Epilogue

Brittany leaned back into the leather of the passenger's seat, he hair blow over her shoulders in waves as the car sped through the twisting country roads. The rag top was down, the sun out and shining in a clear sky. Summer had never been more welcome, and as Brittany glanced over at the woman in the driver's seat, she couldn't help but think her girlfriend would agree.

The sun had Santana's skin glowing, dark hair in loose curls and a small grin turning her lips up at the corners. She'd shown up in Brittany's driveway unexpectedly, hurrying her to the car without telling her where they were headed. But Brittany knew exactly where Santana was taking her – as she always did – but even if she didn't, she wouldn't have hesitated to follow Santana anywhere.

The blonde sighed happily, casting her eyes out the window as she lost herself in the Ohio countryside.

The past several months had Brittany's head spinning, even now. She couldn't believe that their senior year was over, that high school and glee club were now a thing of the past. It felt surreal, especially considering everything that had happened over the course of a year.

Santana had told her that she loved her for the first time just over a year ago. Brittany had broken her best friend's heart and spent one miserable summer without the only person that ever truly loved and accepted her. Instead, she'd spent it with Artie, drinking and trying to ignore how truly miserable that she had become. Then school had started, glee had started, and Cheerios practice had become a regular inconvenience yet again. However, that did give Brittany the opportunity to see her favorite Latina every day again – spending time with her even if Artie didn't want her speaking to her.

But then Rachel had made that terrible comment, and then Artie and Finn had outed Santana.

Brittany still wasn't sure that she'd ever truly be okay again. She had spent so much time rebuilding her girlfriend, lifting Santana up so that she would be able to move on, and Brittany would never regret that. In fact, Brittany's only regret was that she hadn't been able to do more.

The blonde was still angry, she was still broken.

It's stupid, she thought, to make this about me. But then she remembered what Santana had told her just a few days before when Brittany finally opened up and told Santana how she had been feeling.

They were walking through the park, headed to grab lunch with Quinn and Rachel. Santana swung their hands between them playfully, bumping the taller girl gently with her hip.

"What's wrong, babe?" she asked, "You've been so quiet lately."

Brittany half smiled, ready to say that she was just fine before she stopped herself, Santana's next sentence matching her thoughts. "Don't lie to me, Britt. You know you can tell me anything."

Brittany sighed, nodding. "I know, San. I'm just… I guess I'm just sad."

"Because high school is over?"

The blonde shrugged, "Maybe a little. But just… I have been… Ever since…" her voice trailed off, but Santana nodded, understanding immediately.

"I'm so sorry, baby."

"No, you shouldn't be sorry. I just don't understand why I'm so sad, still."

Santana stopped, tugging on Brittany's hands so that she'd turn to face her. When she obliged, Santana dropped her hand and lifted her own to Brittany's face, placing them gently on her cheeks.

"You're sad because this year we had to learn that the world isn't always such a pretty place. People do some really messed up things sometimes, and there's really no way to explain it. We had to grow up all at once, and that really sucks. Because I don't think either of us were ready for that last touch of innocence to be gone. But you're still sad because you spent so much time worried about me, how I was coping, how you could make it easier on me, and I appreciate that so, so much Britt. But now it's my turn. We'll get through this together; we graduated, we're moving to New York with our two best friends in a month. You got me through senior year, now let me get you through this."

As the drive-in movie theater came into view on the horizon line, Brittany was broken from her thoughts by warm fingers snaking their way in between hers. She looked over to meet Santana's beautifully smoldering chocolate eyes, looking at her with so much love that she could barely understand it.

And even though Brittany had told Santana every day for the past several months, she finally believed that they were going to be just fine.

"I love you, Britt."

"I love you too Santana, proudly so."