Argh! guys I am so sorry this took me so long, I just haven't really been feeling up to it lately and then every time I went to write it sounded like crap so I kept deleting it and then when I finally went to update, my laptop being the piece of shit it is, decided to delete it again... I know excuses excuses I'm sorry, but here it is! I didn't read it through because I wanted to get this up to you as fast as I could so any mistakes are all mine.
one more chapter after this guys and maybe an epilogue but that's up to you! would you guys like a sequel that would be update maybe once a month (maybe) or an epilogue that would give you answers to the huge cliff hanger I have planned for the next chapter straight away? Please PM me or review with your thoughts and I'll see what I can do.
so with that, please enjoy and I love you all!
Chapter 35
She knew there was a smile on her face before she'd even fully woken up, it had probably been there whilst she slept and while Santana stared at her. Brittany had woken once or twice in the middle of the night still very much wrapped up in Santana's arms with deep brown orbs staring down at her. Every now and then they would whisper a soft 'I love you' before they drifted off into sleep once again. A warm fuzzy feeling had been buzzing in Brittany's chest ever since Santana had kissed her outside the night before and it showed no signs of dying down, the truth was she didn't want it to, it made her feel warm and happy and she knew it was because the aching space that had been formed when Santana had left had now been replaced by love now that she was back and they were in love again.
Brittany reached out towards Santana's side of the bed when she realised they weren't tangled together anymore but she froze when her hand was met with cold bed sheets. Panic shot through her body and she jolted into an upright position. The thought of Santana leaving her again was now strong in the front of her mind. Her eyes grew wide when there was no sign of Santana in her room and soon enough tears began to from and she began to choke out sobs. "San? Santana?" she said through heavy gasps. Everything was silent and Brittany was just about to throw herself out of the bed and go on a mad man hunt for the woman when she heard the sound of bare feet padding up the wooden steps towards her. Brittany collapsed with relief when she saw Santana standing there with worried eyes, her body clad in only a long white sleep shirt and some bright pink underwear that could be clearly seen through the shirt.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Santana walked over to the bed and climbed on to sit with her girlfriend. She didn't know why the blonde was crying and panic rose in her chest when the thought of Brittany being hurt or maybe changing her mind formed in her head. She found her own eyes begin to flood with tears and frantically wiped at them before she reached out to cup the blonde's cheeks. "Britt-Britt?" she urged when Brittany didn't say anything. Santana straddled the woman's hips and stared down into cloudy blue eyes.
"I… I thought you'd left me… again." She sniffed out when a minute passed of the two of them just staring at each other. The pools of tears escaped Brittany's eyes and poured down her cheeks, she tried to wipe them away but they were only replaced seconds later by another stream of salty water. "Please don't leave me again." she sobbed into Santana's chest as she clung tightly at the fabric of her shirt, it felt weird being in this position with the Latina after a year without her.
Santana smiled sadly into blonde locks, it hurt to hear Brittany say those words but she knew it was going to take a long time for the other woman to be able to trust her again, after all Santana just up and abandoned everything she ever loved in the space of a few minutes. It was understandable that Brittany would be scared of losing her again.
But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
"I'm never leaving you again." Santana stated surely, she lifted the blonde's chin up so she could see her eyes and almost gasped at the intensity of the blue orbs staring back at her. "Never." She said finally and kissed the blonde lovingly on the lips but when she pulled away she was met with sad eyes. "Do you believe me?"
Brittany could hear the panic in Santana's voice and all she wanted to do was kiss away the pained look on her face and tell her that she did believe her. But did she? Did she believe that Santana was going to stay with her for the rest of their lives? It was a pretty big commitment to make so early on in their lives, she wanted to believe that Santana would stay with her until they day she died but she didn't know if she could, not after everything they had gone through this past year.
Maybe it would take some time but she knew things would get better, she knew she would be able to trust Santana again.
"You were gone for a year." She said barely above a whisper but Santana heard it clearly and she flinched at the pain in Brittany's voice. "We were so in love." Blue eyes closed so she didn't have to watch the tears fall from Santana's. "I'd thought I'd lost you when we rushed you to that hospital, when you'd locked that bathroom door and we couldn't get in to help you. I'd never been so scared in my life." She choked back a sob but her grip tightened on the Latina's shirt. "And then you woke up and I swear to god I thought I was dreaming because the doctors told us to prepare for the worst."
Santana stayed silent as Brittany spoke, the pain in her chest intensified by the second as her words sunk in deeper and deeper until they buried into her heart.
"I was so happy and I never wanted to let you hurt again but then you were gone." This time a sob did break through her lips and she ducked her head into the crook of Santana's neck and breathed her in. Everything seemed so knew yet so familiar and it was all too much for Brittany so she pulled away. "I didn't know what had happened, I thought I'd done something wrong and you didn't want to be with me anymore." She wiped away her tears and finally looked back into Santana's eyes. "You just cut off all contact, I couldn't call, text or even email you. I didn't even know if you were dead or alive." Santana flinched at the harshness of Brittany's words. "But what hurt most is that you didn't even say goodbye."
Santana didn't know what to say, she'd never really spoken to Brittany about this into this much detail and it hurt to hear how much she'd hurt her. "Brittany, I…" she trailed off because 'sorry' just wasn't good enough, 'sorry' would never be good enough, it wouldn't never heal the pain she'd caused and it would never make up for everything she had ruined.
Only she could fix this.
"I will do everything in my power to prove to you that I will never leave you again. I can't survive without you in my life, Brittany. I love you so much." Santana's hands cupped Brittany's cheeks as she stared deeply into swirls of blue and silver.
Brittany believed that Santana thought what she was saying was true but she didn't know if Santana could stand by her promises; after all, she had promised the same thing just over a year ago and look what happened. But instead of calling the Latina out on her promise, Brittany just nodded and sunk her head down into Santana's chest. The blonde would learn how to trust her again, she was sure of it.
"We can make this work." Santana whispered and Brittany kissed the soft skin of the woman's chest in response. "Everything's going to be fine." And this time Brittany completely believed her. She believed that as long as they tried, everything would be okay; they would be happy and have the perfect life they'd always dreamed of.
Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's waist and pulled her down so that they were lying tangled with each other on the bed. Santana stared down into silver swirls mixed with blue; she could feel herself falling even more madly in love with this woman and she knew that she could never leave her again even if she wanted too. She decided to take a risk and closed the distance between them, their lips met and sparks erupted all over her body. Brittany didn't pull away and trailed the tips of her fingers up to Santana's hair to tangle in her hair.
It was all Brittany ever wanted, to feel loved again, to be in love with this woman. And now that she finally had it back she almost couldn't believe it.
"What're you thinking about?" Santana mumbled against pink lips. "The cogs turning in your head are making my feet hurt." Brittany felt herself chuckled at the woman's words.
"I didn't thank you." Their lips were still grazing against each other as they talked but Santana pulled away fully so she could see Brittany face.
"What for?" she asked with a dip of her brow.
"Coming back when I was ready to break." She whispered and ducked her head to avoid Santana's soft eyes.
"Shush. I'm here now, and I'm here to stay." She kissed Brittany's temple and stroked her hands down the woman's side lovingly. "I promise." Before Brittany had a chance to reply the sound of something hitting the kitchen floor sounded from downstairs and the couple's heads shot up in surprise. Santana's brown furrowed in confusion and Brittany tilted hers to the side like an adorable puppy. The Latina would have said as much were it not for another loud crash followed by a muffled squeak. "What the hell is going on?" Santana reluctantly shuffled off of the bed and threw Brittany some sweat pants and her old cheerios hoodie.
"Do you think a zombie has broken in…?" Brittany whispered as she pulled the hood up over her head and defensively wrapped her arms around her body.
"Don't worry, Britt." Santana rubbed her hand over the blonde's back reassuringly and led her down the stairs and towards the kitchen. The Latina revelled in the feeling of Brittany clutching onto the back of her shirt as the moved closer to the kitchen. Santana's eyes roamed around her home to find Quinn and Rachel's bed empty but chose not to say anything to Brittany because she was enjoying the closeness too much. "Oh. Jesus. Christ." Santana gasped and quickly spun round to push Brittany away from the kitchen so that she wouldn't have to witness the mind scarring sight that would be imprinted on her own for the rest of her life.
"What happened? Has the zombie got Q and Rachel?" Brittany's eyes were wide and frantic and Santana was sure her own face had turned green.
"No, there's no zombies." The Latina mumbled out, she stared blankly at where they had just been stood.
"Santana, I am so sorry." Rachel's high pitched voice sounded from across the room as she dragged an embarrassed and dishevelled looking Quinn behind her. "It kind of just got out of hand…" she trailed off when Santana raised her hand in the air to silence the woman.
"You two realise that I am going to need therapy for the rest of my life…?" Santana glared at the couple and pulled Brittany towards the sofa to sit down. Quinn stayed quiet and Rachel just ducked her head. "I can't believe I just caught you fucking on my kitchen worktop!" she threw her arms in the air, Brittany's eyes grew wide with shock and the slightest of smirks formed on Quinn's face. "Oh, you think this is funny do you? How would you feel if me and Brittany did that on the place where you preparer your food or what about where you brush your teeth?" the smirk dropped from her face and she at least had the decency to look guilty. Quinn thought that Santana was about to go into cardiac arrest or some sort of epileptic fit, she knew this wasn't healthy for her heart and it seemed that the Latina's face was getting redder and redder.
"How about where you sleep or work?" Santana's heart was racing but she didn't mean to get so angry with the two women, she was in too much shock to control herself but when she felt long pale fingers wrap around her own she felt herself relax and the beating of her heart calmed. She sunk back into the sofa with a sigh and let Brittany wrap her arms around her body.
"We're sorry…" Quinn started but she stopped when Santana held up her hand again to silence her.
"It's okay." she shook her head, stood up and began to walk towards the kitchen where she was about to spray every surface with a pretty strong disinfectant. She could feel the three women's eyes on the back of her head and her own smirk formed on her face. "You better give me a number for a decent therapist though… I don't want to see you two in that position ever again."
There was a gasp from the living room and she immediately knew it was Rachel, probably over exaggerating her shock. She shook her head and opened the cupboard where Dylan insisted on keeping over twenty bottles of bleach and other cleaning products. She rolled her eyes, he could be just as bad as Kurt and Rachel put together some times.
Quinn decided to make breakfast, much to Santana's displeasure. She hated people cooking in her kitchen and they knew it, they knew how pissed the Latina would get or controlling and possessive. It was quite amusing to watch if you weren't the one being screamed at. The poor blonde was in the position right now but all she did was make a bigger mess just to irritate the woman further. "Stop. Stop that right now, you're ruining my kitchen! Quinn!" She screamed when the blonde dropped a box of eggs on the floor.
Brittany and Rachel were in stitches on the floor, tears were flowing freely from their eyes and the sound of laughter filled the room. Santana paused in her rant to Quinn and turned to face the blonde on the floor, a smile quickly graced her lips at the sight. It had been so long since she had last heard that sound and all she wanted to do in that moment was hold the woman and sob with happiness. Her heart warmed when Brittany's eyes met hers and the laughter didn't stop. She crouched down and cupped the blonde's cheek in her hand, Brittany's laughter trailed off as Santana inched closer and closer until she stopped less than a millimetre away from her lips. She was so close and she could smell the coffee on the blonde's lips, she watched as Brittany's eyes drifted shut and she closed the distance between them. It felt so right and she finally felt alive again after so long of feeling like nothing.
"We've got two hours before Britt and Rachel come back. Hurry up." Santana said as she ushered Quinn into the hot s sweaty shop.
"Thanks for coming with me." the blonde whispered, they looked down into the display case at the diamonds that sparkled up at them. Santana shrugged like it was no big deal but all she wanted to do was scream with happiness and hug her best friend until she turned pink. She was proud of where they were all today, it seemed like they'd only just left high school, but now look at them, she was working at a pretty popular photography studio, Rachel was graduating from college, Brittany was doing well with her dancing career and Quinn was about to propose the woman she had spent most of her high school life torturing.
"What about this one?" Quinn pointed at a silver ring towards the back, I tiny diamond shone up at her but Santana frowned.
"If you want Berry to say yes, you're going to have to get her a bigger rock than that." She smirked up at Quinn who nodded in agreement before she moved over to the other side of the room.
"What about this one?" her face was pressed up against the glass of the display case which caused it to fog up every time she exhaled. Santana chuckled at the woman as she strolled over taking her time much to Quinn's annoyance who turned around and glared at the woman.
"Whoa, calm yo tits, Q." Santana mused in the best ghetto voice she could do as she finally reached the glass cabinet and followed Quinn's pointing finger. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped and all she could feel inside her chest was pride for the other woman. "It's perfect." But Santana couldn't keep her eyes on the ring for too long, her own eyes were already wandering back around the room in search for something that would suit a certain blonde…
Brittany pulled Rachel into the huge studio that she had spent over an hour talking to Kristen about on the drive over there. "Oh…" Rachel gasped as they stared up at the glass ceilings and walls. "This is amazing."
"Yeah…" was all Brittany could manage to stutter out. She didn't know how she felt right now, there were so many emotions racing through her body that it was impossible to pick out a single one.
"I think you've hit the jackpot here, Brittany." Brittany ignored the diva as the trailed her hands along the glass of the mirror. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched the smile form on her own face because she knew Rachel was right, not only with this place but also with getting the love of her life back.
Suddenly, the door to the studio swung open and in walked the woman Brittany not only swore she would never talk to again but also see again. The brunette woman had a huge shit eating grin on her face that Brittany wanted to slap off. "Good afternoon, ladies." Brittany rolled her eyes but Rachel returned the greeting with a smile.
"Kristen." The diva said and shook the woman's hand. They moved over to a desk that sat in the corner of the room and Kristen pulled out a stack of documents from her handbag.
"It's nice to see you guy's again." she said and pushed the papers towards Brittany when no one answered. "What made you want to manage the studio here instead of in New York?"
Brittany shrugged and scribbled her signature at the bottom of the contract.
"Not that I don't mind moving back to New York or anything. I kind of miss the big city you know? Are you sure you won't?" Brittany's hand hesitated for a moment above the paper as she thought about the question for a few seconds before she shook her head and smiled.
"I'm sure. I'm happy here, I'm happy with, San and I know that no matter where we are nothing else will matter as long as we're together." she finished surely, there was no doubt in her mind that she would regret staying here with Santana.
Kristen made a gaging noise and pulled the contract back into her bag. "Well isn't that just lovely…" she said coldly and all Brittany could do was shoot daggers into the back of the woman's head. "Have fun with your own studio." She waved the two women off lazily as she left the building.
"Wow, she's a bitch."
"Total bitch."
Santana watched as Quinn handed over her card to the woman behind the counter as she paid for the ring; a huge smile was plastered on her face and shone brightly through her eyes. "So, what now?" Santana asked as they headed out of the shop and back to the Latina's car. She couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the piece of jewellery that had gotten her attention ten minutes earlier.
"Now? Now I take her out for a nice romantic meal, pop the question and take her back to the hotel…" she trailed off with a goofy smile and slightly glossy eyes.
"Hotel?" Santana raised her eyebrow in confusion.
Quinn turned round with a devilish smirk plastered to her face. "Yes, hotel. You see, Rachel and I prefer to keep the sexual part of our relationship private, I know that might shock you considering the fact that you have a lack of that," she paused and shot the Latina a look as they climbed into the car. Santana knew she was talking about Brittany and her having sex whilst her and Rachel were in the apartment. "I have everything planned out so that there will be no interruptions." All Santana could do was nod in reply, she couldn't speak because she knew her voice would be shaking. She was already struggling to hold back the tears because the thought of her best friend being engaged by the end of the night was really getting to her. Quinn must have noticed Santana's uncharacteristic silence because she turned in her seat so she could face the Latina with a curious look. That look quickly turned to amusement however, when she saw the deep brown orbs beginning to water. "Oh hell no, Lopez. Please tell me you're not about to start crying." She bit back a laugh at the sight.
"N-no!" Santana tried to defend herself through a cracked voice. "I don't cry." She lied and Quinn raised a neatly shaped brow because everyone knew that Santana cried, that was all she seemed to do now.
"It's okay to get all emotional over my happiness, you're allowed to be happy for me!" the blonde teased and nudged Santana's leg.
"Shut it, Fabrey." Santana snapped as she let a tear run down her cheek. She knew it was no use trying to hide it from her so she didn't bother wiping it away. No one spoke for the rest of the car ride back to Santana's apartment, Quinn hurled herself out of the car and raced towards the elevator before screaming at the Latina to hurry up so she could help her pick out something to wear. Santana quickly pulled out her phone to call the shop they had just left to make sure everything was reserved for her before she fired off a quick text to her girlfriend.
Brittany smirked down at the text on her phone; she tilted it to the side so that Rachel couldn't read what it said.
Hey, Britt-Britt how's shopping with the diva? ;) I hope you're not having too much fun without me! Quinn is taking Rachel out to some swanky restaurant tonight so make sure she doesn't buy anything that will make her look like a tramp. I love you baby.
She was just about to reply when another text came through.
By the way, how does a picnic on the beach sound? Then later we can cross off the last couple of things on my list? ;) have fun xx
Brittany tried not to smirk too much at the text, she knew what was left to cross off on Santana's list and she couldn't wait. She began to chew on her bottom lips as her thoughts raced through her mind and she led Rachel into the shop.
Q's going to pick Berry up so I'll get you whenever you're ready. Xx
Brittany pretended to gag at the choice of dress the brunette held up in front of her. "Put it down before you blind me." she snickered at the exasperated look Rachel gave her. "What? You're fashion sense had gotten batter since we left Lima but it isn't that good." The blonde winked and batted the brunette on the shoulder.
"I find that very offensive, Brittany." Rachel frowned and looked down at the outfit she was wearing. "What's wrong with this?" she waved her hand to gesture to the black leggings and grey sweater she was wearing with a faded picture of what looked to be a caracal horse. Brittany sent her a blank look but chose not to dignify the question with an answer.
"Just keep looking, Rach. Q's taking you out tonight so we need to get you a sexy dress." Brittany smirked at the almost horrified look Rachel gave her as she pulled out her phone to reply to Santana.
We r going to b here 4 ever if Rachel keeps this up :P
"Where's she taking me? I can't wear something sexy, what if she takes me rock climbing or hunting? I will need something practical!" Brittany rolled her eyes at Rachel's ridiculous excuse.
"Why would Quinn take you rock climbing?" she deadpanned before another thought crossed her mind. "Why the hell would she take you hunting? You're vegan!" For the first time ever, Brittany felt like she was smarter than Rachel Smart-Ass Berry. "Don't be silly, Rachel. Go find a dress now." She ordered.
She thinks Q's going 2 take her hunting. Btw I have some amazing news 4 u! C u l8r. Love you xxx
Santana smirked down at the text, she had long since given up on helping Quinn pick out a dress. That woman was infuriating sometimes. She stared down at the mess of her bedroom floor; a mixture of Quinn's and her own dresses were sprawled across every flat surface there was that was including her own body. She was sure that she would be completely covered by dresses if she could be bothered to even look up from her phone.
There was a huge Cheshire cat like grin covering her face and she didn't bother to hide it. It had been so long since she had been this happy to read a text, her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and her cheeks were flushed.
Brittany did crazy things to her sometimes.
"Whoa! What's wrong with your face?" Quinn rushed over comically clad in only her underwear and a sock and held her hands to the Latina's cheeks.
Santana frowned and pushed her away. "What're you talking about?" she reached up with her own hands to wipe at her face. Had she missed her mouth when she was eating or something?
"That!" the blonde jabbed Santana's lips then her cheeks where her dimples were on full show. "Is that what I think it is?" Santana arched her eyebrow in confusion. "Is Santana Lopez blushing and smiling like a complete idiot?" the blonde burst out into a fit of giggles when Santana slapped her away angrily.
"Go away you freak." She muttered.
"Nice insult." Quinn said sarcastically. "Really hurt my feelings." The blonde feigned hurt as she placed a hand on top of her heart and sauntered back into the Latina's walk in closet. "What're you smiling at anyway?" she called back.
Santana read out the texts and she knew that Quinn was cooing from where she was buried head first into a pile of dresses. "This one!" she held up a baby blue dress in her hands triumphantly along with some matching heels.
"Okay! Hurry up and get ready so I can do your hair." Santana ushered the blonde into the bathroom as she hauled her curling iron behind her.
"I can do it myself." Quinn protested with a pout.
"Yes, but then you'd look like you'd just been dragged through a gutter by your feet."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Don't argue with me, Q. You know I could take you out no problem. Even with this dodgy ticker of mine."
"Whatever." Santana smirked at Quinn's lack of response and turned on the curlers.
After fifteen minutes or so Santana was starting to worry that she had actually upset Quinn, she hadn't meant to or anything like that, it was just in her nature – and Quinn's too – to bicker and argue with each other. Usually it was all playful but she was beginning to wonder if maybe she had taken it a step too far. Just when her mouth was about to open and an apology was close to flowing off of her tongue, Quinn broke the silence.
"Do you know what you're going to do about B then?" Quinn looked up in the mirror to meat Santana's gaze.
"Um…" it took the Latina a few seconds to realise what the blonde was talking about. "Oh, yeah I was going to…" she trailed off into an incoherent mumble that Quinn could decipher.
"What?"
"I'm going to ask her to move in with me tonight." Quinn's jaw dropped.
"This soon? I mean, I know you two have already loved with each other but… but…" Quinn stuttered as she struggled to find the correct words without insulting the Latina, her hand waved around in front of her like it would help. "You've just gotten back together. The pair of you has been depressed for like a year! Are you ready for this?" they'd spoken about this briefly over the past week but Quinn didn't think Santana would ask Brittany this soon, she thought that they would at least give long distance a go first. "I don't think either of you could cope with another break up."
Santana nodded in agreement at that last observation but she couldn't help but think that the blonde could be more wrong. "I think we'll be okay this time. We're ten times stronger, more mature and one hundred times more in love." She smiled at Quinn in the mirror before she spilled the beans on what she'd done at the jewellery shop; she resisted the urge to chuckle at the look on the blonde's face. Shock, happiness, excitement and more shock before Quinn started screaming at the top of her lungs.
Brittany climbed into the front passenger seat of Santana's car as they dropped the other couple off at a very pricy looking restaurant later that afternoon. The sun was low in the sky and the air was getting chilly but Brittany and Santana didn't notice any of their surroundings because their hands were firmly clasped together, their eyes were locked and the smiles on their faces expressed everything they were feeling in that moment.
"I missed you." Santana's voice was barely above a whisper as she leant across the dashboard to crash her lips against Brittany's.
"We were only… apart for… a three hours." The blonde mumbled against full lips in between kisses. A deep chuckle rose up Santana throat as she wound her fingers into Brittany's hair.
"Three hours is a life time if I'm not with you." Santana found herself being lifted over the dashboard to straddle the blonde's thighs. Brittany had flushed a deep red at the Latina's words and the only way she knew how to hide her blush was to deepen the kiss. Santana squeaked in surprise but let Brittany lead as the blonde hungrily kissed down caramel skin to her collar bone where she began to nip and suck at her skin. "Ugh, Brittany…" Santana moaned as her hips bucked uncontrollably into the blonde's stomach, she needed friction to help with the throb that had begun to pulse in time with her heartbeat between her thighs.
It always amazed Santana how fast Brittany could affect her. One glimpse at the Latina would be reduced to a molten pile of liquid, a simple graze would cause her knees to give way and a kiss could send her tumbling over the edge in a matter of milliseconds. Sometimes she thought Brittany might have some sort of super human powers but then she would realise it was just because she was so head over heels in love with the blonde and there was nothing she could do about it.
But before things could move any further Brittany pulled away with a smug grin plastered to her face. "What about this picnic then?" She winked up at a flustered Santana and pushed her back into her seat. The Latina let out a frustrated huff before she turned the keys in the ignition and drove towards the beach.
"You drive me crazy sometime." Santana mumbled when Brittany placed her hand on her thigh and began to rub small circles. "And if you keep doing that I'm going to crash or something." Brittany let out an adorable giggle before she pulled away and settled into her seat fully.
"So, why are we having a picnic then?"
"Am I not allowed to treat my girlfriend?" Santana asked sweetly with an equally sweet smile as she batted her eyelashes.
"Of course you are but are you sure there isn't another reason behind this?" Santana thought about the question for a moment, there really wasn't any other reason. She just wanted to spend time with Brittany… and ask her to move in with her. She wanted everything to feel special; she wanted to show Brittany how serious she was.
"Nope, no other reason." Santana stated simply before she pulled up along the sidewalk and climbed out of the car. She ran around to the other side and opened the door for the blonde with an outstretched hand for the woman to take.
"Okay, well I have some pretty exciting news of my own." Brittany winked as she sauntered off towards the beach leaving Santana alone with her thoughts and the picnic basket.
"Quinn, this is beautiful…" Rachel trailed off as her eyes wandered around the restaurant they had just entered.
Quinn's eyes were glued to Rachel, she didn't care what this place looked like because the only thing that she could focus on was her girlfriend and how beautiful she looked especially in the short white dress Brittany and her had bought earlier that day. She latched her hands together in front of her waist to keep herself from doing something embarrassing. "You look beautiful." Quinn whispered but it was loud enough for the diva to hear.
Chocolate brown orbs flickered to meet bright hazel and Rachel's cheeks flushed a deep red at the sincerity of Quinn's words. "As do you, Quinn." She cooed sweetly, she reached up on tiptoes to plant a kiss on her girlfriend's lips. "I love you."
It was Quinn's turn to blush but she hid it well as she led Rachel over to the table she had reserved for tonight, it was near the back so it was private enough for what she had planned but not completely out of the way so Rachel would miss out on the attention she loved so much. "I love you." Her lips grazed the shell of Rachel's ear and a smug grin formed on her face when she saw the way the diva shivered at the contact. Quinn pulled out the chair for Rachel to sit in before she took her own seat.
It wasn't until then that she realised how furiously her heart was racing, her hands were trembling and she could feel cold sweat on the back of her neck and thighs. What if she says no? What if she breaks up with me? Oh god, what if she actually says yes? Quinn's eyes widened at her thoughts she hadn't fully thought this through, she hadn't thought about how this could affect their relationship in the long run and she hadn't realised how scared she was that Rachel would actually say yes. It wasn't that she didn't want to marry the brunette because hell did she want to, it was all she had thought about since the first time she had met the annoying diva – not that she would tell anyone that – but she was scared that things would get serious, they would have a family and then she would ruin everything and break Rachel's heart. Quinn had seen how broken Santana and Brittany had been and she didn't think she could cope like they did, she wasn't strong enough, maybe Rachel was but she would never do anything intentionally to hurt her.
"Quinn, Are you okay?" Rachel reached across the table and removed the hands that were covering her girlfriends beautiful face to reveal a pale complexion, hazy eyes and a fine layer of sweat on her forehead. "Are you ill? Do you want to leave?" Rachel asked panicked. She didn't want Quinn to sit through a dinner when she was ill.
"No, I'm fine." Quinn smiled sweetly at her girlfriends worry. "I just want to sit and have a nice romantic dinner with you." She laced her fingers with Rachel's and gave her hand a soft squeeze for reassurance. Rachel nodded before she looked back down at her menu.
"Okay, I can't take it anymore. Tell me." Santana placed the empty bottle back into the bag and lay down so her head was in Brittany's lap. Her bare feet were resting on the sand just inches away from the surf, she air was still warm but the sun was minutes away from setting so she let Brittany pull the blanket up over them.
"You have absolutely no patience." Brittany giggled, her fingers racked through dark locks while the other hand was linked with one of Santana's.
"One of the reasons you love me." Santana shrugged with a cocky grin.
"One of the many, many reasons." Brittany nodded in agreement; she blushed at the adoring look Santana sent her. "Are you sure you want me to tell you now?" the blonde asked seriously, she loved the way Santana gulped and then nodded. Maybe she was being mean teasing the Latina like this but she couldn't help it. "Do you want the good news first or the bad news?"
Santana shot up into an upright position. "The bad news…" she couldn't tell if Brittany was teasing her or not, the blonde had gotten too good at this. Had something seriously bad happened? Was it something to do with Brittany's parents? Was Brittany ill? That final thought made Santana feel sick to the stomach and her hands reached out to take Brittany's.
"Okay, well I'm going to have to sell the apartment in New York."
Santana's jaw dropped, there was so many emotions racing through her, happiness because Brittany wasn't ill, shock because they'd loved that place when they first moved in and then confusion because why? Why would Brittany sell their apartment? Well, not theirs anymore… "Why?" her voice came out horse but she didn't care.
"Well that's the good news…" Brittany trailed off suddenly feeling very nervous. This was where things got hard, she could either scare Santana off, make things really awkward or everything could turn out great. "Um well, you know how Kristen was going to be opening that new dance studio over here…?" at that woman's name both Brittany and Santana's thoughts turned bitter at so many different memories. "Well Rachel and I called her the other day and well we both decided that Kristen is better off in New York and well I'm better off over here…"
A huge shit eating grin split Santana's face when she realised where Brittany was going with this. Her heart grew in size and she had to clap her mouth shut to keep herself from squealing like a six year old because Santana Lopez doesn't squeal…
"So I signed the contract today." She pulled out a few sheets of paper from her back pocket and held them up like the Latina needed proof. "Santana, I've got my own dance studio." The smile that formed on Brittany's face brought tears to Santana's eyes. She loved that smile. She loved how happy Brittany looked. She loved that Brittany wouldn't have to go back to New York. But most of all she just love Brittany.
It was then that Santana unclamped her mouth and that embarrassingly loud squeal let itself out as she threw herself at the blonde.
"So that means I'll be moving here, but I'll have to go back tomorrow with Quinn and Rachel to sort things out you know? Get all my things and bring them back to be with you..." Brittany paused when she realised what she'd implied. "I mean, I can find my own place, you could help me look. Or I could I don't know, I… I…" she began to stutter when she realised Santana was staring at her. "What are you looking at me like that for?" Brittany asked nervously.
"I wanted to talk to you tonight about something important." Brittany's heart stopped and her stomach dropped. Oh god, she's going to tell me she doesn't want me here… "I was going to ask you to move in with me, I don't want to be apart from you ever again, Brittany… I want to settle down with you, I want to have a home filled with little you's and maybe like one little me because as much as I love myself I know I'm a bitch and I don't know what would happen if there was more than two of me… so all the little you'd can keep the little me from trouble and we can get married and just be happy. Or we don't even have to have any of that because I'd be happy just with you." She laughed nervously when she realised she'd been rambling for a good thirty seconds and Brittany was smiling at her adorably. "Yeah… just you and I would make me the happiest person on this planet."
"You know what I think of that?" Brittany leaned forward and cupped Santana's cheeks in her hands. "I think that sounds perfect and I would love to live with you and have a bunch of mini me's and you's."
"Yeah?" Santana closed the distance and let their lips meet in a sweet kiss.
"Yeah." Brittany pushed Santana back down onto the blanket and they both began to get lost in between kisses and 'I love you's'. Never in a million years had Santana been this happy. Soon Quinn and Rachel would be moving over here too and things could go back to how they were, maybe they would change but she knew everything would be okay; everything would be perfect as long as she had the people she loved around her.
"Quinn, what's wrong? You've been acting weird all night." Rachel wiped her mouth with her napkin and then placed it down on her now empty plate. The blonde looked up from her half eaten food nervously and attempted a smile.
"Nothing, sweaty. I'm… fine." She was a terrible liar and Rachel could see right through it. She knew the diva wouldn't stop until she got the answer she wanted but she'd already planned it out, she was going to wait until after desert to do it… "Nothing's wrong." She said again this time with even less certainty.
"Lucy Quinn Fabrey. You tell me what's wrong right now." Rachel demanded with an adorable stomp of her foot.
"You're perfect you know that?" Quinn whispered in awe of her girlfriend and hopefully future fiancé. "And don't call me Lucy." The corner of her mouth curled up into a smile and for the first time all night her nerves were gone, everything seemed clear and she knew this was the right time. "Okay…" She let her shoulders relax and she reached into her purse to pull out a red velvet box.
A sharp inhale and a gasp came from the opposite side of the table and Quinn looked up at Rachel whose eyes were wider than golf balls, her hand was covering her mouth and tears were beginning to form. The blonde stood from her seat and walked round the table towards Rachel before she got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal the most beautiful ring Rachel had ever seen in her life.
"Rachel Barbra Berry," she could feel a dozen eyes on the back of her head and suddenly all of those nerves were back. She gulped and did her best to calm her racing heart because she knew how Rachel loved attention and she knew how she loved everything romantic. "You're the most annoyingly perfect human being I have ever met; you're amazingly talented and unbelievably beautiful and ever since the first day I laid eyes on you – walking down that corridor with your ridiculously short skirts, knee high socks and knitted sweater - I knew I just had to have you."
Quinn's voice was shaking with nerves, her hands were trembling and the box she was holding was bouncing around all over the place. Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing, sure they'd talked about getting married but she didn't think that would happen until way into the future.
"I used to be that bitchy cheerleader that would spend her day making others day's hell including yours and for that I am so deeply sorry. But the day I started listening to my feelings instead of closing them behind those walls was the day you changed me for the better, you still are because my feelings keep on growling and will never stop." Quinn reached up and wiped away the tears that were dripping from Rachel's jaw. "So, Rachel Barbra Berry, I will spend the rest of my life loving you and making you happy, I'll show you how much you make my life complete… if you let me?" Quinn's eyes were pleading and full of intensity as she asked her final question. "Will you marry me?"
The room seamed to fall dead silent, the air became heavy and time seamed to stop as Rachel stared down at the ring in Quinn's hands. Her eyes trailed up to meet hazel and she knew the answer straight away. She could never have a life without this blonde.
Never.
Rachel began to shake her head and Quinn was about to die from heart break, fear that Rachel was saying no raced through her and a stream of tears began to fall from her eyes but then a smile pulled at the diva's lips until it was a face splitting grin. Quinn's heart jumped out of her chest, raced around the room did a few flips and then slammed back into her chest; well that's what it felt like.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, I will marry you." That's all Quinn heard, the cheers from the other customers in the restaurant were none existent, her own sobs were silent all she could hear was Rachel everything was Rachel. She climbed to her feet and slipped the ring onto the brunette's hand before she pulled Rachel into her and slammed their lips together. "I love you so much, Rachel. So much."
Rachel didn't care that the blonde was soaking her dress with her tears; she was too happy to care and only pulled Quinn harder against her. "I love you, too, Quinn Fabrey."
"Help me, Britt-Britt." Santana pouted as she threw another stone at the crashing waves, the pout only grew when the stone didn't bounce off of the water. The sun had fully set now, heavy clouds were looming overhead and there was no doubt in Santana mind that it was going to start pouring down.
Brittany chuckled at the sight and wiped the wet hair out of her face before she walked over to her girlfriend who was only clad in her underwear, skinny dipping in freezing water was definitely worth it if she got to see the Latina like that. "C'mere." She pulled Santana's back into her front and trailed her hand excruciatingly slowly down that Latina's arm until she met her hand. "You have to hold it like this." She tilted Santana's hand and moved it in the appropriate motion. "No stand like this so you can get the power into it." she nudged Santana's knees apart with her own, her mouth was ghosting over the brunette's ear, her breath almost scorching her skin as she whispered her instructions. "And… throw." She brought Santana's hand backwards and then let go as the shorter woman threw the stone at the waves. Brittany felt her tense against her chest as she waited for the stone to skim the water.
"I did it! It bounced! Did you see, Britt?" Santana cheered when the stone reappeared then disappeared completely. Okay so what if it skimmed once? That's one more than she's ever had before.
"I did, baby. You're a natural." Brittany whispered, her words were laced with pure adoration but she couldn't help it, she was just so in love and happy that she didn't want this night to end. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Santana turned round to kiss the blonde just as a crack of thunder shuddered through the sky followed by a blinding flash. Brittany flinched but made no move to run for the car. "Britt, you okay?" Santana asked with a raised brow, never in all the time she had known Brittany had the blonde not reacted badly to a thunder storm. Rain started to pour down and in less than five seconds they were completely soaked.
"I'm fine. Just… just don't let go okay?" Santana nodded straight away and pulled Brittany closer.
"We can go back to the car…?" she offered quietly but Brittany just shook her head.
"I don't want to move, everything's been so perfect I don't want to ruin it." Brittany leaned closer so that their lips were inches apart. "Kiss me, San." She pleaded but the Latina tilted her head to the side like a lost puppy. "Kiss me in the rain." She clarified and like that Santana knew what Brittany was talking about, they were going to complete the list well everything but one, and that could wait for another day.
Their lips slipped together easily, their bodies melded into one and the heat formed between them. Everything was perfect, the world around them was perfect and their lives couldn't get any better than they were right now. Neither girl could wait to spend the rest of their lives together; everything had worked out for the better. They had gone through so much pain, so much heart break and disaster but know everything was okay, amazing in fact.