A/N: Two updates in two days! What is this dark magic? Shout out DMG and Vero! Thank you all for reading and reviewing and alerting and favorite-ing. Y' all rock. Glad you love the Santana teasing. It shall continue, don't you worry! Don't forget, you are all glorious gay sharks and unicorns and Mama Lopez knows all, loves you and just wants you to be happy.
The next morning, Maribel ran into Brittany leaving her room. As Brittany rubbed her sleepy eyes walking to the bathroom, Maribel peeked behind her to see an empty bed. Mrs. Lopez let out a little relieved sigh.
"Good morning Brittany," she smiled
"Mornin' Mrs. L," Brittany sleepily smiled in return. "Sleep well?"
"Like a rock," Maribel replied.
Her eyes then dropped to the red teeth marks that formed the center of a faint bruise on Brittany's shoulder. Brittany absentmindedly scratched it over the strap of her sleep tank top and winced.
Maribel pursed her lips. "I'm pretty sure I was in the house last night."
"I'm pretty sure we weren't," Brittany replied.
She paused and felt her face redden. Even half asleep, Brittany realized that wasn't as deferential as she liked to be with Mrs. Lopez.
"Look who's full of sass this morning. Picking up Santana's bad habits?" Maribel lightly scolded.
"Sorry. I'm sorry," Brittany apologized and stared at her painted toenails.
Mrs. Lopez patted Brittany's cheek. "I'll make some coffee. After that you should be back to the Brittany I know and love, right?"
Brittany nodded. Maribel shook her head and went to the kitchen.
Brittany went to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. She looked into the mirror and saw the teeth marks Santana left on her from the night before.
She rolled her eyes and huffed. Then Brittany thought back to how she got the mark and smirked. Brittany smoothed her hair, shrugged and headed toward Santana's bedroom.
Brittany knocked lightly and listened. She could hear Santana's snoring from behind the closed door. Another smile crossed her lips, "So sexy," she said to herself with a laugh.
Brittany found Mrs. Lopez in the kitchen pouring the fresh coffee. Lord Tubbington wove in and out of Brittany's legs and meowed.
"Mornin' Tubbs," Brittany said cheerfully.
Maribel handed Brittany a mug of coffee. "Thanks Mrs. L."
"You're welcome Brittany. Is Santana coming down?"
"I didn't wake her. She's busy trying to wake the neighbors with her snoring," Brittany replied.
Maribel laughed. "She gets that from her father. He's a champion snorer."
Brittany chuckled with Mrs. Lopez and took a big gulp of her coffee.
"Hey, I'm sorry about being short with you earlier. I wasn't really awake and…"
"No, no, really Brittany it's fine. I shouldn't have greeted you with a good morning followed immediately by an accusation. Not my finest moment. So I think it's time we add to the rules list," Maribel suggested.
Brittany frowned.
"No you'll like this one. New rule. Anything said before we've had our first cup of coffee doesn't count. Okay?" Mrs. Lopez looked to Brittany for agreement.
Brittany nodded and gave Maribel a quick hug, "So we're good?" Brittany asked.
Maribel gave her a light squeeze back, "We're good." Mrs. Lopez took a step back. "So are you not covering that up to bother me or Santana when she gets up?"
"Does it bother you?" Brittany asked, her hand covering the mark.
"Well, no and yes. But I'll get over it," Maribel admitted.
"I can put a different shirt on," Brittany suggested, gesturing to the upstairs.
"She going to kill you if you don't. And yes, I'd prefer it as well," Maribel warned, shaking her head with a smile.
Brittany returned from upstairs wearing a t-shirt. Mrs. Lopez greeted her with a smile.
"Thank you Brittany."
"You're welcome," Brittany replied with a shy grin. "Sorry, again. I guess I forget sometimes that just because I don't care what people think, doesn't mean it's always a good thing," Brittany frowned.
"No it's a good thing that you have such high self-esteem, and self-confidence. You just live your life Brittany, and that's wonderful. Don't ever lose that. However, it's a fine line about not caring what people think, and being discreet," Mrs. Lopez explained.
"This is part of that respect and discreet thing, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's part of the package. Okay?"
Yes ma'am," Brittany smiled.
Mrs. Lopez tousled Brittany's hair, "Don't ma'am me young lady, or no cinnamon rolls for you!"
Brittany's eyes brightened. "Can I help?"
"Nope. You can do them yourself. Here's the package. Here's the directions. Here's the cookie sheet, and here's how you set the oven."
Maribel spent the next 10 minutes showing Brittany the most basics of baking. It didn't get much simpler than ready to bake cinnamon rolls.
Apparently the aroma of cinnamon rolls can break through even the deepest of sleepers or the loudest of snorers. Santana stumbled her way down the stairs, her hair in a messy bun and her eyes squinting in the kitchen light.
"It's early for cooking lessons," Santana commented as she sipped the coffee Brittany placed in front of her.
"Kind of. But it just turned out that way," Brittany shrugged.
"How long have you been up?" Santana eyed both of them.
"About an hour," Maribel said, looking at the wall clock. "We've had a lovely time talking, haven't we Brittany?"
"Absolutely," Brittany grinned.
Santana sipped her coffee and stifled the slightest bit of worry that bubbled up from the comment.
"Sleep well?" Brittany asked with a sly wink
Santana smirked. "Yeah. Like a rock."
"More like a lumberjack. You trying to out snore your father?" Maribel asked.
"I don't snore!" Santana protested.
Brittany and Maribel laughed out loud, "Ok honey, whatever," Birttany rubbed the back of Santana's head.
Santana lightly swatted her hand away.
"When's grocery shopping happening, because Britts and me are going to Quinn's after lunch."
"Before lunch then," Maribel answered. "Let's say 10."
Santana emerged from the bathroom in just a towel after her shower. Brittany opened her bedroom door just in time to get an eye full of Santana's towel-clad backside and bare shoulders. She bit her lip and grinned at the sight, as she made her way to the bathroom for her own shower.
Mrs. Lopez came out of her bedroom, dressed and ready to go to the store. She saw her daughter in the hallway rake her eyes over the back of Brittany's barely covered body, as Brittany entered her own room and closed the door to get changed. Maribel smacked the back of Santana's head and kept walking past her.
"Hey! What was that for?" Santana complained, rubbing her head.
"You'd think after last night, you would've gotten that out of your system for a while," Maribel commented, not turning around and walking down the stairs.
"It's never out of…my…wait, what?" Santana said, ending with a whispered question to herself. She went back to the bathroom and checked herself in the mirror. No marks or scratches were in view. Santana decided her mother was none the wiser and was just teasing.
The grocery store was quiet on Sunday morning. Most people were at church. Maribel gave the girls the list and the cash and had them lead her through the grocery store. Mrs. Lopez only interjected occasionally, to offer advice or answer a question. She taught them how to pick a ripe pineapple, to check unit prices, and how to spot a promotion that looks better than it actually is. Santana controlled the spending. She added everything up on her phone's calculator. Brittany spent more time trying to pick out just the right cantaloupe. There was only one argument when they had money left over, on whether to spend it on the magazine Santana wanted or the candy Brittany wanted.
"You two work really well together," Mrs. Lopez praised, as they finished putting the groceries away in the kitchen. Santana was better at spotting what they needed. Brittany was better at finding the good deals.
"We do alright," Santana shrugged and smiled at Brittany.
"What do you have planned for Quinn's this afternoon," Maribel asked.
"Her pool's open, so I'm thinking about swimming, laying out and goofing off," Brittany replied.
"Me too. My tan is not where it needs to be," Santana added.
"Stand next to me, you'll feel a lot better about your tan," Brittany teased, putting her leg next to Santana's.
Brittany and Santana changed into their bikinis. Brittany had a t-shirt and khaki shorts on over it. Santana had on a tank top and her favorite pair of ripped jean shorts.
"Sunscreen!" Maribel called to them as they walked out the front door.
"Got it!" Brittany called back as they shut the door.
"Hi girls," Mrs. Fabray beamed as she greeted Santana and Brittany at the door.
"Hi Mrs. Fabray," Brittany replied. "You look nice."
"Thank you Brittany. Haven't gotten out of my church clothes yet."
"Quinn around?" Santana asked, eyeing the room.
"She's upstairs in her room. Go on up girls," Mrs. Fabray replied.
Santana walked up to Quinn's bedroom door and saw it was slightly ajar, so she pushed it open.
"Hay Fabray! Let's get our swimmin' on!" Santana greeted.
Quinn quickly finished pulling down her t-shirt, covering her stomach.
"Jeez Santana. Ever think of knocking. You're lucky I was finishing getting dressed," Quinn huffed.
Santana flopped down on Quinn's bed. "Quinn, I've seen you naked, like, a billion times," said as Santana rolled her eyes. "What's got you all shy all of a sudden? Better get rid of that modesty quick. You're going to have a roommate and from what I hear, common showers in that dorm of yours at Yale."
"Respecting my privacy and a little common courtesy shouldn't be too much to ask Santana," Quinn explained.
"Whatever. Come on Q. Get your bathing suit on. It's hot out and you've got a pool with my name on it," Santana said getting up.
Quinn just stood there next to Brittany worrying her lip between her teeth.
"Okay, okay, we'll leave and let you get changed on your own," Santana smiled and pulled Brittany out of the room.
Santana and Brittany went out to the back yard and set up three lounge chairs, a stack of magazines and Mrs. Fabray was kind enough to set out a tray of ice tea and glasses.
Santana and Brittany stripped off their shorts and shirts and relaxed on the lounge chairs.
"Can you do my back?" Brittany asked, grabbing the bottle of sunscreen.
Santana smiled, "Sure thing Britt." Santana started rubbing lotion on Brittany's back. She gave her a kiss on the cheek and saw the bite mark from the night before.
"Holy shit Britt. Did I do that?" Santana asked, lightly brushing her fingers over it.
"Yep!" Brittany nodded and grinned.
"Jesus. I'm sorry. Does it hurt?"
"Not anymore. And don't be sorry," Brittany said, turning to her. "It a wonderful reminder of how I got it."
Santana smiled, a little embarrassed and shook her head. "Good thing you wore a t-shirt to bed, or my mom would be all up our asses about it."
"I didn't wear my t-shirt. I wore a tank top. I didn't know I had it until I ran into your mom this morning on my way to the bathroom," Brittany shrugged.
"Wait, Mama saw this? She knows? She…what?" Santana was flabbergasted and put her head in her hands. Now she understood her mother's comment on in the hallway earlier. "She teased me about it. Teased me," Santana groaned.
Brittany recounted her morning with Mrs. Lopez to Santana. "Really San, she's okay with us and sex. She just doesn't want the reminder. So I covered up. I was being respectful and discreet," Brittany said proudly. "Just like she asked."
"So we're good," Santana confirmed.
"Totally," Brittany grinned.
Quinn watched from the back door as Santana rubbed sunscreen over Brittany's back and shoulders. Quinn pulled at her t-shirt covering her torso. Her bikini bottoms barely showed underneath. She took a breath and joined her friends on the lounge chairs.
"Um, Quinn? What's with the shirt? It's 90 degrees out and we're lying out. " Brittany asked.
"I don't want to get too burned," Quinn answered dismissively.
Santana rocked the sunscreen bottle back and forth in her hand. "Hello? That's why God invented sun block."
"No thanks," Quinn said, tight-lipped and opened a magazine.
"You didn't get another embarrassing tattoo did you, because I thought you got Ryan Seacrest lasered off," Brittany teased.
"I'll be mad if you got a tattoo without me. You promised me you'd let me come when you got another one," Santana warned.
"Ryan has been banished by lasers, yes. And no I don't have another one. Just drop it."
"You're gonna get some fucked up tan lines Quinn. Farmer tan doesn't really work on you," Santana remarked.
Brittany silently turned to Santana and wiggled her fingers, grinning at her happy idea to cheer Quinn up. Santana was game. They quickly pounced on Quinn, Brittany took the right side and Santana the left, pinning Quinn down and tickling her mercilessly. Quinn squealed and tried to get away, but to no avail. She yelled "Stop!" in between fits of giggles and labored breaths. Santana's hand snaked around the back of Quinn's left side and stopped. She now knew what Quinn was hiding. Santana could feel the smooth, raised lines of Quinn's scars from her car accident. Quinn tried to push Santana's hand away, but Santana held it firm and gave Quinn a sympathetic look. Brittany stopped tickling once she felt Quinn and Santana still.
'"What?" Brittany asked, a little breathless from the fun.
Santana gently pushed Quinn on her side and lifted her shirt to see the scars that lined her lower left back. Santana ran her hand gently over the scars. It was loving and sympathetic and gentle and comforting. All things that Quinn knew were in Santana, but rarely actually experienced first hand. Quinn's eyes stung with a few tears of embarrassment and vulnerability. Brittany held Quinn's hand and with her free hand, joined Santana's rubbing Quinn's back.
"Why are you ashamed of them?" Santana asked just above a whisper.
"They're gross. They're ugly," Quinn sighed.
"No they're not," Brittany smiled. "They kind of look like a tree."
"Or flames. Badass Quinn," Santana teased.
Quinn let out a weak chuckled. "Don't try to make them out better than they are. You don't have to look at them everyday. They're awful," Quinn pouted.
"They're not Quinn," Santana consoled. "They're there to remind you; you lived. And I doubt any of us can tell you how really glad we are that you did. You should wear them as a badge of honor. Not even a goddamned truck can stop you,"
Quinn closed her eyes and smiled at the sentiment.
"Flames huh?" Quinn asked
"Now that would be a great tattoo," Santana suggested.
"I think the tree would be nicer. There's a Tree of Life, isn't there?"
"Britt, that's sweet, but I think a flaming Phoenix rising out of the ashes would be awesome," Santana claimed.
"Have you been hanging out with Sam?" Quinn asked. "That sounds like his comic books."
"What? Nah, it's from that X-Men movie. Famke Janssen is hot," Santana grinned.
"He wants to be her lesbro, but she's playing hard to get," Brittany confided.
Santana smacked Brittany on the arm.
"Watch it Santana, or you'll leave another mark on Britt, and I think that shoulder one says enough," Quinn teased.
Brittany fist-bumped Quinn as Santana gave Quinn a playful slap on the arm.
"Come on. Take the shirt off, we'll put some extra sunscreen on those badass mementos, and then, we go swimming," Santana said, pulling at Quinn's shirt.
Mrs. Fabray watched them from an upstairs window and smiled. She picked up her cell phone and called Maribel Lopez.
Brittany, Quinn and Santana spent the afternoon playing in the swimming pool and they finished lying on their lounge chairs. Well, Santana and Quinn were lying on their chairs. Brittany couldn't let the "Tree of Life" idea go. Brittany kept herself busy drawing a tree along the outlines of Quinn's scars with a felt marker, and Quinn didn't have the heart to tell her no.