide.

"Ignore them..." Brittany says softly, "... I thought it was incredibly sweet."

The way Santana's breath hitches doesn't go unnoticed by Brittany, or the other girls surrounding them.

"Come with me," Santana whispers out as she grabs the dancer's hand and leads her outside towards the balcony, away from the crowd.

"Seriously..." Quinn says once the two best friends are out of earshot, "it's about damn time."

"I heard that," Mercedes replies back as she lightly shakes her head.

"Do you think Santana is finally gonna tell Brittany how she feels?" Rachel questions.

"God, I hope so..." Tina adds in, exasperated.

"I've seen bullets leave guns faster..." Mercedes chuckles out.

"Where would you have seen a gun?" Rachel asks as confusion settles in.

"It's a figure of speech..."

"I don't get it."

As Quinn watches Rachel get even more lost in the conversation, she looks towards the back door where Brittany and Santana are talking.

"So... you kissed me in front of all of those people," Brittany finally says after being outside for a couple of minutes in complete silence. Her hand is still tightly grasped in Santana's, although she can tell that the Latina is extremely nervous.

"I did..." Santana replies, barely above a whisper.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why?" The blonde questions, curiosity getting the better of her. "I mean... you've never done that before."

"I know..." Santana shakily says back. She then takes a deep breath to shake off some of the nerves that have been building up since she brought Brittany outside. "Honestly, it's something I should've done a long time ago... like 2 years ago."

Brittany eyes her best friend curiously, eager for her to continue.

"I'm an idiot, Britt... I've wasted so much time afraid of my own damn feelings and insecurities instead of just allowing myself to be with you... completely," she picks back up. "The truth is... since I've been with you, I haven't been with anyone else."

Brittany's eyes widen in surprise for the second time tonight as she takes in this new information.

"I know I made you believe that I was still messin' around with all of those guys, but honestly... since the first time we were intimate, I haven't been with anyone else," Santana clarifies. "You know that I've hooked up with a few guys in the past, but with you... it's different; it always meant so much more."

Brittany starts to feel her eyes water up as she takes in all of her words. All of this time, it bothered her to hear that Santana was still sleeping around with guys, but she never said anything to the Latina. In her mind, she was just happy that she got to be with Santana in some way, no matter how small or insignificant that might seem to others. All she ever wanted was Santana to love her back, no matter how long she had to wait.

Luckily for Santana, she was very patient.

"I've been so afraid of all of the possible negative outcomes that might happen somewhere down the line if I ever said out loud how I truly feel about you; I realize now how completely stupid that was," Santana bitterly chuckles to herself. "I'm so done being stupid though..."

Brittany laughs a little at that comment before Santana grabs ahold of her free hand and looks intensely into her eyes.

"I love you, Brittany..." Santana says as she releases a deep breath. It feels like this boulder that's been weighing her down for years is finally gone and she can breathe again. Brittany on the other hand has gone back to her state of shock as her eyes grow comically wide. "I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you by the lockers after gym class in Freshman year."

Santana then pauses, expecting Brittany to have some sort of response. Truth be told though, she's not really surprised when she sees the blonde's eyes welling up again. Although she hates to see her best friend cry, she knows that these are tears of happiness... or at least she hopes that is the case. Taking a step forward, Santana closes her eyes and leans in until there is no more space separating them. She tenderly kisses Brittany as she wraps her arms around the other girl's waist. Brittany reciprocates the kiss instantly and brings her arms around the Latina's neck. She briefly gets lost in the moment, just reveling in the amazing feeling she always gets whenever Santana kisses her.

But, of course... just as Brittany is getting more into the kiss, Santana gently pulls away and rests her forehead against the blonde's. They stay like that for a while, just breathing each other in, each trying desperately to remember this life changing event. Finally, Santana pulls away just enough so that she can look back into Brittany's eyes.

"You are so fucking beautiful..." Santana whispers out. She then reaches up and removes Brittany's arms from around her neck, relocating them around her lithe frame as she brushes a loose strand of hair behind the blonde's ear. "I wanna be with you Brittany. I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to walk down the halls of McKinley with you, holding your hand. I wanna take you out on dates and go to the drive-in and fog up the windows..."

Brittany has to giggle at that while she quickly wipes away the single tear that had fallen. "You're such a dork..." is all she can say.

"More than anything... I wanna go to New York with you," Santana continues, peaking the blonde's interest even further. "Although I'm still not sure exactly what it is that I want to do after high school, I do know that wherever you are... I wanna be there too."

At this point, Brittany is silently sobbing, overwhelmed by the various emotions that she is currently feeling. In the past few minutes, she's learned that Santana loves her - and apparently has for a long time, - Santana wants to be her girlfriend, and that Santana wants to go with her to New York after graduation. That's a lot of information to take in in such a short period of time.

"So, whataya say Britt... can I be yours?" Santana nervously asks as she wipes away the remaining tears from Brittany's face.

"Oh, San... you know I've always been yours; proudly so," Brittany softly replies as she stares back into mocha eyes. Santana smiles back at her comment. "But, just in case you were looking for a verbal answer..." she pauses. "Yes... I would love to be your girlfriend."

Now it's Santana's eyes that are watery. However, before a tear has a chance to fall, Brittany wraps her arms tighter around her waist and brings their lips back together. This time, Santana doesn't pull away after only a few seconds. This time, Santana stands on her tippy toes and gently cups Brittany's face a little more firmly, thus bringing her even closer. They exchange passionate kisses for who knows how long. In fact, they probably would've continued their make out session for much longer, had they not been interrupted by the sudden sound of applause coming from behind them.

"To Santana and Brittany... the new couple," Mr. Lopez announces as he raises his glass.

"... finally!" Quinn and Mercedes add in for good measure. Santana makes sure to send a death glare in both of their directions.

"Here here!" Everyone says in unison as they clink their glasses together.

Santana bows her head bashfully as Brittany just smiles brightly at all of her friends and family. Once everyone heads back inside, Brittany turns back and looks at her girlfriend who seems a little anxious again.

"So... what do we do now?" Santana questions.

"Well... I really wanna keep kissing you," Brittany quietly admits.

"Oh, really..." Santana smugly states while wiggling her eyebrows. "You wanna go up to my room and fog up some windows in there?"

"Actually... I was thinking since my parents are here, we could go back to my house and have sex," Brittany innocently - but very bluntly - responds, leaving Santana with her mouth hanging open. "Is that a yes?"

Once Santana finally closes her mouth - with Brittany's assistance - she simply says back, "God... I love you."

At this rate, Brittany feels as if her cheeks are gonna be sore with the amount of smiling she's been doing nonstop since Santana first kissed her in the middle of the living room only 15 minutes ago. She decides to kiss her again, since she can do that now.

And so... she does.

Santana immediately responds, smiling into the kiss. For the life of her, she can't remember why she waited so long to tell Brittany how much she loves her and wants to be with her. One thing is for sure though... being with Brittany is by far the best feeling in the world. And later on when she makes love to her for the first time as girlfriend and girlfriend... it's gonna be amazing.

"I love you, Santana..." Brittany coos out once they break apart for air. "Now... let's get outta here!"

Santana smiles once again. "Best. Christmas. Ever."


Author's Note:

Hey guys! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I've had a lot of ideas in my head for one-shot stories so I figured instead of creating a new story each time, I would just add them as new chapters under one story name. Hope you this one... it's a lot more fluff than I usually write, but I figured I could make an exception for the holidays. Thanks again for all of the continued support. Look out for updates for 3rd & Lucky and Quantico… coming soon!

-Kris