For the third time in the last ten minutes, Santana checks her phone for the time. With a groan, she throws up her hands and stomps her way around to the driver's side where Puck is casually scrolling through his phone while he waits.
"This is ridiculous. She's already fifteen minutes late!" Santana huffs. "Where is she?"
Puck barely looks up, "She said she's coming."
"Well, can she come any faster?"
"That's what she said."
Santana gives him an unimpressed look, "Call her again."
"You have her number. You call her."
"But you're already on your phone."
"Yeah, and I'm busy."
Santana rolls her eyes and reaches for her phone. She's just about to hit call when the front door of Brittany's building finally swings open and the blonde comes walking out with her suitcase at her heels.
"About damn time!" Santana gripes. "You know we have a plane to catch, right?"
"You've only reminded me a billion times," Brittany replies coolly while Puck hops out of the car to pop the trunk. "Hi Puck."
"Hey Britt," Puck greets as he lifts the door. "Don't mind her. She's always cranky before a flight."
"I can see that," Brittany comments as she stows her suitcase next to Santana's.
"I'm not cranky," Santana frowns as she crosses her arms. "I just don't want to get stuck in traffic. You know what it's like this time of year."
Puck only shrugs, deciding to stay out of this one, before going back to the driver's seat.
"You worry too much," Brittany tells her as she shrugs off her bookbag next to pack away.
"I wonder why," Santana grumbles. "If you knew what time you needed to be ready, why are you still late?"
"What?" Brittany smirks. "I like to make an entrance."
"Not funny."
Brittany chuckles as she reaches up to close the trunk. "Watch your head, Honey Bun."
Santana only narrows her eyes at Brittany before going to join Puck in the car.
\\
Thankfully, they don't hit much traffic on their way to the airport. When they pull up to the drop-off zone, Puck's practically kicking them to the curb. Apparently he has a hot date later and he needs to be back on campus in time to get ready. Of course, Santana comments on how getting ready to him only means dousing himself in cologne which really doesn't take that much time.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll miss you too," Puck dismisses Santana with a laugh. He pulls her in for a hug and whispers, "Try to be good."
"No promises," Santana smirks before pulling away to grab her bag.
Puck then goes over to Brittany, "Good luck, Britt. Mama Lopez might be a little scary at first, but she's a total softie – just like Santana."
"Hey!" Santana huffs.
Brittany only smiles, "Sure. Thanks for the ride, Puck. We'll see you in a few days."
Puck takes a step back and waves as Santana and Brittany get settled with their bags.
"Don't kill each other, alright?" He warns them before getting into the car. "I still need Britt's help to pass math and Santana, you need to pay your share of the rent!"
\\
Inside, Santana and Brittany hastily walk side by side to the counter to get checked in. Santana's a pro at the process considering how often she travels home while Brittany only trails behind looking somewhat lost. Santana considers asking why that is, but that sounds a little like caring and she doesn't do that. Instead, she just hands Brittany her boarding pass and a luggage tag.
"Put that sticker on your suitcase," Santana instructs while she does the same to her own bag. "And don't lose that ticket."
Brittany nods and quietly does as she's told before following Santana to hand off their bags to the man behind the counter. Afterwards, they make their way to security. Santana's keeping a watchful eye on the time, making sure that they don't miss the boarding announcement.
Before they know it, they're both sitting in their assigned seats on the plane. It's a smaller plane but all the more crowded considering it's still the holidays. She's surprised her dad didn't opt for an upgrade to business class like he usually does, but the bad seats are probably punishment for not coming home for Christmas.
Then again, he's one to talk considering he's always away for the holidays.
While the flight attendants go through the safety procedures, Santana shuffles out her phone and earbuds. It's not until she's scrolling to find a playlist to listen to that she notices a shift in Brittany's demeanor. She's fidgety and tense and refuses to look out the tiny window as the plane reaches cruising altitude.
Brittany's cageyness has Santana pressing pause on her music, her curiousness getting the better of her. She eyes Brittany and all the signs are there. Really, she should've known from the moment they checked in but that doesn't keep her from asking the question anyway.
"Is this your first time on a plane?"
Brittany's white-knuckling the arm rests but attempts to look unfazed.
"No," She replies. "I've been on a plane before."
Santana quirks her brow, "Right. So you're afraid of flying then?"
Brittany's jaw tenses, "I'm not afraid. I just don't like it."
Santana finds herself softening a little, "Why didn't you say something before?"
"I didn't know it was still a thing," Brittany replies as she crosses her arms tightly. "The last time I was on a plane, I was like ten years old."
"Oh," Santana sits back.
Surprisingly, Santana feels kind of bad for the blonde and all she hears is Puck's stupid voice in her head telling her to be good. When it comes to Brittany, that's just something she can't help but struggle with. However, this past week she's gotten a little better reeling in her animosity.
"Well, it helps to keep yourself distracted," Santana offers. "You could always nap?"
"I don't think I'm in the mood to sleep."
"You're so weird," Santana jokes lightly. "We're college students. We're always in the mood to sleep."
Brittany only side-eyes her, but it lacks the usual judgement. Call it a moment of weakness, but Santana's suddenly invested and moves to take out her earbuds.
"Alright, I know what'll be a good distraction," Santana says as she unclips her seatbelt and starts taking off her sweater.
Brittany scoffs, "I'm not joining the mile high club with you."
"Please. I'm already a member," Santana quips as she tosses the sweater to Brittany. "You can borrow that."
"What?"
"Your first mistake was wearing short-sleeves on a plane. It's always freezing," Santana tells her. "Also your shivering is kind of distracting."
Brittany looks like she's about reply, but instead she puts on the sweater without resistance.
"Thanks."
Santana just shrugs as she bends over to grab her bag from beneath the seat in front of her. She quickly pulls out her laptop and a book she checked out from the library before they left that she was going to use for research for their assignment.
"Pick one," Santana tells her. "Hard copy or ebook?"
Brittany looks back and forth between the two with a confused look on her face.
Santana sighs, "Best way to distract a nerd? Give them homework."
Brittany rolls her eyes at the jab but reaches for the book.
"I knew that's what you were going to pick," Santana says as turns on her laptop. "You strike me as the type that's all about saving libraries and book stores."
"Well someone has to," Brittany quips.
Santana just chuckles as they fall into their research. It takes about an hour before Santana notices the tension leave Brittany and she's consumed by the work of it all. The blonde ends up getting out her own laptop too so that she can do some note-taking while Santana does the same on hers.
After another forty minutes though, they're already back to their usual bickering. It all started with whether or not a certain chapter was relevant to their research and it went downhill from there.
"I don't know why you're even taking this class," Brittany argues. "It's not like you need it for your major."
Santana scoffs, "How do you know what I major in?"
"Please. I know a wannabe lawyer when I see one," Brittany counters. "It would explain why you love arguing so much."
Santana's brows rise. This girl is really testing her patience, but instead of going completely off on her, she takes a deep breath and lets the comment roll off her back. She's all about taking the high road for the next three days.
"How about we give the assignment a rest?" Santana suggests. "We should really talk strategy for when we get there."
Brittany takes a calming breath too, "Okay. Sure. What's the plan?"
"Well, the whole point of this arrangement is to convince my mom that I'm capable of being in a serious relationship," Santana says. "Apparently that equals to taking my future with her at the firm seriously."
"So you are a wannabe lawyer?"
"Really?" Santana looks unamused. "We're landing soon. We both need to be on the same page here, so be serious. This is like the main event, it's like make or 's – "
"I get it," Brittany interrupts. "It's all or nothing."
"Exactly," Santana says. "So for the next three days we have to really sell being in a relationship together. Not only do you have to act like I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you, you have to talk me up too. I'll do the same for you, because we need to really make them believe that you'll be sticking around for awhile. We can't break character."
"You're the one that breaks character."
"We can't argue either," Santana urges. "We have to be on our A-game. The first appearance means everything, we're setting the tone here and if we don't convince them with this trip then we might as well end it."
"I got it, Santana," She says noting the importance. "Don't worry. I won't screw this up."
\\
Once Santana and Brittany make their way off of the plane, it's like showtime all over again. Just as they've been practicing back on campus, their hands find each other's almost instinctively.
"My mom should be waiting outside but sometimes she likes surprising me at the baggage claim so be on your toes," Santana whispers to Brittany as they walk.
Brittany just nods as she lets Santana lead the way. It's a short walk to their assigned baggage claim and the couple stands by and waits for their bags to tumble out onto the belt. Santana's trying to be subtle as she looks around for her mom, but Brittany can't help but laugh at her.
"What?" Santana frowns.
"You look suspicious as hell," Brittany jokes quietly. She moves her arm around to lie across Santana's shoulders, "Be cool."
"I am cool," Santana whispers back before poking at Brittany's ribs.
Brittany lets out a laugh, "Don't. That tickles."
"Well move this. I'm not an arm rest," Santana says as she shrugs off her in favor of getting closer to the conveyor belt.
Brittany only pouts at the loss and trails behind her. After a couple more minutes of waiting, Santana's bag tumbles out first.
"Oh! There's mine," Santana points out and quickly goes over.
Suddenly another bag slides out and lands on top of it, pinning it to the belt. Santana gets her hand on her bag's handle and tugs, but the thing doesn't budge. Now she's doing the awkward jog beside it while trying to avoid running into the others waiting for their bags too.
"What the fuck?" Santana grumbles as she continues to tug. She looks back at where Brittany's standing and sure enough there's a cheeky grin on her face. She lets out an annoyed huff but pastes a smile on, "A little help?"
"You've got it, Babycakes!" Brittany assures her with a smirk. "Just lift with your knees."
Santana rolls her eyes but as she goes back to tugging. She's almost got it but ends up nearly twisting her ankle stumbling over a baby stroller in her path.
"Shit!" She shrieks as she tries to evade it. She stares daggers at the couple who quickly move the stroller out of her way, but she still looks like a fool trying to avoid the collision.
"Yeah! Good idea!" Santana snaps as she takes a threatening step forward. "Don't want some helpless traveler tripping over your newborn child! Great parenting you fu –"
"So sorry about her!" Brittany quickly steps in with a charming smile on her face and an arm around Santana's waist, holding her back. She then lifts the suitcase off of the belt easily with her free hand, "Someone's a little hangry, long day of travelling. Cute baby though!"
The couple smiles apologetically before moving to the opposite side of the belt. Meanwhile, Brittany just passes the suitcase over to Santana without another word. She doesn't need to say anything though, the look on her face speaks volumes.
"Shut up," Santana mutters.
Brittany only giggles as she drops her arm from around Santana, "You almost tripped over a baby."
"Because someone didn't help me," Santana complains.
"What were you going to do? Fight them?"
"I don't know, maybe!" Santana grumbles to which Brittany laughs even more. "See, everyone thinks I'm the little shit but really it's you. You're the biggest little shit I know."
Despite smiling like it's the nicest thing Santana's ever said to her, Brittany softens.
"Don't be mad, I thought you had it. Aren't you cheerleaders meant to be like super strong or something?" Brittany replies, "Besides…how'd you lift it into the trunk?"
"I didn't," Santana averts her gaze. "Puck did."
Brittany just shakes her head as they go back to waiting for their last bag.
\\
Once they get outside, it's not long before Santana spots Maribel. Her mother – dressed in her usual attire of sleek, all black everything – stands prestigiously aside her blacked out BMW.
Subtly, Santana alerts Brittany with a little squeeze to her hand.
"Where?" Brittany whispers.
"Twelve o'clock."
Brittany scans the area, "Shit. Are you sure she's a lawyer and not in the FBI?"
"I'm sure," Santana chuckles as she hears the slight edge of fear in Brittany's tone. "You scared?"
"I don't think so."
Another few steps and Maribel's hardened expression breaks into a bright smile as she pushes back her dark sunglasses. Once they're close enough, Maribel's arms open up for a hug.
"Santanita!" She coos as she brings Santana in. There's a kiss pressed to her cheek before she's held out at arms' length, "Look at you!"
Santana sighs through her smile, "Skin and bones, I know."
"I was going to say you're glowing," Maribel smirks as her eyes drift to the blonde hanging back. "And you must be the reason why."
Brittany's charming smile is back in full force as she steps up to stand next to Santana.
"Mami, this is my girlfriend Brittany," Santana says like she has practiced countless times.
"Lovely to meet you," Brittany adds with her hand extended.
Maribel takes it firmly.
Santana can see her mom is already analyzing Brittany's every move – but, they've practiced for this too. From manners to how Brittany carries herself, they've got the act down pat. Although, there wasn't much to fix – surprisingly, Brittany didn't really need help in charming anyone.
"You as well," Maribel smiles before looking to Santana. "Let's get home. I'm sure you both want to freshen up before everyone starts arriving."
Santana's eyes go wide, "Is there something happening tonight?"
"Dinner, remember?"
Santana pauses, trying to remember a time it was mentioned. Miraculously though, Brittany steps in at the last second.
"To make up for us missing Christmas," She supplies which earns her an impressed look from Maribel.
"Oh! That's right," Santana relaxes and gives a subtle look of appreciation to Brittany. "Sorry, yeah. I remember now."
"Finally someone to help keep you on track!" Maribel jokes as they all hop into the car. "I like you already, Brittany."
Santana's hesitant to perk up just yet, she's probably heard Maribel say the same exact thing to at least three other girls before. Nonetheless, all good signs so far.
\\
Back at Santana's childhood home, Maribel excuses herself to the kitchen while Santana leads the way upstairs. Brittany stays put in the foyer though, caught between following Santana and listening to the various voices mixing in with Maribel's.
"Should I go introduce myself?" Brittany wonders.
Santana hesitates before shaking her head, "You'll meet them soon enough. Let's just get settled first."
Brittany nods and continues up the stairs behind Santana.
It's crazy how similar everything always is between trips back, even down to the smell of laundry powder and something Santana can only describe as home. It's always a comforting thing to return to, but this time she struggles to find that familiar comfort because tagging along behind her is someone she'd never thought she'd be here with.
With a glance behind her, Santana sees Brittany admiring the various photo frames lining the hallway walls. They're mostly pictures of family gatherings, Santana and her cousins when they were younger, photos of her grandparents and –
"Is this you?" Brittany pokes her finger out at a picture of a tubby, naked baby sitting in a stock pot holding a whisk.
Santana jumps to cover the picture with her hand, "No!"
Brittany quirks her brow, "Then why are you covering it?"
Santana stammers for a comeback, but in that time Brittany's moved on to the next embarrassing baby photo. This time a young Santana is dressed in a furry onesie complete with an eared beanie.
"Look at this cutie patootie!" Brittany coos. "Are you wearing little Pooh Bear footie pajamas?"
Santana's hesitant to answer, "That's...not me."
"That's just adorable," Brittany says. "A little Sanny Bear."
"Dear God, never call me that again."
Brittany doesn't seem to hear her though, too busy admiring the other baby pictures – and there are a lot of them!
"Okay," Santana tries to interrupt. "We don't need to look at every single picture here."
"But there's so many!"
Santana lets out a deep sigh as Brittany continues her browsing.
"Who knew this precious, little buddle of joy would turn out to be…" Brittany glances over to Santana who wears a grimace.
"Go ahead. Finish that sentence."
Brittany smirks, "You were a cute baby. I don't know what happened."
"I'll have you know many people still think I'm cute."
"Hate to break it to you, but they're lying."
"Yeah well, if people didn't think I was cute then why was I a baby model!" Santana blurts then quickly cups her mouth as if it'll counter the words Brittany just heard.
When the blonde's grin widens, Santana knows she's fucked up.
"You were a what?"
Santana doesn't answer, but Brittany just turns back to the many pictures that cover the wall. They're clearly professionally done, but people do that – especially people who only have one kid but now that Brittany takes a closer look Santana's statement makes so much sense.
"You really were," Brittany's jaw drops a little. "Now that is something I didn't expect."
Santana only rolls her eyes, "Can we move on now?"
"No way!" Brittany giggles as she follows Santana down the hall, "I'll never forget this. Were you a Gerber baby too? Appear on any baby food boxes? What about screen time on a diaper ad? Wait, does Puck know?"
"He does not and he never will," Santana warns as she spins on her heels. Her warning loses some of its bite when she realizes Brittany's got at least three inches on her.
Brittany only smiles down at her though, "Your secret's safe with me, Sanny Bear."
"Don't call me that."
Brittany only laughs as she goes to pat Santana on top of the head but Santana's quick to bat her hand away before continuing the journey to her room.
"That door there is the bathroom. Next to it is a closet full of towels and stuff," Santana explains before opening the adjacent door, "And this is where the magic will not be happening."
Santana stands aside as Brittany takes a step in.
She scans the dark walls covered in more photo frames that contain black and white scenic shots before moving to eye all the dark wood furniture and dark bedding.
"Woah," Brittany breathes out. "This is not what I pictured your room to look like. Why's it so dark in here?"
Santana shrugs as she parks their suitcases by the dresser, "I was a moody bitch back in high school."
"Was?" Brittany jokes before glancing over at her bookcase. One particular series stands out and it makes Brittany grin, "Wait. Were you into Twilight?"
"No."
"But you have the entire set."
"It was a gift."
Brittany narrows her eyes, still not convinced.
"What?" Santana huffs.
"Team Edward or Team Jacob?"
Santana looks back challengingly before admitting, "Obviously Team Rosalie."
"Good answer," Brittany jokes. "How'd you get away with painting your walls this color? My mom would never. Actually my mom didn't even let me pick."
"I refused to speak for a week."
"Now that sounds like a dream come true."
Santana fakes a laugh as she moves to unzip her suitcase while Brittany continues to look around. The room really is void of color, the only pop in the room is the trophy case containing several awards and the cheerleading uniform in a plastic covering that hangs off of the back of the closet door.
"So you were always a cheerleader?" Brittany points out.
"Looks that way."
Brittany nods at Santana's elusiveness before spotting another small pop of color in the form of a photobooth picture strip. In the small boxes is Santana along with someone else, a blonde girl, and they both look so young and happy as they giggle away – something Brittany isn't used to seeing on Santana.
"Who's she?" Brittany asks.
Santana doesn't even look up, "A friend."
"You gonna give me vague answers all weekend?" Brittany grumbles.
This time Santana forgoes replying all together.
Brittany just shrugs and goes back to admiring the room, but the framed photographs are what keep catching her eye. There's something about them that's alluring[lg1] and thought-provoking, even if it's only black and white cityscapes.
"These pictures are really cool," She ends up saying aloud.
"My dad took them," Santana answers. "He's a photographer."
"Ah, so the baby model thing makes sense."
"It's also probably where I get my moodiness from too," Santana jokes.
Brittany smiles, "Yeah. I can see that."
Santana catches herself smiling as well. One thing she's noticed from being around Brittany for way too long, she unfortunately has a very infectious smile. She kind of hates how it's growing on her the longer they hang around each other.
"Well, dibs on first shower," Santana replies as she looks away. She already has a change of clothes under her arm, "I'll be quick so don't go rooting around my stuff."
"Got it," Brittany chuckles as she goes to unpack her suitcase.
\\
When it finally comes time to introduce Brittany to whoever might be downstairs, Santana struggles to keep her cool. Obviously, she puts up a good front with Brittany around but lying to her mom is a whole other ball game. The woman raised her, she can tell whether or not Santana's lying before Santana even knows it!
"You look like you're going to pass out," Brittany notes with an uneasy look on her face.
Santana takes a settling breath, "I'm not. You ready?"
"Duh," Brittany replies confidently. "I told you, I'm great with parents. This'll be a walk in the park."
"Keep telling yourself that," Santana jokes as she leads the way to the staircase.
In the short walk down, Santana keeps replaying their well-rehearsed origin story in her head. They've nailed it on campus over the past week, so hopefully they can keep it up here. She just has to keep her facial expressions in check, because those are always dead giveaways.
As they approach the doorway into the living room, Santana finds Brittany's hand. There's a light squeeze from Brittany and Santana smiles back in encouragement, a last here we go before they're bombarded by everyone.
"There they are!" Maribel calls out as she rises from the loveseat she shares with Santana's abuela.
With a quick look around, Santana's thankful that the everyone Maribel spoke of earlier only includes abuela and her husband who's still in the kitchen from the sounds of it.
"Mami, we just saw you like an hour ago," Santana chuckles as Maribel wraps her up in a hug.
"I know, but still," Maribel brushes off before moving on to Brittany. "I hope you're hungry, Brittany. We've been cooking all day."
"I can definitely eat," Brittany replies happily. She then looks to the loveseat where Santana's abuela sits, "But I think I need to introduce myself to someone first."
"Sorry," Santana perks up as she takes Brittany over by the hand. "Abuela, this is my girlfriend Brittany."
"Nice to meet you," Brittany says with her hand out to shake.
Abuela glances to it then back up at Brittany with a look of uncertainty.
Brittany slowly lowers her hand and looks to Santana for help.
Santana sighs, "Abuela…"
What Brittany doesn't expect is for Abuela to start replying…but only in Spanish.
What's even more surprising is hearing Santana answer in the same language. Blue eyes dart back and forth between the two, trying to understand what's happening until Abuela suddenly huffs.
"Okay fine," Santana replies. "Be that way."
"Santana," Maribel chastises. "Don't speak that way to your Abuela."
"You heard her," Santana defends. "Who's being the unreasonable one here?"
Maribel only shakes her head, "Given your history, can you blame her?"
Santana looks down dejectedly. Of course they couldn't make this easy, of course they bring up her past, of course abuela wants to act stubborn around another girl Santana's brought home.
But when she looks to Brittany, she unexpectedly finds a little bit of confidence again. Because, this time things are different. It might all be a lie, but it's still different. Santana's invested in the relationship now, even if it's fake.
"Maybe I have a history but I'm with Brittany now," Santana says earnestly before going to hold the blonde's hand again. "And I know that doesn't sound like anything promising to you but this means something to me. If I have to prove that to you both then so be it."
Santana eyes Maribel and Abuela, surprised to see somewhat of an impressed look on their faces. Even Brittany's looking at her in disbelief that's masked in being proud. Honestly, she doesn't know where that little speech came from but it felt good to stick up for herself for once.
Suddenly, Maribel's husband enters the room still wearing his apron.
"Dinner's ready!" He says, clearly not noticing the tension. "Who's hungry?"
"Coach Daniels?" Brittany looks from the Head Football Coach to Santana. "I thought you said your dad is a photographer?"
"He is," Santana nods. "Eddie's my step-dad."
Brittany's jaw drops a little at the realization, "No way."
It's not something Santana likes to advertise, she actually keeps it tightly under wraps considering he's the reason she even got into that school. It wasn't her first choice, it was more so a last resort after her scholarship was basically swiped from her but still – she'd rather not add insult to injury.
"So dinner?" Eddie suggests lightly. "Maribel, Alma?"
"I'm coming," Maribel answers with a smile while Abuela slowly gets up too.
Brittany and Santana hang back a little, waiting until everyone's backs are turned before whispering to each other.
"Why didn't you tell me about Coach?" Brittany says.
"I didn't think it was all that important," Santana replies. "You'd find out eventually."
"Yeah, but a serious girlfriend should know already."
Santana sighs, "Okay. I get it. Can we go?"
Brittany mimics the sigh and nods, "Yeah. I'm starving."
"Don't let them hear you say that."
Brittany frowns, "Why?"
\\
Santana watches with a pleased grin on her face as Brittany tires valiantly to finish her food.
"Have you had enough to eat?" Maribel asks while Abuela passes around another dish.
"Oh, I'm stuffed," Brittany tries to politely decline for the third time. "I couldn't possibly have anymore."
Santana only smirks as she continues to pick at her plate. Meanwhile, Maribel and Abuela keep encouraging Brittany to eat more. At first, she actually put up a good fight – she must have a hollow leg or something because Brittany could really put it away – but now she's starting to struggle.
Santana almost feels bad, but she warned her about the consequences. Still though, it is pretty funny to see someone she despises trying to talk her way out of another helping of rice and beans. No one ever succeeds, not even her.
But, the punishment doesn't last too much longer though as Santana finds herself giving in.
"Okay Mami, I think she's full," Santana reasons. "Anymore and we'll have to roll her away."
There's a subtle thankful smile from Brittany before she adds, "That was probably the best home cooked meal I've had in a long time though."
"Your family didn't cook for Christmas?" Maribel asks with a look between Brittany and Santana. "Santana said there was a big spread."
Santana feels her breath hitch but Brittany's quick to amend her answer considering they didn't actually go home to hers for the holiday. That was actually one thing they didn't cover while rehearsing for this trip. Luckily for them, Brittany likes to flaunt how well she can improvise.
"Oh yeah, but it was all catered," Brittany replies nonchalantly. "My mom isn't that great of a cook."
Maribel hums in reply, "I understand. I wasn't very good either but Abuela taught me a few things."
Brittany glances to Alma who smiles proudly.
"Alma's an amazing cook," Eddie replies. "I'm still trying to get a couple recipes out of her. She keeps them very close to her heart though."
Alma winks at him and Eddie chuckles.
"She taught Santana a couple things too," Maribel adds. "Santana's a much better cook than I am actually."
Brittany looks to her expectantly – like it's yet another fact that she's surprised by – and Santana doesn't know why, but her face suddenly feels hot with the attention on her.
"A girl's gotta eat," Santana replies with a shrug. "I probably don't cook as much as I should back on campus."
"You definitely don't," Brittany jokes. "I always see you at the food court."
There's a swift kick beneath the table that makes Brittany cringe, but Santana keeps her eyes forward.
"Your allowance doesn't include eating out all the time," Maribel scolds.
"I don't do it all the time," Santana replies with a glance to Brittany. "Just on my busy days when I can't get home for lunch. You know how hard my schedule is this semester."
"Uh-huh," Maribel nods before her face softens, "Speaking of…Brittany, Santana says you transferred to Columbia only last year?"
"That's right," Brittany answers. "I used to go to MIT before."
Maribel's brows rise, same as Alma's while Eddie just quietly listens along.
"MIT? That's quiet impressive," Maribel replies. "What made you decide to leave if it's not too personal?"
Santana turns to Brittany too, intrigued. She actually doesn't know the reason why Brittany transferred, she never gave it too much thought. She just hated that she came in out of nowhere and it was like the rug was pulled out from under her for the second time in her life.
Brittany pauses, "I guess you can say it wasn't the right fit for me? My creative side wasn't nurtured as much as the intellectual so I didn't feel like I was reaching my full potential there."
Santana can't tell if Brittany's telling the truth or not or if this is just another layer to the act, but regardless the vagueness interests her.
Judging by the look on Maribel's face, it interests her too.
"I see," Maribel hums. "And what is it that you're majoring in?"
Santana shifts nervously in her seat. They've already moved on to the qualifications checklist part of the conversation. Usually Maribel at least waits until dessert, but things seem to be moving a little faster with Brittany.
"I'm actually Undecided," Brittany answers.
Santana tries to keep from gaping because what the fuck? How is being Undecided impressive? While Santana tries to figure out Brittany's angle, she watches Maribel's expression begin to shift and not in a good way.
"I thought MIT required all incoming students to declare a major?" Maribel questions.
"They do," Brittany answers quickly. "I was kind of a special case."
Santana resists the urge to roll her eyes because of course she was. Although, a little part of her wonders what Brittany means by that. How can an institution with such a requirement bend the rules just for her?
Maribel on the other hand looks impressed again, so much so that a small smile begins to form.
"Really now?" She says with just the slightest nod of approval. "How come?"
Brittany bobs her head, "I did a little work for their robotics program during the summer that received a lot of attention so they really wanted to me to go in that direction. I guess they figured if they let me stay Undecided that I'd at least be under their thumb instead of somewhere else."
Santana listens intently, same as Maribel, Alma and Eddie. This is all brand new information to her and although she wondered if this was all part of Brittany's act, she doubts it is now. What Brittany's saying sounds a lot like the truth to her and Santana finds it all oddly interesting.
"Which I was totally cool with because I've always loved tinkering," Brittany continues. "But I was mostly used as a numbers girl which isn't really my thing. I mean, it is my thing but I don't want it to be my thing. I want my thing to be whatever I decide, not something everyone else thinks it should be because what kind of life is that? I was basically their math monkey."
Brittany suddenly pauses as a light blush blooms on her cheeks. It makes Santana look at her curiously. She's used to Brittany ranting, but that was a different kind. That was something that probably wasn't meant to reach the surface.
"I'm sorry," Brittany quickly apologizes. Soon a smile is back on her face, "Anyway… at Columbia, you're allowed to be undecided."
"I see," Maribel answers. "And I hope things are different for you now?"
Brittany meets Santana's eye as a smile forms, "I guess you could say that."
Santana finds herself smiling too; damn how infectious Brittany's can be. Maribel and Alma notice too and share a look.
"I'm definitely happier," Brittany adds with a wink.
"Oh stop," Santana giggles, surprised by how easy it was for her to play along.
When Santana looks to Maribel, she finds that there's a fondness that wasn't there before. They're definitely starting to make some progress which is big considering they've only been in Maribel's presence for a couple hours!
"See, hun? I told you they were a lovely couple," Eddie says cheerfully. "Even I've heard a lot of good things about them on campus. They're like the new it couple or something. I know Puckerman won't shut up about them."
"Thanks Eddie," Santana replies. She can always count on him to break up the tension and soften Maribel's edges.
"I see that," Maribel nods as she looks between Santana and Brittany. There's a kind smile on her face as she says, "Your chemistry is really something."
Santana bites back a laugh. Chemistry? Involving her and Brittany? Yeah, they've nailed this!
\\
After dessert and helping to clean up after dinner, Santana and Brittany make their way upstairs to Santana's bedroom. The door is barely closed before they're both excitedly bouncing around.
"Holy shit, we did it!" Santana cheers in a whisper.
Brittany's equally surprised, "I know, right? They totally bought it!"
"And the chemistry comment? Us? Are you kidding me!"
"I think Alma even smiled at me!"
"No she didn't? That's big!"
"I said I think. It could've also been in relation to the food and not me, but I'll take it!"
Santana laughs while Brittany giggles too. As they settle down and fall into silence, they look around almost nervously. It's just the two of them, alone in Santana's childhood bedroom with a single bed beside them.
"So," Santana starts. "We should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."
"Yeah."
"Yep."
"So…" Santana glances to the bed then back at Brittany.
Brittany quirks a brow, "I'm not sharing."
Santana matches her expression, "Well I'm not sleeping on the floor."
"Where will you be sleeping then?" Brittany challenges.
"Where I sleep every time I come here," Santana says with a hand on her hip. "In my bed."
Brittany lets out a bitter laugh, "Oh. So that's how you treat the girls you bring home?"
"I treat the girls I bring home to a night they'll never forget," Santana answers. "However, you are not like the other girls."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't meant to be a compliment," Santana quips.
"Well I'm not getting into a bed with you," Brittany replies and starts pulling back the covers.
Santana grabs the other side of the blanket, "Well I'm not sleeping on the floor."
"So you've said."
"Then what?"
Brittany then gives the blanket another tug and snatches a pillow – Santana's pillow to be exact – and heads for the empty space at the front of Santana's bed. Santana watches with furrowed brows as Brittany starts to build a nest of blankets and pillows, leaving Santana with only a single sheet and pillow.
"You're not serious."
"I said what I said," Brittany declares.
It's Santana's turn to let out a bitter laugh, "What? Do you think I'll make a move on you or something? Because don't fucking worry, that's not on my mind at all."
"Good. I'm glad."
Santana's taken aback by the casual tone, "You're really going to sleep down there?"
"Yup."
"Look, I'm not that much of a bitch. We can just share. You can even have your own blanket and I'll have mine so we don't touch if that's what you're so worried about."
"I'm not worried about anything," Brittany replies. "I'm just not getting into a bed with you."
Santana shakes her head, "Suit yourself then but don't complain to me when you wake up with back problems."
Brittany doesn't say another word and neither does Santana as they both get ready for bed in silence. Santana raids the hall closet for another blanket since Brittany stole hers while Brittany occupies the bathroom brushing her teeth and gets changed.
As they get into their respective beds though, Santana can't help but feel a little annoyed.
They had been doing so well tonight, she was actually starting to kind of enjoy the back and forth without so much animosity but as soon as it was just them again they restored to their old ways. She's not in this to make friends, but going at each other constantly can get a little tiring – especially now that she's experienced the less frustrating side to Brittany.
She just needs to remind herself that this pretend relationship is kind of like a job and once they're alone again – once they're clocked off – they're back to their usual bullshit. She can't let herself get attached to something that isn't real, because at the end of the day – it's still Brittany, someone she can't stand.
Santana rolls to her side, struggling to get comfortable on a pillow she isn't used to thanks to the blonde. She can see the glow from Brittany's phone at the foot of her bed and frowns. She feels the urge to say something to break the silence and tension set earlier, but why? Why should she even care? Brittany was the one to create an issue, not Santana. If anyone's going to break the ice, it should be her!
But Santana doubts that'll happen, so she rolls away to face the wall instead.
She stares at it and thinks about tomorrow's game plan – the real testament to their first trip home as a couple. There's going to be even more family around, even more festivities and surely even more interrogating.
New Year's Eve is bound to be a long day and Santana needs all the sleep she can get.
A/N - Actually SO surprised I was able to finish this chapter and keep my Friday streak considering my state has found itself in Lockdown 5.0. Sigh, so rough but also necessary. Anyway, very appreciative of all the engagement this story has been getting! Makes me very keen to continue writing.
Also, if you're feeling generous and would like to show your appreciation a little differently this week consider sending a coffee my way through Ko-Fi: wheresmynaya.