Glee and all related characters and places are owned by Fox - I just make them dance for my own amusement.
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~xxx~
As soon as they returned to the ground floor, Santana made a beeline for the curved sofa and flopped straight onto it, resting her hands over the back. She looked up at Brittany with an expectant face, watching as the blonde continued to stand awkwardly at the top of the stairs. Santana only smiled wider and nodded at the portion of the sofa further down from her.
"You can sit, you know," the brunette said, amusement lacing her voice. Brittany just smiled shakily and made her way closer, doing as instructed and sitting alongside the other woman.
"I still can't believe you live here," she said, placing her bag beside her. After her burst of confidence down in the garage, the last thing she wanted to do was recede back into silence and embarrassment.
"Well where else would I live?" Santana replied, quirking an eyebrow and continuing to smirk. "I mean, I've got a place on the French coast that's kinda nice… Oh, and you have got to see the villa in Italy; got a whole lake to itself and everything."
"Oh, no," Brittany clarified, shaking her head. "No, I just meant…it's an amazing house." She looked down briefly, smiling as her cheeks reddened. "I always dreamt of living in a place like this…"
"Well…" the Latina began, reaching towards the coffee table and grabbing a neatly folded newspaper. She opened it, and gave Brittany a genuine smile over the pages. "…looks like your dream came true."
"Yeah…" the blonde murmured, looking out through the ceiling-high windows to the ocean. Then right back again. "Wait, what?"
Santana flipped the paper down again. "Problem?"
"Did…did you just say I was living here?" she asked, voice once again rather shaky.
"Well actually, what I said was that your dream came true," Santana replied, looking back to her newspaper. "But yeah, that's pretty much what I was implying." She grinned. "What, did you think Holly drove all the way up the PCH every morning? Most nights she stays in her room here." Then quickly, she folded the paper down again, frowning. "At least I think she does. You seen her this morning?"
"Uhh…no?" Brittany answered, now uncertain as to whether she was meant to have seen Holly Holliday on her way in. Not that that was the main thought occupying her mind; was Santana really being serious? Brittany would be staying here with her? Every time she slowly adjusted to the good fortune she had somehow landed herself with, Santana Lopez threw another curveball in her direction.
"Huh." The brunette put her newspaper back down, before getting to her feet and looking around. "Quinn, where's Holly got to?"
"Miss Holliday is-" the A.I began, but was promptly cut off by a voice from the door leading to the entrance hall.
"Is right here," Holly answered, leaning a hand against her hip. "I'm surprised you're even conscious this early in the day."
"Holly, please," Santana said, not sounding entirely serious. "Not in front of my new employee – it's hardly professional."
"Because you're so known for your professionalism," Holly replied with an almost cheeky grin, stepping over to them and dropping her own bag down beside Brittany's, before turning to the blonde and giving her a far more genuine smile. "Hi," she said warmly, extending a hand for Brittany to shake. "Congratulations. Miss Lopez has already told me all about you."
"Oh so now we're being professional…" Santana muttered, walking off towards the bar. Brittany watched her go for a moment, before turning her gaze back to Holly.
"Thank you," she replied, somewhat taken aback given that not only had she been in tears the last time Holly had seen her, but this was the woman she was essentially replacing. "I never got the chance to say, but it's an honor to meet you."
"You're too kind," Holly said, sounding genuinely touched. "I just hope you know what you're letting yourself in for…" She nodded towards Santana, who was now pouring herself a drink. "Miss Lopez isn't exactly the most…orthodox…employer."
"Well, any advice would be great," Brittany said brightly, still somewhat perplexed at where her confidence was coming from; the last time she had been in the company of these two women, she had been reduced to a jabbering wreck. Now she was conversing with them as though she was actually meant to be there; which – she reminded herself – she sort of was.
"Well for a start – get a lot of sleep. Santana doesn't exactly have what you would call 'work hours'," Holly said, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes you'll find her down there in the middle of the night tinkering away on god knows what."
"Hey, I cracked the chemical composition of that armor-plating for the Navy's new cruisers at three in the morning, didn't I?" Santana called from the bar.
"Yeah, and the next morning I found you asleep on the hood of one of your cars," Holly replied with an incredulous laugh, not even turning to face her.
"European cars have comfy bodywork," the brunette replied with a shrug. Holly just shook her head.
"You're gonna get that a lot," she said. Brittany nodded, not entirely sure whether the other blonde was being serious or not. "But I suppose you'll get used to it. And don't worry, I won't be going anywhere until I'm sure it's safe to leave you alone with her."
"Hey!" Santana called. "I don't bite!"
"She does, actually," Holly said flatly. "Bad habit."
Again, Brittany was a little unsure of what to make of all this. Santana and Holly seemed to have such a comfortable – almost familial – chemistry, that they could have so easily been sisters. Or maybe mother and daughter. Or maybe…no; Brittany was positive Holly had never succumbed to Santana's charms. Having seen the brunette with that reporter at the party, Brittany was in no doubt as to Santana's leanings towards women. Whether it was exclusive or not, she couldn't be sure – Santana was often rumoured to be with so many different people by the media, that it was often hard to keep track. Still, Brittany was sure there was no way these two women could continue to be so comfortable around each other if something had happened in the past.
Unless it was still going on.
But…the woman at the party…
Confused, Brittany didn't even notice that Santana had re-joined them by the sofa, drink in hand and a sour expression on her face.
"You two gonna keep railing on me all morning, or can I actually get the tour started?" the brunette asked. Holly shook her head and smirked.
"There's about a million and one things waiting for your attention," she said, gesturing at a stack of papers sat neatly upon the coffee table. "But something tells me they won't be getting looked at for a while."
"You know it," Santana said, seemingly brightening up. She turned to Brittany. "Shall we?"
~xxx~
If Brittany had thought Santana's living room impressive, the rest of her house certainly matched. Almost every room was just as grand – even the bathrooms. In the space of an hour or so, Brittany had been shown a large dining room – which Santana claimed to never use, a fully-equipped gymnasium, a well-stocked library, a games room, and even an entire swimming pool with nearby jacuzzi and sauna – and that was only the inside of the building. Beyond it's walls, and with stunning ocean views over the cliff edge, were a pair of tennis courts, an even larger outside pool, and of course the helipad Brittany had passed on her way to the house.
But as incredible as the house and it's surroundings were, Brittany found most of her attention focussed on the woman that owned it. Santana moved around with an almost childlike glee; as though she herself was seeing it all for the first time. Brittany couldn't help but wonder if it was only when able to share it with someone else that Santana could enjoy all this; or perhaps this was simply the way she behaved most of the time. Despite the many videos and interviews with Santana that Brittany had viewed since their meeting two years ago, she still had no real idea of who this amazing woman really was. She knew the facts, and she knew the media image – but even after the short time she had spent with her in person, she could already tell there was far more to her than originally thought – now it was just a case of working out exactly what that was.
And from the sound of Santana's comments about Brittany staying at the house – even pointing out the door to her new room – she would have plenty of time to do just that.
"And there you have it," Santana said as they made their way back into the living room. "Home sweet home."
"It's amazing, Miss Lopez," Brittany replied.
"Oooookay, no," the brunette said bluntly, coming to a halt. "Call me Miss Lopez in private and I'll hurl something at your head."
"Oh…I'm sorry, Miss…I mean…Santana," Brittany stammered, worried she had upset the other woman. But instead, Santana just smiled and nodded.
"Wasn't so hard, was it?"
"There you are!" Holly called from the sofa. By now, she was surrounded by papers and had a laptop set up on the coffee table. Brittany and Santana turned just in time to see the older woman getting to her feet and approaching them. "Miss Lopez, you had a call from General Morshower regarding the meeting in New York on Thursday."
"What about it?" Santana asked, rolling her eyes at Brittany before heading over to Holly. The younger blonde wasn't entirely sure what was funny, but all the same she was thrilled that Santana was already making private jokes with her.
"Apparently they've had to move some of their training exercises up a week, so the meeting's going to have to be today," Holly explained. Santana nodded slowly, pondered for a moment, then turned to Brittany.
"Well then," she said with a smile. "Let's get going."
"The jet's already waiting," Holly continued, gathering some of her own belongings together. "Wheels-up in thirty minutes."
"How about 'wheels-up when Miss Lopez gets there'?" Santana offered, heading towards the stairs to her garage. She turned briefly, cocking her head to the side. "Seeing as it is…you know…my jet."
Brittany watched the exchange with interest, turning her eyes back and forth between the two women. The fact that Holly still seemed to have to call her 'Miss Lopez', while Brittany had been given permission to call her by her first name in front of others, hadn't escaped her notice. Santana was treating her almost like a friend, and Brittany was loving every minute of it. The fact that she had just spent the last few hours alone with her idol seemed to be sinking in, and a smile slowly crept across her face. And then promptly vanished.
"Wait…did you say New York?" she asked. Holly looked up from her papers.
"That's right," the older woman replied simply. Brittany felt stupid for asking what was apparently a silly question, but couldn't help but remain curious – New York was on the other side of the country.
"Oh…" she murmured, slowly stepping closer and picking up her own bag. She knew Santana was known for her jet-setting lifestyle, but was this really happening? They were just going to jump onto a plane and fly off to the other side of the country at the drop of a hat?
"You guys ready yet?" Santana called. Brittany looked over and saw that the brunette had retrieved a leather jacket from her garage and was in the middle of putting it on.
"Oh you have got to be kidding," Holly said flatly. "You are not wearing that to a meeting with the military."
"Hey, they're inconveniencing me," the Latina replied with a smirk, tucking her phone into her jeans pocket. "They can deal with it."
"If you say so," Holly said with a sigh, shaking her head and tucking her documents back into her bag. "Blaine's waiting out front."
"Yeah, cool, we'll meet you there," Santana said quickly, before turning to Brittany. "Shall we, Miss Pierce?"
And with that, she headed back down to the garage. Brittany stood for a moment, not quite sure what to do. Holly just gave an exasperated laugh and shook her head again.
"Oh just go with her," she chuckled. "She's showing off. Oh, and you might wanna tie your hair up – Miss Lopez isn't exactly known for her careful driving."
"Oh…okay," Brittany nodded, heading towards the stairs. She paused for a moment, and turned back to Holly. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," the older woman said with a smile, watching as Brittany disappeared from view with an amused expression. "Dear god Santana is so into her…"
~xxx~
If Brittany had enjoyed driving along the coastal road near Santana's house in her own car, it was nothing compared to being driven by Santana herself in one of the Latina's overpowered supercars. With the roof down, Santana's hair was flying all over the place, but in Brittany's opinion it only served to make her look more appealing. Everything about her was just irresistible; the clothes, the attitude, the lifestyle – it was no wonder Santana had no trouble picking up anyone she wanted. The blonde had to wonder why the other woman didn't seem to be interested in proper relationships, but even as she pondered it, the answer forming in her mind – Santana was young, attractive, and powerful – she couldn't blame her for enjoying herself.
"So…" Santana began, raising her voice over the wind. "You been to New York before?"
"Oh, no," Brittany replied, looking over at the other woman. She had a feeling she was being watched from behind Santana's sunglasses. "I always wanted to, but…yeah…"
"I'll have to take you there one weekend or something," the brunette suggested. "Today's gonna be a whistle-stop, if I can help it."
"Must be quite exciting," Brittany commented. "Getting to visit New York as a surprise."
"Are you kidding?" Santana scoffed. "It's a pain in the ass." She turned to the blonde, and slowly smiled. "But I guess it gives you a chance to see what's what."
"I'll try not to get in the way," the taller woman said. Santana laughed, and once again Brittany found herself worrying that she had said something stupid.
"Honey, that's what Holly's gonna be trying not to do," she chuckled. "You've got the job now, remember? Time to step up."
"But…I don't even know-"
"Just note down everything important General Morshower says," Santana instructed, cutting Brittany off. But the blonde still wasn't confident.
"But how do I know what's important?" she protested. "I bet I won't even know what you're talking about."
"You said you're a fan, right?" Santana asked, and Brittany nodded. "So can you tell me what a TX-13 thruster is?"
"That's…" Brittany racked her brain, thinking back to all those press conferences she had watched. Sitting alone in her room watching videos of the woman now sat beside her seemed so long ago, but slowly, something came to her. "…the new engines you want to put on the army's new spy satellite things, right?"
"Bingo," Santana replied, grinning widely. "See, I told you you could do it. Tell you what – just make notes on pretty much everything he says, and then we'll go over it later and I'll tell you what stuff is important." As they turned onto a straight section of road, Santana fully turned her head to face her passenger. "You're gonna be fine, Brittany."
"Thanks," the blonde replied, unable to hide her own smile. She couldn't believe she had managed to get that right; something about being around Santana seemed to bring out the best in her - everything felt somewhat clearer.
"Hey, you wanna take a shortcut?" Santana asked after a few minutes. Brittany gave her a curious look; something in Santana's voice told her the brunette was hoping she would say yes.
"Is it safe?" she asked. As far as she could tell, there were no turnings off the road in sight; just dirt and rocks on one side, and the ocean on the other.
"Based on Miss Lopez's previous 'shortcuts'," Quinn's voice echoed from the car's sound system. "I can guarantee a ninety-five percent chance of survival."
"Good enough for me," the brunette said with a small laugh, before jerking the wheel to one side and sending the car straight onto the rugged terrain beside it. Brittany let out a squeak when the car first made contact with the rough surface, but it quickly became clear that – likely through Santana's own ingenuity – the car was most certainly capable of traversing it safely.
Though when coupled with the sort of speeds Santana seemed to favour, Brittany wasn't sure.
~xxx~
By the time they reached the Lopez Industries Aeronautics Center, Brittany was grinning from ear to ear. She had been worried at first, but it quickly became apparent that Santana was just as good a driver as she thought she was. Despite the breakneck speed and rocky route they had taken, at no point had Brittany felt in any danger; it was most definitely the most exciting ride to work she had ever experienced.
Perhaps it was because of the adrenaline still running through her, but Brittany didn't even bat an eyelid as they drove straight onto the runway, bypassing any sort of security. Waiting for them was Santana's private jet – or at least one of them. Brittany had seen many pictures of it, but as with everything else she was experiencing today, seeing it for real was another thing entirely. For the most part, it looked like any other small passenger aircraft – but Brittany, with her knowledge of Santana's world, was quick to note the unusually shaped tail-fin and rather advanced-looking engines. As they stepped out of the car, she finally tore her eyes away from the jet and turned back to Santana.
"Wanna wait out here or get sat down?" the brunette asked, locking the car and stepping around it.
"Um…I don't mind," Brittany replied.
"Well, I want a drink, so…" Santana casually pointed to the steps leading up to the jet's open door, before moving past Brittany. The blonde followed, turning her attention to the plane once again. She wondered if eventually she would become used to this sort of thing, because at that moment, it still felt like the most amazing thing ever.
As they stepped into the shade of the aircraft, they were greeted by a man in a dark blue air force uniform. He smiled at Santana and shook her hand.
"Well well well," the brunette chuckled. "They dragged you into this too, Puckerman?"
"Yeah, guess they wanted someone to keep an eye on you," the man replied. "God knows why – this thing isn't even to do with the air force."
"Well I never thought they should have let you near those things anyway," Santana commented. "You can barely drive a car."
"Very funny," he muttered, before looking over her shoulder and spotting Brittany for the first time. "Oh, is this…?"
"New girl," Santana answered, smiling widely and removing her sunglasses. "Brittany, this is Pu-"
"Lieutenant Colonel Noah Puckerman," he cut in. Brittany had to wonder what Santana was going to call him, but decided it could wait.
"Brittany S Pierce," the blonde replied, shaking the man's outstretched hand. He had a firm grip, but a warm smile.
"So has Holly gone already, or…" he trailed off, but Santana shook her head.
"Nah, she's hanging around until Miss Pierce is settled," the Latina explained. "Not that she needs it, mind you." She turned to the other woman and smiled. "She's doing just fine."
"So is Holly coming with? I didn't see her w-" the man began, leaning round Brittany to look out onto the runway through the door. "…what the hell have you done to your car?"
"Oh come on it's not that ba-" Santana mirrored his actions and followed his gaze. "…okay, yeah, it's kinda dirty."
"And the back seats are full of sand," Brittany added, and to her great surprise, Santana gave her a playful shove.
"Not helping," she chuckled, before strolling down the aisle between the seats. "Come on, Britt, we've got a phone call to make."
"We do?" the blonde asked, following the other woman. Noah Puckerman just shook his head and headed down the steps onto the runway. Unlike most passenger planes, the seats in this jet were very spread out in here; it made sense, given that Santana was it's only primary user. The brunette flopped into a seat near the back, motioning for Brittany to do the same in the one opposite.
"When I was running a background check on you – super-hot cheerleading uniform, by the way – I made a rather interesting discovery," Santana explained, shifting slightly as she smirked. "Just how did you find out about the interview for your job?"
"Oh, I…uh…a friend told me about it," Brittany admitted. "He said he wasn't meant to be telling me, but…"
"Just how long have you known Kurt?" Santana asked. "Since high school?"
"That's right," Brittany nodded. "We were in glee club together."
"No shit," the brunette said, seeming surprised. "Small world, isn't it?"
"I thought it was really big…" Brittany murmured, before realising what Santana meant. "Oh, right…sorry…"
"Please stop apologising," the Latina insisted, before leaning her elbows upon the small table between them. "You know that boyfriend Kurt keeps mentioning but can't tell you anything about?"
"Yeah…?" Brittany was confused; just how much did Santana know about her? And just how long had she known Kurt? She knew he had been designing suits for her for a while, but he never really lingered on the subject for very long.
"You've met him," Santana said simply. "It's Blaine."
"What?" Well that was a shock. "But…how…why did he never tell us?"
"Because of you," the brunette said with a shrug. "He was always talking about this friend of his – said friend being a fan of mine – who he didn't want to upset by showing just how closely linked he was to me."
"Please tell me he didn't tell you anything embarrassing," Brittany said, panic overtaking her. Santana had known about her all this time? Just how could they have had so many links to each other without her knowing?
"Oh no, nothing like that," the Latina clarified. "He didn't really say much at all, actually. Guess he thought he was being all subtle and covert, but…well…" She smiled widely again. "Here we are."
"Is he in trouble?" Brittany asked. "Because I don't want anything bad to happen because of me."
"Oh he's not in any trouble," Santana said quickly. "And neither are you. But…" Her smile turned somewhat wicked. "That doesn't mean we can't let him think so…"
"What are you going to do?" the blonde asked, frowning as Santana pulled her phone out. The other woman's dark eyes were twinkling, and Brittany would be lying if she said it didn't send something of a shiver down her spine.
"Like I said, we have a phone call to make," she repeated, tapping at the holographic screen with her thumb. She placed the phone down upon the table, and gave it one last tap. A few moments later, a voice emanated from it.
"You've reached Kurt Hummel's office," a female voice responded. "Harmony speaking."
"Yeah, hey," Santana greeted quickly. "Tell Mr Hummel that Santana Lopez needs to talk to him. Tell him it's urgent."
"Of course, Miss Lopez," the woman replied. "One moment."
"This is gonna be great," Santana whispered. There were a few moments of silence, before Kurt's voice answered.
"Good afternoon, Miss Lopez," he greeted politely. "What can I do for you?"
"Cut the crap, Hummel," the Latina snapped, making Brittany jump. The other woman sounded angry, but her smile was still in place. Immediately, Brittany caught on, and had to resist laughing as fear filled Kurt's voice.
"What…what's wrong?" he asked, already sounding terrified.
"We've had a very serious security breach at Lopez Industries and I have reason to believe that your girly ass is the culprit."
"But…I…Santana, please-"
"Don't you 'Santana' me," the brunette cut in. "You thought you could leak inside information from my company and get away with it?"
"But-"
"I don't wanna hear it, ladypants." At that comment, Brittany had to cover her mouth to mask her laughter. She knew it was a cheap trick, but after all the tears she had shed over the past few days, it felt so good to be laughing again. "Now, I'm going to pass you over to my PA, who's going to give you all the details regarding the lawsuit I'm sending your way."
Santana nodded at Brittany, who took a deep breath, before leaning closer to the phone. "Mr Hummel?" she asked, forcing her voice to sound as serious as she could make it. "Can you hear me?"
"…yes…?" he whimpered. Quickly, Santana grabbed the phone, and began typing something out on it, before sliding it back to Brittany. She looked at the holographic display, and saw that the brunette had written her a script of sorts. She smiled appreciatively, before continuing.
"Due to the serious nature of this matter, Miss Lopez is of course keen to resolve it as soon as possible," she recited, keeping her tone as flat as possible. "You'll shortly be receiving all relevant paperwork relating to this matter, and will be required to respond within three working days. If you fail to acqui- …acquisess? …I can't say that word."
"Wait…oh my god, Brittany?"
"Oh crap, you didn't even get to the part where you say I want him sentenced to five years without skin cleanser," Santana whined, but Kurt ignored her.
"Brittany?" he repeated, sounding appropriately shocked. "Is that you?"
"Hi Kurt," the blonde replied, dropping back into her usual cheerful tone.
"Oh my god you scared me to death," he said, letting out a deep breath. "What are you doing with Santana Lopez?"
"…working?" Brittany replied, frowning. "What else would I be doing?"
"You mean she gave you the job?" Kurt asked, still sounding surprised.
"She earnt the job, jackass," Santana cut in. "Which is a good thing for you, otherwise this lawsuit would be real."
"Wait, you're serious?" the man continued. "She got the job?"
"Why so surprised?" the Latina asked, frowning up at Brittany. "You're the one that sent her my way."
"Well, yeah, but…" Kurt trailed off. "Nevermind. Congratulations, Brittany."
"Thank you," she replied, smiling again. "And sorry for scaring you."
"Don't apologise, Britt," Santana chuckled. "He deserved it."
"Oh god you're already a double-act," Kurt moaned. "What have I done?"
"Given me the best PA I could ask for," Santana replied, and Brittany definitely caught the serious tone in her voice. Her heart melted slightly at the words, and without thinking she reached forward and placed a hand over Santana's.
"Thank you…" she murmured, earning a wink from the other woman. Santana was about to say something, when she looked up over Brittany's shoulder.
"Anyway, we've gotta wrap this up now, Hummel," she said. "Our babysitter's here and she gets really pissy when I make prank calls."
Brittany turned in her seat, and saw Holly and Blaine approaching them from the front of the plane. She turned back to the phone and gave it a little wave. "Bye, Kurt," she said brightly.
"Yeah, see ya, Hummel," Santana said, before tapping the screen and slipping her phone back into her pocket. With that done, she looked back to Holly, who was now standing beside Brittany's seat. "What took you?"
"Gee, I don't know…" the older woman began, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe because your limousine – which you were meant to be in, by the way – isn't designed to go off-road?"
"And you wonder why I drive myself," the brunette chuckled, sliding out of her seat and getting to her feet. "Anyway, now that you're finally here, let's get this bird in the sky."
"What were you two even doing?" Holly asked, looking between the two of them with a mixture of amusement and incredulity.
"Oh not much," Santana said with a shrug. "Making Blaine's boyfriend piss himself."
"Wait, what?"
All eyes turned to Blaine, and then at the exact same moment, Brittany and Santana burst into laughter.
