A/N: Hey guys! Just to start, I did give a warning last time that this story's updates are going to be in random intervals, but it is going to get finished. I had a three day school camp last week, which is why this didn't come up sooner.

Um, another notable heads up would be that I'm actually going to Europe in a week, and I'll be gone for sixteen days (For those who don't know, I'm Australian). I'll still be able to write, but the chances of a chapter going up then are nil.

But you should enjoy this for now! And please don't be afraid to drop a review!

Something isn't right. You're sitting in the choir room and you've got your Cheerios uniform on. Mr. Schuester is writing something on the whiteboard. The room is bright and familiar, and you can see Quinn sitting in the front row in the corner with her blonde hair cut short and she's wearing one of her stupid white dresses as if to emphasis that she's pure or some other metaphorical bullshit. You can see Finnocence and Hobbit cuddled up to each other front and centre, and the Wonder Twins behind them. Trouty Mouth and Puckerman are on your left and Girl Chang and Boy Chang are sitting in front of you. Wheezy is over by Lady Hummel and Stubbles McCripple-Pants is directly in front of you, and everyone is here but something isn't right. Something's wrong, because Schue is babbling about something to do with proposing to Emma, but aren't they already married? And you keep glancing at Finn because something about his face is just wrong and you get stuck on Quinn still trying to seem pure because each time you think of it you want to smirk and think that you know she isn't pure and you feel a hand in yours but it's not right but it's Brittany's hand so who else would be in her place? But her fingers are too long and her hand is too narrow and you suddenly feel so dizzy and nauseas.

"San?" Britt's voice swims around your head and you look down at her and realize you're standing up but you don't remember standing up and the whole Glee Club is looking at you and something's not right.

"Santana, are you okay?" Will's voice sounds distant, like a memory, and you shake your head because no you're not alright something's missing and everyone frowns at you and you must've said something but you have no idea what it is.

"What's missing, Santana?" Rachel's voice cuts clear through you and you shake your head because you don't know and you see Quinn standing up but the white dress is now a dark red and her hair is longer.

"Do you know what you want, San?" She asks and you frown because those words are so familiar but she doesn't say them here, she's says them on the phone in New York and she's asking you about Dani – Dani – Dani. In a flash you rip away from Brittany and look at her, watching her with those innocent blue eyes that see straight through you that were so easy to fall in love with and are so hard to say no to.

"But it's us, San." She says. "It's always been us and it's always going to be us." Even as she's speaking you're shaking your head, no. No, because you aren't in high school anymore and you're in love with a girl who isn't Brittany and it's perfect and she's perfect and you try to tell her but the words are stuck to your throat like glue and you step back because everyone's standing up now and they're all telling you that you're supposed to love her because she's Brittany and you and Brittany were meant to be, it was always meant to be you. And they're all saying it and it's all you can hear and you're back against a wall and Quinn's the only one not talking but she's just standing there and you have to say it you have to say the words but they're too big to leave your mouth all of a sudden and you can feel yourself choking on the words because of those blue eyes that are so hard to say no to.

Dani's hand on your cheek pulls your from your nightmare. Your eyes snap open and you stop suffocating on blue eyes when you look into her brown ones. For a moment you're still frozen in panic and the chants of the ex-Glee Club are still ringing in your ears.

"Breathe!" Dani's voice jerks you into action and you gasp as your lungs start working again, and then your heaving air in and out to catch your breath. You shut your eyes for a moment and icy blue is burning on the inside of your eyelids. You open them again and search for brown, because brown is soft and comforting and loving and Dani's eyes remind you of hot chocolate. You focus on that as much as you can, you think about the feeling of drinking hot chocolate on a cold day, cuddled up to Dani under a blanket, safe. You focus on her eyes and you get lost in the swirls of evident concern and worry but the love is so strong. You feel more relaxed now. You can see that Dani can tell as well, because the crinkles around her eyes vanish and her hand pulls away from your cheek.

"Nightmare?" She asks. You swallow and nod. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." You sigh. "What time is it?"

"Eleven. You still up for that lazy day?"

"Can we stay here for a little bit longer?" You ask. She smiles and nods. You take a moment to count the freckles dusted along her cheeks and nose. Even without make up, she's beautiful.

"So, the reunion." She interrupts your train of thought. "You're going, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And you'll tell Britt?"

"I'll tell Britt." You nod. Your mind jumps back to the nightmare for a moment and you sit up.

"What is it?" Dani asks, mimicking your action. You press a hand to your forehead to clear your thoughts and she puts her hand on your thigh.

"San, what's wrong? Is it the nightmare?"

"Yeah, it's the nightmare. I need to call Quinn. Can you-" You cut yourself off because Dani is already rolling off the bed and pulling an oversized jumper on.

"Hot chocolate's on its way, babe." She smirks at you on the way out of the room.

"So," Dani plops down onto her worn out couch and pats the cushion in front of her for you to sit in. "Tell me about yourself, Santana."

"Well," You draw the end of the word out while you sit down. "You already know the basics." You shrug and frown slightly as she shakes her head.

"No, I know your story. I don't know you that well at all yet. Tell me something I don't know, something unexpected."

"Do I know anything like that about you?"

"Sure you do. I like working the night shift at the diner because I get to see the sunrise." She stops there, and you get the feeling that it's because she's trying to keep everything light-hearted between you two. This is the first time you've been able to talk to her properly since she kissed you on the steps leading to her apartment, and because you happened to be ending a shift at the same time, she asked you if you wanted to come over. You were more than happy to, for two reasons. One, you've been trying to find time to talk to her again for days, and two, you can escape Gayberry's constant whining about whether she got Fanny or not.

"So tell me something like that, about you." Dani finishes. You look at her for a moment, trying to think of something. Your gaze catches on her eyes and for a second or two, you just look at them. They aren't like Brittany's, not at all. They aren't like Quinn's, either. You suppose they're the same colour as Rachel's but… Rachel's hardly ever hold the kind of warmth Dani's do at the moment. You feel like they'll stay warm when they're on you forever, and you find comfort in that you didn't think you'd ever be able to find away from Brittany. Her eyes are like… Chocolate, you think. You tilt your head to the side and get an idea.

"Hot chocolate is my comfort drink."

You take your time getting up, and by the time you make it into the living room, Dani is handing you a mug of hot chocolate and the phone. You kiss the corner of her mouth in thanks and hum in acknowledgment when she tells you that she'll be in her study. You take a seat on the recliner and put your drink down while you dial Quinn's number. You tilt your head to both sides to get rid of all cricks while it rings, and by the time Quinn picks up, you're awake enough to have a solid conversation with her.

"What happened to our one call a week agreement, Santana? I thought you needed time to recharge your insult banks."

"Save it Ivy Loser."

"I've heard better earlier in the morning."

"I said shut it, Q. We talked about a specific thing yesterday, and I missed out on my favourite part of Friday night."

"Which is?"

"Listening to you whinge about just how hard your life at Yale is, of course. Lay it on me, Q." You smirk and take a sip of your hot chocolate. Riling Quinn up never gets old. She huffs and you hear her shuffling some papers.

"Well, if you must know, I was sort of in the middle of writing a mid-term paper when you called, and I kind of assumed it was important seeing as we were talking fourteen hours ago."

"We did all this talking about me then. I'm curious about how your little crush is going." You smirk again at the way her side goes dead silent for a moment.

"I don't want the next time I see her to be at the reunion." Quinn mumbles. You drink another mouthful of hot chocolate before you set the mug down and answer.

"How long is it since you came up to Brooklyn?" You ask.

"Um," You hear Quinn starting to sort through her papers again while she answers. "Like, seven months ago? You were still living with Hummelberry."

"Why don't you come up the week before the reunion?" You say, standing up and walking towards the door to Dani's study, where guitar chords were floating out intermittently. "It'll give us a chance to catch up properly, and both of us an excuse to see Rachel and Kurt."

"Wow, you used their first names. You must really miss them."

"Can it, Q. I'm doing you a solid here."

"Where would I stay? I'm doing my best to be independent in college, I can't afford to just slum it in a hotel for a week."

"I have a sofa you know. Give me a second." You take the phone away from your ear and knock on the door before you open it.

"Hey, babe." You say. Dani grunts in acknowledgement and finishes writing down a lyric on her notepad.

"Yeah?" She asks, flipping her hair off her face as she looks at you.

"Can Quinn stay here the week before the reunion?"

"Don't see why not. Except she'll have to keep her stuff packed away pretty well, the landlord already hates me enough for not letting him know when you moved in."

"So that's a yes?"

"And she has to cook." Dani says. The receiver gives out a muffled 'I'm not a servant!' and Dani chuckles.

"Sorry Q, but you're a way better chef than I am, and I'm pretty sure you know what San's 'cooking' tastes like."

"Hey!" You snap. Sure, you know you can't cook at all, and you haven't tried in a while because Dani's actually pretty good at it, but that's a little harsh. You lift the phone back to your ear.

"So that's a yes?"

"I'll see you in three weeks, I guess."

You're walking into the diner when you crash into Dani – literally.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She says, bending over to pick up the papers she was holding. You quickly kneel to help her.

"No, no, it's fine, I should've been looking where I was going."

"San?" She looks up and sees that you are in fact the person who hit her. You smile sheepishly.

"Hey there. I was actually hoping to catch you, I was wondering if I could have your number." You ask, cursing the nerves in your voice. She beams at you.

"On one condition?"

"And that is?" You ask, holding her arms as you both straighten. She smirks – a sight you're becoming fond of – and answers.

"You have to agree to be my girlfriend." She says. You're sort of floored by how easily she asked you. But, then again, this is the girl who's been making you stammer and stutter and basically making you out to be a blubbering mess. This shouldn't be surprising at all.

"Like you even needed to ask." You answer. Seriously? That's the best you could come up with? She grins and pulls her phone out.

"Give me your number and I'll text you when I get home."

"Deal." You tell her your number and she's about to walk off when you quickly turn her head and kiss her on the corner of her mouth.

"Call me." You say. She smiles and nods.

"See you later, babe."

"You know," Dani mumbles into your ear. "Quinn's probably not going to be huge on sleeping on the couch."

"Why's that?" You ask, shuffling further back into her embrace. The two of you are lying on said couch. One of her arms is under your neck and the other is curled around your waist, her fingers toying with the bottom of your shirt and brushing the skin just above your hip lazily. You're tracing your fingers over her tattoo on the inside of her wrist, again the word stay. The writing it loopy and beautiful, and once again you're stuck on what it means that you keep getting caught on it. The TV is playing some Big Bang Theory rerun, more there to stop the apartment from being silent than to be watched.

"Why do you think, San?"

"Oh." You smirk. "That. We could always put a sheet down."

"I think that'll make her feel worse about it, babe." Dani chuckles, pressing her lips to the back of your neck, just at the base of your skull.

"Oh, I know." You feel another giggle threatening to spill from Dani's mouth when she answers, the subtle pattern of her warm breath on your neck giving her away.

"You're such a monster."

"I would take offense but I know it's true." You pause. "You don't mind, right?" She laughs openly at this.

"Of course I don't. If I did, I wouldn't have asked you to move in with me."

"I could've just coerced you into doing that with my sexy, feminine wiles." You say. Your girlfriend laughs again and you can't help but feel triumphant at the sound. It's been your goal everyday for the last… Nearly two years now, to make her laugh. Every single day, you want to make her laugh, and you haven't failed yet.

"You keep telling me about how good your game is, but please, remind me. Who initiated the first kiss?"

"You." You grumble. You know where this is going. You're not enjoying it already.

"Who asked who on the first date?"

"You asked me."

"Who asked who to be their girlfriend?"

"You asked me…" You repeat.

"Who asked who to move in with her?"

"You asked me…" You repeat, again.

"So, who, out of the two of us, has been the driving force in this relationship?" She asks. You huff and roll over. She's grinning openly and your scowl is only egging her on.

"I have contributed to the development of this relationship just as much as you have, Dan." You say. She arches an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? How?" She challenges. You stare back at her for a moment before you answer.

"I said yes all those times." You say. You didn't think her smile could physically get any wider, but it does and then she's kissing you, and honestly you don't think there's anywhere in the world you would rather be than in your grungy apartment that's really only meant to house one person, lying on your ratty couch with your shitty TV playing in the background, kissing your girlfriend back simply because you can.

You're about halfway through your shift and still buzzing from making your relationship with Dani official when your pay for the Yeast-I-Stat commercial arrives, and suddenly your good mood is killed. Your employer apparently got confused about what people actually find useful in certain quantities, and this is not what you thought you were working for.

Who in the hell would want this many of these things anyway?

You're in the middle of complaining to Rachel about it when Kurt bursts out of the kitchen in what you assume to be some sort of weird musical theatre mating dance. And now he's talking about a Madonna cover band and Hobbit has started complaining about getting Fanny. You lose track of the conversation very quickly after this, honestly all you can think about is how long it'll take before actual rainbows and gold stars start flying out of their mouths respectively. You zone back in when Berry starts on one of her "I am special!" speeches and Lady Hummel's shell-shocked expression lets you know that it's time to speak again. When you finish and Lady Face starts talking about some pact to stay in New York you regret your decision to stay when you could've viably gone to do something you get paid actual money for. Midget essentially forces you to pinky swear with them about whatever it was Porcelain was talking about and you can't help but laugh because it seems that you have in fact sunk so low as to have Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel beckoning you into a pinky swear. You thank whatever power of nature is in charge of your life when Gunther comes up and reminds the Wonder Twins that they actually have a job to do, but your parade is soundly rained on when he takes your box of Yeast-I-Stat. Sure, you don't need the stuff but you did work for it. You and Kurt watch Rachel storm off to serve some customer in booth 14, and you're about to get back to work when she starts squealing.

"Are you serious!?" He voices carries easily across the diner and you look at Kurt. He looks right back at you, mirroring your expression of 'is she talking about what I think she's talking about?'. Could she really have gotten the part? Do you dare hope that she actually got the part? You keep in mind; this is the part that she's wanted for longer than you've known her. Is it worth getting your hopes up? You both look back over when she runs up to you, almost in tears, shouting, "I got Fanny! I got it, I got it!" She hugs Kurt and then she hugs you – twice – and you're so happy for her you don't bother telling her not to. Not that you would have, anyway. As soon as Kurt pulls her away for a proper Broadway talk, or something, you dive into the kitchen and sneak out into the alley around the back to call Dani.

"Hey, I thought I was gonna be the one calling you." She says upon answering. You wave your free hand in the air as you answer.

"Forget that, Rachel got the part!" You all but scream into the phone, and you hear a plate shatter on Dani's end.

"Shit! Are you serious?"

"Are you okay?"

"San, it's just a plate, are you serious? Rachel got the part?"

"She did! Like, literally four minutes ago!"

"That's amazing, you have to give her my congrats!" You can hear Dani shuffling around in her kitchen, presumably to clean up the remains of the plate.

"Why don't you do that yourself? We're holding a little mini celebration at the loft tonight, but it's only the three of us. Do you think you can make it?"

"I wouldn't miss it!" Dani says. "Call me after your shift and I'll come over."

"Speaking of which, I should probably get back to that now. See you later, babe."

"Not if I don't see you first."

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare now?" She's looking over her food at you and you take your time to swallow before you answer. Even then, you move your food around the plate a bit before you do.

"I don't want you to be mad at me if I tell you about it." You mumble. Her eyebrows quirk slightly and she shakes her head.

"I won't."

"It's about Brittany." You say, resolutely staring at your food.

"No, really?" She says. You scowl at your food and she sighs. You hear her put her cutlery down carefully and she slips her hand into yours.

"That's okay, San." She squeezes your hand. "I did some thinking today, and I want to support you with this, you know? I wasn't there and you haven't really told me, so I can't say for sure, but you and Brittany have history. And it's going to be hard for you, because everyone other than Elliot and me share that history with you, and they're going to see things differently. They're probably going to see you as Santana; the girl they watched fall in love with Brittany."

"Dan-"

"But that's not how I see you. I see you as Santana; the girl I've fallen in love with." She squeezes your hand again. "And I'm not giving you up without a fight. I get it. It's going to be hard, and it'd all suck a lot less if it didn't need to happen, but you know what?"

"What?" You ask, finally looking up from you food.

"It does need to happen. Because even though I'm not overly fond of her, Brittany deserves to be told outright. It's the nice thing to do."

"No one back in Lima ever thought I was particularly nice, you know." You mumble. She chuckles and takes her hand from yours to tap you on the nose.

"Then they'd better get ready to meet the harmless, whipped and exponentially more morally upright Santana Lopez that exists today." She grins and you don't even bother to argue about her calling you whipped. You totally are, but she totally is as well, so you don't mind as much. And anyway, there's no one here to make fun of you over it.

"So do you want to tell me about your nightmare?" She asks, right before eating another forkful of food. You shrug and keep poking at your own meal. Where do you start?

"From the beginning, babe." She says, as though she was reading your mind. They way she's smiling… You almost think she did.

"Do you guys always randomly break into song like that?"

"Not always, no. Well, okay, that's a lie. We break into song practically all the time, but it's not like you aren't guilty of it either."

"Please feel free to remind me of the last time I started singing openly because I felt like it."

"Um, like, a week and a half ago? Or have we completely forgotten the impromptu sunrise duet?" You give her a look and she huffs before she bumps her hip against yours.

"Okay, so you got me there." She pauses. "Really, you do that often?"

"We were in our high school Glee club together, that was nothing, trust me. Those two will sing for any occasion."

"Any occasion?"

"I'm not kidding. Angry at someone? Sing about it. Haven't seen a friend in months? Sing about it. Dropped a plastic spoon on the floor? You'd better be prepared for a fully arranged and choreographed group number." You stop there because she's laughing and you're stricken by how much you enjoy hearing the sound. You spare her a glance and in the moment you absorb as much as possible. The way her head is tipped back and her eyes are shut, how the corners of her eyes crinkle and her hands have come up to cover her mouth. You look back at the drink in your hand and swirl it around a bit, smiling to yourself. You wouldn't mind hearing that every day. You wouldn't mind seeing it every day, either.

"You can't be serious." She finally says.

"I wish I wasn't." You answer, letting your small smile grow into a slightly lopsided one as you sip your champagne again. She leaves a little after that conversation and you go to bed soon after, leaving the Wonder Twins to their own devices when they decide to watch Funny Girl in celebration. It's only when you're closing your eyes in your bed when you realize; you haven't thought about Brittany since that morning. You feel a pang of guilt run through your chest, but then your mind flits back to Dani, and you pull your blankets over yourself more tightly. This is a good thing.

If moving on from Brittany means moving on with Dani, you think you're okay with that. Sure, she's not your best friend, and she doesn't know you as well as anyone else you know does, but you're excited about getting to know her. You're excited about her getting to know you.

Much as you'd dislike to admit it, you've met someone who you don't somewhat hate on the spot.

That's an achievement.

"If I go with you to the reunion will you feel better?" She asks, right after you finish telling her about your dream. Your gaze trails to your glass of water and you consider it. Walking into the reunion holding Dani's hand. Introducing her to all your old friends and associates. Having her by your side when you tell Brittany. You bite your lip, thinking about all the huge moments of Dani's life that you've gotten to be with her for. A thought strikes you and you smile.

"I can't imagine not taking you." You say. You look at her and laugh. "I want to introduce you to the Glee club. I want to see Puckerman's face of utter fear when he listens to us talking about him. I want to see Mercedes telling you about how close her album is to done just so I can waltz up and tell her that you're working on your second one. I want to see Kurt and Blaine talk about how amazing it is living together now they're married so I can gloat about how great it is not having to share our space with Rachel Berry, I want to be the proudest person in the room because my date is hitting it off with everyone." You grin. "I want Quinn to walk up to me while I'm watching you make my friends laugh from the drinks table and say 'She's really something special isn't she?', and the rest doesn't matter." You say. She's blushing a little but her smile matches yours so you don't care.

"And if I'm there I can hold your hand when you tell Brittany."

"And if you're there you can hold my hand when I tell Brittany."

After Starchild's audition you and Dani ignore Kurt and go back to her apartment. You shoot Berry a short text outlining how completely stupid Hummel is being and then crash onto Dani's crummy couch, which she was already lying on, waiting for you to join her.

"I can't believe it!" You hiss, rolling over to face her. "He always does this, it's ridiculous!"

"He always does what?"

"Every single time his talent got threatened in high school he would throw a tantrum and either ignore it or disregard it! You should've seen the way he and Berry used to go at it, it was ridiculous!" You're moving your arms around as you rant and you nearly tumble off the couch, but Dani manages to catch you before you go over the edge. She rolls until you're lying on top of her, holding yourself up by putting your hands on either side of her head.

"Well hello." You mumble. She winks and speaks.

"Okay, so, you know how I was taking ages to pack up?"

"Yeah…"

"I got his contact details. His name's Elliot Gilbert, and he's was devastated about not getting into the band, and, well, you saw how good he was, right?"

"I did. Where are you going with this?"

"Well, I promised that we would get Kurt to change his mind."

"Uh uh, nope. Not gonna happen. Nothing's going to get him to do that other than his fiancé or Berry."

"So? Just get Rachel to talk to him. I'm sure she can get him to do it."

"Even if he changes his mind, he doesn't have Eddie's-"

"Elliot."

"Same thing. Doesn't have his contact details."

"But I do." Dani smiles. "And I just so happen to know all of Kurt's work hours, so… You have to get Rachel to change Kurt's mind, I'll send Elliot a text of times he should drop by the diner, and hey presto! We've got him in our band!"

"And after all of this do we tell Porcelain?"

"Not unless we have to." She smirks, and you lean down to kiss her.

"My girlfriend's showing her mischievous side." You grunt, pulling back. Mischief dances in brown and she kisses you again.

"Your girlfriend's an evil genius, admit it."

"Have I told you the underboob story, babe?" You ask. She groans and kisses you again.

"Not now, San."