Midnight
Brittany chugged her bottle of water as she made her way upstairs from her dance studio in the basement where she spent the past three hours dancing. They landed back in LA from Lima that morning and took all four of their kids, Madison, and their grand kids to lunch, Santana wanting to be around them. They all then hung out in the movie theater at home and watched a movie, Santana cuddled in Brittany's side the entire movie, clutching to her and holding her arm. Santana caved and let them off of punishment for the night and allowed Ashton to take Noelle out to dinner, and Carter to go over Mercedes's house to hang out with Zacky, provided they were both back at midnight. Mackenzie stayed close to Santana, wanting to be around her the entire day, so the two watched another movie in her bedroom when Brittany had some business calls to make with the studio in Paris. She poked her head in her sons rooms and saw they were both home and nodded, before going to Mackenzie's room, she saw her and Santana both cuddled together fast asleep, Santana hugging her daughter tightly.
"Santana..." Brittany said quietly, rubbing her arm, after tucking her hair behind her ear. She waited for her wife's brown eyes to slowly open before smiling at her. "Come to bed baby." She told her, picking up the remote and turning the TV off. Santana frowned and looked around a little disoriented. "You're in Mackey's room."
"Oh." Santana nodded as her eyes opened more and she saw her daughter fast asleep in her arms in front of her.
"Feeling okay?" Brittany asked, noticing how Santana kept blinking.
"Yeah, something is in my eye." She replied and began to rub her eye.
Brittany stilled her hand and blew softly in her eye. "Probably just an eyelash, come on to bed, baby."
Santana slowly untangled herself from Mackenzie and tossed her blanket over her. She kissed Mackenzie on the cheek and rubbed her back before grabbing Brittany's outstretched hand and following her out of the room, and up the stairs to their room. "What time is it?" Santana asked, sitting on the bed and taking her pants off as she yawned.
"A little after midnight." Brittany told her. "Want to shower with me real quick?"
"Sure." Santana stood up and finished stripping her clothes off, handing them to Brittany to put in the hamper. She turned on the shower and stepped in, reaching for her body wash right away. Brittany stepped in after her and kissed down the back of her neck before grabbing the body wash from her and beginning to shower herself.
Once they finished, Brittany put on a pair of pajama shorts and a shirt, while Santana slipped on pajama pants and went without a top and laid down. Brittany smiled at her and reached her hand out to rub her wife's breasts. Santana smiled and opened her eyes just as Brittany connected their lips. Santana kissed her back as Brittany pulled her closer to her and ran her hand up and down Santana's back, grabbing her butt softly when she reached her lower back. Brittany leaned Santana back and rolled on her, kissing down her neck and finding her pulse point, where she started to suck softly.
"Mmmm." She moaned in Santana's hair. "I love you so much, San."
"Love you too, B." Santana replied softly, leaning her head to the side to give Brittany better access, her hands finding their way under Brittany's top.
Brittany moved back to her lips and slipped her tongue in, deepening the kiss, Santana kissed her back for a moment and broke the kiss. "I love you so much, Brittany, so, so much baby."
"I love you." Brittany told her, staring in Santana's eyes. "You look tired."
"I am." Santana nodded.
"Want to get some sleep?" Brittany asked her softly.
"Do you mind?"
"Of course not." Brittany told her, she kissed her on the forehead and pecked her lips once more before lying behind Santana and rubbing her stomach as she wiggled back into her arms. "Santana, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes baby." Santana turned and looked up at her. "Just tired tonight, it's been a long day."
Brittany nodded. "Yeah it has been." She kissed her on the forehead before she turned back around. Santana lifted Brittany's hand and kissed it before intertwining their fingers and tucking them under her neck. "Good night." Brittany whispered.
"Two passion tea lemonades, grande." Santana told the barista at Starbucks. "What else do you want, Mack?"
"That's it." Mackenzie shook her head, staring at the pastry in front of her.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you staring at the cake and drooling." Santana teased.
"I have a photoshoot next week, I can't have any bakery." Mackenzie said quietly.
"What the ...?" Santana snapped. "Two slices of cinnamon swirl cake too, please."
"Mommy..."
"Mackenzie, you are a size 2." Santana replied. "You will not starve yourself for a damn photoshoot." She added, handing her daughter the cake as the cashier swiped her card. "Thank you." She told them before stepping to the side while they waited for their drinks.
"I'm not starving myself." Mackenzie shrugged.
Santana slipped her sunglasses in her hair and stared at Mackenzie. "Having a slice of cake as a treat won't affect your photoshoot." She added softer. "I have a photoshoot next week too, and I'm having cake." She smiled. "I don't ever want you to be so self conscious about your body that you feel you have to stop eating something, or you start to starve yourself, don't fall into those stereotypes and superficial views of the beauty that the media is forcing on girls your age, you are beautiful exactly the way you are, okay?" She sighed before kissing her on the forehead. "I'm saying this as your mom, as a woman, and as someone in the industry, okay." She added.
"Thanks mommy." Mackenzie nodded as Santana grabbed her drink and watched Mackenzie pick up hers. She kissed her on the temple again and slipped her shades back on as they walked back to her Porsche.
"Did you get everything you wanted today?" Santana asked, setting her drink in the cup holder and starting her car.
The pair had been out shopping majority of the day for clothes for back to school, while Brittany worked at her studio. Carter and Ashton were over to Mrs. Pierce's house doing some yard work for her, with plans to go shopping by themselves again after they were done. Brittany reactivated their cards and transferred money back to Mackenzie's personal account as soon as they landed in LA. Santana opted to not have her card for the family account and stated she would simply use her personal accounts for everything, she even went as far as to take the card out of her wallet and put it in the safe in their closet. Brittany had her card turned back on anyways, in case she changed her mind.
"Yeah, mostly." Mackenzie replied.
"What didn't you get?" Santana asked as she left the Starbuck's parking lot.
"I don't know, I just kind of think I'm forgetting something for high school." Mackenzie replied. "Can I get the new iPhone 6?"
"No." Santana shook her head. "Your phone works perfectly fine."
"Oh...ok." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Carter said he's getting one."
"If he plans to use his own money for it, then he can." Santana replied as she glanced at her daughter. "If you want to use your own money you can as well, after talking it over with your mom."
"Do our cards work again?" Mackenzie asked, eating another piece of her cake.
Santana bit her bottom lip. "Yes, they work, you know that. Momma told you three they did again."
"You and momma aren't broke are you? That's what TMZ said, and Perez Hilton said..."
"No, honey, we aren't broke." Santana told her taking a sip of her lemonade and glancing at the clock.
"So what happened then?" Mackenzie questioned.
"Just a bank error, but it's straightened out." Santana smiled. "Don't worry about it, Mack."
"Oh ok...well, can we maybe go to a shoe store?" Mackenzie asked.
"Which one?" Santana raised an eyebrow at her since they went to three different malls already."
"Maybe Louboutin?" Mackenzie smiled.
"Call and ask your momma if you can get something from there." Santana replied.
"Why? I asked you?" Mackenzie frowned.
"The store is expensive so just run it by your mom." Santana replied, staring straight ahead at traffic.
"Fine." Mackenzie rolled her eyes. "We both know she's going to say no." She mumbled as she picked up Santana's cell phone and called Brittany. Santana heard her mumble and glanced at her, before taking a sip of her lemonade.
4pm
"It's me." Brittany announced as she opened the shower and stepped in with Santana, who nodded and held her face under the hot stream of water before wiping her eyes and turning to face Brittany, who was holding her hips tightly. She opened her eyes and kissed the pink lips in front of her, before looking in Brittany's blue eyes.
"Hey B." She smiled softly, reaching around her for her body wash.
"How was your workout?" Brittany asked her taking the bottle out of her hands and pouring it right on Santana's skin, she then began to rub it around on her staring at the suds that were sliding down the tan skin in front of her.
Santana rested her hands on Brittany's shoulders and nodded. "It was good, I haven't worked out in a while, it felt good to relieve some stress, I've always liked working out with Carter, he really pushes me during the workout."
"Yes he will push you." Brittany laughed. "It's good being around the kids today, we're leaving tomorrow for New York, but it just feels good being around them after the past weekend."
Santana nodded. "Yeah, I love being around our babies. Did you teach a class today or just go watch?"
"I went to watch and ended up teaching part of the class, Shannon was stuck on a routine for her class, so I jumped in and helped her out."
"How's your knee? Did you stretch before?" Santana asked.
"Yes I stretched, I had a session with Hannah this morning, remember?" Brittany reminded her. "I was very loose, and still feel good, I had my knee wrapped up before I taught."
"Okay." Santana nodded, glancing down at her knee to see if it was red or looked a little inflamed.
"You've been quiet since we got back to LA, is everything okay?" Brittany asked her, grabbing shampoo and squirting some in her hand, she reached around Santana and began to wash her hair.
"I'm fine." Santana replied.
"Sanny." Brittany whispered. "I thought we were in a good space after Lima?"
"We are." Santana replied immediately. "We are, baby. this is all me just being weird I guess. I'm sorry." She leaned up and kissed Brittany softly, allowing her to deepen the kiss slightly before she abruptly broke it. "We are in a very good place right now." She repeated, dropping her hands to her wife's waist as Brittany continued to massage the shampoo in her hair. "You know it takes me a few days to get back right, I'm trying, okay?"
"I know you are." Brittany nodded. "I just wanted to check and make sure." She added, leaning Santana's head back to rinse the shampoo out for her.
"I just kind of wish we didn't have to travel this weekend, I really just want to relax at home, regroup a little more." Santana shrugged.
"We can stay home." Brittany told her. "You know your mental health is more important to me than anything."
"I know, but we need to go to this banquet tomorrow, we paid five hundred dollars a plate, and the Lupus foundation is important to you, they are so supportive of us, and we need to go. Not to mention I don't want to hear Rachel's mouth for missing Finn's birthday weekend, she always comes to LA for our parties and celebrations." Santana shook her head.
Brittany kissed Santana on the forehead and rubbed her sides. "Santana...baby, if you don't feel up to going..."
"I do, Brit." Santana shook her head.
"Look at me." Brittany commanded softly, she waited for Santana to focus on her eyes and continued speaking. "I can tell you're still a little off, Sanny, the way you're clutching to Mackenzie and to me, your eyes are a little distant." She kissed her on the forehead again and hugged her. "You're still lost in your head and I know you have to do it on your own terms, and I trust when you say that we are doing good but I'm still going to worry a little."
Santana exhaled softly. "Brittany, I'm fine, just...I'm fine."
Brittany stared at her, knowing Santana was trying to convince her own self more than her, so she nodded. "How about we just walk the red carpet, do a few interviews then head back to the hotel and relax before our flight to northern New York for the weekend with everyone, or we can just come back home."
"Are you sure you want to skip the banquet?" Santana asked.
"Yes, we've been traveling a lot this week and I know that's not good for you right now." Brittany told her. "You are always most important to me."
"We don't have to come back home, let's play the banquet by ear, but walking the red carpet and interviews sound good." Santana replied.
"Good." Brittany smiled at her and kissed her on the lips.
"Mackenzie said something to me earlier at Starbuck's that I don't really like." Santana stated as Brittany turned on the side side shower heads so the water began to hit them from the three walls.
"What?" She asked, grabbing her loofah and beginning to wash herself.
"She said she couldn't have any cake because she has a photoshoot next weekend."
Brittany froze and stared at her wife. "What?" Santana nodded. "Why would she say that?"
"I don't know, Brit, but it pissed me off, I had to catch myself from going off." Santana shook her head. "I don't want Mackenzie to think she has to be a certain size, or starve herself or whatever."
"You said something to her, right?" Brittany asked.
"Of course." Santana nodded and grabbed the main shower head hose and rinsed Brittany off.
Brittany sighed and turned off all of the shower heads and stepped out, quickly wrapping a towel around her her, she then grabbed Santana's hand and helped her out, wrapping a towel around her before going to the bedroom. "We had this talk before she started modeling more." She shook her head. "I still stand by my word that if she starts to fall into that model trap I'm pulling the plug on her career."
"I'm with you one hundred percent, you know that." Santana stated before yawning and walking into the walk in closet. She dried off and set her towel on the hardwood cherry stained table in the middle and went to her side of the closet, looking for clothes to lounge in. Brittany walked in the closet after her and grabbed Santana's towel, tossing it in the hamper off to the side. She put on undergarments and tossed on a Fierce Pierce t shirt and a pair of jean shorts, glancing at Santana as she got dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and jean shorts herself.
"Do you want to pack tonight?" Brittany asked.
"Emily is bringing the dresses?" Santana turned and asked her, grabbing a few pair of jeans and tossing them on the table.
"Yes, I can call her to confirm, but I bought her ticket today, and I have her hotel room all booked as well." Brittany replied, grabbing clothes down for herself. "Have you checked the weather?"
"No, I honestly don't even know what city we are going to." Santana shook her head.
Brittany smiled. "I don't think you'll need your bikini."
"There's no hot tub?" Santana asked her.
"I don't know."
"Well better safe than sorry." Santana smiled.
"We aren't staying at a resort, Rachel rented a big house." Brittany told her.
Santana frowned. "Oh..."
"Why don't you lay down, you keep yawning?" Brittany told her, tossing a handful of panties on the table to pack.
Santana shook her head. "I'm not sleepy, maybe we can cuddle and watch some TV later, or a movie?"
Brittany nodded. "Sounds good, do you want to bring one of these?" She pointed to the hanger of straps on her side of the closet.
Santana sat down in one of the chairs and went through her sneakers that were lined along the floor, grabbing a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers and a pair of Jordans out, standing to set them on the table as well. "If you want." She replied quietly.
"Why are you being weird about sex lately?" Brittany asked, turning to face her.
"I'm not." Santana defended herself.
"Okay, so let's have sex right now." Brittany challenged softly. "Kiss me."
Santana walked over to her and leaned up to kiss her, Brittany wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer, slowly deepening the kiss. She felt Santana's body tense slightly and stiffen when she slipped her tongue in her mouth. Santana broke the kiss abruptly and stepped back.
"Somethings wrong, baby." Brittany told her, she leaned forward and kiss Santana on the forehead before leaving the closet.
Santana sighed and closed her eyes tightly before sitting back in the chair to the side. "Fuck."
7pm
Hannah was watching TV in her living room when her doorbell rang, she took a sip of her milkshake and jumped up to grab the door, smiling when she saw Brittany through her peephole.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked her sister, hugging her tightly when Brittany stepped inside.
"Just wanted to visit you before we head to New York for the weekend." Brittany smiled and followed her to the living room. "Where are the kids?"
"JJ is with Jackson at a baseball game, Danielle is at a sleepover with a friend, and Aubrey is over mom's house for the night." Hannah explained. "They all ditched me, now I know how you and Santana felt when your kids would all ditch you." She laughed.
"Relived, refreshed, in bliss?" Brittany laughed.
"Yes!" Hannah laughed. "I love them, but being a single parent is a little rough...I did have dinner with Jackson last weekend."
Brittany, who was looking at pictures on the fireplace turned her head quickly. "Oh yeah?"
Hannah blushed. "Yeah."
"Are you two getting back together?" Brittany asked her, raising an eyebrow.
Hannah shrugged. "Probably not, we are just hanging out, you know he's like my best friend still."
Brittany nodded. "It's still funny to me how you were only able to pop out one blonde haired kid." She teased. "Dad would love all these little red headed grandchildren." She laughed.
"Hey...you only have one blonde haired kid too." Hannah laughed. "Mackenzie is a splitting image of you."
Brittany smiled proudly. "I know, but she has San's personality, she's way more fiestier than I am." She laughed.
"I can see that." Hannah nodded in agreement. "She's always been obsessed with Santana, it's cute. Do you want something to drink or I can make dinner?"
Brittany shook her head. "I'll just grab a bottle of juice, do you have grape?"
"Yeah, I went shopping this afternoon, the fridge is stocked." Hannah told her.
Brittany went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of grape juice, she then grabbed a bag of tortilla chips and a napkin before coming back and sitting next to Hannah on the couch. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure." Hannah replied, turning the TV off.
"Remember I called you from Vegas to tell you Santana had a panic attack?" Brittany asked, eating a chip.
"Yeah, is she doing better?"
"That's the thing, I don't know." Brittany shrugged. "I think I caused her attack and she just doesn't want to say it so she doesn't hurt my feelings."
Hannah raised an eyebrow. "How did you cause her attack?"
"I think I forced her to have sex." Brittany whispered.
"Brittany..." Hannah shook her head slowly.
"We had an argument about money, I went to dinner with Quinn and when I got back ot the room a few hours later, she was lying in bed asleep. I could tell she had a bad migraine, her face was twitching in her sleep, and she was red. I had her take some pills, they weren't working and she was still groaning in pain, so I started to kiss down her neck." Brittany explained. "She told me she didn't want sex, but I just told her that I wanted her to feel better. She said no and I kind of talked her into it."
Hannah closed her eyes and sighed. "Did she tell you she wanted sex?"
"No, she um, she nodded...but she never said yes." Brittany said softly, tears clouding in her eyes. "So we had sex, it was angry and kind of aggressive at first, then she froze, from the pressure in her head and stopped, but I just got on top of her and finished, I told her I needed to see her eyes to make sure she was okay. She was in so much pain and she was crying the entire time, but now I'm not sure if it's from her migraine or from...the sex in general. After we finished she got out of bed and went to the bathroom."
"Why would you do that?" Hannah asked her quickly. "Why the hell would you do that?"
Brittany shrugged. "I want her to feel better, Han."
"You wanted her to feel better or you wanted to feel better?" Hannah snapped. "Your wife was raped, Brittany, she had terrible nightmares and anxiety for years, years, she has triggers..." She stopped and took a deep breath. "You know damn well lying on top of her, having sex that she clearly didn't want at the time, while she cried was a shit move."
Brittany hung her head in her hands. "I know."
"Have you two had sex since?" Hannah asked.
"No, she when a kiss gets too deep, she breaks it, but we talked in Lima...I asked her, and she said it wasn't because of that." Brittany stated.
Hannah stared at her sister. "You know Santana better than anyone in this world, you know if she's truly okay, and if she isn't."
"I don't know what to do, Han." Brittany told her, staring at her sister.
"Talk to her again." Hannah suggested.
3pm the next day, New York
"That was a rough flight." Brittany stated as they walked into their hotel suite.
"Yeah." Santana rolled her eyes. "We've had more terrible flights than good ones lately, let's buy a tour bus instead of a plane." She teased.
"Could you imagine being stuck on a bus for days with the kids?" Brittany laughed, sitting down on the couch.
Santana set her purse down and sat on her lap. "That was be interesting, it would make for great reality TV." She laughed.
Brittany rested her hand across Santana's thighs and hugged her tightly as the Latina kissed her on the forehead. "We have about an hour before our glam teams get here, do you want to order room service or run downstairs somewhere for some lunch?" Brittany asked.
"Let's go out to eat somewhere." Santana nodded. "Let me get my phone and see what's in walking distance."
Ten minutes later the two were walking down the street hand in hand, their bodyguard, Tom, right behind them. A group of teenage girls recognized them and came running over, screaming excitedly. Santana and Brittany glanced at each other before smiling brightly and giving the girls hugs, while signing autographs and taking pictures for everyone that asked. As the crowd grew bigger around them Tom stepped in, ready to call for more help from the hotel.
"It's okay, Tom." Brittany assured him when she saw him reaching for his phone. "Just a few more, I need to take my gorgeous wife to lunch." She told the crowd.
"Yes, because I'm starving." Santana teased with a big smile as she signed another autograph.
"Santana can you sing something? Like anything?" A fan asked. "Please..."
Santana chuckled softly. "Okay, I'll sing a snippet of a new song I'm working on but after that, we really have to go." She told the crowd, and waited for them to quiet own. Brittany whispered quietly in her ear, Santana nodded to her wife and kissed her softly on the lips, causing the crowd to awww and swoon over the two. Brittany blushed and placed her hand on Santana's lower back as the Latina cleared her throat and started to sing, as numerous people lifted their camera phones ready to record the free show.
My eyes ain't used to these rays
I'm feeling exposed, but I hide no more
I can't hide
As the sun shines on all of my glory
My flaws don't look so bad at all
What was I so afraid of?
Every part of me is a vision of a portrait
Of Mona, of Mona Lisa
Every part of me is beautiful
And I finally see I'm a work of art
A masterpiece
Brittany smiled proudly as Santana continued to sing, the crowd around them growing larger as more people came over to see the commotion and hear her sing.
Who is this I've tried so long fight?
Filling my heads with lies that I'm not good enough
Then I heard something in my ear
Tell I'm perfect, now that I know the truth
Time to show and prove
Every part of me is a vision of a portrait
Of Mona, of Mona Lisa
Every part of me is beautiful
And I finally see I'm a work of art
A masterpiece
She finished the song and smiled as the crowd began to clap, Brittany clapping the loudest. "The song will appear on my new album, I want this song to be an anthem for young girls everywhere, for people in general actually. We are all masterpieces, I want you all to tell yourself that every morning when you look in the mirror." She added. "As much as Brit and I would love to hang out with you, and for me to keep singing, we have to get something to eat, then head to an event today, but I love each and every one of you that has supported both Brittany and myself, and continue to support us."
"I heard you all are bankrupt." Someone yelled out.
Brittany smiled brightly. "Is that the rumor of the day?" She laughed, locking eyes with Santana, who laughed as well and grabbed her hand, running her thumb over her wedding ring.
"Don't believe everything you hear." Santana smiled and waved at the crowd as Tom led them through the people. "How many times do you think we'll get asked that tonight on the red carpet?" Santana rolled her eyes as they walked up to a diner and Brittany held the door for her.
Brittany sighed and walked in behind her.
7pm
Santana stepped out of the limo first, dressed in a black pants jumper, a pair of black and turquoise snake skin stilettos on. She had on a blank diamond three strand tennis bracelet, she had black diamonds in her ears, and wore a wore a huge single diamond on her necklace. She had her hair pinned up, with a smokey eye makeup and a subtle red lip. She extended her hand out and helped Brittany, who was in a dark purple wrap dress that hung to her knee, out of the limo. Brittany had on minimal jewelry and had her hair swept to the side in a fishtail. She stepped out and kissed Santana on the cheek before they made their way down the red carpet, they posed for pictures both separately and together.
They made their way to the first interviewer with big smiles on their faces. "Brittany and Santana, how are you ladies?"
"Great," Santana beamed, glancing up at Brittany, who nodded in agreement.
"It's always a pleasure and an honor to come out and show support for the Lupus foundation, we are thrilled to be invited."
"You were diagnosed almost 10 years ago yourself," the interviewer stated, Brittany nodding in agreement. "How have you been dealing with it?"
"This amazing woman right here." Brittany said softly. "Santana has been my rock the past ten years, and I honestly don't know how I would have made it the past ten years without her." She stated, causing Santana to blush and lift their joined hands, kissing Brittany's ring.
"There have been a number of rumors swirling around about you two for the past week, a couple blogs have even gone as far as to mention bankruptcy in your future."
Santana cleared her throat. "People are going to talk no matter what, it seems like we are always in the media for something." She rolled her eyes playfully. "We are normal people, we use a normal bank like everyone else, and sometimes mistakes and glitches happen. We just had the unfortunate luck of having our mishap broadcasted around the world. I'm sure at the exact same moment my card got declined, someone else was getting declined as well."
"So you are saying you aren't broke?"
Brittany shook her head. "No, we are far from it. Santana balances our finances to the penny monthly. As Santana said, it was a mishap with the bank."
"Well thank you both, you both look amazingly gorgeous as always."
They nodded politely to the interviewer and followed Emily to the next stand.
"Thanks a lot, B." Santana said through a smile.
"I messed up, I know." Brittany nodded while smiling herself. "How many times do I have to apologize?"
"How many damn times will we have to defend our finances?" Santana snapped before remembering they were in public and plastering a smile on again.
Thoughts?