Anonymous asked: 9. "Why are you awake right now?"
Santana can't even remember what the fight was about, just that they've both been stressed the past couple weeks and have barely seen each other between work and other commitments and it's been taking a toil on both of their patience.
It was probably something super dumb, Santana laments as she tries to punch the couch cushion beneath her into submission. Santana can count the number of times that they've slept apart since they got married on one hand, and those times were because one of them was out of town for something work related not because some dumb argument blew up on them and Santana was too stubborn to sulk into their bedroom after Brittany had stormed in there earlier.
She hates that about herself, that she has a hard time swallowing her pride sometimes, that she's too stubborn for anyone's good, that she makes everything so much harder for herself; but she's struggled with it her entire life and tonight is no different. Which why she finds herself shivering on the couch under a blanket that smells of mothballs and a dusty pillow she found at the back of the linen closet that she didn't even know they owned.
The couch is somehow so much lumpier than she ever remembers it being, especially since she had no problem falling asleep on it a couple nights ago while she tried to wait up for Brittany after her evening shift. Her nose keeps twitching with the urge to sneeze and every time she breathes in all she can think of is how much she misses the sweet scent coconut-honeysuckle-jasmine of that's always clung to Brittany. Their apartment is freezing out in the living room, so unlike how warm she always becomes curled up in their bed with Brittany, but Santana's so emotionally and physically exhausted that she can't bring herself to push herself up and stumble to the thermostat.
She only spends about an hour dozing fitfully before she senses movement above her and blinks tired eyes open to a tall shadow towering over the couch. Santana swallows thickly as her wife's sweet scent invades her senses, wanting nothing more than to just bury herself in Brittany's embrace and finally fall asleep but unsure if she's even welcome in their bed.
"Why are you awake right now?" Santana mumbles, her quiet voice sounding unbearably loud in the tense darkness of the living room.
"Why aren't you in our bed right now?" Brittany shoots back instantly, but there's no bite to her words, she just sounds sleepy and confused; Santana doesn't need to see her wife's face to know she's pouting.
"I thought—" Santana starts, relaxing instantly and curling towards her wife's body as Brittany perches herself on the edge of the couch, "I mean— You slammed our bedroom door and didn't come back out all evening so I kinda figured I was in the doghouse for the night. Hence, the couch."
Brittany's smile flashes in the dim light of the living room and she shakes her head fondly before leaning down and kissing Santana so deeply and thoroughly that Santana forgets absolutely everything outside of her wife's lips on hers. Despite the urgent movement of Brittany's lips, her hands are gentle and tender as they softly map across Santana's neck and collarbone and shoulders. Santana sighs against Brittany's mouth and Brittany takes that as invitation to slip her tongue past Santana's lips. Santana's hands find Brittany's hips and tugs insistently at her until Brittany is settling herself over Santana, the blanket draped over Santana preventing Santana from feeling the comforting press of Brittany's bare legs to her own.
Brittany's lips soften and gentle against hers until she's pressing chaste little butterfly kisses to Santana's mouth, pressing their foreheads together as she pulls back a little. Even in the unfamiliar shadows of their living room at night, Brittany's eyes are still the most beautiful shade of blue Santana has ever seen in her life. "Hi," Santana murmurs.
Brittany grins widely and shakes her head a little, nudging their noses together. "Hey," she whispers. "You're the silliest person in the world."
"Hey!" Santana protests, pretending she's insulted even though she's actually charmed.
Brittany kisses Santana to pacify her, the smile pressed against Santana's lips a sign that Brittany sees right through Santana's façade. "I was laying there waiting for you to come to bed so I could actually fall asleep and you were out here being stubborn the entire time," Brittany says around a fond smile, "Silly."
Santana just shakes her head and concedes Brittany's point; ever since they had their first sleepover back when they were just kids, she's always slept better when Brittany was right beside her. Now that they've been married for a couple years and in love for even longer, she doesn't even know why she even tries to fall asleep without her wife right beside her. "I'm sorry I blew up," Santana says sincerely, "I don't even know why I got so angry about something so dumb and trivial."
"We've both been so stressed and tired lately and it's just been building for a while," Brittany soothes, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have stormed off like that either."
Santana kisses Brittany softly, slipping her hands under Brittany's shirt to seek the comfort her wife's warm skin always provides. Brittany shifts around a little until she can slide under the blanket and tug Santana into her arms, both of them sighing as they settle into the suddenly comfortable couch and grow instantly sleepy with the air cleared between them.
"I think," Brittany drawls, "That even if you think I don't want to see you, you should still come to bed anyways because otherwise I won't be able to fall asleep and then we'll both just be angry and grouchy in the morning."
"A genius idea, Britt-Britt," Santana mumbles, and then she's fast asleep against Brittany's shoulder. Brittany smiles adoringly and presses a gentle kiss to Santana's forehead before quickly following suit.
It's Brittany's laughter that wakes her up the next morning. Santana's sprawled over Brittany, soaking up the heat her wife always emits, like a cat sunning itself on a warm rock. Despite the blanket tangled around their hips and the knot she can feel in her neck, Santana is as warm and comfortable as she's ever been.
"What are you laughing about?" Santana mumbles, dragging herself up Brittany's body until she can steal half of the pillow Brittany's head is on, blonde hair tickling her check. The pillow still smells a little stale and dusty, but Brittany's coconut-honeysuckle-jasmine smell has almost completely masked it and Santana indulges herself in the scent with a deep breath of the best smell in the world.
Brittany's eyes are soft and warm and she carefully brushes Santana's messy hair back from her face. "Nothing," she says, shaking her head fondly before giving Santana a quick good morning kiss, "It's just— We're really bad at this whole arguing thing."
Santana's laughter is muffled by Brittany's lips pressing against hers. "We really are," Santana mumbles, tightening her arms around Brittany and sighing against her mouth, "But I love it that way."
Brittany just kisses her wholehearted agreement against Santana's lips.