My whole body felt hot. Not gross hot or uncomfortable hot, just really warm. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the soft, caramel color of Santana's skin. I closed my eyes again, because it was too pretty to look at immediately. The lights were still on and even though she was barely moving with my cheek pressed to her bare chest as it heaved gently up and down with her breathing, the way my bleary tired eyes saw the reflections made it too dazzling to look at. I inhaled softly through my nose and adjusted the way I was placed against her so that my ear was pressed a little more down. The thump thump thump of her heart was calm and steady and beautiful.

After a while of listening to her heart, I opened my eyes again. I had to blink a few times to let them adjust. Her skin looked even more amazing than my head remembered. Carefully, I lifted my hand from where it rested on her stomach. I ghosted my fingers up over her body as I moved my hand up, trying not to touch her but touch her at the same time. When I brought them up to my line of sight, I finally let the pads of my fingers touch down on her skin, just under her collar bone where a faded glimmer of light danced as she breathed. The light stayed on my fingers as I covered her skin, so I removed them to let the light strike her again. I did that a few times before I decided to let my fingers trail slowly down the inside of her breast. Her skin was so soft under my touch. It made me wonder if it was just as soft to kiss or if there was a difference in how it felt.

I peeled my face away from her chest, leaning forward and pressing my lips down where the light had been before my body blocked it out. I held there, comparing the softness of my lips to her skin to the feel of it against my fingertips. I think my lips were definitely more sensitive, because they prickled a little until I dragged them away. I inched up enough so that I could get a better view of her sleeping form. Her hand slipped away from my arm as I rose and her head was tilted towards me. I smiled softly and moved the hair out of her face, pushing her long bangs to the side along with the rest of her splayed out hair on the pillow she was resting on.

Tranquility. That's what Santana looked like. I always had trouble with that. Being calm and serene and graceful. Only when I was dancing did I think I could ever come close. But there Santana laid, not even trying and looked magnificent and alluring and peaceful all at the same time. I felt humbled in her presence. I was so lucky to wake up to her.

"Britt-Britt...?" Santana's brow furrowed, cracking her calm expression as she sniffed and turned her head off the pillow. Her cheek collided gently with my hand and she murmured softly as she blinked several times. Her hand smacked at the covers beneath her until she moved it far enough up to prop herself upright. When she did, I had leaned forward, making sure the first thing she did after waking was to be kissed. Because she deserved kisses every minute of every day, but especially when she first woke up. In case she forgot how wonderful she was while being asleep.

"Mm," Santana hummed happily. Her other hand slipped away from where it had been wrapped beneath me and she tickled it up my side. She let out another hum, but it was different and she laughed a little as she pulled away from me. Her hand drew back, too, and she waggled it in the air.

"Oh, wow, my arm is all numb," Santana said softly. I caught her hand and brought it to my lips, kissing over her fingers and turning it over to kiss her palm and wrist. I moved slowly and delicately. Even kissing her hands made my lips tingle, but I pretended it was because I was pulling the numbness away from her. She giggled and pulled her hand away from my lips, moving in to catch them in hers. She sat up more and suddenly her hands were on my cheeks, pulling me into her. I felt her nose wrinkle against mine and she pulled away while still cupping my face.

"Morning, beautiful," she whispered, looking at me from half closed eyelids. I let out a soft sigh and felt myself weaken. I was really glad she was holding her hands to my cheeks, because I don't know if I would have been able to stay upright otherwise.

"You stole the words from my lips," I murmured.

"You want them back?" Santana asked, smiling and then kissed me again. It was light and quick, followed by another and another. I started laughing because her hands fell away to start tickling my naked stomach. I squirmed and fell backwards and she loomed over me, smiling brightly. Brighter than the lights that hung behind her head, with all her teeth showing and her delicious lips spread across them. I was grinning back, but I probably looked like a fool, while she looked like a goddess.

"I had a dream about you," Santana said softly, lifting one hand to fix my hair. I wrinkled my nose and lifted my hand to mess it up again. She pretended to gasp and fixed it once more. I caught her hand and nuzzled my face against it.

"What about?" I murmured.

"It's silly," Santana said, leaning down and kissing my cheek.

"So?" I smiled. "Tell me. Please. I'll pretend to like it anyway."

"Pretend?" Santana pouted. My smile spread into a grin. She rolled her eyes and nestled down on top of me, keeping her arms at my sides so she could prop herself up and look down at my face.

"Well, you were in a castle," she murmured. I lifted my hand up off the mattress and rose it into the air, following it with my gaze as I looked around our fort.

"Mm," she nodded and kissed me. It surprised me because I hadn't been looking directly at her. I think she did it to keep me focused on her.

"And there was a big, giant, purple dragon," Santana said, moving her hand to tickle and tiptoe her index and middle finger up my arm. "He could breathe fire, but he was fluffy and soft and a little fat."

"Did he have a horn?" I asked.

"He did," Santana nodded.

"What were you doing?"

"Definitely not banging the princess," Santana said, wiggling her eyebrows in a way that suggested that was exactly what she had been doing. We both burst into a small fit of laughter. When I caught my breath, I tried my best to frown at her.

"Wait, I was the princess, right?"


I sat in the office of the dance studio. Mike had come in after my class to work on a dance routine with one of his students, and I decided it would be better to wait in the office instead of watching someone I didn't know practice dancing with Mike. That would be weird. I guess not so weird, since I stayed behind that first class Santana danced in to watch her.

I smiled at the thought of Santana. How her movements in that class had been unsteady and unsure. How much that had changed when I helped her with Mike's choreography, and how she was graceful in everything else she did. I was always thinking about her. I guess maybe I frowned during the breaks I took from her. I pondered that for a moment, wondering if I had actually been frowning a moment ago. My phone buzzed, pulling me out of my confusing thoughts. I glanced down at the screen and my smile grew again as I saw the text.

Are you at work still, bb? I'm getting off work now. - Santana

I quickly clicked the buttons on my phone to send her a message back. It took longer to reply to Santana than she did me, because I had a crappy flip-phone that only had a number pad instead of a touch screen keyboard like Santana's iPhone. A lot of the buttons were worn and the screen had lots of scratches on it. In fact, the only thing I liked about my phone was that Santana was on my wallpaper. Even if it was small and I could barely see the picture.

I am, I gotta talk to Mike, so I'll see you at home, k? ;)

Mike swung around the door frame as I finished typing the text and hit send. I looked up at him and snapped my phone shut.

"What are you still doing here?" Mike grinned. "I thought you'd be racing out the door to run home to Santana." He looked up at the clock on the back wall of the office and I followed his gaze. Why was it whenever I was with him and he checked the time, it was always on an analog clock that I couldn't read?

"She gets off work soon, doesn't she?"

"How did you know?" I said, setting my phone on the desk in front of me.

"She and Tina are working the same shifts to make up for our trip," Mike said, sliding into the chair opposite me. My phone buzzed and I held up my hand apologetically.

Tell Mike he's cutting into girlfriend time and I do not approve. - Santana

I laughed, a little louder than I had intended to. I set my phone down and shook my head as I looked back up at him.

"Santana said you're cutting into girlfriend time and she doesn't approve," I laughed. "But I wanted to talk to you."

"You said that," Mike nodded. "What's up?"

I looked down at my lap and rotated my phone carefully with my fingertips. I had woken up so happy and warm this morning in Santana's arms, so I knew Santana wasn't mad or upset with me. Or at least I hoped she wasn't. Anyway... last night had been, well, scary. And Mike said new relationships were fun and exciting, but also scary, so I figured I could talk to him about it. I didn't know how to talk to Santana about it.

"What is it, Brittany?" Mike sat forward in his seat as he spoke.

"Have you ever frozen up during sex before?" I blurted out. My eyes widened after I said it, and my hands shot up a little, as if trying to physically catch the words and stuff them back into my mouth.

"Ah-" Mike hesitated with his hands gripping each arm rest at his sides tightly. He was still leaning a bit forward. He slowly sat back and lifted a hand to scratch the tip of his nose.

"Brittany, I don't think this is a conversation you should have with me," Mike said quietly. "I mean, like I said yesterday... It's a little weird-"

"But you said I could talk to you about things that were bothering me," I said quickly. My voice was a pitch higher than normal, and I realized I was whining. I didn't mean to whine. I just didn't know what to do. I always thought I was good at sex. I liked it, a lot, and I always felt comfortable with myself when I did things. But with Santana, everything was different.

"Yeah, I did, but..." Mike started, but then paused to look at me. After a long pause, I looked up at him and shrugged my shoulders weakly. I didn't want to make Mike uncomfortable.

"Yeah, okay," Mike sighed, nodding his head as he averted his gaze. "What do you mean by freezing up? Like, you don't know what to do...? Or...? Because if this is about how two girls... Brittany, you can look that up on the internet-"

"No, no," I let out a weak laugh. My lips spread into a half grin as I shook my head. "I know enough. I think. About how to make Santana feel good and stuff. It's not that. I mean, I'm sure there's other things we could do than just-"

"Brittany, I want to help you, but would you mind leaving out as much detail about the actual sex as possible? I don't want to think about Santana like that. Or, you know, you for that matter. You're my friends."

"But she's so hot," I chirped.

"Yes, sure. She is," Mike nodded. "But she's your girlfriend." He shook his head again and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She is," I grinned to myself, leaning back in my chair. I had a sexy, hot, amazing girlfriend.

"So it's not about, um," Mike coughed. "Mechanics, so to speak?"

"No, not really," I shrugged. "Although, I think she's still scared about oral sex. I mean, I went down-"

"Brittany," Mike said sternly, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head. "C-can you cut to the chase?"

"Last night, well," I sat forward and placed my phone on the table. "Santana and I were... being intimate," I said, picking my words carefully because of the look Mike gave me. It made it easier for me to talk, I think. Because I could just convince myself he was more uncomfortable than I was.

"And it's happened once or twice where I just kind of get so... so overwhelmed," I said, raising my hands up. I think that was it. It sounded like a smart word. "This is so hard to explain."

"Just keep going," Mike nodded, letting his arms slip away from his chest. He gave me an encouraging smile and I nodded.

"It's just all these... ugh, all this mess of emotions just bubble up," I said, wiggling my fingers at my chest.

"My chest feels tight and my heart starts to race and I feel like... like that feeling when you go down a waterslide and you get splashed with all this cold water when you finally plunge into the pool. Only a hundred times worse and it's not cold, but just as shocking. You get tingly all over like needles are jabbing into your skin, and you have to close your eyes tight to keep the room from spinning and- Ugh...! Mike."

I slapped my hand down on the armrest of the chair I was sitting in and let out an exasperated sigh. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and I didn't know why. It was just that. Overwhelming. But as much as it was scary and terrifying and confusing, it felt good and exciting and like nothing I'd ever experienced. I lifted my other hand to quickly wipe at my eye, pretending to rub my eye like I was tired, but I'm sure he noticed anyway.

"I've just never... felt like this before," I mumbled, lifting my hand from the armrest to press my lips against my knuckles. I could feel my cheeks grow warm and I knew I was probably turning red. I only hoped that what little tan I did get from the beach was helping hide the fact that I felt about as dark as a tomato.

"Brittany, it's okay to feel that way," Mike said. He scooted closer to me. "It's all new. Everything with you and Santana. This is your first relationship, right...?"

I nodded slowly, but kept my eyes averted so I didn't have to look directly at him. I felt so embarrassed.

"When you, uh, froze up, what happened?" Mike asked. "Did you talk to Santana about it?"

"I... No," I shook my head. "She just kind of knew, though..." I closed my eyes and sighed. "She knew exactly the right things to do and say."

"Yeah?" Mike said. I glanced up at him and saw him raise his eyebrows a little. "I knew Santana had a way with words, but I'm glad you bring out a soft side to her."

He smirked and let out a little chuckle. I laughed too, but I didn't know why. I only knew this 'new' Santana that everyone else seemed to be surprised by.

"Do you ever feel like that?" I asked quietly. "When you're with Tina?"

"It's hard to relate how one person feels about another," Mike said. "Tina and I have been together for a long time. I love her. Very much. I don't know exactly you're going through, and I don't want to be premature in telling you how to feel, but you're not doing anything wrong."

Mike stood up and stepped towards me.

"I think it'd be more of a problem if you didn't feel anything at all, Brittany," Mike said, opening his arms up a little. I stood up and gave him a hug. It was tighter and more serious than I intended it to be, but he hugged me back and let me rest there for a while.

"What should I do if I freeze up again?" I mumbled. I think I was a little muffled, because I had my face buried in his shirt.

"I think you should talk to Santana," Mike said softly. "Even if it's just to tell her you're trying to figure things out."

"That's good," I nodded, peeling away from him a little. "Yeah. But... do you think she's mad we didn't finish?"

"Er," Mike smiled weakly. "I doubt she would be mad at you."

"Okay," I nodded. Mike rubbed my arms up and down a little and then patted my head.

"All good?" he asked.

"...yeah," I nodded. "I think so. Unless..."

I paused for a second and smirked deviously.

"Seriously, what are other things two girls could do other than-"

"We're done talking," Mike said, tossing his hands in the air as he stepped away from me. I laughed and followed him out of the office.

"-come on, isn't this stuff what guys talk about?" I laughed. "You can't not know-"

I stopped short as I stumbled out into the hallway and directly into Santana. She looked flustered at my sudden appearance and nearly dropped her keys.

"Santana!" I cheered happily and immediately wrapped my arms around her. She tensed for a split second before letting her arms tighten around me. When she did, I picked her up off the ground a little and spun in a circle. She let out a laugh and I felt her fingers dig into my skin.

"W-what stuff do guys talk about?" Santana giggled as I put her back on the ground.

"Nothing, I was just asking Mike about sex advice," I shrugged. Santana's smile dropped and her cheeks got bright red.

"I didn't say anything," Mike said, raising his hands in the air and taking a cautious step backwards. "I swear."

"Oh god," Santana shook her head and rose both her hands to cover her face. "Brittany, you just... you can't do that."

"Why not?" I said, furrowing my brow. "Mike said I could talk to him about anything."

"Yes, Brittany, but," Santana shook her head and grabbed my hands, pulling me closer. "What we do at home or... anywhere else, for that matter... it's private."

Her voice was small. She looked so embarrassed. I hadn't meant to embarrass her. Maybe Mike, a little. But I didn't know what the problem was talking about sex. Mike and Tina knew we had sex, obviously.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. She smiled weakly at me and gave Mike a sheepish, apologetic shrug.

"I've gotta um, work on some paperwork," Mike said, stepping around us and back towards the office. Santana pulled me even closer.

"Don't be sorry," Santana said. "Just, if you want to talk about that you should talk to me first, okay?"

"That's fair," I nodded. "I promise."

"Good," Santana said and kissed my forehead. I felt forgiven, and gripped her hands tightly. I pulled her towards me as I took a step backward.

"What are you doing here?" I smiled as I walked along the hallway to the mirrored dance room.

"I thought I would pick you up, since you were still here," Santana said quietly, shyly looking up at me. "And I figured you still hadn't left since you didn't reply to my text."

"I didn't want to be rude," I laughed. I'd pulled her onto the dance floor and took a bigger step back as I moved to twirl her around. She giggled and spun, letting me pull her in tightly once she was facing me again. She had both hands against my stomach and leaned forward to press her lips to mine in a soft, delicate kiss.

"Would you like to dance?" I asked politely.

"Of course," she nodded and I slipped my hand back in hers, letting the other slide from her back to her hip. She dipped her free hand away from my stomach and let it rest gently on my arm.

"There's no music," she whispered, leaning close to me.

"Luckily, we have you," I said, pressing my lips to her forehead. She blushed and dipped her head down. She wasn't staring at her feet or anything, because she was actually really good at following my movements. It didn't feel like I was dancing with someone that didn't know the steps. She just swayed along and followed, avoiding my gaze because she was embarrassed.

"What should I sing?" Santana murmured.

"You pick something," I said with a small sigh and squeezed her hand. "I'm in charge of choreography."

Santana looked up slyly with me and her lips cracked into a smile. "Ass ass ass ass..." she whispered, and I let out one giant laugh. I shook my head and squeezed her hand again, pulling her tighter so that she rested her head against me and that I could nestle my cheek on the top of her head.

"Not that," I said softly. "Something sweet."

"I guess your ass is more hot than sweet," Santana murmured. I felt her lips against my neck move and I guessed she was smiling. Maybe. She suddenly tensed in my arms and I felt her throat move against mine like she was gulping.

"...I..." Santana murmured something so soft, I couldn't hear it, even with her so close to my ear. I bent my head down a little to see if I could hear her better.

"...climbed a mountain and I turned around..." she whispered. "And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills... where the landslide brought me down."

I turned slowly and looked up at the mirror across from me. I saw Santana looking out to the side of the dance room, where the large windows were that overlooked the street below. Her brow was a little furrowed and she took in a small breath. I didn't know this song, but she sounded pretty. Her voice was so small and it looked to me like it was really hard for her to remember the words or something. I forgot lyrics sometimes, but I didn't mind if she messed up. I wouldn't know if she did or not.

"Oh...mirror in the sky, what is love?" she sang softly. I inhaled sharply and my grip on her hand tightened. It was just a song. I closed my eyes, praying my heart wouldn't threaten to speed up. She moved a little, pressing a light kiss on my shoulder and I felt myself relax.

"Can the child within my heart rise above?" she continued to whisper, stepping towards me. I realized I had stopped dancing for a split second, and her advance made me move again. "Can I sail through the changing ocean tide? Can I handle the seasons of my life?"

"Uh-ohhh," she hummed, nuzzling her face into the crook of my neck. She repeated the hum a few times softly. Her heart was beating against mine a little hard, too. I think she was nervous, maybe more nervous than me, all of a sudden.

"Well, I've been 'fraid of changing, 'cause I've built m-my life around you," she sang softly. Her voice cracked a little and she buried her face deeper in my neck for messing up. I smiled and swayed her back and forth with a little more force, not much, and let out a small sigh as I rubbed my cheek against the top of her head.

"Keep going," I urged. I liked it. Maybe she thought she couldn't keep going, but I wanted her to. To me, it sounded perfect.

"...But time makes... you bolder. Children get older... and I'm getting older, too," she mumbled. "Well..."

She peeled her face away from my neck and readjusted herself against me, slipping her hand away from where it rested on my arm to wrap around my back. Her hand squeezed in mine and I brought it down, a little closer to us.

"Well, I've been afraid of changing," she sang. "'Cause I've-"

"'Cause I've built my life around you," I sang along with her. I saw her smile weakly in the mirror.

"But time makes you bolder, and children get older. And I'm getting older, too," Santana sang, just a little bit louder. "Well, I'm getting older...too."

"So... take this love and take it down," Santana continued, her voice falling again into a soft whisper. "Yeah... if you climb a mountain and you... turn around."

"And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills," she murmured. "Where the landslide brought me down...And if you..."

"See my reflection in the...?" I started, because she paused. I forgot the verse.

"The snow," she nodded.

"Snow covered hills," I sang with her.

"Well, maybe," she sang softly. "Well, maybe... Well, maybe..."

I stopped guiding her along. I couldn't see her face anymore in the mirror, because she had hid it in the crook of my neck again. I wasn't sure, but she let out a small sniff, so maybe she was crying. I didn't know why. The song was so sweet and pretty.

"The landslide will bring you...down," Santana mumbled. I pulled back a little but her grip on me tightened. I let her rest her head against me for a while as I let my hand slip out of hers to run my hand along her back. She pulled back from me a little and smiled, shaking her head lightly and pulled a hand away from my back to quickly wipe her face. She was blushing. I let my hand rise up to rest on her heart.

"Thank you," I whispered softly, letting my hand tickle up her neck and over her jaw. I pulled her forward and pressed my lips to her forehead. "For the dance." I lowered and kissed her nose. "For the song." I reached her lips and held there. She exhaled through her nose and wrapped her arms around my neck. It was like the first time we'd danced, the first time we kissed, except this time she brought the music.

Santana deepened our kiss, lifting her chin a little to press further into me, so I parted mine to accept hers. I gently slid my tongue over them and she smiled before letting me in. I pushed my hand to tangle in her hair, my other hand tightening around her waist and closed any distance between us. I felt my heart starting to beat a little faster. What was it Santana had said? Time makes you bolder. I didn't want to wait to be bold; I wanted to kiss her. I huffed lightly. Santana giggled and pulled back a little. I hummed a protest and pressed my lips back against hers, and she gently licked them. Maybe the tight feeling in my chest wasn't so bad. I just had to get used to it.

"-Hey, girls, I'm heading out now. Can you make sure to lah-lock...u-up..."

Santana pulled away from my lips and glanced sheepishly back at Mike. I grunted and lowered my lips to Santana's jaw.

"Y-yeah," Santana stammered. I looked up in the mirror to see she was grinning and her cheeks were red. I could also see the flabbergasted look on Mike's face as he turned away. I looked back down and started to kiss Santana's neck.

"R-right," Mike said. I heard him shuffle and Santana smacked me gently on the arm. I ignored that, too, and kept sucking on her neck.

"B-Brittany," Santana giggled as I nibbled. She hugged me tightly and I pressed a few kisses back up her neck until I was level with her cheek and nuzzled my nose against her.

"I don't care," I said in a hoarse whisper. "I'm going to kiss my girlfriend when she sings to me. No one is going to stop me."

"Yeah?" Santana said, smiling as she pressed her forehead to mine.

"Yeah."


"S-santana," I giggled as I stumbled through the doorway to our apartment. She had her fingers crawling under my shirt and it tickled more than I expected it to. She kicked the door closed behind us as she moved me towards the couch.

"W-wait," I stammered, gripping her arms tightly and hanging off her as she tried to press me down. She loomed over me, raising a brow as she slowly slid her tongue back in her mouth.

"I need to take a shower."

"You're really going to stop me after you made out with me for, like, ever back at the dance studio? And then insisted we dance to Sexy Chick and all those other songs on your iPod?"

"Yeah, but now I'm gross and sweaty," I murmured. "I danced before you got there, too."

"I don't give a fuck," Santana said, lowering to my neck again. I hugged her tightly, making it difficult for her to press her lips to my skin.

"Damn it, Brittany," she growled as she started to falter from the weight I put on her by clinging so close.

"I'll be quick, I promise," I said, quickly pecking her on the cheek as I untangled myself from her and ducked out from below her arms. She tried to catch my hand, but I pulled it away and jumped up a few steps of the stairwell. She was looking up at me with a pout, so I blew her a kiss before dashing up the rest of the stairs.

The moment I was upstairs, I made my way into my room. It looked strange with the bed frame missing the mattress, but I turned away to grab some clothes out of my closet. Initially I just grabbed the first thing my hands reached, but then I paused when I realized it was my giraffe shirt. Giraffes weren't sexy. I tossed it aside spread my clothes apart. I don't know why it mattered what I wore after my shower, because I knew Santana was just going to take it off. Maybe underwear was more important.

I nearly tripped over Lord Tubbington as I moved to my dresser, rummaging quickly through the drawer. Lord Tubbington continued to lay lazily in the middle of the floor as I picked out my bra and underwear. I glanced back at him.

"What do you think?" I asked, sheepishly holding up my bra. His tail flicked and he blinked at me. That was about all the response I ever got out of him, so I scrunched up my undergarments with the rest of the clothes balled up in my hands and hurried back into the bathroom.

I tossed my clothes in a pile behind the door and turned the water on before pulling off my clothes. I glanced in the mirror at myself and smiled when I saw the red marks on my neck. They weren't all that dark - I think Santana was trying to be more gentle with her kisses, but it was still hard to hide the evidence. I flicked my eyes up at the ceiling for a second as I stepped towards the shower. At first, I wasn't completely sold on the idea of telling Quinn and Rachel, but after talking with Mike today, I was kind of glad we wouldn't have to sneak around any more. It wasn't that sneaking around didn't have its own appeal. In some ways it was exciting. But at the end of the day, I just wanted Santana. All the wonderful things Santana offered. To hold and cuddle in our fort and to kiss and to...

"Ugh, stop it," I said out loud, smacking my hand against my chest. The water made it more audible than I thought it would be, and my eyes snapped open. I just wanted my heart to stop freaking out. It was alright. Santana was my girlfriend. My girlfriend. It was perfectly fine for me to feel that way about her. I dove my head into the water and exhaled, spluttering a little water from my lips. I felt a shudder run down my spine; I swear something soft ghosted along my shoulder. I clenched my eyes closed to rub my hands over my face.

"Stop what?" Santana's voice came from behind me. I jumped, but her arms closed in around me and held me steady. "I haven't even done anything yet."

"S-santana," I gasped, but she pulled me back, pressing her naked body up against mine. I didn't think it was possible to get hotter than I was under all the water, but she made my whole body feel like it was blushing.

"I figured since you were taking a shower," Santana said, lowering her lips to my neck, sucking on it a second before pulling away with a soft smacking sound. "That I'd take advantage of not having to bother with your clothes."

My chest tightened as I took in a breath. Her hands slid up against the wet skin of my stomach, rising up to grasp each of my bare breasts. I sucked on my bottom lip as her fingers squeezed and I felt her run her tongue along my shoulder to the base of my neck. When she found her favorite spot on my neck, she drew her tongue back into her mouth and started to suck the skin there. I knew it was her favorite, because it made chills run up and down my spine even with all the heat. I think she knew that.

My head rolled back a little and a small moan escaped from my throat. The combination of the water and Santana's hands gently massaging my breasts and her sucking on my damp skin was intoxicating. So much so, I felt dizzy and a little lightheaded. I leaned back into her because it was too hard to stand on my own and my heart was starting to pound harder.

"San...tana..." I breathed softly. "I... need to wash off."

"Mm," she hummed, slowing her lips and I placed my palms over her hands so she would stop.

"I was helping," Santana murmured before letting out a soft laugh. Her laugh was as pretty as her singing, and it soothed my heart a little into a gentle flutter.

"You weren't," I said softly. Her hands wiggled out from beneath mine and tickled down my stomach. I let out a small laugh and she spun me around gently and carefully.

"I'll help," she promised, giving me a chaste kiss before twisting to grab her shampoo. I smiled, because her shampoo smelled good, and I'd only gotten to use it once before. And she always smelled good when she used it.

"You just wait," Santana said as she squeezed a bit of shampoo in her palm. "You'll be so squeaky clean when I'm done with you. I'll be thorough." She winked.

"...yeah right," I rolled my eyes to try and distract her from my blush. She rose her eyebrows and made a small popping sound with her lips.

"Come on, spin around," Santana smiled. I ducked my head directly under the shower head quickly and then twisted around so that my back was facing Santana again. She spread the shampoo in my hair, running her fingers slowly through my hair, careful, I guess, to avoid tangles. She started to make small circles and I could feel the shampoo bubble up in my hair. It felt really nice and soothing, but it also kind of tickled. Her fingers scratched at the base of my neck and back up and she went all over it again.

"I like your shampoo," I murmured. My eyes felt heavy and I wobbled a little. She slipped her hands out of my hair to catch me, leaving a soppy handprint on my shoulder for a second before the water washed it away.

"I like yours," she cooed softly. She spun me around again to help me rinse out all the bubbles.

"You can use mine if you want," I said as she lifted her hands up speed the process of de-shampooing my hair. I peeked down at her, fidgeting a little as I saw her breasts move along with the movements of her arms.

"Oh, close your eyes," Santana said softly. I thought for a second she had caught me staring at her breasts, but she lowered her hand to wipe a dribble of shampoo bubbles that was slipping down my forehead towards my eye. I closed them and she carefully ran her fingers over my face. She repeated a similar process for the conditioner, and while I waited before rinsing it out, I helped her wash her hair. She laughed a lot more than I did, but she agreed to let me use my shampoo on her.

"Do you want to use my body wash?" Santana asked as we both rinsed out our conditioner.

"Yes," I smiled. Santana reached passed me, smirking as I stared down at her lips, and grabbed my loofah off its hook. She squeezed her body wash onto the puffball and then grabbed my hand to pull me out from the direct stream of water. I stumbled a little and she gently smacked the puff ball onto my stomach. She let her hand tickle up my wrist to my shoulder and then cupped my cheek. The other hand moved to create a soapy lather up my stomach before she started to trail upward to between my breasts. I took in another sharp gasp and she smiled, stepping close and kissing me lightly.

"Why are you so embarrassed?" Santana giggled. I guess my cheeks gave me away.

"This is just... super intimate," I murmured. She got even closer.

"We've done a lot more intimate things than this," Santana said softly. "Like back at the hotel. We even took a bath, then."

"Y-yeah," I nodded. That was when I started feeling funny. I didn't want to say that, though, because that sounded bad. Santana made me feel weird. No, that sounded bad too. I didn't know what to tell her.

"I like being intimate with you," Santana said quietly. "I mean, I like sex, you know that. But Brittany, what I like most is that it's with you."

Her hand stilled against my chest, and her brow furrowed. Not in a way that made her look upset, but just enough that I could tell she was concerned. She managed to balance it out by smiling softly at me.

"Are you okay with that?" Santana asked. Her voice was small and she averted her gaze for a second. I snapped up a little and nodded my head quickly.

"Of course. It's not just sex. That's not why I like you," I said quickly. I leaned back a little, feeling a bit stunned. Had Santana thought I just liked her because we had good sex? I thought back to how insistent I had been to have sex with her when I was drunk. I felt hot in my face again, but this time it didn't feel good. And maybe she felt pressured into letting me go down on her that last time. And today... god, I must have sounded like a sex maniac.

"I know," Santana said softly, letting out a light chuckle. Her hand slipped away from my cheek to grab my hand and sway it gently. "If it was, you wouldn't have left me downstairs. Or last night, we would have-"

"I'm sorry," I interjected. "About yester-"

She leaned in and hushed me with a kiss.

"No apologizing," Santana said. "Last night was perfect."

"It was?" I murmured.

"Absolutely," Santana nodded. "I'm the one that's always thinking about sex. I even dream about it," she laughed. "I'm sorry if that put pressure on you."

"You didn't," I said, squeezing her hand tightly. "God, I want to have sex with you so bad. I just... sometimes I get a little flustered. It all rushes to my head."

"Okay," Santana nodded. "I felt like that a little..."

"You did?"

"When you went down..." Santana blushed, glancing to the side. "It felt good. Really good. Amazing, actually. But I felt like my heart was going to explode."

"It's terrifying," I said softly.

"No," Santana shook her head. "It's... refreshing."

"Huh?"

"To have someone that makes me feel so ...remarkable," Santana said softly. "It's... Britt, you make me feel special."

"So do you. For me," I said softly.

"Good," Santana inching closer to me. "Because I want to make you feel special."

I gulped and she leaned forward, kissing my lips lightly. I pressed into her. No matter how unsure I was, Santana seemed to know how to calm me down. She felt overwhelmed sometimes too, but she wasn't letting it stop her, even if it was scary.

"Come on, let me finish washing you off," Santana smiled. I grinned and spun around. I nearly slipped, but she caught me. I laughed sheepishly at my own inelegance, but she wrapped her hand around my stomach as she ran the loofah up my spine. My laugh died off pretty quickly, because it was like no matter how Santana touched me, it was sensual. She slipped the loofah down and wrapped it around to my front again as she slipped her hands down.

"Sa...Santana." Her name escaped my lips without much reason other than I felt like I had to say it. She chuckled and pressed against me.

"I'm not even touching you," Santana cooed in my ear.

"You are," I exhaled insistently. She dropped the loofah and her hands glided slowly up my thighs to pause at my hips.

"Not touching you," Santana whispered.

"I-I w-want you to," I gulped. Santana's grip on my hips tightened a little as she twirled me around. I caught sight of her grin a split second before her lips came crashing into mine. I stepped back as she moved forward and warm water sprayed down on us as my hands lifted up to tangle in her soaking hair. She continued to advance on me, pressing me against the tiled walls of the shower. Water dripped down her face and mine in a steady stream because of the shower head, but I sucked and kissed at her lips regardless. She pressed so close to me and her breasts squashed against mine. I gasped for air in a pause between kisses, and she slid her hands up and down my legs slowly while her tongue dove into my open mouth. I didn't even protest, and offered her a moan instead.

My heart thumped against my chest, and I could feel hers racing against mine. Literally, racing. It was hard to tell whose was beating faster. That was reassuring to me as I reminded myself that this wasn't terrifying. Santana said it was refreshing, but maybe it was more than that. It was exhilarating. Her hands slid up along my stomach and over my ribs, dipping slowly into the small indentations between the bones and dragging up until she found my breasts. I groaned as she palmed them a little more forcibly than I was used to.

"Santana," I said again when I could, pulling her closer.

"Mm," she hummed. Any time I tried to push away from the wall, she would press her weight into me again. I think she was focused on making me feel good. Even though I wanted to do the same, the more she kissed me and dug her fingers into my chest, the less I fought back. When I lowered my hand away from her neck, she snatched it away from her breast and placed it back where it had been previously.

I felt her leg press between mine and I grinned against her kisses. She had to pull me forward a little to give us space so she could rock into me. A small, sharp cry escaped my lips and into her mouth. She tugged me closer to her and I felt more of the water splashing against us.

"Santana-"

"Britt," she moaned as I reluctantly drew my head back. She tried to keep kissing me, but I lifted my chin so she missed and started to suck on my neck.

"No, Santana," I giggled. "The water's getting cold."

"A little," she barely agreed. My hand untangled from her hair and slapped at the nob that controlled the water flow and twisted it off.

"C-can we lay down?"

"In the tub?" Santana grunted, scraping her teeth against my skin in a way that made me shudder. The air was quickly cooling my skin, too, now that the water was off.

"No, not here," I giggled.

"Bed," she stated more than she asked.

"Mm," I hummed. She hugged me tightly and stepped back, her mouth still latched to my neck. I pushed the shower curtain aside as she stumbled backwards. I forced her back a little so that I could step out, and then managed to steal a towel from the rack before she could attach herself to me again.

"Give me a second, come on, your hair is soaked," I giggled. She grimaced and stepped back as I dropped the towel over her head. Her fingers released their hold on me as she quickly rubbed the towel against her hair and then dragged it away to do the same thing to me. I giggled and laughed, and when she pulled the towel away, she wrapped it around me to give me a quick pat down.

"Good enough," Santana said, tossing the towel aside and pulling me close. Even though it was messy, her hair looked really, really sexy.

"Bed?" I asked softly. She nodded, stepping backwards and pulling me out of the bathroom as she reconnected our lips. We bumbled and crashed our way down the hallway as Santana tried to navigate while making out with me. Her hands dragged down my back and squeezed my ass when I started to move in the wrong direction towards Quinn's room until finally we made it to hers. We broke apart only because we almost got tangled in the Christmas lights, but she grabbed my hand and tugged me quickly inside our fort. I fell onto my back and she crawled quickly on top of me.

"Santana," I pleaded softly when she pushed her weight on top of me, preventing me from rising again.

"I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel," Santana said hoarsely as she attacked my neck again. She ground her hips into me as her hands found my breasts again and squeezed.

"F-fuck," I stammered. Wait. As good as I made her feel? When?

Her kisses started to trail lower, to my collarbone and then over the center of my chest. She was sucking just above my belly button when I realized where she was going.

"Are y-you sure?" I gasped. Her hands moved to cup the backsides of my legs as she pushed me further up onto the bed so that I was resting my head against the pillows. She moved swiftly up to press her lips against mine, delicately running her fingers along my temple.

"Mm," she hummed, her eyes closed as she broke the kiss. "I want to."

"Okay," I panted, wiggling a little beneath her. She let out a small, nervous laugh when I spread my legs. I immediately felt sheepish for being so eager. She started to kiss down my chest again, so I was reassured she hadn't completely lost her confidence. Although, she was a little more tense now that I had interrupted her. I let my hands slide up her arms and rub gently over her shoulders as she brought her lips down on one of my nipples. I exhaled sharply. She let the fingers that were on my other breast squeeze and pinch to mimic the way she moved her mouth. Her free hand started to trail down, teasing slowly. Eventually she made her way down, all the while sucking and nibbling gently at my nipple. She ran her fingers gently over my folds, and I bucked my hips as I let out a small grunt of frustration.

"Please," I murmured. She giggled and nodded against my chest. Her lips trailed down between my boobs as her hand slid against my center. Her fingers slipped and glided up and down, and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out. As she started to kiss and lick down my chest and run her tongue along the base of my ribcage, I realized we were home alone. I didn't have to try and contain the sounds she was forcing out of me. I could be as loud as I wanted.

My heart was pounding in hard, loud thumps against my chest. I was sure that Santana could hear it. Her kisses trailed lower as she pulled her hands away from their placement on my breast and over my slit to rest against my thighs. She hesitated when she finally came down to between my legs.

"Santana?" I wanted to say that it was okay. That she could take it slow, but that was all that gurgled out of my throat.

"Give me a second," she mumbled sheepishly. A moment later, she pressed a small kiss against me. She paused, pulled back, and then peppered a few more, equally light, kisses to my folds. I let out a small laugh.

"What?" Santana said, looking up at me. I shifted a little so I was resting higher up against the pillow and smiled.

"Am I doing... it wrong?" Santana said softly, her lips curving downward in a tiny frown.

"You're doing fine," I said. "It just tickled."

"It shouldn't tickle," Santana grumbled. I let my hand fall down to brush over her damp hair and slide down to cup her cheek.

"You could try using your tongue," I giggled quietly, scratching my fingers under her chin lightly.

"Shutup," Santana said. "I'm... working on it."

"Sorry, sorry," I smiled. She wrinkled her nose at me and adjusted how she was laying between my legs, hesitating again once she was settled.

"You don't have to be so shy, Santan-ah!"

She took a sudden dive forward and ran her tongue flatly over my folds. I felt my back arch in surprise. Her brow furrowed and her eyes were clenched closed as she held for a moment, drawing her tongue slowly back in her mouth. She took a deep breath through her nose and squeezed her hands on my thighs as she dipped down again. Her wet tongue glided back slowly against me, sinking between my folds as she explored. I let out another gasp when she found the bundle of sensitive nerves as her tongue ran up, and she drew her tongue back again. Her lips closed around me, swallowing up all the sensitive parts and her tongue poked back at my entrance. My hand that had been on her cheek had tangled itself into her hair as I opened my mouth to let out a loud moan.

"Fuck," I groaned. Her lips made soft wet sounds as she continued to move her tongue. I think she smirked, maybe. I knew she drew back after I gasped again to let out a smug laugh. I tangled my other hand into her hair and tugged her forward lightly. I didn't want her to stop, but I didn't want to seem too forceful. She giggled and pressing her mouth to me, making wet noises as she lapped her tongue slowly.

My heart was racing and I felt like I had to dig my fingers into her hair just to have something to hold onto. My chest heaved up and down as I let out soft gasps. The gasps got louder and more breathy as she moved up a little, giving all her attention to my clit. I practically shouted when she started humming.

"Sa-ahh!" I couldn't even say her name properly. I didn't know her doing that would have such a breathtaking effect on me. God, if I didn't already appreciate her voice, I definitely did now. I couldn't even figure out if she was humming a tune or just a note by the time small whimpers were escaping my throat. Her grip on my legs tightened and she pressed down to keep me still. I felt that falling sensation again, and I clung to her hair as I tried to gasp for air. I think I tried to shout, but no sound came out of my mouth. Instead, I felt like a current was running through me, coursing all over my body. She stopped humming and stopped moving all together, just kept her lips where they were and held me still. I could feel my legs try to writhe beneath her grasp, but she was surprisingly strong in her hold on me.

Suddenly, my throat stopped failing me, and I swallowed a huge gulp of air. My pants were audible and she lightly kissed down on me, causing my gasps to turn into small whimpers. I couldn't handle her touching me any more. She rose a little, putting her weight on my legs and licked her lips. I stared down at her in amazement, peeling my hands away from her hair, watching as she crawled back on top of me. She smiled softly, looking down at me as I caught my breath. Her hand lifted and brushed my hair back, running gently back over my face to wipe away the sweat that had formed on my brow.

I understood why she had been at a loss for words when I had gone down on her. Why all she could say was that she wanted me to kiss her. I tried to ask her to. To just kiss me, but I still couldn't really form words. She seemed to understand, though, because she pressed a kiss to my forehead. Another on my eyebrow, then my eyelid, to my cheek, over the corner of my mouth and then finally came to a rest at my lips. She held there the longest and I wrapped my arms around her back and pulled her to lay down on me. She was warm and comforting, and just having her there on top of me made me feel like the raging storm inside of me was finally calming. My heart wasn't trying to force its way out of my chest, and instead, was rhythmically beating against hers. I would have liked to say they were in sync, but the soft off beat tempo they created felt perfect to me.

"Santana," I whispered softly, but she quieted me with her lips again. It was a soft, gentle kiss, and I understood what she meant. She knew how I was feeling, and there didn't need to be words. Just kisses. She moved her lips slowly. The tingling feeling returned, but instead of making my body react like a I was being struck by lightning, it was soothing and made me feel sleepy. Santana's lips were amazing like that. I still felt like I was falling. Maybe not falling. Flying. That was more like it. Or dreaming. She kept kissing me like that until I didn't know when. I think I fell asleep.


Santana was humming softly as I snuggled into her from behind. I had my arms wrapped around her, pressing into the silky soft fabric of her robe. She was making me pancakes.

"I'm starving," I murmured.

"You said that already," Santana laughed. I had said that, this morning, with my head resting on Santana's naked stomach. We didn't have work today, and I took full advantage of that fact.

"I like this," I said, kissing her neck softly.

"What? The post-sex breakfast? Or me making you chocolate chip pancakes?" Santana said, twisting a little to nuzzle her nose to mine as she tugged gently on the sleeve of my bathrobe.

"Both," I said, pressing my lips to hers. "But just. This."

I squeezed her tighter and rested my head against hers, looking down at the pancake in the pan. This, as in everything. The moment, the kisses, the feelings. The warmth that was created not by standing in front of the stove, but what was generated from her body against mine. This, as in us. Being able to hug and hold and touch each other without worry or care. Just. This.

"I don't want break to be over," I sighed.

"Me either," Santana said quietly, lifting the pancake from the pan and placing it on the stack on the plate next to it. I reached forward and turned off the stove and she grabbed the plate as she twisted around.

"Ugh," she groaned as she slipped out of my grasp, setting the plate down on the kitchen island. "We have so much to do today."

"No," I shook my head, stepping towards her again and hugging her. "We don't have work or anything."

"But Rachel and Quinn come back today," Santana sighed. "The apartment is a mess and that was the last of the milk. We've gotta clean and vacuum and do the dishes and go grocery shopping... get more litter for your cat."

I glanced around the kitchen and then over to the living room. Maybe we did need to vacuum and pick up the blankets we had left on the couch from yesterday's sexcapade, but aside from the bowl we made the pancake mix in and the pan that was sitting on the stove, we didn't have a whole lot to do. And sure, we needed to buy milk and a few other things, but it wasn't going to take all day.

"Baby," I cooed softly, tickling my fingers against her stomach. "Are you nervous?"

"N-no," Santana said. She turned in my arms, resting her butt against the counter as she held her hands up over my shoulders, resting her wrists against them. "Are you?"

"I'm excited," I smiled. "And yeah, a little nervous. But you'll be there, so it'll be okay."

"I'm a little scared," Santana admitted. "But you're right, it'll be okay. We're in this together, and we'll tell them together."

"If they try to keep us force us to sleep in separate rooms, I'm tossing my mattress out from the fire escape."

"They won't," Santana laughed. "I'll take Quinn's camera and hold it hostage. Or Rachel's microphone."

"Genius," I grinned. As Santana scooted me to my swivel chair and sat me down, I grabbed a pancake and ate it with my hands. She laughed and leaned in to take a bite. She got chocolate on her lips, so I moved in to lick it clean before she could. She blushed and moved to sit down next to me. While we ate, we talked about Quinn and Rachel and how best to approach telling them. Santana said we could go to the store and make a big meal and tell them over dinner.

"There won't ever be a perfect way or time to tell them," I nodded. "But at least we'll be in control or how it happens."

"Exactly," Santana nodded, waggling a pancake at me. I chomped at it, nearly catching her finger and wiggled my face back and forth until I tore a chunk of it away. She laughed and leaned forward and kissed me.


"Please?" I asked. We were at Walmart, because we ended up needing to get a new vacuum in addition to the groceries. Lord Tubbington had chewed up the cord while we were gone. Santana agreed to let me wander down all the aisles because I liked to do that when I went shopping, even if I wasn't going to buy anything.

"Why would we ever need those?" Santana asked, raising a brow at me.

"Come on, it'll be fun," I said, grabbing three more of the plastic devices from the shelf and tossing them in the cart. "Quinn and Rachel will get a kick out of it, too."

"Quinn and Rachel aren't fun enough to do that, Britt," Santana shook her head, but she didn't reach into the cart and put them back.

"Well, we can make it a game," I said, twirling around and dancing down the aisle. "You and me versus Quinn and Rachel. We'll see how long the other can last."

"I don't even know how we would keep score," Santana said, lifting the plastic toy out of the cart as she pushed it towards me.

"We don't have to, it'll just be fun," I grinned.

"Whatever," Santana rolled her eyes. "If you can get them to agree to it, I'm game."

"Awesome," I cheered and pulled on the cart to make her go faster. "Let's go get the ammo!"

"You do realize it isn't vegan, right?"

"Oh, I forgot about Rachel's diet." I stopped short in my tracks.

"We'll stop by Trader Joe's," Santana shrugged. "Maybe they make vegan friendly marshmallows."


"See? We had plenty of time," I smiled, leaning in to Santana once she plopped down on the couch next to me. She rolled her eyes just before letting me kiss her softly. She had made some sort of chicken casserole that was baking in the oven and even made some pasta for Rachel. All the while, I spent my time taste-testing what she was making and giving her kissing breaks every few minutes. I thought it was very helpful.

"You are such a distraction," Santana giggled, kissing me back as I grabbed her cheeks. I kept pressing kisses to her lips and then started to smooch all over her face. She grinned and fell back, and I started to tickle her stomach.

"Stop, stop, they're gonna be home any minute," Santana laughed. I kept tickling her.

"Let them," I said boldly.

"G-get off," Santana laughed, rolling off the couch and onto the floor. I scrambled off the couch to keep running my fingers all over her. I somehow ended up straddling her, pinning her arms above her head and dipped down to press down on her lips. I pulled back a little, but still close enough to gaze into her eyes.

"Are you ready to tell them?"

Santana inhaled and I could tell she was holding her breath for a moment. She nodded slowly and gave me a weak smile.

"I am," Santana nodded. "Are you...?"

"Yeah," I smiled. She leaned forward and kissed me soft and slow. I grinned and dragged my fingers up her sides and found her hair, tugging her up a little as I slid my tongue against her lower lip. She made a small sound of protest.

"Britt, seriously, any minute-"

There was a small clicking sound and I shot up. The handle on the front door wiggled and I quickly helped Santana up as we heard Quinn's voice from outside. Santana quickly fixed her hair and I grabbed the remote to turn on the TV as we heard a key scrape against the lock. Santana quickly pulled her arm back to herself instead of wrapping around me like she had instinctively placed it when she sat down next to me. Just in time, too, because Quinn and Rachel bustled in a moment later.

"Hey," Quinn sighed as she dragged her suitcase in. I smiled and wiggled in my seat to tuck my feet beneath me. Santana looked up with an almost bored expression, but the moment we saw Rachel, I think the both of us snapped up a little in surprise. Her brow was creased, hair a little disheveled, and her eyes were red. She fumbled with her suitcase as the door closed on it. Quinn spun around and grabbed the door, but not before Rachel let out a small cry of frustration and tried to kick her bag.

"How was...your flight?" I asked, cautiously glancing at Santana. She shook her head and stood up.

"Fine," Quinn said quietly, taking the suitcase from Rachel and setting it aside. Rachel just stood there, a little frozen and staring at the ground.

"What happened?" Santana said. Rachel glanced up at Santana, and then her lower lip started to quiver and she shook her head. A second later, she threw her arms around Santana and hugged her tightly.

"They broke up," Quinn said quietly.

'They' turned out to be Rachel and her boyfriend, or rather, ex-boyfriend, Finn. Santana managed to pull Rachel over to the couch and we both took turns giving her hugs. Rachel even let go of Santana long enough to cling to me. I held her in my arms while Quinn and Santana moved around to the kitchen, exchanging soft whispers. She had calmed down a bit and sat up once Quinn handed her a mug of tea.

"...I knew it was happening," Rachel mumbled so quietly as she held the mug to her lips. "That he was falling out of love. That we were both falling out of love."

She rolled her eyes, but not the way Santana would roll them. It was the kind of eye roll you did to keep tears from escaping.

"I just thought we would be okay," Rachel sniffled. "After seeing each other again. I missed him so much..."

"Did you guys get in a fight? What happened?" Santana said, brushing Rachel's hair back behind her ear. She was sitting on Rachel's opposite side and Quinn had nestled herself into the recliner. Quinn looked exhausted, but she seemed to be trying holding herself together.

"I... we did," Rachel nodded. "He said I was clinging onto the him from before. That we were growing up and growing apart. That I had to accept that we changed."

"This was after they spent a few nights together," Quinn said frankly. "And yet he neglected to mention that by 'change' he meant 'cheated.'"

Quinn's bluntness didn't exactly help. Rachel let out a soft sob, and Santana hugged her close. She shot Quinn a glare, but Quinn just gave her a tired, apologetic look. There was probably much more to the story than that, but neither Santana or I wanted to press the matter with Rachel starting to blubber up again.

"G-god, I'm so stupid," Rachel cried. "I mean, I know it's hard. A long distance relationship and without sex and everything, but..."

"Rachel, stop it," Santana said firmly. "You're not stupid, and I've told you before. Sex isn't dating."

I was taken aback by that and I think Santana noticed, because her brow furrowed.

"There's more to a relationship than sex," Santana said. "As important as it is, it's not what defines your relationship."

"I thought you meant that you don't need to date someone to have sex," Rachel sniffled, wiping her palm across her cheek. I let out a little snort, and Santana caught my gaze for a second.

"Sure," Santana shrugged. "But when you are dating someone, it shouldn't just be because of sex."

"Finn and I weren't about that," Rachel mumbled. "Not just sex."

"Finn and you were like a broken record, sweetie. One really old, overplayed, bad record. It was painful to watch." Santana sat back a little and frowned at Rachel.

"B-but I liked our songs," Rachel said.

"Eventually, you have to find new songs."

"What?" Rachel murmured. "I don't want to find a new song, Santana, I love Finn."

"I meant that you guys should have been moving forward," Santana frowned. "Even if he hadn't cheated on you, he wasn't making you happy. You wouldn't even talk about him, it hurt you that much."

"I just..." Rachel mumbled and shook her head.

"You're too good for him, Rach," Quinn sighed from the recliner.

"He's just..." Rachel shrugged. "Just my first... everything."

"But he's not going to be your last," I said, trying to be helpful.

"Exactly," Santana nodded. "You'll know when you find the right person. Finn just isn't it."

"I always thought he was," Rachel said, leaning into Santana. I looked up at her and there was a small pang in my chest. It hurt to see Rachel like this, but more so, it hurt to think that someone could make her feel so badly. Someone she cared so much for. Someone she loved.

"I know how to cheer you up," I smiled and jumped up. Not just Rachel - everyone needed cheering up. I scrambled across the room and into the kitchen, grabbing the bag that was resting on the counter.

"Britt, I don't think that's going to help-"

"Catch!" I shouted, tossing one of the plastic toy guns at Quinn. Her eyes widened in surprise as she caught it. I tossed one to Santana and scrambled around to hand Rachel hers.

"A marshmallow gun?" Rachel hiccuped.

"Not just that," I said, digging into the bag and revealing a puffy package. "Santana drove all the way across town to get vegan marshmallows."

Rachel's lips spread into a weak smile.

"You did?" She let out a small laugh as she looked up to Santana. Santana nodded and smiled sheepishly.

"It's not like I care or anything," Santana shrugged. "It just wouldn't be fun if it was only me and Britt."

"Teams," I said. "I chose Santana!"

"You would," Quinn laughed.

"You're in?" Santana asked, raising a brow at Quinn. "This isn't too childish for you?"

"Of course not," Quinn nodded. "Give me a bag."

Santana had bought four packages of marshmallows, enough for each of us to have our own set. We took a few minutes to tear our guns out of their packaging and figure out how the guns worked. They would use compressed air to shoot marshmallows out and I accidentally shot Santana in the nose with the test shot.

"Oops," I said softly. She shook her head and wrinkled her nose at me, but smiled. I had a feeling if it had been Rachel or Quinn that shot her, a battle would have broken out at that instant.

"Team names," Santana said. "What do you think, Britt?"

"Lopierce," I said, quickly.

"Oh, no, that sounds weird," Santana wrinkled her nose.

"You two should be Santittany," Rachel said. Santana tossed the marshmallow I shot her with at Rachel's face.

"That's a terrible name," Santana said. "And you two should think of your own name."

"Bookworms," Quinn said, looking down at the instructions for the guns.

"No, I don't like worms," Rachel wrinkled her nose. "What about Bunnies? Or Shooting Stars?"

"Team Shooting Stars?" Quinn's brow furrowed. "You're really bad names."

"You came up with Team Bookworms," Rachel grunted.

"I liked the mash up names," Quinn said, leaning back to glance at Santana and I.

"That would make you, what, Quinchel?" Santana said.

"That sounds like a drink," I said. "Quinchel, it'll Quinch your thirst."

"Ew," Quinn wrinkled her nose. "And I thought Santittany was bad."

"Well, Raquinn is worse," Santana said. "Bebray would be okay, I suppose."

"No," Rachel said. "I don't want a mash up name."

"I liked Santittany," I said quietly.

"Brittana," Santana said, poking me on the nose. "Definitely sounds cuter."

"Team Brittana," I shouted, waving my gun in the air.

"Can we be Team Streisand?"

"I could be down with that," Quinn nodded.

"We could go with Team Jeremy," I suggested. "He'd make a good shield, don't you think?"

"No, I like Brittana," Santana said. "We used to come up with mash up names for all the kids in glee club."

"Those were couples, though," Rachel giggled. Santana tensed and I glanced up at her. She stared back at me for a moment before looking away and I followed her gaze to the floor.

"Yeah?" Santana laughed nervously. "'Cause Furt was definitely my favorite."

"Santana, don't talk about him," Quinn said, furrowing her brow.

"Whatever," Santana shrugged. She grabbed my wrist and tugged me towards the stairwell.

"Where are you two going?" Quinn said.

"The Great Marshmallow war starts in 3...! 2...! 1...!" Santana shouted as she dragged me up the stairs. I scrambled after her quickly and she held up her gun as she pulled me back against the wall upstairs. Santana looked really hot, even though she wasn't using a real gun. It was almost enough to distract me from my train of thought. Although I thought it was smart of her to find somewhere with only one point of access and a high vantage point, I had other things on my mind.

"Santana, we could have told them-"

"Britt, focus," Santana said, glancing over her shoulder at the stairs. We could hear Rachel whispering to Quinn a little too loud about their plans to try and bait us back down the stairs. Quinn kept shushing her.

"But Santana," I insisted. "It was like the perfect time to tell them."

"Britt," Santana turned and looked at me. "We'll tell them. Just not right now. We gotta focus on cheering Rachel up, okay?" She smiled reassuringly at me, and I felt myself nod. She grinned a little wider and leaned in to peck my lips.

"Good, now cover me," Santana said. She darted towards the stairs and started shooting down at Rachel and Quinn as they approached the stairs. They shrieked and backed off once I started firing too.

"Damn it, Santana!" Quinn squealed.

"You guys are gonna lose!" Santana shouted, scrambling back up the stairs when her gun ran out of marshmallows. I lingered behind a second and then raced back up as Rachel charged up the stairs. Santana managed to reload her gun quick enough that she shot Rachel the moment she was on the second floor. Rachel tried to shoot us, but somehow, even at close range, all of her marshmallows ended up spewing in every direction but us. In fact, I think she shot herself once or twice. Santana grabbed my hand and tugged me down the hall.

"The fort!" Santana cried. We ducked under the Christmas lights and scrambled inside, frantically drawing back the sheets to block outside access. Quinn must have run up after Rachel, because a second later we heard her curse.

"The fuck? You guys made a fort?"

"This is so cute!" Rachel said in awe.

"That's no fair!" Quinn grumbled.

"Suckahs!" Santana said, pulling the sheet back enough to fit the nozzle of her gun through before blasting marshmallows at them. "Reload your gun, Britt."

"Fuck, Santana!" Quinn shouted. She must have bumped against the spiderweb of lights, because they shook against our tent.

"Team Brittana forever!" Santana cried. I giggled as I stuffed marshmallows into my gun.

"Swap," Santana said, handing me her empty gun. I grinned, munching on a marshmallow as I switched guns with her. She paused and leaned in to kiss me. She licked her lips when she drew back and grinned back.

"My hero," I murmured, still chewing on the marshmallow. For vegan, they weren't bad.

"Let us in!" Quinn said, tearing back the sheet. Santana unloaded all the marshmallows in her gun on Quinn as she scrambled back to the back of the tent.

"Defense, Britt! Do something!"

"Rah!" I cried, abandoning my empty gun in place of one purple pillow pet unicorn and smacked Quinn in the face. She grunted and drew back, but Rachel scrambled in underneath my arms while Quinn and I struggled with the pillow.

"Shit, Rachel!" Santana said, holding up her arms defensively as Rachel shot at her.

"Wait," Santana sat up, and looked quizzically at her. "How the fuck did you miss? You are literally a foot away."

"Ah! Santana!" I cried as Quinn overpowered me, shooting me in the head with a marshmallow. I pretended to fall backwards and writhed on the bed in a fake death. I grabbed at Santana's leg as I pulled myself towards her.

"The end...! It's near! The light, Santana, the light!"

"Don't go!" She cried dramatically, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a tight hug. I fake choked and gripped at my throat. Like that made any sense, because I would have totally just been dead on the spot after being shot in the head. But it didn't matter. I collapsed in her arms and stopped moving completely.

"Nooo!" Santana cried, grabbing a handful of marshmallows and tossing them at Quinn and Rachel. Quinn started shooting and hit Santana with several marshmallows and she fell over top of me and pretended to die.

"I'm soooorry!" Santana moaned. "I couldn't protect you...!"

"You two are dorks," Quinn laughed. Santana peaked up at her and tossed another marshmallow at her.

"Hey, you're supposed to be dead," I whispered, nudging her from underneath her with my elbow.

"So are you," she whispered back. I felt her wiggle her fingers around underneath us and I slid my hand towards hers. She linked my pinkie in hers tightly.

"Your fort is so cool!" Rachel said, ignoring everything else entirely.

"Is that your mattress, Brittany?" Quinn said as she laid down, her legs poking out of the end of the bed. Rachel twisted and laid her head down too, grabbing a few of the marshmallows and stuffing one in her mouth.

"I love that it looks like stars," Rachel said, raising her hand to poke at one of the lights. Santana twisted a little and moved. I was glad she did, because I was starting to get really uncomfortable with my body contorted underneath hers. She tugged me up and laid down as best she could, letting me nestle into her and rest my head on her stomach, because it was hard enough to find a comfy position with the four of us plus Jeremy in our fort.

"You would," Santana scoffed.

"Is this all you guys did while we were gone? Make forts and rearrange furniture?" Quinn laughed. I turned my head and looked up at Santana, raising a brow at her, squeezing her pinkie in mine reassuringly. I mouthed a question to her, Now?

"We had work and shit," Santana said, flicking her eyes away from me. She slipped her hand out of mine and sat up a little. "Don't judge, we were having fun."

"It's like camping," Rachel said, still sliding her hands up against the lights. "Inside. For like, a week long slumber party."

"Hah," I let out a small laugh. I might have agreed if we'd only been sleeping the whole time.

"You guys must have had a really great break," Rachel smiled, looking up at us with her head pressed to the mattress. I smiled back and nodded, even though I felt really sad that it was pretty much over.


A/N: I wasn't originally going to include Landslide in the story, because Landslide (I suppose) was about Santana growing to love Brittany over the years and being afraid to take that plunge into new territory with her. But it snuck its way in, literally, because I planned to write the raunchy dance scene that I mentioned later in the chapter instead, but god damn sentimental Santana had to rear her pretty face and start singing about feelings.

Anyway, sorry again for the delay - my beta and I are having a bit of difficulties with our schedules because of both of our finals (go figure, we're both animators), so I know it's been a few days since you were expecting an update. I hope this makes people feel better. I got a few messages on tumblr to update because they wanted cheering up. I hope this cheered you up - I've been plotting the marshmallow war for a while. It ended up not being as exciting as I thought it would be, because the gravity of everything else in the chapter outweighed it, but... :) It was still fun to write.

Songs are:

(For Brittany, opening scene, I suppose): Into the Ocean by Blue October - .com/watch?v=_pIAuwGlbb8

and Landslide. I'm not linking you Landslide, because you should already have it.