Santana had said it.

It wasn't the first time, but she had said it- and she felt every part of her being pour into the words. Another set of tears slid down her face, glistening against her complexion.

Brittany seemed slightly vacant for a moment, as the words made their connections in her head. Eventually the message became clear. She was sidetracked, however, by the sight of Santana crying. It made her feel sad.

She leaned over the table and wiped the trickles away from her cheeks. Santana smiled warmly, grateful. Brittany's face remained pleasant, unknowing in her usual naivety- she smiled back as she always did.

At her lack of response, Santana felt the need to encourage her. "Please say you feel the same way." Her voice was barely audible.

Brittany knew what she wanted to say.

"You know I have feelings for you too. I told you I loved you back."

Santana swallowed, choked back another brew of tears and said "I know." Though she feared there was a blank space at the end of Brittany's sentence, that she was missing the inevitable 'but...' Artie was still on Santana's mind, though she had never allowed him to cross into her thoughts before.

She looked to Brittany who appeared to want to say something more.

"Artie broke up with me."

Kurt choked back on the air in his lungs.

It was an unpleasant feeling, and to Kurt's fears, unattractive.

Kurt was too stunned to form a decent human response straight away. Here was the guy he was crazy about, who had broken up with him, declaring his love. Kurt's eyes widened into perfect circles as his brain sliced through every interpretation of the words. Through every possible reply he could give in return.

There was only one.

"I love you too."

Santana wasn't sure what to feel at Brittany's words.

Before she had convinced herself the destruction of anything between Artie and Brittany would only bring about good, if she had had the guts to do anything after they were finished that is. Though now she was sympathising for a friend. She didn't feel particularly victorious nor did she feel commiserate. She just felt.

"How come?"

Brittany saw the concern on Santana's face. Though Santana was usually confusing for Brittany, as was every person she encountered, today she seemed at her most enigmatic. Brittany had concluded long ago Santana didn't like Artie, nor did she support any relationship between him and herself. But she seemed so consoling now.

After a moment of pondering Brittany knew Santana cared about her. It took only the reassuring squeeze of Santana's pinky around hers to explain that.

"He said I cheated on him. He knew about my feelings for you."

Santana nodded. She guessed she was sort of to blame for the whole 'cheating' thing.

Santana didn't ask how he had found out. She wasn't annoyed. Brittany's innocent and trusting nature had made it inevitable that Artie would find out about their relationship eventually. It didn't matter anymore.

The two were still.

"I want to be with you too, Santana." Brittany said, voicing the words Santana didn't expect to be so happy to hear.

She stared, starry eyed at Brittany for a long, long moment. She breathed out.

Santana thought about Artie. She knew she wasn't the rebound.

It felt right with Brittany. Their relationship had been a mystery for so long and now it was finally making sense. It was all rushing together, desperate to fit and settle. She didn't have time to worry about what others thought any more, she had already done that. She had already thought about Artie and the other McKinley kids.

Now she was thinking about Brittany.

Words were more than perfect, right here in the moment. The two had told each other they loved one another before. But Santana wanted to prove something further, she wanted to show to herself more than anything that she wasn't ashamed of who she was.

She was going to act.

She was going to be brave.

"Britt," she unlinked her pinky and clasped her palm around the hand of the girl she loved "Will you go to prom with me?"