AN: Long chapter this time, just about 3,000 words, because you guys have been amazingly supportive, and I appreciate it more than you could imagine. There is quite a bit of Spanish worked into this chapter, but the translations are at the bottom, in foot notes. I apologize if you're a Spanish speaker, because I did my best, but it's only my minor, so I won't even begin to pretend like I'm fluent. Enjoy. :) Read and review if you do so feel inclined.
"So let's talk."
"I don't know where to start Hemo." It was the god's honest truth. There were so many things to say, but I was afraid of the repercussions of saying those things. Where would I start? Hell, where could I start?
"Okay, then we'll do it like those Q&A things you do on Twitter. I'll ask, you answer, and then we switch. Does that sound all right?" Leave it to Heather to take something she knows I'm comfortable with, despite her disdain for it, to help me work through the traffic jam that was my mind. I simply nodded, trying to bask in the comfort that was her hands gently resting on my thighs. "What do you want to do once you're finished with Glee?"
"I might want to do a small tour if my album works out, but I'm not sure yet. Movies, maybe, but I want to keep working." I waited for a moment, holding my breath, but received nothing in response. I didn't think she'd keep to the Twitter rules so readily; my followers rarely responded to my answers. "Do you regret dropping out of college?"
"Yes and no. Part of me wishes I would have finished, but a bigger part of me realizes how much I would have missed out on if I had. I wouldn't have toured with Beyonce, or joined the cast." She paused, weighting her words, and I could practically feel the vibrations of hesitancy in her chest. "I wouldn't have met you either." She pressed a soft kiss to my left shoulder before tucking her head there and wrapping her arms around my waist. "Do you want to settle down one day?"
"I don't like the term 'settle down.' It makes me think of when you're young, and laughing and having the time of your life, and some adult would come and tell you to do that. So no, I don't want to settle down. I want to keep living as much as I can." My voice softened considerably before my next confession. It was something I didn't really talk about much, because it's something I hadn't honestly considered to be a tangible option for my future. "I do want kids though. I want a family to come home to." I felt Heather's smile against my cheek, and I leaned back further into her embrace. "Do you want to go back to college?"
She nodded definitively, and it was obvious that she meant it. She'd never been shy about wanting to return, but I'd never had the opportunity to ask her how important it was to her, and it was clearly very important. "Do you think we'll ever be able to go public with us?" She'd taken a hard swallow before the last word, and I could sense the surface banter fading away as we dove into what this "talk" was really meant to be about.
I turned toward her, catching her gaze after brushing her temple with my nose, causing her to turn. "Do you want to Heath?" She nodded again, the words stuck in her throat. "I think after Glee we should be able to. Once there are less people involved in our relationship." The thought of waiting that long to be able to shout from the rooftops how in love I was with this woman was disconcerting to say the least, but well worth it if I got to come home to her every day. "What did Harry talk to you about?"
Her brow furrowed, and I seriously considered retracting my question before she squeezed me a little more tightly and began speaking. "He was worried that I'd give up everything I dreamed of to be with you."
I gave her a moment to see if the guise of the question and answer session would be continued, but I knew now that all pretenses were dropped. This would be us at our simplest - just talking. That didn't keep me from hesitating before speaking again however. "Do you feel like you've had to? Or will have to?" She shrugged noncommittally, and the bile that was rising in my throat swelled. "Heather?"
She huffed out a deep breath, burying further into my neck as she spoke. "Let's assume that in five years we're still together. Where do you see us?"
"I'm not going to answer that." I turned around in her arms, hoping to simply catch her eye, but instead, met tracks of tears falling over her cheeks silently. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" My fingertips brushed away what tears I could manage, my heart tightening in my chest as I watched her break in front of me. She simply shook her head, refusing to speak, and my chest was aching with the pressure of her upset. I tried a different approach.
"Yes or no questions, okay?" She nodded. "Is this about my answer about our future?" Another nod.
I pulled my bottom lip in between my teeth as I searched my mind for my next inquiry. "Are you worried you'll have to give up everything?" Yes. "Do you want five years from now to be us?" Yes again. "Do you - " My voice caught in my throat. "Do you really think I'd make you give up on your dreams?" She paused, but eventually shook her head no.
"Heather, baby, your dreams are just as important to me as you are. If you want to go to college, we'll figure it out. You want to join the circus? I'll be at every show. You want more kids than Brad and Angie so we can kick them out of Hollywood's power couple spot? That's what I want to." I could see the corners of her mouth quirking up, trying to fight the smile I knew wanted to break through. "If this is what you want - if we are what you want - then I will do everything in my power to give you the world Hemo. Please don't think for a second that I would ask you to give up your life for me. I could never do that." I caught her gaze again, making sure she could see in my eyes how sincere my next words were. "I didn't answer your last question because I'm not going to decide where we'll be - we both will. Okay?"
The smile that had faltered multiple times through our discussion came back with blinding force. She ducked her head, hiding the trace beginnings of a blush before pressing our lips together with an exact amount of pressure, as if sealing our words and this moment forever in between our mouths.
"Te amo," I whispered in her ear before pushing her chair in behind her. Her blush deepened the color already evident in her cheeks from another long day of splashing wars, laying out, and drinking just a little too much.
"Is that the only thing you know how to say in Spanish?" she joked. "Aside from no hablo mucho espanol?" The way her eyes lit up, despite the god awful restaurant lighting sent a warmth through my limbs, even if she were mocking my lack of language prowess.
"No, Gloria taught me a few things too." She quirked an eyebrow, and leaned further across the table on her elbows when I beckoned her forward with a single finger. "Tu eres muy bonita mi amor, y sus ojos son más azules que el océano y más brillante que todas las estrellas." Her look of surprise provoked a gentle laugh on my part, before I explained. "I've been practicing that one for a while."
Her eyes locked onto mine, and my knees shook, turned immediately to jelly by the lust coating every inch of her. "You have absolutely no idea how hot you speaking Spanish is."
I flashed her a cheeky grin and winked. "I'll practice more then."
Dinner passed quickly, filled with flirtatious banter and Naya constantly stealing bites of Heather's food. They were comfortable in public for the first time in a long time, and the ease of the interactions when they were simply being themselves, as opposed to the famous conceptions everyone held of them, was intoxicating. They'd been able to sneak glances at each other, openly compliment their partners, and hold hands on top of the table, because not only were they in a hole in the wall restaurant, but they were magnificently normal as far as the other patrons in the bar were concerned. No one spared them much more than a few seconds of their attention, and they understood it was because they were two beautiful women, not two beautiful women holding hands. It was refreshing, and catalyzed more affection as they wandered up and down the pier, letting the strums of the Spanish guitars wash over them as they held hands, Naya's head tucked into her girlfriend's shoulder.
They'd wandered away from most of the commotion, until Heather heard distinctive pulsing beats and pulled the caramel hand toward a group of teenagers breakdancing on a fairly hidden side street. As the blonde leaned up against a building, Naya tip toed up to kiss her cheek, before excusing herself to find a bathroom.
"Ay, que bonita," she heard as she'd exited the bathroom in a small bar. She smiled in response, and continued walking back toward the door of the bar, intent on finding Heather to continue what was turning out to be one of the best days they'd had since arriving. "Por qué son usted escapándose?" She turned to meet the voice again, locking eyes with a man about her age, but significantly taller. He was dressed nicely, in dark jeans and a button down, and had a mess of dark waves that fell into his eyes.
"Perdóneme. No hablo mucho espanol." She quickly tried to brush the man off, but it seemed as dedicated to returning to Heather as she was, he was even more so dedicated to impeding her progress.
"Lo que quiero hacer no requiere palabras - sólo chillando mi nombre." While Naya had picked up a few words she knew, the whole of the sentence's meaning was lost on her. However, the chill down her spine at the tone in his voice gave her a nagging feeling that she needed to get out of the situation, and fast. He noticed her shivers, mistaking them for desire, and pressed nearer her, attempting to pin her to the wall.
"Hey!" Over her shoulder a familiar, and distinctly angry male voice rang out. "Déjela sólo. Ella no le desea."
"Parece me desea. Esto no es su preocupación de todos modos." The man's voice was growing louder as well, but Naya couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and find out who was behind her, defending her and trying to remove her from the situation. The Spanish was flying around her, and she was lost in the shuffle, eyes shut tight and body shaking. "Me desea al carajo ella. Ella sólo no lo admitirá."
"Que hijo de puta!" she heard bellowed before a breeze flew across her face and she heard a fist connect with someone's jaw. She jolted her eyes open, seeing Harry standing above the man who'd tried to flirt with her, his chest heaving and his expression wild. She felt a hand tug on her arm and turned to see Kevin, pulling her away as he called after their cast mate to follow them, because the last thing they needed was Harry in a prison in Mexico.
When they'd made their way far enough down the pier to feel they'd safely escaped, Harry placed a hand on either of her shoulders, making her face him straight on. "Are you okay Nay?" She nodded before her face crumpled and she fell into his chest, much like Heather had done the night before.
"I don't even know what he was saying, but I knew it wasn't good," she whispered between sobs. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to get back to Heather. I - " she broke off into more tears, and gave up on speaking. Kevin's hand rubbed circles into her back, and slowly but surely, her breaths grew more even. Her face twisted as she caught Harry's eyes. "I didn't know you spoke Spanish."
He breathed out a laugh. "It's okay Nay. I'm just glad we were there." As they headed back in the direction of the dancers Heather had been watching, the boys relayed the story of having a bro-night at the bar that she'd walked into. Kevin had immediately picked up on Naya's voice as she'd tried to walk away the first time, and when Harry had heard the man's words, they'd abandoned their drinks. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."
Heather heard familiar voices behind her, even over the music, and turned to see the trio walking her way. A smile broke across her features until she saw her girlfriend, arms tucked tightly around her and eyes glued to her feet, as if walking were the most interesting thing on the planet. She ran forward, wrapping Naya in her arms and cooing into the top of her hair as the boys relayed the events a second time."He was an asshole," Kevin finished. "I didn't even know what he was saying, and I knew he was an asshole."
Heather was still silent, and the small girl in her arms had quieted down significantly, so both looked at Harry expectantly. "Please tell me what he said."
The man shook his head. "Nay, Hemo, he was an asshole. That's all. I really don't want to repeat his words, because you shouldn't have to hear them once, much less twice."
"No, I want to know. I deserve to know." Heather's grip on her girlfriend's waist tightened as Naya leaned into her, taking comforting in the salty scent of her skin mixed with her perfume. "Please."
"Remember when you said you didn't speak a lot of Spanish?" She nodded unsurely. "He said what he wanted to do didn't need words, just - " he paused, swallowing the lump building in his throat. "Just you screaming his name." The tall man flushed, the words as uncomfortable falling over his lips as they were in his head. "No one should talk to you like that Nay."
A wave of understanding passed between the two, and she nodded. "Thanks Harry. You sticking up for me, with, well, everything - it means a lot."
"As long as you keep Hemo happy - "
"She does," Heather broke in quickly, shooting him a look that implied a lot given the short time their eyes connected.
He nodded. "Okay then."
The stifling tension was cracking the salty sea air, and it was Kevin's infamous ghetto voice that finally broke the silence. "Start with straight shots - "
Heather caught on quickly, rapping back to him as they turn to walk back in the direction of the hotel. "And then pop bottles - pour it on the models!" She nudged Naya's hip with her own, giggling.
The previous situation was long forgotten once they'd run up the stairs and set themselves up with shots and mixed drinks covering the patio table on the balcony. Three of the four insisted on dance offs, with the loser having to take a shot of the winner's choice. Needless to say, when Naya finally gave in to sleep, she was more intoxicated than she'd yet been in Mexico. The tequila hit her, and it hit her hard. Kevin wandered back to his room not long after, leaving Heather and Harry on the patio, kicking their feet in the water of the pool, much like Naya and Vanessa had been doing the night before.
"Did you two talk?" he finally asked, voice low, as not to wake the sleeping girl just inside the sliding doors. Heather nodded, taking a swig from a water bottle she'd grabbed from the mini fridge. "And?"
"I asked her where she saw us in five years, and she wouldn't answer." Anger rose in Harry's chest, but the soft smile across his friend's face confused him, and the feeling tempered enough for him to wait for an explanation. "She said she didn't want to answer, because she doesn't get to decide where we'll be - that she wants me to be able to do everything I've always wanted to, and that factors into where we'll be. So we're fine - better than fine actually. There's nothing for you to worry about as far as me giving up my life."
"I knew that already." A look of confusion wove through her features and didn't falter when he tugged her upwards and out of the pool. He walked through the hotel room quietly before speaking again as he opened the door to walk out. "You would never have to give up your life Hemo. I was an idiot to not see that before." He gestured to the small girl curled up on the bed, snoring lightly with a soft smile on her face. The same smile echoed itself on Heather, and Harry chuckled before repeating himself. "You won't have to give up your life, because Naya? Naya is your life."
He pulled her into a hug before walking out of the hotel room, the door clicking shut behind him. Heather allowed his words to flicker through her head, again and again, as she pulled off her dress and climbed into bed. With her eyes shut, she felt the bed shift, and Naya was suddenly wrapped around her waist, nuzzling her neck. Her entire body relaxed and she pulled the girl impossibly closer, not able to shake the idea that Harry was right. The beautiful woman in her arms was her life, and she couldn't imagine things any other way.
Tu eres muy bonita mi amor, y sus ojos son más azules que los océanos y más brillante que todas las estrellas.
You are incredibly beautiful my love, and your eyes are bluer than oceans and brighter than all of the stars.
Por qué son usted escapándose?
Why are you running away?
Lo que quiero hacer no requiere palabras - sólo chillando mi nombre.
What I want to do doesn't require words - just you screaming my name.
Déjela sólo. Ella no le desea.
Leave her alone. She doesn't want you.
Parece me desea. Esto no es su preocupación de todos modos.
It seems like she does. It's none of your concern anyway.
Me desea al carajo ella. Ella sólo no lo admitirá.
She wants me to fuck her. She just won't admit it.
"Que hijo de puta!"
You son of a bitch!