A/N - First off, I'm really sorry I took so long to update but real life has been crazy recently! Good news is that I'm now officially on summer break from uni, so updates should be regular again, about once a week. I have to thank everyone who either PM'd me, left a review or messaged me on tumblr (itainthardtryin) to ask when I'd be updating - it works as great motivation to get back to writing again, even after I felt creatively drained after completing my final assignment! Anyway, this chapter is a bit on the long side, but I really just couldn't stop writing. :)
It's Santana that breaks away first, leaning her forehead against Brittany's and keeping her eyes closed. She just breathes in and out, taking in everything remotely Brittany.
"You're here," she whispers.
Brittany giggles, and it's then that Santana opens her eyes to meet the blue ones looking back at her. She swallows to stop herself from crying.
"I'm here," Brittany breathes out, like it's the simplest thing in the universe. She guesses right now it probably is.
"I don't know why or how but-"
"You don't know why?" Brittany pouts, and screws her face up in confusion. Santana stares back.
"No... Should I?"
Brittany just shakes her head and leans in to peck Santana's lips softly before she speaks. "Because you're here. I'm here because you're here."
"You're here because I'm here," Santana repeats, as if she can't believe the words. Brittany nods against her and squeezes Santana's hips reassuringly where her hands are resting before smirking and walking down the path to get her bag. She pretends to struggle for a moment, briefly looking back to the porch where she knows Santana will be standing watching her.
She is.
"You're just going to stand there and let me struggle when I just flew halfway across the country for you?" Brittany jokes, and Santana's body seems to move before she has time to think and she's making her way over to Brittany. Santana brushes past her and leans down to grab the handle before stopping.
"Britt, it has wheels," she says, laughing slightly when she realises.
"Yes, but I'm your guest and I've had a long trip. So..."
Santana laughs out loud at that before wrapping one arm around Brittany's waist and pulling her in to kiss her on the cheek. "You're lucky I love you," she says, as she grabs the suitcase and drags it to her front door.
Brittany skips behind her - actually skips - happiness evident in her voice when she just shakes her head and says "Lucky doesn't really describe what I am."
Santana gives her a look of disbelief, words completely failing her.
Brittany at their door was the last thing her parents expected the day before Thanksgiving, but she was there and her mom cried and maybe her dad cried a little too.
By the time she'd got through the door and taken her shoes off, her mom had already asked her twenty questions about her flight, the bus trip, about Quinn, about work, about any special reports she's doing. Everything but Santana.
The thing is, Brittany hasn't told her parents about Santana yet. As far as they know, Santana's still in a happy, committed relationship and she's still Brittany's ex-girlfriend-turned-best-friend. She doesn't quite know how to bring everything up and explain how they've become something... something - she doesn't really know what to call it yet, and maybe that's part of the problem.
Brittany smiles as she looks at the name on her cell phone screen. She presses 'answer' right away.
"Hey, you."
"Hey yourself," Santana replies. "How was Thanksgiving?"
"Y'know, the usual. Pretty sure I couldn't eat any more if I tried," she says, laughing. "You?"
"Yeah, pretty much the same. I'm lying here on my bed and I don't think I can move!"
"We're definitely made for each other," Brittany jokes.
"Yeah..." Santana replies, hesitant.
"I didn't- that's not - I'm an idiot," Brittany stutters, worried she's said something wrong.
"No, you're not. I was just..." Santana trails off.
"Just what?"
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay?"
"Are you busy tomorrow night? I mean, if you are it's okay we can just do something some other time or we can just Skype or we can-"
"I'm free, Santana," Brittany says, and Santana can hear the smile in her voice.
"Oh, cool, great." She pauses for a moment. "Well... Do you want to go to Breadstix?"
"How can you possibly think about food right now? I feel like I'm never going to be able to eat anything ever again!"
"Britt... please don't leave me hanging."
"Well, would we be going to Breadstix as friends or on a date?"
"I'll let you decide that one."
Brittany stalls for a few seconds before answering, audibly trying to decide. "Hmmmm. That's a big decision, Santana. I don't know... there's a lot of things to consider," she jokes. There's silence on the other end of the phone, so much so that Brittany can't even hear Santana breathing. "Are you still there?"
She hears Santana exhale and let out a shaky "yeah."
"Good, because yes, I would absolutely, definitely love to go to Breadstix with you..."
"As...?"
"As your date."
"Really?"
"Really, really."
Santana lets out a little laugh of disbelief before replying. "How old are you going to be before you stop quoting Shrek?"
"How old are you going to be before you admit that you love it?"
"What - the movie or your impressions?"
"Both."
"I... I think we have a little while to go yet," Santana says, flirtatiously.
"Oh really? Well then I'm just going to have to stick around and watch as it happens then."
"You might be waiting for a long time, y'know."
"Oh, that's okay, the longer the better," Brittany says, and Santana laughs.
"Okay, fair enough! So... I'll pick you up tomorrow night then?"
"So you're going to be the gentleman on this date?"
"Isn't that what you're meant to do when you ask a lady out for dinner?"
"So you're paying too?" Brittany asks, feeling confident.
"We'll see. Don't push your luck."
"In that case I might even order shrimp."
"You can order whatever you like, Britt."
"Be careful. Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I never make promises I can't keep, you know that."
"So... whatever I like?"
"Whatever you like. I'll pick you up at seven, is that okay?"
"You don't have a car," Brittany says, when she realises Santana's car is still in New Haven, parked outside her apartment.
"I'm sure if I ask mom nicely, she'll let me use hers for the night."
"Okay, seven it is."
"Great, I'll see you tomorrow then, Britt."
"See you tomorrow."
"Oh, and Britt?" Santana says, just as they're about to hang up.
"Yeah?"
"Happy Thanksgiving. I'm really thankful for a lot of things this year. Mostly for you."
" Yeah, me too," Brittany replies, softly. "Happy Thanksgiving, Santana."
Brittany's been getting ready since five. She changed her outfit four times already, unsure of what to wear on their date. The first outfit was a dress that left abosolutely nothing to the imagination, but then she figured that wearing so little clothing in November wasn't going to work in her favour. The second was a blouse, skinny jeans and boots, but she decided against it because it didn't show enough off. The third was an actual outfit she'd worn four years before at the Valentines dance in the Sugar Shack that she found in her closet in her old bedroom, but figured that it was slightly immature now that she was twenty-one, and Santana would probably laugh at her for wearing the same outfit again, even if Brittany thought it would be romantic.
So here she is, in outfit number four, at six fourty-five putting the last few clips in her hair. She decided to keep the same hairstyle as she had for the Valentine's dance - up, with a scarf wrapped around it - so she's fixing the last few strands into place so it's sitting perfectly.
After putting the last clip in place, and turning her head from side to side to check that she hasn't missed any parts, she stands up and walks over to her full length mirror to check that she looks okay. She wants to look amazing for Santana because she doesn't know what's going to happen on this date - how fast or slow things are going to happen from here on in - but she wants to look perfect no matter what happens.
She trails her eyes down her body, looking at her hair and make-up first. She's almost completely natural, apart from some eyeliner and blue eyeshadow that highlights her eyes. She moves down, over the vest top with low neckline and the scarf she's wearing to make it look a little more respectable, and finally down to the dark jeans and boots she's wearing on her bottom half. It ticks all the boxes - weather appropriate, shows off her curves but not too much, and is appropriately dressed up for the occasion.
After a last minute spray of perfume, Brittany heads downstairs to wait with five minutes to spare. As soon as she gets to the last step though, the doorbell rings and nerves and excitment automatically start to build deep in Brittany's stomach.
"I'll get it!" she shouts into the living room where her mom is about to get up. She reaches up to fix her scarf and to feel that her hair is still sitting okay, before answering the door.
She opens it slowly, revealing Santana piece by piece before the door is open the whole way and she's right there in front of her, looking breathtakingly beautiful. Santana's wearing one of her signature tight dresses - a red one, Brittany's favorite color on Santana - with a black jacket over the top, and knee high boots.
"Hi," Santana says quietly. "You... you look amazing, Britt," she continues, her eyes roaming Brittany's body from head to toe.
"You too," Brittany replies, shyly, doing the same to Santana.
"This is for you," Santana says, bringing her hands out from behind her back and reaching out a single pink rose. Brittany takes it from her, holding it delicately, like it might break if she handles it too roughly.
"Thank you," Brittany whispers. "You shouldn't have."
"Did you not ask if I was going to be the gentleman on this date?" Santana says playfully and Brittany nods at her, smiling. "Well then, I gotta make a good first impression."
"Santana, this is like your ten thousandth impression or something, not your first."
Santana shakes her head. "Nope. This is it. New start, remember?" Brittany stiffens slightly and Santana notices. "We're taking things slow. This is just two people who really like each other-"
"Love," Brittany interrupts.
"Okay - who really love each other, going out for dinner on a date. It doesn't have to be anything more than that for the time being. I just really want to make you feel special tonight."
Brittany looks at the rose again, and back to Santana. "You're already making me feel special," she says.
"Well then, mission accomplished so far," Santana says, smiling back at Brittany. "Now, m'lady, your carriage awaits..." she says, pointing to her mom's pick-up parked at the side of the road in front of Brittany's house.
"It's a very impressive carriage," Brittany says sarcastically.
"It was either that or walk to Breadstix, and I don't think that's very gentlemanly... to make you walk on a first date."
"When you put it like that, it is actually very impressive carriage."
"Nothing but the best for you," Santana says. "Now come on, or else we're going to miss our reservation."
"Okay, I just need to grab my coat first," Brittany says, as she turns and walks down the hall to grab a knee-length fitted purple jacket off the hook, before making her way back to the door.
"Can I walk you?" Santana says, holding out her hand for Brittany to take.
"Of course," Brittany replies, reaching out to take Santana's hand in her own. Brittany closes the door behind her, as they start to make thier way to the car.
"Thank you," Santana says, suddenly.
"I haven't done anything," Brittany replies, confused.
"For coming here for the holidays, and for saying yes to tonight," Santana says.
"I told you. Where else would I be? You're here, so I'm here. That's the only way things make sense to me."
"You're the only thing that makes sense to me."
"You're definitely succeeding in this making me feel special thing," Brittany says, blushing.
"Good," Santana replies, taking a few steps ahread of Brittany to open the door to the pick-up. "Then I think you'll like the rest of the evening," she says with a smirk, letting Brittany get into the passenger seat.
"What have you got planned?"
"Oh, you'll see," Santana says, closing the door.
They arrive at Breadstix ten minutes later, and Santana shouts at Brittany as she goes to open the door to get out. "I'll do that, if you don't mind," Santana says, taking the keys out of the ignition and walking around to the passenger side to open the door.
"You can tone down the chivalry, Santana," Brittany says jokingly, getting out of the car.
"And where would the fun be in that?"
"You're far too much," Brittany laughs.
"For you, it's never enough," Santana replies immediately.
"You're ridiculous, you know that, right?"
"I know, I know. But right now the only ridiculous thing I'm worried about is the ridiculous amount of shrimp you're going to order because you know I'm paying..."
"Oh, you have no idea!"
Brittany does order shrimp. The waitress brings it to their table and Santana reaches out to hold her hand.
"No napkin," Brittany says, tightening her grip on Santana's hand.
"I can't believe I ever even suggested the napkin."
"It was cute."
"I was scared."
"But you aren't now."
"You think so?"
"What?" Brittany says in confusion. "You're still scared?"
"Not of the same things, but yeah."
"What do you have to be scared of?" Brittany asks, genuinely curious.
"Of this," Santana says, pointing between both of them with her free hand. "Of losing this again," she says, quieter.
"You don't need to worry about that," Brittany says comfortingly. "You don't need to worry about that at all."
"I do, though. I can't help it."
"Well... what do I need to do to make you see that you aren't going to lose us again?"
"Just... keep being there, I guess," Santana says, unsure. Brittany brings her other hand up and places over thier linked hands on the table.
"I'll always be here. I told you that," she says, softly.
"What if I mess this up again?"
"Don't think like that," Brittany says. "You're not going to mess up again."
"But what if I do?"
"Santana, I love you." Santana's eyes soften at the words. "I love you and you love me and yeah, I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but I know that my future has you in it, okay? So stop worrying. And anyway, I thought you were meant to be the gentleman on this date... I'm pretty sure a gentleman wouldn't be so silly," Brittany jokes.
"I'm pretty sure any guy would be worried about losing you if he had you," Santana flirts back.
"But you have me. So you don't need to worry."
Santana considers this for a moment and lets it sink in. They haven't put a label on what they're doing, and they're nowhere near being a full blown couple yet, but Santana knows that deep down her heart belongs to Brittany and Brittany's to her. They've always belonged to each other.
"You're right. I'm just being silly," Santana says, shaking it off. "Shrimp good?"
"Always the best."
"That's because food always tastes better when other people are paying."
"Or maybe it's just really, really good shrimp. Because this is really, really good shrimp," Brittany says playfully.
"Are you getting dessert?"
"Of course! We could share if you like?"
"We should get two different desserts and then split them, that way we get double."
Brittany smiles. "I knew I loved you for a reason."
"I'll never get tired of hearing you say that, y'know," Santana says.
"What? That I love you? 'Cause I do."
"I know, but that doesn't make it any less special to hear it out loud."
"I love you."
The words hang in the air and Brittany just watches Santana take them in. She hopes that they're enough - that those words and the fact that she came to Lima for the holidays, is enough to show Santana that she's serious about this; about them. She knows actions speak louder than words. They've always spoken louder than words for them.
Brittany knows that words can be hollow, like in high school when Santana was promising her the world behind doors but acted like they were just friends with benefits in public. She knows that the first time Santana held her hand in public - in the bathroom, senior year, in front of Mercedes and Quinn - that it felt louder and stronger than all the words Santana had said put together. The first time she kissed her in public - a quick peck on the lips in front of their lockers - it felt like Santana had never even spoken to her at all and that was the only thing she'd ever done, because nothing else mattered anymore.
Brittany knows actions speak louder than words, so she makes a decision.
"How about we skip dessert?"
"But you just said-"
"We can get it somewhere else. I just want to be alone with you, is that okay?"
"Well... actually, I had something planned for after dinner, so we can just do that?"
"For just the two of us?"
"Yeah, just us."
"Sounds perfect," Brittany says, smiling. "Just gonna finish my shrimp first though. Would be a shame to put it to waste..."
"Take your time, I've got all night..." Santana replies, watching Brittany.
Santana pays the bill and leads them out of Breadstix. "Where are we going?" Brittany asks.
"You'll see."
"Are we getting dessert?"
"Always thinking with your stomach! Again... you'll see."
"I don't like it when you don't tell me things."
"What's the point in surprising you but telling you the surprise? Just trust me."
Brittany looks at Santana - really looks at her - and sees nothing but love and adoration on her face, and she knows that she'd literally trust Santana with anything. Anything at all.
"Okay, but this better be good."
Santana backs the car out the parking space and out of the parking lot and starts driving out of town.
"Seriously, where are you taking me?" Brittany asks, after fifteen minutes of driving.
"We're pretty much here now, it's just down this street."
"I've never been here before," Brittany says in wonder.
"I didn't think so."
Brittany looks around at her surroundings, at the roads surrounded by fields, until Santana indicates and turns left onto another road that she's never been on. Santana pulls in on a gravelly area at the side of the road and turns the car off. "Okay, we're here."
Brittany looks around again and she can see nothing. There's a few small houses in the distance, and a few streetlamps lighting up the small parking lot they've stopped in, but apart from that everything's just fields. There's an area in front of her that she can't see, but there's a small flight of steps leading up a little grassy hill.
"That's where we're going," Santana says, noticing Brittany looking in front of the truck.
"Up there?"
"Yep," Santana says, proudly.
"But it's cold. You'll be freezing."
"But you've got a coat, and I've got you, and- well, we'll be okay."
I'm just going to give you the benefit of the doubt on this one," Brittany says.
"Good. Just let me get something out of the back and we'll go," Santana replies, before leaning over to the back seat and getting out of the car. Brittany gets out and joins her, still looking around, trying to work out where they are.
"No-one's going to kill you or whatever, it's fine," Santana says, holding her hand out for Brittany to take. "You're safe with me." Brittany grabs her hand tightly and Santana leads them up the steps. As soon as she sees it, she freezes.
"This has been here the whole time and we've never came here?" Brittany says in awe.
"I've been here... I've just never brought you."
"Why?"
"I didn't discover it until after we... broke up. I was just driving about to clear my head and I came across it..."
"It's beautiful," Brittany says, staring across the reservoir. The water is almost entriely still and the only sounds are from the gentle lap of small waves against the shore. The light from the parking lot is almost completely gone, so she can't see very far, but the water looks like it goes on for ages.
"We won't go too far," Santana says. "We need to stay by the light, and on the path. You don't want to fall in... especially not at night, and definitely not in November."
"I'm safe with you though, so it's okay, right?"
"Yep," Santana says. "You got that right. Come on, I've something to show you over here." Santana leads them along the small trampled path of grass to a spot at the edge of the water - not too close - that's big enough for both of them to sit down. She drops the bag she's been carrying off her shoulder and opens it.
"Here, spread that out," she says, handing Brittany a blanket. Brittany takes it off her without agrument and places it on the ground beside them. "And take this," Santana says, holding out a box for Brittany to hold. "Okay, we're sorted." Santana sits down on the grass and lies back on the blanket. "Aren't you going to join me? You'll get cold up there."
"Um... yeah," Brittany says, setting the box on the ground and lying down beside Santana. Their bodies aren't touching and Brittany can feel Santana's uneasiness. Santana moves a little closer, but not the whole way.
"Is it okay if I... I don't know how to say this without being totally lame," Santana laughs. "Can we cuddle?"
"We need to do something to keep warm," Brittany flirts back.
Santana sits up and reaches into the bag again, pulling out another blanket, draping it over them before lying down beside Brittany and pulling her close. Her arm is draped over Brittany's stomach, where Brittany's fingers are linked in Santana's own, gently drawing patterns on her skin.
"I like this," Brittany whispers.
"I've missed this," Santana replies.
"The stars are beautiful," Brittany says, staring at the sky. Santana looks at Brittany - at her the peacefulness on her face, at the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. "Yeah... beautiful."
"I've never been able to make out those constellations everyone goes on about," Brittany says, sounding sad.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I try... I just can't make them out."
"Well, you can't see them all at this time of year, just some of them," Santana says. "Here, let's try one," she continues, holding Brittany's hand up and using her finger to point. She moves closer again, so there is no space between them and their heads are touching. "Okay, this one's called Cassiopeia. It's five stars and they're kind of a zig-zag shape."
"I don't see it," Brittany says.
"You will. Just look where I'm pointing with your finger, right there, see? That bright one?"
"The one that's a little brighter than the others?"
"Yeah, that one! Okay, that's the first one... now the second one is here," Santana says, moving their hands down slightly, still pointing at the sky. "You see that one? Just as bright at the first one."
"It's kind of not directly below it, but a little to the left?"
"See? And you said you couldn't find constellations."
"Maybe I just needed a good astronomy teacher," Brittany flirts, still looking at the stars.
"I'm a brilliant teacher," Santana replies. "Let's keep going, you've got the first two. Okay, so the third one is a bit to the left again, sort of the same height as the first one," she says, moving their hands again. "Right there."
"I see it," Brittany says, excitedly. "I think I see the last two as well! Is the fourth one, like, just a little below the third?" Santana nods. "And the last one is a bit higher than all the others, over to the left, here?" Brittanys says, guiding their hands to point at the last star.
"That's it! Hey, see, I told you, you could see them!"
"So that's Cassiopeia? That's what it's called, right? Are there others?"
"Yeah, but they're harder to see at this time of year. I'll show you others in the summer. There's so many."
"I'd like that," Brittany says, bringing their hands down to her chest and holding them there. "I'd like that a lot."
"Me too," Santana replies.
They fall into comfortable silence after that, lying on the grass staring at the sky and listening to the water lap at the sides of the reservoir. Ten minutes pass before Brittany speaks.
"What's in the box?"
"Hmm? What box?"
"The one you gave me before we sat down."
"Oh that," Santana says. "Why don't you open it and see."
Brittany moves away from Santana to sit up and Santana lets out a small whimper at the loss of contact. Brittany lifts the box and opens the lid, laughing slightly. "Cake?"
"Not just any cake, that's chocolate cake from Breadstix's dessert menu," Santana boasts.
"You knew we wouldn't last until dessert, didn't you?"
"When have we ever lasted until dessert, Britt?"
"That's very, very true," Brittany agrees, laughing. "You even brought forks?" she says, lifting out two forks from the box, handing one to Santana.
"Gotta be prepared!"
Brittany takes a bite of the cake, and keeps the box out of reach of Santana when she leans up to grab it. "Ah, ah! Not so fast, me first!"
"I know you. You won't leave me any!" Santana argues. "So, share when there's still some left!"
"I thought you said you wanted to make me feel special? Well, letting me eat this cake first - which is really good, by the way - is making me feel pretty special," she says, taking another bite.
"Oh, you're so nearly crossing the line right now," Santana laughs.
"And what are you gonna do about it? Hmm?"
Santana moves so she's up on her knees, and she's taller than Brittany. Brittany just holds the box out of reach and Santana leans forward laughing, trying to take it from her.
Immediately they both feel the change in the air and there's a tension that wasn't there before. Santana goes silent, and looks Brittany deep in the eyes. The air is cold, and it's only now that Santana notices that she can see their breath when they breathe. Well, she can see her own, because it looks like Brittany's stopped breathing altogether.
Santana drops her gaze to Brittany's lips, and she knows that there's no other option. She leans forward and presses her lips to Brittany's, moaning slightly at how warm Brittany feels against her. She's vaguely aware of the sound of a box being dropped on the ground with a dull thud, before Brittany's hands come up to cup her cheeks.
Brittany deepens the kiss and Santana can taste the chocolate on her tongue. Santana wraps one arm around Brittany's waist and gently pushes forward, lowering Brittany so she's lying flat on the ground. Santana moves so she's straddling Brittany and leans herself down so their bodies are flush together.
"You taste like chocolate," Santana breathes out, through kisses that are turning desperate.
"You taste like Santana," Brittany counters, her breathing ragged. She brings her hands down and rubs them along the base of Santana's back, and continues down until her hands are resting on the back of Santana's thighs.
"We need to stop," Santana says, as soon as she feels the direction of Brittany's wandering hands. She pulls away slighly so she can see Brittany's face. "Hey, don't pout, I was enjoying that just as much as you," she says, leaning down to place a soft kiss on Brittany's lips, "but we can't get carried away."
"Why not? It's not like we've never slept together before, and the car is like, right there," Brittany retorts.
"We're taking things slow. And the way things were going there were definitely not slow," Santana explains, moving off Brittany to lie beside her, pulling the blanket over the top of them again. "I want to do this properly. We haven't even put a label on what we are yet, we don't know where we stand. So I don't want to rush anything that either of us might regret."
"You're right."
"So... we're still okay with the taking things slow approach to this?"
"If it means I get to cuddle with you under the stars and you buy me cake, then I am more than okay with that," Brittany says.
"But really, Britt?"
"Yeah, really. I love you. That's all that matters, right?"
"Yeah. That's all that matters."
They both leave Lima on Sunday to head back to New Haven, after Brittany managed to persuade Santana to come with her because she needs to sort out the rest of her belongings in Philadelphia. Santana argued that Alex was the last person she wanted to see when Brittany was around, but Brittany insisited she went so they could start moving forward and put that part behind them. When Brittany put it like that Santana found it hard to disagree.
They arrive back at the apartment in New Haven shortly after five, and Brittany immediately finds the couch and lies down on it.
"Feels strange to be back here," she says.
"Why?" Santana asks, making her way to the kitchen to make them both a quick snack.
"I don't know. I guess it's just a whole world away from Lima and being back there for a few days... it was just starting to feel like home again in a way."
"I know what you mean. Lima's always going to feel like that though, isn't it? I mean, so much happened there."
"There's a lot of stuff that happened there that I'd rather forget about," Brittany says, flatly.
"Oh, me too, I'd wipe half of what happened in Lima out of my memory if I could, but the other half... with you... was pretty great."
Brittany sits up on the couch and rests her head on her arms on the back of it so she can see Santana in the kitchen. "It really was, wasn't it?"
"Britt, everything with you is pretty great. Always has been, always will be."
Brittany takes Santana's words in, looks at the way Santana is pacing around her kitchen as if she lives here, making them a snack. She looks at how comfortable Santana is and lets herself feel how relaxed Santana makes her. This is either going to be a really good idea or a really stupid idea.
"We should live together," she says, nervously.
Santana freezes and puts the knife down on the counter before turning around to face Brittany. "What did you just say?"
"I said we should live together."
"How would that work? I mean you have Quinn and I don't have a job and-"
"Hey, stop for a second, okay? I don't have everything all worked out either but you're going to be bringing all your stuff back here from Philadelphia soon and you're going to need somewhere to put it all... so what better place to put it than in an apartment that's just ours?"
"What about rent and Quinn and everything else though?"
"Quinn could advertise for a roommate? I don't know, I'll have to ask her first and if she's not okay with it I won't leave her, but all I can do is ask, right? And rent - well, I have a pretty secure, well paid job at the minute so I could probably pay the first month or two until you get yourself something and get your first paycheck."
"And where would we live?"
"Obviously, here in New Haven. I can't go anywhere else because of work, but there are some really nice apartments here."
"You're really serious about this aren't you?"
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" Brittany asks.
Santana just looks at her for a moment, really taking her in. "Okay," she breathes. "Okay, let's do it," she says with more confidence. "Let's move in together."
"Really?" Brittany squeaks.
"Yeah, really. I mean it's not going to happen overnight so it's probably a month or two in the future and by then... well I hope things between us have moved on a little, y'know?" Santana stutters nervously.
Brittany jumps off the sofa and runs over to the kicthen to wrap Santana in a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I promise you this is going to be awesome!"
"Of course it's going to be awesome, I'm going to be living with you."
Brittany pulls back, suddenly insecure. "I hope it works out..."
"Of course it'll work out, Britt. You think fate wouldn't let two awesome people like us live together? No way!"
Brittany smiles. "You're right."
Santana leaves for Philadelphia early on Monday morning, promising Brittany she'll be back by the time she gets home from work. She's going straight to the apartment, getting her stuff and straight back. She's even pretty sure Alex is going to be at work, so she won't have to see her at all.
Brittany gives her a soft peck on the lips and envelopes her in a hug before watching Santana drive off.
A small part of her stomach drops in fear of what might happen now that Santana's going to see Alex again, but she tries to shake it off knowing that Santana loves her and that Santana's heart belongs to her and her alone.
The day at work drags in. All she can think about is Santana driving to Philadelphia and having to pack her entire life into one car load. The thought makes her slightly sad, that Santana can do that. That everything that means something to her can fit into her car.
Brittany leaves work at six, staying an extra hour to catch up on some of the work and e-mails that have piled into her inbox over the Thanksgiving break. She decides to stop at a cafe and get a take out portion of chocolate cake, just in case Santana's had a bad day.
When Brittany arrives back at their apartment block, Santana's car is parked out front and is full of bags and boxes. The sight makes Brittany's heart sink and soar at the same time. Santana's really all hers now. There's nothing in another city tying her to someone else. Everything there is of Santana is here.
Brittany grabs the box with the cake in it, and her bag, before getting out of the car and making her way up the stairs to her apartment. She puts the key in the door and opens it slowly, dropping her bag in the hall and taking her coat off, before closing the door behind her and making her way fully inside.
She spots Santana and Quinn sitting at the kitchen table, laughing together. It takes them a few minutes to spot her, but when they do she's greeted with a simultaneous "Hey!" from both of them.
"What are you guys up to?"
"Just filling Quinn in on Lima and how it hasn't changed," Santana says. "We were talking about that time Puck came to school in a dress at the end of senior year, remember?"
"Remember? How could anyone ever forget that! Scarred for life!"
"Hey! That's my the father of my child you're talking about!" Quinn jokes.
"I suppose you could have chosen someone worse, Q," Santana says. "Like... Finn."
"You seem to be forgetting that he thought he was the father of my child even though we'd never even slept together," Quinn reminds her.
Santana and Brittany both burst into laughter and after a few moments Quinn reluctantly joins them. "God we really had some fucked up moments in high school, didn't we?" Quinn says.
"We had lots of good ones too," Brittany says. "But here, I got this for you," she says to Santana, handing her the takeout box. Santana's face lights up at the sight of it and she laughs when she sees what's inside. "Is this to replace the cake you wasted on Friday?"
"Yeah, that and I just thought you might have had a bad day so you'd want something to cheer you up and cake makes everyone happy, so..."
"Thank you," Santana says, honestly. "Is it okay if I share? I feel bad keeping this all to myself."
"You can do whatever you want," Brittany says. "How was Philadelphia?"
"She wasn't there, and she hadn't changed the locks so that was a plus," Santana says, getting up to get forks out of the drawer. "She'd even taken the liberty of putting all my stuff in boxes for me and leaving them in a nice, neat pile by the door. It was like she knew I was coming. Certainly made my job easier," Santana says, sitting back down and taking her first bite of cake. "Mmmm, this is nearly as good as Breadstix," she mumbles through a mouthful.
"I'm glad things went okay for you," Brittany says.
"Everything's going great for me right now," Santana replies. "The only thing missing is the icing on this cake... but maybe the cake is the icing... I don't really know how those metaphor things work. Can your cake be the icing on the cake?"
"Or you could just have your cake and eat it too?" Brittany suggests, smiling.
"That one definitely works for me right now! Here, try some, it's awesome," Santana says, pushing it in Brittany's direction and somewhere deep inside, Brittany starts to believe that everything's going to be okay.
They spend the rest of the week moving some of Santana's things into the apartment, so it's not all in her car. Both Brittany and Santana start looking online for an apartment they can move into and Brittany has told the classifieds team in work to let her know if anything new comes up. Brittany decided that she wouldn't bring up the prospect of her moving out to Quinn until they had a real idea of what was happening. There was no point in upsetting her over nothing and Quinn's been great with letting Santana stay with them for a while, so she really can't push her luck right now.
On Saturday night, Quinn heads out to a friend's house leaving the apartment free for both of them to have a quiet night in. Santana orders them some pizza and Brittany finds some DVDs for them to watch, before they end up cuddling on the sofa.
"I want to take you out on a date," Brittany says, softly, after a while as she's running her fingers through Santana's hair where she's lying in front of her.
"Yeah?" Santana replies. "I'd like that,"
"Just... now that we're back in New Haven and this feels like... I don't know... like the beginning of something? And the date you took me on in Lima was so special and I just want to do that for you."
Santana turns round, so she's facing Brittany and brings a hand up to stroke across her cheek. "It sounds perfect, Britt. Okay? Perfect," she says, rubbing her nose gently against Brittany's. "When do you want to go?"
"Ummmm, Wednesday? Is that okay?"
"I told you already, Britt. It's perfect."
p.s. just as a footnote - there will be a flashback to when they dated in the past, just not yet. I'm also going to start working on a (much shorter) companion piece from Santana's point of view, but I won't publish it until this fic is over - which won't be for at least another 5 chapters!