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"You made it!" Brittany chirped happily, pumping her fist when she saw Santana strutting towards her. "I wasn't sure if you were gonna actually come…had a feeling you would, though."

"Wait a minute… no way. This is my class?! They're all kids!" Santana sputtered indignantly, stopping in her tracks.

She groaned, noticing that she was surrounded by a bunch of six year-olds when she arrived at the green circle right on time that morning for Brittany's class. She wondered for the millionth time why she was actually going through with this but Brittany had looked at her in that gift shop with those piercing blue eyes and her legs had somehow walked themselves all the way to the ski lifts not long after that, without even telling Rachel where she was going when she asked.

Most of the little kids were gliding around as if they had been born knowing how to ski while Santana was more heavy-footed and clumsy with the skis. She was the only adult in the entire group and the little ones were snickering at her, whispering to each other about the "girl from the video."

Santana tried to give them her most menacing glare. Rachel had informed her nervously that the video of her falling on the first day had been posted online and gone viral, to make things worse.

"C'mon, Girls. Don't make fun of Santana." Brittany chided them, the corners of her lips curving up as she watched the black-haired girl scowling at the giggling kids. She tilted her head to the side, amused and perplexed when she noticed what Santana was wearing. "Santana?"

"What? I'm wearing a coat this time and everything." The black-haired girl protested. It was true that she had finally swapped her grungy leather jacket for a ridiculously expensive, thick black fleece-lined coat that was better equipped to handle the frigid weather, a dark red scarf wrapped around her neck. Brittany just shook her head with a laugh.

"You're stubborn. Sorry but I can't let you do this without a helmet. Hey Mike, can you watch the girls for a few minutes? I'll be right back!" She shouted to a tall, lanky Asian man who was nearby. Mike, the other ski instructor, looked visibly annoyed at being pulled away from whatever he was doing but nodded, joining the little girls. "C'mon, let's go to the rental shop."

"Wait, why? Seriously?"

"'Cause I don't want your cute head to get bashed, Silly."

Brittany didn't leave any room for argument, tugging on Santana's sleeve and pulling her along. Santana just grumbled under her breath and followed Brittany, dipping her head to hide her embarrassed expression.

The tall blonde knew all of the ski equipment so well so she easily recommended the best gear for Santana. Santana reluctantly went along with that, following Brittany through the shop without further protest. She found herself smiling along with Brittany's quirky jokes, enjoying her company and almost forgot about her previous humiliation. Even though Brittany was somewhat famous and had won all those competitions, she was completely down to earth with everyone.

A flurry of snow was coming down hard as they went back outside, creating a pillow-like surface on the ground while the sun shone brightly. The conditions were ideal for skiing. Brittany stopped and held out her tongue for a moment, catching a snowflake and Santana smiled at how innocent she looked doing that. Her vision was blurred for a moment when her helmet slipped down.

"There you go. Much better." She whispered softly, pausing to adjust Santana's black helmet and goggles that were sliding down her face. Santana swallowed hard, squirming as Brittany did this and she was flustered by her close proximity. Their eyes locked again and it was as if Brittany could read her deepest thoughts.

She had never met anyone like Brittany before. This girl was so bold and seemed to have no reservations about touching her whatsoever, which Santana wasn't accustomed to but for some reason, she didn't mind when Brittany did it even if she would have balked at anyone else putting their hands on her. It felt as if, well… as if they were friends, despite only knowing each other for a few days. Santana couldn't remember the last time she had a true friend or anyone to talk to other than her sister, who she was kind of forced to talk to anyway.

"Um… thanks for your help."

"No problem." Brittany winked. Santana suddenly remembered something else.

"I um… this belongs to you. I'm sorry I didn't return it earlier. I washed it, by the way." Santana held out the pink cat hoodie, her hand shaking slightly as they made their way back up to the green circle trail where the little girls were waiting with Mike, excited and cheering when the two older girls approached. Brittany just shook her head.

"Keep it. It looks cute on you. Good to see that you're all healed up, by the way."

Santana sighed, looking down at the snow and shifting her weight on her legs. She was never good with apologies but she knew she fucked up with Brittany when the blonde girl had only ever been kind and patient with her the entire time. Maybe kinder than Santana deserved. She took the opportunity to talk to Brittany about something more private while the children were distracted before the lesson began.

"Look, I know I kind of made an ass out of myself the first time we met. I'm really sorry for being such a jerk and now that stupid video is online. I wanted you to think I was cool but I guess I failed." Santana mumbled, shivering slightly and trying to hide how cold she actually felt with the wind blowing strongly now. Her fingertips felt like they were going to fall off even in the thick gloves she was wearing and her lips felt numb. Brittany was just completely relaxed and enjoying the brisk weather even though her pink coat was much thinner than Santana's.

"I think you're very cool and rugged," Brittany walked up behind her and husked into her ear, her hands sliding on top of Santana's that were holding the poles. Santana shivered as Brittany's roaming hands seemed to be everywhere at once, sliding around her and into her pockets. She wasn't sure how Brittany could make her hands go all over at once in so many different places but she suddenly felt much, much warmer than she had a second ago, heat scorching up her neck. "So badass. My hero."

"What… what are you doing?"

"You looked like you were freezing," Brittany shrugged casually, pulling away before Santana had fully registered what just happened. "I just wanted to warm you up."

"You can't do that."

Brittany just smirked playfully, her blue eyes sparkling. Santana wasn't sure if Brittany was teasing her or flirting with her but either way her heart was beating very fast. She didn't know how to respond as Brittany just skipped away with her signature fox eyed smile.

"Okay, Guys, sorry for the wait. Let's get started."

The blonde began running through each of the drills for them to practice, including the pizza formation, showing them how to move their legs and how to ski a straight line down the very gentle slope as their first task. She was a calm and accommodating teacher who took her time to make sure everyone felt comfortable. She was also so natural with children. Brittany told them what stance they needed to get into and paused when she saw Santana, walking up behind her and helping her get into a better posture for skiing.

"Not quite like that. Like this."

Santana tried to ignore how Brittany's hands felt moving from her hips to her back and shoulders, then pushing gently on her lower stomach. She knew Brittany was just doing her job as her instructor but it felt way too sexual and Santana could barely concentrate.

"You're too rigid and locking your knees because you're nervous. Loosen up a little and bend your knees just slightly but tighten your core."

She resisted the urge to mention how tightened her core currently was at the moment. They went through a few basic exercises and Santana couldn't get the turning thing right when she tried. Meanwhile, Brittany effortlessly twirled and whipped past her with her lithe, slender frame, every inch the ice goddess she was as she expertly demonstrated everything to her students.

She looked even more beautiful when she was skiing, if that was possible. It was like everything about Brittany was designed for the snow. She stopped when she noticed the grimace on Santana's face as the darker skinned girl looked down at her skis.

"It's the balancing thing that's getting to you, right? Try to be lighter on your feet. I think you're trying to go too fast and being too forceful instead of just allowing yourself to glide. It's all about being flexible."

"I don't get it! It's so frustrating." Santana growled, ready to just quit at that point and toss the skis down the hill. How could she not be able to master something as simple as this when even the six year-olds already seemed to be experts? She kept falling every time she tried to turn to the left or right and even though they weren't all that painful, it bruised her ego.

"Just relax. It's totally normal to fall at first a few times. You'll get it," Brittany smiled and then cheered when Santana did the straight line and tried to turn again. This time her form was much better and she didn't fall. "See? You're doing so good already but it's not a competition."

Santana grinned, liking the idea that she was impressing Brittany. Feeling proud of herself, she decided to be a little more daring the next time she tried skiing and go over one of the ramps this time. How hard could it be?

As she attempted this, she slipped and then smacked down hard on a sheet of ice, stomach first and very painfully. It knocked the breath right out of her. Brittany winced and there was a collective "Ewww" from the little girls as Santana emptied the contents of her stomach, which thankfully weren't much because she had barely eaten anything, groaning into the snow. All she could think about was how grateful she was that she hadn't knocked out her teeth. She cursed loudly and one of the girls complained about her saying a bad word. Brittany came up to her and rubbed her back gently, pulling her long black hair out of the way.

"It's alright." She whispered gently, continuing to rub her back.

"Sorry. Ugh this is a disaster." Santana groaned, her eyes welling up with tears.

"It's really okay," Brittany helped her up, slipping an arm under Santana's and around her chest to support her weight. Santana was so grateful for Brittany's calmness and the fact that she didn't seem upset or annoyed as she helped her stand up again. "That looked painful. I think that's enough for now. You should take a break for the rest of the day."

Santana leaned into her touch, grateful for it despite her usual reluctance to show weakness. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"You're so kind to me, Brittany."

"I mean, only the best for my favourite student," Brittany shrugged. Santana's eyes shot open at that remark and there was no doubt that it did wonders for her ego. Her heart fluttered. "I'll walk you back to your room."

Santana knew from the look in those blue eyes that there was no point to her arguing. The parents of the girls came to collect their children a few minutes later and Brittany waved to them, helping Santana along.

"Someone likes to show off, huh?" Brittany smirked as she teased her, nudging her in the side playfully as they went up to Santana's hotel room. Santana said nothing, rendered silent and couldn't even think of a good comeback. "I like when you show off. Even better when I get to play nurse."

Heat rose to her cheeks. Yep, Brittany was most definitely flirting with her and Santana wasn't sure how to handle that...

A thick blanket of powdery, fresh snow was now covering most of the courtyard and grounds of the hotel after it had come down heavily the night before. As much as the guests loved the sight of the fluffy white and Finn did as well, it meant that his work was cut out for him that morning. Finn was shoveling snow out of the walkway leading to the hotel and his mind drifted to that strange Rachel girl he had met a few days before.

He was so sick of these girls who stayed at the resort who were always so high-maintenance, always living in their little protected bubble and stirring up drama when they felt like it. He had a full day ahead of him: classes, stopping for lunch break which would probably be pizza with Brittany from their favourite takeaway place and then back to more classes. The extra money he made from helping to maintain the premises wasn't much but it was something. Finn was so accustomed to manual labour in the snow that he could do all of the work in just a t-shirt without freezing to death.

He smiled to himself, thinking it was funny how that random girl he saw walking out of the hotel looked kind of like Rachel. Now he was even hallucinating about rich girls. It was probably an optical illusion. Maybe the cold was getting to him after all.

Except it wasn't an illusion, Rachel was walking swiftly in his direction and waving enthusiastically. Finn cringed, wondering if she was going to try to involve him in some other drama. He shouted, trying to warn her to be careful but Rachel began to slip on the icy walkway so he ran towards her and grabbed her arms to hold her up before she fell.

"What are you doing?" He huffed as Rachel stared up at him with big, panicked eyes, shrieking as she almost fell.

"My hero! You rescued me again." The brunette girl sighed, her eyes dreamy now rather than alarmed as they had been before. Finn noticed the way she was looking at him like a lovesick little girl and let go of her, annoyed. "Oh thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome. You um… you should be more careful, especially if you're not accustomed to winter." He mumbled quietly in response. He tried to walk away and end the conversation without seeming rude but Rachel was just not understanding that.

Rachel on the other hand, was amazed by the sight of Finn in just a gray t-shirt, his large, muscular arms visible and she was dazed by those light amber brown eyes with flecks of gold in them when his gaze met hers for a second. He was wearing a gray beanie and covered in a dusting of snow all over his head and shoulders. Finn was older and so cool in every way in her eyes. Rachel thought she was making her interest in him very clear but Finn didn't seem to be interested in befriending her despite her efforts.

"Wait Finn… I um… I'm sorry to interrupt you but I just wanted to ask you if you would consider teaching me how to ski. I mean… if your classes aren't full, as I'm sure you're probably fully booked."

Uh oh. That sent several alarms off in his brain. Teaching Rachel how to ski? That would be a difficult job and he really didn't want to be the one doing it. He didn't want to be involved in it at all.

"Oh um…" He paused for a long moment, trying to figure out an excuse to not have to be the one to go through with that situation. "I um… might be. Are you sure you don't want Brittany as your instructor? We have this other friend, Mike who's really good too…"

"No!" Rachel shouted at once and then covered her mouth with her gloved hand, embarrassed. The gloves were, of course, bright yellow just like the rest of Rachel's elaborate, fluffy winter outfit. "Sorry, that sounded rude of me. What I meant to say is that Finn, I would much prefer if you were the one to be my instructor."

"Are your dad and older sister okay with you skiing? After what happened last time?" Finn asked, narrowing his eyes at her skeptically. The girl seemed very sheltered and young for her age. It was obvious that she had never done anything outdoorsy in her life. Rachel nodded quickly, becoming impatient.

"They know I'm an adult and can make my own decisions. Skiing will be so important for my personal development and I just know that you, Finn Hudson, will be the one man to help me hone the skills I need to master this sport."

Finn sighed heavily, pressing his palm against his forehead at this strange, formal talk. Rachel was completely controlling this conversation and he was so freaked out by her intensity that he didn't know how to turn her down at this point. For all he knew, maybe she'd get her dad or that grouchy older sister of hers to go after him if he refused her. Or maybe she'd sue him. She was so forceful.

"Fine, Rachel. If it's so important to you, I have a beginner's class this afternoon at the green circle trail and you can sign up for it online." He grunted, grabbing the shovel and moving to another stretch of snow. He just knew he was going to regret this already judging by how Rachel was shrieking in delight and staring at him constantly with those big brown, innocent eyes like some fourteen year old at a boy band concert watching her idol.

Santana kept her eyes closed and lay back on the couch, still reeling from her fall as Brittany moved around in the small kitchen area of her hotel room, making some hot tea for her after she had given her an ice pack to press to her face. The large room had all of the amenities including a stove and a fridge. There was even a hot tub out on the balcony area. She couldn't deny that it was nice to have someone who cared about her as much as Brittany seemed to even though it was embarrassing that yet again she had been terrible at skiing.

There was a knock on the door and Brittany went up to it, looking through the peephole. They both heard what was unmistakably Rachel's loud, shrill voice. They could also hear the pout in her voice.

"Santana! Please open up, it's me! You weren't answering your texts and I really need to talk to you now! Where were you?! You just disappear without telling me anything."

Santana rolled her eyes, silently making a gesture to Brittany with her arms crossed in an X in front of her chest and twisting her mouth, making a face to show how much she did not want her to allow Rachel in. Brittany just chuckled at her antics but after a few moments passed with Rachel still standing there, Santana relented with a sigh, realizing that she would inevitably have to talk to her sister again. She got up to remove the latch from the door and let Rachel in.

"There you are! The most amazing thing just happened…I have so much to tell you! I met Finn and he was so charming, I'm going to ski lessons with him starting today and-"

The short brunette froze, cutting herself off and stared at the ski instructor in confusion for a long moment, blinking. Brittany just smiled at her, passing a cup of hot tea to Santana.

"It's ginger tea. It'll help your tummy."

"Brittany?" The short girl frowned, somewhat annoyed that Santana had a guest over without telling her. Santana never usually had any friends over so it was a little shocking to Rachel and she was surprised but also a little jealous that her sister seemed to have made a friend a lot faster than Rachel had.

Will and Emma had given the girls a lecture, encouraging them to try to get out more and meet some new people while they were on vacation but it seemed like her older sister was way ahead of her even though she had been the one to scoff at their parents' advice. Santana shot Rachel a sharp, irritated glance, warning her not to say something that might embarrass them or turn Brittany off.

"She's just… helping me. Not that it's any of your business, Troll." Santana grunted, putting her hand on Rachel's head and shoving her back slightly before collapsing on the couch again in exhaustion.

"Well hello, Brittany. Where are my manners? My apologies for the interruption. Santana didn't inform me that she was having a guest over or that you two were friends."

Santana looked at the blonde, wondering how she would react to that but Brittany didn't seem bothered, laughing lightly as she greeted Rachel with a little wave and sitting beside her on the couch. Rachel arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about Brittany and her apparent relationship with her sister, e specially when Santana was ignoring Rachel's entire speech as she recounted the way Finn saved her again from a dramatic fall on the ice. Instead, the brunette noticed that her sister was sneaking glances at the ski instructor, gazing at the tall blonde with adoration whenever Brittany wasn't looking at them.

Rachel hmphed in annoyance, giving up and crossing her arms over her chest as she stamped her feet. She didn't want to be rude to a guest but it was difficult to control her irritation toward the situation. It was obvious that Santana didn't care about anything else aside from impressing this blonde woman, though Rachel couldn't understand what was so special about Brittany as she seemed completely ditzy and airheaded.

"Santana! I'm trying to tell you a story and you're just ignoring me!"

"I always ignore you, Pipsqueak." Santana huffed, finally glancing in her direction.

"If you're just going to not listen to me then I'm leaving. You're such a jerk." Rachel muttered, already getting up. She just wanted things to be like how they normally were with her and Santana hanging out on their own, watching movies but that couldn't happen with Brittany around. Rachel would always be the third wheel.

"Rachel, are you okay? Is there something wrong?" Brittany asked quietly. Santana on the other hand just cursed under her breath, glaring at the shorter brunette.

"Then get out! You're ruining things for us anyway. Just like you always do." She hissed at Rachel. Sometimes she really wanted to be an only child and this was definitely one of those moments. She couldn't believe her spoiled sister was going to have a temper tantrum and embarrass her in front of Brittany.

Rachel stomped away, slamming the door and Santana made no move to chase her. Rachel couldn't believe her sister's audacity to treat her that way, biting her lip and trying to ignore how hurt she felt. She made up her mind that she was just going to try and forget all about her mean sister. At least she would be spending time with Finn Hudson with his dreamy golden brown eyes. That would be the perfect distraction.