The moon was high in the sky when Brittany stumbled down the steps of the subway station, her bag slung carelessly over her shoulder as she rushed to jump onto the train. No sooner had her foot hit the metal floor of the subway did the doors slide shut behind her. The train lurched forward and the blonde girl barely had time to catch herself before she tumbled to the floor, earning a snicker from the mohawked man sitting in the seat across from where she had fallen on the ground. Her eyes darted up to shoot him a glare but it only caused him to laugh more. Brittany picked herself up off the floor and plopped in her usual seat by the door. Pulling the hood of her jacket over her head, Brittany slumped into the seat and was getting ready to sleep through the long ride when mohawk man spoke.
"Have a nice trip?" he called and immediately started laughing at his attempt at humor. The woman next to him, whom Brittany hadn't noticed before, gave him a rough hit to the arm and threw Brittany an apologetic look as he winced in pain. Brittany couldn't help the smirk that appeared on her face as she watched the man rub his arm in pain. Mohawk man was quickly forgotten when Brittany's blue eyes met the warm brown of the other woman. Brittany was certain that she was the most beautiful woman ever to walk the Earth. Her dark hair was hanging loose around her head and Brittany was certain she'd never seen a warmer pair of eyes. Though most would only focus on the coldness they seemed to exude, Brittany could see past the front and into the soft side.
A small smile appeared on the woman's face when she caught Brittany staring and she shyly tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. Not caring that she was caught, Brittany continued to examine the woman's red work uniform with black buttons, a white apron tied around her slim waist. Spotting a name tag sporting the surname "Lopez", the blonde repeated the name over and over in her head, vowing never to forget it.
Brittany glance over to mohawk man and saw he was partaking in the nap she had originally been planning on but now had no desire for, instead opting to return the gaze of the mysterious "Lopez". When blue eyes landed back on brown, the women was no longer looking at Brittany's face but at her clothes, making Brittany conscious of her messy appearance. She didn't like wearing her work clothes home because they always smelled like cigarettes and booze and left people staring for longer than she was comfortable with. She ran out of back-up clothes and forgot to bring more so she had to borrow some from the club bouncer, Fin. He was a foot taller than her and had about 150 pounds on her and the contrast was very clear in how his clothes hung off her body. She couldn't complain, though. Only a handful of strangers were going to see her like this and then forget all about her as soon as they hopped off. As her eyes met the brown across from hers, however, she hoped the last part wouldn't be true for all the strangers.
When Lopez's eyes met Brittany's next, there was a question behind the slight scrunch of her nose and crease of her brow. Brittany couldn't think of a way to answer without breaking their quiet game so she shrugged and offered a lopsided grin as response. This earned Lopez to squint questioningly at Brittany and the blonde girl couldn't help the small giggle she let out at the sight.
The train lurched to a stop and Brittany was careful not to fall over this time. The rough movement caused mohawk man to jolt awake and look around for whatever woke him up.
"This is your stop," Lopez told him and gave him a nudge. He nodded and stood up, obviously not ready to be awake yet. He bent down to plant a kiss on the woman's cheek before hastily leaving the train. Brittany frowned at this action and at the small smile Lopez gave him but didn't let that deter her from her mission. The train lurched forward again and once it was back on its steady pace, Brittany stood up and plopped into the seat right next to the woman to her obvious surprise.
The blonde stuck out her right hand. "I'm Brittany," she said and waited as the woman slowly brought her hand up to shake Brittany's. Her hand was soft and warm, bringing a smile and small blush to her cheeks.
"Santana," she replied and brought her hand back to clasp with her other in her lap. There was a long pause while they both took in each other's appearance from up close. "So," Santana said finally, "what's with the clothes? Did you just rob a giant?" Brittany laughed and shook her head. When Brittany first saw Fin she also thought he might be a giant, but that could also be due to the fact that she was shitfaced at the time.
"I borrowed them from a co-worker," was the reply. "And the jury's still on if he's a giant or not," she added and Santana let out a small laugh. They sat in silence for another moment before it was Brittany's turn to ask a question. "Was that your boyfriend?" was what slipped out of her mouth. Santana snapped her head back to the blonde from where she'd been staring at the floor.
"I guess you could say that," a pause, "It's complicated." She seemed to be done talking but Brittany pressed further.
"What does that mean?" she asked and Santana's eyes bore into her and Brittany regretted pressing her. Brittany met her intense stare but she could see the slight falter in how she held herself. The blonde was more fascinated in trying to decipher the hurt she could see lurking behind the dark eyes but decided to drop it when it was clear Santana wasn't going to give in.
"My last name is Pierce, by the way," she said instead and was shot a curious look.
"Why did you tell me that?" Santana eyes her curiously.
Brittany shrugged, "because it's only fair that you know mine since I know yours."
At that comment, Santana's eyes grew wide and she visibly tensed. "How do you know my last name? I just met you," she said nervously and earned a sly smile from Brittany.
"It's on your name tag," the blonde supplied and lightly tapped the small piece of plastic. Santana looked down and let out a relieved laugh as she calmed back down.
"Right, of course," was all she said before Brittany caught her eye again and they just looked at each other. Brittany didn't think it was possible but Santana was even more beautiful now that she was seeing her up close and got to hear that intoxicating voice. Brittany opened her mouth to say something else when the train lurched to another stop. Not expecting it, Santana fell forward but was caught by Brittany's strong arms. They were impossibly close, giving Brittany the chance to examine those warm eyes up close, picking out the different shades of brown hidden by the dark. Time seemed to stand still as they stared at each other and Brittany never felt more complete than she did having Santana so close and in her arms.
"This is my stop," Santana breathed out, breaking the moment, and Brittany nodded slowly before releasing the girl and helping her to stand on her feet. Santana stood there, just looking down at Brittany before her eyes widened and she pulled out a small notepad and pen and scribbling something down. She ripped out a page and practically threw it at Brittany before dashing out of the train just as the doors slid shut.
Clutching the paper in her hand, Brittany uncrumpled it to see the message.
There was a phone number written next to a crude drawing of a smiley face. A grin spread on Brittany's face as she stared down at the note. She continued reading over the number, committing it to memory all the way until it was her stop. Only then did she fold it neatly and tuck it deep into the front pocket of her backpack.
On the trek back to her shared apartment, Brittany forgoed her usual trip to the 24/7 liquor store a few blocks from the station and went straight home.
She slowly opened the front door and peaked in, having walked in on Sam with some girl a few too many times for her liking. Seeing that the coast was clear, she walked in and locked the door behind her before making her way to the kitchen. She pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge before reading the note sitting on the counter.
Tina made pasta, leftovers in fridge. -Sam
Brittany crumpled the note and threw it away before turning out the light and feeling her way to her room in the dark. As she passed Sam's room, she listened until she heard the faint sound of his snoring before continuing down the hall to her own room.
She and Sam had been best friends and inseparable since they were little kids. Everyone always confused them for siblings but Brittany found that offensive since her mouth wasn't nearly as big as his. They tried dating in high school but they decided they were better as friends. That was a particularly awkward time when half the school still thought they were siblings and since they were openly dating there were rumors of incest.
Brittany wrinkled her nose at the memory as she changed out of Fin's enormous clothes and into a t-shirt and cotton shorts. She threw Fin's clothes in with her dirty laundry before grabbing a hair tie off her dresser. Pulling her blonde hair into a ponytail, Brittany walked over to her backpack and felt around inside until she found the neatly folded paper. Unfolding it, Brittany stared at the number again before setting it on her nightstand and tucking it under the edge of her small lamp. She opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out her bottle of sleeping pills. Unscrewing the water bottle, Brittany swallowed two of the capsules before putting everything back and turning off the lamp. Collapsing onto the bed, Brittany drifted to sleep staring at the small paper on her night stand. She dreamed about the beautiful woman as those seven magical digits swirled through her brain.