"I think Santana's cheating on me."
Tina immediately choked on her tea. She placed it down and coughed haphazardly as she rubbed at the base of her neck. "Oh, my God, Brittany," she breathed, "are you sure?"
"I don't know." Brittany bit her lip and gazed dejectedly at the frayed tablecloth under her fingertips. They needed a new one, but Santana had canceled their last two weekly Target trips. "I think so."
"Oh, Brittany…" Tina placed her hand over Brittany's and just held it tight. She didn't know what else she could do for this couple that loved more than any other two people she knew.
With a tired sigh, Santana dragged her body into the apartment and dropped her keys into the fishbowl by the door. (Ever since Brittany had mistaken it for a jar for keys, it had stayed a jar for keys.) She caught a glimpse of Brittany at the sink, carelessly rinsing some teacups, as she made her way to the couch.
"I thought Tina was coming over for tea," Santana said as she collapsed into the cushions.
"Yeah, but she already left. We didn't know you had to work late again." Brittany placed the cups on the drying rack and walked into the living room. She smiled slightly at the sight of Santana sprawled on the couch, exhaustion all over her face. She had been looking quite worn-out lately. "Hi," Brittany whispered.
Santana pulled her eyes from the television and sent Brittany a tight-lipped smile. "Hey."
Brittany shuffled over to the couch but didn't have anywhere to sit with Santana's body taking over the entire length of the sofa. She stood there awkwardly, waiting for Santana to move.
She didn't. The television must have been really captivating.
Brittany glanced at the screen. It was that annoying commercial with babies talking in adult voices. Despite being a huge kid person, Brittany always found the commercial creepy, but then she noticed Santana even chuckled a little bit. Giving up at last on waiting for Santana to move over, she tapped impatiently at Santana's calf.
Santana immediately jerked her head up to look at Brittany, as if having just noticed the person standing there after being too preoccupied with the television. "Oh, sorry," she muttered, pulling her knees up to her chin to make room.
Brittany perched on the edge of the couch, hoping Santana would tug her closer like she always did.
But, again, Santana's attention was back on the television, and Brittany sighed quietly as she shifted her body closer to Santana. Gently, she placed Santana's feet on the ground so she could lean her head on Santana's shoulder.
Right away, Brittany noticed the different smell on Santana. She didn't know what it was. Was it someone else's perfume? She just knew it was different—not that strong scent of rose Santana was obsessed with. Thoughts of where this smell came from scared Brittany. Her heart began to beat quicker, but, for the first time, she couldn't tell Santana the problem and have Santana fix it with her soothing words.
She settled for the next best thing, nudging her nose into Santana's neck and leaving light kisses everywhere.
Santana peered at her out of the corner of her eye but didn't do anything to encourage it, didn't return the gesture. When Brittany persisted, Santana finally turned and pecked her on the lips.
Brittany's heart fluttered in anticipation until Santana said, "Not tonight, Britt. I'm tired."
Brittany's face dropped at this, but Santana didn't seem to notice. Casually, she wrapped an arm around Brittany's shoulder and returned her attention to the flickering television. It was only when Brittany sighed audibly that Santana faced her fully and asked, "What's wrong?"
Brittany wanted so badly to say what was wrong, but thoughts of the possible consequences drew her back. Finally, with a deep breath, she said, "Santana...something's been feeling off lately."
Santana tilted her head and frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean—"
And then Santana's cellphone rang—as it had done so at random hours so many times in the past weeks. Santana lifted a finger to quiet Brittany and abruptly picked up the phone.
"Who is it?" Brittany asked.
Santana covered the speaker on her phone and whispered, "Um, Sugar. Work things." She shrugged Brittany off her shoulder and quickly made her way out of the apartment, whispering a hushed, "Hi."
Something tugged at Brittany's throat and her nose as she sat alone on the couch with only the mute sound of the television as company. After waiting twenty minutes and still seeing no sign of Santana, Brittany retreated to the bedroom and slipped under the sheets. She flicked on the bedside lights and faced away from the door, eyes wide and sleep far, far from her mind.
She didn't know how long it had been until Santana padded quietly into the room, making sure to shut the door as gently as possible. She left her cellphone on the bedside table and rested a knee on the bed to stretch across the mattress, leaving a soft kiss on Brittany's temple.
Brittany had her eyes shut by now, though still as awake as ever.
When she was sure that Santana had gone to the bathroom, she rolled over and glanced at the cellphone, just sitting idly below the glow of the dim light. She normally would not even think this, but it had been phone call after phone call lately, and it was hard for even Brittany, the most trusting person, to believe that work had suddenly gotten so busy for Santana. But she couldn't. She couldn't possibly snoop around Santana's things like that.
And then the phone lit up, vibrating with a new text. Quinn Fabray: Sorry I had to go. Call me tomorrow.
Brittany jerked away from the phone, as if frightened by what she had seen. She didn't know who Quinn Fabray was, but she sure wasn't Sugar. Brittany pulled the blanket up to her chin and listened to the constant hum of the running water coming from the bathroom. She had never felt farther away from her wife.
Because Brittany was Brittany, she decided to approach the issue not by confronting Santana but by gradually fixing the problem herself. Her first step was to pick Santana up from work. Loving couples did that, right?
It had been a while since Brittany had set foot in Santana's office building. They used to have adorable lunch dates and spontaneous visits, but these occasions had gradually stopped in the recent weeks. With a regretful sigh, Brittany strutted across the lobby and hit the elevator button. She smoothed down her skirt and checked her makeup one last time in the reflection of the metal elevator doors.
Needless to say, Brittany had made sure to look the best she could for Santana. She missed the way Santana used to run her eyes so hungrily over her body; she missed the passion; she missed the spark. But, despite what may have changed in the last month or so, she knew with certainty that her body was still as hot as ever. And she was determined to make use of that today.
She was in the middle of her thoughts when a tiny human, no more than four years old, ran into her from behind. She immediately spun around and smiled at the pretty blonde-haired boy. "Well, hello, there," Brittany said with a large grin. She was a sucker for kids. Ever since she was little, she knew she wanted them—a lot of them. But every time she mentioned this to Santana, Santana freaked out. Sometimes, it sucked—being married to, and being in love with, someone who didn't share the same opinion about kids. But she loved Santana so much, and Santana made her so happy, she really couldn't ask for more.
The boy ran shyly to a short brunette approaching the two of them. He grabbed her hand as she smiled apologetically at Brittany. "I'm so sorry; Caleb can be quite a klutz!"
Brittany shook her head. "It's fine."
"Mommy," Caleb whined in a small voice. "I need to pee."
Brittany chuckled, and Caleb blushed even more. His mother stroked his hair and waved at Brittany. "Say 'bye,' Caleb."
Caleb murmured a quick "bye," and the two of them walked away.
The elevator arrived, and Brittany stepped in, a smile still on her face from that adorable interaction. When Brittany reached Santana's floor, she headed for Santana's office but suddenly stopped at Sugar's desk.
"Hello, Brittany! It's been a while."
"Yes, it has," Brittany said with a smile. "How are you?"
"I'm very good, thank you."
"Santana's not harassing you anymore, is she?" Santana had a tendency to overwork her assistants.
Sugar laughed. "No, Mrs. Pierce-Lopez is just fine."
"Okay." The smile faded from Brittany's face as she thought of a way to approach the real reason she stopped to talk to Sugar. "So, Sugar, has work been…crazy lately?" With all the late nights Santana told Brittany she spent at work, Brittany really hoped the answer would be "yes."
But Sugar shook her head and said, "Not really. It's just like normal."
"Oh." Brittany frowned. A part of her didn't want to know Santana had been lying. "Not even in the last few weeks?"
"Nope."
Brittany cleared her throat. There must be an explanation. Santana wouldn't just lie to her, would she? "Are you sure? No new changes around here?"
"Well, the firm hired a new manager, but that's basically it."
"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you later, Sugar."
Brittany walked a few steps to Santana's door and opened it. She never needed to knock, and Sugar never needed to tell Santana beforehand. But, today, she was met with a sight she wasn't quite used to.
Perched on Santana's desk—her desk, for God's sake—was a beautiful blonde Brittany had never seen before. Santana, as per usual, was in her desk chair, and the blonde woman was leaning toward her with a file in her hands.
When Santana looked up and realized that it was Brittany at her door, she quickly scrambled up from her chair and looked around nervously, as if she were hiding something. "Brittany! I wasn't…expecting you!"
"Um, yeah, I wanted to surprise you." Brittany kicked at the carpet. She had no idea what she just walked in on, but whatever it was did not look good.
The two of them stared at each other in silence for several long seconds until the woman on the desk hopped off and beamed at Brittany. "So you're Brittany! I've heard so much about you."
Brittany gritted her teeth. She didn't know who this blonde was, but she was sitting on her wife's desk, and now, apparently, she had heard so much about her? "Really?" Brittany asked disinterestedly.
"Mmhmm," she said. "Wow, you really are just as pretty as Santana had described you." At this, the woman turned to Santana and winked.
Brittany clenched her fists. Just the way this woman presented herself irked Brittany. And the way she said "pretty" was so damn condescending, especially since she herself was probably one of the most beautiful women Brittany had ever seen. And now Brittany just felt silly for getting all dressed up for Santana, when she looked like nothing next to this woman.
"Well, aren't you going to introduce me, Santana?"
Brittany narrowed her eyes. No one called Santana by her first name at work.
"Oh, right," Santana said. "Brittany, this is Quinn, our new manager."
Quinn. Of course Santana would be talking to the most attractive woman she could find behind my back, Brittany thought bitterly.
As Brittany glared at Quinn and as Quinn grinned confusedly back, the sound of loud laughter suddenly rang through the office. The tension broke, much to Santana's relief, with Quinn saying, "And that would be my crazy wife."
She beamed once more at Brittany, like she knew something Brittany didn't, and waved. "Bye! It was so nice to meet you." She turned to Santana and pointed at her. "And you. We'll finish this stuff tomorrow, 'kay?"
Santana nodded. "Perfect. Bye, Quinn."
Brittany watched Quinn leave the room. Through the glass windows, she saw none other than Caleb running into Quinn's arms with the brunette in tow. Quinn pecked the brunette on the lips and picked Caleb up. The three of them then slowly walked out of sight. Brittany grimaced. It repulsed her that a woman with a family could be doing God knows what with her wife, her Santana.
She looked back and stared into Santana's eyes. Santana smiled softly at her. "You look pretty," she said. Pretty. Brittany couldn't help but hear echoes of Quinn's condescending tone.
"You never told me about your new coworker."
Santana took a bite of her pasta and shrugged. "Wasn't worth mentioning."
Brittany swirled her fork around in her food but had no appetite. Quietly, she asked, "Do you think Quinn's pretty?"
"Sure." Santana sipped on her wine and returned to her food, unaware of the hesitation in Brittany's voice.
Brittany placed her fork down carefully as she asked, "Prettier than me?"
Santana paused. She glanced at Brittany and furrowed her brows. "Where's this coming from, Britt?"
"From?" Brittany chuckled dryly. "From a lot of things, actually."
Santana wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked at Brittany seriously. "What do you mean?"
Brittany looked down at the tablecloth, still frayed and neglected. "You know what I mean," she said under her breath.
"What?"
"I know you're cheating on me, Santana." Brittany raised her eyes to meet Santana's gaze, hard and determined.
"What?"
"I know you've been talking to Quinn all these nights, not Sugar, not about work-related things. You haven't even been staying late at work, and I'm not sure I want to know where you've been all this time. You're distant; you smell different; and you don't…you don't even want me anymore." Brittany bit her lip. "Not in the way you used to," she whispered.
Santana opened her mouth to speak, but her words got caught in her throat. And then her chair scraped loudly against the floor as she stood up abruptly. She stormed in the bedroom then, leaving Brittany slumped in her chair. Brittany knew it. She knew it would ruin everything if she brought it up—that it would give Santana an out—and it just did.
But then some papers were dropped onto the dining table, and, when Brittany turned around, Santana was on her knees with Brittany's hands in her own. "Britt-Britt," she murmured, "why would I ever cheat when I already have you?"
"You know I've been in love with you since God knows when." Santana smiled. "And you just so happened to also be the most beautiful person I've ever met." Santana brushed her thumbs across Brittany's hands, the smile slowly falling from her face. "I'm sorry you felt like I was neglecting you, Brittany. I admit…I have been preoccupied."
Santana grabbed the papers from the table and placed them on Brittany's lap. "I've been doing a lot of research," Santana explained. "I didn't want to bring this up until I knew what we were getting into. And Quinn's gone through all of this with Rachel before, so she's been helping out a lot."
Brittany's breath caught in her throat as she realized she was looking down at all different types of adoption and sperm donor papers on her lap.
"I want to start a family with you, Britt." Santana brought Brittany's hand up to her cheek and held it there. "When I married you, I promised to love you for the rest of my life. I knew I would keep that promise until the day I die, but I didn't know that I could love you even more. Well," Santana said with a soft laugh, "now I know. Not one day do I take you for granted, Britt. Because every day just reminds me of how lucky I am to have landed you." Santana smirked. "I love you, Brittany." She held up the stack of papers, her other hand bringing the back of Brittany's hand to her lips. "So, Brittany, will you go on this crazy journey with me?"
Brittany beamed, the rims of her eyes red with emotion. "Yes," she whispered, nodding again and again. "Yes, I would love to." She bent down and cupped Santana's full cheeks in her hands. "I love you."
"I know." Santana covered Brittany's hands with her own and craned her neck forward to meet Brittany's lips. She kissed her tenderly—the kind of kiss one would give someone who had just agreed to start a family with her. She kissed her slowly, passionately, full of soft-spoken words and loud, loud love.
Brittany ran her fingers through Santana's hair. Santana melted a little further into the kiss, tingling under the soft scratches against her scalp. When she moaned, she felt the tip of Brittany's tongue brush against hers, and that was it.
The kiss turned rough and desperate; their warm, wet tongues slid against each other, soft and coaxing, strong and heated. Brittany grunted as Santana's fingers snuck under her shirt and trailed up her sides. She felt Santana smile into her kiss, and she smiled back, almost having forgotten about the brisk silliness that made up such a big part of them.
"Mmm," Santana hummed, pulling herself slowly away from the kiss. She breathed heavily as she straightened out Brittany's messy hair with a soft smirk on her face. "Did I tell you how hot you looked when you came to pick me up from work?"
Brittany ducked her head and chuckled. "No, but you did tell me I was pretty."
"Because you are." Santana lifted Brittany's chin and pecked her on the lips. "You're hot and so damn sexy, but mostly pretty and absolutely beautiful."
Brittany smiled. "I forgot how good you were with your words."
"I'm good at other things, too," Santana said mischievously, sucking her way down Brittany's neck.
"I bet you are."
Santana shuffled her knees along the carpet to get closer until her front pressed against Brittany's calves. Still dissatisfied with the distance, she nudged Brittany's legs apart while sneaking her hands to Brittany's ass. Then, with one quick motion, she yanked Brittany to the edge of her chair, her stomach now pressing against Brittany's center.
Both Brittany and Santana moaned at the contact. "Damn, Britt," Santana hissed, "you're wet."
Brittany smiled lazily and squirmed against Santana's body, just proving her point all the more as she rubbed herself along Santana's abs. "C'mon, San," she sighed. "Touch me."
Santana grinned, slowly peeling herself away.
Brittany opened her mouth to complain, but Santana quickly ducked down and silenced her again with a kiss. "Not here," she said afterward. She tilted her head toward the bedroom and beckoned for Brittany to stand up with her finger.
Smirking, Brittany kicked the chair away from under her, delighting in Santana's hungry, wide eyes. "I'm ready when you are."
With her cheek resting against Santana's gently heaving chest, Brittany ran her fingers across Santana's collarbone and twirled her pointer finger around a lock of dark hair.
Santana looked down at Brittany's movements, her chin tucked into her chest. She smiled at the sight of Brittany idly playing with her hair. "I love you," she whispered.
Brittany sighed, slowly shutting her eyes as the exhaustion from her three orgasms finally caught up to her. "I love you, too," she hummed.
Santana kissed Brittany on the forehead and slid her body further down the bed. She closed her eyes, prepared to sleep, when Brittany suddenly said, "I still don't know why you smell different."
"Isn't it obvious?" she asked with a tender smile.
"What?"
"I'm wearing a new perfume for you, baby."
Brittany grinned, eyes still shut tight. "You smell good."
"What do I smell like?" Santana asked softly.
"Like…the wind," Brittany mumbled as sleep seeped into her brain. "Like the wind after it's swept through a river and a meadow of flowers and…"
They had fallen asleep.