Glee and all related characters and places are owned by Fox - I just make them dance for my own amusement.

Sorry about the wait for this one. As some of you may know, I started another Brittana fic - 'Leave Your Glasses On' - which has already amassed a huge amount of reviews for only a couple of chapters; check it out of you can :)

As for this fic, this chapter was something of a long steep hill. It's not actually that long in terms of word count, but it gets a lot of neccesary description out of the way. If you've seen Iron Man - fantastic, you know what Santana's house looks like. If not, then this chapter is for you. Either way, if you just google something like 'tony stark house', you'll get plenty of pictures that illustrate it.

~xxx~

For the first time in years, Brittany was the first to wake up. By the time Tina and Mike had emerged from their room, the blonde was already showered, dressed, and finishing her breakfast.

After Santana Lopez had left, the couple had grilled Brittany on exactly what had happened – apparently Tina had pulled Mike away when he had tried to press his ear against the door – and spent a great deal of time asking her if she was sure it wasn't a big joke. However, still brimming with confidence, Brittany had rather bluntly told them to get over it, and stop looking so surprised that she had got the job. She herself was of course still pinching herself to make sure it was real, but with her own self-doubts mostly abated by Santana's words, she hardly needed others telling her she couldn't do it. She had absolutely no idea if she was even capable of doing the job she had been hired for, but after years of being told she wasn't good enough, she was going to give it her best shot.

As she stood in front of the mirror, Brittany made one final check on her hair and makeup – she had to make a good first impression on her first day. She didn't actually own a suit jacket herself, but thankfully Tina had a spare. It didn't fit perfectly, but it was better than a sweater. Coupled with a plain white shirt and simple black pants, and she turned out rather smart. Tina herself was stood nearby, looking as though she desperately wanted to say something but couldn't find the words; she kept opening her mouth and then immediately closing it and looking away. Brittany knew exactly what was going on – she wanted to ask the blonde if she was positive this was actually happening. As much as she understood their surprise – being in a similar state herself – she would have appreciated a little more in the way of congratulations. Maybe she'd be able to get that out of them when she came home that day and was able to prove categorically that this was real.

At roughly eight o'clock, she hoisted her bag over her shoulder, grabbed an apple from the nearby bowl, and after taking a bite and waving at her still speechless flatmates, headed out the door.

~xxx~

As she drove, Brittany found her smile getting wider and wider. This was actually happening; it wasn't a dream, it wasn't a joke, and it wasn't a mistake – she was on her way to the home of Santana Lopez, and for the foreseeable future, would be spending every day with the businesswoman. It was quite literally a dream come true, and as she continued on her way, the blonde noted that even the weather seemed to be matching her mood – not a cloud in the sky. Not that she would ever admit it, but the route from her own home to her current destination was one she had long since memorised. Brittany felt like something of a stalker, but after discovering that Santana's house – at least her main one – was not far outside the city in which she lived, she had of course looked into exactly how far it was.

Though despite knowing the route itself, she was unprepared for the views it would afford her. As the last few buildings went past, Brittany found the road suddenly winding near a large cliff face on her right. And before too much longer, to her left, there was the sea. Coupled with the glorious sunshine, it was a breathtaking sight, and the blonde found herself thankful that the road itself was not busy, for her eyes were fixed upon the distant horizon.

But if the ocean was an amazing sight, it was nothing compared to the one coming into view as the road turned slightly inland. Ahead, jutting out from a point further along the cliff face, was an enormous building. Constructed of white stone, shining steel and huge glass panels, it was unmistakably the house of Santana Lopez. It looked like something from a science-fiction movie – all curved angles and smooth edges. Brittany had of course seen many pictures of the building, but nothing had prepared herself for actually seeing it in reality. The blonde had often contemplated driving out this way to see it for real, but every time she reminded herself that it crossed her self-imposed line. Now, however, she was approaching it with the knowledge that not only was she meant to be here, but that it was her destination.

The road began to turn further to the right, following the land's edge as it curved inwards. Soon, the road left the coast, and Brittany briefly lost sight of Santana's house. However, it wasn't long until she was making her way up a long straight piece of road, and she knew that her next turning would be to Santana's driveway. The blonde gripped the wheel slightly tighter, her excitement threatening to bubble over. She could see the turning up ahead on the left, marked only by a small sign that read 'Private Property – CCTV in operation.'

Taking a deep breath, she turned the wheel, and began the last leg of her journey. Flanked by tall, thin trees on either side, the road up to Santana's house was narrow and winding. It curved gently right, then left, then right again. As it continued, Brittany was aware of a gentle upwards incline as she moved closer to the edge of the cliff – and Santana's home. As she followed the final left curve of the road, through the trees Brittany could see what looked like a large helipad, and she smiled; this really was it. She was about to enter an entirely different world – one she had only read about or seen in movies. It was quite literally her dream come true.

Finally, the road opened out into a larger area, reminding Brittany of the entrance to a hotel; there was even a large fountain in the middle of it, turning the area into a roundabout. Brittany could just picture the place full of cars, dropping of famous celebrities and politicians for one of Santana Lopez's famous parties, and felt a slight flutter in her chest that not only was she here – and was meant to be here – but that she was the only one. She had seen a curved ramp leading down beneath the house – presumably to a garage – but Santana hadn't mentioned anything about where she was allowed to park, so instead, Brittany opted to simply stop outside the front door.

She sat for a moment, dimly aware that her heartbeat was increasing. There was silence, save for the distant crashing of waves down below. This was the moment. Brittany wished she could say it was the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance, but that would be a lie. She was here because of pure blind luck, and a helping hand from Kurt. Still, something Santana Lopez had told her echoed in her mind – 'anyone can follow their dreams – they just need the chance to prove it.'

Lips curling into a smile, she reached over to the passenger seat for her handbag, before opening the door and stepping out into the sunlight. There was a warm breeze blowing, and Brittany couldn't have pictured a better day to be here. Smile only growing wider, she locked the car and made her way up the few stone steps to the front door.

And then found herself faced with a problem.

Being entirely made of glass, and part of a wall made from full-length windows, the door had no bell or buzzer. Beyond, there was simply a small room that appeared to be some kind of entrance hall, with a few paintings and potted plants dotted about. Brittany assumed this was to protect privacy; with a glass front, anyone could have wandered up to the house and seen inside. But then something occurred to her – she had been through no form of security thus far; she had simply driven up to Santana Lopez's front door. That didn't seem right – surely the billionaire had some sort of high-tech security system in place.

"Please identify yourself."

It was all Brittany could do to not jump out of her skin.

The calm, female voice had come from the house, no question. The blonde looked around, but found she was still quite alone. She turned back to the door, before desperately checking again for any sort of intercom system. But she had been right the first time – there was literally nothing but glass. With no other options available to her, Brittany swallowed, and replied.

"Brittany Pierce," she said. "I'm here to see Santana Lopez."

There was a brief pause, and then to Brittany's amazement, the glass doors swung open of their own accord.

"Welcome, Miss Pierce," the voice replied. "Miss Lopez has been expecting you."

Looking up, for lack of a better place to direct her eyes, Brittany was incredibly impressed; clearly Santana had staff watching her – that would explain the lack of any security guard or gate. The blonde stepped through the doors, and felt them swoosh shut behind her.

"If you will come this way," the female voice instructed, and another nearby door opened. Rather excited by all this – Brittany swiftly swept through.

And felt her breath escape her.

She had stepped into an enormous room; high ceilinged and bordered on almost all sides by more full-length windows, this had to be Santana's living room. The floor was on multiple levels; on the right, near a modern-looking fireplace, was a lower level with a large circular sofa built into it. Near the fireplace, a spiral staircase leading down and out of sight. On the left, a raised area housed what appeared to be a fully-stocked bar, complete with those drink-dispensing hoses that had always amused Brittany. She would have spent longer inspecting various other features – the large rocks that appeared to be built into parts of the walls and floor; the balcony beyond the windows that overlooked the ocean; the many works of art – most likely priceless – hanging from the walls. But she was cut short by that voice again.

"Miss Lopez asks that you join her downstairs," it said. As it did so, the lights running down the staircase brightened, clearly to draw the blonde's attention to it. Brittany smiled in thanks, before hurrying across the large room and towards the stairs.

Tentatively, she began to step down them. The stairs curved to the right, moving back on themselves and directly beneath the fireplace on the ground floor. Once they had turned back in the complete opposite direction, the stairs straightened out and lead downwards. At the bottom, on the right, another large glass wall with a door set into it. As she approached, something flickered within the glass. Brittany's eyes widened in surprise as a computer interface appeared within the window; a number pad with the words 'Enter Passcode' above it. She stared at it, paying little attention to the words themselves and more the fact that somehow – though not entirely surprisingly, given her intelligence – Santana had computer screens built into glass.

She was so caught up in simply observing the marvel, that Brittany briefly forgot exactly what it was she was doing there.

"Access granted," the voice said, and the display promptly vanished. Brittany blinked; she hadn't done anything. Still, she wasn't going to argue, and reached forward – hand shaking slightly – and opened the door.

She had paid little attention to the room beyond the glass, but upon stepping into it, Brittany found herself marvelling at the sight before here again. It was another large room; rectangular this time, with it's longest wall directly opposite her. Said wall was the only one with any windows, and Brittany realised that based on the house's outward appearance, this entire room must have been essentially hanging from the underside of the ground floor above, jutting out from the cliffside. The left side of the room, rather than featuring a wall, instead housed a large curved ramp, and Brittany instantly knew where it led – she had been right: this was Santana's garage. Near the ramp were two rows of vehicles – four cars on each side. Half were old, though their condition was immaculate. The other four were all modern; all sports cars.

Again, Brittany found herself prevented from further inspection of the room by a voice.

"There she is!" She froze, rooted to the spot. "Just the person I wanted to see."

Swallowing thickly, Brittany turned to the right, just in time to see Santana Lopez emerging from a side room, wiping her hands on a towel before tossing it to the side. The Latina smiled widely.

"You found the place okay?" she asked brightly. Brittany just smiled weakly and nodded.

"Fantastic," Santana replied, clapping her hands together. "Well then, I guess we'd better get things started." She stepped past Brittany, moving towards a large curved desk; almost a complete circle, save for a small gap allowing Santana to reach the chair in the middle of it. "First things first – you need security clearance." The brunette looked up to the ceiling. "Quinn, can you generate Miss Pierce an encrypted pass code. Level 7 Clearance – access all areas."

"Yes, ma'am," the same female voice from before replied.

"Is Quinn your housekeeper?" Brittany asked. She had been curious about the voice ever since she had first heard it. Santana raised an eyebrow, before letting out a laugh. Brittany felt as though she had said something stupid, and was about to apologise before Santana cut her off.

"I guess you could call her that," Santana said. "But a more accurate description would be that Quinn is the house."

"Your house talks?" the blonde asked, and Santana just continued to grin.

"Quinn's a computer," she explained. "Built her myself a few years back. She looks after the house, keeps me updated on current projects, handles the security – all that stuff."

"I'm amazed you need a PA at all," Brittany replied, impressed. Santana just shook her head.

"Oh she's great and everything, but she can't exactly walk around or attend meetings," she said. "Well…not yet, anyway." She turned back to her computer screens, which Brittany noted were clearly made from the same material as the windows. "Now then, we've got a whole load of boring legal stuff to go over later, but that can wait." She looked up again. "First thing I want to focus on is getting you…you know…acclimatised, as it were."

Brittany nodded, unable to take her eyes off the other woman. In the space of five minutes, Brittany's opinion of Santana had quadrupled – computer screens in windows? A sentient computer running her house? This woman couldn't be human.

"So, Holly's gonna come by a little later and we can start getting you all trained up," Santana said happily. Brittany nodded, but couldn't help but be reminded of just how ludicrous this was – Santana was talking about training her from nothing? She was really okay with that? "Something wrong?"

"Hm?" Brittany blinked, torn from her thoughts. "Oh, yes. It's just…"

"If you're gonna start going on about how you shouldn't be here again, I'm gonna tape that cute little mouth of yours shut," Santana said with a smirk, getting to her feet and stepping away from the desk. "You've already accepted the job, Britt – no backing out now."

"I could resign," Brittany replied, surprised at her own teasing tone.

"You could, but that's not gonna look great on your résumé, is it?" Santana replied, not missing a beat.

"Yeah, okay…I'll stick with it til I find something more stable," the blonde said. "You know what the economy's like these days." Just where was this coming from? A minute ago she had been her usual timid self, and suddenly she was trading jokes? With Santana Lopez of all people? Totally surreal.

"You know, I'm liking you more and more, Brittany S. Pierce."

"Wait til you get to know me better – I'm probably the most boring person you've ever met."

"No one with a cat named Lord Tubbington can possibly be that boring." Santana smirked again. "No, I'll tell you who's really boring – the Secretary of Defence. My god that man could talk for hours and hours and actually tell you nothing at all." She chuckled to herself. "Anyway, shall we start with the tour? You're gonna need to know way round the house before you learn you way round the company."

Brittany nodded, and followed the Latina as she headed back towards the stairs. The blonde took one last look over the garage, and for the first time, she found herself accepting it – this was real.

And there was something else that hadn't escaped her notice; something that made her smile all the more, unseen by the other woman.

She called me Britt.