A knock on the front door pulled the slender blonde from her stirring, and glancing at the clock - 6:34 - she arched an eyebrow. It was a Monday night and she certainly wasn't expecting anyone. The girls had elected to move their weekly dinner to the evening prior, so Brittany could take full advantage of the campus studio after hours to work on her midterm piece. She wiped her hands clean on the back of her pants, heading toward the entryway and opening the front door to be met with a shivering brunette with a scowl plastered across her face.
"It's cold as tits Holly. You couldn't have moved a little faster?"
"Oh, so you're not just happy to see me?" she quipped with a smirk, earning a scoff and a pair of eyes rolled to the ceiling. Holly's overt remarks to her covert pseudo-lesbianism of the past no longer phased Santana, though the comments still managed to leave Brittany flushing furiously and covering her face with her hands.
Santana pushed her way into the doorway before turning over a shoulder, one eyebrow raised. "Given that you and Brittany share the same genes, I don't feel bad about admitting that you're a total Milf Holls, but I think I'll stick with the younger generation of the Pierce women." She continued into the kitchen, eyeing the bubbling pot on the back burner. "Smells good," she nodded, taking in a deep breath of the vegetable soup simmering.
"You staying for dinner? You know Britt is in the studio, right?"
"Yeah, I just left over there. I came to talk to you actually. I'm hijacking your daughter this weekend," she said flippantly. "Figured you'd wanna know if I was planning on taking her across the state line."
Holly shrugged and nodded, probably more trusting than she should be of her teenage daughter. She did, however, let a lone worry cross her mind - a worry she didn't hesitate to voice. "Santana?" The much more serious tone in her voice caught the brunette's attention immediately, and she stopped stirring (and sneaking spoonfuls from the pot) to meet the older woman's eyes. "You aren't proposing, are you? Because I mean, I love you and everything but - "
Santana smacked her hand against her forehead and sighed exasperatedly. "I knew I was forgetting something. I've been so focused on trying to knock her up - remarkably unsuccessful in my attempts, by the way - that I completely forgot that I'm supposed to put a ring on it first. First love, then marriage, then the carriage, right? I always get the last two mixed up." The reproaching glare she received made it clear that as lighthearted as she'd attempted to keep this conversation, Holly wasn't joking - at all, not even a little. "No, Holls. I have no intention of proposing anytime soon." She couldn't help but grin at the deep breath the blonde let out, relaxing visibly. "You ought to give me a bit more credit though. I'd ask for your blessing first."
"I just worry, Santana. I don't want you both to get so caught up in the future that you forget to enjoy your time now, as teenagers."
"I understand, I do. I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that we're ready to settle down with a mortgage and children right now. We need a few years of living, really living, before I could think about that. Do I want to marry your daughter? Absolutely. Am I delusional enough to propose in high school? Absolutely not."
She's not going to lie and say she hasn't thought about it, because clearly she has. She's thought about a house, and a dog, and a few mini-Brittanys running around, spilling juice on her carpets, having pillow fights on the brand new sectional they've bought, and waking up at two in the morning with nightmares. She's allowed herself to hope for positive pregnancy tests, 9-5 salaries, and the wedding of her dreams. But the bottom line in all of that wishing is that if this woman has managed to create all of these feelings within her, feelings she'd buried when she buried her parents, then she's not going to rush things and potentially screw it up, no matter how loudly her heart screams forever.
"And I've changed my mind. I'm totally staying for dinner."
Maybe their relationship is unconventional - and maybe, just maybe, unconventional is an understatement when Santana can easily switch conversations with her girlfriend's mother from current events to sex toys to how she'd rather have a maltese instead of a golden retriever - but sitting in the living room, Legally Blonde playing on TBS for the third time this week as they slurp soup simultaneously, Santana recognizes an odd, yet seemingly familiar feeling. It's one she's been feeling more and more often lately, not quite butterflies, more like fuzziness, and unexpected warmth. After she tucks her scarf into her pea coat, kisses Holly on the cheek, and settles into her car for the short drive home, it hits her. It's a feeling of home.
"So how's your piece coming Britts?"
"Not that I don't appreciate the underlying kinkiness of all of this - " Santana's eyebrows disappeared into her hair, but she managed to keep her hands on the wheel, gripping tightly, and her eyes boring straight ahead at the road in front of her. " - but small talk is awkward enough without being blindfolded. Can you just tell me where we're going?"
The pause in conversation was enough to make Brittany think that perhaps her girlfriend was considering divulging something - anything - but then a smirk, one she couldn't see on account of the whole blindfolded thing, twisted across the brunette's lips. "Nope."
"Santana," she whined out. "You're afraid of the dark. Couldn't you be just the tiniest bit sympathetic to my plight?" She heard the distinct clicking of the Jeep's blinker, and felt them take a sharp right onto a curving road, slowing down considerably from the well-over-the-limit, breakneck speed they'd been taking down the highway moments before.
"But we're here. Kind of. Telling you would have ruined everything."
"How can we be kind of - " The silk scarf pressing against her eyelids was removed, and she blinked several times against the light, her pupils protesting silently.
"Our flight is in an hour. We need to check in and go through security and everything, so come on!" The grin coloring her features was bright, brighter than Brittany could remember it ever being. The smile didn't distract the blonde entirely, however, and she took note of the absentminded fingering of the infinity charm dangling from her girlfriend's wrist.
"I don't have - "
"Holly and I packed your things earlier this week."
"Why would you spend - "
"Because I love you. Any more questions? Because I'd really like to be able to get on this plane and see the brilliant smile my beautiful girlfriend is sure to shoot my way when she realizes how awesome I am at planning surprises."
Her steps were shaky as the two climbed up yet another flight of stairs. Brittany had lost count at this point, and having been blindfolded as soon as they got in the rental car, all she knew is she was walking up steps in Chicago. Lots and lots of Chicago steps.
Her girlfriend's shaking hands did nothing to calm her nerves, nor did the strangled Yes, I'm fineresponses she got every time she inquired if Santana were all right. Her legs were met with flat, stable ground, and she took refuge in the few moments her leg muscles could rest before heading up what seemed to be endless staircases. Santana's fingers released her hips, and left her standing, completely blind and alone. She could hear the footsteps walking away, and what sounded suspiciously like the jangling of keys, but she knew better than to assume they were in a hotel. A door to her left squeaked open, and warm hands enveloped her own, tugging her forward and away from the Mount Everest set of stairs she'd conquered. A thump behind her indicated Santana kicking the door shut with her foot, a habit she'd had for years, and Brittany felt the knot on the silk scarf being tugged undone, but when it hit the floor, her eyes remained tightly shut.
"Can I peek yet?"
Two slender arms wrapped around her, and she felt Santana nod into her back. "Please do." The room they were standing in was flooded with light. Brittany squinted gently, adjusting once again to a sudden change from the darkness she'd spent a good portion of this trip quelled behind. Twinkling lights overtook an entire side of the room, and she felt as if she took just a few steps forward, she could fall straight into the Milky Way. She tugged out of Santana's arms, intertwining their fingers and moving in the direction of the bright city lights sprawled out before her.
"Where are we? What is this place?" She'd experienced magic before, in simple things - first kisses, and shooting stars - but the wonder in front of her was incomparable to those things.
"Well, we were in the foyer, but since you, ever so adventurous, decided you wanted to explore, we're now in the living room."
"Who's living room?" Her eyebrows were knit together as she whipped her head around to face dark eyes, twinkling on their own easily, without necessary aid from the lights surrounding them.
Santana's voice was barely a whisper, and she couldn't hold Brittany's gaze for more than a moment when she answered. "Ours."
AN: I've been terrible about updating recently, and I apologize. I'm also sorry for such a short chapter, but I'm hoping to have another one up within the next few days, finishing up their Valentine's trip to Chicago. If there's anything you want to see more or less of, or any constructive criticism you want to throw my way, please don't hesitate to leave a review. :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter!