December 2015, New York City
A Kitchen Clouded With Anxiety

Santana was pacing. It was extremely slow, but she was pacing nonetheless. She just kept walking from the fridge to the microwave and back to the fridge over and over as she waited for Quinn to finish getting ready.

Brittany was sitting. Sort of. One of her legs was between her butt and the stool while her other leg shook uncontrollably from the floor up to her hip. At the same time she was picking at her fingernails which by now probably had nothing left to pick.

Perhaps they were both a little nervous.

"So, no dinner, just the show?" Santana asked as she continued her steady pacing.

"Well, she had a class until like 5:45 and I want to be at theatre by 7:30 so we don't really have time," Brittany answered slowing down the speed of her leg just a little, "maybe something after?"

"Did you tell her where you're going?" Santana finally stopped and leaned up against the counter next to the fridge.

"No," Brittany smiled with excitement and stopped the rapid motion of her leg.

"What did you tell her?" Santana asked stepping up to the island and leaning onto it.

"I told her that I would be at her apartment by ten past seven and she should dress in the level just above jeans," Brittany said, still beaming.

"And she knew what that meant?"

"I think so..."

"You know, you can wear jeans to a Broadway show," Santana laughed.

"I know..." Brittany said with that smile that's caught somewhere between awkward and genuine laughter.

"Perv," Santana joked.

"She has amazing legs," Brittany said, accepting the fact that she definitely wanted Dez to be wearing a skirt so that she could easily stare at said amazing legs.

"She's a dancer," Santana smiled and rolled her eyes. "Wait, haven't you guys been hanging out after like, every one of your rehearsals?" she stood up, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg.

"Yeah...? So...?"

"And you're considering this your first date?" Santana quirked up her eyebrow in a fashion that rivaled her girlfriend.

"I don't think that you are allowed to judge our dating process," Brittany returned the eyebrow quirk.

"Mmm..." Santana went back to leaning over the island, "touché."

"Are you excited to meet Quinn's boss?" Brittany was done talking about herself for the moment.

"Yes... and no," Santana admitted, "I'm a little nervous actually. She thinks I'm 'too good to be true.' I don't want her to get the impression that I am."

"Oh shut up! She's gonna think you're great because you are," Brittany scoffed at Santana, "Quinn says all those great things about you because they'e true!"

"She's right," the other blonde resident of the apartment entered the kitchen, "and babe, if you can handle Russell, you can handle anything."

"Thanks," Santana blushed and looked between them.

"Ready?" Quinn asked both parties.

"Uh huh," Brittany exhaled as Santana nodded.

"Well then, uptown we go!" Quinn said leading them all out.

...} {...

A Fancy, Midtown Establishment

Dinner with Ilona was going perfectly. Santana fielded every question that was thrown at her with charm and poise. Santana was so charming and perfect that Quinn was extra in love with her tonight. She was also a little... a lot turned on. If she wasn't so afraid that she might get Ilona by accident, she'd be running her foot up and down Santana's leg that was bare despite the cold and thanks to the mid-thigh dress she was wearing.

"You want to be a lawyer, right?" Ilona asked then took a sip of her water.

"Yes," Santana answered confidently.

"And you want to go to Columbia, correct?"

"Definitely," Santana answered with a smile, "but I want to take a year off. Only a year."

"I won't let her slip up," Quinn said with a smile and a subtle wink.

"You two! Oh!" Ilona sat back and replaced her glasses, "I just don't even know what to do with myself!"

"I'm sure that you have plenty more questions," Quinn laughed.

"I don't!" Ilona huffed.

"I find it very hard to believe that Ilona Coppenger is out of questions," Quinn joked with her boss.

"Well, I'm sure I'll think of something," she replied in the fake British accent that Santana had been dying to hear, "I can say that I get it now."

"You get what now?" Santana asked a little worried.

"How you guys work so well and how you keep everything composed even when it seems like the whole world is caving in on you," Ilona answered with a flip of her curly red hair.

"That last part seems a bit hyperbolic..."

"If I'm not mistaken, Miss Fabray, when your parents were coming, you thought the world was caving in on itself," Ilona pursed her lips and pointed at Quinn with her glasses.

"It could have," Quinn mumbled.

"Enlighten us, Ilona, please," Santana smiled and gently rubbed the back of Quinn's hand with her fingertip.

"Gladly," Ilona used the fake accent again and Santana bit down on her tongue to prevent herself from laughing, "From what I understand, before you came across each other in the Strand, you were both very independent young women," Quinn and Santana looked at each other and nodded in agreement, "Perhaps not financially independent, but at the moment that isn't entirely necessary. Anyways, your independence continues, however you both know when you need the other. You might be stubborn about it at first, but you accept it."

Both Quinn and Santana laugh at that part, especially knowing how true it was.

"Most importantly, though, you respect each other. Sometimes I think that's more important than love. That I don't even have to talk about because it's obvious. I mean, every single time you've looked at each other tonight I've been able to see it. It's a little disgusting," Ilona clearly joked.

"We don't keep secrets from each other, either," Quinn said, adding to Ilona's thoughts.

"Not for long, at least," Santana included with a half shrug and a partial smile, still feeling a little guilty for not telling Quinn about the LSAT sooner.

Quinn seemed to know exactly what she was referring to and gave her a 'stop feeling bad' look.

The guilt continued for a little while though when she remembered a certain other secret: that one gigantic secret that she had to keep probably forever because she didn't think it would go over well with either Fabray women if she ever told it.

"Aah, that comes from the respect for each other," Ilona said with a mouth full of whatever it was she had ordered and hadn't been eating and then in that same, amazing accent, "Excuse me for a moment, I must use the ladies room." She picked up her napkin off her lap, placed it on the table and got up from her seat.

When she was sure that Ilona was out of earshot, Quinn grabbed Santana's wrist, bit her lip and then husked, "I want you so bad right now. So. Bad."

"What?" Santana said, unable to believe what she was both seeing and hearing... and feeling. Quinn's foot was making its way up her calf, to her thigh and then to her... "Qu-Quinn?"

"Uh huh?" she didn't stop.

"She's gonna come back," Santana warned in a shaky voice.

"I'll see her," Quinn whispered and Santana wished that Ilona wasn't coming back and they could go home. Now.

Santana knew the exact moment when Quinn saw Ilona, it was the same moment that Quinn's foot went back to the floor.

"Since we didn't eat our meals, should we get dessert?" Ilona asked excitedly when she returned to the table.

Santana couldn't speak.

"I could go for some creme brûlée," Quinn smiled, covering up what had just happened a lot better than Santana, "But, funny story, now I have to use the ladies room, so I'll be right back."

And then Santana was left behind with Ilona and her underwear, which was really all she could think about until she realized she should think of something else. That something else was, 'say something before she can.'

"You know, I'm really happy that I finally got to meet you. Quinn absolutely loves you."

"Not as much as she loves you," Ilona smiles, sweetly.

Santana knew that she was blushing.

"I thoroughly believe that everything she's told me about how wonderful you are is true."

More blushing ensued on Santana's side of the table.

"So," Ilona was clearly about to change the subject, "how's Brittany?"

Santana spit her water back into the glass the instant the question hit her ears.

"I thought you guys were all good now..."

"They are!" Quinn returned just in time.

"We are!" Santana confirmed after she had regained her composure, "I just wasn't really prepared for that one."

"Sorry," Ilona said ducking her head down a little and giving a smile.

"It's okay," Santana assured her, "Brittany's actually on a date right now."

"Oooo! Do tell!"

...} {...

45th & 8th

Dez just kept smiling. It started when she realized exactly where they were going. First she whispered "Oh my god," then a beaming smile never left her face. Even when the show was over she kept it.

"Thank you," she said and kissed Brittany's cheek when they were outside the theatre.

"Oh, there's more," Brittany smiled and grabbed her hand. She brought them over to a man standing in front of the stage door and said something to him into his ear. In seconds they were being guided back into the theatre and pointed into a direction.

"Up those stairs, first on the right."

"Oh my god! Are you taking me to meet Rachel? Here?" Dez squeezed Brittany's hand.

Brittany looked back and smiled, "Actually Rachel invited us. I told her how much you loved her show and she offered to get us tickets and take us backstage."

"You didn't tell her how much I love her did you?" Dez asked looking quite mortified.

"No...?" Brittany smiled a little awkwardly, "Maybe."

"Brittany! She's gonna think I'm such a dork!" Dez stopped walking at the last step of the stairs, leaned up against the railing and buried her face into her hands.

Brittany stepped down on the stairs so that they were on the same level and gently pulled Dez's hands from her face, "She doesn't think that. I promise."

"You're absolutely sure?" Dez asked, worried.

"I'm positive," Brittany said with the most assuring smile she could make, "Ask her about her obsession with Barbara Streisand. There's no way she thinks you're a dork."

"I can't believe I'm backstage about to meet Rachel Berry, Juilliard drop out and Broadway sensation," Dez smiled with excitement and quirked up her eyebrows.

"Well, you would have met her eventually..."

"Now I can stop pretending to be your friend," Dez said in a tone that was clearly sarcastic, but Brittany's face still grew both surprised and sad. "I was kidding," Dez said apologetically, "Trust me, I definitely want to be your friend."

"Well that's too bad," Brittany pouted and Dez adopted her own look of shock. Brittany smiled when she got the reaction she was hoping for, "I was hoping you'd want to be a little more than that."

"Oh," Dez exhaled and leaned closer to Brittany, "Yeah, that is what I want."

Brittany smiled and let her eyes drift to Dez's lips. They were perfect. As she leaned in closer, she could smell the minty chap stick that she had applied just before they entered the stage door. Dez hummed the moment their lips touched and it actually made Brittany's knees weak. Luckily she'd been holding onto the railing behind Dez so she didn't go tumbling down the stairs.

"Ow ow!"

"Hi, Rachel," Brittany said after reluctantly breaking the kiss.

"I was wondering what was taking so long," she said closing the door to her dressing room behind her.

Brittany rolled her eyes and took a tiny step back, "Rachel this is Dez, Dez this is Rachel."

Dez shot out her hand immediately, but Rachel was having none of it; she moved forward a little bit and wrapped her arms around Dez, who took a second to realize what was happening and hugged her back.

"You're so amazing... and I am such a dork," Dez shook her head and looked down to her feet.

"Thank you and no you aren't. There was this one time, I met Sutton Foster and I couldn't even speak. Actually, I thought I was going to pass out," Rachel laughed.

"Yeah right," Dez scoffed.

"No, seriously. She asked me a couple questions and I just stood there like an idiot," Rachel laughed and then gestured for them to walk down the stairs.

Dez led the way and as her back was turned, Rachel mouthed "So cute," to Brittany.

Brittany smiled and mouthed back, "I know," then looked back down towards Dez and absentmindedly checked out her legs... and then her ass that her skirt hugged perfectly.

She shook herself out of it when she felt Rachel smack her arm, "And hot!" she mouthed.

"I know," Brittany mouthed back, feeling her heart race slightly.

"There's no way that you react that way now," Dez was clearly thinking about this the whole way down the stairs and Brittany thought it was adorable.

"Oh, this was like two weeks ago," Rachel said through a completely serious expression.

Brittany laughed and Dez just stared, flabbergasted.

"Come on, my stage manager said I could take you around, but only for a little bit," Rachel said and began her guided tour of the backstage area.

She showed them the ensemble dressing rooms, the other leads' dressing rooms, where all of the moving set pieces were kept, introduced them to a few ensemble members and the female lead and finally she took them onstage. The ghost light was already on the stage but the house lights were still on. As they walked through the teaser curtains, Dez slid her hand down Brittany's forearm and into her hand, interlocking their fingers just as they hit the stage. It left Brittany with a chill and a swelling sensation in her stomach.

"Just a few minutes, Rach!" a voice called out from somewhere.

"Thanks, Liz!" Rachel called out into the empty house. "Welcome to my favorite place in the world," she turned to them with her arms open gesturing to the entire space around them.

"This is so cool. I mean of course I've been on stages before but this is way different," Dez said looking around and walking forward a little, but without letting go of Brittany's hand.

"I think this stage is smaller than McKinley's," Brittany said as she looked up at the lights above the stage.

"Oh, it is," Rachel confirmed, "But it's so much bigger."

"Yeah..." Brittany exhaled as she she looked into the house.

"Okay, I'm really sorry guys, but I think I have to end the tour," Rachel said looking into the wing at a guy standing at a big red switch.

"That's okay. This was already way more than I was expecting," Brittany replied as Rachel led them off the stage.

"Yeah, this was amazing!" Dez beamed.

"I'm glad you had good time," Rachel smiled, "I have to go grab my stuff and I told some people I'd meet up with them."

"Okay," Brittany said with a smile. She stepped forward, gave Rachel a hug and whispered, "thank you."

"You're welcome," she whispered back, released her, then turned to Dez, "It was an absolute pleasure to meet you."

Rachel hugged Dez who responded in the appropriate amount this time and said, "Thank you for not thinking that I'm a dork."

"Never," Rachel winked then smiled, "Hopefully I'll see you soon. It better be before New Years!" she looked directly at Brittany and furrowed her brow.

"See ya, soon, Rach," Brittany said and guided Dez out the door they came in.

"So, what's so special about New Years?" Dez asked once they were outside.

"Santana throws a big New Years party every year at the apartment," Brittany answered.

"Oh."

"You wouldn't happen to have plans already, would you?" Brittany asked fully expecting Dez say yes, she did already have plans.

"Nope."

"Wait, really?"

"Really," Dez smiled, "Since we have rehearsal on the second, I had to get a flight back before New Year's Eve and I haven't gotten any offers yet."

"So you'll come?" Brittany stopped them and turned to Dez.

"It depends," Dez shrugged.

"On...?"

"On whether or not my girlfriend is going to be there," Dez said with a cheeky smile and an adorable little kick.

"Well, I'm going to be there," Brittany said hoping she was taking Dez's bait correctly, "That is, if itwas me that you were referring to."

Dez took a step forward and started playing with one of the buttons on Brittany's coat. In the smallest, shyest, most adorable voice she asked, "Would you want it to be?"

Brittany took a breath, lifted Dez's chin gently with her index finger and looked her directly in the eyes, "Definitely."

The fingers that had been previously playing with a button on Brittany's coat, grasped at the wool and pulled Brittany into an immediately intense kiss. It was as if the title had ignited them, a feeling Brittany had never experienced before and when their lips parted, Brittany couldn't stop, "wow," from escaping her lips.

"Yeah," Dez exhaled.

"We should, um, probably start walking," Brittany stuttered unable to catch her breath or figure out which way was the right one.

"Okay," Dez said with reluctance and took Brittany's hand.

They started walking towards Ninth Avenue in perfect silence. Speaking wasn't necessary, just being together was enough in that moment.

Every once in a while they'd look at each other and give goofy, giddy smiles, but still there were no words spoken. As they turned down Dez's street, she cleared her throat and quietly hummed, "Um...?"

"Yeah?" Brittany asked with a smile.

Dez stopped about two stoops away from her own and started playing with the bottom of Brittany coat, "So, I really want to invite you up, but I sort of have this... thing..."

"Okay...?" Brittany wasn't sure where this was going.

"It's kind of a rule..." Dez said slowly still looking at the hem of Brittany's coat.

"Okay," by now Brittany had pretty good sense of where Dez was going with this and if she said what she thought she was going to say, Brittany was going to say that she was okay with it, no matter how long it was.

"A month," Dez sighed and looked up, "until we... you know..."

"Thirty or thirty-one days?" Brittany squinted a little and asked as if the difference really mattered.

"A month from today, December 1st, so thirty-one," Dez said hesitantly.

Brittany smiled and kissed Dez, "You could have said a year and I'd wait."

"A YEAR? That's crazy!"

"I know and I'm really glad you didn't say that," Brittany laughed and then looked down. She bit her lip when Dez's legs came into her sight and continued, "because a month is going to be hard enough."

"I know," Dez whispered, "And I'm sorry, it's just..."

"A thing. I get it," Brittany assured her.

"Are you sure?" Dez asked. Clearly, this had been a deal breaker in the past.

"Yes, I'm sure," Brittany ducked her head down to catch Dez's eyes, "Too many of my past relationships started with sex. This is so much different. It feels different and I just want everything to be right. So if that means waiting, I'm all for it. And..." she paused for moment, hardly able to believe what she was going to say, "I'm going to walk you to your door, kiss you good night and walk to the subway."

"Okay," Dez sighed and then Brittany did exactly what she said she was going to do: she slipped her hand into Dez's, took every step with her until they were at her door, kissed her goodnight, then walked to the subway. She didn't go without looking back and smiling at Dez all the way to the end of the street, but she still walked away and she was actually happy she had.

Not that she regarded anything in her past a mistake, but she was definitely learning from it.

A/N: Okay, hope you all enjoyed this! Let me know what you thought. I really do love hearing from you all.