Author's Note;; gah! I just realized that the author's note for chapter three was cut- I must have done something to it accidentally and removed comments to reviewers for the previous chapter. ...noob. Anyway, I went back and edited the comments in again at the bottom of the fic. Sorry guys, wasn't ignoring you at all.

So many different opinions! I do hope what I came up with was fine for now. Thanks everyone for reading/reviewing/anything and, as always, comments to the previous chapter's reviewers are at the bottom.

I still haven't introduced more Glee Clubbers, so pairings are still up for discussion.

Also, if you've suggestions for what questions Brittany and Santana could ask each other, please suggest them in form of a review or message, and I'll try to have them answer them in the next chapter.

Lima, as Brittany found out, wasn't all that small. Destiny Inn wasn't even at the town's outer fringes, as she had thought- No, it was actually considered to be pretty near the town's central. And, Lima in the middle of the day was very, very different from Lima in the early morning. Everyone seemed to be out and about, enjoying the summer's day (it actually felt like summer today, so Britt set out dressed in a tanktop and shorts), and not a whole lot of people gave her a second look when she passed them on the sidewalk. ...well. Not that she noticed, anyway.

Point is, Brittany got a little lost. She was supposed to meet Santana at the library, but she just couldn't find it. She'd gone down this street then crossed onto that and passed the florist from the day before, found a signboard that wasn't even remotely helpful (she didn't care where all those roads where, damn it), was bewildered when several people who she asked help from just hurried away without a backwards glance, before blundering into a squat-looking man who pointed her in the right direction. By this time, it was a quarter past twelve, meaning that she was fifteen minutes late. Punctuality had been drilled into her head thanks to being in the army, so by the time she hurried up the steps of the library, she was more than a little flustered and dishevelled.

A sight that Santana found amusing, if that little smirk adorning her face was anything to go by. The darker girl was leaning against the side of the building, long slender legs idly crossed.

"Hi," She drawled, the smile still firmly in place. "You're late. I was beginning to think you stood me up- Especially since you didn't pick up."

"Huh?" Confused, Brittany squinted, apology lost. She knew that she was late and had been set to apologize, but Santana's last sentence threw her off completely. "Was I supposed to pick you up?"

Santana's grin widened a little, though Brittany couldn't yet figure out why. "You can pick me up anyway you want to, darlin'," She teased, tacking on an exaggerated Southern accent. "I meant your phone- I called but you didn't answer."

"Oh?" A pause. "Oh!" Flushing a little more, Brittany patted her pockets, pulling out items and juggling them rather clumsily as she searched for the device. She came up empty, though she did manage to find a handful of change, a couple twenty dollar bills and her room key. "...I don't have it."

While she'd been searching, Santana had done some looking (read: admiring) of her own- An act she was caught in when the blonde looked back up, a little put out that she'd (probably...hopefully!) left her phone back at the inn. Brittany smiled a little- She knew when someone was checking her out and, to be honest, her own gaze had been fixed upon Santana's legs the whole time she'd been rushing up the steps-, and gave a little twirl.

"Like what you see?"

"Like what you see?" Santana countered, though her tanned cheeks did turn just that little bit darker.

"Yep," was her cheerful reply before Brittany offered her arm, grin widening when Santana actually took it this time. "Food?"

}{}{}{

They had lunch at a small cafe since Santana was "craving a cheeseburger and fries and vanilla ice cream", as she'd so gleefully told the blonde. When Brittany stared, Santana had said that she had better not be a vegetarian or their friendship was over. The taller girl had managed to shut her gaping mouth and reply that no, she definitely couldn't survive eating just vegetables, an adorable wrinkle to her nose as she did. She could enjoy salad and the like as much as the next person, but, like any appreciative BBQ-er, she loved her steak.

To Brittany's great amusement, Santana ate as though every bite was her last. Hums of appreciation were periodically released, she refused to talk while eating, eyes fluttering shut as she chewed. She looked, to put it crudely, as though she were having little mouth orgasms- Something that Brittany pointed out with a giggle after the last bit of cheeseburger had been duly chewed and swallowed. Another thing that Brittany found out? A blushing Santana was an adorable Santana. It wasn't really her fault that she couldn't resist leaning over and pinching a reddened cheek lightly.

Then everything was repeated all over again with the ice cream. Brittany could tell that Santana had tried to contain herself, but she had to admit that the ice cream was so good- She could totally understand the almost-inaudible moans that the Latina was letting out.

"Shut up, I don't get to eat here often, and they make delicious food."

}{}{}{

It was about an hour in when Santana seemed to get edgy, hands twisting on her lap, fists clenching and unclenching. When Brittany noticed and asked what was up, Santana had fixed an uncertain gaze upon her, hesitating a little before asking, "Would it be alright if we dropped by the cem- somewhere before I show you around? I just need to do something first."

Brittany had regarded her a little warily, before she nodded and offered her arm again.

Which was how she found herself at the same florist as the day before, watching Santana purchase a bouquet of white lilies, and listening to her explanation of why lilies. Apparently 'the guy whose grave (she) was at yesterday' had given her a lily after the first time they'd slept together- A fact that had Brittany squirming a little. What could she reply to that? Besides, wasn't it just... a little too personal, a little too much information for someone you'd just met the day before? But, she managed a nod, a slight upturn of the corners of her mouth. Just as they were walking out, she laid a hand on Santana's lightly, pulling her to a stop before she headed back in to emerge with a bunch of yellow daisies. Then it was the shorter woman's turn to stare but not comment, instead holding out her hand and taking Brittany's arm almost absently, her gaze flicking to the yellow flowers now and again.

They walked to the cemetery in silence, and when Santana asked for a moment, Brittany stood back a few feet, solemnly watching as Santana laid the lilies by the headstone almost tenderly. Puck wasn't there this time, so the girl could focus her full attention on the other, blue eyes narrowing when the shoulders in front of her quivered slightly, when a shuddering sigh reached her ears. Despite her giving respectful distance, she couldn't help but overhear Santana's soft voice laced with apology.

"Sorry for just running out yesterday," She'd whispered, fingers running over Noah Ethan Puckerman over and over. It was surreal; the first Brittany knew of Noah's middle name was by his grave, "and for not visiting more." There was a long moment of silence before a breathy "I hope it was worth it" was exhaled, and a second more before Santana stood again, her hand swiping at fresh tears blurring her vision. Brittany could hear Puck's voice in her head, contrite and a little panicked:

"Okay, maybe she can't take it like a man."

Moving forward, Brittany draped one arm hesitantly over Santana's waist, and when the other girl didn't flinch away, tugged her closer to engulf her in a tighter hug. She would have wrapped both arms around Santana, but she was still holding the daisies, which she now held up to Santana's face. After the Latina took them, eyes crooked in puzzlement, Brittany squeezed her closer, levelling her mouth to an ear.

"I got them for you because you seemed so sad here yesterday."

Of everything that could have happened, Brittany did not expect Santana to actually burst out into audible sobs and bury her face into the material of the blonde's tank top. From what she could make of it, apparently Puck used to show up at her doorstep when life got fucking frustrating- Cheerleading, bitchy backstabbing friends, insane coach- with daisies, alcohol and Call of Duty. A quick glance to the right confirmed that Puck was back and sitting on his headstone once more, a sheepish expression on his features.

"So I'm a sap," He shrugged, "sue me." Brittany couldn't reply- Santana would think she was crazy!-, but she did think that perhaps now wasn't the best time to confess to Santana that she had known Puck too, that she had served alongside him and watched him die. The man in question raised broad shoulders once more, nodding as he agreed, "Yeah, probably not." Then he disappeared.

Santana's sobs had lessened considerably by then, enough for Brittany to draw back slightly and bend down to try and look at the other's face. She tugged gently, letting the girl reside under her arm, tucked snugly to her side as they walked. Brittany didn't really pay attention to where they were going, but as luck had it, the two ended up at the park once again. They didn't head for the playground this time, Brittany dropping down onto the grass and leaning with her back against a tree, Santana settling between her legs, back to Brittany's front. They stayed like that for minutes, quietly watching children shriek with enthusiasm as they ran around playing whimsical games.

Brittany is the first to break the silence.

"I don't like seeing you sad." Her words are soft, meant just for Santana, who turned slightly in her loose hold. "He wouldn't like seeing you sad, either."

'I'm sorry."

Behind her, Santana could feel the blonde lift her shoulders in a shrug. "Everyone has to cry once in a while."

"I guess."

"I'm sorry," Brittany murmured, before silence overtook them once again. Santana leaned back a little, letting out a sigh as she relaxed, her body moulding to fit the taller woman's.

"Tell me about you?" Santana's request is soft, politely phrased as a question, but Brittany could tell that she really wanted to know, to have a bit of detail. She hesitated though, taking time to formulate a reply. Even though right now was the perfect timing for any multitude of things- talking of the army, Puck, the letters and photographs and ghosts, maybe something more personal and intimate-, Brittany didn't really want to talk about her past, or even her future. She just knew that she was here, right now, holding a Santana that had even Puck doing a double take, and her skin was smooth and her face right there. Brittany had never really been good with verbal comfort- Physical she could give, which was why she hadn't let go of Santana since they left the cemetery. Not that she actually wanted to let go. It'd been too long since she had had this kind of physical contact with someone, and she was loath to give it up.

"I was in the army," Brittany finally said, "just finished my tour." She fell silent yet again, struggling to put feelings and confessions to words, to share what she should- what she had an obligation to. Instead, what came out was "I saw... I see- ...so much."

Santana turned further so brown eyes could meet blue, and asked with startling clarity and perspective, "Do you even want to talk about it?"

"No," Brittany admitted, "not now. I have to, but I don't want to, now." Or perhaps she can't, not yet. But she will. Just not today.

Santana nodded, interlacing her fingers with Brittany's. "When...or if you ever want to," She told the blonde, voice laced with so much gentleness and compassion that Brittany couldn't look away, "I'm here."

Was this real life? Brittany couldn't help but wonder- Life wasn't like this. Not normally, at least. Strangers were strangers, they didn't offer a willing ear just like that. Though Santana wasn't exactly a stranger- Not anymore. Maybe.

"You too." Oddly compelled, Brittany dipped her head a little lower, rested her chin on Santana's shoulder and pressed her cheek to the Latina's tanned neck. "Thank you," She murmured, noting the little quiver that rippled across Santana's body when Brittany's hot breath blew over the side of her face. Her arms tightened across Santana's middle, the two of them just watching the children play.

To be a child again- Swamped in naivety and endless days of rollercoaster emotions that was so easily forgotten. Everything was so easy, then.

"Perhaps we should start with something easier- Twenty questions?"

Continued Author's Note;; again, if you've suggestions as to what questions they could ask each other, please do share and I'll try to get to most of them in the next chapter. comments, crits, what-say-you always welcome! Thank you everyone who reviewed and gave input on the last chapter- much appreciated. (:

Gleefan13: haha, hey. Your review made me grin- I liked it heaps. I'm hoping this chapter's content/progress made up for its shortness, and that it lives up to expectations!

Miknge: hi again! My thoughts of Brittany being sneaky isn't that she's ashamed of being in the army- More of that she doesn't want to talk about it. Not yet. It isn't a big secret, as you put it, but the experience I have is that soldiers (especially those who have partook in a war) tend to be bombarded with questions and opinions, and Britt isn't ready for that just yet. She will be in later chapters, but for now, she just doesn't want to relive her experiences. That's all.