A/N: Ok, so OBVIOUSLY this fic isn't finished :) DUH. Much more still to come :) Come on, be honest – how many of you thought I was being serious….
Also, 300 reviews :D Wowzers. Heart bursting right now :) Thanks so much, everyone :)
As I said at the end of the last chapter, this fic is now a living and breathing entity and is going against every conceivable plan I had. That reunion scene absolutely wrote itself. I had no intention of them getting back together so quickly…I hope you guys like it?
And a shout out to BrittanaAndKlaine0604 – just cos I can and she's an awesome chick :)
Ok, so this is the ACTUAL dinner…Enjoy!
-H
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee :(
CHAPTER 25
"Mommy!"
Kurt glanced up from his menu and saw Santana and Brittany walk back to the table.
"Well, look who finally decided to join us," he said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
"Good evening, everyone," Brittany said, cheerfully. "It's so awesome to see you guys again."
Blaine and Finn replied in kind, but Kurt and Rachel remained silent. Kurt narrowed his gaze at the blonde who met it unwaveringly and went to sit between Santana and Bella. He was sitting on the other side of Bella, so heard the whispered exchange between the two.
"I ninja kept your seat, Big B."
"You rock, Little B. We're gonna have to do that next section of the dance sometime."
Bella clapped her hands eagerly and Brittany once again met his gaze as she rose from leaning down to talk to Bella.
Well this is going to be interesting, Kurt thought, going back to his menu.
Brittany took a deep breath and sat up straight. The looks from Kurt had given her clear warning. She was going to get it…at some point. She picked up the menu and leaned towards Bella again as they discussed what they were going to have.
"These words are all really long," Bella said, squinting at the fancy names for all the dishes.
"Totally," Brittany agreed, pointing to a particular name. "I'm pretty sure that mac and cheese or something."
Bella giggled and jumped into the game. She pointed to another one. "That's fish and chips."
Brittany laughed along with her. "Ew, that has to be some kind of spinach soup."
"Ew," Bella greed, wrinkling her nose and Brittany smiled tenderly at how replicate it was of Santana's.
She turned her head and caught Santana spying on them with a smile. She gave her a secret smile after she made sure no one else at the table was watching.
Santana returned it with a subtle wink and turned to talk to Rachel on her other side. Brittany didn't miss the determined glare that little small diva gave her either.
"So, I have news about the musical," Santana said to Rachel, her voice an octave lower than usual.
"You do?" Rachel asked, her focus suddenly on the Latina at the mention of the word 'musical'. Her interrogation and observation of Brittany would have to wait. Anything to do with the theatre demanded her complete attention.
"Yeah," Santana said softly. "I'm writing the script."
"Oh," Rachel said, disappointed. She'd really hoped that Santana was going to ask her to take over the vocal coaching. But perhaps, as the writer, she could convince the Latina to write her a-
"I'm not writing you a part in our school musical, Berry," Santana chuckled. She was distracted by Brittany softly tapping her arm. Rachel surreptitiously leaned forward so that she could eavesdrop on the whispered conversation.
"San, these words are all really big and fancy. We don't know what they are."
"Don't worry, I'll order for you two," Santana replied.
Rachel noticed the look between them linger for a little longer than it should've and frowned. This was like a completely different Santana from three weeks ago. She needed to know what spell Brittany had put her under to worm her way back into her life.
"Hey, do you think that when they say snails, they mean like actual snails?" Finn asked.
"Obviously, Finn," she snapped.
"Rach, that was a little unnecessary," Santana said in a warning tone.
Rachel sighed and looked up at her husband who had a hurt puppy look on his face. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said softly. "I'm a little on edge tonight. I don't mean to take it out on you."
"Why are you on edge?" Santana asked casually, glancing at Rachel over the top of her menu.
Rachel looked at her friend incredulously. "Don't play dumb with me, Santana. You and I both know that everyone here is ignoring the big dancing elephant in the room?"
"There's a dancing elephant?" Brittany and Bella both asked at the same time in excitement.
Santana, Blaine and Finn burst out laughing and Rachel felt her mouth tugging upwards. Kurt didn't look amused in the slightest. Bella and Brittany just looked confused so Rachel watched as Santana leaned over to her and whispered in her ear. Her back arm went around the chair and Rachel's eyes widened as she saw Santana's thumb subtly graze against Brittany's arm. The blonde dancer leaned into it and Rachel's eyes met Kurt's, but it seemed like he hadn't seen the exchange.
Something was definitely going on between Brittany and Santana and it was definitely something more than friendship.
Blaine kept sending glances towards his boyfriend and frowned to himself. Why couldn't he just let it go? What Santana decided to do with her life and whom she decided to do it with, was her business and hers alone.
When Santana had called the previous day to inform them that Brittany would be joining them for dinner, it felt like a dark cloud descended over Kurt's head and was still there. All he did was mutter about Brittany being a bad idea and Santana making the biggest mistake of her life. Blaine eventually had left the apartment and only returned when Kurt had fallen asleep.
Santana was a grown woman. Blaine realised, having not actually been present for the big break up, that it had been pretty bad, but what good was a life where you couldn't forgive someone for a mistake? The way he'd understood the whole situation, both Brittany and Santana had been to blame. If they were willing to work through the pain and try to regain their friendship, Blaine thought that they should all be celebrating and encouraging the growth, not muttering about how big a bad idea it was.
He'd already decided that, regardless of how Kurt acted at dinner, he was going to give Brittany and Santana his support. And if it drove a wedge between him and Kurt…well, it wouldn't be the first time. Kurt was being utterly ridiculous in Blaine's opinion and someone needed to show him that.
Brittany smiled brightly at Finn, who grinned back. Brittany was super awesome. Yeah, she'd hurt Santana's feelings and stuff and she'd been all depressed – that had been really awkward, undressing Santana – but that was years ago and the seemed like they were ok around each other now. Rachel hadn't shut up about Brittany coming back into Santana's life unannounced and disrupting everything that she'd built with Bella.
Finn glanced at Bella and Brittany and smiled. He'd always thought that Bella was kinda a perfect mash up between Santana and Brittany. She looked like Santana and was clever like her, but she had Brittany's compassion, happiness and wide-eyed view of the world.
As far as he was concerned, the sooner the two of them got back together, the better off they'd all be.
Kurt eyed the blonde as she drained the last sip of her second glass of wine. They hadn't even had their main courses yet. Now was the perfect time to have a little chat with the dancer.
"Brittany."
She looked over and the smile that had been permanently plastered on her face, dropped away. Her eyes were immediately guarded. Kurt had to admire how their little Brittany had grown up in eight years.
"Any chance we could have a little chat?"
"Kurt," Santana said warningly, glaring at him from the other side of Brittany.
Brittany turned back to Santana and whispered something in her ear. Santana visibly relaxed so whatever she'd said had done the trick.
"Where you going, Big B?" Bella asked when she stood up. "Our food's gonna be here soon."
"I'm just going to talk with Kurt, Little B," Brittany replied, patting the top of her head softly. "We won't be long."
Bella turned to Kurt and he almost took a step back at the fierce glare in her eyes. It was the exact replica of Santana's prize glare in high school. Scarily uncanny.
"Kurt, Britt's my friend," she said sternly. "You're not allowed to be mean to her else I won't talk to you."
Kurt blinked in surprise and glanced quickly at everyone else around the table. They were all trying to hide their smiles. Not Santana. She held a proud smirk and arched an eyebrow at her friend in challenge.
"I-I-I wouldn't dream of it, Bella," Kurt finally replied. "Excuse us for a moment."
Kurt made his way outside and took a moment to gather his thoughts. He needed to be coherent and clear. There wasn't any room for misunderstanding or misleading.
"Ok, Unicorn, let's have it," Brittany said, leaning against the wall outside the restaurant. "What you got?"
Kurt was a little surprise at her cavalier attitude. Had she really gotten so arrogant that she thought she was unaccountable for her actions?
"What the hell are you doing, Brittany?" he eventually got out and was thankful that it came out strong.
"Well, I was enjoying a really nice evening with some really nice people, but then you decided to drag me out here and now I'm kinda wishing that I had taken my jacket." She rubbed her arms, but Kurt wasn't fooled. Women played the pity card all the time, but it sure as hell wasn't going to work with him.
"Don't play dumb, Brittany. You know exactly what I mean."
Brittany pushed herself off the wall and took a step towards Kurt. "First of all, don't call me dumb. We're not in high school anymore. Second, what Santana and I decide to do is between us and has nothing whatsoever to do with you or anyone else at that table, other than Bella."
"What did you do to convince Santana to give you another chance? I'm dying to know what trick you worked to get back on her good side."
Brittany sighed. "I don't understand why you're so adamant to believe that I'm trying to trick Santana. She's made all the decisions since we started hanging out. She knows where I stand and I haven't pushed her." She looked up suddenly and a faint blush crossed her cheeks, but it disappeared as quickly as it arose.
"And where is it exactly that you stand with Santana? And Bella, for that matter?"
"Kurt, Santana and I agreed that we weren't going to talk about it. As for Bella, I would do anything for that little girl, as well as her mother. I won't hurt either of them, especially Santana. I know I fucked up, ok? Santana knows that I fucked up. We've spoken about it at length and we've found a common ground. As her friend, I would think you'd be happy for her. She's found some closure."
"Closure?" Kurt scoffed. "Is that what you've been telling yourself? That these mind games are all to help Santana get closure after you ripped out her heart and stepped on it?"
"Kurt, you need calm down," Brittany said in a soft voice. It drove Kurt crazy. Who the hell did this woman think she was?
"I do not need to calm down," Kurt said, pointing his finger at Brittany. "I need you to go back to wherever the hell you came from and to leave Santana alone."
"Don't you think that's her choice?" Brittany replied, folding her arms across her choice. "Santana's a big girl, Kurt. She can make her own decisions. She doesn't need you to hold her hand."
"Don't you dare patronise me," Kurt spat. "After what you did to her-"
"After what I did?' Brittany said, flaring up.
Finally, Kurt thought.
"I don't know which version of the story you're choosing to remember, but both of us left that relationship in tears. We were both broken. Yes, I was probably more at fault, but regardless of what happened eight years ago, Santana and I have moved passed it. Maybe you should too."
Kurt stiffened. She'd called him out and she knew it. He wasn't willing to accept that Brittany was back in the picture and that he wouldn't have that special place in Santana's life anymore.
"Kurt," Brittany said gently, a smile playing on her face, "you know you're always gonna be our unicorn, right?"
Kurt glared at her. He wasn't going to make it this easy. No way could she get off so lightly.
"Please stop punishing yourself over this," Brittany urged. "And stop punishing me. I don't think any of you guys realise how much I hurt after the break up. And I didn't have any of you guys. Santana got an amazing support base, but I had to go from city to city, pretending to be happy and missing the love of my life every second of every day."
"Yeah, sounded like you really missed her," Kurt retorted. "You didn't once contact her!"
"She told me not to!" Brittany replied in exasperation. "I wanted to, so much, but when I came back to New York a year later, I chickened out. Like totally. I went back to our old apartment, but someone else was living there. I almost went to your apartment cos I figured that's where she'd be, but I got to the building and I just remember seeing how hurt she was and I couldn't."
"So why now?" Kurt was still wary, but Brittany didn't lie. That was one thing he knew he could always count on.
Brittany sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I love her, Kurt. I've always loved her. I can't be away from her. Do you know that I originally thought that Bella was Santana's girlfriend? For months, I thought that Santana was happy and in love and even though it killed me, I was glad to see her happy."
Kurt's mouth dropped open. Besides the absurdity of Bella being mistaken for Santana's girlfriend, the fact that Brittany would willingly stand by and suffer for Santana's happiness spoke volumes to him.
"Brittany, are you two back together?" Kurt asked slowly, already half knowing the answer.
Brittany looked up and met his eyes. She bit her lip as she battled with her answer. "Kurt, I don't want to lie to you, but Santana and I thought I would be best that no one knew until we told Bella."
"You haven't told Bella yet?" Kurt asked in alarm. "Christ, Britt! How long have you two been together and keeping it a secret?"
"Um…about an hour?" Brittany replied with a shrug.
"You mean…"
"That's why we took so long in the bathroom," Brittany admitted. "We were…getting reacquainted."
Kurt put up a hand. "As before, I do not need to know about that."
"No, no, we didn't have sex," Brittany said. "God, we're not that bad. Besides, I'm gonna do this whole thing right. I messed up when I left her and I want to show Santana that I'm worthy to have her heart again."
Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Brittany, I don't want to sound like a broken record…"
"Then don't, Kurt," Brittany replied simply. "I know how you feel. I've apologised. I'm making amends. You can take it or leave it. But frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
Kurt had to grin and he caught the sparkle in Brittany's eyes. He really had missed her.
"Are we good?" Brittany asked hopefully.
Kurt took a breath. "We're ok," he said slowly. "We'll work towards good."
Santana glanced up at the doors for the twenty-seventh time in about two minutes. Kurt and Brittany had been gone for a really long time and she was getting worried. She knew that Brittany could handle herself, but Kurt didn't always have an off switch. He tended to forget where the line was.
She appreciated his protectiveness, but it was getting old. She was perfectly capable of making her own decisions, and it wasn't like she'd just taken Brittany back off the bat. It had taken a while and she was happy with her journey. She didn't feel like she'd rushed back into things with Brittany. And she knew that they weren't going to slip straight back into the routine of sex-crazed rabbits. Well, maybe a little. God, it really had been a long time…
Santana shook her head to herself and picked at her pasta. No, she and Brittany were going to do things right this time round. They were going to be out together from day one and do proper couple-y things that she'd deprived the blonde of during high school.
"Mommy, I need to go," Bella said with a pained expression on her face.
"Ok, baby," Santana replied, standing up and picking up her daughter. "You having a good time?" she asked as she walked through the restaurant.
Bella nodded. "I miss Britt, though. She's been gone long."
Santana nodded and opened the door to the bathroom. "She'll be back soon, I'm sure."
"I'm keeping her seat like a ninja," Bella said proudly, running into the second cubicle.
"You totally are, baby," Santana replied, leaning against the sink as she waited.
She giggled as Bella started singing Somebody To Love. She remembered that it was her turn to host Glee night the following week. She glanced at the bathroom door as it opened and smiled widely when she saw a familiar head of blonde hair.
"Hey," she said happily.
Brittany smiled and put a finger over her lips. Santana frowned and cocked her head in question. Brittany smiled at the sound of Bella singing and moved to stand in front of Santana, pressing her back into the sink. Santana's throat went dry. God, it felt so good when Brittany's body was pressed up against hers. One of Brittany's hands gripped the back of Santana's neck and she saw the blue eyes that she loved so much turn slightly darker as Brittany crashed their lips together.
Santana swallowed the moan that immediately rose on her throat and pulled her blonde closer to her, raking her fingers up Brittany's bare thigh. Their tongues met fiercely and Santana could swear that her knees actually buckled. Between Brittany and the sink, she managed to stay upright.
The kissing was hot, passionate, sexy and completely consuming. Santana was engulfed by Brittany, by the feel of her, by her smell, by her taste and she loved it.
The sound of a toilet flushing made Brittany pull away and place a soft kiss on Santana's cheek.
"I'll see you back at the table," she whispered in the Latina's ear. And then she was gone.
The cubicle door opened and Bella looked at her mother curiously. "Are you ok, Mama?" she asked softly.
Santana was almost afraid to look at the result of Brittany's surprise attack, but she turned around and blushed at how aroused she looked. She ran some water and helped Bella wash her hands, trying to clear her mind of all the things she desperately wanted to do to Brittany. Top of her list was to make her scream her name. Soon. Loudly.
"You've got a mark on your cheek, Mommy," Bella pointed out.
Santana spied some of Brittany's lip-gloss on her cheek and quickly wiped it off. How was there possibly anything left on her lips after how they'd kissed?
"Ok," Santana said in a shaky voice. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Are we ready?"
Bella eyed her mother suspiciously, but nodded and let Santana pick her up. They were almost at their table when Bella's eyes widened.
"You smell like Brittany!"
"You smell like Brittany!"
Brittany's head shot up from her steak and she caught Santana's panicked gaze.
"Hey, Little B," she greeted. "Your soup's getting cold."
"Britt!" Bella said happily, squirming out of her mother's arms.
Santana set her down and slowly found her way to her own seat. Brittany knew that look. Santana was conflicted. She knew that Bella had obviously figured something out and she hated lying to her daughter. Bella bounded to her seat and Brittany warned her to blow on the spoon before sipping her soup.
"Hey," she said softly. "I'm sorry if I made things difficult."
Santana shook her head and smiled gently at Brittany. "We're really bad at hiding things, apparently."
"Well, she is a ninja," Brittany stated. "She was bound to figure it out sooner or later." She turned back to Bella. "Little B, how you doing?"
"Yummy," Bella declared. "Why don't people drink soup through straws? Cos it's runny like water and cooldrink."
"They don't make straws that can take the heat. They'd all melt. Can you think of one hot drink that uses a straw?" Brittany replied with a smile.
Bella thought long and hard. "Wow," she said finally. She grinned at Brittany. "You're so smart, Britt."
"Nowhere near as smart as you," Brittany replied with a soft ruffle of Bella's hair.
The blonde caught Kurt's smile and she returned it. She'd been nervous as hell when they'd gone outside, but she just remembered what Santana had told her. What they were doing was their business and she wasn't going to hurt Santana again. She'd die before she lost her.
"Are you ok?" Rachel asked Santana.
"Hmmm?"
Rachel frowned. The Latina had been nursing her glass of wine and completely ignoring her food for the last twenty minutes.
"A liquid meal is never a good idea, Santana," she said sternly.
Santana blinked and seemed to realise what she was doing. She put her glass down and pierced a piece of broccoli with her fork.
Rachel sighed to herself. It was clearly obvious that something more was going on between Brittany and Santana, but for whatever reason, neither of them were acknowledging it. Well, at least not publicly.
Whatever had been said between Brittany and Kurt had obviously eased her brother-in-law's mind, a feat that Rachel hadn't thought possible. It altered her thinking – if Brittany could convince Kurt that she was good for Santana, then that should be good enough for her, right? Regardless, there was no point in discussing it now.
"Santana, why don't you tell me more about this musical you're writing?" she asked brightly.
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Brittany piped up, a big smile on her face. "I finally convinced San to write the script so now it's going to be awesome."
"Britt," Santana hushed her, but Rachel saw the blush.
The Latina looked up and saw that the whole table was now interested in her new role in the musical.
"Do you have any ideas about the story?" Blaine asked.
"Uh, actually, yeah," Santana said shyly. "Um, I'm going to do a script based on our senior year in New Directions."
The table buzzed with excitement and the rest of the dinner was spent discussing which moments from their senior year should go into Santana's script.
A/N: Fluff :)
Review pleeeeeease :) With a cherry on top? And maybe some chocolate sprinkles if you're feeling generous?
-H