There's a soft click as the door closes and I hear Santana's bare feet pad softly towards our bed. Pretending not to have heard their conversation, I keep my eyes closed and control my breathing, hoping she hadn't noticed my eavesdropping and might perhaps come back to bed. The sound of her shifting slightly adds to my puzzlement when instead of feeling her soft and warm body slip back under our sheets I hear her move away and walk around our room.

My curiosity gets the better of me so I peek open one eye to see her bending over and picking up our clothes from the floor. I quickly close my eyes when I see her get up and continue to walk around quietly, probably mindful of my supposed slumber. Finally the soft muted sounds of her movements stop and I try to hone in with my ears where she might be in the room. A small weight dips into the mattress next to me and I feel the heat of her body press up against my stomach as she sits on the edge of the bed. Careful to keep my sleeping ruse up I shift a little closer to her and mumble something under my breath pretending to be well within my dreams.

A rough and calloused hand rubs my shoulder soothingly and I curl in further towards the woman I've become so enamored with. Her caress soon switches to the pads of her fingers as she drags them lightly up my neck and over my face. The slight musky scent of everything Santana invades my senses as I feel her weight shift and the soft imprint of her lips land on top of my head. Unable to help myself, I breathe in deeply trying to silently will the woman kissing me to just stay like this forever.

The pressure of her kiss continues on as the seconds tick by and her lips have yet to move from my forehead. Not that I'm complaining but I was hoping for the kiss to have moved on to other parts of my body already. When I feel her lips finally leaving I let out a small sigh and frown internally as her hand caresses me softly before leaving. The bed shifts as her weight lifts from it and I hear her walk towards the door. The creak of the door signals her exit and I wait for the telltale noise of it closing before opening my eyes again. When I don't hear the click of the lock I become confused and lift up my eyelid slowly, careful not to go too far so I can still feign being asleep.

What I see gives me mixed feelings as I witness the silhouette of Santana standing in the open doorway with the rays of dawn surrounding her in their embrace. Small little dust particles float around her, transforming her image into some sort of mystical goddess; she is beyond beautiful. My heart clenches as I try to fight the urge to take in a sharp breath of air at the wonder in front of me. If I could paint, she would be my Mona Lisa. If I were a sculptor, she would be my Venus. Dear god, how could someone like her be involved in with a clumsy and uncoordinated flight attendant like me?

Her hand is still on the doorknob as I feel her eyes on me and I shift my gaze towards her face to try to catch a glimpse of what she is feeling. My heart tightens as her visage shows a mixture of emotions, each flashing quickly over her face as her sharp gaze falls upon me. Her face finally settles on something that looks resigned as she starts to move and close the door behind her. The door's lock finally clicks into place and I let out a huge sigh that I've managed to keep inside until now.

I can still feel the heat of her gaze on my body and I shiver under the sheets as the memory of last night comes up. Unfortunately her expression gave me no comfort as I try to remember and pick out the myriad of emotions flashing across her usually stoic countenance. I curl up further into myself as I remember seeing flashes of hurt, despair and reluctance pass by, further emphasized by the way the sunlight created shadows from behind her, making it easier for me to see the stiff clench of her jaw and darkening of her irises. What could Santana be thinking about?

I'm happy at the progress I've made trying to crack the hard shell of the woman I'm seeing but frustrated just the same as her mysterious behavior only causes me to fret more. Rolling side to side into the bed as I contemplate what else I can do I suddenly come face first with the soft scent of Santana and breathe in the faint but lingering smell of her antiseptic. That's right, San is still hurt and our situation hasn't improved if the conversation between her and Mike is anything to account for. Sighing and seeing no way to work out whatever we have between us with all the danger and espionage getting in the way, I muffle a scream into Santana's pillow and fall back onto the bed. I let sleep take over again as I realize how exhausted my body and mind is from these past weeks.

Groggy and not at all refreshed, I roll over and groan when I peek one eye open and see that the sun's rays are now shining into half of our room. It must be sometime in the afternoon judging from the way the sun is casting shadows and the quiet murmurs of the household echoes through my door. Very aware that a certain someone is missing from the room again, I shake my head and glance over to the dresser to see a new set of clean and folded clothes placed neatly on the surface. Wondering if little Jasmine had come into the room again, I quickly get up and change into the shirt and shorts left out for me.

Carefully pulling open the door in case someone is behind it, you never really know in this house, I creep out into the hallway and walk towards the kitchen. My stomach grumbles and I pat it lightly to assure it that I am en route to find some nourishment. Hoping to see Susan again I am surprised instead to find only an elderly lady washing vegetables. Unsure if the woman spoke any English but unwilling to leave without anything to eat, I clear my throat loudly to gain her attention and ask her if she knew where Susan or her family were. When all I receive is a sad shake of her head and a smile I try to mime out what I want instead.

Obviously I'm horrible at charades as the elderly woman continues to stand there and laugh at my antics. I rub my stomach to emphasize my hunger and she points towards something covered on a counter top. I point in that area to see if I've read her message right and begin to walk over there when she nods her head and says something I don't understand as I tentatively pick up the cover. Easily recognizing the sweets and pastries from yesterday I let out a happy noise and quickly shove a few in my mouth before turning around and thanking the kind woman profusely.

The woman laughs and speaks again before walking over and patting me on the arm reassuringly and pulling me towards the stove, lifting up the various covers on pots and pans. The amazing aroma of delicious foods wafts around the room and I almost faint from how good everything smells before trying to reach out and grab something quickly from a pan. A quick smack on my wayward hand has me pulling it back to my chest and facing the chiding tone of the woman next to me. Not knowing what the woman is saying I try to pout at her hoping that she would pity me and give me a delicious morsel from under the covered pans.

I zoom in on her speech however when I hear something very akin to a certain woman's name. Did she just say Santana? I continue to let the woman speak as she drops a few things into her pans and stirs expertly before hearing San's name drop again and I smile as I have finally found a clue to the woman's familiarity in this household. Taking a breath and making sure I enunciate her name loudly, I say Santana's name aloud and watch her whirl around and scowl knowingly. Her speech quickens and I hear her speak Santana's name a few more times before pointing and smacking the back of her hand into her palm to emphasize her point.

I smile understandably when the woman begins to show agitation and exasperation while continuously saying San's name. I wait until she finally throws her hands up into the air and huffs her name loudly before laughing as I giggle along with her. Walking back over to the plate of snacks I quickly pluck a few and pull out my shirt to hold them in as I grab a few more other options. A loud grunt of disagreement resounds behind me and I look sheepishly over my shoulder before pointing out the door and saying Santana's name again. A small nod is all I receive before the woman flurries around the kitchen pulling open cupboards and drawers before piling a few things on the table and scooping food onto them. She walks over to a corner and pulls out a flat tray before placing them on top and motioning me to follow her as she deftly walks out the door and into the hallway.

Popping one more dessert into my mouth I trail after the woman and follow her towards a closed door. She bumps her hips into it and it swings open into another long exercise room filled with equipment and racks of various sharp weapons. Right in the middle is Santana moving furiously and striking what seems to be a large block of wood. I follow the old woman inside as she shuffles over to the side and places the food down before beckoning me over to it. Santana has yet to see us as I notice the earphones loudly blaring music in her ears. The loud clacks of the wooden beams being struck echo in the room and the air blurs where Santana's hands and feet move smoothly before hitting it from all directions as I stand over by the tray and watch her.

Thinking the elderly woman was finished in her task of bringing me and the tray of food to my desired destination, I am shocked when I see her walk calmly over to Santana even as she continues to aggressively hit the wood. I shout out in alarm when I see the old woman get within range of Santana's strikes before bringing my hands up to my lips as the old woman deftly kicked out the legs from under her and roughly smacking her in the face before she crumbles to the floor. The shock of Santana being bested by someone who clearly looks nothing like a fighter puts me in a daze and leaves me in stupor as she grumbles loudly on the floor before being prodded with a toe and spoken down to by the elderly woman.

I watch as Santana finally sits up and glares up at the old woman even as she rubs her side gingerly before casting an eye in my direction. She receives another smack on the head and I wince as the old woman continues to seemingly berate her for not paying attention and letting her attention stray to me on the side. I am pleasantly surprised to hear San's gruff voice reply back to the woman in her own language before turning back to me and giving me a shy smile. I smile and wave to her before seeing the elderly woman roll her eyes at our interaction and yelling at Santana once more before huffing and walking out the door.

We stare at each from across the room before we both burst out laughing simultaneously and I beckon her over to the plate of food before eagerly picking up a spoon and scooping up some broth. Internally salivating I scoop up a larger spoonful of the delicious soup as I feel Santana sit down next to me to look over the array of delicious food left on the tray. Scooping up some rice and chicken on one plate, I hold out the spoon to the woman next to me and grunt a sound of disapproval when she tries to take the utensil away from me. I push the spoon closer to her lips trying to get my point across and I smile when she bashfully opens her mouth and I feed her the food. Sharing is caring, right?

Alternating between feeding myself and her we finally manage to finish all the food and I lean back on the wall as I stretch my legs out and pat my lap signifying where I want her to be. She takes a moment to push the tray away from us before lying down and placing her head on my legs and humming quietly when I run my hands through her hair. She breaks our silence first when she burps loudly into the open air and I giggle before slapping her on the shoulder.

"So what was that all about?"

"What do you mean, Britt?"

"Don't 'what do you mean, Britt' me, Santana! You didn't tell me you understood the language here. Anything else you forgot to share with me?"

"Actually, I don't. Technically I only know a few curse words because Mike taught me and everything else I picked up on the way whenever I came to visit. Plus there are so many dialects sometimes that even I get confused so I just say yes and no when possible."

"Oh. Well, you seemed to understand the woman before just fine. What did she say?"

"Oh, you mean Mrs. Lee? Same thing she's always said to me really. That I'm slow, lazy, fat, blind, stupid and good for nothing. I don't really remember the rest but that's the gist of it."

I frown and tried to ascertain if Santana was lying to me but her nonchalant shrug and subsequent cheeky smile put me at ease and I rubbed a thumb where her dimple indented. Looking down at her soft warm eyes I felt compelled to lean down and place a gentle kiss on each eyelid before giving her a short but sweet kiss on the lips. I lean away and watch as she begins to follow me back up before opening her eyes again to pout up at me.

"Britt..."

"Yes, Santana?"

"Come back down here."

"Why don't you come up here?"

"Because I want to kiss you down here."

"Well you can kiss me up here. All you have to do is sit up, San."

"I'm warning you, Ms. Brittany, you better come back down here and kiss me or else."

"Ooh I'm so scared. Coming from the woman who just got her ass kicked by a seventy plus year old grandma, I am shaking in my shorts."

"That's it; you're going to get it!"

I squeal when she begins to tickle my sides and I push her off my legs before getting up and running across the room. I see her quickly coming after me so I find a large punching bag in the middle of the room to block her way. We circle around it slowly, smiling like idiots and periodically laughing when one of us feigns to the side to escape. I see an opening and immediately shove the bag at Santana and sprint off towards the side while the sounds of her feet chase quickly after me. Spying a few small bean bags on a shelf I quickly pick them up and chuck them at her, hitting my mark every time. By the time Santana has fought through my barrage of projectiles and closed in on my body, pinning me to the wall, I am nearly in tears from laughing so hard.

"Oh you think that was funny, hmm?"

"Not as funny as your face!"

My laughter is soon cut off when I feel her lips crash onto mine, sucking and biting them until they bruise. I try to reciprocate but her hands become extremely distracting as they wander up and down under my shirt. Her lips soon leave to find a new target as they latch onto my neck and pull a particularly loud hiss from me as I feel her teeth nip at the soft spot right under my chin before sucking aggressively. Her hands begin to wander down as her mouth returns to its rightful place on mine until she pulls away abruptly and I almost stagger in my attempt to drag her back to me.

"San, where are you going?"

"Come on, Britt. I'm going to teach you some stuff. Mike was right; you do have a really good arm. Which reminds me, I got something for you."

"What is it?"

I watch her walk away and motion for me to follow as she moves further back into the room, towards the shelf where the little bean bags used to be located. Slightly miffed that the woman left me hanging and feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way my shorts are sticking to me, I grumble and walk over to see what she has in store for me. Her back is turned so I only see her fiddling with her hands along with heavy pieces of metal, clashing against one another before something that sounds like Velcro is ripped apart.

"San, what are you doing? What's that in your hand?"

"I got the umm... Well, Mike said it should be a good idea so I asked for it to be made for you …but if you don't like them, that's okay too! I just wanted you to have them…just in case."

"What are you talking about? Did you get me a gift? What is it? Aww you didn't have to, San."

"I wanted to."

I eye the black pouch in her hand as she fiddles with the straps on the side before sticking it out in front of her body and straight into my hands. The second I take them from her is when I realize how heavy it is in comparison to its size. I finger the material until I see my name scrawled on the corner in script where two pieces of Velcro tape held the pouch closed. Eyeing the nervous expression on Santana's face I unfurl the pouch to see 6 thin slots holding what looks to be flat black metal pieces. I pull one out easily and eye the sleek design, noting that the entire surface is black and there is a smooth, sharp finish on the object.

"Careful, they're throwing knives so they're super sharp. I know it's all black but don't let that fool you. Do you like them?"

"You got me knives?"

"Yes, well, sort of. They're throwing knives so they are smaller and easier to carry around. The pouch is for you to strap onto anywhere on your body, that way you can conceal it whenever you want. Mike suggested making them black so they are less noticeable when you pull them out. Is it a bit much? I know I said I would always protect you but this is just in case. I just don't want anything to happen to you, Britt."

"Santana, I don't know what to say…"

"Oh god, you hate them don't you? I knew it. It was a stupid idea, here let me take them back!"

"No! No San, I love them. Thank you. No one's ever done this for me before and they're really cool. I just wish I knew how to use them."

"Oh well, no problem. I'm glad you like them. Don't worry, I'll teach you how to use them."

"Wait, now?"

"Now."

She deftly slips the stray knife out of my hand and pulls me over to stand in front of a large bullseye before pushing me back a few feet. She goes through a few instructions and safety precautions before explaining techniques and the best way to aim them toward a target. After listening intently and watching her demonstrate the best way to use the knives, she picks up the pouch and gingerly straps it to my right thigh before patting me reassuringly.

"All set. Let's see your best shot then, Britt."

"I don't know…"

"Come on, B. I've seen you throw stuff; you've got a good eye and a great arm. I'm sure you're going to be a natural at this. Just try."

"But I've never done this before."

"Here, just watch me."

She holds up the knife she plucked from my hand and steps slightly to my side, angling her body sideways and making sure I was watching her example. I watch her slowly exhale before setting her eyes on the bullseye and pulling her arm back slowly before snapping it forward and launching the knife straight through the air and embedding it right in the middle. Well shit.

"See, nothing to it. Now your turn."

"San, that's not even fair! You're like a pro or something, there's no way I can hit the bullseye like that!"

"You won't know if you don't try. Here, let me help you."

If I wasn't so focused on trying to get my stance right I would've felt the way Santana silently crept up behind me. Her strong hands immediately squeeze my waist and shift my body slightly to a different angle. Her leg sidles up my calf and gently prods the back of my knee to bend a little before I feel her hips press up into my backside and shift me more to the side. A soft breath of air gently blows past my ears as I hear her breathe next to me as I shiver from head to toe.

"San…"

"Your body is perfect just like that, B. Now I want you to relax and follow my movements."

The rough pads of her fingers place themselves on my arms before trailing down and taking hold of the hand that is now next to my thigh. She slowly presses my hand into the pouch and wraps our fingers around one knife before pulling it out. I let her stretch my arm back as I try to control my breathing and quell my growing desire for the woman. A quick pull back and a flick of my wrist sends the knife flying through the air before landing with a dull thud. I didn't even see where it landed before spinning around and pulling Santana in for a fiery kiss.

Everything about her is hot. The way her soft lips mold into mine, the dance that her tongue is doing in my mouth, even the way she leads my hands to her thighs before jumping up and wrapping her legs around me. I stumble forward a little because of her added weight but keep kissing her as I blindly turn to the nearest wall and shove her back into it to give me more leverage. Her hands are everywhere on my body until I feel her fumble with the button on my shorts and I pull back only for her to let go and grab my face instead.

The frenzy with which she kisses me is explosive and I almost lose my hold on her body before pulling her waist further into mine and shifting her further up the wall. What I didn't account for is the instant spark of electricity where our lower halves are connected as I grind back up into her, eliciting a long moan from her mouth. Eager to hear her voice her pleasure again, I rock into her as I press harder and begin a quick gyrating motion with my hips. Our loud grunts and moans reach a fever pitch as I put one hand next to her head and the other around one of her thighs before roughly grinding out my building tension.

Santana comes first as her hold on my neck tightens and a sharp set of teeth bite down onto my neck, most likely leaving some very interesting marks. Her muffled cries make my body tremble as my own limbs begin to shake. Her labored breathing next to my face only spurs me on as I continue the pace of my hips to reach my own climax. I fall forward as the feeling of coming undone finally passes through me as Santana's hand gently runs her fingers through my sweaty hair. Unable to hold myself up any longer, I slowly slide us both down to the floor where I try to catch my breath and enjoy this sudden spur of intimacy. A sudden thought crosses my mind and I regretfully extract myself from the woman's warm embrace.

"But I didn't get you anything, San…"

"It's okay, Britt. Besides, you just gave me a pretty good thank you gift, don't you think?"

Squinting at the smirk on her face and making sure to pinch her hard, I try to get our focus back to the original topic. Looking at the wide expanse of the room I take in the clean hardwood floors and the wide open space in the middle before coming up with a bright idea.

"I want to give you a dance."

"What?"

"I don't think we've ever done that before so I want to dance here, with you. Right now."

"But, Britt..."

"No, but Britt. Britt's butt wants you to dance with it, so come on, San. Look, there's a huge area in the middle for us anyway."

"Brittany, there isn't even any music. If you haven't noticed this room isn't equipped with a surround sound stereo system."

"We can totally use your iPod. It'll be like a silent dance party with just us."

"A what? Britt, I really don't think this is a good idea."

"Come on, you can have one earpiece and I'll take the other. Then we dance to whatever song plays. Come on, it'll be fun. What are you afraid of?"

"It's not that I'm afraid, I just normally don't… Not that I can't, it's just weird for me to dance and I don't want to end up stepping on your feet or something."

"That's not going to happen. I've already mastered the art of sidestepping in the small aisles of a plane."

"But what if someone sees us?"

"You can't use that as a reason when we totally just dry humped on the wall not two seconds ago. Wait San, you do know how to dance right?"

"Of course! Totally. What do you take me for, a loser?"

"Okay…well, then come on!"

Dragging her to the middle and ignoring the sounds of protest behind me, I swipe her iPod off the floor and position her in front me. Disregarding her frown and leaning down to kiss her forehead, I try to reassure her as I flip through her playlist for something simple enough to dance to.

"Brittany…"

"Nope. I don't care; you're totally going to dance with me."

"But what if I mess up, or worse, do something-"

"Too late, I picked a song already!"

The beginnings of the music blast through the earphones and I immediately shove one into her ear before putting mine in and rocking out to the beat. Mouthing along to the words, I begin swaying our hips left and right, keeping a firm hold on her waist and her hand. I notice that her eyes are glued to the ground so I twirl us around the floor a few times to get her to loosen up. Her shocked face morphs into one of laughter as I continue to dance us around the floor and sing out loudly regardless of who is listening.

"You're such a goofball, B!"

"Oh, I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Yeah I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me!"

"Brittany! Oh my god, slow down!"

"I need a woman who'll take a chance on a love that burns hot enough to last. So when the night falls, my lonely heart calls!"

My quick steps almost make her trip but I hold tight as I spin her around so that her back faces my front and I continue to dance and sing her all over the floor. Her delightful peal of laughter spurs me on as I dip her sideways and pull her back up so that we can pseudo tango across the space. The song begins to reach the end so I throw in a few more intricate moves and continue leading her from behind as we laugh recklessly in a room full of deadly armaments. A slow song turns up next so I spin her back around and pull her close to my body.

"See, San. You're not such a bad dancer after all."

"Maybe it's because you're such a huge goober."

Grunting my disagreement I nuzzle close to her head before blowing a loud raspberry right next to her ear. The resulting giggles warm my heart so I sway us around slowly trying to capture this moment and burn it into my mind, wanting time to stop completely. It was a pity that life never seemed to give the woman in my arms a break. How long had it been since Santana had let go to just be herself for once? The tense muscles in her shoulders seem to have permanently lodged themselves in her body and I reach up with one arm to massage one side to ease the stiffness.

"Mmm that feels good, Britt."

"Do you ever relax, San?

"No time, too much to do."

"You work too hard. Maybe you should think about getting into another profession."

Her eyebrows furrow in that cute contemplative way before a flash of sadness seeps into her brown eyes and I become anxious for her reply. Right when her mouth opens to speak I hear a loud creak from behind me and by reflex I quickly grab one of my new gifts and throw it haphazardly behind me. I twist so fast that I almost stumble only to have a pair of strong hands hold onto my waist. Groaning when I see who it is at the door I close my eyes and shake my head.

Nestled two inches in the door frame and close to his head, is Mike standing rigidly with his hand still on the door knob. His eyes glance from the sharp weapon to me and back before taking a shaky step forward and chuckling nervously. Plucking the object that nearly killed him on his way in, he shook it off and casually began to walk in our direction.

"Well, I just came here to tell you guys that dinner almost ready so if you don't mind not using my head as a practice dummy, we can get a move on."

He tosses my knife back to me before walking back out and I catch it clumsily before Santana pats my butt reassuringly and pulls me lightly by my hand out the door. She whispers conspiratorially into my ear as we walk hand in hand behind Mike towards the living room.

"Next time pivot more to your right side, Britt. That way you'll be within range of his face and it doesn't matter what you hit, it's still a bullseye."

Mike's loud laughter flows back to us before his stern voice bellows out loud and clear.

"I heard that, Santana!"

A/N: Short chapter so I threw in some fluff scenes only because I've been planning for them to do other stuff later on but enough of that. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it because my beta certainly did not. But that's not her fault considering the state my draft was in haha. To you lovely readers that leave reviews, I love you all like a love song, baby. To the anons that leave me messages here or on tumblr, I normally try to take the time to reply back to all my messages but I can't with you guys because you aren't signed up, so please drop me a line so I can personally say thank you. Plus I like to chat with all the people who read my stories, mostly just to find out why you would even like it in the first place lol. So thank you all and I hope everyone has a good week, stay classy fandom!