A/N: Happy New Years! Here I present to you some Brittana to end 2011 nicely for all of you. Let me know what you think! Also, is there anyone that feels keen on becoming my beta? Because right now I'm correcting and editing as I go along, after I've already posted the chapters, and that's not the best way to do it. So if anyone's interested, please let me know! I could use someone to not only correct me but to discuss plot and all with. Enjoy!
Somehow, Santana and Brittany had soon ended up alone on the couch. Brittany was snuggled up in Santana's lap and Santana was slowly twirling Brittany's hair with both hands.
None of them really remembered exactly how they had ended up like that, how they had managed to move while continuing the tight embrace they had started in the hallway and not fall down the two small steps that led to the living room section of the house.
Because one thing they knew for sure; they had not stopped the embrace for even a second. They had been pressed tightly together, Santana's breathing still unsteady and her chest heaving unevenly. They had somehow managed to move it from the hallway to the living room, but otherwise it had stayed exactly the same.
When Santana thought about it later, she realized it must have been Kurt (and maybe, she had to admit, Finn) who made that happen, because it sure as hell was not Santana that had closed the front door or, Santana suddenly noticed as she looked up from Brittany's blonde locks – made two cups of hot chocolate and put them on the living room table.
She smiled a little at that but felt her focus slide right back to Brittany's soft hair and the warmth of her back against Santana's stomach.
They had not really said anything to each other yet either, but they had not really needed to and it was not until now that Santana's breathing had gone back to normal and Brittany had stopped trying to calm her down with what she usually referred to as her "comfort hum".
It was not until now that they had even started thinking again.
None of them could tell how long it had been since Brittany entered the door – it could just as well have been ten minutes ago as twenty, but none of them really thought of that as something of importance.
"Santana", Brittany mumbled from Santana's lap as she gently stroke her fingers up and down Santana's knee, "are you feeling better?"
Santana leaned down and kissed the back of Brittany's head.
"Yeah", she said and breathed out an exhausted breath. "I am."
Brittany rolled over and looked Santana in the eyes, although from an odd angle. Before she said anything, she bit her lip and breathed in quickly.
"Do you think you maybe wanna talk about it?"
Maybe it was because Santana really did not know how to say no to Brittany, or maybe it was because she actually wanted to talk about it, but regardless of which one it really was, Santana found herself nodding.
"I'm sorry I didn't call you last night", was what stumbled out of her mouth. "It's just, I didn't know what to do and – I mean, I couldn't be sure about your parents and I was panicking, Britt, and I didn't know what to do and…"
The blonde girl quickly sat up – she supported her weight on her elbows and looked at Santana with an at the same time confused, troubled and doe-eyed look.
"Santana, I don't care about that", Brittany said slowly and with such honesty that Santana could swear she felt her eyes water again. "I don't care who you called or where you went, I just want you to be okay."
Santana pursed her lips together, quickly wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Thanks, B."
Britt slowly sunk back down into Santana's lap but with her gaze firmly focused on her girlfriend's face. She fiddled a little with her fingers before she spoke again
"Do you know where you're gonna live?" was what she asked with a sincere look.
"Mr. Hummel says I can stay here."
Brittany nodded and added with her head a little tilted to the left:
"Just so you know you could totally stay with me if you want to. I mean, maybe we have to move Rory into one of the kitchen cabinets but, you know, he's a leprechaun so it wouldn't be too hard to shrink him and… oh, he could probably sleep in my cereal bowl!"
And even though picturing that pathetic little Rory-kid trying to fall asleep in a porcelain bowl was admittedly amusing, Santana just blinked. Because… Rory – she had completely forgotten about him.
"Oh, Britt, no", Santana hurried to say, "Let Rory keep his room. I'm gonna be just fine right here."
Santana looked at Brittany smile a little and listened to her start humming quietly again. It was odd what a soothing effect that had always had on Santana.
Is it just me or is it kind of odd that I'm actually kind of okay with staying here instead of scaring that lame, miniature farmer off and go live with my girlfriend?
Odd or not; she did feel surprisingly okay about it. Surprisingly okay about thinking about Rory, surprisingly okay about suddenly moving into the house of some friends that she quite honestly had not been sure even were friends.
Santana knew in what directions these kinds of thoughts were heading, but before her mind had even fully wrapped itself around the name of one particular inhabitant of the household, Brittany made Santana feel like she had just been reading her mind.
"What about Finn?"
Yeah. What about Finn.
They had not really talked yet, at all, and even though Santana knew that Kurt would persuade his brother somehow but it was still really, really uncomfortable.
He was the one who fucking made this happen in the first place.
"Yeah", Santana said, closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead a little. "That bit might be a little awkward."
Brittany hummed a little again and looked at Santana thoughtfully before she in a very earnest and as always slightly drawling voice said:
"Santana, you know that I love you, right?"
The first time Santana had uttered those words to Brittany, they had felt like a punch in the chest at the same time as it was the warmest and fussiest thing that had ever escaped her lips.
And even though this was not the first time Brittany told her that she loved her, it was the first time it felt so simple and uncomplicated and so unlike the punch in the chest those words had felt between them the first time they came around.
It was odd, too, because this time it should have been the most complicated of them all. It should have hurt because this was what got her kicked out, this was what jeopardized her entire life as she knew it and this was what she should be more afraid of than ever.
But she really, really was not. She could not bring herself to see anything complicated about those words. There was nothing scary about it. She had lost so much and still had so much left.
Brittany loved her. The simplest thing in the world.
I knew she does. Hell, the only thing I consciously packed was the Lebanese t-shirt.
She had not really thought about that before. The t-shirt was the first thing she had grabbed in her wardrobe. It was wrinkled and carelessly stuffed into the bottom of the trunk, but it was there and it had been there first thing she had thought of bringing.
A tiny reminder that she was not completely alone.
"I do", Santana said with an uncontrollable, wide smile. "And I love you too."
Brittany smiled, sat up a little and gave Santana a quick, giggling kiss before she turned to the table and looked at the cups of chocolate on the table with a confused expression.
"How did they… who did… do you think my teleporting machine finally started work…"
"No, honey, it was probably Kurt. He makes the best hot chocolate."
"Oh."
Brittany reached for one of the cups and as she sipped it, Santana could not help but smile even a little wider. Because it was when Brittany did either things like this – drinking hot chocolate while halfway lying down without making it look difficult or the slightest tricky – or dancing, that Santana was reminded just how extraordinary that girl truly was.
For as long as Santana could remember, people had been calling Brittany stupid, and for as long she could remember Santana had been bitching back at whoever said it.
Because, yeah, Brittany was not what people would call smart, but sometimes Santana just wanted them all to carefully watch Britt dance or simply just move and then dare call her stupid.
And while Santana was well aware that Brittany was quite often drifting really, really far away from where everyone else were mentally, Santana thought of it more like Brittany living in a beautiful, magic fairytale world than Brittany actually being stupid.
No one with that level of self-knowledge was stupid.
So Santana smiled and reached for the other cup to take a sip.
Before she had even finished her second gulp of truly delicious chocolate, she was interrupted by the nearby opening and slamming of the door as Burt Hummel came home again.
She had kind of forgot about that whole matter. The Burt-Hummel-is-going-to-my-parents-matter.
But before she could reflect upon the matter much further, Burt had stepped into the living room with a slight grunt and a sort of red face.
He caught sight of the two girls on the sofa quite quickly and Santana was really quite fascinated at how his face changed so quickly again. This time it was from that reddish, angry expression to a quite honest look of surprise.
"I…", he started, hesitating. "Are you… Santana, I… is this your girlfriend?"
It felt absurd. Sitting on Kurt's sofa, sipping on a cup of hot chocolate with Brittany still kind of sprawled across her lap, the two of them practically intertwined, and then Burt Hummel crashing in.
Because, Santana had never introduced Brittany as her girlfriend before. To anyone. And now, Burt had practically done it for her.
It was a little breathtaking.
"Yes", Santana answered quickly. "Yes, this is Brittany."
Brittany giggled and sat up a little and smiled over at Burt.
"He knows, Santana", Britt said, still tittering. "We've met before. I dated Kurt, remember?"
Suddenly Santana understood that confused and hesitant look on Burt's face a lot better.