A/N:

Hieeee! Gawd I've been missing Glee even though I've sworn off it (T_T) I just need to see Naya & Heather's faces on my TV every week, being all cutesy wootsy and stuff and stuff.

Anyhoo.. here's another chapter. Please enjoy it even though there's no smut. It's certified fluff though. I even got a Certificate of Fluff created & hung on my wall xD

GuessWho it's me: Lives are definitely about to change, and... well, you can decide by the end of this chapter whether or not it's a good thing. – aaand you just posted another review! You and your butterflies are awesome. Thank you!

MN: I gave you that update already... but how about another one right now? :D

sillycal: Oh man! You're too good for my ego! Stop saying all those things! (but really, continue if you're inclined to do so :P )

Little Bee: Dude, you're in Brazil? Can we, like, switch places? Cause I've never been to south america before! Also I put cliffhangers because I can. And because I like torturing people.

Guest (from Ch. 20): I love that otter gif too! Cute Brittanimals for the win!

Michelle: That scissoring scene was the most difficult thing i had ever written omgah. I was like, "BUT WHAT IF IT SUCKS!?" lol

Guest 2 (from Ch. 19): Thank you! I love me some awesome Brittana fic because WHO DOESN'T?! Those authors are friggin' talented and I just had to recognize them somehow :D Glad you loved that bit!

FF: Ooohhh can you share your ideas with me? :D Also... Do you know me at all? Of course it's something good for Brittana!

Thanks for waiting! I apologize for my mistakes because I'm sure they're all silly.

Alright then.

Ship on, babies. Ship on.

Rent My Pussy

"Honey, I'm home," I whispered to the apartment the second I walked in. I knew it was much too late for anybody to still be awake, so I only did it to humor myself.

I glanced at the tiny gap under Quinn's door. The lack of light coming from inside made me sad. I had been so busy these past few weeks that I had been feeling like such a bad friend. I never got to talk to her anymore, even though I was dying inside to get an update about Beth, and whether or not Quinn was going to act on her newfound knowledge. The only stories I got were from Brittany, who had been so patient with me and my recording schedule, and so far I only got tidbits in the form of texts and 1-minute phone calls.

Studio life was kicking my ass so much, sometimes I couldn't even remember why I chose this life path as a music artist.

("Because you deserve this, baby," Brittany said. "Because the world needs to know how much they will love you... Even though I'm not sure I want to share you with the millions and millions of people out there. You're mine.")

I opened the fridge, took out a bottle of apple juice and twisted the cap open. The feeling of liquid trickling down my throat felt so good after hours and hours (days and days, really) of singing. I knew it was really bad for a singer to be drinking cold beverages, especially right before bed, but I couldn't help it. My throat felt like it was burning. Plus I figured I needed the Vitamin C, considering my nose felt like it was being attacked by global warming these past few days. I was literally dripping – and not in a good, sexual way.

I know, right? Ew.

After taking a few more swigs of the juice, I tiptoed my way to my room. The hardwood floor sometimes creaked and I didn't want it to wake Quinn up. But of course, it did.

"Night, Santana," I heard a muffled voice from behind Quinn's door and silently cursed my non-stealth feet.

"Night, Quinn," I answered back with my hoarse voice before finally continuing my steps to my bedroom. Normally, this time. Well... if you called dragging your feet 'normal', that is.

When I got into my room, I turned on my bedroom lights.

Then I turned them back off because wow Brittany was dating a pig. I had been neglecting all the chores I needed to do for myself, including tidying up my room. I had untouched dirty laundry overflowing my hamper, sheet music covering my floor, and random pairs of shoes I had put on and taken off every morning in the last week.

(What? I needed them to match my outfit and pop with contrast at the same time, okay? Being a fashionable woman is a tough job, but someone's gotta do it!)

In the darkness, I considered putting things away before I plop myself on the bed. It can't take that long, I thought. Just pick everything up from the floor and shove it back into the closet.

So I turned on the lights again.

...

Aaand then I turned them off again.

I was wrong. My room looked like a shipwreck that was captained by Barney from the Simpsons. Slap me on a hotdog and call me Joe cause I felt like the sloppiest person alive.

I sighed to myself. The Maribel Lopez in me really wanted to put things away. But I knew I couldn't possibly finish everything in a short amount of time. My body was already feeling not so delicious; I just knew that I'd pass out on the carpet if I had started cleaning up.

So I got my iPhone out of my pocket and lit my way to the bed with it before crawling on top of it... and passing out.

I had a dream that night. Unfortunately it wasn't one of my usual sexy dream involving a very naked blonde, blue-eyed, amazingly intelligent girlfriend of mine. Rather, I was being chased by fireballs which I was sure lit by Will because I kept smelling his hair gel as those balls burn – and ugh, God, please don't say wanky. That was totally not what I was aiming for.

Anyway, I kept running and running... until I finally fell off a cliff. Then I woke up.

Worst dream ever, I thought... but then I had run to the bathroom and decided that I was wrong – that was the worst dream ever. And when I tasted the acidic discomfort in my throat, I finally woke up for real and cried because the whole thing wasn't just a dream.

I hurled multiple times like I was having a really bad hangover. Which wasn't really fair because I sure as hell didn't enjoy any drop of alcohol that day. After I was done with my second – or maybe it was my fifth – vomit, I felt my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand. I was pissed to find out that I was developing a fever. Why? Because while this might meant I wouldn't have to go to work in the morning, it also meant that I would have to somehow repay the lost hours by spending even more hours in the studio – and that meant even less time with Brittany.

"Stupid," I muttered to myself and huffed as I tried to get up and get back to my bed. I knew that at this point there was nothing I could do but rest up. But damn, the moment I stood up, my legs felt so wobbly that I had to hold on to whatever my hands could reach as I took my steps. The towel rack, the door, the dresser, the picture frame I kept on the the nightstand...

Okay, so that picture frame wasn't really a necessity. I actually just wanted to touch it because it had Brittany's face in it. Long story short, after that karaoke night, we drove around town and I fell in love with Urban Lights at LACMA. I thought it was the most beautiful art installment I had ever seen, and what could possibly be better than to have a picture taken there with the most beautiful woman in my life, right? So I had Quinn took a picture of Brittany and I kissing in front of all the lights and had it printed. And now I never go to bed without looking at it first.

Tonight, however, I didn't just 'look' at it. I considered calling Brittany just so I could hear her voice while I try and get some more sleep, but a) it was late and I didn't want to wake her up, and b) knowing Brittany, I knew that she would be able to tell that I was sick – and I really didn't want her to know. I knew she'd want to come over and take care of me, and I couldn't do that to her. Not when I knew she herself was riddled with huge amount of business to take care of. She needed the rest as much as I did. So for now, I decided to take the picture frame into my hands as I crawled back into bed, and held it close to my chest, hoping it could soothe all the unwelcome feeling running through my whole body.

I tossed and turned the whole night with the fever. You know how you get all achy and just generally uncomfortable when you're sick? I hated that feeling. I did, however, took advantage of it by sending a text to Finn telling him that I wasn't feeling well and that I wouldn't be coming in. At least... I thought I did. My head was spinning, so I wasn't really sure what I wrote. Not that I cared... he should be able to figure it out.

When I woke up a few hours later, I felt a lot better. Like, a lot, a lot. I honestly thought the picture frame was magical, until I realized that I wasn't wearing the same clothes I went to sleep in, and that I had cold towel on my forehead.

"Don't get up yet," I head a voice coming from next to me and blinked my eyes once or twice. I thought I was still dreaming because... the picture frame just talked to me.

The picture frame talked to me again. "No, silly, I'm on the other side of your bed."

I whipped my head around and winced because, apparently, a headache had decided to accompany my fever so it wouldn't get lonely.

"Ow," I scrunched my eyes shut.

"Oh, no," Brittany sat on the edge of my bed and gently rubbed the skin above my eyebrows with her thumb. "I'll get you some meds after you eat, okay?"

"Oay," I said. I fully intended to say 'okay', but by the sound of it, my throat wasn't letting me do it.

"Wow, you're really sick," Brittany frowned and helped me sit up slowly. "Fever, headaches and... your throat hurts, doesn't it?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but after giving it more thought, I ended up nodding my head slowly.

"Good thing I made you some herbal tea then. Here," she grabbed a cup from my nightstand and blew on the hot beverage. "It's still hot," she said as she poured a little bit of the tea onto the saucer. "It's a little trick I learned from my grandma. If you poured it to the saucer, it'll cool faster because it has a bigger surface."

I nodded again and jot that tip down in my brain, in case I'd ever need it in the future.

After blowing on the tea a few more times, Brittany carefully brought the small plate to my lips and let me slurp the content. The warmth felt so good going down my throat, but it still was a little difficult to swallow. The only thing that really helped me, was Brittany's hand that kept caressing my cheek all the while.

Wait.

"You're here," I stated blankly. "Why?"

Brittany laughed. "If I didn't know any better I would've thought I'm not welcomed here."

"I gay you a key, righh–?" I swallowed hard again and tried to smile. This annoying pain in my throat really had to go!

Brittany smiled softly at me and once again she rubbed her thumb on my cheek. "You've been working too hard, honey. Finn told Mercedes that you sent him a weird text last night and she told me. I tried calling you but your phone was off, so I called Quinn – who wasn't coherent at all before coffee, by the way – and that's how I found out you're sick."

"Wah... I tell Fnn?"

"Let's see," Brittany pulled out her phone and scrolled to – I assumed – open a forwarded text. "Here."

From: Ms. Jones (07:33 AM)

Finn said Santana texted him last night saying, and I quote, "mot goong to srudio tomotto. sick, sotry." He asked me if it's a Thai food order.

I grinned at Brittany who was grinning at me too. That was a kind of funny.

"Weh's... winn?"

"Where's Quinn?" Brittany tried to decipher my alien language and smiled when I nodded to confirm my question. "She's at work. She wanted to stay, but I told her to greet the Felders on my behalf, because I'm going to be busy taking care of my sick girlfriend."

"Fuck, iz today?"

Brittany tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at me. "The one time you can speak clearly... it's to curse," she laughed. "Anyway, yeah it's today. And here, use my phone to type. Your phone is being charged and you need to drink some more tea. After this, I have toast for you because apparently you were puking your whole life out last night."

I looked at her questioningly.

"Quinn heard you last night, but she thought she was dreaming. When I went into your bathroom, however, I could tell she wasn't."

I groaned. Whatever it was she saw, I was pretty sure it wasn't pretty.

(Ooh look at me and my awesome vocabulary.)

(That was sarcasm, by the way.)

"Alright, baby," she kissed my cheek as she got up. I tried to lean my cheek against her lips for as long as I could before she pulled away. "You keep drinking this tea and I'll bring you some food, okay?"

I nodded and mouthed a thank you to her.

When Brittany was away in the kitchen, my mind flew to thinking about Quinn. If I was feeling bad about not being there for her before, I was definitely feeling even worse. It was a very important day for her and I wished I could've been there to support her. And even if I couldn't have been there at Faunalogy myself, I would've loved a do-over of my days so that I could've spent them listening to whatever my friend had to let out of her chest.

"Toast with butter, and fluffy scrambled eggs," Brittany chirpily came back into the room. "I know you like your strawberry jam, but I didn't want your empty stomach be shocked by something acidic. So... Let's start with this first, okay?"

I nodded and smiled at my thoughtful girlfriend. I tried to grab the fork out of her hand, but she was just too fast for my weak movement. So she proceeded to feed me the eggs with a smirk on her face.

"Baby, stop pouting, okay?" She chuckled. "I want to do it."

I typed quickly on her phone. "But I can do it myself! I'm not that sick."

Brittany read it out loud and rolled her eyes. All of the sudden she went all serious mode on me.

"When I walked in here this morning, you were really out of it. Like, your skin was burning and when I tried to wake you up, you were delirious. I couldn't find a real cool pack, so I had to use wet towels to lower your temperature. When you finally woke up, it was more than 2 hours after I put that first towel on your forehead. If you weren't that sick, you wouldn't have been vomiting all night. You wouldn't have had a fever. And you would be talking to me right now instead of typing on my phone-"

I opened my mouth to cut her off but she, once again, shut me up by lifting a hand.

"– and that is not a dare," she gave me a warning look.

I sighed and typed again. "You have a bunch of important things to do, Britt. You're saving animals and the planet and stuff. You need to go back to the office, I can manage."

Brittany sighed back and lowered the plate onto her lap. "Those animals are important to me, that's right. But you are everything to me. Please don't tell me to leave you 'cause that means we'd have to fight. And while wrestling my girlfriend in her pajamas is a really, really sexually intriguing idea," she wiggled her eyebrows and made me silently laugh. "I'd rather take care of her. I love her."

I melted right there. Pretty sure the outer ends of my eyebrows went down a few inches as a reaction to her words.

"Now if only i could find her," she scrunched her eyebrows and casted her gaze around the room, pretending to search for someone.

I lightly slapped her knee. "Funny," I mouthed at her and she laughed.

"I'm serious, though," she told me again. "You can't expect me to go into work when I know you're home alone with a squirrel climbing up your throat."

I finally gave in. I leaned in and kissed her left cheek. "Thank you," mouthed at her again. "I love you too."

"Open wide," Brittany smiled brightly at me and fed me another scoop of eggs.

Breakfast was spent in silence with the both of us staring at each other with loving gazes. I know, I know, you probably feel like puking right about now, hearing me sickeningly gush about how beautiful, how lovely and how awesome my girlfriend was. Bet a bunch of you are just dying to live in my world.

Well don't. While I couldn't be happier to have Brittany in my life, the rest of it wasn't always as perfect as it seemed – especially when I remembered the what was going on with Quinn.

"Do you think Quinn's gonna be alright?" I typed on the phone as I chewed and showed the message to Brittany.

She narrowed her eyes when she read my question and smiled when she finished. "Don't worry about it. I personally gave Shelby Felder a call a few days ago to apologize on Quinn's behalf. Open."

I opened my mouth so she could feed me the eggs.

"She accepted the apology and was very nice about it. In fact, she didn't seem offended to begin with. She told me she was scared for her family's safety that day Quinn seemingly ambushed her outside Faunalogy, but she's over it now. So my presence isn't needed there. Quinn can handle it herself."

"Just like that?" I asked Brittany.

"Open."

I took the last piece of toast in my mouth.

"Well, she might've told me something in confidence that made me feel good about this situation. But I can't tell you, sorry," Brittany handed me the tea to drink. "I'm sure Quinn can fill you in later."

I pouted. "Fine," I mouthed. I didn't want to act like such a brat, but being sick just brought it out of me. My mom always told me that I was bipolar that way. One minute I could be this really confident, somewhat mature and a super hot woman, but once you infect me with some sickness, I'd turn into a 5-year-old.

Brittany chuckled and got up from the bed. I finished my eggs and toast already and I kind of regretted chewing so fast. "You're so cute," she handed me a tiny vial and helped me open the cap. "Take this. It's from Sugar. She swore by her dad's grave – who isn't dead, by the way, but he has a gold mausoleum built for him already – that this thing helps you fight any sickness whatsoever."

I observed the contents skeptically and looked back at Brittany.

"Relax," she laughed. "This is actually legal and sold over the counter. It's a homeopathic remedy. I was down really bad once and a day of these things worked wonders."

I looked at the tiny white pebbles inside the vial and shrugged to myself. I didn't really trust Sugar, but I did trust Brittany to the max. What was the worst that could happen, right? If it cured Brittany, it should cure me too.

I poured the contents into my mouth and... well, I must say, it was the most pleasantly tasting medicine I had ever tasted. The rocks snapped, crackled and popped between my teeth and I grinned at Brittany. It actually tastes like candy!

"I know, right?" said Brittany, grinning back at me. "Okay, now, it's supposed to knock you out a few hours so I'm gonna go–"

My eyes widened. What?!

"Just to the kitchen, baby," Brittany laughed and reached behind my head to fluff the pillow. "I need to clean the pan and stuff. I told you I'm gonna take care of you today, so just relax. Get some sleep," she made me lay down again and pulled the covers up to my neck. "If you need me, just call your phone with mine. I don't want you to use your own because I know you're just gonna play that 2048 tile thing on your phone instead of sleep."

I stuck out my tongue at her because I knew she was right. Ever since Finn hacked the game and used my photos with Brittany as tiles, I couldn't stop playing! I mean, you'd understand right? Have you looked at us? We're so cute!

Not to mention hot. I might have a NSFW version stored somewhere in my phone.

"Alright, baby... get some rest, okay?" Brittany gave me a lingering kiss on my forehead and I nodded. The second she walked out the door, I made myself comfortable and grabbed the pillow I wasn't using to hug. I believe it only took me a few minutes before my brain completely shut down.

When I came to, it wasn't Brittany that was sitting next to me with her back against the headboard. Instead, it was Quinn with a pair of glasses over the bridge of her nose and a file folder in her hands.

"Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?" I typed on Brittany's phone.

"Oh, I came home early to check up on you. Brought all my work here since I don't even have a lot to do."

"Oh," I whispered – which was how I knew I could already produce a sound from my throat. Man, that homeopathic candy Brittany bought me really worked! I could still feel uncomfortable heat coming out of my eyes, but it wasn't like I expected the meds to bring me miracles.

"How long have you been here? How long was I out?" I croaked.

"I got here around 3, and now it's 6..." she looked at her phone, "twenty."

"Say what?" my eyes widened. "I slept for 8 hours?!"

"It's Oscillococcinum. It's supposed to knock you out. Plus you're weak from all the not sleeping, not eating lifestyle."

"Come again? Why was there a cock in your that alien speech you did? Gross."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Must you immediately go to sexual organs? It's the name of Sugar's medicine. You know, the one that Sugar gave Brittany? Oscillococcinum."

I jutted my lower lip and nodded my head. It still sounded like alien talk to me, so I decided to move on – to a more important matter, of course. I suddenly remembered that Quinn had a meeting with the Felders.

"Quinn!" I grabbed her arm. Then I realized that I shouldn't be yelling at all with my throat condition – because I do want to return to the studio as soon as possible. I ended up typing my thoughts onto Brittany's phone once again. "How did it go? I'm sorry I haven't been around for you."

Quinn smiled at me and... all of the sudden I wasn't worried anymore. Like myself, Quinn was kind of a master in faking her smiles, and the one that she just gave me was a pretty darn genuine, happy smile!

"Can we wait until a little bit later? I really want Brittany to hear it too because... well, none of this would've happened if it wasn't for her."

I smiled at her and whispered an okay. "Can you at least tell me if you're happy?"

Quinn pursed her lips and nodded, almost in a coy manner. "So happy."

My chest swelled with secondhand happiness for her and I typed furiously. "I'M SO FUCKING HAPPY FOR YOU EVEN THOUGH I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON YET."

Quinn laughed when she saw the screen. "Stop yelling at me, you'll wake up Brittany."

I scrunched my eyebrows. "Where is she?"

"She's asleep on the couch. Tried to wake her up so she'd move here to your bed but she wouldn't budge," said Quinn apologetically. "I ordered some food already so... let's just wait until it's here before we wake her up. I think she's tired from doing all the chores – on top of being tired from Faunalogy."

Chores?

"What chores?" I asked.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Look at your room. What's wrong with it?"

I followed Quinn's instructions and looked around my room. There was really nothing wrong with it, as far as I could tell. The walls still had the same color on it, the closet door were closed, my shoes were neatly lined up against the wall, and the floor was cle–

Oh my God.

I turned my head to look at Quinn again and without even realizing that I was crying, I dropped a tear.

"Yeah," Quinn smiled at me softly. "And she cleaned the kitchen spotless, washed all your laundry and folded them, scrubbed your bathroom floor and filled the fridge with Gatorade for you. If I were you, I'd never let her go, like, ever."

Just when I was about to to tell her that I wasn't planning to let go of Brittany, the buzzer went off. It must've been the delivery guy Quinn mentioned.

"I'll go get the door. Do you think you can walk to the living room so we can eat there? Or is it better to bring the food to your room?"

"I think I can walk," I told her as I scrubbed my mess of a face with my hands. My nose must've rivaled that of Rudolph's at that moment.

"'Kay. You go freshen up," Quinn told me as she walked out of my room.

I didn't spend a lot of time in the bathroom because after what Quinn told me, I had an overwhelming urge to go see my girlfriend's beautiful face. I rushed washing my face and didn't even bother to do anything else but dry it with a towel. I still, however, had to walk super slow because I was still feeling weak. Luckily, Quinn was thoughtful enough to let me wake Brittany up from her slumber. She opted to place the food onto plates in the kitchen instead.

I carefully sat on the edge of the couch where Brittany was sleeping and looked around the room. On the far corner, near the standing light, was a basket overflown with neatly folded and stacked laundry. Tears sprung up to my eyes again but I kept them at bay this time, choosing to focus on the sleeping beauty.

Brittany looked peaceful, but even a blind bat could see the dark circles under her eyes. I couldn't believe she did all those things for me when I knew she, too, had been spending her nights sleepless and her days consumed by work. None of my previous girlfriends (or boyfriends, for that matter) had ever done anything like that. Not even half of it, because I was always the one who invested every bit of my heart into my relationships.

I kneeled on the carpet and scooted closer to her face.

"Wake up, honey," I kissed her eyelid and it made her stir. I kept peppering her face with kisses until she opened her eyes, and when she did, it was the best sight my sickly eyes could ever be blessed with. Yes, I still want to go swim in those blue orbs and I'm sure that now Quinn wouldn't be laughing at the cheesiness. It was the truth.

At first Brittany smiled sleepily at me, but then I guess she remembered that I was sick that she sat up so quickly. I actually heard her bones crack.

"Why aren't you in bed? What time is it? Oh my god I forgot to wake you up for more food! How are you feeling? Are you good? Nauseous? What? Why are you laughing and why aren't you typing your laughter?"

I giggled at her and she beamed from hearing my once lost voice. "I'm fine," I told her. "Still a little weak, a bit hungry, but whatever it is you gave me is working."

"That's awesome!" Brittany smiled wide and I couldn't help but to smile back.

"You're sure Sugar got that thing legally, right? Cause I mean... Something as remedial as that has got to be illegal."

Brittany laughed and shook her head. "I promise you, you can get it everywhere. I actually ordered a few boxes from Amazon for you. It'll be here tomorrow. But there's a couple of more of those tubes in my purse and you're gonna take them after dinner, which... I should probably make," her eyes widened. She probably remembered how empty the cupboards were when she found them this morning.

I quickly shook my head and grabbed her wrist when she suddenly stood up. "Don't worry about it. Quinn's already got it under control. In fact, that's why I woke you up. We're having dinner here."

Brittany frowned, but she sat back down. "Are you sure you don't need to lie down? I know the meds helped but..."

"If anything, you should be the one who needs to lie down. You look tired."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Wow, babe, what a way to flatter me. You do realize that you still look like shit yourself, right?"

I laughed and playfully slapped her arm. "Uh-huh, but I'm your shit."

"You are," Brittany laughed along. "And you're the prettiest shit I've ever known."

"I'm also shit that sings."

"Beautifully. You know, you should work at a toilet manufacturers."

I tilted my head to the side. Confused at what she was talking about. "Um, why?"

"Because," she shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "most toilets flush in E flat. Imagine having 3 bathrooms with 3 toilets that flush in harmony. That would be, like, the coolest thing in the world."

"Okay," I laughed. "I'm not even going to ask you how you got that information."

"What information? What are you talking about?" Asked Quinn as she waltzed into the room with a tray full of food and our utensils.

Brittany stood up and Quinn gave her a grateful smile for helping. "Toilets," she told her. Short and sweet.

"And why the hell were you guys talking about toilets?" Quinn scrunched her nose.

"Cause I'm the shit," I shrugged as I stated the obvious.

"Oh, please," Quinn laughed. "If Brittany didn't come along, you'd probably still a shithead."

I scoffed, offended. Although, Quinn had a point. Brittany and our relationship had mellowed me down big time - in the bestest of ways, of course. So since I didn't have a comeback for Quinn's comment, I blew her a raspberry in protest.

"Aw, baby," Brittany laughed. "You're so cute."

She pulled me into a sidehug and I melted into it, but I could swear she jokingly mouthed 'shithead' to Quinn when she thought I wasn't looking. Whatever, though. After everything she did for me that day, she can call me anything she wanted.

The good news that Quinn promised to tell us turned out to be a the kind of news that left you with mixed feelings. Furthermore, since I was still sick and feeling miserable, I felt like it was a personal attack against me. I was happy for her, of course, but...

"Baby?"

I snapped out of my thoughts to find Brittany looking at me like I just spaced out on her.

"What is it?"

"You spaced out on me for like a solid 5 minutes."

Oh, that's right. I did.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling sick again?" She rushed to the side of the bed and felt my forehead with the back of her hand. "You're not hot."

"Excuse me?" I feigned disapproval. "I'm always hot."

"Fine, you're always hot," my girlfriend chuckled and booped my nose. "Now tell me what's in that hot head of yours."

I pouted because the double meaning of that sentence didn't escape me, but when she said she was kidding, and when she put on that super genuine look on her face, I gave her my answer anyway.

"Quinn's thinking of moving, and that bothers me a lot," I sighed.

As it turned out, after that day at Faunalogy, Shelby did a research on her own on Quinn and found out that she was Beth's biological mother. Shelby had been considering the possibility of involving Quinn more in Beth's life, and when Brittany called her to extend her apology, Shelby's mind was made up.

I was happy to hear that piece of news from Quinn, but when she told us that she was thinking of moving closer to where the Felders live, I wasn't exactly happy about it. She was my best friend and the only roommate I had ever had. Not having her live with me would be like... an end of an era!

"It's a big change, huh?" Brittany fixed the blanket so it'd cover me up to my chest.

"It's bigger than a fucking whale's ass," I grumbled and crossed my arms. It made her chuckle, though, and if there were anything that could cheer me up that moment, it was the sweet sound of Brittany's laughter. "I mean I know she needs to own this opportunity but does she really have to move?"

Brittany gave me a kiss on the cheek and stood up to grab some sleep clothes from my drawers. It made me frown again because, well, I kinda dug naked Brittany. Also, have you seen her banging body? Why would she even cover herself up?

"You know she's only thinking about it, honey. Maybe she wouldn't move out at all," said Brittany as she turned around. When she finally faced me, she laughed again. "Oh my God, Grumpy! It's not like we're even gonna do anything tonight!"

"Oh, come on, Britt. At least lose the sweatpants!"

"No!" she laughed. "You need to rest, so no monkey business!"

"Not even sweet lady kisses?" my jaw dropped.

"Well," Brittany clicked her tongue. "That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether or not you're gonna puke on me, d'uh," she walked over to her side of the bed and peeled off the covers. "Anyway... I know it's a huge thing for you since you've been inseparable since high school... but think about how good this could be for Quinn, baby. She's gonna be closer to Beth and the family, Santana."

I scoffed. "She can visit Beth anytime even if she stayed living here, Britt."

"Honey," Brittany laid on her side, but I stayed looking at the ceiling. "You're thinking with the wrong side of your heart, baby. How often do you see an adoptive mom let her daughter's biological mother be involved in her life?"

I didn't respond. I was still upset so I chose to not say anything because I knew this Lima Heights mouth would spew something nasty.

(Okay, ew. That sounded so wrong.)

"I mean, I know we lived different lives when we were kids, but I didn't have a mother growing up, Santana. How great is it that Beth gets to have two moms now?" Brittany reasoned. "And you told me yourself, watching Quinn lose her baby was... painful. You don't want her to go through the same thing again, right? I'm sure you can understand why Quinn wants to do everything in her power to be closer to Beth."

My heart felt like someone was squeezing it the minute Brittany finished saying her sentence. I turned on my side and bit my lip.

"I..." I started to whisper. "Britt, I don't want that to happen again."

"I know, honey," Brittany rubbed my arm slowly. "Nobody does."

"I'm just... I just don't want to..." I stuttered. "Nevermind."

"Aw," Brittany scooted closer. "Come on, tell me. What don't you want?"

"I just..." I paused. I had to take a deep breath before I continued. "When I was with Nicole, I spent a lot of my nights being alone. No matter whose apartment I came home to, she was never there to greet me – even though I told her I was coming over. She'd be back at like 5 in the morning and convinced me that she got held up filling up paperwork, and I'd believe her. Of course, a while after that I found out that she was busy filling up other people's pussies–"

"TMI," Brittany scrunched her nose. "Also, I really want to kick her ass now."

"Sorry. The point is, I feel like that's exactly what's going to happen if Quinn's gone. I'd be coming home to an empty apartment again and..." I huffed. "God, I sound so lame right now."

"No, you don't," Brittany caressed my cheek with her hand. "I was there too. I used to come home to an empty house too, remember? Nobody wants to be lonely, Santana. Nobody wants to cry."

I stared at her and blinked once, twice, before I burst out laughing. "Did you seriously just quote Ricky Martin?"

Brittany smiled wide and bright. "Hey, it made you laugh, right? For the record, you're so much prettier when you're happy."

I sighed and closed my eyes when I smiled. "Thank you."

Brittany shuffled underneath the covers and from the corner of my eyes I could see her hand moving under the blanket towards the... well, towards my favorite vacation destination.

(I might've created a mental brochure about Brittany's wonderful hidden cave.)

(Ok, fine. There's a password-protected file in my laptop. But none of you losers will ever know the password! Not unless you know the name of my favorite restaurant.)

(Pretend I didn't just tell you that...)

"Are you touching yourself?" I asked my girlfriend. "Cause it's so unfair."

"What? No!" Brittany denied the idea. "I'm actually going to show you something."

"Britt," I chuckled and wiggled my eyebrows. "Aren't we a little bit too old for this game? Not to mention we're waaay past that stage."

"You are such a pervert," Brittany playfully slapped my arm. "No, but let's get serious for a moment. Look at this."

Brittany opened her hand and showed me what she was holding.

"That's Quinn's key to this apartment. Why do you have it? Didn't I give you your own set?"

"Well," she put the key on the space between us. "I talked to Quinn when you were taking that shower and... what if – and you can totally say no to this idea – what if Quinn and I trade places?"

I bounced my gaze from her face to the key, to her face again. Maybe it was the meds I was under, but I really wasn't following her.

"Trade places?" I asked her. "Like... science fiction?"

Brittany chuckled. "Let me rephrase that. What if... Quinn lives in my apartment?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Well, that would mean you're gonna have to deal with her 24/7 and I mean, where would you live? One of you would have to sleep on the couch. Unless there's something you're not telling me," I narrowed my eyes.

"Ugh, seriously, Santana," Brittany laughed out of frustration. "I'll only spell it out for you because I think you're too drowsy to think straight right now. Listen to me carefully, okay?"

I nodded at her request. She was right, I was too drugged up. I mean... I think she was right. She was Brittany and Brittany was always right because she was the single most beautiful thimgh in thiv worlhhh...

Ahem. Yup.. totally drugged up.

"What if... Quinn lives in my apartment," Brittany checked if I was listening, so I gave her a nod. "And I live here?"

My eyes widened. "You mean... permanently?"

"Yeah, permanently. My apartment's already so much closer to where the Felders live, and to Faunalogy. It's the perfect location for her. Not to mention the perfect size. She'd have enough room for guests, but still cozy enough that she wouldn't feel like the apartment's too big for her to handle. So? What do you think? Quinn thought it's a great idea but I told her we'd need to ask you first."

Brittany bit her lip as she waited for me to say something. She probably was discouraged from the lack of response I was giving her.

"You won't have to be alone, Santana. I know you're not comparing me to her at all, but… I'm not Nicole. You can come home to me and I can come home to you and it'll be perfect. What do you say?" she asked. And because I was still figuring out the right words to say, I stayed quiet.

"Please say something," Brittany pleaded quietly after more of my silence. "Anything. Say no if you want but just... say something."

I blinked again a few times. I knew what I wanted – which was for her to move in – but at the same time I wanted so much more. Seeing that her eyes were getting glossy, my clouded mind suddenly went clear. Even when my system was infiltrated by some homeopathic candy – which I was pretty sure made from duck essence, whatever it might be – I would never just stand by and watch her cry. So I moved my hand to trace the contour of the side of face to calm her down.

"You're so beautiful," I told her. "The most beautiful woman I've ever met... And I'm not just talking about your body, or face. I love you and I love your heart. And I haven't thanked you yet for what you did for me today.

Brittany let a stream of air escape the tiny opening formed by her lips (it was probably all the bad nerves I accidentally gave her) and then opened her mouth to speak. But before she could do it I ran my thumb across her lips. She knew I still had things to say to her, so she gave the pad of my thumbs a little kiss to let me know that I had the floor. Well, bed, but fuck technicality.

I hoisted myself up with one elbow and looked around the room, feeling a familiar loving tug in my heart from the sight I was seeing around me.

"My chest is heavy right now," I made a small laugh. "It's heavy from all these feelings I have for you, Britt, and if you could hear my heart right now... Oh, man, it's beating like crazy. Nobody, except maybe for my mom, had every taken care of me like you did today. On top of making me feel better, you cleaned my room. You put everything back into my closet, rearranged my shoes based on their color and height – something I've always dreamed of doing ever since I saw Mariah Carey's episode of MTV Cribs – and you washed and folded my laundry even though I had a ton of them, and they probably smelled something homeless."

I cringed, and Brittany laughed a little, but I could see she was still wondering where my speech was going.

"Never in my life have I ever felt this loved," I continued. "You saw I was living off leftovers and instant ramen and you bought me groceries. You scrubbed my bathroom – and you made sure to use the Island Breeze scent because I told you I hate too-clean smells. You spoil me like crazy and I... I can't have you just move in with me. It's not right."

Crap. That came out wrong. I knew that because Brittany's breath hitched a little and the pooling tears that were gone from her eyes decided come back.

"Oh... okay," Brittany bit her quivering lip, but she tried to disguise her disappointment with a choked laughter. "I guess that was too big of a step to take, right? I mean I–"

"Marry me," I cut her off. "Marry me, Brittany. I don't have a ring right now but please say yes. Say fucking yes because I love you so much and want to make a home for you. With you. And we'll live mostly happily ever after because well, you'll be living with me, and I have a million spirit animals and about 3/4 of them are grumpy, angry teenagers. But I swear to you, I'll spend every second of the rest of our lives together making you feel as loved as you make me feel. I– mmphhh.."

"Shut up," said Brittany after she kissed me out of the blue. "Shut the fuck up."

"Was that a yes?" I grinned so hard; those dimples were actually poking into the side of my teeth.

Okay, that was an exaggeration. But I was fucking happy, so whatever.

"What do you think?" she smiled back at me with tears in her eyes. I had them too.. "I love you so fucking much too, Santana. But if you ever scared me like that again, I'm gonna..."

"Fuck me senseless?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You wish. I'm gonna totally deprive you from my pussy for a week."

"Charity, or Lord Tubbington?" I smirked at her playfully. I got the upper hand in this.

"You see right through me now," Brittany pouted. "You know I wouldn't last long without sweet lady sexing with you."

"Speaking of which, are you sure we can't do anything tonight? Because I really wanna make love to my fiancée now."

"Uh-uh," Brittany shook her head and pulled me down onto the bed again.

"Tough crowd," I grumbled. She turned me over so we were spooning. I was the little spoon, of course, and I scooted backwards so that our bodies had no space between us. "I was sure that was going to get me into your pants."

"What, a marriage proposal? Pssh... that was nothing," she joked. "Besides, you need to get sleep and get better, because what I plan to do with you, fiancée," she snaked one hand to graze the apex of my thighs – my shorts covered pussy, if you will, "we're gonna be doing it all day and night, on every surface, in every room you have in this apartment."

I gulped. The way her breath tickled my neck really turned me on, I felt a shiver running through my whole body.

Then Brittany quickly retracted her hand from my crotch area, and delivered a light smack on my perfectly round ass. "Now sleep, sickie!" she gave me a kiss on my shoulder.

I groaned when she interlaced her fingers with mine. This was going to be one hell of a sleepless night, no matter how drugged up I was.