AN: Hey ya'll, just wanted to wish you a happy Saturday by giving you an update! :) I know this chapter is a lot shorter than what's been usual lately and that's only because I'm reaching a transition point in the story. I had to get this portion finished so that we can jump ahead a few months in the next update, and then the chapters will be longer again. This chapter is pretty fluffy and I guess that's all you really need to know! Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites and have fun reading!

Chapter 21 – Friendly Butterflies

As Rachel rolled over and ran into something warm and curvy, she remembered that she was sleeping next to Santana, but what she couldn't figure out was why it was so bright in her girlfriend's darkly painted room. Lifting her head from its soft resting place, she squinted one eye open just as her elbow scraped over rough scratchy carpeting. Then, she suddenly knew where she was – the living room floor.

The blinding sunlight of the winter morning was pouring through the large bay window and with a pained groan Rachel brought one of her hands over her eyes. It couldn't have been more than two or three hours since they had gone to sleep but since the day was dawning and they were still exhausted, it was time to relocate.

Preparing to wake the girl beside her, she untangled herself from the sheet and sat up. But the sight that greeted her had her stilling her hand above a tanned shoulder and withdrawing. A sleeping Santana was too perfect an image to disturb. Glossy, ebony black hair was spread out over the carpeting and with the sun shining on it, it resembled a luscious and sinful halo, although the girl who possessed the feature was nothing but angelic in Rachel's eyes. The light cast a shadow over her face – bathing one half and leaving the other in the dark – much like the contrasts in her personality. And through it all she rested easy, not at all aware that she was being admired.

And she's all mine, Rachel thought to herself, smiling a little as she reminisced on how perfectly tousled Santana had looked when she had given her simple confession of love. And she loves me and I love her, more so than she could probably even imagine.

She knew that to love another, one had to be selfless and she had finally found someone who she was willing to be that for. She was ready for the responsibility of holding Santana's heart, to love her and take care of her, never to hurt her, and to always shield her from the heartbreak she had already endured.

"San," she whispered gently, so as not to startle her. She ghosted a fingertip down the bridge of Santana's nose, smiling even wider when she twitched and scrunched her face up like a little kid in her sleep. Next, she traced the outline of her mouth, eliciting a low, "Mmm…"

"Santana…" Rachel sing songed her full name into her ear, but the Latina still wasn't having it. She twisted onto her side and continued to sleep, completely unfazed.

Deciding that using her name wasn't going to work, Rachel tried using a different short phrase. "I love you, sweetheart."

Seconds later Santana's eyes slid open – all groggy and unfocused – and it took her a moment to hone in on Rachel's presence beside her. "Hmm?" she murmured, looking up at her girlfriend with a sleepy, dopey grin.

"You heard me…"

The Latina continued to grin as she shook her head in disagreement and pulled the sheet up over her mouth and nose. Rachel rolled her eyes in amusement, pulled the sheet back down, and then guided Santana to look at her. "I said, I love you…"

"Oh," Santana sighed, playing coy as if she hadn't known the first time. "I love you too." Then, she lazily stretched her arms above her head, giving Rachel quite the viewing pleasure as the sheet slid down her abs and bared her breasts. After ridding herself of the stiffness she had acquired from sleeping on the floor, she reopened her eyes and smirked. "Like what you see?"

"Huh?" Rachel murmured absently, with her eyes still fixed on her girlfriend's chest.

Slowly, Santana reached out and lifted Rachel's chin so their eyes met. "This is my face…"

"Oh. Oh!" Rachel stammered, and then shook her head and ran a palm over a flushing cheek. "I'm so sorry…that was rude."

The Latina just giggled and took one of her girlfriend's hands to place it over her stomach. She then held it in place with her own. "Can you feel anything in there?" she asked.

Rachel, still flustered by being caught leering, wore an expression of confusion. "Um…your heartbeat?"

"Well, yeah, that's in there," Santana laughed, "But I was just wondering if you could feel anything else because every time you look at me like you just were, it feels like there's something jumping around in there."

"Aw, baby," Rachel said softly, as she laid back down and rubbed Santana's belly. "Do you have butterflies this morning?"

"Yep, it's okay though, they're friendly butterflies. They've been in there since we sat on this floor and you told me you liked me, so we've gotten to know each other."

Lifting her body, Rachel moved to straddle Santana's waist and kneaded the muscles of her shoulders in her hands. "You know," she began, "you're very cute when you want to be, and also sometimes when you're not even trying."

When told things to that effect, Santana was either cocky or as she seemed to be that morning – bashful. She dipped her head into her shoulder and shrugged, as if she had no idea what was being referred to. Running her hand up Rachel's arm, she cupped the back of her neck in her hand and then sat up, bringing the small figure into her lap. A kiss was her next goal but when a hand pressed over her mouth, her brows came together questioningly.

"Don't kiss me, I haven't brushed my teeth yet," Rachel provided as explanation.

"Fuck that," Santana announced after having pried the hand from her mouth, "I love you. Nothin' can keep me from lovin' on my girl, not even morning breath."

"That's revolting and not romantic in the least!" the petite brunette laughed, shoving at Santana's shoulder.

"Fine, you can have your way…" After standing them both up, Santana pointed up the stairs and towards the direction of her room. "You have ten seconds to get up to that bathroom and brush your teeth, but if I catch you before you get there I get to take you where you're standing, morning breath, bed head, and all."

Rachel's mouth dropped open, but then transformed to a sly grin. "Of course, whatever you say, Santana…"

"Time is wast – hey!"

In the split second it had taken Santana to say a few words, Rachel had snatched the sheet away and made a dash for the stairs, cackling all the way and leaving Santana to streak through the house. But after teeth were brushed and the shower was turned on, Rachel let her girlfriend catch her – catch meaning her bottom lip caught between Santana's teeth as she pressed her to the shower tiles.

~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~

As Santana sat on her bathroom counter and listened to Quinn's ringback tone play, she had to wonder if fulfilling the blonde's request to call was actually a good idea. Although after the night she had had she really did want to talk. She wanted to tell a friend that she was finally strong enough to let someone in and she could only hope that Quinn was still willing to be that friend.

"Hello?"

"Hey, sorry if it's too early," Santana said quickly. The unfamiliarity that had replaced how close they once were was making her feel awkward and self-conscious. Plus, the amount of time it had taken for the line to be picked up made her feel that she had either woken the blonde or interrupted something.

Surprisingly, Quinn gave an easy and genuinely amused laugh. "San, it's almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It's definitely not too early, it's fine."

"Holy shit…really?" Santana mumbled, glancing around the bathroom for a clock only to remember that it didn't contain one. "Man, we've been sleeping all day…"

"Late night, huh? Who's we?" Quinn asked in a sly voice. Her knowing smile was evident without even having to see her, Santana could just hear it in her tone.

"Really late night…you don't even know…" After an unnecessarily long shower – if it could be considered that – Santana and Rachel had eventually made it back to her bed. Exhausted and lacking a proper window of sleep, they finally fell into a restful slumber before the water droplets on their skin had even had a chance to dry.

"Oh, yes, I do," the blonde said smoothly and then chuckled again. "Britt told everyone what you and Rachel were planning to do, you know, like have a little private sleepover of your own."

Since she had finally decided to don some clothes, Santana was admiring the purplish red hickey above her left nipple that showed from her tank top. But she saw her own face turn to one of mild horror in the mirror as she received that piece of news. "Oh my God! She seriously told everyone that?" she quizzed, while her fingertips touched the spot where Rachel had marked her.

"Just the girls," Quinn clarified, much to the Latina's relief. "The guys had already left."

"That's only a little bit better," Santana said and for the first time in a long time, she realized how easy it was to have a conversation when they were both being honest with each another.

"So…did you tell her?"

Santana played dumb, asking, "Tell who, what?"

"Oh, come on, you know what I'm talking about," Quinn cajoled good naturedly. "Did you tell Rachel that you love her?"

Suddenly, Santana was smiling at her reflection in the mirror. She had told her and she was proud of herself for it too. "Yeah, I did…" she admitted.

"And?"

Her smile grew impossibly brighter as she thought about the girl still asleep in her bed. "And she loves me too."

"Called it!" a voice screamed on the other end of the line, making Santana wince as she pulled her phone away from her ear.

"Geez, you don't have to freak out," the Latina laughed, only to receive static and crackling in response. "Quinn? Are you there?"

Again, there was more static along with rustling and mischievous laughter, and then, "Brittany! Give me my phone back!"

Santana just continued to smile and hung up her own cell phone with a light sigh. Nothing could dampen her mood or calm her butterflies.

~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~

"Santana…" Rachel heavily breathed, her head falling back against the headrest. Santana was half way over the car's center console, pinning her into her seat and kissing her relentlessly. "As much as I love this, we really need to get back to my house. We're already extremely late as it is..."

"The girls can wait," Santana rasped into her neck. She slid her hand along the inseam of Rachel's jeans, further and further until she met warmth and the petite girl gasped sharply. "What?" she asked apologetically, suddenly pulling back to study Rachel's eyes. "What's the matter? I wasn't too rough in the shower this morning, was I?"

Taking her girlfriend's hand and removing it from between her legs, Rachel answered, "No, and if that was rough I have to wonder what gentle feels like." Santana eyed her with an expression that said she was willing to show her just what it felt like right there in the front seat of the car, so Rachel smiled disarmingly and pet her cheek. "I just can't have you getting me so…hot and bothered. You forget that I'm still new to this game."

"Well…" Santana drawled smoothly, her eyes now as playful as they were hungry. "You've been teasing me for weeks –"

"No, I wasn't!"

Ignoring the interruption, the Latina went on seamlessly and still ran her hand along the top of Rachel's thigh. "Maybe not intentionally, no, but you still were. You sitting on my lap in your barely there skirts had me close to dying, so now it's your turn. I hope you're ready for me…" She cupped Rachel through her jeans again, squeezed, and then winked at her before withdrawing to shift the car into drive. They had barely exited the driveway when Santana's fingertips found their way back.

"You can't drive with one hand like that," Rachel thought she had cleverly pointed out, her own hands gripped tightly around the door handle and Santana's wrist as the fingertips played against her jeans' zipper.

"Oh, honey," Santana chuckled devilishly. "You forget that I'm left handed, and that means my right is free to do whatever it desires."

"This isn't fair," Rachel whispered as her girlfriend's hand traveled down to her knee and then back up again. "Oh God…"

The short drive between the Lopez's house and that of her own had never felt so long to Rachel before and by the time they pulled up the logical portion of her brain was wanting her to practically run from Santana and her predatory grin, while the newly discovered portion was telling her to spread her legs and give in.

"See, teasing isn't very pleasing, is it?" Santana said in an aggravatingly sweet voice, while walking her flustered girlfriend up to the door.

"Shut up, Santana," Rachel growled back. "You have no idea how uncomfortable I am right now."

"I bet I do," Santana smiled and then opened the front door, only to be bombarded by two small bodies.

"Santí, we don't want to leave yet!" Noelia whined, holding her sister around the waist and looking up at her with pleading brown eyes.

"Hey, Noelia, missed you too" the older Latina teased and then was almost knocked backwards by Isabel running into her and burying her face in her stomach. "Hey, Is," she said, patting the little girl's head. "You missed me, didn't you?"

"Mhmm," Isabel murmured while continuing to hold tight, not having gotten enough of her older sister just yet.

Noelia detached herself and headed back towards the living room, calling out, "I didn't miss you 'cause I was having too much fun!" Isabel moved to follow along, but not before clinging to Rachel for a few seconds as well.

"You better be nice, Miss Lopez," Hiram told the little spitfire as she passed him in the entryway. He then turned his warm smile on Rachel and Santana and pulled them both into a hug. "Congratulations on going to Nationals, girls. We're so proud of you."

When Santana was released from the embrace she was smiling shyly and tucking an unruly piece of hair behind her ear, sort of as a nervous tic. "Thanks…" The unconditional affection she received from the Berry men was still strange to her at times, but they had roped her into enough hugs and evenings together to slowly make her realize that she and the twins were accepted as part of the family.

"So, how was the sleepover?" he asked excitedly, his arm draped around Rachel's shoulders. "Did you do all sorts of illegal things in celebration of your win?"

Santana laughed, but Rachel could hardly reply. Her mouth dropped open and she gaped for a few moments before saying in a jumpy manner, "Um…it was nice…I have to use the restroom. I'll be right back."

"What's wrong with her? Is she hung over?" Leroy teased as he appeared from the kitchen.

"Just Rachel being Rachel, I suppose," Santana shrugged. Inwardly, she was grinning like a Cheshire cat and thoroughly amused with the fact that she had given her girlfriend an entirely new reason to storm out of a room. "So, how were the twins? They didn't like destroy anything, did they? Because my dad will totally pay for it if they did."

"No, no, they didn't destroy anything," Leroy replied as he laid a hand on Santana's back and led her to the living room, where sounds of the twins at play could be heard. "But they have made themselves at home."

"Oh my God!" Santana gasped, her gaze roving over the chaos that had once been called a living room. There were stuffed animals, Barbies, and other toys strewn everywhere, along with Wii equipment and a monstrous fortress composed of sleeping bags and sheets in the middle of the space. "I'll make them clean it up before they leave, I promise!"

"Nonsense," Leroy said. "You can't deconstruct the palace, that's where you're going to eat dinner."

"Huh?" Santana murmured, looking up to meet the tall man's eyes.

"Well, all the dining room chairs are under those blankets so there's no other choice but to have dinner in there," he explained. Then he shrugged and nudged her forward, "So, you better go join your sisters. I'll send Rachel in when she gets back."

The Latina turned around to look at him skeptically, but he only made a shooing motion and pointed to a gap in the blankets, saying, "Go on…"

With a hint of a smirk, she got down on her knees and crawled under one of the chairs, feeling silly yet content. Her life had been tumultuous at best and somewhere along the way she had forgotten how to be a kid, she was only sixteen after all. Different circumstances had forced her to grow up and after the night she had shared with Rachel she felt more mature than ever. But at the same time she was remembering what it felt like when life was simple, she was remembering what it felt like to be innocent.

~S~R~S~R~S~R~S~R~

"So…remind me again why we're watching Funny Girl on my laptop instead of the television that's only a mere foot or two away," Rachel grumbled as she and Santana laid on their stomachs in the blanket fort, squished together in a sleeping bag.

"It's funner this way, duh!" Noelia shouted from where she shared another sleeping bag with her sister. "Yeah, duh!" Isabel echoed in typical fashion, flashing a crooked grin.

Santana gently pushed her elbow into her girlfriend's ribs. "You heard the ladies…"

With a huff, Rachel began in on the lecture that Santana was already expecting. "I just must insist because this is their first viewing of a Barbra Streisand classic, that they be able to properly see the screen. They shouldn't miss any bit of this momentous film due to improper equipment. They should be watching it on the big screen so that it can be as close to an accurate portrayal as possible!"

Santana screwed her face up in a tough luck sort of way and clicked her tongue in dismissal. "But at the end of the night, we're still just in your living room and they're just little brats. They don't really care about Barbra Streisand…at all."

"We're not brats!" Isabel giggled and then hid down in her sleeping bag.

"Quiet over there!" Santana shot back.

"Did we miss anything?" Hiram quizzed as he shimmied into the fort on his stomach. Leroy followed behind, but because of his height was left to lie in the makeshift doorway with his legs stretching out.

"Only bickering," Rachel said in a clipped tone.

Just as Santana was going to explain why her girlfriend was so disgruntled, Noelia spoke up with a question that made her want to disappear.

"San, what's on your boobs?"

Rachel clapped a hand over her mouth and nearly snorted, while Santana asked with a tight, threatening smile, "What are you talking about?"

"Right there!" Noelia said, pointing her finger at her older sister's chest, where it was exposed by her tank top dipping low as she held herself on her elbows. "It's a red blob!"

"Shit," Santana suddenly hissed under her breath, scrambling to clutch a corner of the sleeping bag against her chest. Her mind went back to that afternoon when she was talking to Quinn as she sat in front of the bathroom mirror, admiring the hickey Rachel had obviously given her during their long, sleepless night together. "It's nothing! Don't worry about it."

"Is that a…?" Hiram began, only to be finished by his husband, "A hickey?"

"No!" both older brunettes shouted in unison.

"Oh, Lord…" Leroy said, rolling his eyes and then averting his gaze. "I'm having no part of this, let's just watch the movie."

Hiram had his mouth set in a firm line and was eyeing his daughter with a fury. "Rachel Barbra Berry, what on earth was your mouth doing on that part of Santana's anatomy?"

"I haven't the vaguest idea of what you're referring to, father dearest," Rachel said sweetly, as she fiddled with the laptop and tried to get the movie to play. Santana's entire chest and face were then turning red with a blush. "Now, everyone quiet, it's time to watch Barbra work her magic."

"Rachel…"

"Dad, shh…"

Hiram continued to glare at his daughter as she continued to ignore him, but eventually he sighed and turned to his husband. "I guess I just have to keep reminding myself that they can't get each other pregnant," he said while shaking his head.

"Already on it," Leroy droned and then placed an arm around the other man's shoulders.

By the time Fanny was telling everyone not to rain on her parade, Rachel's head was rested on Santana's shoulder and they were both sound asleep. Isabel and Noelia had grown bored with the movie not long after the opening credits had rolled and were entertaining themselves by occasionally poking at the older girls to giggle at their reactions.

"There's no denying how cute they are together," Hiram whispered, watching as Isabel snuck a finger out to flick Santana's ear. She flinched and then pulled Rachel closer in her sleep.

Leroy rested his head against Hiram's as he held his chin in his hands. "Oh, puppy love…"

"How long do you think they'll last?"

"Who knows?" Leroy stated honestly. "But look how long we've lasted."

Lots of foreshadowing in this chapter, especially when Rachel is talking about being selfless...although it probably won't happen in the way you might think. More will be explained for that story line in the next chapter! Thanks!