STATEMENT OF FACTS
When Quinn and Brittany watch Santana and her other lawyer friends being bombarded with questions by the media on TV, they hold each other's hands because Brittany's wouldn't stop shaking. Quinn prays, prays, for everything to be alright because she's not sure if Brittany can handle it if it's not.
"Attorney Lopez!"
"Santana Lopez!"
Her name keeps on getting called and the camera is focused on her as she walks behind a guard who happens to be Puck, talking to a friend of hers as if they weren't being attacked by mobs of desperate and some crazy reporters. Quinn relaxes a little because if there's anyone strong enough to protect Santana from bodily harm, it would be Puck. Brittany, on the other hand, is a different story.
They watch as the camera pans to show just how big the crowd is and they think that they've never seen Lima City Hall so full of people before. There are protesters and they sigh in relief when they don't see any of their friends.
Brittany feels immensely proud of Santana for doing this but she can't help but fear for her safety as she eyes the protesters who seem like they want to kill her. Her eyes grow wide as a man charges right through the guards. She watches as his big hands almost reach Santana's neck who looks at him with an unreadable face before Puck manages to grab the man's arms. They watch Santana smile briefly at Puck who's struggling with the man but manages to smirk back.
"Jesus Christ." She hears Quinn gasp out.
The reporters around them stops jumping around but the cameras keep flashing and focused on the scene. Santana stops walking and looks at Puck who gets what she wants. He forces the man to stay still as he secures his arms around the man's arms. The man spits on Santana's pristine suit. Brittany flinches as she watches Santana's jaw clench.
"What, you gonna sue me, bitch? You fucking dyke. I don't care if they legalize gay marriage, y'all are going to hell either way. You're never going to be accepted, you hear me? You people are dumb for trying!" The lawyer beside Santana clenches his fist but Santana surprises everyone by placing a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to back off.
"San…" Brittany whimpers. Quinn squeezes her hands. Santana's eyes are sad, not angry and they don't really understand why until she opens her mouth to talk.
"Do you have a daughter, sir?" The man laughs mirthlessly laughs as Santana waits patiently for his answer.
"Why? You gonna hit on my daughter?" Santana shakes her head and steps forward.
"Suppose that your girl is with this guy who does nothing but go out, get drunk, and beat her. She stays with him because she thinks that someday he'll change for the better. Time goes by and he doesn't and your daughter keeps on getting hurt. But what if I told you that there's this other guy who loves and would probably give her the moon if she asked him to get it. Who would you prefer?"
"Are you really that dumb? Of course I'd prefer the guy who'd give her anything!" Santana nods.
"What if it's a girl who loves your girl and would die for her?" The man's face hardens.
"Then she's better off sticking with an asshole than being fucked by a goddamn dyke." Santana nods again, already expecting his answer.
"Then I don't think you love your daughter enough, sir. Because if you do, you'd know that she's better off in the arms of someone who'll keep her safe and won't hurt her." Santana steps forward and the fire in her eyes burns for everyone to see. She takes the man's hands from Puck's grasp. Puck shoots her with a questioning loop but let's Santana do as she pleases. The man struggles.
"Get your hands off of me!" He tries to pull away but it looks like Sue's training paid off because he cannot escape her grip.
Brittany gasps and shoots to her feet.
"No. No, Santana. NO!" She chants it again and again and Quinn is in too much shock to say or do anything.
Santana wraps his hand around her neck. The man looks at her, not understanding, not knowing what to do. Santana looks at him straight in the eyes and the man fights the urge to run.
"My pulse is as real as yours, sir. That means I have a perfectly beating heart – a heart that did nothing to you or to anyone else but give itself to the woman who's waiting for me to come home." She lets go of his hand, letting it grasp her neck. They watch the lawyers around bristle unsure because Santana steps forward to press her neck further into the man's hand. Her eyes flash and glint, letting the world know that she is not afraid.
"I am fighting for something more than our right to get married. We," she gestures to her friends. "are fighting for our right to love and be loved in return. Your God is my God. And I'll have you know that I know that our God loves me enough to give me strength to do this and deal with close-minded people like you. So please. If you want to squeeze then be my guest. God knows I have done nothing wrong because the only thing I've been doing for my entire life is love someone and I happen to be lucky enough to have her love me back." There's five seconds of tense silence before the man drops his hand.
"We are as human as any of you are." She looks at the group of protesters. "We only have one slight difference. We know of love and that it has the right to be free." Her words are followed with a roar of agreement from their supporters. It might have been just Quinn but it sounded so much of triumph and humility that she doesn't know how that can be. Brittany falls back beside her and she has this goofy smile and that's how she knows that she fell in love with Santana all over again.
Santana walks away with pride and sets the world on fire.
"I love you." This is the first thing she hears when she manages to open the door. Brittany right there and without warning, she's being wrapped in strong arms.
"I love you too?" She feels Brittany tremble. "What's wrong, love?"
"You can't scare me like that again. He could've squeezed, San." Her voice breaks and Santana realizes what's happening. She drops her coat and her briefcase to the ground so she can wrap her arms around Brittany properly.
"I'm here. I'm okay. I'm sorry." She says softly. Brittany pulls back so she can capture and her lips and she kisses her desperately, lovingly. Santana feels the worry and the fear but she also fears her undeniable love and this makes everything worth it.
Maybe soon her hometown will realize that what they have is real. But for now, they're just Santana and Brittany and that's all that ever really mattered.
A/N: I don't know where this came from. This was supposed to be part of another story I'm writing but then I realized that the two parts are too different so I separated them. The other one's Quinntana friendship, established Brittana, and a oneshot and I don't really know under which fandom I'm supposed to post it. Help?
Anyway, this is actually a glimpse in the future on my story Countdown. And y'all know the drill, lovely people. Drop by and tell me what you think. :)
-S