Santana nervously – perhaps excitedly? – made her way to Brittany's studio. She woke up confident that she'd be able to properly apologize and that she is capable of doing a decent job for the dancer but as she got closer to the studio, her confidence began to waver.
Despite her growing nervousness she makes it to her final destination, only to see a 'CLOSED, oopsies!' sign in the front door. Confused but secretly relieved, she looks at the business hours.
"Closed on Saturdays and Sundays." she reads out loud. "Huh. I guess I should buy a calendar then." She lets out a chuckle and makes her way back to her apartment. There were less people out and about than she figured there would be but it was a Saturday after all. Judging by the sun beating down on the back of her neck, it must've been around noon. She wipes off the tiny beads of sweat beginning to form on the back of her neck. She winces when she presses too hard on an old bruise.
"Fuck." she hisses but it doesn't bother her as much as it would've because she knows the bruise will go away. The physical is temporary.
She is on her way taking in the sights she hasn't really had time to appreciate. Stopping to look into the windows of small boutiques and stores. Making mental notes to buy certain things when she has steady income. Occasionally smiling shyly at strangers passing her by on the sidewalks. She can't help but to feel a little proud of herself for not walking with her head down and having interactions, albeit small, with strangers.
As she gets closer to her apartment, she sees the building Brittany lives in. She stops. Should she go to Brittany's house? Brittany told her to that she could but she was probably just saying that to appease Santana. She was probably busy anyway. Santana rolled her eyes, of course Brittany would be busy. She was super sweet and friendly, of course she'd be busy. She looks at Brittany's building one last time before she walks toward her own.
But as she walks by it, she takes a deep breath and heads towards the entrance, looking for apartment 8.
It's nicer than her own but that wasn't unexpected. She reaches the second floor and notices a neon pink number 8 on the standard pale beige door. Of course Brittany would have that; she's just awesome like that. Standing in front of the dancer's door, she calms herself down, wipes her clammy hands on her jeans and knocks on the door.
She hears a muffled "it's open" and scrunches her face. That couldn't be safe for Brittany. But she shook it off and opens the door. It's beautiful. First thing she sees is the living room, black leather couches with hot pinks throw pillows. Of course. The fireplace a muted grey with a black outline, the mantle filled with pictures. The floors are a beautiful marble, that shine perfectly. It's an open space that is incredibly homey. It was way nicer than she anticipated.
"Hey!" she hears followed by a surprised "Gabriela?"
The blonde has her hair in a messy bun with a streak of flour across her forehead and a cute little frilly apron.
"Hey. I just wanted to stop by but you're busy so I'm just going to go. Uh, bye." Santana says before spinning on her heels towards the door again.
"Gabrielaaa!" Santana hears before a little blonde blur jumps on her, a couple feet from the door. It looked like the little girl from the bus stop. If it were anyone else, she probably would've shut down and cowered but this girl was just different.
"Umphhh!" the brunette lets as she struggles to keep her balance and not panic.
"Becca! What are you doing?" Brittany says as she and Quinn try to pry the girl off Gabriela; Brittany worried because she knows how Gabriela has reacted in the past and Quinn embarrassed at her daughters lack of manners.
"I missed you, Gabbyyy!" Becca pulls back to squish Santana's cheeks together like a fish. "I didn't think I'd see you again." Her hazel eyes lighting up with excitement and a smile from ear to ear.
Santana keeps a firm grip around the girls back, ignoring the pain of her legs digging into sore spots around her waist. She smiles at just how cute the blonde in her arms is. Santana pulls her into a hug and whispers into her ear "I didn't think I'd see you again either."
Brittany and Quinn are taking in the scene, curious. The dancer wants to know how they know each other, why they seem so close, and what she could do to make Gabriela smile like that at her. Quinn wonders why Gabriela chose this place off all places, never expecting to see her again.
The girl kisses the woman's cheek, "Are you going to stay for our lunch? Mama can't make it so we have room. Right?" Becca looked at her mom and Brittany challenging them to say otherwise.
"Well, I don't think Gabriela's going to stay." Brittany hesitantly says. She doesn't want to pressure Gabriela, she was just about to walk out when she was bombarded.
"No, please stay!" Becca pleads even though Santana knew she was going to stay.
Santana looks at Brittany with a tiny smile. "Sure."
/
Santana was sat down next to Rebecca on the dark-stained wooden table. The little girl was such an escape. She was sweet and innocent and not tarnished by anything bad in the world. Her mothers are doing such an amazing job.
"... but my mama had to work and I know my mommy is mad even though she pretends not to be. But that's okay because mama always buys her flowers and sings to her and other stuff I'm not supposed to know until I'm forty and then she's not mad anymore." Rebecca explains as she twirls some of Gabriela's hair around her finger.
"You're so cute. How old are you?" Santana asked as she bopped her nose.
"I'm six. And I was born in New York and I have a puppy but I also want a little brother because they're easier to boss around."
That was the cutest thing Santana has heard in years.
Before Santana can talk again, the two blondes come around from the kitchen. "And here we are, food!" Brittany declared as she set down platters of food in the middle of the table, before sitting down next the Gabriela.
"I hope you've been minding your manners, young lady." Quinn says as she sets down a basket of biscuits.
"Of course, mom. You and mama taught me well." Rebecca smiles as she reaches over to grab a biscuit but can't reach. She asks her new friend if she could push the basket closer.
"Oh, gosh, she's been a joy. She seems like such a big girl. Well beyond her years." Santana compliments as she tickles Becca.
Quinn smiles and gives her daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Tell me about." the mother ruffling her daughter's hair, "She gets that from her mama apparently."
As Quinn and Gabriela make small talk, Brittany begins to serve Gabriela some food on her plate. She was well on her way to loading the plate up before realizing what she was doing, "Sorry, I didn't-" Brittany apologized but was stopped when Santana put her hand on her thigh.
"Thank you. Please don't stop." Santana offers her a reassuring smile, liking that Brittany served her food. That she was doing something for her. It felt nice. It felt normal.
Brittany returned the smile and finished piling the food on Gabriela's plate and then moving onto her own plate. Of course, it's about to overflow.
"Mommy, Gabby eats like Auntie Brittany! That's so weird!" Becca leans over and loudly whispers to her mother, causing Santana to snicker.
The dancer looks at Quinn daring her to embarrass them. "I know, sweetie. I know, they're just funny. But you know the right way to eat, right?" Quinn tucks some of Becca's hair behind her ears, so it won't get in the food.
"Yes. Portion control is a must if I want to be healthy when I grow up. But there's nothing wrong if I look different, as long as I'm healthy." The little blonde says as if she's had to repeat that a million times over.
"Quinn, cut her some slack. She dances hours everyday, if she wants to put it away like a trucker, let her. You remember how much we ate when we were Huskies. Portion control does not apply to athletes. And the way she dances, she's definitely an athlete. She's going to follow her mama's footsteps and be on Broadway, aren't you, Becca?" Brittany winks at Becca before purposely taking a ginormous forkful.
Becca perks up, "Yes, I'm going to be Fanny just like her!"
"Huskies?" Santana asks amused.
Brittany and Quinn share a smile. "That was the name of our cheer leading squad in high school. Quinn, here was the captain." The dancer boasts as she pats her friend's shoulder.
"That's a cooler name than my squad." Santana says with a smile as she takes a sip of her water.
"You were a cheerleader?" Brittany asks. She knows the brunette certainly has the body for it but seems to shy and timid to be one.
"Yup. A Cheerio." She nods slightly before eating some more rice.
Quinn's eyes widen. "The Cheerios!?" She looks at Brittany who pretty much has the same reaction as hers.
"Yes. Head cheerleader for three years." Santana was proud that she was captain. She worked hard for it, harder than she should've worked but it was worth it. She hadn't done anything worth while since then. Except for maybe, escaping a horrible marriage. When Quinn asks what years, she answers.
After doing a little mental math, "Our senior year was your sophomore year. You totally took our championship from us!" Quinn jokes a little bitterly. Becca laughs and pats her mom's back, telling her to try again next time.
"Eh. Shoulda' been better." Santana winked at Quinn in jest. It felt normal just talking with others without the need to cower away in fear.
Brittany was glad to see Gabriela be a little more open. Especially after last night. She isn't really sure what happened last night but she's almost certain it did not end especially well.
Quinn breaks them out of their thoughts, "So how is it that you two know each other?"
The dancer was about to respond when Santana beat her to it. "I work for Brittany now."
Brittany snapped her head toward Gabriela. When the brunette smiled and subtly nodded, a wide smile broke out on her face. Before she knew what was happening, she was leaning forward and kissing Gabriela on the cheek.
Both of them froze.
Quinn notices but decides not to say anything, especially with her daughter there. She does, however, make a note to ask one of them what's going on.
"Wow, that's great. You've been in town less than a week and you already have employment. Congrats." Quinn says without any disdain. It's true, it was only a couple days ago that Gabriela got in state. Already she was employed and getting close to her best friend. Interesting.
It brings them both out of their trance.
Brittany shakes her head, trying to get back into the conversation and looks at Gabriela. "Uh. You've been in town less than a week?" She knew the tanned woman was new to town but not that new.
"Yes." Santana answers, not sure of what else to say.
"Why'd you move here?" Becca asks. "Where did you live before?"
"I lived in San Fransico." She answers truthfully, she doesn't want to lie anymore to the little girl than she already has. "I got divorced and thought here would be a good place."
Becca frowned in concern. "Are you sad?" She cover Gabriela's hand in comfort.
Santana gives a sad smile, "No, hun. Not anymore. Your Auntie Britt and you are helping me be not sad. So thank you."
The little girl beams up at her, "Anytime, Gabby. Wait, can I call you that?" Becca worried that she isn't too sure if she was able to call her new friend that.
Santana laughed at how now Becca just now asked if she could. Maybe one day Becca could call her 'Sanny' instead of 'Gabby'. "You can call me whatever you want."
Brittany takes in the scene. It's so adorable how quickly Becca's taken to Gabriela. It's nice to see Gabriela seem at peace and not worried or nervous. She really needs to see Gabriela like that more often. "You're going to be an amazing mother, Gabriela." Brittany says as she leans her chin into her palm.
Santana doesn't respond, only looks down at her plate. Sensing that she might've said the wrong thing, Brittany really cannot help to wonder why her new friend is like that. She hopes that Gabriela can stay like this.
"Gabby, is that your real hair?" Rebecca asks and all three adults burst out with laughter.
/
After lunch, Quinn and her daughter left but not without a "play-date" for Santana and Rebecca. Santana and Brittany were on the couch, drinking beer.
Santana breaks the silence. "My marriage wasn't good. It was my fault but it doesn't matter anymore because it's over. It's over and I'm here and I finally feel, I don't know, kind of normal? Like this is what I was supposed to be doing all along." She furrows her brow, not sure if she's making sense. "So if I don't do or say the right thing, I'm sorry." Santana sincerely tells Brittany. She couldn't look away from those comforting blue eyes. Santana owed Brittany that much, especially if they're going to work together.
"Thank you for telling me, you didn't have to but thank you. I appreciate it. You don't have to be sorry. I promise. Can I touch you?" Brittany asked motioning toward the brunette's hand resting on the cushion in between them.
Without responding, Santana reaches out with a shaky hand and wraps her hand around the blonde's.
"When do I get my own shirt?" Santana asks to change the topic, but completely aware they're still holding hands. She knows her hand's sweating but she doesn't care. She won't let go until Brittany does.
The blonde smiles. "I'll do that Monday morning so maybe by lunch. I'm glad you said yes. Like, really glad." She says, squeezing her hand to emphasize her point.
Santana chuckles because she's more excited than she should be over a shirt. "I'll most likely mess up but I'll try not to. I swear."
"Don't worry, it's only money." Brittany sincerely told her.
"You fucking cunt! Don't you understand what tonight meant?!" Noah yelled at her before pushing her down to the floor, stepping on her back to keep her down.
Santana didn't move while Noah struck her with his belt again. She flinched but didn't make a sound. She knows that he likes that and she won't give him that satisfaction.
He growls. "It meant more MONEY. I need more money. Do you think you're cheap? No, you're fucking not. All you do is waste my money. MY money. You fucking dyke, I should just leave you in the basement, make you eat your own shit! That's a great idea, don't you think?"
The buckle got caught on her back, breaking skin.
"It's cheaper for me and it's exactly what a lesbo like you deserves!" He finished before stomping on her back.
"Yeah, it's only money..." Santana says softly.
Brittany senses the mood change but wants to spend more time with Gabriela. "Hey, I just bought a new game, do you want to play it with me? It's a racing game. I don't like the violent stuff. It really freaks me out. Especially when the thing vibrates. So, yes?" The blonde's eyes wide open in excitement basically vibrating in her seat.
Gosh, that was adorable. "Sure but the last time I played anything was in high school. I won't be much competition."
"Really? Your husband didn't play?" Brittany asks as she gets up to grab the controllers from underneath her TV.
Santana had a choice. A simple answer and then move on or shut down because a simple question brought back bad memories.
"Yes but it was always a 'guy thing', no wives allowed." And just like that, it was done.
/
"Brittany! You're such a cheater!" Santana screams Brittany yanks her controller away.
Brittany ignores her and keeps playing until Gabriela takes hers away too. "Hey! I was winning!" The dancer shoots up next to Gabriela and before she knows it, Gabriela runs off, laughing. "Hey! Come back!" Brittany chases after, hearing a crash from the video game.
"I'm sorry!" Brittany hears laughter from the hallway. Gabriela's so silly, the apartment isn't all that big. "I swear it was an accident!"
"Liar!" The dancer crashes into her as she was running out of one of the bedrooms. They collapse onto the floor in a fit of laughter. Brittany takes a chance and starts tickling Gabriela's sides. "Say that you're a cheater! Say it!"
Santana laughing out loud, not able to breath; she feels so alive. "Okay, okay, I'm a cheater, I'm a cheater!" Santana yells out trying to get the dancer to stop tickling her sides. Her body aches but she doesn't mind.
Brittany stills, her laughter dying down as she looks down at Gabriela. Her beautiful eyes adorning her flawless face. Her heart's beating at a scary pace but she knows it isn't from running around. She's had so many people compliment her on her baby blues but they have nothing Gabriela's. They're a rich brown and so expressive and so breathtaking. She sees Gabriela glance down at her lips. She looks at Gabriela's. She hears Gabriela's breath hitch as she leans in. She can feel Gabriela's breath on her lips. Her heart pounding away in her chest. Her eyes flutter close as closes the distance between them only to be met with Gabriela's cheek.
Her eyes instantly water and she gets off Gabriela and wordlessly heads to her kitchen and drinks some water. She shouldn't have done that. Gabriela is just only beginning to open up and she practically took advantage of her. She just got divorced and it obviously wasn't a good marriage.
Brittany jumps up when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns around and sees Gabriela holding herself.
"I can't – I don't – I... I'll see you on Monday, okay?" Gabriela says weakly, almost pathetically.
Brittany's heart breaks but manages a smile and nods but doesn't expect Gabriela to wrap her arms around her neck and hug her. The blonde doesn't hesitate to return the hug.
"It's late. Let me walk you home." Brittany says already picking up her keys from the counter.
/
"My ass you weren't good competition. You totally made me eat your dust! That's the only reason I tried to cheat!" Brittany bumped shoulders with Gabriela, glad that they were over the rough patch.
"I don't know, I must be a natural." Santana answers as she kicked a rock on the sidewalk. "Can I tell you something?"
"Anything." Brittany smiles reassuringly.
"I've never had a job before but I'm so excited!" The brunette admitted as they reached her apartment.
Brittany leaned against the wall as Santana unlocked the door. "That's all that matters, honestly. I think I'm going to like working with you." Brittany's smiles vanishes. "I promise to not do what I did earlier to you at work. That was wrong of me. I apologize."
Santana didn't say anything, "I'll see you Monday, first thing, boss. Good night." Brittany waved and walked home.
/
Monday morning comes quickly, quicker than Santana would've liked. Sunday she went into town to the bookstore and luckily found a few accounting books. She almost stopped by Brittany's apartment but decided against it considering what happened the day before.
It was such a great day for her. She had such a great time with lunch, especially with Becca. Becca wouldn't judge her making her closest friend. She chuckles as she thinks that it's a little funny that a six year old could possibly be her new best friend since before high school. Quinn seems nice too but a bit of a hard ass. Well, considering to whom she was married, not really a big deal.
And then there was Brittany.
Something as simple as putting food on her plate, made her heart warm up. It was a caring gesture, however insignificant it may be to others. They were playing games and drinking and she didn't need to have her guard up. Then Brittany almost kissed her.
She'd like to think it's because Brittany likes her or could grow to like her but who would ever like her? In the few days she's known Brittany, she's had minor freak outs in front of her and looked battered, just weak. Which she was but she didn't want to know Brittany to know that. It's embarrassing. Which leads her to question what Brittany could possibly want from her. Maybe it was just a sex thing. Maybe something about her makes people think that she is available for sex. That's pretty much the only reason Noah kept her, to fuck. It was hard to believe that Brittany would be like that. Probably only the good thing she's good for.
But regardless, she walks into Pierce Studios first thing Monday morning. Her eyes found the Kudos Wall. Maybe she could do something to earn a place on the wall one day.
"Hey! You're early!" Brittany pops out of nowhere. "C'mon, the coffee should be done now and I totally brought donuts!" She says before disappearing again.
Santana follows the blonde, glad she didn't eat breakfast because she always loved donuts. She found Brittany in a small break room standing in front of a coffee maker, next to fridge with an eclectic mix of magnets and pictures.
"Cream? Sugar?" Brittany asks. "Sit, and help yourself." She motions to the two seater table.
"Both, please?" Santana sits down and grabs a glazed doughnut.
"Damn, now I got some competition for the glazed donuts!" The dancer pouts but the humor was evident in her voice as she settles for a non-glazed, powdery doughnut.
Santana drops the doughnut and looks down. She just walked in and already messed up.
"Gabriela, I was kidding. It was a joke. It's fine. Eat." Brittany chastises herself. Gabriela just walked in and she already did something wrong.
"Are you sure?" Santana quietly asks.
"Of course, silly! I..." Brittany cleared her throat. "I brought them for you. I eat breakfast at home. I wanted to make your first work experience legitimate. What's more legit than coffee and doughnuts?" Brittany nervously laughs as she takes a bite of her doughnut.
Santana just smiled. Of course Brittany would do something sweet like that. How could she ever think Brittany would just want to fuck her. But her smile widens when she sees some powdered sugar Brittany has around her lips.
Lifting her hand up, Santana gently wipes the sugared residue on Brittany's lip. "Thank you." Santana says as she runs her thumb one last time.
It takes everything in her to not kiss Gabriela's thumb. She knows she can't; she promised she wouldn't. She can't keep making advances on someone that seems fragile at times.
"Thanks, I'm usually a messy eater when I eat sweets. C'mon, I got a class in an hour so let's go through what you have to do." Brittany explains adding some 'chomping' sound effects.
/
Since Brittany explained to her what she needed, Santana's been working nonstop. She was making more progress than she expected.
"Knock, knock. Miss Hernandez, it's lunch time. Come with me." Brittany pokes her head in just as she was about to start with yet another column. "Vamonos!" The dancer announces before she turns around and leaves.
Santana is pretty hungry, she might as well. With a shrug of her shoulders she saves her work so far and walks towards the entrance. She hadn't noticed that Brittany changed from this morning. She was no longer wearing sweats and an oversized shirt with the studio name and logo. She was now wearing a tight tank top and spandex shorts. She fights her innate instinct to look away because if caught, she'd be punished. She doesn't have to worry about being punished. Now she has to worry about being pervy.
"I hope you don't mind. I get super over-heated; if I were a car, my radiator woulda' conked out hours ago. Kaput!" Brittany explains as she opens the door for the smaller woman.
Santana heads on out waiting for Brittany to lock the door. She looks around, spotting people on the sidewalks. "Are you allowed to go outside like that?" She asks quietly
"You're funny." Brittany starts as she bumps into Gabriela's shoulder. "I've lived here my whole life, except for the couple years I lived in New York. People are more than used to it. Actually, this" the blonde points to her body, "is waaaay toned down from my high school years."
The brunette gulps at that thought.
"Oh. That's good." She awkwardly nods. "So, where are you taking me?"
The blonde smiles and points down the street to Evan's Diner. "Have you eaten there before?"
Santana smiles as her cheeks heat up as she remembers her first time telling someone she was gay. "Totally. That's how I met Sam, he served me." She scratches the tip of her nose. "He kinda hit on me. It was adorable."
Brittany flushes with jealously and embarrassment. She's basically threw herself at Gabriela yesterday and she's obviously straight. Another reason, the reason, for Brittany to just focus on being Gabriela's friend.
"Yeah, imagine that eighty times over in high school. I can't believe I slept with him." Brittany chuckles, somewhat bitterly still thinking about how she's been acting near Gabriela.
"You slept with him?" Santana asks, the disappointment seeping through her words. Brittany mentioned that they dated but it's not fair that they slept together. Even if Santana ever managed to get involved with Brittany and feel comfortable with her, she didn't want to be compared to anyone sexually. She inwardly scoffs. Obviously Brittany wouldn't be a virgin or anything. It's just that the only sexual experience she's had has been with Noah and horrible. She shouldn't even be thinking this, she wasn't even remotely ready for someone as great as Brittany.
Brittany's taken aback at Gabriela's reaction. She's not sure why Gabriela reacted like that. Was she judging her? "Twice. The first time was, like, super bad so the second was to be sure." Brittany opens the door to the diner, shivering a little from the cold, and sits down without needing to be seated.
Santana followed but before sitting across from Brittany, she takes off her jacket and lays it across Brittany's shoulders. The blonde looks up and smiled in gratitude. "Thanks, Gab. Well, anyway, I'm sure you have high school sex stories. We all do."
"Fantastic, not only are you a prude, you're a gay prude." Noah sneered as he grabbed at her hair, pulling her outside.
Santana frantically clawing at his fist in her hair, trying to get him to release his grip."I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was an accident! It won't happen again!"
Noah ignored her and shoved her in the cab of his truck, ripping off her cheerleading skirt. "Yeah, I'll make sure it won't happen again." He promised before climbing in and shutting the door.
Santana did her best to smile. "Yeah, we all do. I married mine though."
"Hey! You guys, how are you?"
Thank God for Sam.
"Wait! You guys already know each other?" Sam asks as he pushes Brittany over making room for him to sit.
Santana takes point as she fiddles with her hands on her lap. "Yup, she's my boss now." She smiles at Brittany and sees her cheeks tinted pink. That's weird, maybe it's because she's sitting close to Sam. No, but Brittany alluded to it being bad and that's why they're just friends now.
"Really?" Sam doubts.
Brittany grins "Totally. She's my new nerd." and shoots a wink at Gabriela.
"Oh, that's cool." He shrugs his shoulders, "Sorry for ditching you the other day. Things have been hectic here and I haven't been able to swing by your way. Today the regular guy came back so it's been better. You totally owe me an HBO night." Sam playfully narrowed his eyes and wagged his finger at her.
Gabriela giggles and Brittany wants to be the one to make her laugh like that.
"You're right, I do. Maybe this weekend? We could celebrate my first week." Santana clears her throat, "You know, if it goes well."
Sam smiles to reassure his new friend. He softens his tone, "I'm sure you'll do well. I don't work Saturday morning so we could do then." He suggests.
"Whenever. It's not like I'd have anything else to do or anything."
"Awesome." Sam stands and pulls out his pad and pencil. "Britt, your usual. Gabriela?"
Santana ducks her head. "Can I have what I had last time?"
"Damn right, you can. I'll put the order in and grab your drinks too." The blonde waiter said before he walked away.
"I didn't know you and Sam were so close." Brittany sits back and folds her hands in her lap.
"Apart from the brief encounter with Becca and Quinn at the bus station, he was the first person I talked to here. He took me around to buy stuff when I moved into the apartment." The brunette explains. It's true. Tina came after, and she makes a mental note to thank her for hooking her up with a new job, and then Brittany.
The dancer perks up, "Oh. Do you still need stuff? I can, I can take you." The dancer scratches the back of her neck, realizing how forward that sounded.
Santana knew she needed like a clock or something to keep up with the dates. "I need like a watch with the date on it so I can keep track of the time and day."
"Why don't you get a phone like 77% of the human race?" Brittany jokes as she lifted her phone to show Gabriela.
Santana chuckles a little, "I barely used the phone I had in San Francisco, I had no one to call. And now that I'm here, I really don't need one."
"What do you mean?" Brittany asks, confused. How could she have no one to talk to?
"What?"
"I mean, you could talk to me. And Sam. I'm sure Becca wouldn't mind making her mom send you pictures of the stuff she finds. And I don't know if you heard me but you could totally talk to me. I have a really nice telephone voice." Brittany wiggles her eyebrows, because it's true. She does have a nice telephone voice.
She has nice everything. Santana flushes at the thought. But that's good, right? She's thinking like a normal 25 year old lesbian.
"I don't know, maybe. I don't think I can afford it. I did just move here and I might get fired for sucking at my job, so..."
"But think about it: you could totally just text if you need someone to get something from the top shelf. Or you could totally call me at four in the morning if you don't want to indulge in milk and cookies by yourself. Orrrrr, more importantly you could let me know if there's a Zombie marathon on TV and can't watch it by yourself. You definitely gotta give me a heads-up if that happens." the dancer nods her head as if Gabriela had no reason to not agree with her.
Apparently those were valid points and they were more opportunities to spend time with the dancer. But it was also more opportunities for Brittany to realize how bad she was. "Uhh..."
Brittany took the lack of response as affirmation."That's it. I've totally decided, we're getting you a phone."
Santana shyly says, "One of these days, maybe."
/
After fighting over the bill, settled after a thumb war, Brittany's leads them to the local dry cleaner/tailor. When Santana sees the set of shirts with her name, well her new name, in cursive embroidered on to the shirt with Pierce Studios on the back, her eyes begin to water. It was silly that she teared up but it was something she did on her own. She hugs her boss, not very professional but she didn't care. It was proof that she was starting over again. A new life.
/
Santana just finished putting the projected expenses for the next quarter together when Brittany walked in announcing she was walking Gabriela home. Santana waita outside for Brittany to finish locking up.
"Andiamo, amica!" Brittany tells the brunette as she skips to her.
That's different. Just add to the list of things that make Brittany perfect. "Italian?"
With a sneaky grin, the blonde answers. "Totally."
" 'Pierce' isn't Italian though, right? Foreign language in college?" The brunette questions as she glances at her boss before looking straight ahead.
She shakes her head and lets out a tiny laugh. "Gosh, no. Pierce is English or Welsh but my parents are Dutch. My last relationship was with a legit born and raised Italiano. It was serious so I figured it'd be beneficial to learn to learn the language. Came in handy when I met the in-laws." Brittany says as she picks a flower from a bush they were passing.
"If it was that serious, what happened?"
"Someone's curious... I apparently am a work-aholic. And that's not conducive to a monogamous relationship." Brittany shrugs it off, handing the flower to Gabriela.
Santana accepts with a shy smile and thank you. She continues, "But that's ridiculous. You love to work and it's how you make a living."
Brittany's heart flutters when the brunette smiles at her. "It's fine. My show was ending and Rachel's show was ending so I had no reason to stay. Perfect time to move back home."
The tanned woman kicks a tiny pebble farther up the drive way. She clears her throat and looks over at Brittany. "No one since?"
"Nope." She takes a pause, not trying to have Gabriela feel bad for her. "But it's fine. It's better that I'm not involved; I can't expect someone to wait at home for me when I travel for work." It's true, sometimes she's away for three, four weeks. She doesn't tour anymore but she's still in demand for choreography and that takes time.
Santana scoffs and turns to look at Brittany. "You're ridiculous. You're sweet and funny, anyone would kill to wait for you at home."
"Except you." Brittany responds without skipping a beat and instantly regretting saying that.
Santana instantly looks forward.
Brittany clears her throat after walking for a few minutes in silence, only their feet against the sidewalk being heard. "Becca seems super excited for you to meet her mama on Saturday. Rachel's cool. She's sweet and really nice but has no idea what the word 'tact' means." She nervously laughs at her attempt to get past another awkward moment.
Taking in the new information, Santana nods. "You said your shows ended, was she a dancer as well?"
Brittany's face scrunches up. Rachel wasn't a bad dancer but the dancing world could not handle that ego. "God no. She was Fanny in Funny Girl. For like five years. She started a couple months after Becca was born."
"Have Quinn and Rachel been together long?"
The blonde's eyes light up at that story. "Since a week after Becca was conceived, I think? Give or take a few days."
"What?" Gabriela's brows furrow and Brittany can't help but think of how cute she is. She wants this walk to last forever.
Brittany laughs, "Becca was an accident." She starts to explain, "Back when Quinn was still sleeping with boys, no one told her that pre–come could still put a bun in her oven. So, she did whom she did, totally ruined her shirt with jizz but when she was picking up that soiled shirt from the dry-cleaners, she ran into Rachel. They had coffee which quickly led to dating and then a relationship. When Quinn found out she pregnant, she kinda' freaked and broke up with Rachel. Couple hours later Rachel found out – that is I totally told her – and asked her to marry her." That day started off as rough but ended up being one of the best days of all of their lives. Her best friend began her family and she believed in love again.
"So soon?" Santana asks skeptically. Weeks of just knowing each other and they already had a baby and a wife. She cannot fathom doing something like that. Not even when she was in high school could she picture doing that.
Brittany nods understanding Gabriela's question. "That was more or less my reaction but then Rachel said 'when you know, you know. I knew I wanted to spend forever with her so it didn't really matter when that started.'"
"Just like that?"
Santana sees Brittany's eyes smile, "Just like that." They finish the walk in silence, occasionally playfully bumping into each other. "Here we are." Brittany gestures to the building. "Good work today. I mean, if you didn't use the copy machine to print pictures of your ass, I would've considered it a victory but seeing that you were actually productive, I'm a billion percent sure you're going to do just fine."
Santana feels her face heat up. She finally did something good. And the fact that she did it for Brittany makes it that much more important. "Really?"
"Yes, really. Sleep tight. I'll be here first thing and we'll walk to work together. Good night." Brittany says with her trademark grin.
"Good night, see you tomorrow."
Santana waves and makes her way to her apartment. She makes a quick sandwich before showering. She lays in bed trying to read one of the books she picked up on the weekend but her mind is running a mile a minute. She got through her first day of work, quite well according to Brittany. It was more straight forward than she imagined. And thinking about how Brittany popped into her office between her classes brought a smile to her face. She barely knows the dancer but she knows she was right in saying that anyone would kill to be with her; she knows that much.
Apart from moment of awkwardness on the walk home, she has never felt so at ease. It'll probably help her trying to cope and move on from so many years of abuse. Yeah, maybe Brittany is exactly what she needs. Like Rachel said 'when you know, you know.'