Ho Hey by The Lumineers
Kiss Me When I'm Starving by The Heart Throbs
Santana's POV
To say she's amused would be an understatement.
She can see Brittany's jealous face reappearing somewhere between the shelves of her aunt Kathrin's shop.
They've only been reunited for about half an hour and Santana has achieved her main goal of her Arizona mission; to make Brittany jealous.
Ok that might not be the only reason she decided to come here. Her ultimate goal is to spend time with Brittany and see if they are still the same after being apart.
While being apart gave her some freedom to do things at home, she also missed the blonde terribly. She knows that Brittany wants to be with her. She knows that this is real. In fact, nothing has ever been more real in her life.
Maybe not everybody would understand why she feels safe with Brittany.
But she does.
Brittany has added something to her life she had no idea she needed. She makes Santana long for things that go way beyond her usual comfort zone. She also makes Santana feel that nothing is ever to be taken for granted. And the journey they've been on together makes Santana grow stronger.
In fact she doesn't think she'd have the courage to flirt with someone else in front of your lover's eyes had she not met Brittany. But their past allows Santana to do things.
Even though Santana's not interested in the girl behind the counter of aunt Kathrin's little shop, she enjoys making her giggle. Because with every laughter coming from the cashier, Santana receives another glare of unamused blue eyes.
Brittany is looking for some ingredients that her aunt needs for the barbecue tonight. Santana uses the time to buy a water bottle. She has been really thirsty, so Eli made a quick detour to the shop. He's waiting outside and will later take them back to the ranch. Until Brittany's done with her groceries, Santana relishes the moment of seeing her jealous as hell.
"So you're a writer? Have you written anything I might have read?" The girl named Maggie wants to know. She's dark haired, young, and probably straight as an arrow but it'll do.
Santana waves it off.
"I only translate. You might have heard of a certain teen trilogy in the supernatural category? Very popular these days? The third part will be published in a couple days I think."
Maggie's eyes nearly pop out of her head when she realizes what book Santana is talking about.
"Are you kidding? I love those books! I mean… my sister. My little sister bought the first two books and I borrowed them when I had nothing else to read. They are amazing, I can't wait for the last one." Maggie admits with reddened cheeks. "Can you tell me a bit what happens? Does Logan die? Are the twins still not talking to each other? Does the villain from part one really come back like it's rumored in the forums?"
Santana only gives away a shrug of her shoulders with a promising grin.
"You'll have to read it for yourself. I'd be a bad business partner if I gave away the plot."
Maggie nods with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Right… well that water bottle is definitely on the house. I can't believe my favorite author is in town."
"Translator. I'm just the translator." Santana corrects Maggie with a wink.
"Still" Maggie grins when Brittany steps next to them with a full bag of groceries in her hands.
"Are my items on the house, too?" Brittany wants to know with a voice that could be interpreted as slightly annoyed. Or insecure. Or just awkward.
Maggie rolls her eyes playfully.
"It's your aunt's shop, Brittany. She'd get angry if I let you pay for anything. Speaking of – when does the barbecue start tonight? Kathrin told me to close the shop earlier so I'll make it in time, but I forgot."
Brittany seems to think for a moment but since Santana knows what time they have to be there, she decides to jump in.
"At six" She says and hands Maggie a couple bills. "Keep the change." Maggie wants to protest but Santana shakes her head. "It's my pleasure. Plus, I haven't even met aunt Kathrin. I wouldn't feel comfortable to not pay for the water. See you later, ok?"
Maggie nods excitedly and Brittany carries the heavy grocery bag towards the exit. When Santana is about to follow her, Maggie's voice holds her back for another moment.
"I love your shirt, by the way!" She points at Santana's flannel with a hidden wink.
Santana smirks triumphantly before following Brittany outside.
Once Eli has helped Brittany putting the groceries into the back of his truck he jumps into the driver's seat and starts the engine.
Brittany throws another meaningful look when she opens the passenger door for Santana to get inside.
"What?" Santana challenges her. "Am I not allowed to enjoy a compliment?"
Brittany huffs, trying to hide a grin because she just got busted in her tiny little jealousy attack.
"She was basically undressing you with her eyes in case you didn't notice." Brittany defends herself.
Santana steps near Brittany, only the car door separating them and lets her arm rest on the window frame.
"Mhm right. She's like what… twenty?" Santana purrs when Brittany's eyes drop to her lips. She starts chewing on her own when Santana leans even closer. "Don't worry… I like the older ones."
Santana whispers the last part into Brittany's ear. Then she climbs into the truck and lets Brittany close the door.
She can definitely hear the frustrated groan when Brittany jumps into the back of the truck and Eli drives off.
It's about two hours later when Santana gets the chance to finally sit down somewhere quiet. She sinks onto the porch swing with an exhausted but content sigh.
As soon as they arrived at the ranch, she was surrounded by workers, family members, vacationers, horses and dogs and so on.
Aunt Kathrin came to introduce herself as one of the first. She gave Santana a warm hug to welcome her into the family before putting some potatoes that needed to be peeled in Santana hands.
Brittany was ushered to the big back yard where the barbecue will take place to help her uncle preparing the fire. The next hour Santana and Brittany spent apart, both helping out wherever their hands were needed.
Santana would have needed Brittany's hands, too… they haven't seen each other in two months! She wanted nothing more than disappearing somewhere in a barn together and make up for all the nights they spent without each other.
But it looks like the universe has different plans for them right now.
For a second it seems she's wrong about that conclusion when Brittany steps onto the porch, too. The blonde looks like she's been doing some hard work as her cheeks are reddened and sweat is running down her temples. The look on her face gives away that she's happy to find Santana and she's about to say something when only two seconds later she gets followed by aunt Kathrin who's carrying a big cake fresh from the oven.
"Oh, great the two of you are out here! I need to put the cake somewhere safe to cool down otherwise your uncle will see it and eat a piece as an appetizer. Make sure the cat doesn't get it! Oh and Santana dear-"
Aunt Kathrin puts the cake on a small table before heading back to the patio door. "I don't know if you want to stay in Brittany's room but there's also a cabin ready if you'd like. I just need to put some more blankets in there."
Santana gives Brittany's aunt a thankful smile.
"Thank you so much. I'd love to stay in one of those cabins, they look really cute."
Aunt Kathrin nods with recognition, then hurries back inside.
Brittany's mouth hangs open when Santana looks at her.
"I thought you'd sleep in my room." She says while crossing her arms in front of her chest, sounding a little offended. She's wearing working gloves and everything about her in this moment is either cute or sexy.
Santana just shrugs.
"In your room? As in… your bed? Nah."
"No?"
"No"
Brittany slowly shakes her head in disbelief. Before she can say anything else, aunt Kathrin yells her name from inside to let her know that uncle Timothy is waiting in the backyard.
"This" Brittany points at the house. "Is what I've had to put up with for the past couple weeks. I'm exhausted! I better get back to them but uh… the discussion about our sleeping situation isn't over, yet."
Santana returns the promising wink, then Brittany goes back inside to do whatever it is that they will ask her to do.
Santana chuckles when she's alone. Of course, she knows that the discussion about where she's going to sleep tonight isn't off the table, yet.
She just wants to let Brittany sulk a bit. It's too good not to.
Time seems to fly on the ranch. Santana can definitely understand why Brittany likes it so much here.
She gets to know the rest of the family as well as all of the ranch workers. Everyone is so nice and welcomes Santana with open arms. When they're all sitting by the fire with their bellies full and the stars slowly rising, she gets a picture of what Brittany's childhood must have looked like.
She's almost jealous in a way. This is what she would have needed when she was younger. To do things like sitting at a bonfire on a summer night with her family, everyone laughing, singing and just enjoying the moment.
She wishes she had been to one of those summer camps that Brittany has told her about. Just being out here and getting a taste of what nature has to offer makes her wonder. Would she have lived a different life if she had grown up a little more like Brittany?
Well… probably. But then you never know what if. It also doesn't matter.
What matters is that she's here now and gets to be a part of this. She wouldn't want to miss uncle Timothy playing the guitar really talentedly and how everyone starts singing along after a while. She wouldn't want to miss Eli asking this Maggie girl from the shop for a dance. She wouldn't want to miss Brittany and aunt Kathrin arguing about something silly before breaking into laughter.
Brittany's sitting on a plastic chair next to Santana with a cup of tea in her hands. She's wearing a hoodie that looks really warm and cozy. Santana should have brought along a hoodie, too instead of this flannel shirt. She wanted to look sexy and ready for ranch life but she forgot that it gets cold at night. Since she's only wearing a bra underneath it, she starts shivering.
As if someone just read her thoughts, a warm hand lands on the small of her back. Santana knows it's Brittany's and hums into the gentle touch when looking to her left. The blonde tilts her head.
"You should scoot in a little closer" She suggests when taking one of the blankets that aunt Kathrin is handing out to everyone who's getting cold.
Santana grabs her chair to do as she's told. Once their armrests bump against each other, Brittany lets the blanket fly around their shoulders and neatly guides her arm around Santana within that motion.
Santana can't believe that her heart makes a funny jump. This does feel like she's at summer camp with her crush sitting right next to her, trying to get a little handsy without anyone noticing.
Santana tries to listen to Eli who's telling a joke but she misses the punchline when Brittany's hand pulls her a little closer and warm lips press a kiss to her temple. A whisper follows after that.
"I really want to make out with you in a dark corner."
Santana needs to clear her throat in order not to blush like a raspberry right away.
She throws a glance to her side into Brittany's eyes that plead for way more than making out. She takes a breath to calm her insides.
"I don't think you deserve that quite already." Santana counters while clearly noticing the hand on her waist wandering around a little.
"Why not? We haven't seen each other in weeks. I thought we had separated in peace? And when I say 'separate' I only mean physically."
Santana nods but guides her attention back to the surroundings.
"We did" She mumbles lowly in agreement. "But I blame you for making me go through some heartache as I missed you so much."
Brittany's remorseful sigh fills her ear.
"I must take that blame." She admits. "But if it makes you feel better, I have been through the exact same misery. Why don't you come sleep in my bed tonight? I'll make sure you won't feel lonely and stay warm aaall night."
Santana can tell from the corner of her eye that Brittany is grinning at her own words.
"That's way too cheap, Ms. Pierce." Santana mumbles still not looking at her.
"Aw… do I have to win you back first?" Brittany wants to know. Santana narrows her eyes when she realizes that meanwhile her own hand landed on Brittany's thigh underneath the blanket. They work like magnets! Quickly she pulls it back.
"Yes" She confirms Brittany's suspicion. The blonde seems to be amused when Santana finally glances at her.
"Challenge accepted" She whispers while squeezing Santana slightly.
Frankly, Santana could easily stay in that position for the rest of the night. But when uncle Timothy reaches his big hand out to ask Santana for a dance, she can't possibly turn him down. He grins at her brightly from underneath his thick moustache when he pulls her onto her feet and closer to the bonfire where a couple others are dancing, too.
The guitar got passed on to someone else who's really good at playing some country dance music. Santana can't help but laugh when uncle Timothy tries to teach her some dance moves and she catches Brittany rolling her eyes playfully.
But Santana enjoys it. A year ago or so she could have never pictured herself in a place like this, realizing that she doesn't need much more to be happy.
She doesn't need her big house and her fancy things anymore to feel like she belongs somewhere. She realizes that she belongs to this sensation inside of her.
She belongs to herself. To the feeling of a full heart.
The loss of her house was one part of the proof that she doesn't need a lot. Opening up to new people and situations is the other.
But it's also realizing that she can do so much if she only wants to.
She can't wait to show Brittany what she's been working on at home.
It means a lot to her. Hopefully Brittany will like it, too.
It's already pretty late at night when a few people decide they're ready for a second round of dessert. Santana watches from her chair how Brittany offers to go to the kitchen to see what is left.
She giggles when aunt Kathrin whispers something into her ear. Maybe she told her where she keeps the good stuff hidden from uncle Timothy or something.
Santana's eyes follow Brittany until she's disappeared inside, then she counts to ten before pushing herself out of the chair only to follow Brittany inside. Maybe it's not as discreet as she thinks but she doesn't care if everybody here can tell that they're hungry for each other.
While the guests long for something sweet to taste before heading to bed, Santana does the same. In a way.
"Are you following me?" Brittany wants to know when Santana slides into the dark kitchen. Only the light of the opened fridge illuminates the blonde's face and a bit of the surroundings.
Gladly she doesn't close the fridge after taking something from it. Otherwise Santana would be scared to stumble over something she can't see.
"Obviously" Santana says with a voice that reminds her of a shy girl. It's either the darkness or the fact that she's finally alone with Brittany. After all this time.
"You're not supposed to see this, yet. I was going to prepare you some S'mores. You know… to win you back in the old fashioned way." Brittany explains when pointing at a bag of marshmallows and crackers ready on the kitchen counter.
On the opposite site of the counter Santana grabs the backrest of a chair for some support. She observes how Brittany steps on her toes to open a cupboard looking for something.
"Winning me back with sweet and sticky stuff to eat?" Santana wonders aloud. "Hole in one." She adds.
She sighs inwardly because she just wants to reach across the kitchen counter to take Brittany's hand and pull her around it or grab her face to finally kiss her.
She gets to do none of that when suddenly the light gets switched on and uncle Timothy is standing next to them. Santana's pretty sure she just shrieked at the sudden interruption.
Brittany and her both squint their eyes at the blinding distraction.
"Why are you standing in the dark when there's a light switch right there?" Uncle Timothy wants to know when reaching for some cans of beer in the fridge. He closes the fridge with an amused laughter when neither of them knows what to answer. "Make sure to get those S'mores outside! They're all waiting for some midnight snack before heading to bed."
Once uncle Timothy is gone, Santana glances at Brittany who's got a funny expression on her face.
"Way to ruin the moment" She mumbles when reaching for a jar. "I guess we should head outside to prepare them something sweet."
Santana shakes her head now that the mystery of the darkness is gone. Not so her desire.
"Yeah about that… I don't think that's going to work. Sugar." Santana mumbles.
Brittany gives her a funny look at those words.
"Oh so now I'm your sugar again? I thought I'd have to win you back first." She smirks.
"No, you uh… you're holding salt in your hand. The sugar is right next to it." Santana clarifies her attempt to stop Brittany from taking salt outside.
Brittany blinks at her at first, then she looks at the jar in her hand.
"Oh! Oh my… ugh."
"Yeah but since when do you need sugar for S'mores anyway? I mean I'm not super experienced when it comes to bonfire snacks and so on but aren't they sweet enough already?"
Brittany keeps gazing at her seemingly lost for words. When she puts the jar back onto the counter, she chuckles sheepishly.
"Yeah well, maybe you shouldn't look so distractingly attractive in that flannel shirt. Seriously… it's ridiculous. I can't even think straight."
Santana presses her lips together in order not to laugh. On one hand she's glad her shirt trick is working but she also feels bad for distracting Brittany while she's trying to prepare something nice for her.
"If it's so distracting, you should maybe take it off later…" Santana only mutters before grabbing the bag of marshmallows. She'll leave the rest to Brittany's imagination and heads outside.
It's past midnight when the voices have become either quieter or more drunk. Just a few people are still outside once there are only dying embers left of the bonfire.
Santana just came back from the bathroom and wanted to head outside when she got distracted by some pictures in the stairway.
She now looks at them with a smile on her lips. With every step she takes higher, she gets to see another family picture or of the ranch and the animals. On quite a few of them she spots Brittany's blonde hair sticking out. On some she's a young girl, on others she's a beautiful young woman.
When Santana reaches the top of the stairs she realizes that she probably shouldn't be up here. She doesn't want to invade in Kathrin and Timothy's private space. She already wants to descend but gets distracted again. At the end of the floor there's a door standing open to a tiny bedroom. Somebody must have forgotten to turn off the lights so she can see part of the bed and a duffle bag underneath it.
Santana smiles when she recognizes it's Brittany's. With careful steps she walks towards the room that turns out to be much more of a chamber. There's a single bed and small dresser as well as a chair. Some of Brittany's clothes are hanging over it.
Santana enters and finally gets to smell that scent again after she'd been missing it in their bedroom at home.
She gets drawn to the bed because the blanket and pillows look so inviting. She sits down on the mattress and instantly feels her muscles relax. It's been such a long and eventful day.
"Hey stranger" Santana's gaze shoots up to the bedroom door to find Brittany standing there underneath the frame. She's got her hands in her pockets and smirks at her. "I already thought you got lost. You totally missed how Eli managed to balance twelve marshmallows on his face. I have no idea how he does it. It's physically impossible."
Santana chuckles at Brittany's amazement.
"Oh, I was just looking at pictures in the stairway and somehow ended up here. It's nice to spend a quiet moment. It was a wonderful evening but I'm also tired."
Brittany nods understandingly and points at the bed Santana's sitting on.
"You can sleep right there if you want to. You must be exhausted. I'll find another room for tonight."
Santana throws a look at the pillow behind her and the slim mattress. Then she grins at Brittany.
"And you really wanted us both to sleep in here?" She wants to know. "Don't get me wrong, I love sleeping next to you but you have no idea how many times I almost fell out of bed at home and it's twice as big as this one. This definitely… definitely wouldn't work. We'd have to lie like… on top of each other."
At that Santana looks back at Brittany just in time to see her longing gaze and how she's no longer able to hold back. She takes her hands out of her pockets, makes the three steps towards the bed and closes her eyes right when she reaches for Santana's cheeks.
She leans her upper body down to get the right angle for a long overdue kiss. Their mouths welcome each other after what feels like years instead of two months. Brittany still tastes the same only better.
It's better because Santana was so tired before but one kiss of those lips and she's all fit again. She grabs the back of Brittany's head in order to feel her closer. She actually wants to pull her on top of her like she hinted before but apparently Brittany has other things in mind. She lifts Santana onto her feet and hasty fingers make their way under her shirt. They grab Santana's stomach hungrily before wrapping around her back and pressing their bodies against each other and deepening their kiss.
Santana had expected the kiss but she's also at a lack of breath after only a couple of seconds. When their faces part a few inches to get some air, Brittany's mouth exhales a desperate moan.
Before Santana can guide their lips back together, those hands have wandered back to Santana's front and up to the collar of her shirt. With one swift move and surprising strength, Brittany rips Santana's shirt open, leaving her standing there with her black bra exposed.
"Oh my God" Santana gasps in utter surprise and a rush of excitement filling her chest. Brittany on the other hand seems shocked about her own act of need and stares at Santana's ripped shirt.
"Shit, I'll totally sew the buttons back on. I'm so sorry. It seemed to be such a hot move in my head." She apologizes while grabbing Santana's now open shirt.
"Mhm… sewing. Is that also something you learned while being here?" Santana wants to know before biting her bottom lip. Brittany can't possibly stop doing what she was doing. She really needs more of that side of Brittany.
"Maybe" Brittany rasps before pushing the shirt down Santana's shoulders and letting it drop to the floor.
Cool air hits Santana's arms and stomach but her skin feels hot just like her insides and between her legs. She tugs at the hem of Brittany's hoodie in a weak attempt to let her know she needs it to be gone, too. Their lips have long found each other for another heated kiss.
When Brittany does what Santana begs for, she watches how toned abs are revealed shortly after. God she missed those…
With both of them now only wearing their bras Santana has once and for all forgotten about her sleepiness. She wraps her arms around Brittany's neck when she gets pushed backwards and lands on the mattress only seconds later.
Brittany falls down on top of her causing the bed to make a squeaking noise. Santana giggles at the anticipation of how they're about to do it under the roof of Brittany's aunt. It feels forbidden in a way and like she's a teenager again.
They kiss sloppily for several minutes which causes Santana to get all hot and bothered and she wants nothing more than to just get rid of all their clothes. If it only was as easy as in her head. Brittany has to put in a lot of effort to support her weight on top of Santana as there's simply no space to lie down next to her.
With every rocking movement of her lower body the bed creaks a little louder.
"Oh my God this bed is so tiny!" Brittany moans between two kisses. "It always seemed so empty when it was just me."
They still go on and the way Brittany's tongue slips into her mouth almost makes Santana forget about the noises they're causing and the fact that Brittany's relatives must be able to hear them sooner or later.
When a hand slides underneath her bra and covers her breast, she can't hold back a surprised moan but it makes her push Brittany's shoulders away in a reflex.
"Wait, wait, wait" Santana sighs in a frustrated mix of longing and awareness. "I just heard a noise. What if somebody comes looking for us?"
Brittany shakes her head and wants to make Santana shup up by guiding their lips back together. She seems just as desperate and turned on as Santana.
Before she can succeed Santana pushes her off once more.
"What if uncle Timothy appears out of nowhere again. Remember the light switch? We didn't even hear him coming and then he was just there."
That immediately causes Brittany to give up on her attempt to ignore the circumstances.
"Ok fair enough" She gasps and stops her rocking motions. Her eyes are filled with desire as well as recognition. They both fall silent for a few seconds where it's just them.
Then Santana remembers something.
"The cabin" She whispers and swallows dryly.
Brittany's face enlightens right away. She pushes herself off of Santana and pulls her onto her feet.
She grabs her own hoodie and puts the flannel shirt sloppily around Santana's shoulders. It's not really covering anything but she takes Santana's hand, turns off the lights and together they hurry out of the chamber and into the stairway.
They stumble and giggle their way through the dark house until they reach the back door.
Santana squeals when she realizes how it has cooled down so much since they were last outside. The warmth of the bonfire isn't there anymore.
It's just the dark sky above them and a dim lamp post from the barn near them allows Santana to still see where she has to put her feet.
She trusts Brittany to guide the way to the cabins and is surprised when the blonde comes to a halt in the middle of the darkness. The smell of hay and the faint footsteps of a horse lets Santana know that they are near the stables.
She has managed to put her shirt back on during their escape from the chamber but there was no time to close the buttons. Also there's no reason to do so because Brittany ripped half of them off.
So she's standing outside in front of Brittany with her shirt open, cool air tickling her stomach and heat shooting to her face and between her legs with every touch and thought caused by the woman in front of her.
Brittany's got her hoodie hanging over her shoulder, her pants must have opened back upstairs in the tiny bed. She doesn't seem to be cold although the moonlight reflects on her exposed collarbones and arms.
Within seconds Santana's eyes have gotten used to the darkness. The stars sparkle at her through Brittany's when she pulls her close once more.
The sound of crickets and the laughter from the other side of the house lets Santana know they're really here. Together with the love in Brittany's eyes she knows that she doesn't want to be anywhere else.
She's shivering. But so is Brittany's thumb that caresses Santana's chin. It causes her to look up into welcoming eyes.
"I love you Santana Lopez." Brittany whispers. She wets her lips with her tongue then grabs the back of Santana's neck to make sure she's really listening. "I won't spend another day without telling you. I love you."
Santana swallows at the amount of feelings that rush through her chest. She wraps her arms around Brittany's naked waist to let her know that she's heard her. Their lips get drawn back together for a kiss that lasts way longer than she intended.
She wanted to tell Brittany the same thing in return of course. But their lips have other needs. Only when she's getting colder she pushes Brittany's upper body away from her for the last time.
"I love you, too" She says with nothing but happiness running through her veins.
Then Brittany puts her hands on Santana's hips to push her forward to where the cabins must be. Santana lets her guide her thankfully while she puts a hand on top of Brittany's and their fingers intertwine for a safe handhold.
