Chapter Summary: Brittany's pretty sure she just might be the luckiest person in the world because she gets to have Santana's dimple-cheeked, scrunched-nose smile directed at her for most of the day; Santana might be really sneaky, but she's also really sweet.
bad jokes and brandy and music and games
For the first time in possibly months, Brittany jumps right out of bed as soon as her alarm goes off, even before Mercedes is awake, humming as she brushes her teeth and hops into the shower. After staying up gushing with Mercedes about the fact that Santana also wants today to be a date, even if neither of them had actually said the word date, she had thought she would be too giddy and excited to actually sleep, but after eight shows in six days, Brittany's body was more exhausted than her mind was excited, and she ended up falling asleep quickly.
When she gets out of the shower she quickly dries her hair and rubs moisturizer into her skin before she grabs her phone, smiling widely as she responds to Santana's morning text. Her and Mercedes are lucky enough to have two bathrooms in their apartment and still not pay a ridiculous amount in rent, but Mercedes has the double luck of having the room with the ensuite while Brittany commandeers the main bathroom. Brittany's never minded having to wander down the hallway for the bathroom because she generally keeps her stuff pretty neat, so there's no cleanliness problems. The only issue they've ever had about it is the fact that the main bathroom is right at the beginning of the hall to their bedrooms and the storage closet, which means that as soon as Brittany steps out of the bathroom she's practically in the living room and kitchen. The set up of their apartment has led to many embarrassing introductions as Brittany stumbled backwards to her bedroom, tugging her towel further down her legs, while Mercedes' friends sat, wide-eyed, on the couch and Mercedes hovered between the two with an awkward And this is my roommate, Brittany. Thankfully that hasn't happened since the first year they lived together, and nowadays Mercedes is always careful to warn Brittany when she's inviting people over.
Brittany quickly runs a brush through her hair before she heads out of the bathroom to go get dressed, planning on drying her hair after. Mercedes is already in the kitchen, and she blinks in surprise as Brittany emerges from the bathroom in a swirl of steam, checking the clock and then glancing at Brittany a couple times in shock; Brittany barely notices her, hovering in front of the bathroom door and texting Santana. Mercedes remains dumbstruck until she finally registers something even stranger than Brittany being up and showered by this time. "Is that—" she gasps, "Are you humming Christmas music?"
Brittany rolls her eyes, caught, and shrugs. "So what if I am?"
"Are you kidding?" Mercedes laughs, "Ms. I-refuse-to-let-you-decorate-since-you're-going-away-for-Christmas-and-I'll-be-stuck-looking-at-it-Humbug voluntarily humming Christmas music? And Mariah Carey no less? Hallelujah, it's a Christmas miracle!"
"You got it stuck in my head the other day," Brittany accuses, pointing threateningly at Mercedes.
Mercedes' smirk widens. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain production stage manager, would it?"
Brittany rolls her eyes again and tightens her grip on the hem of her towel where it's tucked neatly against her breast, tapping her phone against her thigh. "She doesn't really like Christmas either," Brittany says.
"Hmm," Mercedes says in a tone that implies she has a lot more to say, especially if her sparkling eyes are anything to go by.
"What? What's hmm?"
Mercedes shrugs and drums her fingers on the counter, waiting until Brittany is shifting impatiently and about to leave before she continues. "Well, it does seem like something right out of a Hallmark Christmas movie."
Brittany's about to retort when she pauses, tipping her head to the side as Mercedes' words fully process. "How so?"
Mercedes' grin widens as she straightens. "Are you kidding? This could be a plot straight-out of a movie airing at nine p.m. on the twenty-second: Two Christmas humbugs learning to love the holiday again with each other?"
Brittany sighs and shifts a little, studying her toes for a long moment. "Hallmark Christmas movies always have a happy ending, right?" she asks shyly.
Mercedes melts as she rounds the counter and crosses the apartment until she can grab one of Brittany's hands, soothingly working the tension out of the soft parts of her palm. "It's not a Hallmark movie if the two leads don't smooch their way to a Christmas miracle," she whispers.
Brittany takes a deep breath before she meets Mercedes' eyes, one side of her mouth quirked up in a dreamy, lopsided smile. "Then I'm okay with being the lead in a cheesy, mediocre Christmas movie that people only watch because it's the season and there's nothing else on," she says cheekily, and Mercedes grins at how soft and warm and adoring Brittany's eyes go, "as long as Santana's the other lead."
Mercedes laughs and tugs Brittany into a quick hug, damp towel and clammy skin and all. "I don't think you have to worry about that," she says easily, "I don't think you have to worry about that at all."
Tina, Mike, and Santana are already sitting in the corner booth by the time Mercedes, Sam, and Brittany arrive; they look the exact same as when Brittany spotted them last week, with Mike's arm stretched across the back of the booth and Tina curled into his side, Santana sitting across from them as they all fondly tease each other. Mike catches sight of them first and waves, and everything is the exact same as last week except Santana looks less like she's got thrown in the river and more like an actual goddess.
Her hair's down again, like it was at the grocery store on Tuesday, and it falls in soft waves around her shoulders, and when her dark eyes meet Brittany's across the restaurant as she cranes her neck over the booth to wave at her, Brittany almost swallows her tongue. She's almost certain that Santana holds the position of the prettiest person in the entire world, and when she directs that dimple-cheeked, scrunched-nose smile at Brittany, Brittany pretty much feels like the luckiest person in the entire world.
Mercedes nudges Brittany and Brittany manages to blink out of her dimple-induced daze in time to wave back at Santana before the long pause gets too awkward. Mercedes chuckles knowingly at Brittany as they head across the restaurant, and Brittany just sticks her tongue out at Mercedes in response.
As soon as they reach the booth and greet everyone, shrugging out of their jackets and hanging them on the coatracks attached to the walls dividing booths, Sam looks expectantly at Mercedes, waiting for her to slide into the booth beside Santana so they can sit together. Before she sits, Mercedes makes the mistake of glancing at Brittany, who has that pleading kicked puppy-dog pout of hers, and instead Mercedes just rolls her eyes fondly and ushers Brittany into the booth to sit right beside Santana, nodding at the open space beside Tina for Sam to slide into. He looks a little confused, but just shrugs and complies; Brittany wants to hug Mercedes, but instead she just squeezes her hand in thanks as she slides in beside Santana, their thighs and arms pressing together. There's a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee already on the table for Brittany, and she looks at Santana in question.
Santana gives a one armed shrug and smiles at Brittany, soft and breathless, and Brittany's pretty sure if she lifted a hand to touch Santana's cheeks they would be blush-warm. "Thanks," Brittany whispers.
Santana just shrugs again, her eyes darting down to the table for a moment before catching on Brittany's again. "You're welcome," she murmurs.
Their attention is drawn across the table as their waitress, the same one from last week, appears with three menus, handing them out to Sam, Mercedes, and Brittany. "Wow, these guys managed to keep you around for a full week," she teases, "The holiday season really is full of miracles."
Mike and Santana both stick their tongues out at the waitress in perfect sync, while Tina just rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her hot chocolate. Brittany giggles at the exchange; she loves watching how worn into each other Santana and Tina and Mike are, because they have this teasing easiness between them that makes her feel completely comfortable with them. The waitress winks at them before taking Sam and Mercedes' drink orders, eyeing the orange juice and coffee in front of Brittany before casting a sly glance at Santana, who instantly flushes, before disappearing back to the kitchen. The restaurant isn't that busy, there's a couple of exhausted looking college students nursing coffees and their heads, a couple of nicely dressed businesspeople with their laptops and notebooks shoved to the side of the table so they can eat, a group of seniors taking advantage of their breakfast discount, and a mom out with her two kids, all three of them colouring on the placemats as the older girl narrates her coming day and the younger girl quietly sings along to the Christmas music crooning from speakers hidden around the restaurant. Sam starts wondering whether to get an omelet or pancakes again, while Mercedes quietly reads the menu, pretending she doesn't know her boyfriend or Mike, who have gotten into a friendly argument about the best item on the menu over Tina's head.
Brittany just grins at them, exchanging an amused glance with Santana at their bickering friends. She feels warm and full, the garland along the back of the booth tickling her neck a little as she sighs and leans back into her seat, taking in the warm scent of breakfast food and coffee, Christmas spices and sweets, citrus and vanilla. Santana casts a small smile at her as she reaches for her coffee, and the warmth in Brittany's chest blooms a little bit. It's been years since she let herself actually enjoy Christmas, what with her family on the other side of the country every year and Mercedes always back home for the week before Christmas, it's usually just another day for her, and aside from a couple gifts for a couple people, she doesn't even do holiday shopping past October.
But there's something new about this year, a spark she hasn't felt since the last Christmas she spent with her family in her first year of college, and she finds herself actually starting to look forward to the coming weeks as the joyful chaos of the approaching holiday descends on the city.
She's so lost in thought, that she doesn't even realize that so much time has passed until the waitress is teasing the regulars at the table again, and she glances up with a start. Mike, Tina, and Santana have already placed their orders, and Mercedes and Sam are still looking over the menus, so the waitress turns to Brittany. "What can I get for you, hon?"
Brittany grins and hands the menu back to the waitress without ever having opened it. "The Sunshine Special, please." The waitress nods and tucks the menu back under her arm before turning to the other two.
Santana's hand falls briefly on her thigh, the pressure feather light and ticklish and tingling, retreating as soon as Brittany turns her attention to her. "You don't want to try something else?" she asks quietly.
Brittany shrugs and ducks her head down before she manages to meet Santana's eyes. "You said it was your favourite," she admits, "So now it's my favourite too."
Santana sucks in a sharp breath as she stares at Brittany, and Brittany gets that falling feeling she sometimes gets when she catches Santana's eyes, tingling at the base of her spine and spreading throughout her body, like she's free falling without a parachute and her nerves are all alive and electric. Santana opens her mouth to say something, but snaps it closed a moment later, shaking her head and offering Brittany that smile that scrunches her nose and reveals those adorable dimples. "You're something else, you know that, Britt?"
Brittany grins and pretends to buff her nails on her shirt, ignoring how her face flames. "Well, I do so try," she teases.
Santana just pokes playfully at her shoulder, her grin so wide and happy Brittany's pretty sure she's going to see it in her dreams.
By the time they get to the mall it's almost ten thirty, and despite it being a Monday the stores and corridors are packed and more than a little chaotic. Santana presses close against Brittany as a woman with a stroller narrowly avoids running over Santana's toes, earning a glare from the blonde as she tracks her movement through the crowd over Santana's head. Santana grumbles something under her breath that sounds more like cursing than anything, and it brings a tugging smile to Brittany's lips as Santana straightens and draws half a step away from Brittany, still close enough that their jackets scratch together where they're draped over their arms. Their group of six huddles together, deciding on a meet up place and time. Mike and Sam want to go check out Radio Shack (Brittany's pretty sure Sam is looking to get Mercedes a nice pair of headphones, otherwise she would be pushing for them to all go together), Tina needs a new pair of shoes and wants to look for a purse for her mom, and Mercedes wants to look into getting some skin care stuff for her brother, who's been suffering a flare up of eczema with the cold weather; when the group turns to Brittany and Santana to find what they're looking for, they both just shrug and respond with nothing in particular. They all decide to meet back at the food court in a couple hours to grab a snack and figure out whether they need to reconfigure the group divisions for certain stores, and certain gifts, and what else to do for the day.
Mike and Sam take off in one direction, while Mercedes and Tina discuss the best way to hit the stores they need, before they're taking off in another.
"I didn't get a chance to ask before," Brittany says, and Santana has to press close to her again to hear her over the crowd as they trail behind Mercedes and Tina. Brittany tips her head down so she can speak almost directly into Santana's ear, but she nearly goes careening into an old man as she takes her eyes off the crowd around her; Santana solves this by placing her hand on the small of Brittany's back to guide her through the crowd. Brittany might be biased, but she's pretty sure Santana's warm palm pressing to her back through her thin knit sweater is, like, the best feeling in the entire world.
"What did you wanna ask, Britt?" Santana prompts.
Brittany manages to shake out of her daze, which is more than a little difficult when Santana's fingers dig gently into her skin to guide her out of the way of a large family with kids no taller than their knees running around and carelessly tripping up strangers. "Oh!" she says, leaning a little closer until she's practically breathing her words right into Santana's ear so she can actually hear them, "Just, uh, are you buying gifts for anyone?"
Santana shivers, and Brittany pouts a little because she knows how easily Santana gets cold; the urge to wrap her into her own warm embrace is nearly overpowering. "Not really," she says, her eyes on the crowd around them as they dodge an adorable old couple who must be collectively about a hundred and seventy years old. "Just Tina and Mike," she says. "What about you?"
Brittany blinks at the change in subject. "Just my sister and Mercedes and Sam. My parents don't let my sister and I get them presents, so. But I already got all their stuff months ago since I have to ship my sister's to California, and it's just easier to get Mercedes and Sam's gifts at the same time. What about your family?"
"Um," Santana hesitates for a long moment before she draws her attention away from the crowd to glance up at Brittany. "Most of my family didn't take it very well when they found out I was gay."
Brittany just stares at Santana, searching for something, anything, to say, before landing on what feels like a completely inadequate, "I'm so sorry." Santana shrugs but before Brittany can question her further, Mercedes and Tina are calling for them, urging them into some nearby department store. Santana gives Brittany a warm smile and guides them through the rushing crowd, safely navigating them to the other side before gesturing for Brittany to enter the store first with an overdramatic bow.
"My hero," Brittany giggles, and Santana flushes but gives Brittany that dimpled smile that makes Brittany's stomach swoop like she's falling as they follow Mercedes and Tina into the store.
They trail after the other girls, making a game of pointing out the most ridiculous items they see, trying their hardest to make Mercedes and Tina break and start laughing, while Mercedes and Tina try their hardest to pretend they don't know them.
They pass the toy aisle on their way to the men's clothing department for Mercedes to pick out a tie for her dad, when Santana spots a toy nutcracker at the end of the aisle. She gives Brittany a wide smirk as she grabs it and quickly starts to reenact one of the scenes they all know by heart; Mercedes and Tina stare, horrified, for a beat, before their loud laughter joins Brittany's and Santana's. Brittany spots a stuffed mouse just a couple steps down the aisle and swipes it, quickly taking on the role of the Mouse King to Santana's nutcracker. Tina even does her part for the reenacted scene and dings Brittany in the head with her shoe, except said shoe is actually a package of Kleenex, for which Brittany is grateful for because Tina's actually wearing boots that would probably really hurt if she got hit in the head with them.
A middle aged women gives them all looks of disapproval as she passes them, sharply turning the corner and sticking her nose up in the air, and Tina and Santana both stick their tongues out at her, much to Mercedes and Brittany's amusement. Mercedes and Tina wander off towards the men's clothing department, while Santana backtracks a couple aisles to put the nutcracker back with the others, leaving Brittany in the deserted stuffed animal aisle as she tosses the mouse back with its stuffed brothers and sisters.
She's just heading back up the aisle when a small box of animal keychains catch her eyes; there's dolphins and dogs and lions and wolves, but what really stops her in her tracks and makes her heart ache is the plump brown tabby that sits on top of all the others. Brittany pauses and glances around, finding this section of the store still deserted, before she grabs the charm and holds it up to the light. It looks just like Tubbs, right down to his pale green eyes and seemingly permanently curled tail. She can't stop the smile or the tears she feels prickling her eyes as she fingers the charm, tracing over the swirling patterns of dark stripes against the dusky brown.
She doesn't hear Santana come up behind her until her voice is right in her ear. "You should get it," Santana says, and Brittany only barely contains her jump. "Sorry," Santana mumbles, but the soft, amused look in her dark eyes means she's anything but, "I didn't mean to scare you."
Brittany shakes her head a little. "You didn't scare me," she lies.
Santana snorts a little. "Sure."
"You startled me, at most."
"Right," Santana drawls, drawing out the word until Brittany giggles.
"Fine, fine," she concedes around a wide smile, "You scared me, a little."
Santana smirks at her, but it softens as soon as she meets Brittany's eyes. "I meant what I said," she says, her body swinging a little bit closer until their jackets scratch against each other as she nods at the charm, "You should get it."
Brittany fingers the cat's tail with a small smile. "It looks just like him," she agrees, "But I dunno. It's kind of childish, isn't it?"
Santana's eyes are steady on hers, and Brittany fights the clenching in her chest. "I don't think it is," she says honestly.
Brittany shrugs, and is about to respond when Mercedes voice calls her attention away. She puts the charm back on top of the pile on auto pilot and trudges over to her best friend, exiting the toy aisle and walking the short distance to the men's clothing department to help Mercedes pick between two ties for her father, Santana trailing behind her. Mercedes ends up deciding against both of ties, and they all wander to the front of the store empty handed. She gets caught up in texting her sister for a moment as she distractedly trails behind the other girls, slipping her phone back into her pocket as they emerge back into the rushing crowd, and only then does she notice that they're missing half of their group.
"Where's Santana and Tina?" she says aloud.
Mercedes shrugs. "Tina wanted to buy something and she dragged Santana along with her, something about needing Santana's opinion, I dunno. They said they'll meet us in the next store."
Brittany cranes her neck to glance back in the store, but she can't see the cash registers at this angle so she just shrugs and follows Mercedes into the next store. Barely two minutes later, Santana and Tina are wandering in the front of the store, Tina's eyes quickly alighting on a purse in the display case as Santana's eyes alight on Brittany, both of them brightening as they cross the store to the respective object and person who has caught their attention.
"What did Tina get?" Brittany asks as Santana steps up beside her.
"Huh?" Santana says blankly.
"At the last store," Brittany clarifies, "Mercedes said Tina needed your opinion on something."
"Oh!" Santana says as they slowly move to the next shelf of shoes, "Uh, she got—"
"Just a lipgloss colour," Tina chimes in from behind them. Santana and Brittany glance over their shoulders as Tina reaches them. "Santana's always making fun of whatever colour I choose," she explains to Brittany, "So I forced her to help me so she can't complain anymore."
"Oh, I'll still complain," Santana promises. Tina goes to shove her but Santana dances out of the way, right into Brittany, who quickly reaches out to steady her. There's many things about today that Brittany's really enjoying, but she thinks perhaps the best is the blush-hot shy smile that Santana gives her every time she falls into her personal space.
When the leave this store, again empty handed, Brittany decides its her turn to guide Santana through the crowd, and catches Santana's full-body shiver against her palm as she rests it over the small of Santana's back. Santana glances at her with a soft smile, falling in perfect step beside Brittany until their hips brush together with every step.
Brittany's pretty sure she could get used to this.
They emerge from the mall a couple hours later, everyone with at least one bag aside from Santana and Brittany, who had been too busy huddling together and giggling to actually pay attention to anything in the stores. They trail behind the others, only half listening as Sam starts to excitedly talk about some arcade they should all go to. Mike and Tina glance at each other and shrug in agreement, and Sam launches into a long and over-informative explanation of the arcade, including how the prize system works, most of the menu of the attached restaurant, a list of all the games, and even their physical layout.
"Nerd," Santana calls teasingly.
Sam turns so he's walking backwards and gives Santana a broad grin, his arms spread so wide he almost takes out a couple of unsuspecting pedestrians. "You know it. You in?"
Santana shrugs and glances up at Brittany, and it takes Brittany a couple moments to realize that Santana's asking for her answer first. She smiles widely and nods, a thrill arcing through her at the thought of her and Santana being a package deal.
"Sure," Santana says as she turns back to Sam, "Why not?"
Sam cheers and finally turns back around to lead them down the sidewalk. They make it about a block and a half when Brittany realizes that Santana's shivering, her shoulders up by her ears and her jaw trembling a little. Brittany grins and gently touches Santana on the back of her hand to get her attention; her nose is red and her cheeks are pinked and raw from the cold wind. Brittany holds one arm up in invitation and Santana doesn't hesitate before she tucks herself into Brittany's side, her arm snaking around Brittany's hip as she cuddles closer, Brittany's own arm settling comfortably over her shoulder. Brittany's always ran more hot than most people, which always makes her the best cuddle buddy in winter, something both Mercedes and Sam have told her many times during their movie nights. Though she's only wearing a light jacket, like Santana, she's still comfortably warm, unlike Santana. And honestly, having Santana tucked into her side is kind of a dream come true, because she can feel every single breath Santana takes and every giggle she lets out, and it makes Brittany feel even warmer than she was before.
Mike holds the door open for everyone once they get to the arcade, and though Brittany is reluctant to let Santana out of her embrace, she's actually pretty excited for the arcade. The last time she went to one she was in elementary school and her dad was treating her for doing so well at one of her dance competition; usually they would have gone camping in celebration, but her mom was eight months pregnant with Brittany's little sister at the time and too far along, and much too uncomfortable, to do any camping.
Sam bounces to the front counter and deals with all the logistics while the rest of them crowd off to the side of the door so they aren't in the way. Sam returns barely five minutes later with everything they need, passing out Power Cards for everyone and giving a brief rundown on how they work before leading them into the actual arcade. There's an entrance to the restaurant attached off of the first room they enter, but the rest of the arcade is huge, so much bigger than the small town one Brittany's dad had taken her to all those years ago. There's barely anyone else here, on account of it being a Monday afternoon before school lets out, so they just wander through the arcade first, pointing out games to each other and reminiscing on old memories of playing them what feels like forever ago. There's old retro games like Pac-Man and Skee-Ball and Super Shot mixed in with some newer games like Candy Crush and Angry Birds and Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games; Brittany even spots a Dance Dance Revolution, and she already knows that as soon as their group spots it that it'll be where they spend most of the afternoon.
Sam and Mike spot some old game that they both used to play when they were kids, and they drag the rest of the group over to crowd around and watch them. They crush the game, despite it probably being over a decade since they last played it, and manage to edge out the last two players who were in tenth place, their names proudly displayed on the scoreboard. They urge Mercedes and Tina to go next, and they barely make it through the third level, much to everyone's amusement, and before Brittany knows it, her and Santana are being pushed to the console next.
Their names flash as Britt-Britt and Snix, and Santana's nose crinkles up. "Snix," she says, directing her glare at Tina.
Tina just shrugs. "You gave yourself that name, not me," she teases.
"Yeah, when I was drunk and crying."
"Not my fault you're an emo drunk."
"Emotional drunk! Not emo! You're the one who had a goth phase, not me!"
"Santana!" Sam shouts, "The game's starting."
Santana's attention snaps back to the game, and Brittany is a little distracted by how adorable Santana is when she's flustered from being teased and determined to win the game, her cheeks flushed and tongue poking out between her teeth just a little bit. Brittany's so distracted that she loses a life before she manages to refocus on the game, and then Brittany and Santana are breezing through the first couple levels.
They don't place or anything, they don't even make it to the final level, but Brittany's stomach flips over when she sees their names, even if it's just some dumb nicknames their friends put in, flash together on the screen.
Santana shoots another glare at Tina when Snix shows up, but she glances at Brittany with a curious smile. "Britt-Britt?"
Brittany laughs and nods. "Yeah, it's what my sister used to call me when she was really young and it kinda stuck," she explains, "Mercedes overheard her use it once and now she uses it too."
Santana casts that bright, dimples-deep grin at Brittany and her stomach flips over again. "That's cute," she says, and then they're being pulled away to the next game by their friends.
They work their way through the games, heading back to the front to add credit to their cards and redeem a couple prizes, before everyone finally spots the Dance Dance Revolution machine and, just as Brittany predicted, they spend the next hour or so there, working through every possible combination. Santana whines that Brittany and Mike and Tina and Sam all have an unfair advantage, but Mike and Tina both roll their eyes and brush her off, and Brittany soon finds out why, because Santana can definitely hold her own. Even Mercedes, despite having told Brittany for years that she doesn't do that dance stuff, is nimble and precise and gives Tina a run for her money. Santana laughs and tells Mercedes that it's no wonder she's so good at the game since she is a Park and Bark after all, and though Brittany doesn't really know what Santana means by that, she laughs along with everyone because Mercedes looks affronted for all of three seconds before she's bursting into bright, stomach clutching laughter.
It's not until Sam gloats Tina into a battle, Mercedes and Mike distracted and attempting the worst and most amusing trash talk that Brittany's ever heard, that she has a moment to think. She glances down at Santana, who's grinning and laughing, and she realizes that this is her chance to ask Santana about what she said earlier, about her family. She leans closer to Santana and nudges her with her elbow. "Can I ask you a question?" she whispers.
Santana glances up at her, her face glowing blue in the arcade lights and her dimpled smile still wide as she nods. "Course you can, Britt-Britt," she teases.
Brittany glances around them before spotting a secluded corner. She points in its direction and Santana's face clears, her smile fading a little, as she realizes that Brittany's grown serious. She nods a little, and lets Brittany draw her away by her wrist, the others too caught up in the game to notice their absence. It's a little quieter, and the music doesn't pound as loudly, but Santana still has to step into Brittany's space so they can talk without yelling. Santana stares at Brittany expectantly, but the words catch in Brittany's throat for a long moment as she tries to sort out her thoughts.
"Brittany?" Santana murmurs, "You can ask me anything."
Brittany blinks, catching brown eyes with her own and sighs a little bit. "I— You don't have to answer if you don't want to, like, at all. I'll completely understand and I won't bring it up ever again, I promise," Brittany trails off, only now realizing that her fingers are still wrapped around Santana's wrist when she feels the steady thrum of Santana's heartbeat pulse a little quicker against her fingertips.
"Britt, you're making me a little nervous," Santana says slowly.
"I—" Brittany pauses and swallows. "That first day you brought me lunch you said that everything at the theatre with Finn and the snow corps leader was nothing you hadn't dealt with before?"
Santana nods slowly.
"And then earlier, when I was asking about Christmas presents?" Santana nods, her brow furrowed in confusion and, standing this close to her, Brittany desperately fights the urge to kiss it away. "You said that your family didn't take it very well when they found out you were gay?"
"Yeah?"
Brittany takes a deep breath and steels herself. "Not came out. Found out."
Santana's face clears and she glances away, biting down on her lip as she nods. "Um, yeah. I was outed my sophomore year of high school," she explains, and Brittany feels the sharp sting of anger punch low in her stomach. "I grew up in a pretty small, conservative town, and I wasn't the nicest person in high school and I guess I made enemies with the wrong people, because when they found out that I liked girls the way they thought I should have liked guys, they outed me in front of most of the school. I knew that I didn't have much time before it got back to my family, so I decided to tell them myself."
When Santana's silence stretches on longer than a couple rotations of the theme song playing on the machine closest to them, Brittany gently squeezes her fingers still wrapped around around Santana's wrist, and Santana starts at the feeling, her eyes drawing back to Brittany's from wherever in the past they just were. "A couple people took it well, most people didn't," Santana shrugs nonchalantly, though Brittany can tell she's anything but, "I had a cousin about my age who was really cool about it, but his parents weren't. And before I could control it, the entire thing had snowballed out of control. I'm sure my entire family and half the town knew before I managed to even see my mom that day, let alone tell her."
Santana shrugs a little again, and this time her smile turns nostalgic and fond and genuine. "My parents split when I was pretty young and I think I've only seen my dad, like, twice since then, so my mom raised me and honestly I am so much happier that it was just us two. And so when she came home that night and I told her, 'cause somehow she hadn't heard, she was amazing about it. She knew I was gay long before I did and was just waiting on me to come out. She was way more upset and angry by how everything had been taken out of my control. I had one really cool auntie too, my mom's favourite sister, who'd also known I was gay long before I did." Santana laughs a little and shrugs, and Brittany can't help the smile that tugs at her lips in response. She really likes how Santana says auntie with a little bit of a drawl, as if she's saying haunt without the h. "I mean, my life and my mom's life got pretty bad for a while there, between the harassment at school for me and at work for her, but there was only a couple weeks left of the school year, and as soon as I was free my mom packed up our lives and emptied her savings and moved us to New York so that I would have a better life far away from everyone in our small town. My mom tried to get my family to come around, but once my abuela officially disowned me the following Christmas she never forgave them and never let them hurt me again, even once some of them started to come around years later."
"Your mom sounds amazing," Brittany murmurs, her own heart swelling at the obvious admiration and open love in Santana's voice as she talks about her mom.
Brittany thinks it must be a trick of the flashing arcade lights, because Santana's eyes seem to glisten wetly in the flickers of blue and red and green as she nods. "Yeah," she says thickly.
"So then," Brittany says slowly, "you sound really close to your mom. Why aren't you looking for a gift for her?"
"Oh," Santana shrugs and her eyes drop away, her voice dropping to a whisper that forces Brittany to lean even closer, "I already have something for her, actually."
"Oh that's cool," Brittany says, even though she can tell that Santana's not telling her the whole truth based on the way she tugs on the hem of her shirt because she can't play nervously with her hands, as she is wont to do, since as her other hand is still caught in Brittany's. She's about to say more when Sam's voice draws their attention away. His expression is genuinely innocent as he asks what they're doing squeezed into the corner, Mercedes' and Tina's and Mike's suggestive looks are anything but; he declares that it's time for Mike to finally take on Brittany in the Dance Dance Revolution battle of the century, and Santana laughs and quickly drags Brittany over.
Mike pouts when Santana tells him haughtily that she's cheering for Brittany, and Brittany's stomach flips over as the music starts, casting Santana a quick grin that has her ducking her head breathlessly before she gathers herself and starts to cheer Brittany on.
Mike and Brittany attract a small crowd as kids and teenagers and adults alike look on and cheer as their combos start to hit triple digits; Brittany only really hears one voice cheering for her though.
They end up just eating at the restaurant attached to the arcade once it starts to get busier in the arcade itself; the restaurant is busy too but not completely packed, and none of them have anywhere else to be so they don't mind the wait. Brittany really doesn't want the day to end, especially as Santana beats Tina to sitting and squeezes into the booth beside Brittany, their sides pressed together again, Santana shooting Tina a small smile that's somehow both smug and apologetic for forcing Tina and Mike to sit across from each other instead of beside each other.
Brittany's not the only one who doesn't want the day to end, because before she knows it Tina and her are huddled over Santana's phone, looking up movies playing at a nearby theatre while Mike, Sam, and Mercedes do the same on the other side of the table.
Their food arrives just as they decide on a movie, and everyone quickly digs in; they had only grabbed a quick bite at the food court earlier, and with all the games, especially Dance Dance Revolution, their stomaches were all growling by the time they entered the restaurant and caught the scent of food. Sam asks about Christmas traditions as they slow in their eating, and they quickly go around the table with nostalgic smiles.
Sam starts, explaining that since his little brother and sister are so much younger than he is that he's spent most of his life believing in Santa for his siblings' sake, writing letters with them and setting out cookies and carrots and staying up with them while they waited for Santa, even if they always fell asleep before it was eleven. Brittany nods and before she can stop it she's chiming in that she believed in Santa until she was like fourteen for her sister's sake too. She bites down on her lip as embarrassment flushes hotly through her, but unlike all her friends in high school, no one makes fun of her; Tina tells her that it's cute, and Santana's fingers brush hers under the table, hooking her pinky over Brittany's with a small smile, and the conversation devolves into how long everyone believed in Santa. Mercedes' older cousin told her that Santa wasn't real when she was nine; Mike's family never really celebrated Christmas, both because his parents immigrated from small towns in China and because his father has always been really distant to both his wife and his son; Santana learned that Santa wasn't real when she was six after her parents split a couple weeks before Christmas; Tina's parents told her that they were actually Santa once she turned ten.
They turn back to Christmas traditions shortly after. Despite not really celebrating Christmas, Mike's mom always took him out for a nice supper the day before Christmas Eve, just the two of them, and then took him ice skating afterwards, before warming up with some hot chocolate and giving him a couple gifts. Since Santana's mom was a nurse and often worked the holidays, Santana would always watch Home Alone when she was home alone, and she would always go to midnight mass with her abuela and mess of extended family before spending Christmas Day with them, but when her mom wasn't working they would always make homemade cinnamon buns in the morning, just the two of them; Brittany notices that Santana grows small as she explains this and Tina catches Santana's other hand and squeezes it comfortingly, and Brittany wonders if it's because of what Santana told her about her family earlier. Mercedes interrupts her thoughts when she starts talking about staying up too late with her older brother and cousins, playing card games with their family, all of the cousins having been taught with no mercy by their grandma, messily passing around nuts and little cakes and getting overexcited whenever the games tipped in their favour. Brittany explains that her and her sister always watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the live action 2000 one with Jim Carrey, and she always had to hold her sister's hand when she was really little because she always got scared, and how they would always go out an have a snowman making contest with their cousins on Christmas Day, after supper when the sun was just starting to set and turn the world orange. Tina's parents adopted her a little bit before Christmas, and she says it's always been extra special for her family because of that, and she would always get to spend Christmas at her grandparents house with her aunt and uncle and two cousins, allowed to open one present each on Christmas Eve and baking cookies for Santa that day.
Before they know it, all their plates are being taken by the waiter and they're rushing to pay their bills so they aren't late for the movie; Brittany pays Santana's bill when she's not paying attention, too busy playfully arguing with Mike, and she refuses to take the money Santana tries to shove at her. Brittany does finally accept Santana's mint as payment, even if she slips it back into Santana's pocket with a wink at Tina, who just beams at them while Mike pays their own bill. Mercedes takes the machine last, and then they're all sliding out of the booth and distributing jackets from the coatrack on the booth wall before rushing out the door and down the sidewalk into the cool night air.
When they get to the movie theatre, they find that they actually still have plenty of time given that they're seeing a movie that came out a couple weeks ago and it's a Monday, so the theatre really isn't that busy at all. Santana manages to squeeze her way in front of Brittany to pay for their tickets, playfully shoving Brittany away when she tries to protest.
Brittany and Santana offer to go save them all seats while the others sort out snacks, collecting everyone's jackets until they're weighed down by them and struggling to hand their tickets to the bored worker, who directs them to Theatre Three.
They pick the first row after the large walkway, right behind the designated places for people in wheelchairs, and Brittany claims the farthest left seat that they've thrown jackets on, one in front of the short railings so she'll be able to prop her feet up on them and stretch her legs out. The theatre is deserted aside from a small family with excited teenagers and a couple of college aged students tucked into the farthest back corner of the theatre, and as Santana falls into the seat beside Brittany, Mike's jacket on her other side, she nods in their direction and makes kissy faces at Brittany until Brittany's gasping for breath around her laughter.
Brittany's laughter fades as she realizes that Santana is staring at her, and she feels heat flame in her cheeks at the soft look on Santana's face. "What?" she whispers.
Santana shrugs a little, her eyes dropping away from Brittany's face. "You're cute, is all," she mumbles.
Brittany's breath catches and she smiles as she nudges Santana gently. "So are you."
Santana's cheeks dimple and she finally lifts her head to catch Brittany's eyes again. "I, um, have something for you."
"Really?" Brittany excitedly sits up further in her seat so she's not slouched anymore.
Santana nods and fumbles with her jacket, draped over the back of her chair, for a moment until she finds the pocket. "I just," she says, pulling her fisted hand out of the pocket, "you seemed to really like it and I thought it would be a good, I dunno, memento, I guess."
Brittany glances down at Santana's hand as her fingers uncurl and reveal the small cat charm that reminds her so much of Tubbs. Something deep in Brittany's chest spasms and eases itself as tears spring unbidden to her eyes; she reaches out, slowly and haltingly taking the charm. She gasps as her fingers close around it, realizing she hasn't actually taken a breath since Santana presented the charm. She looks up at Santana with a soft smile tugging at her lips even as tears threaten to spill down her cheeks, not quite able to believe that someone like Santana could even exist, and that she was even lucky enough to meet her. "Thank you," she rasps.
Santana gives Brittany a slightly lopsided smile. "I thought you could use it on your keys or something," she mumbles, "That way he'd always be with you."
Brittany curls her fingers around the charm and throws her arms around Santana, barely noticing the arm rest digging into her stomach as she pulls Santana into the cradle of her body. Santana sighs and melts into Brittany's embrace, nuzzling her nose against Brittany's neck. "Thank you," Brittany repeats.
Santana just sighs against her again. "You're welcome."
They remain locked in the other's warm embrace until they can hear their noisy friends opening the door to the theatre and heading down the short hallway that opens into the rest of Theatre Three, and they reluctantly pull away from each other. Brittany clutches the charm before she smiles and digs her keys out of her jacket pocket, quickly hooking the string into place so the charm rests against the key to her apartment. Santana gives Brittany a wide smile even as she distractedly takes the drinks and popcorn and napkins from Mike as he passes them to her. They bought a couple bottled waters, a small bag of candy, and a medium popcorn for Santana and Brittany to share, and as Brittany tries to offer money for the snacks Mike waves her off, telling her that Santana had already given him money for it as he finally sits down on the other side of Santana.
"Sneaky," Brittany mutters in Santana's ear as the lights start to dim.
Santana gets that breathless, bright look even as she smirks at Brittany. "You know it," she whispers.
Santana and Brittany make it about halfway through their popcorn as the previews end and the actual movie starts, and by that point they're both too full, so Santana neatly rolls the top of the bag and tucks it under her seat before settling back into her seat. Between the long day and the even longer week and the darkened theatre and the plush seats, it doesn't take long before Brittany's eyes are drooping and she's snapping herself awake every couple scenes. She's drifting off for about the sixth time when she feels something land on her shoulder and she snaps her eyes open again.
She shifts a little as hair starts tickling her chin, and it takes her a couple moments to realize that Santana's head has fallen to her shoulder, her breathing deep and even as she sleeps. Brittany glances down the row of their friends to find everyone's attention captivated by the screen, and Brittany turns her head to breathe in Santana's shampoo before she eases further back into her seat, her feet propped up on the railing, to get more comfortable. Santana shifts and sighs a little, but follows Brittany's movement, and it feels like Brittany's eyes are even heavier than before as she drops her head to rest atop of Santana's, surrounded by a soft scent of citrus and vanilla as she drifts to sleep.
It's the clicking of a camera that wakes Brittany what feels like seconds later, and she blinks awake into the bright light of the theatre, the house lights on and the screen playing the ending credits. There's another click and she blinks as she manages to focus on what's going on around her; Mercedes stands on the other side of the railings, her phone held in front of her as she aims the camera at Brittany, Tina grinning beside her, Mike and Sam discussing the movie to the side even as they eye Brittany fondly. She's still a little disorientated, but as she becomes more aware of her surroundings, she's delighted to realize that the prettiest girl in the world happens to be drooling on her shoulder.
Santana mumbles as she wakes, nuzzling closer to Brittany for a moment until the click of Mercedes' camera startles her fully awake. She sits up quickly, wiping at her chin and glaring fiercely at Tina and Mercedes, who just grin smugly back up at her. "What's with the paparazzi routine, Wheezy?" she snaps, and Brittany doesn't need to feel Santana's cheek to know it must be blush-hot.
"Trying to gather evidence that Satan herself has a soft side," Mercedes shoots back with an easy grin.
They continue to bicker, and Brittany just smiles at Santana, delighted to find out that Santana's even grumpier than Brittany is after waking up; it's a piece of information she tucks away and desperately hopes will come in handy, eventually.
Santana finally glances at Brittany and softens instantly, the retort on her lips fading mid-sentence. Mercedes and Tina seem to take that as their cue and fade away. "Hi," Santana says breathlessly.
"Hi," Brittany giggles.
Santana glances down before catching Brittany's eyes again, the brown still sleepy and softer than Brittany's ever seen them. "Sorry about falling asleep on you," she mumbles, flustered and bashful.
Brittany just smiles. "Anytime," she says, ignoring her own blush prickling heat in her cheeks. Brittany tactfully doesn't mention the drool on her shoulder because she has a feeling that it might make Santana's blush burst into flames. They gather their jackets and shrug them on, collecting their half-eaten bag of popcorn and drinks before filing out of the aisle, wondering about what they missed on the movie; Brittany thinks there was probably some major plot twist that was overly predictable, Santana thinks that it was probably boring the entire time, which is why they continued to sleep instead of waking to explosions or something.
They catch up with the rest of the group just as Sam and Mike are leaving the bathroom and Mercedes and Tina are discussing Uber arrangements; Mercedes and Brittany are obviously sharing one, and Santana's close enough to them that it makes sense for her to join them, Mike and Tina share one too, while Sam just grins and says he likes chatting with Uber drivers.
They're all piling into Ubers what feels like seconds later, which probably has more to do with Brittany's still half asleep brain than it does with the actual amount of time that has passed; that and the fact that if Brittany turns her head to the right she can catch a whiff of Santana's citrus and vanilla shampoo lingering on the shoulder of her sweater, and it's more than a little distracting. Brittany ends up in the backseat with Santana on her right again and Mercedes up in the passenger seat. They direct the Uber to Santana's apartment first, and Mercedes gives them a quick rundown of everything they missed in the movie. Brittany just sinks back into the seat as Santana gives her opinion on a movie she slept through and Mercedes just laughs at her. She's pretty sure this entire day has been one of the best days ever, because the entire day has just felt easy and comfortable and everything she never really thought friends could be back in high school, or even college, really, and the girl she kind of really, really likes seems to really, really like her in return, and all of it makes Brittany feel like she could fly.
They're pulling up in front of Santana's apartment far too soon, and Santana quickly un-clicks her seatbelt and leans forward to say goodbye to Mercedes and press money into her hands before Brittany can try to protest and pay her fare. She turns to Brittany and the air seems to thicken as brown catches on blue, but with the meter running she doesn't have time to linger, and they both know it. She smiles at Brittany, her dimples creasing her cheeks and her nose scrunching up just a little bit. "See you tomorrow, Britt," she murmurs.
Brittany smiles softly in return. "Bye," she whispers, and Santana lingers for a moment more, before her smile softens and she quickly slips out of the car; they both feel that they're missing a part of their farewells, but Brittany really doesn't want to give Santana a goodnight kiss, their first kiss, when her best friend and roommate is engrossed with watching them and a bored Uber driver is watching them in the rearview mirror. Brittany ducks down a little so she can watch Santana walk up the stairs and fumble through her pockets until she finds her keys. Mercedes coughs something in front of her that sounds suspiciously like smitten, but Brittany ignores it even as her cheeks flame.
As soon as they see Santana make it safely into her apartment complex Brittany turns to Mercedes. "Can you send me those pictures?" she asks.
Mercedes grins and holds up her phone to display her messages app, Brittany's name at the top of the screen and pictures currently being sent. "Way ahead of you," she says.
And if Brittany gives what is definitely a completely smitten sigh as she gets the picture—her and Santana curled together and sleeping peacefully with the tiniest of smiles playing on their faces, and makes it her lock screen—well, only Mercedes and the taxi driver are there to witness it.
Notes: This is by FAR the longest chapter so far lmao. Also if I say "dainties" does anyone know what I mean? In Canada people in Manitoba use it but I haven't met any native Albertans who know what they are lmao. Whenever me or my sister say it around our friends here we always get "?" When I said Mercedes' family ate "little cakes" I had to Remember not to put dainties since like no one knows what they are lmao.