Santana rubbed her eyes; she was so ready for her bed, but she needed to finish wrapping Mila's presents for the morning. She had been texting Brittany back and forth throughout the day, and when she had told her that Mila wanted a unicorn themed sleepover Brittany had told Santana to leave it with her, and that she'd be round early in the morning to help Santana set everything up before Mila woke up.
From: Santana
Oh babe, you don't have to do that! You know how early she's going to be up.
From: Brittany
Don't be silly San, I want too! I want to be there when she wakes up and to see her little face when she sees all the unicorn magic!
So, it was settled. All Santana needed to do was finish the wrapping, then she could head to bed, but with her picking up her phone every time it buzzed in case it was Brittany, the wrapping was taking longer than anticipated. On this occasion, it was Brittany.
From: Brittany
Just got into bed now. It feels so weird without you wrapped around me. Wish you were here
Santana's heart hurt at that. She wasn't looking forward to spending her first night without Brittany either, she was too used to the feeling of being held by her, and she felt so warm and safe in her arms.
From: Santana
I wish that too, babe. At least we have tomorrow though, and the rest of the week if you want to stay. But I'm really going to struggle to sleep without you tonight, who's going to keep me warm?
From: Brittany
Duh! Of course, I'm staying with you the rest of the week. I'm cherishing every minute with you before I have to go back to New York. I know! I'm literally so cold right now, what did I do before you!? Are you in bed yet?
From: Santana
Oh don't, I don't even want to think about you going back to New York. Let's not think about it. Not in bed yet, wrapping presents for Moo! I am so tired though!
From: Brittany
Me too! Earlier I nearly fell asleep at dinner listening to my mom going on and on about some argument she'd had at the store. You know how she goes on, and you know how I can literally fall asleep anywhere! Okay honey let me know when you're in bed!
From: Santana
Hahaha I know that very well Miss Pierce. I've had to elbow you in the ribs a few times to wake you. Babe don't wait up for me. You should sleep if you're tired xxx
From: Brittany
No I wanna wait for you. I won't sleep well if I don't hear your voice before I sleep. Call me when you're in bed, I'll be up. Promise! X
From: Santana
You're adorable. Okay, be as quick as I can! & for the record I wouldn't have slept well without hearing your voice either xxx
Santana finished up as quick as she could, eager to not keep Brittany awake and fighting sleep like she knew she would be, and also excited at the prospect of speaking to her and feeling semi like she was in bed with her. 30 minutes later, she was finally in bed, and she pulled out her iPad and clicked FaceTime. She waited a few seconds, until she heard the familiar sound of the call connecting and a tired looking Brittany appeared on the screen, melting Santana's heart in the process with how utterly adorable she looked.
"Hey you! Thought I'd do one better and FaceTime instead of calling, that way I actually get to see you". Santana began, and Brittany let out a sweet, tired laugh that was like music to Santana's ears.
"Why didn't I think of that? You're right, this is so much better. Now I can actually put you on the pillow and fall asleep with you, and when I wake up, I'll get to see your face".
"Well, I figured this is what we're going to have to do when you're in New York. Because there's no way I'm going to be able to get used to not falling asleep with you now".
They exchanged small talk for a few minutes, just checking in on each other, before sleep began to wash over them. As Santana put the iPad on the pillow next to her, she closed her eyes and was just about to drift off when she heard Brittany's sleepy voice again.
"I love you, Santana Lopez"
Brittany watched as Santana let out a content smile at the words, her eyes still firmly shut, before she opened them to look at Brittany again.
"I love you too, Brit-Brit".
The next morning, Brittany was round bright and early, and the way they reunited was as if they had spent weeks away from each other; not 24 hours.
"I missed you. I missed you. I missed you" Santana enunciated each "I missed you" with a firm kiss, as soon as Brittany was inside the door.
"Not as much as I missed you!" said Brittany, and she picked Santana up dramatically, causing Santana to laugh wildly.
"Shh!" Brittany laughed "You'll wake Moo up!"
Mission Unicorn was a go, and soon Brittany and Santana had decked out the living room with rainbow coloured fairy lights in the shape of unicorns, pastel balloons and since Brittany was involved; lots of glitter and sparkles. As Brittany stood back and proudly admired her work, she turned excitedly to Santana.
"Should we go wake her?"
Santana laughed at Brittany's childlike enthusiasm, if she wasn't already sure Brittany was the one for her, she would be just off the way she treated her daughter alone.
"Let's do it!" Santana agreed, and the two of them went up the stairs and opened the door to find Mila fast asleep. They stood in the doorway for just a second, and Santana swallowed a lump in her throat, as Brittany reached out and squeezed her hand because she intuitively knew what Santana was thinking before she vocalised it.
"I can't believe it's been 11 years since I gave birth to her. I can't believe my baby is 11!"
Brittany simply shook her head in agreement, because she too couldn't believe that the tiny 2-week-old baby she had once held in her arms was now a pre-teen.
"Me neither San. Me neither."
As they watched Mila begin to stir, Brittany quickly stepped forward, giving Santana the extra minute she needed to recompose herself.
"Good morning my beautiful Pisces child! Happy birthday!" said Brittany, as she stroked Mila's hair which was fanned over the pillow.
On hearing Brittany's voice Mila's eyes sprung open and she sat up excitedly.
"Aunty Brit! I didn't know that you were coming over this early!"
"Well, I had to be here to watch my favourite girl open all of her presents, didn't I?" she said, as she took the 11-year-old into a tight embrace and pressed a noisy kiss on her cheek. "I wouldn't miss this for the world Little Moo"
"Only I'm not so little anymore. I'm 11. Almost a middle schooler if you must know!"
"I don't care if you're in college, you'll always be my Little Moo to me" Brittany said as she attacked Mila with more kisses across her face causing the girl to scream in delight, begging her to stop through her laughter.
Santana wiped her tears as she watched them with a smile on her face, feeling composed enough to go in now.
"Feliz cumpleaños mi amor!" said Santana, rushing in to hold her daughter close. "Te quiero mucho".
"Gracias Mama, yo también te amo"
"Are you ready to go downstairs and see what Aunty Brit and I have set up for you?"
"Oh yes please Mami!" said Mila, jigging up and down excitedly on her bed.
As expected, Mila was ecstatic when she saw the decorations downstairs, and her excitement increased ten-fold when Brittany placed a Unicorn headband on her head.
"But it gets better!" said Brittany, eyes twinkling "Me and Mama have one too!"
Once again Mila whooped with joy, and Santana giggled as she took the headband off Brittany and put it on. She didn't care if she looked stupid, her daughter and her girlfriend looked utterly adorable, and she could tell this was making Mila so happy.
"Is that the same head band you had in Senior Year Brit?" Santana laughed, recalling the time Brittany wore a unicorn headband when she was in the midst of her school presidential campaign.
"Sure is" Brittany smiled proudly "It's in mint condition, because it only comes out on very special occasions. Such as the birthday of one very, special little girl!"
Mila ripped pastel coloured unicorn paper off of presents, which included new paints since she was still very into her art and some "grown-up" things that she had requested like a handbag that was similar to Santana's. It was the pointe shoes that got the biggest reaction though.
"You got me pointe shoes! This is the best birthday ever! Does this mean I can finally dance on pointe!?" she yelled, eyes wide with excitement.
"It does. Aunty Brit and I have talked a lot about this, and she thinks you are ready to go on pointe. But you only do it with supervision from her or your dance teachers".
Brittany nodded her head in agreement.
"That's very important Meels. I know you're dying to master it, but pointework takes time and we need to make sure we're doing it right okay? We don't want to damage those talented little feet of yours".
"Okay, okay, I promise. But can I at least try them on?" she exclaimed, before running over to Santana and giving her a giant hug "Thank you so much Mama, this is the best present ever!"
And as Mila excitedly tried on the shoes after being granted permission, Santana flashed Brittany a grateful smile, because of course she was the one who had picked the shoes (Santana didn't know the first thing about the best type of pointe shoes) and had made sure she was ready for them asking Mila to demonstrate in the months leading up to her birthday and analysing videos that Santana would send through.
When the pointe shoe excitement had died down, Brittany's main present to Mila stirred that excitement right back up again. Brittany had always been interested in photography, and she used every instance to take photos of New York, of her family, of Santana and Mila. Like many things, as soon as Mila saw Brittany develop an interest in something, she wanted to do the same. Santana had many memories of a younger Mila standing behind the lens of Brittany's expensive DSLR camera, with Brittany stood behind her guiding the shot as she patiently explained how everything worked and they took photographs of Santana. She hated having her photo taken, but she was always happy to model for Brittany and Mila. Now, Brittany had bought Mila her own digital camera (they had to start small, a DSLR wasn't right just yet), and Mila was delighted.
After Santana cooked them up a breakfast of pancakes with plenty of whipped cream, marshmallows and sweetness, with Brittany setting up the camera for Mila while Santana did this, they headed out to try out the camera before heading to Maribel's house so she could see her granddaughter on her birthday.
It was a welcome distraction for Brittany, because while they were out the house for a couple of hours, she had arranged for a company that specialised in children's parties that she had seen a friend refer on Instagram, to come to Santana's house and add the finishing touches to Mila's unicorn sleepover.
When they opened the door, both Mila and Santana (who was also unaware of Brittany's surprise) gasped. Three tipis had been set out in the centre of the living room with rainbow cushions and soft pink blankets, and a unicorn sleep mask for everyone too.
"What do you think Moo? Pretty cool huh? I figured that whenever me and Mama had sleepovers, we used to build blanket forts, but this seemed even cooler".
"Aunty Brit I love it! Thank you so much. You're right, this is the coolest sleepover EVER!" she squealed, running over to hug Brittany, before running over to the tipis to investigate further.
Brittany turned to Santana who was shaking her head with a smile on her face.
"You really do spoil her Brittany Pierce. Both of us, for that matter".
"Only the best for my two girls!" Brittany shrugged, a smile mirroring Santana's adorned her own face, and in that moment, Santana wished nothing more than for Mila to know about them because she so easily could have kissed her right now.
Later that day, the three of them were cuddled up on the sofa watching Monsters Inc, Mila in the middle of course laying over both of them. Monsters Inc had been one of Brittany and Santana's favourite films in childhood, so naturally it was one of Mila's too.
"I'm just thinking San, we were 11 when we went to see this movie weren't we? Same age as you now Meels." Said Brittany just as the credits began to roll.
"Yeah, we were about that. Where does the time go!? I remember that like it was yesterday"
"Woah this film is super old then if you were only 11 when it came out" said Mila, and as Santana nudged her in the ribs she let out a laugh.
"Hey, I'm not that old missy! I'm only 29"
"30 in a month" Brittany winked, causing Santana to nudge her playfully too.
"Wait so how old were you when you had me again?" Mila questioned.
"I was 18 mi amor. I was very young".
"When I stayed over at Aunty Quinn's she showed me a photo of you two when I was in your tummy Mama. You look so big like you swallowed a bowling ball!". Mila laughed before turning to Brittany "Aunty Brit, did you have any photos with Mama like that?"
Brittany swallowed and Santana shifted uncomfortably, it was still a sore subject for them how Brittany had missed out on Santana's pregnancy all these years later. Brittany glanced over at Santana as she answered, letting her know she had this and knew how to answer it.
"Well, actually I do." Said Brittany, as she flicked through her iPhone and found the photo she wanted to find. It was one from the summer of 2008, before Brittany had left for New York and before Santana even knew she was pregnant, but it was after prom so she definitely would have been. "See here? You were just a tiny, tiny little pea at this point, but you were there".
Mila smiled as she studied the photo, before probing more.
"Did you get to feel me kicking inside when I grew? Aunty Quinn said she did and that I had real strong kicks, so it made sense I came out to be a dancer".
Brittany and Santana shared a look again, Brittany once again nodding to let Santana know she had this still.
"Actually Moo, I didn't get to feel you kick because I lived in New York by the time you were big enough to do that. I didn't even get to see you on the first day you were born but…I can tell you about the day I first ever got to meet you".
"How old was I?" Mila frowned, confused. She had always just assumed her Aunty Brit had been her life since forever, but Brittany soon assured her.
"Only two weeks old, so still a tiny, tiny baby. You lived in your Abuela's house at the time, and I watched your Mama scoop you out of the crib in her room and I remember thinking she was so, so good with you. You stopped crying straight away when she picked you up. Then she brought you over to the bed, and that was the first time I got to see your little face. I put my finger in your tiny little hand and you grabbed onto it, and my whole heart was filled with so much love. You looked just like your Mama too." Brittany wiped the tears she felt falling and when she looked over at Santana, she realised she was glassy eyed too. Reminiscing about the day when Brittany finally found out about Mila, was always emotional for them.
"I wish I could remember meeting you Aunty Brit" Mila said, wrapping her arms around Brittany when she noticed her tears.
"Oh, I know sweetheart, but you were just a new-born baby still. I have a photo though." said Brittany, and she pulled out a photo to reveal a pixelated photo of her, Santana and Mila laying back on the bed on that same night. Santana had her head resting on Brittany's shoulder and she wore a happy and sleepy smile on her face as she looked at Brittany, and Brittany was glancing down at Mila who was sleeping on her chest, still enamoured by her.
"I have a better one" Santana sniffed, wiping her own tears, and she pulled out her phone to reveal a photo of Brittany and Mila, Brittany eyes wide with love as she looked at the baby for the first time, and Mila surprisingly alert and staring back at her "This is the moment you very first met".
Brittany looked at Santana confused.
"When did you…San I didn't know you took this?"
"Mm-hm" Santana nodded "I took it while you weren't looking. I just wanted to capture the moment. I thought I had shown you years ago. There's this one too" Santana offered, pulling out another photo from the first time Brittany held Mila.
"I'm going to get these printed and framed" said Brittany, voice dazed as she traced the photos with her finger.
"And Moo, did you know that Aunty Brit's singing used to be one of the only things that stopped you from crying? You'd know her voice and her arms instantly, and whenever I handed you to her, you always calmed down. You had something called colic when you were a baby and it made you cry a lot. I remember one night; it was Aunty Brit's 19th birthday and she spent it with us. You were five months old, but I couldn't get you to stop crying, but guess who could?"
"Aunty Brit-Brit?" Mila smiled, referring to her childhood nickname for her, something she called her only occasionally now.
"That's right" Santana smiled back "You two always had a very special bond".
With both girls fully emotional, Mila looked between then, and Santana composed herself and squeezed her daughter's hand.
"Sorry darling, it's just that talking about you as a baby always gets us very emotional, especially on your birthday. Why don't you run upstairs and put your pyjamas on so we can kick off this slumber party?"
"Okay Mami" Mila agreed, no questions asked as she ran off towards her bedroom.
Santana looked over at Brittany who was particularly emotional, and she shuffled over and embraced her, placing a soft kiss to her forehead.
"You okay, B?"
Brittany nodded as she leaned against her.
"I am, I just… just, thank you San." Santana was confused at first, but then Brittany elaborated "Thank you for her. I know she came into the world a little unexpected, but I can't imagine life without her. I love her so much".
Santana's heart exploded at Brittany's words, and all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut to stop more tears from falling and bring Brittany's hand to her lips before finding the composure to speak again.
"Thank you for loving her and for always being so consistent in her life. She adores you Brittany".
They held each other and regained their composure as they waited for Mila to return, emotional in the fact that 11 years later, they were finally a family.
It was the doorbell that interrupted the cookie making. Santana smiled at Mila and Brittany eating the mixture out of the bowl and wiped her hands down before heading off to answer it.
"Be right back" she said, as she walked off, the smile still firmly on her face. She felt so happy. Doing family type things today with Brittany and Mila felt like what she had always dreamed of. She had a happy and healthy daughter, a beautiful, kind girlfriend who she had yearned to be with for years, nothing could wipe the smile from her face.
Or so she thought, until she opened the door and saw who was standing at the other side of it.
"Hey, how are you? I just wanted to drop this off to Mila" she said with a smile, waving the wrapped gift in the air.
Santana just frowned, dumbstruck. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
"Sorry, are you busy? I know I probably should have called or text, but I just figured I'd pop round".
Santana shook her head slightly before finally finding her words.
"Dani, what the hell are you doing here?"
This time it was Dani's turn to frown.
"I just said…I'm here to drop Mila her birthday gift. Santana, is everything okay?"
And suddenly Dani was met with a Lima Heights explosion, as Santana snapped.
"No actually! Everything's not okay. What makes you think you can just show up here out of the blue after two months and see my daughter on her birthday?"
"Santana I…I'm sorry it's been a few weeks since I've been in touch, but I think we both needed some space. You know I'm here for Mila day and night though, and you could have called me any time…"
"My daughter doesn't need you Dani." Santana cut in "It's not about you not being in touch, it's about you showing up like this now. You're not anything to Mila. You're not her second mom, her aunty, or anything like that. You were just her mom's girlfriend, so really Dani, why are you here?"
Dani winced at that, because it hurt, and she was shocked at Santana for even coming out with it.
"Hold on a second, why are you being like this? When we broke up, we left it on good terms and we were being friendly, now you're acting all hostile? I'm sorry Santana, but you're not being fair. I may not have been Mila's second mom, but I was in her life for a long time and we were pretty close. I'd like to think I could still be in her life as a friend, and you said yourself when we first broke up that I still could be."
"Yeah, well that was before I found out about the lengths you went to, to stop me and Brittany from being together" Santana said coldly. "Keeping that letter from me was one thing, but now I find out that you warned Brittany off. You're the one who made Brittany leave Lima. We could have saved ourselves so much heartache, and been together years ago, but oh no. You had to scare her off. Why would you do that!?"
"Because I loved you" Dani simply shrugged "Santana, we've been through all this. I tried to cling on to you because I wanted to be with you, and because of that I was crazy jealous of Brittany. It was wrong of me, and I'm sorry, but it was years ago…"
In the kitchen, Brittany was wondering where Santana had got to and when she heard voices starting to raise, she decided to check it out. She picked Mila up and put her on the kitchen counter so she could see the oven that was built into the unit.
"Watch the cookies for me angel, I'm just going to see where your Mama has got to"
She closed the door behind her to protect Mila's ears from what was potentially unfolding, and found Santana and Dani in the doorway, in what seemed to be a charged stand-off.
"Is everything okay?" she asked Santana softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Santana's demeanour instantly softened at Brittany's touch as she felt her body relax, and she was just about to answer when Dani spoke.
"Look, all I wanna do is give Mila this birthday gift. Then I'm gone, I'm out of your hair I promise".
"No, I won't have you coming in and out of Mila's life and confusing or upsetting her. She's had a great birthday, and nothing and nobody is going to ruin that".
Knowing Santana and her stubbornness very well, Brittany gently turned her around and placed her hands over her shoulders.
"Babe, just give her five minutes."
"What! Brit are you kidding me? After everything she did to us to keep us apart?"
"That was years ago San. We're here now. We're happy and nothing is going to get in the way of that. But honey this isn't about us. It's about Mila. I really think she'd like to see Dani. Come on, this isn't you. Don't take your anger out on Moo"
Santana said nothing but Brittany could feel her resolve soften, so Brittany turned to Dani.
"Dani why don't you go and wait in the dining room and I'll go and get Mila"
Dani looked at Santana for further approval, and although Santana sighed, she nodded. She went to sit on the stairs as Dani retreated to the dining room and Brittany went to fetch Mila. A few minutes later, she appeared in the hallway with the little girl.
"There's somebody in there who wants to see you" Brittany smiled enthusiastically, and as she led Mila into the room, she let out an excited scream and ran towards her.
"Dani! I missed you so much!"
"Oh Moosh! I missed you so much too! Happy birthday!" Dani said, bending down to hug Mila.
Brittany couldn't deny that the sight brought a smile to her face, and as Dani mouthed a thank you over Mila's shoulder, Brittany simply nodded. She knew it was the right thing to do, and on hearing Mila's excitement from her position on the stairs, Santana knew it was the right thing to do too. She had just been momentarily blinded by anger, but she was so thankful to have Brittany there to rationalise everything.
Brittany closed the door behind her and walked over to the stairs, extending her hand for Santana to take.
"Come on" she smiled "let's give them some privacy".
Dani blip aside, the rest of the week was as enjoyable as Mila's birthday, with the three of them enjoying more quality time together and making memories. It was hard for Brittany and Santana in all their honeymoon period excitement to be subtle in front of Mila, when all they wanted to do was kiss and touch each other, but they managed to steal some snatched moments. Today was going to be even harder though because it was Mila's family birthday party, so they weren't just hiding their relationship from a little girl, they were hiding it from the whole of Santana's family.
The party was just going to be a family affair, but still Santana's family was big enough for it to require lots of food, so there she was in the kitchen trying to cram as much into her oven as possible. The guests had already started arriving and Santana was starting to get a little stressed and was feeling pulled in all directions, but luckily Brittany was playing host and entertaining everyone, while Quinn helped with the food. Suddenly Santana's phone rang, and she rolled her eyes, it was like the universe just didn't want her to get things done today, but she saw it was Puck so she knew she couldn't just ignore it.
"Hey, are you nearly here?" she said into the receiver, expecting Puck's arrival to their daughter's party at any time now, still trying to multitask with all the food she was preparing.
"Actuallyyyyy, I'm not gonna be able to make the party today. Can you let Mila know and tell her I'll take her out for ice cream another time or something?"
"What do you mean you can't make it?" Santana frowned.
"I mean what I said. Stacey has a nail appointment, so I won't be able to pick her up if I'm at the party. She got her dates mixed up".
Santana felt her anger rising to the surface. Puck was really going to let their daughter down last minute like this, over his dumb girlfriend's nail appointment? He'd never really been the paternal type, but recently he was becoming even more of a deadbeat dad.
"Oh, and doesn't Stacey have legs so that she can I don't know, walk maybe?" Santana tittered sarcastically.
"Look there's no point getting all snarky about it. I can't come, I'll make it up to her another time. Simple as. It's not like she's got a shortage of people coming what with the size of your family".
"No, you're right. My family will make the effort, the same way they do every year. Just a shame her dad can't do the same, and instead has to give lame excuses and cancel at the last minute. Not forgetting the fact, you have to take the cowards way out and have me be the one to disappoint her".
"I'm hanging up now. There seems to be an annoying rattling in my ear."
"Fuck you Puck!" Santana hissed, her rage getting the better of her.
Quinn, who had heard the whole thing on Santana's end, looked at her questioningly.
"What's he done now?" she rolled her eyes.
"He's not coming. He thinks it's okay to just cancel on our daughter like that at the last minute. Now I have to go tell her and explain to her why daddy can't be there for her on her birthday party" Santana sighed, slamming the baking tray down a little too forcefully and heading off to find Mila. She was better off doing this sooner rather than later.
She found her in the living room playing with some of her second cousins and softly pulled her to one side.
"Hey sweetheart, are you having fun?"
"I am Mama. The party is great, thank you" she smiled sweetly, always so grateful for everything she was given.
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it baby but listen, I have a little bit of bad news. Your dad can't make the party anymore, but he did say he's going to take you out for the biggest ice cream ever to make it up to you. And we're still going to have lots of fun right? Abuela's here, Aunty Brit, Aunty Quinn, Uncle Pabby and Sarah, all your cousins and great aunts and uncles…" said Santana, listing everybody present in a bid to make sure Mila still felt loved and wanted, despite her father's constant rejection of her over the years.
She braced herself for the disappointed reaction, but to her surprise, Mila just simply shrugged.
"S'okay Mama. I didn't want him to come anyway" she said, before running off into the garden where the other kids had congregated to play again, before Santana could even question it.
She really wasn't expecting that response, but maybe Mila was just being defensive like she herself got when she was upset. It was a trait she so badly wanted Mila to forgo, but maybe she had to accept it was part of her genetics. She didn't have much time to mull on it before she felt a hand pull her out into the hallway away from everyone.
Of course, it was Brittany.
"Everything okay honey?"
"It's Puck" Santana sighed "He cancelled last minute on Mila. She doesn't seem too fazed but…deep down I know she will be. I feel like I've spent my whole life trying to compensate for him and make sure Meels doesn't have any abandonment issues or feel unwanted or rejected, but then he goes and pulls stunts like this".
She felt herself getting emotional thinking about Mila and Puck's stormy past, and Brittany quickly reached out to grab her arms, running soothing patterns down them to comfort her.
"Hey, hey, hey. Come on, don't get upset. You know as well as I do that Mila feels very loved and wanted, and that she has lots of people around her to make her feel like that. Even Dani showed up on her birthday and wants to be in her life still. She did absolutely fine without Puck for the first few years without him, and she'd be absolutely fine without him now. What is it going to take to get you to believe me when I say that you're all she needs San?"
Santana bit her lip as the tears fell, as she let Brittany's words sink into her.
"I know it's just…my dad was always so present at my birthdays. It's a shame her dad can't do the same for her"
And Brittany swallowed as she watched Santana, because she knew she was still struggling with her father's death, it was still very recent; he hadn't even been gone 6 months. It was a pain that Brittany could only sympathise with rather than empathise, since she had never lost a parent. She didn't have the right words, so instead she glanced around to make sure nobody was looking and pulled Santana in, pressing a wordless kiss against her temple before moving to her forehead, across each fluttered eyelid, her nose and then her lips. And when she reached her lips, Santana let out an appreciative smile, because she knew that however she was feeling she would always have Brittany to keep her afloat.
Despite Puck throwing a spanner in the works, the party was a success and Mila had a great time. Santana got past her wobble and managed to have a great time too, the only thing being difficult was not being able to kiss Brittany and act like a couple in front of everyone. At least soon they wouldn't have to keep this a secret anymore. Instead, they had shared lots of subtle looks and touches, and they just hoped nobody caught onto it. The fact they were always so tactile in their friendship worked in their favour.
It had really taken its toll on Mila, because even though it was only 7:30pm she was passed out asleep on the sofa.
"I don't think I've seen her asleep this early for years" Santana laughed "she really must have enjoyed herself"
"Yep…sign of a good party alright" Brittany agreed "You carry on cleaning with your Mom, I'll carry this one up to bed".
"Thanks babe" Santana smiled appreciatively, placing a kiss on Mila's head when Brittany lifted her and brought her towards her, then a sly one on Brittany's cheek that made the blonde's cheeks go pink. It was just Maribel here now helping with the clean-up, the rest of the guests had gone home, so Santana knew the coast was clear.
"Well, your granddaughter is out like a light already" Santana laughed, coming into the kitchen to help Maribel clear everything away "Brittany has just carried her up to bed just now."
"I'm so glad my amorcita had fun" Maribel smiled happily, before her expression turned more thoughtful "Brittany is very good to her isn't she. She's very good to both of you".
"She is Mom, and we're both very grateful for her".
"It's good that you can have somebody like that there for you. Especially after everything that happened with Dani".
Santana shifted uncomfortably a bit at that, where was Maribel going with this?
"Well…she's always been a great friend to me. You know that Mom"
"Oh, I do know that mija, of course I do. But I'm talking less about her being a great friend more a…great lover?"
Santana dropped the stack of cups she was holding in shock, luckily they were all plastic, but they spilled out everywhere.
"Mom I…"
"I know Santana." said Maribel, with a knowing glint.
"How?"
"I have eyes mija. Don't you think I have seen the way you two have been looking at each other all day? All those secret touches where your hand would brush against Brittany's hip or her hand would linger when she passed you something"
Santana's eyes went wide, and she felt herself blushing.
"Do you think anyone else knows?"
"No. You were subtle. Not subtle enough to fool your Mami, but subtle enough so that nobody else knows. You look very happy mija, and that's all I care about. And you know I love Brittany like she is my own daughter. But I have to ask, Brittany just got married. Please tell me you are not having an affair behind his back, I raised you better than that Santana…"
"No Mami, it's not that at all. Brittany and Sam, they're not together anymore. They're having the marriage annulled because it wasn't right. Both of them rushed into it without thinking. They're going to tell their parents next week when Sam is back from his work commitments, so nobody else knows yet, that's including Mila. It's a really long and complicated story, and I promise to fill you in properly another time, but just know we aren't doing any cheating or anything like that. I know it may come as a shock, but Brittany and I are in love, and we have been for the longest time. Now we are finally together and making a go of it, but it's still very early days".
"Oh, it's not a shock" said Maribel.
"It's…not?"
Maribel shook her head firmly.
"I have known you and Brittany had feelings beyond friendships since you were young teenagers, not much older than Mila. Why do you think I was so unfazed when you came out as a lesbian? In my eyes it was just 'well it's about time!'"
Santana's mouth dropped open slightly as she processed what her mother was telling her.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I knew it was something that you two had to figure out on your own, together. And one day I always knew you would."
"Did Papi know?"
"I don't think so mija. Call it mother's intuition. As Mila grows up, you'll learn more about that yourself. Mom's always know." Maribel smiled, her eyebrows raising slightly as she heard the sound of footsteps signalling Brittany on her way back downstairs "You can tell me everything another time, but your secret is safe with me".
"But…you're okay with it? You don't care or anything?" Santana asked, still slightly shocked that her mom had seen their relationship coming before she even had herself.
"I care that my baby's happy" Maribel told her firmly "If you had been getting involved in a marriage then I wouldn't have been so happy, but you've told me that's not the case and I trust you so yes, I am very happy for you. Brittany has always been a great person in your life, and like I said I love her as my own so, what's not to like?"
Santana let out a sigh of relief and a big smile as she wordlessly went over to embrace her mother. She knew she had a lot to fill her in on, but for now her mother knew and it had been anti-climactic. It was one less person to tell, and she couldn't wait until everybody knew so she could love Brittany openly and they could officially start their lives together.
Santana let out a content sigh when she finally got into bed, and an even bigger one when Brittany placed a trail of soft kisses on her face. There was a tinge of sadness in the air tonight since Brittany was going back to New York tomorrow, but they were trying not to think about it and just focusing on the here and now. When Brittany's hands started wandering, Santana pulled back before things could get too heated.
"Babe I have to talk to you about something"
"Can't we talk later? We kind of only have one more night together and I'm really trying to make the most of that" said Brittany in between kisses, moving her trail downwards and nipping lightly at Santana's neck.
Santana was finding it very hard to push Brittany away, but she knew she needed to get this off her chest.
"No come on Brit, I'm serious."
That was enough for Brittany to stop and look at Santana through concern filled blue eyes. Santana didn't keep her waiting, she cut right to the chase.
"My Mom knows about us…"
"What!? How!?"
Santana could sense Brittany's panic and she was quick to try and calm her.
"She guessed just from how we were at the party. She said we were subtle to everyone else but not to her, mother's intuition and all that. Don't worry though, she's not going to tell anyone. Nobody else knows, just her."
"How did she react?"
"Well at first, she thought we were screwing around behind Sam's back, but once I explained all that, she was really happy for us. She loves you Brit, and she knows how well you treat Moo and I. She said she wasn't even shocked because she could see how we had feelings for each other for years."
"Wow, we really were the last ones to know in our own relationship, about our feelings for each other" Brittany shook her head, seemingly bewildered.
"You're not mad are you, that she knows? I know it's not ideal, but when she asked me outright, I couldn't lie to her…"
"No, I'm not mad. Just…shocked a little, I guess. But definitely not mad. Your mom was always going to have to find out at point, it's just one less person to tell. This time next week, my family will know too. Hopefully they'll take it as well as yours did, I'm not sure it's going to be quite as smooth".
"Are you scared about it babe?"
Brittany chewed her lip for a second before nodding.
"Honestly? Yeah. I'm scared about their reaction to the annulment, scared about what they'll think about you. Scared about them finding out that I like girls as well as boys. Just scared of their reactions in general. But do you know what's even scarier?"
"Mm?"
"A future without you in it. So, whatever they throw at me, however they react, I don't care because…I know I get to come home to you at the end of it. And that makes anything worth it."
Santana smiled and snuggled her head into Brittany, closing her eyes in contentment.
"Now, can I please carry on what I was doing, because like I said, I really want to enjoy every inch of you before I leave tomorrow".
And with that Santana raised her brow and let out a smirk, eyes alight with excitement.
"I'm all yours, Miss Pierce"