I'M AN AWFUL PERSON. AND AN AWFUL WRITTER. Please, slap me. Sorry for not updating in so long.

I've had SO many Brittana feelings since I've seen this awful promo full of Bram loving and declaration of love and fuck off, Santana makes her smile too.

See? I can't control myself. I feel like punching someone.

ANYWAY.

I'm sorry for taking so long to update and I hope you'll enjoy this nonetheless. And just so you know, in my world, Brittana will always be endgame. So don't you worry your pretty little minds.

Brittany puffs out a quick breath, jogging behind her son as she mentally prays they don't miss their bus. Getting ready for Oliver's soccer match took them way too much time and now, she's dodging people on the sidewalk, probably looking like a right mess.

"Come on mommy! You're too slow!" Her son shouts over his shoulder, Brittany's eyebrows rising despite herself because seriously, she has been carrying his sport bag for the past ten minutes and this might be the reason why she's not at her full speed right now.

"I'm right behind you sweetie!"

She abruptly turns a corner, nearly bumping into an old lady with her dog, mumbling a quick excuse as she tries to keep an eye on Oliver who seems to have supernatural speed in those tiny legs of his.

"I'm too old for this."

She checks her watch, realizing they have approximately thirty seconds to make it and just as she's about to tell her son they should go for a sprint, the bus passes them by, speeding up when the driver seemingly notices that no one is waiting at the bus stop.

"Damn it." Brittany mutters between her teeth, shouting and waving in order to get the driver's attention but soon enough, Oliver and her are left panting on the sidewalk, the blonde bending over to lean on her knees. "Crap."

Since she has stopped dancing years ago, she's not as in shape as she used to be. Luckily for her, despite the lack of physical activity, her body stayed practically the same since high school, even with a pregnancy along the way.

Brittany takes a deep breath, running a hand over her forehead. "Ok sweetie, here's what-"

She stops, only now noticing that big tears are rolling down her son's cheek, bottom lip trembling.

She crouches down in front of him, grabbing both of his hands into hers.

"Why are you crying honey? Tell mommy, will you?"

He sniffles, gripping her hands tighter. "I just... I know that because we missed the bus, we're not going to get to my soccer match on time and-and, it's the final match and I really, really wanted to go..."

Brittany nods, suddenly feeling guilty for not being able to take her son to the one thing he has been talking about for almost two weeks. She wishes she had a car. Or the money for them to take a cab.

But she doesn't and she knows perfectly well that indeed, they're not going to make it on time. The soccer match is in a small city twenty minutes out of Cleveland and there's only one bus that could take them there; the next one being in an hour.

She sighs, wiping the tears off her son's cheeks, tenderly pushing up his glasses. "Look, mommy's going to do everything she can to make sure you get there on time and win that gold medal, ok?"

Oliver looks up, hope visible in his blue eyes. "Really?"

Brittany nods, not quite sure of how she's going to perform that miracle but it's Oliver we're talking about and she would do anything to make sure he's happy. "Absolutely." He grins. "Now, help mommy find a payphone."

As she gets up, the blonde mentally lists the people she could possibly call to ask for a lift.

Juliet has a date tonight so she might as well forget about her.

Her parents are in Lima.

Ms. Bennett probably has not driven since the second World War.

She could maybe call that guy she works with but he has been hitting on her lately and she wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea or something.

"Mommy, there's a payphone there!" Oliver says proudly, pointing towards the end of the street.

Brittany smiles, grabbing the sport bag from the ground. "Well done Oli."

When they get to the payphone, the blonde has resigned herself to call Brandon- the guy she works with- because the other alternative would be to disappoint her son and, well, she can't have that.

Sometimes, she wishes she could have someone in her life to rely on. Someone else she could take care of Oliver with. Because sometimes, she feels a bit overwhelmed. Sometimes, she still feels like a kid herself and she wishes she'd have someone to take care of her, too.

Brittany drops the bag again, hoping she has at least a quarter to make the call.

She checks her jeans' pocket, frowning when the only things she finds there are a penny and a crumpled piece of paper.

"Are you kidding me..."

The piece of paper escapes her hand and she lets it go, a small squeal of victory escaping her mouth when her fingers close around what appears to be a quarter.

"Mommy, who's... San...tana?" Oliver asks behind her, difficulty reading the new name.

Brittany freezes for a moment, heart skipping a beat just like every time Santana is mentioned without her expecting it.

"W-what?"

He hands her the piece of paper she has dropped not a minute ago, curiosity written all over his serious face. "It fell from your hand and I picked it up."

Brittany swallows thickly, cursing herself for keeping that damn phone number in the first place.

"Don't worry about that sweetie."

It seems like a good enough answer for Oliver because he shrugs, Brittany relieved when his attention shifts to a cat walking on the other side of the street.

Her eyes land on Santana's handwriting- for what feels like the umpteenth time this week- an idea forming in her head.

She desperately needs a ride. Santana has a car, she saw her get into one the night they saw each other. She has her phone number, maybe she could...

Brittany shakes her head, closing her eyes in frustration.

You're not going to call Santana, you idiot.

She turns around, readying herself to announce to Oliver that they might have to cancel the whole thing but when she does, she sees her son kicking a lamppost, raising his tiny fists in victory before running in circle as if he has just scored a goal and she finds herself unable to take yet another thing away from him.

So with a deep breath, Brittany gets into the payphone, quickly composing the number written on the paper in order to not lose the small amount of courage she just managed to gather.

When it starts to ring, Brittany fights the urge she has to immediately hang up, heart beating wildly against her ribcage.

It rings six times before she wonders if she should, in fact, hang up but just as she's about to, an annoyed voice, a voice she knows all too well, finally replies.

"Santana Lopez."

"Hi, uhm..."

"Who am I speaking to?" Santana asks and just by the tone, Brittany knows she's most likely scowling, in that way that makes her eyes narrow.

"It's, uhm...", she clears her throat, willing herself to speak like a normal person, "it's Brittany. Brittany S. Pierce." She has not the slightest idea why she just said her whole name.

Brittany thinks she hears Santana let out a small breath.

"B-Brittany? I-Just wait a second, ok? Don't hang up. I'm just gonna go somewhere... quieter."

The blonde nods, realizing that if Santana was once able to know when she nodded- or smiled or cried- when they were spending their nights together on the phone back in high school, she's most likely not able to after eight years. "I'll wait."

Brittany hears the voices decrease as Santana seemingly leaves the place she was at.

"Ok, it's better now." There's a pause, and Brittany can practically hear the brunette think. "Why... are you calling me? Not that I mind or anything but..."

Brittany bites her bottom lip. "I'm so sorry for bothering you. You were obviously in the middle of something and..."

The other girl lets out a small laugh. "I'm grateful for the distraction, believe me."

Brittany checks if Oliver is still fine before bringing her attention back to the phone cord she's nervously twisting around one of her fingers. Here goes nothing. "So... the thing is, I just missed my bus and my son-"

A pause.

"You have a son?" It sounds breathless.

Brittany closes her eyes.

Shit.

She might as well go for it.

"Yes... I do."

There's a silence after that, so long that the blonde thinks that maybe Santana has simply hung up on her.

"So, you missed your bus?"

In all the scenarios Brittany ever imagined of her telling Santana she had a son, never has she imagined the Latina taking it so... calmly.

"Well, uh, I did and well Oliver... that's my son... he has a soccer match out of town and I really don't want him to miss it but as I said, we missed the bus and there's not another one until an hour and we can't take a cab and, well, I didn't have anyone else to call..." She says the whole thing in a breath, anxiousness getting the better of her because after not talking for so many years, it feels a bit surreal to call Santana to ask her for a ride, to her son's soccer match, of all things.

"You want me to take you there, is that it?"

Brittany can't quite decipher Santana's tone this time; she thinks she sounds unsure and a bit confused too.

"That's pretty much it, yeah... Obviously, you don't have to...", she adds hastily, realizing a bit too late how ridiculous she must sound. What the hell was she thinking? "Look, forget it ok... Seriously, I shouldn't have called you..."

"I'll do it."

"And I'm probably preventing you from enjoying your night so-"

"Brittany, I'll take you there."

Santana laughs a bit through her nose and Brittany shuts her mouth, not quite sure she heard well.

"You will?"

"I will. Just give me your address and I'll be there in twenty minutes, give or take."

The blonde smiles, not quite sure why she's suddenly feeling so giddy.

"Santana, I- thank you. So much."

"You're welcome."

Brittany quickly checks her surroundings for street names, giving a thumbs-up to Oliver who starts jumping with a grin. "So, we're at the corner of Scott and Lincoln. Oh, crap, you probably don't know Cleveland very well though..."

"It's fine Brittany, I have a GPS."

"I'm so silly, of course you have. Well, I guess I'll... see you in twenty minutes?"

"Yes, see you in twenty minutes. I-I'm glad you called."

Brittany hears the other line go dead before she hangs up, only now realizing that her hands are shaking a bit.

When she gets out of the cabin, Oliver is still jumping, obviously very excited.

"Mommy, thank you, thank you!"

"You're very welcome sweetheart", she ruffles his blonde hair, "Seems like you're going to meet Santana after all."

They sit on a bench for the next fifteen minutes, Oliver playing with his soccer ball as Brittany's lost in her head, mind wandering into old memories of Santana and her.

She's not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that Santana's about to meet her son. She's quite aware this must be a lot to take in for the brunette and frankly, this is a lot for her too.

It's not until a car stops right in front of them that she looks up, unable to control the nervous butterflies in her stomach when the passenger window goes down, Santana's face appearing behind the wheel of the black BMW.

"Hi."

"Hi." Brittany grins hesitantly, tightly grabbing Oliver's hand and his sport bag as they get off the bench. "Can I..." She gestures towards the car, suddenly feeling very awkward.

Santana nods quickly. "Yes, sure... Of course..."

The blonde opens the car door, motioning for her son to get inside. He looks a bit hesitant at first, eyes going between Santana and Brittany.

"Santana, this is Oliver my... son."

Brittany watches as Santana's eyes focus on the little boy, something that resembles sadness- or is it hurt?- briefly flashing into her brown eyes. The blonde doesn't like how she's not able to read Santana like she used to.

Quickly enough though, a smile appears on the Latina's face and she leans between the two front seats, offering a hand to Oliver.

"Nice to meet you Oliver. I'm Santana Lopez."

He looks at Brittany questioningly, the blonde grinning encouragingly. "Go ahead sweetie."

With his mother's approval, Oliver shakes Santana's hand, watching her curiously. "I'm Oliver Pierce. I love your name. Where are you from?"

The brunette chuckles. "Thank you very much. I'm from Puerto Rico."

Her son nods and knowing him, Brittany knows he has no idea where it is and is only trying to be polite.

"Ok, you all set there?"

Oliver nods, Brittany closing the door before getting into the passenger seat herself.

Instantly, she's surrounded by a strong yet feminine perfume and even though it's not the coconut smell she used to associate with Santana, it's much better. More mature. And it kinda makes her head spin a bit.

"Once again, thank you so, so much for coming. I don't know what I would have done..."

Santana shakes her head, getting back on the road. "It's fine. Plus, you saved me from yet another boring cocktail. I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Their eyes meet and Brittany is the first one to look away, eyes locking on the road in front of them.

After telling Santana what to set on the GPS, they fall into an awkward silence, both of them not knowing what to say after all that time.

Brittany can't help out but look at Santana out of the corner of her eyes, taking in her elegant trench coat and the beautiful curve of her jaw.

She feels self-conscious with those jeans and her old coat thrown over an even older green hoodie.

In order to dissipate the tension, Santana turns on her iPod, Billie Holiday instantly filling the car.

They don't talk for the rest of the way, Oliver humming in the background as both women try not to focus on the times where they would listen to those very songs in Santana's bedroom, Brittany constantly telling her that she should cover one of them in Glee club, arguing her raspy voice would give a sexy twitch to it.

Most of all though, it's on what would usually happen after it that they try not to think about.

Finally, they arrive at the soccer field, Brittany indicating to Santana where she should park.

The blonde gets out of the car, relieved to escape the tension as her son instantly asks her if he can go see his friends before the match starts.

She nods distractedly, watching as Santana gets out too, taking in her surroundings.

"Sure honey. Just make sure you come and see me before the game begins so you can put on a long sleeve under your jersey."

"But mommy-"

"No but. It's cold and I don't want you to catch something."

He sighs, Brittany bopping his nose. "Come on now, your friends are waiting."

Oliver gives her a hug before turning around, running towards a group of little boys wearing the colours of his team.

Brittany grabs the sport bag from the backseat, moving around the car in order to get closer to Santana. Now that she can see her fully, the blonde's breath catches in her throat when she notices the black pants and white shirt partially hidden by the beige trench coat the brunette is wearing along with a nice, silky blue scarf.

Santana looks so professional and in Brittany's opinion, it suits her beautifully.

"Thank you for the ride, I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Santana looks away somewhat shyly, playing with her hands. "I can give you a ride back home too, if you'd like. I mean, I took you here, I might as well take you back..."

Brittany feels like she should tell Santana that it's fine, that she should go back to her hotel and try to salvage what's left of her evening but instead, her mouth blurts out unexpected words before her brain has given its approval, "It's a kids soccer game, it's not very exciting", she makes a big show of whispering the last part, glad when Santana giggles, "but you can stay if you want to..."

She's not sure where this sudden burst of confidence came from but she finds herself hoping Santana will say yes. As she watches the brunette look up and nod with a smile, Brittany tells herself that one night with Santana doesn't mean she's back in her life. It's just going to be isolated, a random moment in their lives where they happened to meet again for a night and catch up.

Brittany smiles back, readjusting the big sport bag on her shoulder. "Great. Come with me."

She turns around, making her way towards the small, wooden bleachers on the other side of the field.

She can feel the other parents stare at Santana and her, probably wondering how such a well-dressed woman can be hanging out with poor, single mom Brittany.

Since Oliver has started to play soccer six months ago, Brittany has had to endure the silent judgements of all the other kids' parents for being so obviously different from them.

Those soccer classes were Oliver's gift for last Christmas and Brittany worked very hard- she remembers countless nights at the restaurant- to be able to offer him the best ones she could find in Cleveland.

Thing was, the other parents bringing their kids to those soccer classes were nothing like her. They were all posh, rich lawyers or whatnot from all of Cleveland's best neighborhoods, talking amongst themselves and from the first time she arrived on the field with Oliver, wearing a t-shirt and an old pair of sneakers, Brittany felt all of their eyes on her, assessing her before quickly dismissing her as being any part of their world.

It kinda hurt at first. Brittany was secretly hoping that maybe she would find there a couple of other moms to befriend but soon enough, she realized that a line had been drawn between her and the other parents the moment she set foot on that field. That they were merely tolerating her because despite his taped glasses and slightly too big shorts, Oliver was such an adorable kid.

But today, something is different. Today, the other parents are all watching Santana with a barely veiled curiosity and as Brittany looks up to see if the girl walking beside her has noticed half of the dads practically drooling, she finds Santana already staring at her, quickly looking away when their eyes meet.

Brittany clears her throat, gesturing towards the half full bleachers. "Where do you want to sit?"

Santana shrugs, slightly raising her eyebrows. "Do you have a special spot?"

"Not really..."

Actually, she does like to sit on the highest row because none of the other parents does and when she looks right in front of her, at the right angle, it feels like they're not even there.

With Santana following her, that's where they end up to sit, no one even bothering to greet her even though some of those parents' kids are on Oliver's team.

They sit close to each other, Brittany dropping the sport bag next to her with a relieved grunt.

The awkwardness is back between them and the blonde wonders if this whole thing was a good idea. Maybe they should have left it at that. Maybe she should have told Santana to leave.

Santana pushes a strand of her hair away from her forehead and Brittany knows she can feel the tension too.

"Mommy!"

She looks down, grinning when she sees Oliver standing under the bleachers.

"Hey, honey!"

"The game is about to start so can I have my long sleeve shirt now?"

The blonde nods, glad her son has listened to her. "What's the magic word first?"

She can practically hear her son sigh as she rummages through her bag, pulling out a blue shirt.

"Can I have it, please?"

"There you go sweetie." She drops the shirt, Oliver catching it. "Now go and score some goals!"

Her son chuckles, already running back towards his coach.

"He has your eyes."

Brittany turns her head around, having forgotten for a moment that woman right next to her.

Just like earlier in the car, Santana's eyes hold a certain sadness and the blonde wishes she'd know why. "He does."

They fall back into an uncomfortable silence, Brittany wishing more and more that she hadn't called Santana in the first place. People change in eight years and she was naive to think they would just click as they used to.

The referee blows into a whistle and instantly, twenty little boys start running around the field, parents cheering and clapping excitedly.

Brittany shivers a bit, rubbing her hands against one another as she keeps her eyes on Oliver, smiling when he gets the ball for a couple of seconds.

"How have you been?"

Santana's voice is quiet when she asks it, eyes glued to the kids running in front of her.

"Good." Brittany bites her bottom lip, not quite sure how to answer a question like that after so many years. "What about you?"

Santana shrugs, playing with the bracelet on her wrist. "Good."

Their conversation keeps dying down and the blonde wonders how Santana and her have ever been best friends. It feels like it all belongs to a completely different life.

"Remember that time Finn fell on his face during a football match and we laughed so hard that coach Sue had to kick us out of the field?"

It's so completely random that Brittany can't help but chuckle, remembering vividly how they spent the rest of the night talking and goofing around in the locker room.

When she looks up, Santana's staring at her, smiling. "I have no idea where this came from."

"That was totally out of nowhere." Brittany laughs again, shaking her head. "But yes, of course I remember."

Santana's smile seems to grow a tad bigger as she breaks their eye contact, bringing her gaze back to the field in front of them.

After that, Brittany feels like the tension between them has lessened a bit. As if acknowledging the past has helped them to get away from it and move on to this very new present.

"So, you're a lawyer now, right?"

Santana nods, letting out a small giggle when Brittany bumps their shoulders together, whistling.

"Wow, you turned out pretty well miss Lopez."

The blonde is surprised when she notices Santana's cheeks turning red under her natural tan.

"Thanks." She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, carefully watching Brittany. "What about you? Are you in the catering business or...?"

Brittany looks away, ashamed of how little she has accomplished compared to the girl sitting next to her. "Well, technically I'm just a waitress but it sounds fancier if you put it that way..." She jokes half-heartedly, tightly smiling at nothing in particular.

"And what restaurant has the incredible chance to have you as their waitress?" Santana replies without missing a beat, tightening the scarf around her neck with a grin.

Brittany rolls her eyes playfully, grateful that Santana hasn't lost that innate ability she has to make her feel better about herself. "It's called La Vie en Rose, it's in downtown Cleveland."

"Then I'll make sure to stop by when I have time."

"Please do."

They stare at each other for a moment before a loud cheer from the parents sitting below them startles them both, Brittany quickly checking the field to make sure she hasn't missed her own son scoring a goal but fortunately for her, another kid did.

Still, it's Oliver's team who made the first point and she gets up with enthusiasm, fist pumping as she tries to whistle with her fingers, failing miserably.

"Go Oliver! Go Groundhogs!"

She hears a snort coming from beside her, turning her head around to find Santana sporting an incredulous smile, one of her eyebrows raised up, in that way she used to do in high school.

"Groundhogs? That's the name of their team?"

Brittany smiles back, glad that someone is finally agreeing with her on how ridiculous it sounds. "I know, don't ask."

"Out of all the ferocious animals they could have chosen, they went for groundhogs?"

They sit back down, Brittany shivering as the cold of the wood seeps in through her jeans.

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" The blonde teases, enjoying this playful banter. It's still incredibly weird to have Santana with her right now but at least now they're not so tensed.

"Let me see..." Santana smiles cheekily, looking up as if she's deep in thoughts. "Lions, sharks, panthers, snakes, lions, buffalos, alliga-"

"Ok, ok, you win." Brittany chuckles, inching closer to Santana. "Damn, you've always been so competitive."

"What can I say, I love to win."

They both laugh loudly, earning themselves a couple of stares from the other parents.

The next hour is spent in superficial talk, mostly them commenting on the game or joking around but Brittany thinks that's how much they can handle for their first talk after such a long time.

The blonde obviously can't deny Santana and hers heavy history and even though she'd like to ask her much more personal questions and really know what she has been up to, how she's doing, how's her life back in New York, she knows best and instead decides to stay on safer territories. Fortunately, it seems that Santana has made the same decision as well.

Finally, Brittany sees a muddy Oliver running towards her, a big smile adorning his sweaty face and after quickly climbing down the bleachers, she picks him up, twirling him around.

"You won honey!"

"I know! I know! I won!" He chants, locking his tiny hands behind his mother's neck.

She kisses the top of his head, an overwhelming sense of pride invading her.

"I love you sweetie."

"I love you too mom."

"Well done Oliver."

Brittany smiles at the raspy voice, giggling a bit when Santana and Oliver exchange a high five. She knows that Santana probably isn't very comfortable interacting with her son and so she finds it very sweet that the brunette is at least trying.

She grabs the big sport bag, dropping her son to the ground so he can go and say goodbye to his friends.

"You're still fine with giving us a ride?" She asks Santana, moving from one foot to another as she tries to generate a bit of warmth. "Because you really don't have to."

Santana nods, a somehow soft smile playing on her lips as she reaches to rub her hands on Brittany's arms.

"You always dress too lightly."

The blonde can practically feel the tip of her ears turn red and she looks away, Santana removing her hands so quickly it feels like she has been burned.

"Y-Yeah", she clears her throat, Brittany's eyes still fixed to the ground, "I mean yes, of course I will give you a ride."

Oliver comes back running, both women glad for the distraction as they make their way to Santana's car.

The ride back to Cleveland is silent, just like the ride before, and before Brittany knows it, they're right in front of her building and she wants to slap herself for not asking Santana to drop them off a couple of blocks away. She feels unbelievably self-conscious now that the Latina can see how miserable the neighborhood she lives in is.

"So..." Santana starts, whispering because Oliver has fallen asleep practically the second he stepped into the car.

"So..." Brittany repeats, scratching her forehead. "Thanks for the ride..."

"Oh, you're welcome..."

The awkwardness is back and Brittany honestly just wants to escape it and run inside her apartment.

But just as she's about to thank Santana again and exit the car, the brunette clears her throat, Brittany locking eyes with her.

"Your son is really sweet."

There's that flash of sadness again in Santana's eyes but there's also a sincerity that takes Brittany by surprise and she can't help but smile, words pouring out of her mouth before she can decide if they're the ones she really should be saying.

"Would you like to have dinner some time this week?"

The words hang in the air for a second, the blonde growing more and more aware of how much it sounds like she's asking Santana out on a date.

"W-What?"

"I mean", Brittany swallows, cursing her ditzy brain, "you could come over to our place and have dinner... With me and Oliver, something very... casual..."

Santana's shoulders seem to relax a bit and she grins uncertainly, seemingly surprised by the invitation. "Are you sure?"

Brittany nods as the brunette keeps smiling, pulling her phone out of her purse.

"I'm free on... Wednesday night? Is it ok with you?"

She nods again, hand already on the handle and wondering what the hell she's agreeing to. "I'll see you then."

She gets out of the car, opening the back door to pick up Oliver and his bag.

"Once again, thank you for the ride Santana."

"No problem. I'll see you on Wednesday then?"

"Absolutely."

Their gazes stay locked a second too long and they both look away awkwardly, Brittany shutting the door before she watches Santana's car disappearing, much like she did not three days ago.

Oliver sighs peacefully, head buried in the crook of her neck and she bites her bottom lip, wondering why she has just invited Santana to have dinner at her apartment.

That was kind of a slow chapter. But those bitches need to reconnect first right? And I believe that they need a bit of time before anything happens.

Next chapter will be from Santana's POV! Woohoo, the crowd goes wild.

On another note, I'm such in a holiday mood! (Meaning, I feel like watching Love Actually while wearing sweatpants and drinking hot chocolate. Anyone in?)

Reviews are awesome. (So is updating faster, one would say. I hear you sister, I hear you.)