Chapter Seven: Perfect

The wedding planning was in full swing, and Brittany had insisted she do the majority of it. Not because she was a control freak, but because she needed to make sure she was doing everything possible to take the pressure off Santana. She wanted it to be easy for her, so she didn't have to cope with any of the hard bits or logistics.

Santana knew all about Brittany's desire to lighten her load and take care of her, so she let Brittany get on with it, getting involved in all of the important bits whenever Brittany needed her.

She didn't care if they eloped just the two of them, and got married in the middle of a field, as long as they were together. But Brittany wanted them to have this big special day. And in Santana's eyes, whatever Brittany wanted, Brittany got. She'd always make sure of that.

They wanted to get married quickly, and they had set a date for mid-November, because they felt there was no time to waste. Life was too short to wait around, and they knew this from a number of reasons. Finn's untimely death, their break-up, the original Glee Club coming to an end. Life could change in an instant, and they wanted to make sure they were together for all of it. They decided to stay in Lima to plan the wedding, since it was only a few weeks away. Then they would take off on their honeymoon and move to New York together in the new year.

As they sat in Brittany's room, with Santana looking through the guest list that Brittany had constructed, Santana noticed her Abuela's name on the list. The same Abuela who had rejected her three years ago.

"Why are you inviting my Abuela?" she asked with a sigh.

"Because you won't, and she should be there" Brittany said, looking at Santana knowingly.

She knew how much Santana adored her Abuela, and how it was killing her not to have her in her life anymore. In the three years since they had stopped speaking, Santana's walls had gone up, and she had refused to reach out to her again, her stubbornness shining through. And Brittany felt her love's pain so deeply, as if it was her own, but things can change in three years. Maybe Abuela could change her mind.

Her sadness was further alleviated, as she watched Santana tell her the story about the shared dreams, she and her Abuela had shared for Santana's wedding day. Now it was on the horizon, she wasn't going to be a part of it, and that hurt Brittany. It hurt her because, she knew how badly Santana would want her Abuela there on the happiest day of her life.

"Having her at my wedding means not marrying you" Santana had told her "And I'd choose you over everyone" she admitted intently.

Brittany's breath hitched, melting at her fiancé's vulnerable words, and she leaned forward to touch her. Desperate to comfort her, and for Santana to know how loved she was, no matter what her Abuela thought.

"I'd choose you too" she said softly, as she placed a chaste kiss on Santana's lips, cupping her face tenderly.

That was it for Brittany. Her Acts of Service love language sang louder than ever, in her determination to get Santana's Abuela to come to the wedding, in order to make Santana happy. She'd do anything, to see that happen.

Brittany's first port of call was to visit Abuela and find out her views on love and marriage. Judging by Santana's story, it was important to her, and if it was still as important; Brittany hoped that perhaps she could cast aside any views she had, to come together for such an important day. Although deceitful in her approach, in pretending to be a nurse for Abuela (grateful that Abuela had no idea who Brittany was), she felt less guilty knowing who she was doing this for.

She was delighted to find that Abuela did still value marriage highly. She had told Brittany that marriage was a day of celebration and when people got married, they needed to be surrounded by family.

"Family is your blood, and they need to share in that joy" Abuela had said, leaving Brittany hopeful that if Abuela really thought like this, she would be there for Santana on her special day.

She was ready to tell Santana the news, when Santana beat her to it. She found Brittany in the hallways, and the look on Santana's face was less than impressed.

"We need to talk, right now!" she had said firmly

"Don't be mad at me" Brittany began, ready to explain everything to Santana, but Santana wasn't having any of it.

"Why do you think that it's okay to go behind my back and be friends with someone, who would rather see me dead than in love with a woman?"

Santana was pissed and defensive, but as always, Brittany was ready to calm her. To make her see that she was trying to help her. She softened her voice.

"People are afraid of what they don't know, okay? I used to be afraid of Greek Yoghurt, and then once I added a box of sugar it…kinda grew on me" she shrugged, watching as Santana listened, her demeanour beginning to relax "You know maybe it's our job as young hot progressives to educate, older scary farts. I mean, if Abuela gets to know us and see's that we're somewhat normal, like how I sometimes dance in my sleep and how you sometimes dye your hair blonde for no reason, then she'll see us for who we really are, okay? And then, maybe she'll understand that erm…beside from the awesome lesbian sex part, that we're…we're just like everybody else. We at least have to try right?"

"Okay" Santana relented. Her fiancé always had a way of calming her and making sense of everything. She did want her Abuela there at her wedding, she was just scared to put herself out there again, but with Brittany by her side she knew she could at least try.

"Do you want a signed picture…I'm sure you do" Brittany joked, in an attempt to lighten up the conversation.

"Please" Santana laughed "We should uhm…print off our wedding menus on the back of that"

"Yaaaaay queso por dos" Brittany replied, causing Santana to giggle.

Santana stared at her fiancé, realising that yet again, Brittany had put all of her energy into doing something for her, because she loved her. She felt so lucky to have her, and to walk through life with her.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" she smiled with a hint of sarcasm, since it was a running joke by now how often Santana told Brittany, and how Brittany never tired of hearing it.

"Tell me again" Brittany whispered, going along with their game. This was something they did a lot.

"I love you" Santana replied sweetly

"I love you" Brittany grinned, and Santana placed a sweet kiss on her lips, before pulling Brittany into her arms.

As Brittany held her, Santana let out a contented sigh as she breathed in her familiar scent. There really was no place like home.

Two days later, Santana was nervously waiting behind the curtain, ready for their plan to commence. Brittany led Abuela into the auditorium, who was still none the wiser to her true identity.

"What are we doing here? Does your fiancé work here? Am I going to get to meet him?" she asked.

"No this is a surprise, okay? Trust me it's…" Brittany closed her eyes, thinking about how beautiful Santana looked today "you're gonna love it"

And the curtains opened, to reveal Santana, breathtakingly gorgeous in her floor length red gown, as she sang her Abuela's favourite song. She poured everything into it, hoping that she was going to love it, as Brittany watched Abuela carefully in an attempt to gage her reaction.

As Brittany received her cue to head to the stage and join the rest of her friends to sing back up, she shared a private smile with the woman she was in love with. A smile that let her know just how proud she was of her in this moment.

Before the song could come to a close, Brittany had already broken formation to stand by her partners side. She entwined their hands, and Santana closed her eyes in anticipation, nervous of what was to come with her Abuela. Sensing Santana's worry, Brittany reached out to cup her face, as she placed a proud and supportive kiss on Santana's cheek.

"Thank you" Santana whispered appreciatively.

Neither girl wanted to let go, but Brittany needed to go get Abuela. She made sure to stroke Santana's face one more time, before she headed over to the steps to help Abuela.

"Hi Abuela" Santana smiled, finding her strength

"Hi" Abuela whispered back, touched to see her granddaughter for the first time in years

"You look really good; did you lose some weight?"

"Diverticulitis" Abuela answered, and Santana smiled knowingly, before Abuela directed her attention towards Brittany "So you two know each other?"

"Uhm…yeah well…er…remember when I was talking about my wedding?" Brittany asked, hesitant to say the right thing as Abuela nodded "Er…so Santana's my fiancé" she said proudly. And she couldn't help the way she said it, with the smile upon her face and the satisfied tone, because she couldn't say a sentence that meaningful, any other way.

Santana observed her Abuela worriedly, scared for her reaction.

"So…you come into my home, treat me with kindness, lure me here and trick me into seeing my granddaughter and hear her sing?"

"Yes because…I love Santana with everything, and I would do anything for Santana okay? Even tricking a sick old woman"

Santana felt a lump form in her throat, as just as she had time and time again, Brittany proved her love for her. From Brittany's actions, she was able to find her strength, and address her Abuela.

"You taught me to be a strong Latina woman. To be bigger than the world was ever gonna give me permission to be, and I have. You…you taught me not just to exist because I'm worth so much more than that…and without Brit I just…exist. She's…the love of my life and I'm going to marry her and…and I wanna share that with you because…without your love I, I think I just exist too"

"Please, please just come to the wedding" Brittany pleaded. Watching her fiancé pour her heart out like that, had almost broken her. She just hoped her Abuela could see the hurt inside and make everything better. It was all that Brittany wanted for Santana, but there was only so much she could help. The final choice had to be down to Abuela herself.

"No! Right is right" Abuela said, and the hurt instantly flashed in Santana's eyes, causing a pain in Brittany's own heart "I love you Santana, but I don't love your sin. Girls marry boys, not other girls!"

Santana gathered herself, as Brittany winced at Abuela's words.

"So, you're really not coming?" Santana asked.

"No" Abuela whispered incredulously "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you disappointed me first"

Brittany snapped. She walked over to stand by Santana's side, who looked so lost and fragile in that moment. All Brittany wanted to do, was to take her pain away.

"Good! I'm glad you're not coming. You know the New York Times said erm…half the increase in supportive gay marriage is due to generational turnover. That's what smart people call…crazy uptight bitches dying. You guys lost okay? And honestly the rest of us are just…going about our business being normal and…waiting for you not to be around, and not because you can stop us from getting married but…just because, you're kind of annoying"

"You let her talk to me like this?" said Abuela sternly.

And once again, Brittany's words and presence fuelled a strength in Santana, and she grabbed her hand protectively.

"Take a look…because this" said Santana, gesturing between herself and Brittany "this is what real love looks like. And I love you so much…but Brit is my family now and, if having her in my family means not having you, then… that's a trade I'll take any day"

And as Abuela sighed and walked away, rejecting Santana once more, Brittany pulled her even closer and squeezed her hands tight. As soon as Abuela had left the room, Santana let her walls come down, and rest her head on Brittany's shoulder, as the tears of anger hit Brittany's eyes. Anger was an emotion she rarely felt, but in seeing her love crushed like this, she was feeling it all too much right now.

That evening, Brittany walked back into Santana's bedroom to find her with her old photo albums laying out on the bed. She stood at the door, just watching her for a second. How beautiful she was, how lucky she felt that Santana was hers forever, how foolish Abuela was to let such a special person slip out of her life.

Suddenly Santana looked up, realising Brittany was stood watching her.

"Well hello there my gorgeous fiancé, I didn't realise you were out of the shower already" she smiled.

Brittany returned the smile and walked over to the bed to join Santana.

"What are you looking at baby?"

Santana sighed.

"Just some old photos from over the years" she pointed to the photos, there were lots of her and Abuela, and Brittany should sense she was reminiscing and mourning their lost relationship.

"San, I'm so sorry. I never should have encouraged you to reach out to her again. I just…I so desperately wanted to make you happy on our wedding day. I really thought she could change…" she trailed off, looking down sadly, but Santana raised her head so that she was looking at her.

"Baby, I'm going to be the happiest girl in the world on our wedding day. How could I not be? I'm marrying you" Santana said, her thumbs lightly tracing Brittany's cheeks, as she held her face "I'm glad you encouraged me to speak to her, because if I never tried, I would have never known. I needed closure, and you gave that to me, and I'm so grateful to have you by my side and for always thinking about what I need, before I even know myself"

Brittany leaned forward to claim Santana's lips, and as she pulled back, she just stared at her. Taking in all of the features that she had become so accustomed to, but never grew tired of.

"I love you, beautiful girl. I'm going to make it my life's mission to make you happy and always do the things you need. Every time you fall, I'll be there to catch you. Every time you achieve something, I'll be there to cheer you on. Come rain, or shine, I'll be there forever Santana. You and your happiness are my main priority in life now"

Santana felt herself tearing up, and she reached up to wipe her tears

"Wow Brit, you should have saved that for the wedding vows" Santana laughed, before reaching out to tuck a stray piece of hair tenderly out of Brittany's face "You don't even need to try make me happy baby…because every day with you feels like…"

"Heaven?" Brittany answered for her

"Yeah" Santana laughed "Every day with you really does feel like heaven. And with you by my side, I know I can get through anything, and I hope you know that I'll always be there by your side too. I'm just…so ready to walk through life forever with you. I love you so much Brittany Pierce"

"I love you too, Santana Lopez"

Walking through the halls of McKinley the next day, on their way to the auditorium where Artie had summoned them for a 'wedding meeting', Brittany could tell there was something on Santana's mind.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked gently, stroking Santana's hand that was linked through her arm, in an attempt to comfort her.

"Abuela…and how I should be mad at her but…I just feel sad for her"

Brittany nodded; she'd had her suspicions that Santana was thinking about her Abuela again. Being back here again today, on the way to the auditorium where Santana had been rejected, was bound to bring back thoughts of yesterday.

When Santana asked her the same question, Brittany admitted she was thinking about Abuela too, and how she felt guilty for speaking to her the way she did.

"Wait" said Santana, halting them in the corridor "No, listen I'm really, really proud of how you stood up for me"

Brittany laughed coyly, shaking her head.

"You're my lady knight in shining armour…and I uhm, I just wanted to believe that people could really change. And I wanted her to say that she accepts me. But…I have a lot of love in my life already. A lot…a lot, a lot"

And as Brittany gestured to herself, Santana laughed

"Yeah, you"

"Now…let's go humour a bunch of tone-deaf losers by acting surprised when we walk in this auditorium"

"Deal" Santana laughed.

And as they got in the auditorium, they were met by all of their friends telling Santana that she may not have her Abuela at her wedding, but they all wanted to be there because they were her family. They wanted Santana to know, that no matter what, she was loved and supported and accepted, and as they sang to the two brides-to-be, Brittany and Santana beamed with happiness. They had never felt surrounded by so much love.

There was a week to go before the wedding, but they still didn't have a venue. Brittany's mom had somewhere special in mind, and she was taking Santana, Maribel and wedding planner Artie along to see it.

The look of horror on Maribel's face as Whitney led them into the rusty old Indiana barn, was evident. Brittany was equally mortified. As endearing as the story was, this wasn't a perfect place to marry her perfect love. But Santana had calmed her.

"Listen, I'm so happy. It makes me very happy, I could not be happier" Santana rambled "I've got my two mom's and future BFF's together at last, and I think…babe?" she smiled, turning to address Brittany

"What?" Brittany sighed. She knew that tone of voice. She could never say no to Santana now.

"This is the perfect place to get married"

Santana turned to Whitney with a grin, letting her know she approved. Brittany was still uncertain as she glanced around, but Santana just wanted to make her future mother-in-law happy. After all, Brittany's family were her family now.

It was decided. They were getting married in the barn that Brittany had been born in, and there was so much to do. Brittany had insisted Santana stayed well away, because in true Brittany style, she had to do everything.

"You should at least let me help baby; I feel bad having you stressed out doing all of this on your own. It's your wedding day too" Santana had told her.

"Santana don't even try argue with me because it's a no. I want this day to be perfect for you, and I don't want you to have to lift a finger. I have everybody else to help me, so please can you just let me do this for you? You planned the engagement and I want to be the one to plan the wedding and make it the best day for you, while you sit and get pampered, okay?"

And so, Santana had pushed no more. This was Brittany's love language after all, for her to help and take the majority of the stress on, while ensuring Santana did very little.

The stress of making the day perfect for Santana, was beginning to take its toll on Brittany and turn her into a bit of a bridezilla. She was just so adamant, that nothing could go wrong on their special day. She began obsessing over the day being jinxed, and when Santana saw her in her wedding dress at the fitting, she had truly freaked out.

She researched all of the wedding traditions she could find, not because she was a believer in tradition, but because she wanted to do everything in her power to make everything run smooth for Santana's sake. If wearing Tina's underwear meant that the day would go without a hitch, and her bride-to-be would have the most amazing day, she was all for it.

As their wedding day edged closer, all Brittany could do was hope that things ran perfectly. As perfect as the love she had for Santana.