Brittany gets out a little later from work than usual, which means she's missed dinner. It's not the first time she has had to pick up a class for a co-worker, but she is hoping to get home to some good food and much needed rest. Since winter is finally over with, walking home isn't so bad anymore and she actually looks forward to her walks to and from work.
Within twenty or so minutes she is opening the door to her and Santana's apartment to find her other half sitting at their kitchen table texting away on her cell phone. When she closes the door her girlfriend looks up from her message and sends her a small smile only to go right back to her phone conversation. Brittany sighs, tosses her keys on the side table against the wall and slowly takes her spring jacket off.
It's been like this for the past few weeks. Everything is fine with them as a couple. No fights and no arguments. But, whenever Brittany returns home from anywhere, there is Santana on her cell phone like a little giddy school girl. She has wanted to ask who she's talking to and what is so funny, but there is some part of her that doesn't even want to know. Santana told her from the beginning of these ongoing text-versations that Trish, the girl from her classes, is the girl who makes their study group meetings happen. That Trish does the best impersonations of their professor and that Trish is this and that.
Brittany doesn't really like Trish stories. They're boring.
The tall dancer walks into the kitchen, presses a kiss to her girlfriend's head and opens the fridge in hope of finding something waiting for her to be reheated. A small frown comes to her mouth when she finds no tiny post-it with her name on it. She hears a little giggle come from behind her and she rolls her eyes.
"What'd you have for dinner?" Brittany asks as she closes the refrigerator door and moves to look through the cabinets. After a few extra seconds of silence, she turns around and pokes Santana in the back. "Babe?"
"Oh." Santana snaps out of her texting coma and places her phone down to give her girlfriend her full attention. "I didn't have yet." She lets her know, moving from her chair to stand behind the blonde. "I was waiting for you," She says softly, wrapping her arms around Brittany's stomach making both girls smile. "But then a last minute study group happened, so I'm heading out. We're gonna get food." Brittany's smile instantly drops and she subtly hangs her head.
"Oh, alright." She tries not to sound so sad as she taps Santana's hands on her hips. "Maybe I'll go to Quinn and Rachel's and make them cook for me." She shrugs her shoulders and can feel the smile on Santana's lips against her back.
"That sounds like a great plan." Santana lightly laughs and cuddles closely into her girlfriend's body. "Maybe if group doesn't end too late, we can all go out and get drinks?" She offers, hoping to somehow rectify that she is ditching her girlfriend for some extra learning. Brittany takes in a breath, lifts her head and slowly moves herself out of Santana's grasp to open the fridge once more for a bottle of water.
"I don't know. I've got three classes tomorrow and then I'm going right to the studio." Brittany explains as she spins around to lean against the counter to catch Santana's lips twisting with disappointment.
"I don't have to go. I can cancel." Santana tells her, moving to the kitchen table to reach for her phone and ready to abandon her study group for Brittany.
"No." The blonde shakes her head and pulls Santana by the arm into her body. "You go study, get smarter." They giggle and Brittany kisses Santana's forehead. "I'll be here when you get back." She whispers with one more big squeeze to her girlfriend's tiny frame before she walks out of the kitchen and into their bedroom.
Ten minutes later and a 'bye baby' followed by the sound of the door closing, Brittany lets out a long awaited sigh. Her body falls to the bed, letting her back hit the mattress and she stares up at the ceiling. It's not that she doesn't think Santana no longer loves her. It's not even that she doesn't trust her. Actually, she really doesn't know what it is that is even bothering her about any of this.
She's proud that her girlfriend is working so hard and studying so much in order to graduate in time. Sure, Brittany has only a few months left in the semester before she is a college graduate. But, Santana has a few months and then a whole other semester before she has a degree. She should be focusing on her last two months of school, but all she can seem to dwell on is the fact that her girlfriend is out every other day and night 'studying' with some girl named Trish who texts her more than her mother calls.
With a groan of over thinking agony, Brittany pushes herself up from the bed and grabs her cell phone. She heads to the door, grabbing her jacket first, and then makes her way to the outside world once again. Yet another night, she thinks, where she goes over to Quinn's to ease her mind.
A few days later, Santana wakes up to find the bed half empty. She blinks away the sleep in her eyes and turns her head to the side her hand feels is vacant. Still feeling sleepy, she plays the 'time game' in her mind as she lifts her head to look over at the clock to find that she is correct in assuming it's barely 8:00am. With a grunt of drowsiness, her head flops to the pillow once again while her body stretches out.
Her feet shuffle against the wooden floor of their hallway and her hand on the wall guides her into the living room where she finds Brittany stretching. The blonde has her ear buds in and is otherwise unaware of her company as she hums along to the song playing on her iPod. Santana grins from ear to ear and leans into the island separating the kitchen from the living room. She always enjoys watching her girlfriend alone in her own world. The blonde jumps when she turns around and finds that she is not as alone as she thought she was.
"Morning." Santana mumbles, pushing herself away from the island table. Brittany half smiles and pulls out one of the ear buds.
"What?" She asks breathlessly, still recovering from being startled.
"I said 'good morning'." Santana repeats and opens her arms for a morning hug from her dancer girlfriend.
"Oh." Brittany nods and rolls her eyes at herself playfully. "I'm all sweaty." She warns Santana, dodging the embrace by bending over to stretch some more. The shorter girl scrunches her eyebrows and shakes her head.
"Okay." She chuckles out and runs her hands through her hair after realizing she still had her arms outstretched. "You were up early huh?" She comments as she brushes by the bendy blonde to head over to the couch.
"You got home late." Brittany says in response, catching Santana a little off guard that she stumbles a bit on her way to the tiny area rug under the coffee table. The dancer doesn't hesitate in her next stretch, standing up right and grabbing an ankle.
"Yeah, we decided to wind down at some bar by the library." She easily recovers, letting her body fall to the couch and grabs the remote control.
"I'm going in the shower." Brittany sighs out after a few seconds of quiet and Santana looks over her shoulder to watch her walk down the hallway and into their bedroom.
With a roll of her eyes and a huff, she turns her attention back to the blank television screen. She raises the remote, her thumb ready to press the power on but she can't. Her hand falls to her lap and she glances down at her nails that are in dire need of a manicure. The sound of the shower going on catches her attention and she leans her head against the back of the couch for a few more minutes.
No longer being able to be stubborn about it, Santana gets up from the couch and finds herself standing outside of their bathroom door. But, when she turns the door knob she finds it locked which peeks her interest. Her head jerks back and her eyebrows furrow at this. She presses her ear to the door wondering if maybe Brittany had some 'private' things to take care of and maybe that's why she was all moody only a few moments ago. But she doesn't hear a moan or a groan or even a peep. With curiosity getting the best of her, she knocks twice.
"I'm in the shower." Comes Brittany's voice through their bathroom door. Santana gives the girl an odd look even though she cannot see it.
"Uh, yeah I know." Santana informs her girlfriend and knocks again. "Let me in Britt." She asks sweetly and taps her fingers on the door. A moment and a click later, the bathroom door cracks open letting some steam waft into their bedroom. "Can I come in?" Santana asks as she is pushing the door open.
"Do you have to pee?" Brittany wonders curiously while she holds her towel around her loosely and runs her fingers through her soaked hair. Santana shakes her head and half smiles as she pulls her shirt up and over her head, letting it fall to the tiled floor of their en suite bathroom.
"I need to shower too." She winks, stepping towards Brittany and reaches out to grab her towel.
"Santana," Brittany moves from her and holds her hand up, shaking her head and looks to the ground. "I know what you're trying to do." She lets her in on her not so secret seductive ways. "But sex doesn't fix everything. This is a relationship. A partnership." She tries to explain, uncertain if her heart is getting in the way of her brain trying to form words. "We work because we work together and I…" She looks at Santana briefly, before averting her eyes and sighing out in frustration.
"What needs to be fixed?" Santana asks defensively, crossing her arms over her exposed chest. "I mean, I thought you were just upset that I got home late." She shrugs her shoulders like even that isn't a big deal, which she knows it is, even if it isn't.
"So then you know something's wrong." Brittany points out that obviously Santana has an inkling as to something not being all right.
"Are you or are you not upset that I got home late last night?" She watches the words marinate in her girlfriend's head and waits for her response. Brittany gnaws on her lower lip, not quite sure where this conversation may or may not lead, but she winds up settling for a nod. "Okay, so then let's make up for last night baby." Santana grins and steps towards the blonde once more, only to be yet again denied.
"And the night before that and the day before that." Brittany rattles off a few other reasons as to why she is in such a mood today and Santana's smile falls from her face. Her arms tighten around herself and she looks to the ground in thought. "Can we just talk about this later? I really have to get ready for school." Brittany breaks through her inner monologue and she nods, walking slowly out of the bathroom.
Santana waits at the kitchen table with a bowl of Cheerio's for their bedroom to be free. She can't settle the grumble in her stomach at Brittany being upset with her. The worst part about it is she isn't quite sure what she has actually done. Sure, she has been busy with school, studying super hard and work. But, it's pretty much normal take away all of their school and work related moments.
As she munches on some now very soggy cereal, she contemplates the idea of Brittany falling out of love with her. It would explain the distance, the awkward silence in the past few weeks and the reason Brittany locked the bathroom door which has never happened until today. Sometimes they don't even close the door when they are peeing, and not because they have some weird potty time fetish. It is because they are that comfortable and in love with one another.
She is broken from her thoughts at the sound of Brittany's sneakers squeaking from down to the hall and to the kitchen. The dancer grabs a bottle of water from the refrigerator and shoves it into her McKinley High School duffle bag that is worn down to practically rags. She tucks some hair that's fallen from her pony tail behind her ear and her eyes scan the kitchen before landing on the island table separating the two rooms.
"Uh, I forgot to charge my phone." Brittany groans at the realization that her phone has only twenty five percent battery left.
"Take the charger." Santana mumbles through some cereal in her mouth and points to the outlet housing said charger. Brittany glances over at the white charger plugged into the outlet and thinks it over.
"Aren't you gonna need it?" She asks, turning her attention back to her bag as she rustles to shove her phone into its depths. Santana swallows her food and sets her spoon down against the side of the bowl as she watches Brittany.
"I charged mine all night." She says with a shrug and pushes her chair back to get up from the table.
"Yeah," Brittany slowly starts and zips her bag shut. "But a phone with an LCD screen sucks up the most battery, because the screen is lit the entire time you are texting." She starts to explain, gaining a quizzical stare from Santana. "So, every sixty word text message drains out about point zero two percent of your phones battery. Say you send sixty, sixty word text messages your battery will go down by about…" She tilts her head to the side and looks to the ceiling in thought for a few minutes. "Point zero four percent or so." She twists her lips and looks over at Santana whose eyebrows are up to her hair line and her jaw dropped. "It's common knowledge."
"Apparently." Santana says, finally zoning back into reality and shakes her head to herself.
"I'm just saying, at the rate you've been texting this month you'll need the charger before I will." She shrugs her shoulders and spins on her heels. "I'll see you later babe." She waves over her shoulder before walking out into the hall and closing the door to their apartment behind her.
"Uh," Santana waves to the closed door, awkwardly standing in the kitchen alone with a bowl of soggy Cheerio's in her hand. "Bye."
"I really fuckin' hate people today." Santana mumbles harshly as she passes by Quinn in the kitchen. The blonde quirks an eyebrow, nodding agreement, but curiously watches as her friend hastily tosses empty glasses into a bus tub. "'Is this decaf?'" She imitates a customer. "No bitch, I gave you regular coffee so you O.D. on caffeine you stupid fuck." Quinn's eyebrows raise and she stifles a snorting laugh.
"Wow, someone is extra bitch today." She comments as she turns towards the clean glassware and starts setting up a tray. Santana sighs and all but throws her now empty tray onto the counter.
"I'm just so not in the mood for this place today and everyone's special requests." She explains vaguely and moves to stand at the counter to watch Quinn fill up her table's drinks. "'It's cold in here can you turn the air conditioning off?'" Santana mocks another customer, or perhaps the same one, and rolls her eyes. "It's fucking spring and like five million degrees outside. Suck it up and deal with a breezy half hour lunch. Enjoy it." She waves her hand in the air to dismiss the irritating request. "It's not my fault you're a brittle old lady. Grab a shawl or some shit." Quinn lets out a decent laugh this time, not even bothering to cover it up.
"I'm so happy we work together." She points out with a sideways glance, getting a small smirk out of her friend.
"Yeah, well, at least someone is happy to be around me." Santana says blandly and turns her attention back towards Quinn's now full glasses sitting on the tray. "Brittany is not my biggest fan right now."
"Oh, trouble in paradise?" Quinn asks cautiously. It wasn't often that her best friends had trouble in their relationship, but for the past couple of weeks she's heard of some issues from the blonde in question. Santana shrugs her shoulders and leans forward to let her elbows rest onto the counter.
"Something like that." She grumbles, watching as her finger picks at some tape on the counter.
Before she ventures further into the conversation, knowing it can go in two different directions, Quinn takes a peek out to the dining room and sees that her table appears to be ready to order. She huffs, rolls her eyes and as she grabs her tray she gives Santana a look telling her to 'hold that thought'. Santana stares on as her friend fades into the dining room and makes her way over to her table. She mulls over checking on her own tables, but right now, she needs a little silence.
Her hand finds its way into her apron and she pulls out her cell phone out of habit and boredom. As soon as the screen is illuminated she's reminded by the bit of knowledge that Brittany had dropped on her this morning about battery life drainage and she huffs. Without even looking at her messages or sending one out, she shoves the phone back into her apron only to pull it out again when it vibrates.
"Please tell me that's a message from Brittany because bitchy Santana is way less fun than super inappropriate Santana." Quinn jokes as she comes back into the kitchen and sets down her now empty tray.
"It's not from Britt." Santana groans when she sees that it's just a text message from her school friend.
"Oh." Quinn hums out catching Santana's attention because her tone sounds like she's knows something.
"What?" She eyes the blonde up.
"What do you mean 'what'?" Quinn shoots back and turns her focus on stocking some glassware.
"Okay, well now I know you know something, because you only start doing actual work when you want to avoid confrontation." Santana points out and Quinn instantly gives up, in no mood for an interrogation.
"Here it is, and I'm only telling you because you're my homegirl." Quinn begins, but Santana raises her hand and shakes her head at the word 'homegirl' coming out of her friend's mouth. "Fuck off." She rolls her eyes and shoves Santana's shoulder to get her back on track. "Rachel told me that Kurt told her that Brittany told him that the night of his birthday she found a note in one of your textbooks from some girl." Santana slowly follows the branches of the story, connecting everything until finally giving one nod when she's pieced it.
"God, you're even starting to talk like her." Santana slaps her forehead because she is pretty certain that even though those were Quinn's lips moving, Rachel Berry's voice came out.
"Do you ever not have a snappy retort ready?" Quinn tilts her head in not so surprise.
"It's a gift." She grins proudly. "So, hold up." Santana lifts her hand again to stop anything else from coming out of her friend's mouth. "Brittany told My Little Pony that she found a note from some girl in some textbook?" She repeats in her own words all of which Quinn has just revealed.
"Yes."
"Why hasn't she said anything to me?" She questions.
"Probably because she doesn't want to be that girl." Quinn points out easily enough as she leans her hands against the metal counter top in the kitchen.
"What 'girl'?" Santana pushes, wondering where her buddy is going with this. Quinn sighs and bumps her shoulder into Santana's when the girl leans against the counter with her.
"The girl who over reacts over something that is probably nothing." She explains and turns her head to read her friend's expression. "It is nothing, right?" Quinn asks and gets an annoyed look from Santana.
"Are you seriously going to ask me that?" She rolls her eyes and playfully punches Quinn in the arm, getting a small chuckle form the both of them. "I mean, the only girl I could think of who would slip a note in one of my books is that girl Trish. We have a few classes together and we have study group for Poli Sci." Santana says with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Is this the same 'Trish' that's been texting you non-stop?" The blonde inquires, pushing herself away from the counter to stand in front of Santana and crosses her arms over her chest. Santana lightly laughs and shakes her head.
"You make it sound like I've been having some illicit affair via text message." She waves her friend away and looks through the double doors as they fly open to check her section from afar.
"Look, all I'm saying is," Quinn sets a hand to one of the swinging doors, looking over her shoulder at Santana. "Brittany's been over a lot the past couple of weeks while you're off getting smart. We talk about stuff, you." Santana looks away, sure her friend is about to lay some knowledge on her just like another blonde did this very morning. "Remember how mad you got when that dance teacher guy texted her about class?"
Santana takes a deep breath, glances up at Quinn and nods. The blonde disappears behind the doors and threw them swinging Santana can see her go up to her tables with a fake smile plastered on her face. Sure, she remembers when that douche bag guy was trying to get all up on her girlfriend. She wanted to kill him. And then when she saw Brittany had him in her phone still, well, she shivers at the memory.
Her thumb grazes against metal on her left hand ring finger and she looks down at the promise ring Brittany had given her a few years ago. The band is a little worn, but it is still as beautiful and elegant as the night that Brittany had slipped it on her finger. She brings it up to her eye line and half smiles at the sapphire stone glistening back at her, only to be reminded by the vibrating in her apron that her blue eyed beauty is not very happy with her.
Tightening her Nelson's regulation pony tail, she pushes her way through the double swinging doors and into the dining room. Inwardly she rolls her eyes and bites her tongue when she is instantly flagged over to a table by one of the restaurant guests. With the fake smile she used all those years of being a cheery Cheerio back in Ohio, she asks the older woman if there's anything that she can get for her. Just like the past couple of hours of work some old hag is complaining about the air conditioning. This makes Santana's skin crawl, but she nods and tells the woman she'll look into shutting it off, which she really won't actually do.
A few hours and a bunch of annoying senior citizens later, Quinn and Santana hit the streets, heading home during the late afternoon. Santana walks along side her best buddy in silence while the other girl gabs on the phone with her own midget girlfriend. Out of habit and slight boredom with having to listen to Quinn sweet baby talk Rachel Berry, she looks down at her phone to see a bunch of text messages from her school mate, Trish. Her lips twist in thought, she didn't think that her texting with Trish was at all affecting her romantic relationship with Brittany.
"Are you gonna text her back?" Quinn asks and brushes shoulders with Santana. The shorter girl looks over to see her friend is no longer on the phone and sending her a questioning arched eyebrow.
"It's not like we talk about personal shit." Santana defends and presses the lock button on her phone. "We only discuss school and tests, that's all." She scrunches her nose when Quinn lets out a light chuckle.
"Right, right." Quinn raises both eyebrows and placates her friend with a fake believing smile.
"Q, it's nothing for Brittany to worry about." She explains with a shrug and a shake of her head. "It's all completely innocent."
"If you say so." The blonde sing songs as they come to the corner in which they go their separate ways. "Maybe you should make your sweetheart a romantic dinner tonight. Make up for being a bit of a douche bag for the past month." Quinn offers, sending a wink and a smirk at Santana who rolls her eyes and sighs out a small laugh.
As Santana heads towards her apartment she decides to stop off at a coffee shop to get a Mocha Latte and maybe a small snack. Luckily, everyone else in the city had their coffee fix earlier in the day so there is barely a line and within five minutes she's picking up her cup from the barista. She grabs her cell phone out of her bag when she steps out of the shop and leans against on one of the outside bar tables. Setting her cup onto the table her thumb finds its way to her lips and she gently nibbles on her nail. Without another thought or nerve to cross through her body, she goes to Brittany's number and presses call.
"Hey." Brittany answers after two rings and sounds a little out of breath.
"Hey." Santana smiles into the phone, adjusting her cup on the uneven bar top she is standing at outside of the coffee shop. "How's your day been?" She asks, not too sure if she's treading on thin ice by trying to act as casual as possible. "You sound like you've been busy." She comments after a few long seconds and what sounds like Brittany was hard at work.
"Yeah, I just finished up my 3:30 class." She tells her girlfriend in an airy voice. "Little kids are crazy." Brittany giggles out, getting a small grin from Santana on the other end of the phone. "How was work?"
"It was work." Santana replies easily enough trying not to pay attention to the way her fingers are flicking the plastic cover of her coffee cup. "It's money though." She shrugs her shoulders at this statement because cash flow is nothing to complain about. "I'm almost home, want me to pick something up?" She wonders, already walking away from the shop, cup in hand. "Thai? Chinese? Sushi? Italian?" She suggests numerous dinner options, hoping that her rambling is cut off by a positive response.
"Oh." Brittany drawls out, making Santana wonder if she has to work late again or that perhaps she is thinking up a way to avoid her.
"I thought," Santana bites on her bottom lip, wondering what she wants to say, all the while trying to navigate through the busy city sidewalks. "I was thinking we could have a nice dinner and talk." She finally puts out there as she comes to a cross walk and stands in a sea of people waiting for the light to change or traffic to stop. Brittany lets out a deep breath and it takes someone shoving Santana out of the way for her to realize that the group of pedestrians is now crossing the street without her.
"I guess sushi sounds good." She finally answers, sounding a little less than enthused but Santana will accept any kind of response that is in the direction of 'yes'.
"Sweet." Santana cheers, even giving herself a little fist pump. "You want your usual?"
"Sure." Brittany tells her which puts a bit more pep in her step. "I just have to finish out some paper work, but I'll meet you at home. Love you."
"Love you too." She smiles and breathes out in relief.
When Santana gets back to the apartment, sushi dinner in hand, she notices that Brittany still isn't home from work yet. At first she's disappointed, but then she just figures this gives her some time to set up something semi romantic. She kicks her work shoes off, tosses her bag and keys onto the side table against the wall and carries dinner into the kitchen. The table is set for two within minutes, one candle Rachel gave them in the middle and a single red rose that Santana picked up from the bodega down the block.
Standing in the doorway that meets the hallway and living room, she stands there nibbling on her finger nails hoping everything is just right. Not too much, but just right. With a quick glance to the clock, Santana realizes she's been home for a good ten or so minutes and that she is still in her gross, smelly Nelson's uniform. There's obviously no time to shower, which doesn't really matter because Brittany is coming home straight from work anyway. For a moment she is distracted by her phone buzzing on the kitchen counter.
She can see by the screen as she walks over towards it, that it's a text message from Trish. It's a message that is about school, well study group, for next weekend before a big test. Santana takes in a deep breath and lets it out slow as she gets ready to respond. To her, this whole text messaging with a girl from school is not at all a big deal. Okay, maybe they talk a lot, but its crunch time this semester. It's nearly finals and Santana can't afford to make any mistakes when it comes to her grades. Sure, her parents have offered full financial assistance when it came to her education, but they also had stipulations with only paying for a full four years and nothing more.
So in reality, Santana's doing the best she can with that. While some college kids may have a bad semester here and there and have to take summer sessions and or winter sessions, she's got to get it all done in four years. Not one day more than that. And if her plans are to go off to some law school like her and Quinn have been talking about, she needs a kick ass GPA too. When it comes right down to it, any form of communication with Trish is all business and no pleasure.
Shaking her head back to the here and now, she sends out a quick response to Trish. She tells her they'll just talk about it after class this week. It's time to get out of her yucky Nelson's clothes and into something more comfortable for her night in with Brittany. On the way to their bedroom she starts taking her clothes off, pulling her shirt over her head and tosses it to the other side of the bed. She stands in front of her closet, head tilted to the side and hands on her hips.
She wonders if she should put on something nice, it's been a while since she and Brittany has had a nice date like night at home. But at the same time she wants to be casual comfy because she had such a long day at work and she's sure Brittany is going to want the same. So, with that thought, she pulls out a plain black tank top from her closet and grabs a pair of Brittany's old cheer camp sweats from their dresser. She goes into their en suite bathroom, pulls her hair tie out, freeing her hair from its constraints and then applies some lip gloss. Even though she's in lounge about clothes, doesn't mean she can't make it look hot.
Just as she's screwing the cap back on her lip gloss, she hears the door to their apartment open and the sound of Brittany's keys being placed onto the side table. Santana steps back to get a better, fuller look at herself in the mirror and runs her fingers through her hair one last time before turning around and meeting her girlfriend out in the living room. When she gets there she finds Brittany standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a small smile on her face.
"Hey sweetheart." Santana greets, instantly catching Brittany's attention.
"Hi." The blonde replies. "This is nice." She motions towards the kitchen table and its set up. Santana looks over and nods, letting her hand easily slip into Brittany's.
"Well," She starts and slowly leads them into the kitchen. "It occurred to me that we've both been so busy, we haven't really been making enough time for one another." She explains, but sees the way Brittany's head hangs a bit and she feels her hand loosen in her own. "Okay, I haven't been paying enough attention to you." Santana rewords, stepping right in front of Brittany and takes her other hand, bringing their clasped hands to her chest. The blonde nods subtlely, twists her lips and glances over her girlfriend's shoulder at the table set for two. "You hungry?" She smirks.
"Starved." Brittany chuckles out making Santana grin from ear to ear.
"Come on let's eat." She says and pulls her other half to her chair which she pulls out for her.
With their wine glasses full, Santana sets the bottle down beside the platter of sushi and takes her seat across from Brittany. They smile at one another and at the wonderful array of food in front of them. Brittany grabs the chopsticks that Santana offers her and pulls them apart, already eyeing up the spicy tuna roll calling her name. Her girlfriend watches her as she sticks her tongue to the corner of her mouth while she works her utensils, moving food to her plate.
"Is this low sodium?" Brittany asks, motioning to the dish of soy sauce in her hand as she mixes some wasabi into it.
"Mhmm." Santana hums in response, swallowing the wine she was in the middle of sipping.
"God, I'm so hungry." She groans as she enjoys her dinner.
"So," Santana chimes in after a few minutes of quiet eating. "You have your end of the year show coming up." She points out, getting a nod from Brittany confirming her statement. "How's that going?" She asks, lifting her wine glass to her lips as she waits for her girlfriend to finish the food in her mouth.
"Um," Brittany takes a quick sip of wine and clears her throat. "It's been pretty stressful." She shrugs her shoulders as she sets her wine glass back down and reaches for some more food with her chopsticks. "I have the music, the steps and all that. It's just the kids…" She pauses when the sound of Santana's cell phone buzzing from the counter interrupts her. "They, uh, they're getting it some days and others not so much." She turns her focus back to her plate when the vibrating noise comes into the kitchen again.
"That sucks." Santana points out, ignoring her phone interruptions. Brittany nods, still with her eyes on her food watching her chopsticks pushing around a sushi roll. "Well, you're a good teacher so, I'm sure it'll be great." She smiles when she finally gets a small grin from the blonde.
"I sure hope so." Brittany sighs and leans back in her chair, trying her best to let herself relax in her own home. "I mean, it's for my final project at school too. If I can't pull it off then," She slowly shakes her head and twists her lips, not wanting to think of the possibilities. "If I don't get any offers after graduation, then I don't know what I'll do."
"The studio loves you." Santana points out matter of factly. "Regardless of what offers you get from any other company or whatever, they'd be foolish not to ask you to stay."
Just as Brittany is about to say something back that Santana is sure was going to be something sweet, her cell phone vibrates on the counter for the third time. Brittany closes her eyes as she is in the middle of rolling them, drops her chopsticks onto her plate and presses her fingers into her temple. She groans out a sigh of annoyance and clenches her jaw.
"Just answer her already." Brittany tells her in a low and obviously controlled tone, Santana's eyes widen at this.
"Britt." Santana says softly, reaching her hand across the table to grab at Brittany's wrist to get her attention, but the blonde doesn't let her touch her when another message alert buzzes through the phone. She retracts her hand, sets it flat on the table and takes in a deep breath before pushing her chair back and going to grab the night's constant distraction.
She isn't sure if she was actually supposed to get up and get her phone, but it's a little too late because she's already holding it in her hands. Her eyes flicker in Brittany's direction when she sees that the texts are in fact from 'her'. The blonde is staring at the kitchen table, her head in her hands and her jaw is obviously clenching and unclenching.
Instead of responding to the texts, she powers her phone down and places it back to where it was. She leans her hands on the counter top and takes a few moments to figure out how to rectify this obvious miscommunication between her and Brittany.
"Look," Santana starts, still facing the cabinets keeping her back to Brittany. "I don't know what's wrong if you don't tell me."
"You should know." Brittany tells her calmly and the other girl scoffs.
"I'm not some magical feelings mind reader Brittany." She argues with frustration, finally turning around to look at her girlfriend who is still looking everywhere but in her direction. "You know I'm practically blind to the feelings of others. I mean, look at the way I treat Berry. It's like I only feel accomplishment when I see a tear glistening in her eye." She shrugs, crossing her arms over her chest.
"So what? Are you waiting to make me cry?" Brittany spits out, clearly upset at her girlfriend's obliviousness. She turns her head and stares at her in complete confusion. Santana tilts her head, her face softens and she pushes herself from the counter.
"That's not…" Before she can finish, Brittany cuts her off.
"Consider yourself accomplished." She hisses as she brushes past Santana, storms through the kitchen and into the living room.
"Where are you going?" Santana calls after her, following her through their apartment. The blonde flails her arms and spins around to face her girlfriend. "Brittany, what is going on with you?" She asks, shaking her head in disbelief at how distraught Brittany has become in less than five minutes.
"Every night that you come home after your study group," The dancer begins as tears start to trickle down her cheeks and her shoulders slump. "It's like…" She huffs and runs her fingers through her hair and tightens her ponytail. "You're so sexual." Santana's eyebrows furrow and she slowly crosses her arms over her stomach, not quite following her girlfriend's train of thought. "It's like, you come home and you just want to have sex."
"You're my girlfriend." Santana firmly states, interrupting Brittany's mini speech. "Of course I want to have sex with you." She shrugs her shoulders, her mouth opens and closes a few times when Brittany doesn't go right back into her rant because she can't think of what to say. "At least one of us feels that way. It's like you don't even want me to touch you these days."
"We are both so busy and I get that." Brittany slowly and calmly states. "We barely have time to hold an actual conversation and it's like when we get that, you're worried about getting me naked than ask me how my day was." She tries to explain and wipes her cheek with the back of her hand. "And all I can keep thinking is, well…" She closes her eyes, pushing out a two tear drops as she does so and takes a soothing breath inward. "During the day when we are around each other you're practically glued to your phone, talking to that girl from school. And it's like, after you see her at your study group sessions, you're super turned on." Her lower lip quivers when she finally looks at Santana and she tries to fight frowning, but it's inevitable. Santana's face screws up, her jaw nearly drops and her arms fall from her stomach to her sides. "I haven't been able to… I just keep thinking that you're imagining Trish."
"Brittany." Santana finally jumps in and steps to Brittany who lets herself be engulfed by her girlfriend's body. The tall dancer falls into the shorter girls arms and cries into her neck. "That seriously couldn't be farther from the truth." She whispers as she gently smoothes her hands up and down Brittany's back. "You should know that you're the only one who gets me super hot and makes my panties wet." She hopes that being completely honest even though lewd might lighten the mood. So when Brittany lets out a muffled chuckle she half smiles. "You're the love of my life babe." She assures the girl in her arms. "My best friend in the whole wide world." Brittany sniffles, wipes her face on Santana's shoulder and pulls back to look into her girlfriend's eyes.
"Me too." She breathes out and leans forward to press their foreheads together. Santana grins and leans in to push her lips to Brittany's. They slowly kiss one another for a few moments, just enjoying their lips lingering longingly on the others. "I'm sorry." Brittany whispers after a few final pecks.
"No apologies Britt." Santana shakes her head, lifting her hand to tuck some blonde hair behind Brittany's ear. "Like you've said before, we work because we work together." They smile at one another and lean in for another sweet, long kiss.
Santana comes home from a long day at work to find her girlfriend lying on the couch. She tosses her bag to the table, kicks her shoes off and practically rips her jacket from her body, letting it fall to the floor. They smile at one another, the television show the blonde had previously been half watching half using to distract herself, is lost on both of them. Brittany opens her arms, a wordless invitation for Santana to fall on top of her and become embraced by her girlfriend.
"Mmm." Brittany hums when Santana's body covers her own, and her arms encircle around the smaller girl's tiny waist with ease. She runs her hands up and down the Latina's back, bunching and un-bunching the fabric of her shirt with each motion. "Hey baby." She whispers into dark hair and she grins when she feels Santana's lips curl into a small smile against her neck.
"Hi." Santana mumbles and shuffles her body to curve even more perfectly into and onto Brittany's.
"Want me to tickle your back?" The blonde asks as she finds her fingers slipping beneath her girlfriend's shirt. Santana nods and shoves her hands under the pillow that Brittany's head is resting on. "Take your shirt off, it's easier and I can get by your neck." She tells her, pushing her hands up further under the gray t-shirt Santana has on and brushes her fingertips by the base of her neck to get that spot she loves so much.
With a grunt, not wanting to move right now, Santana pushes herself up so she is straddling Brittany's lap and peels her t-shirt from her body and tosses it to the ground by the coffee table. But, as she is about to let her body come back down to meet Brittany's, the blonde presses her hand to her shoulder and motions for her to remove her bra as well. She doesn't think twice, this is something they do often, and though more often than not it turns sexual, it's not the intended plan; for the most part.
"Okay, come here." Brittany waves her back down to lay on top of her completely topless. Santana gives her a tired but appreciative smile and slowly rests her now naked chest down to rest against her girlfriend's soft cotton t-shirt.
"That feels nice." Santana sighs, a smile comes to her face which Brittany can feel against her shoulder making her grin in return. She continues to press her fingers into her girlfriend's back, pushing into the spots she knows Santana always asks for more attention to whenever they do this.
When Santana's hands begin to wander Brittany giggles and squirms under the other girl's touch. She kisses at Santana's neck and ear lobe as the hands become more adventurous, running under her shirt. The body on top of hers starts to rock slowly into her own and her own hands begin to slow down until they are stilled at Santana's lower back. Their mouths meet when Santana turns her head and they sweetly kiss one another as their breathing becomes heavier with each motion they make.
Soon enough, the massage turns into something more and the noises coming from their lips are louder than before. Hips grind up and down and into one another and hands are pulling at skin and clothing that remains a barrier. Their forehead's press together and they grin at one another, their breath mixing together in the minimal space between them.
Brittany brings her lips to Santana's shoulder, pressing a soft and slightly wet open mouthed kiss to the skin there. The shorter girl hums out a moan of approval and her fingers begin to massage deeper, harder into the blonde's sides and back. Santana's lowers her head, letting her own lips ghost against her girlfriend's neck, and pokes her tongue out for a quick taste. The blonde sighs out sharply, her back arches subtlely up and into the girl hovering over her.
Pale hands run down a tanned back, with fingertips and nails digging into the flesh with need. Brittany's thumbs hook into the waistband of Santana's pants while her fingers reach out and squeeze her girlfriend's voluptuous bottom. She moans louder than before, and grinds her hips down and into Brittany's.
Santana's body falls limp to Brittany's, their chests move in and out of sync as they try to steady their breathing. They giggle, push their heads into one another's adoringly and set sloppy kisses to where ever they can reach. Brittany runs her hands and fingers up and down Santana's back, slipping and sliding against the slick from sweat skin.
The dark haired girl lazily reaches up to the back of the couch and slowly pulls the throw blanket down to cover their naked bodies. Brittany tugs at the edges, settling it over Santana and herself as best she can. She kisses the top of her girlfriend's damp hairline and wraps her arms around her tightly as she takes in a deep breath. Santana sighs, comfortably, rests her head on Brittany's chest and listens to her heart pounding against her ear.
"That," Brittany giggles, finally stilling her hands at the small of Santana's back. "Was like those times in high school." She muses as she nudges her nose into her girlfriend's hair and breathes in her scent. Santana smiles lazily at the blonde's statement, remembering those times she is referring too.
"God," Santana breathes out softly. "We would be watching 'Keeping Up With the Kardashian's' on DVR and end up dry humping on the couch." She recalls several moments of their after school get togethers. Brittany laughs airily, and lets her eyes fall shut at the feeling of Santana's fingers lightly tickling just at the sides of her rib cage.
"Or completely naked." The blonde adds as an afterthought, considering their current lack of clothing.
"Hmm." Santana hums, and places a soft kiss to her girlfriend's chest. They stay silent for a few moments, simply enjoying their post coital bliss and the feeling of one another's hearts slowing down.
"Is it still as good as it was then?" Brittany asks, slowly and quietly, turning her head a bit to look at Santana.
"What?" Santana whispers in confusion, a smile still on her lips, and her brow furrows. She shifts her hand beneath her chin, flattening her palm to her girlfriend's chest and focuses onto her blue eyes.
"The sex?" Brittany clarifies, almost sure it was fairly obvious what she meant to begin with. Santana grins, tilts her head to the side and as she opens her mouth to speak while Brittany lifts her hand from her lower back up to brush some dark hair from her forehead.
"No." She replies, but is quick to cup Brittany's face with one of her hands as her smile falls. "It's better." They smile goofily at one another, giggling at how incredibly in love they are, and feel at this moment. "I," Santana starts, her smile falters for a moment, but only because she's nervous. "Britt…" Her mouth opens and closes a few times, while Brittany smiles, waiting patiently for her girlfriend to continue. After a few more seconds of her stammering over sounds and silence, Santana chooses to breath out a cute laugh and soft smile. "I love you." Brittany chuckles, smoothes out Santana's hair and nods.
"I love you too." The blonde assures her girlfriend, leaning her head from the pillow to press a quick stretched kiss to her lips.
"Forever." Santana whispers against Brittany's lips.