A/N: This was actually really hard to write. I got the first 700 words out, but I just couldn't seem to get the last 100 right for about a week. How sad is that?
An Artie & Santana drabble was requested - not a romance between the two, but about Brittany. And this is what became of it. So this is for ... someone. Oh my goodness, I'm forgetting who's requested what! So sorry, whoever it was! (At least I remembered the request, right?)
I hope you enjoy!
Artie never planned on being stuck in a constant fight with Santana Lopez for his girlfriend's affections.
(Though he never really planned on Brittany ever being his girlfriend; ever.)
It shouldn't be this hard, either, he doesn't think. Brittany's dating him, so obviously she likes something about him. But it's as though every single day is an uphill, never-ending battle against McKinley's self-proclaimed head bitch in charge to keep Brittany's attention and love … and most of the time he's losing.
He doesn't say anything at first, because Brittany and Santana are best friends; everyone knows that. And they have been practically since they came out of the womb. Maybe even before that, for all anyone knows. But another commonly known fact is that Santana and Brittany frequently have sex – not just in general, which is also common knowledge, but – with each other. So naturally, he's pretty wary from the beginning.
But when he decides that he has to say something, he doesn't know what he's supposed to say. Because obviously he has to talk to one of them, and there's no way he's talking about this to Santana herself – because a) she's scary, and b) she'd probably just smirk and say, "Learn to deal with it, Wheels; because I'm winning," like it's some kind of game, which to her it just might be – but how does one approach begin to approach this with Brittany?
Look how well things went when he accused her of cheating with Mike, after all.
And he's not accusing her cheating exactly … yet. Okay, maybe he is; but not accusing, so much as … asking – because he really just wants to know if he should give their relationship up for a lost cause and try to find/restore some semblance of his old dignity back to a fraction of what it was.
"Look, Brittany …" He decides to just go for it at the end of Glee practice one day. Even though Santana's practically right next to them and he's afraid that by the end of the conversation she'll be smirking that I win smirk as he rolls out the door in shame. "What's going on between you and Santana?" A couple people look over blatantly; others are less obvious about their eavesdropping; others really just don't care.
"Well, right now there's the air and two chairs between us," she says, looking around, "but they're not going anywhere … well, maybe the air is, because when I twirl I can feel it, but I don't think chairs can move by themselves …"
"No, I meant– It's just– Are you two still … having sex?"
"Oh! Yeah," she replies, smiling as she leaned down to kiss him. She grabs her bag, looking at him and asking easily, "Why?"
He blushes a little bit, looking away. "Well, Brittany … you're dating me, right?" He thinks a clarification is necessary right now.
She nods slowly, a small smile coming back to her face.
"Well, when you're dating someone, Brittany, have sex with someone else is cheating."
That makes her smile disappear pretty quickly. Her brow furrows unbelievingly.
"But sex isn't dating, so it's not like I'm dating anyone other than you," she protests in her innocent, sweet, and vaguely detached-sounding tone. He opens his mouth to explain that that's not how it works, but she continues. "And Santana's a girl," she says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. And sure, that fact itself is pretty self-explanatory, but it's obvious that it means something else to Brittany that he just isn't getting. "It's, like … you're a guy. You're the guy that I'm with. We're together, and that means something. But with Santana, we fool around and stuff, but we're best friends. And since we're both girls and we're both straight, it doesn't mean anything."
Artie still isn't sure he gets it; not really. Because cheating is cheating, no matter whom it's with and what your orientation is. But it's Brittany, and she doesn't think that she's done anything wrong, and he just can't be mad at her for it. (Besides, it's a relief to know that this uphill battle hasn't been so much of a battle at all, really …)
He just smiles, because what else can he do?
She beams back instantaneously, and that's what makes this all worth it. The confusion, and the misunderstandings, and the Brittany … One flash of that smile, and it's like nothing else matters.
(She sits down on his lap, and he rolls them towards the door.
He forgives her. They have to talk about this more, sure, because he isn't really cool with her having sex with Santana while they're together, but it's nice to know that she's still being faithful to him in her own mind. That she cares more about him.
Just as they're leaving, though, he catches a glimpse of something in Santana's eye that he can't quite identify. Confusion, at first, maybe, then … pain?
And he has to wonder whether or not the Latina was previously aware that it 'didn't mean anything' to the blonde at all.)
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