Here's another one shot...
Cake
When Brittany Pierce met her neighbor for the first time, she decided that she was an annoying person and that has been it.
It's annoying that the woman always leaves a ton of shoes right outside her door and Brittany will stumble over them when she wants to enter her own apartment across the narrow hall. It's annoying that she so very often gets woken from her sleep at five am because her neighbor uses the loudest blender in the world and it is annoying that the brown-haired woman gives Brittany's dog Enzo the meanest glare whenever they cross each other's way in the hall.
In the two years Brittany's been living here they've barely said more than "hello" or "morning" to each other.
Brittany likes it that way. She thinks it's unnecessary to have those small talk relationships with neighbors. She has her friends. She appreciates the anonymity at home.
The only time their interaction was a little longer was when Enzo ruined one of the shoes. It wasn't a real conversation though. Mostly it was her neighbor spiting some curse words and a lame apology from Brittany.
She paid for the shoes of course… but ever since that incident Brittany always keeps Enzo on a very short leash whenever they leave the apartment.
When Brittany is on her way home one Friday evening, she can't wait to take off her work clothes, take a long shower and prepare for a marathon of her current favorite Netflix series. It is all she needs to come down after a long day at work. Maybe open a bag of chips and a can of soda, Enzo on the couch next to her…
In her head it sounds like the perfect way to start her weekend.
On the same day the neighbor from across the hall, Santana Lopez, finds herself in an absolute stressful situation. She's going to host a surprise party for her older brother's thirtieth birthday. He thinks he's going to pick her up for a family dinner when everybody is already going to be there to celebrate him. She invited all his friends and most of their family so there are going to be many people in her not so big apartment, but she doesn't mind.
Her brother Chris has had a tough year with losing his job and trying to get back on his feet. Everybody will have a good time tonight so she's looking forward to the party. It's not the fact that her apartment is going to be crowded that stresses her out so much. Neither is it the fact that the decorations aren't finished although the guests are going to arrive in about an hour.
It's the fact that her brilliant plan – maybe it isn't only brilliant but also a little stupid but she doesn't care - isn't working.
Chris's best friend Aiden is going to be there early in order to bring the booze, hit on her and cross the lines for the rest of the night. Like every year when he comes to town to celebrate Chris's birthday. This year she's going to let him know – once and for all – that there is no way they're ever going to be a couple. He's been trying his luck, ignoring the fact that she came out as gay. Like it means nothing to him. It's been nagging at his ego that he can't be the one to please her.
Santana would have stopped speaking to him a long time ago, if he wasn't Chris's best friend and main support system.
But tonight she had a plan to bring her girlfriend. He has never seen her with a woman and therefore doesn't truly believe she's gay. The fact that she doesn't have a girlfriend is an obstacle – sure. But Santana had it all figured out.
Her understudy colleague from work agreed to play her lover for one night. In exchange Santana was going to buy her coffee for a week but about twenty minutes ago, said colleague called to let her know that she wasn't going to make it due to some emergency.
Santana's been on the phone constantly ever since, trying to find a replacement but either they don't pick up or they already have plans. Which is understandable on a Friday night.
When she's close to giving up, a thought crosses her mind.
She knows for a fact that her neighbor has had several women over in the past six months. Not that she pays attention or anything. They don't get along – she found out quite early when her neighbor's stupid dog ate one of her shoes.
"That's why I asked you to not leave your shoes outside", was the blonde's first and annoyed reaction to the ruined shoe after Santana hammered on her door for almost a minute.
Santana's initial attraction quickly vanished. A pretty face can't cover up the fact that the blonde has a stick up her ass and apparently likes lecturing people.
Santana quickly bans that option because – nope. Not gonna happen.
There is one person left that Santana knows for sure will say yes. She really hoped she didn't have to consider it but it's her last chance to make Aiden back off in the future. She's so fed up with it.
She grabs her keys and leaves the apartment, preparing the words in her head. She's just going to run across the street, enter the Mexican restaurant and ask Gabby the waitress to do her a tiny favor. Just for one single evening. No strings attached. Please no strings attached.
They hooked up last year after Santana got very drunk there and apparently Gabby fell head over heels in love. It took several Mission Impossible worthy scenes to avoid running into the woman whenever Santana wanted to leave or enter her apartment building.
Eventually Gabby took the hint and stopped storming out of the restaurant as soon as she saw Santana from a distance with her hawk eyes.
Santana feels utterly shabby to be crawling back there now. It isn't fair. Gabby is a nice person. Too nice in fact but she is her best chance.
So when Santana hastily wants to exit through the main door, she's so caught up in her head about how she's going to make it clear to Gabby that this isn't going to be a real date, that she doesn't see the person trying to get inside.
Next thing she knows is how she collides with no other but her blonde neighbor from across the hall.
"Ow what the-"
"Shit, I'm sorry" Santana mutters and rubs her aching elbow that hit the door.
"Don't you have eyes in your head?" The woman hisses, her face contorted with pain. Santana wonders what could hurt so badly. Their crash wasn't that intense. "I think your heel just bored a hole through my toe." She spits and bends down to rub her foot.
Her face gets licked by her fuzzy dog that's always attached to her leg. Santana rolls her eyes. Apparently the woman is a bit of a drama queen.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming." Santana tries again, getting a little impatient. She throws a look across the street. The Mexican restaurant is open but what if Gabby's not working today?
"It's a glass door" The blonde counters through gritted teeth.
"Yeah well I could ask you the same then. Didn't you see me coming from inside?"
"I was going to push the door open with my back because I had the leash in one hand and a grocery bag in the other" her neighbor explains.
Only then Santana sees the mess on the ground. There are apples, bags of chips, a new toothbrush and other hygiene products lying around. Quickly she helps the blonde to pick them up and wants to get back on track with her fake girlfriend mission when the dog jumps up at Santana.
A shriek escapes her lungs. It just slips because it happens so unexpectedly.
It's not that she hates dogs. She just hasn't spent time with one. Some of them make her nervous, especially the big ones. This one is not so big and his face looks kind of cute but she doesn't want his sticky tongue near her face.
"Enzo, stop!" The blonde says convincingly, and the dog immediately sits down next to her. He looks up like he doesn't know what he did wrong. "Sorry" She adds with a quick look into Santana's eyes.
"No problem" Santana mumbles, her pulse still running high. She's not sure if their conversation is over and if she can go. So only when the blonde puts the last item back into her bag and turns around to leave, Santana does the same.
She storms off and wants to hurry across the street but a rush of cars is blocking her way. Santana uses the time to let her eyes wander over to the restaurant. She can see Gabby through the window with her apron on and a notepad in hand. She's got a friendly smile on her face when she approaches a table.
Santana thinks about it. It truly wouldn't be fair.
Why would she do something so mean? She can't mess with someone's head who used to have feelings for her and maybe still has.
So when the street is save to cross, Santana turns around instead. She jogs back to her building and takes a deep breath before entering through the glass door.
On the second floor, Brittany is searching her grocery bag for the keys. She threw them in there a minute ago when she got knocked over by her clumsy neighbor.
Her toe is still sore but she decides not to let it ruin her evening. She and Enzo are going to have a nice dinner on the couch, leaving all the work-related stress on the other side of this door.
As soon as she manages to unlock it.
She sighs when she finally finds the key and pushes it into the lock.
"Wait!"
Brittany closes her eyes. What now?
Does the woman seriously want to talk about their crash? So it hurt a little but she's not made of glass.
The door is made of glass – she still doesn't understand how the brunette didn't see her coming.
"I'm sorry - hi!" The woman exclaims when she comes to a halt in front of Brittany. She's out of breath.
Brittany makes sure that Enzo is close by her side before she looks up into the other woman's face.
"Listen… sorry about before, I didn't mean to scare your dog with my childish squeal."
Brittany is mildly surprised. So far her neighbor never seemed to care about her dog.
"No worries. He's not easily scared. Unlike you." She points out but the woman either brushes off the remark or didn't hear it.
"Good. Listen – I have no idea if you have plans tonight-" Brittany is one thousand percent sure she just misheard but her neighbor goes on like it's nothing. "but I'm having a birthday party for my brother at my place and uh… I was wondering if maybe you'd like to… if you'd like to come."
Brittany witnesses how the brunette almost chokes at the last word. It almost seems like it's taking her a lot of effort to speak. And to look into Brittany's eyes.
Brittany blinks several times.
What is happening? Never in a million years would she have expected this. From the person across the hall who sometimes laughs so loudly whenever she has guests over that Brittany can hear it in her kitchen.
She can also hear her sing sometimes. But mostly it's the more annoying part with the laughter.
"You're… inviting me to your birthday party?" Brittany wonders aloud, still not sure if this is happening.
"My brother's birthday party. But yes."
Brittany slowly shakes her head.
"But… why?" She asks with nothing but honesty.
The brown-haired woman seems to notice her complete lack of understanding,
"I know, I know" She raises her hands in defense. "This seems weird as we haven't spoken more than a few words and… we don't get along great but – well that's why I thought it would be nice. To get to know each other better."
Brittany narrows her eyes. Why would the woman try to get to know her? They most definitely have zero things in common.
"You really want us to get to know each other better? Would that even… make sense?"
"Of course! Look – I know I leave my shoes in the hall, and it annoys you but I can work on that. In fact – I'll stop doing it today."
Brittany watches the woman, wondering if she's gone crazy or something. It all just doesn't make sense.
"Ok well… that's great. Thanks. But I don't feel like partying tonight."
"What? Why not?" The woman seems genuinely surprised about how anyone can not be in the mood for a party. But there's also something else in her voice. A slight nervousness maybe.
"Because I had a long day at work and just want to hang on my couch?" Brittany rather asks than answers. This is getting frustrating. Why would she have to justify her reasons to stay in? To a person who doesn't even know her?
Brittany unlocks her door and lets Enzo inside.
"Thanks though. Enjoy your party." Brittany mumbles towards her neighbor and wants to step over the threshold, too.
"No, wait!" Brittany stops. "I need you."
Brittany is still waiting for the woman to explain because she's pretty sure that she's trying to fool her. It's working. Honestly. Brittany has never heard of such a silly idea in her life before. Her body language must show her disapproval. Or maybe her pure shock. Either way, the brunette seems insecure. Put off her stride.
Brittany's put her grocery bag inside and closed the door again, otherwise Enzo would try to sneak off and sniff his way down the hall.
She's got her arms crossed in front of her chest, looking expectantly at the woman still standing in front of her.
"Why on earth would you want me to play your girlfriend?" Brittany finally demands, causing the other woman to desperately let her hands run through her hair like she's trying to find a solution in there for whatever problem she's been carrying around.
A problem that just made her ask Brittany to play a part in a dumb plan. Brittany hasn't heard the whole plan but it can only be stupid if it involves fake relationships.
"I want you to play my girlfriend for one single night. Tonight. My brother's best friend Aiden is coming and he keeps hitting on me every single time. He doesn't take a no – never has – and I'm so done. Telling him hasn't worked, asking my brother to tell him hasn't worked, ignoring him only makes him try harder and cutting him out of my life is unfortunately not an option. So I want him to see me with someone. Maybe that'll finally wake him up. He thinks me being gay is a circus number or something because he keeps saying that he won't believe it until he sees it with his own eyes."
Brittany tries not to show it but she has to be honest – she didn't think in one thousand years that her neighbor was gay. It's stupid. Of course. You can never tell somebody's sexuality without knowing them. It's none of her business anyway. But this does come as a surprise.
"So… I'd come to the party and be there as your… partner?"
The brunette exhales a short laughter.
"Old-fashioned but… exactly. We'd pretend to be in a relationship by - I don't know – holding hands or… you could bring me a beer and throw in a 'hey babe' or something. You don't have to make out with me. That would probably only make him more interested. On the other hand, it could also make him give up because he'd see that that's what I want."
Brittany narrows her eyes.
"I mean – not making out with you but women in general. He'd see that this is my honest self." The woman quickly explains.
Brittany tilts her head to the side.
"He'd see your honest self by watching you lying?"
Her neighbor seems to think about that for a moment.
"Yeah ok I admit it sounds stupid, ok? But I'm desperate. I finally want it to stop."
"Have you thought about calling the police?" Brittany wonders and she's not even kidding. The brunette chuckles.
"It's not that bad."
"It does sound pretty bad to me if a guy can't take a no."
"I've known him all my life… he's not a bad guy. We used to get along but now it's just… annoying. None of my family have seen me with a woman and sometimes I think that Aiden is not the only one who doubts that I'm gay. Don't ask me why. I don't understand, either. It just never felt right to introduce someone to them. It was either bad timing or nothing serious."
Brittany lets those words sink in for a moment. Then she gets reminded of how hungry she is and how much she wants to take a shower.
"Look, I'm sorry but I don't think I'm the right person for this." She begins and watches the woman's face fall. At the same time it looks like she didn't expect any different. The surrender in her expression almost makes Brittany weak but she doesn't owe this woman anything.
They haven't gotten along in the past and she doesn't think they magically will in the future.
"Sure. I get it." The brunette says with a small smile and bites her bottom lip. "Sorry for bothering you." She turns around to enter her apartment so Brittany does the same.
She closes her eyes for a second. This would frankly be the dumbest thing she's ever done. It screams failure and that things might get complicated or that the night turns out to be a disaster.
She can almost hear her couch whispering her name, trying to convince her that countless nights in front of the TV are everything she needs for the rest of her days.
She doesn't need complicated things. She needs a simple life.
She bites her tongue. Then turns around once more.
"What's in it for me?" She asks, causing the other woman to turn around quickly, a big smile beaming on her face.
When Santana closes the door behind herself, she can't believe it. She can't actually believe that she just convinced her uptight neighbor who wears slippers to go to the bakery across the street on a Sunday morning, to play her girlfriend for one night.
When the blonde asked what she'd get in return, Santana started listing all kinds of things that sounded good in her head. She offered to do the groceries for a week, pay her cash, buy dog food, do the woman's laundry or bring her breakfast for three Sundays in a row but her neighbor only shook her head.
"You sell your stupid blender." She said eventually and caught Santana off guard.
"My blender?"
She had to listen to the woman explaining that she had never heard such an irritating, ear-splitting and disgusting noise before. Santana had to admit that her blender was indeed annoying but it was the only one she had. She had no idea that it also sounded so loud in her neighbor's apartment.
Santana agreed quickly because whatever but the woman wasn't done.
"Plus you always keep your shoes inside."
"Deal-"
"Plus…" Santana had no idea what was coming next. "Are you good at baking?" Definitely not that.
She said yes though because she is good at baking. She made a perfect cake for Chris's birthday this morning.
"Great then you bake another cake for me tomorrow. My niece turns six and I promised to bring the cake. I don't know why I did that because I don't bake. Or cook. I don't like it."
Santana remembers how she stared at the blonde-haired woman for a couple seconds, wondering if this whole thing was really such a good idea but before she could change her mind, she agreed.
She let the woman know that she didn't have to stay all night. She just needs everyone to know that she has a girlfriend but if her neighbor wants to sneak off after an hour or so then that would be fine.
Her neighbor took the deal and then asked for Santana's name. It came so unexpectedly that Santana was caught off guard for a moment. Not because she forgot her own name but because she realized that they had never asked each other before.
"Nice to finally meet you, Brittany" Santana said after two years of being neighbors. Her name curled around Santana's lips and it made her smile.
Brittany said that she needed to take a shower and put on a movie for Enzo (which made Santana want to laugh but she was scared to upset the blonde so she suppressed it).
"I'll come over later, ok?" Brittany asked when she was already entering her apartment. Santana just nodded. She felt relieved. Somehow her plan didn't seem so hopeless anymore.
For the next twenty minutes Santana works like a robot on speed. She hangs up all the decorations, puts the snacks on the tables, chooses a good party playlist on Spotify, changes into some fresh clothes and even manages to style her hair into a nice half-up bun. She's wearing her new black dress that it is super formfitting and just finishes her makeup when the first guests arrive.
Of course Aiden is one of them and as soon as he has his beer keg planted in the kitchen, he starts his usual ritual of trying to get into talking to Santana. At first she decides to give him a chance at being – normal. He gives her a hug and makes a compliment about her dress. Everything ok so far but when he jokes that he only found the building easily because there were rainbow flags everywhere hanging outside, she rolls her eyes and remembers why she made a complete fool of herself by creating her fake-girlfriend plan in the first place; to stop this once and for all.
If Aiden's ego still makes him act like an idiot after tonight, then she will have to tell her brother that she doesn't want to be in the same room with Aiden ever again. No matter how important he is to Chris – she won't care anymore. Even if it means she won't be able to celebrate her brother's birthday in the future.
When Aiden starts naming female celebrities to guess Santana's type, she flees into the kitchen but he's quick to follow. He then tells her which actresses that he could picture them having a threesome with.
"Can you just grow up?" She says while preparing herself a drink in the kitchen. "It's not even funny… also my girlfriend is coming over in a bit so. She doesn't like it when other people are hitting on me."
It surprises her how much of a satisfaction she feels inside when she watches his dumb face falling. He quickly recovers though.
"Your girlfriend? You really have a… she's coming? Cool."
"Yes. Her name is Brittany."
Aiden scratches the back of his head, then crosses his arms in front of her chest. Santana had no idea that her plan would work this well without Brittany even physically here, yet. He seems totally baffled.
"Oh, ok. What does she do?" He wants to know.
Damn it.
She has no idea.
She only ever sees her wearing her work uniform. Maybe something in construction? A carpenter? She already fears that her plan might not work out when another group of people come through the door and it starts to get louder.
"Why don't you ask her yourself, I'm sure she's gonna be here any minute."
She leaves Aiden alone in the kitchen, already fed up with his aura and starts greeting the rest of the guests.
Shortly after there's a knock on the door and Chris's loud voice makes everyone freeze in place.
"Santana? I'm a bit early, I hope that's ok! Hey are you having people over?"
Next thing she knows is how someone opens the door and everyone screams "SURPRISE!" in unison.
Chris nearly topples over as he apparently didn't have the slightest clue but he quickly recovers and gets circled by all the people who want to hug him and wish him a happy birthday.
When it's Santana's turn, Aiden squeezes in between and hugs her brother. They pat each other's backs like idiots and say how much they missed one another before Chris finally wraps his arms around Santana and lifts her up a couple inches.
"Hey sis… thank you so much. I had no idea."
She presses a kiss to his cheek and puts one of the funny party hats on his head that she bought for the occasion.
Right after that Chris gets equipped with beer and gets pulled away from her. It gives her time to grab a tray and bring some drinks and snacks to her other family members. Her father is there, as well as an aunt and two uncles. She's so happy that they came all the way just to see Chris. She knows they won't be staying for too long but the gesture means a lot to her.
When she's about to return to the kitchen, she can hear another knock on the door which is surprising considering the music and the laughter and talking going on. Since Aiden is the one standing right next to the door, Santana watches how he opens it and… her eyes land on her neighbor.
For a moment Santana almost forgot she was coming because of all the commotion and maybe because it still hasn't sunk that Brittany agreed to play her girlfriend.
She looks amazing. Honestly.
The work pants have disappeared and she's wearing skinny jeans instead. Perfectly white sneakers as well as a buttoned-up shirt. Her hair looks still a bit wet and her blue eyes are striking. At least that's what Santana can tell from across the room.
"Are you Brittany? I'm Aiden." Santana watches how they shake hands. "I'm a friend of the Lopez family. Am I right Santana?!" He yells and puts a hand on his chest.
Santana shrugs with the tray in her hands.
"You've been a friend of my brother, sure." She replies still standing there, not sure what to do. Now that Brittany is here, she realizes that she has to go through with her plan. Everything else would be really weird.
"This should be interesting then" The blonde comments and closes the door behind herself. Before she can do anything else, Aiden starts talking to her, eyeing her from head to toe.
"So Brittany… what is it that you do for a living? The same as Santana?"
Santana can't believe how much it unsettles her that he targets her already. He's just making conversation, you could say but she knows that he's trying to find out whether Brittany's real competition or not.
Santana wonders if she should walk away to let them talk and hopefully Brittany will know how to handle him or if she should go over and – hug her maybe?
"Can I say hi to my beautiful girlfriend first?" Brittany counters and leaves Santana breathless for a second.
She's completely numb when she watches Aiden's hilarious expression as Brittany walks over to her. She doesn't know what to do but luckily Brittany does.
Santana is still holding the stupid tray when Brittany puts her hands on Santana's waist and leans in to kiss her on the cheek gently. She lingers there for just a second.
Santana doesn't know why it makes her feel protected or why on earth her heart starts racing.
She holds her breath when Brittany still has her hands right there.
"How was your day?" The blonde wants to know. Santana is impressed. She didn't think that Brittany would take her role this serious. She kind of expected her to be annoyed or something. Especially after Santana had to bribe her in order to play along. What did she agree on again?
Baking a cake? Selling her blender? She doesn't think that anyone will pay even a single cent for that old piece of-
"It was great – thanks." Santana quickly manages to jump on board without ruining the performance that Brittany initializes.
"Yeah? How were rehearsals?"
Santana can't believe that Brittany knows about her rehearsals. Does her neighbor know that Santana works as a swing on Broadway? How?
"Rehearsals?" She mimics her foolishly. "I mean they were… perfect."
It's true. They were perfect. Just like Brittany's entrance.
Satisfied Brittany drops her hands from Santana's hips and takes the tray from her to put it on a chair.
Santana has no idea what to do with her now empty hands so she just crosses her arms in front of her chest.
She feels utterly awkward and hopes that no one will notice.
"Oh so you're in a new play? Do you play the lead?" Aiden wonders as he's coming over, too. They're all standing in the middle of the living room now, friends and family talking to each other around them.
It's an utterly confusing situation but Santana decides to go with it. It's what she wanted in the first place, she reminds herself.
"It's not new, Aiden. I already told you about it last year. I don't play the lead. I'm a swing…"
"No, I know" Aiden tries to cover up, quickly. "So Brittany, I assume you've already seen it?"
Santana swallows. She doesn't want Brittany to feel uncomfortable. Suddenly she wonders what the hell she was thinking when she asked Brittany to play her girlfriend. They're neighbors. This could easily become one hell of a complicated situation.
"No, I haven't made it so far. I've been very busy and well… we haven't been together for that long. But I plan to go see it next week."
"Really?"
Santana bites her tongue. Again – for a moment she forgot about everything. She's embarrassed about her childish reaction. When her eyes meet Brittany's, she can't read them. They're strangers, she can't know what the blonde is thinking. Probably that Santana is very gullible.
"Yeah" Brittany says with a wink, then faces Aiden as he's obviously not done interrogating them.
"For how long have you two been together?" He wants to know, causing Santana to start sweating. She really hasn't thought this through. There wasn't time to go over all the details.
When she opens her mouth to answer the question, Brittany does the same.
"Four months" is Santana's answer while Brittany blurts "Three weeks".
They exchange a look.
Fuck.
Her brain is having a real hard time functioning. Maybe she forgot to turn the heating down? Why would it be on? It's summer – maybe it's because there are so many people in here?
Aiden seems confused but Santana is incapable. She's ready to surrender and come clean when she feels a hand on her lower back.
"Sorry" Brittany chuckles with a playful eyeroll. I never know what to say to that. You always tell people about when we started dating and I always think of the day we made things official."
Santana manages to throw in a chuckle, too, thankfully taking the lifebelt that Brittany just threw at her.
"That's right" She agrees and tries to focus but the way Brittany's hand burns through the material of her dress makes it hard to keep a clear thought.
For the first time in her life she's thankful for Aiden opening his mouth when he suggests they should drink on that. He excuses himself to get them all a round of beer which gives Santana a moment to breathe.
Santana cups her burning cheeks with her hands.
"I'm so sorry" She bursts and stares at Brittany. The blonde just shrugs. "I almost ruined the plan."
"I wouldn't worry… it seems like he's buying it, right?" Brittany asks and looks around. "Are these all members of your family?"
"Oh no. Most of them are friends of my brother Chris and people who grew up with us like Aiden… you really think he believes us?"
Brittany nods. "But I think we should exchange some information before we continue." She suggests.
Santana nods hurriedly. Why didn't she think of that? Aiden could be back any minute. They should use every single second to strengthen the plan.
Within the next two minutes she finds out that Brittany designs furniture for a living and that she works with her Dad and brother at a small family business. She grew up in this town, her dog Enzo is five years old, her favorite food is spaghetti and she hates olives. She's a quarter Swedish but she never learned the language so she's doing it with an online course now. Her favorite movie is Portrait of a Lady on Fire and her first concert were The Black Eyed Peas.
Santana tries to memorize it all while trying to give Brittany the same insight about her own life but soon they get interrupted by Aiden.
"You're back… unfortunately." Santana mutters between her teeth.
"Why? Were you making out? I'd pay a lot to witness that." Is his dumbass answer.
"In your dreams maybe" Brittany shuts him off and takes the beer from him. Santana does the same.
"Ok, ok… I'm sorry. I'll stop being childish. To the two of you." He proposes and Santana accepts it, knowing that he won't remember those words in a few hours when he's drunk and whiny.
Luckily Chris joins the conversation and takes some of the awkwardness away. Whenever he's around, Aiden acts all normal.
Chris welcomes Brittany to the family – which is extremely awkward to witness as Santana didn't think Brittany would have to play her role in front of her family. But before she knows it, her Dad, her uncles and aunt have all gathered around them and Santana finds herself introducing her new girlfriend.
It feels so weird on one hand because Brittany isn't her girlfriend but at the same time she finally knows what it could be like to have her family talk to the woman by her side. It's something she has played in her head so many times.
Whenever she brought home boyfriends as a young adult, it didn't make her feel anything. Now she knows why. This makes her insides tingle because this is her true self. Maybe it took her longer than others to figure things out but she can see it so clearly now. It would make her proud to bring a woman home to their family gatherings at Christmas.
And even though she knows that this isn't real tonight – it makes her proud.
An hour into the party Brittany has to excuse herself because she notices a missed call from her Dad on the phone. Since he hardly ever calls her after hours, she wants to make sure that everything is alright.
Santana says that it would be ok if Brittany didn't want to come back afterwards and that she already did more than enough to help her. But in her eyes Brittany can see that Santana doesn't want her to go. She's not sure why she knows it. It's not like they know each other. They've only spent a short time in each other's presence.
Brittany can't believe she's already been there for so long but time seems to fly when you have nice conversations with nice people.
Brittany assures her that she'll come back because truth be told – it's kind of interesting to play along with Santana's plan. This Aiden guy is one hell of a douche bag and it makes her feel pretty good to show him not to cross the line anymore.
She wonders if Santana will still be able to put him in his place the next time she sees him.
Luckily everything is ok with her Dad and he just wanted to know if she remembered her niece's birthday tomorrow.
When Brittany sneaks back inside Santana's apartment, she can't find the brunette right away so she grabs another drink and makes her way on the balcony. She wants to turn around on her heels but Aiden has already seen her. He's standing there with two other people and waves her over.
"My new friend Brittany! Come here and let's get to know each other better."
Hesitantly she makes the two steps and leans against the banister, too. Aiden lets their glasses clink together and tells her about what he does for a living but she's not really listening.
Aiden seems to notice so he notches things up a bit.
"I wouldn't expect too much from your fling with Santana." He says with a rather low but determined voice. Brittany throws a look to her side. He's playing with his glass. "She and I… we have a long history."
Brittany nods.
"I know. She tells me everything."
This seems to surprise him. He looks up.
"She does? She told you I had my first time with her?"
Brittany takes a sip of her beer and shrugs.
"Everybody has a past." She comments. She's not really up to hearing more details.
"Yeah well it was special to me."
She already fears that he's going to tell her the story but instead he burps and complains about his empty drink. Brittany watches him head inside.
It must be painful to be in love when it's one sided… within the same train of thought she realizes that she doesn't have to feel bad for a person who doesn't realize when it's enough.
Before she can think about heading back inside, too she gets surprised by Santana who's coming to get some fresh air.
"You came back" She states with an insecure smile.
"Of course. I told you so." Brittany explains. "The party is a full success, huh?"
"Yes. I'm very happy. This is exactly what I wanted. Everybody having a good time. I hope my family hasn't been too nosy about your private life."
Brittany chuckles.
"Nah… they've been careful not to shy me away, I guess. Your Dad is very sweet. Mine can be a little harsh sometimes."
Brittany watches how Santana grins and steps next to Brittany. She looks down to the street where the cars are rushing by one after the other although it's already getting late.
"So Aiden told me about your special first time." Brittany can't help but let it slip. She observes how Santana roles her eyes and then hides her face in her hands.
"Oh God" She groans. "I feel so uncomfortable. He keeps telling people about it. We did it one single time when we were sixteen for Christ's sake. It's been over a decade."
Brittany laughs gently.
"You must have lasted an impression" She concludes before taking another sip of her drink.
"Yeah well… it's getting creepy." Santana sighs. "I don't know why I thought that a fake girlfriend would finally get it into his head that we're never going to be with each other again."
"Maybe we weren't convincing enough" Brittany suggests before she can properly think about what that means.
"Maybe… or maybe I just have to tell him in front of everybody. Once and for all."
Brittany nods because at the end of the day those people are all still strangers to her. She doesn't know what's best.
"I'll support whatever your plan is. Feel free to use me."
Brittany realizes that this sentence sounds incredibly inappropriate but it's already too late. Santana looks at her with a funny expression, her cheeks a little red.
"I mean-"
"I know what you mean." Santana assures her with a wink. "Well in that case… let's try it one more time."
Brittany goes on autopilot when Santana grabs her free hand and pulls her inside.
She follows the brown-haired woman walking in front of her, their hands connected in between. It feels nice.
Santana feels nice. Not that she really knows how she feels but it was nice when Brittany held her in her hands earlier.
Santana guides Brittany to the kitchen where they find Chris, Aiden and some others playing a silly drinking game.
"Does it ever stop?" Santana wonders. "I thought once my brother turns thirty that things kind of change but he still acts like my big high school brother who's got nothing but football, beer and girls in his head."
Brittany witnesses the way Santana's brother wiggles his eyebrows at one of the ladies and she can picture them when they were younger.
She grins and wants to watch the drinking game but she gets distracted when she notices how Aiden is looking at them from the other side of the kitchen. He seems pretty drunk in her opinion.
She doesn't know if he's the reason why her hand ghosts over the small of Santana's back once again but somehow she wants her to be close. Maybe it's an instinct or maybe she'd be just as possessive as Aiden if Santana was her real-life girlfriend but in that moment she knows that it's ok. Santana leans into her touch.
Apparently, Aiden takes it as an invite rather as a signal to back off and makes his way to the center of the kitchen and grabs an empty bottle. He places it on the kitchen isle.
"I think it's time to play spin the bottle." He states very sure of himself while Brittany just wants to roll her eyes.
Thankfully she's not the only one who thinks it's a poor idea as another woman says she's not twelve anymore and that some of them are married.
"Well then, maybe all the singles could play." He clearly says it towards Santana. Brittany can sense the brunette's body stiffen. What an idiot…
"I'm not single." Santana says but her voice is thin.
"And she doesn't need a bottle pointing at me first if she wants to kiss me." Brittany backs her up which causes someone else to whistle.
Brittany knows that her words are pretty bold but Santana doesn't seem to think they're too much. She turns around in Brittany's arm and for the first time that night, they find themselves closer to one another than before.
If Santana was one of her hookups, then Brittany wouldn't hesitate to kiss her. Everything inside her tells her that she would like it. She likes the way Santana's skin feels against hers, she likes her pretty teeth and she likes her scent. She already thought so when she kissed her on the cheek to greet her.
Whether she likes the scent of another person has always been crucial to her.
She leaves it up to Santana whether they're going to kiss in front of everyone. Santana's eyes wander from Brittany's lips up to her eyes. They look at each other and Brittany swears that the volume of their surroundings gets turned down.
Before anything happens, they get drawn from their short moment of whatever this is. Santana's brother yells something from the living room as he must have unwrapped a very cool present.
Santana takes a step back and puts a strand of hair behind her ear. Brittany clears her throat. It's probably a good thing that their moment got cut short. She doesn't know if it would have been a good idea apart from Santana's plan.
What if the kiss had felt really good? Or the opposite? They're still neighbors and she doesn't want things to turn complicated.
Aiden's attempt to play silly games gets ignored for good and the group of people wander from the kitchen to the living room to circle Chris and the remaining gifts.
Brittany waits until it's just her and Santana in the kitchen.
"Sorry about that" Santana mumbles but Brittany quickly waves it off.
"Nothing to be sorry for. But uh… I should head back and make sure that Enzo is fine. He probably needs to go outside as it's been a while now."
"Of course – don't worry about it. I'm very thankful you stayed for this long. I owe you big time."
Brittany shakes her head with a smile.
"Nothing a good cake can't make even."
Santana grins, too. They agree to say goodbye in the kitchen and then Brittany will sneak off.
When Brittany opens the apartment door and looks over her shoulder, she doesn't understand why she feels like she's letting Santana down.
She's not her girlfriend. After this they're probably going back to ignoring each other or worse – feel forced to have small talk.
With one last look she closes the door and makes her short way home.
An hour later a deep sigh escapes Santana's lungs as she steps out of her apartment with a big bag of trash in her hand. Her ears are ringing. Parties are fun and everything but being the host is very stressful. Carrying the trash downstairs almost seems like an impossible task. Her feet hurt terribly.
"Party over?"
Brittany's voice startles her at first. She should be used to it though. Countless times Santana saw Brittany and her dog in the hall or outside of the building when Santana came home from a show late at night. Apparently the dog loves late night strolls.
Brittany is wearing a comfortable looking hoodie now and her hair is up in a loose bun. She lets Enzo sneak inside but Brittany stays in the hall.
"Yeah, finally… some of them went to a club but I had to pass."
"And Aiden?"
Santana grinned.
"It was weird… he usually tries to hug me when saying goodbye. Tonight he left without saying a word."
"Don't say you're sad now because that would kind of not make any sense at all after your plan that worked so well."
Santana bursts into laughter and shakes her head.
"Oh no – I'm not sad at all. I'm just surprised that it worked. I didn't believe in it anymore."
"I guess we acted pretty well." The blonde states with a tilt of her head.
"Yeah" Santana agrees. She recalls the sensation of Brittany's hand on the small of her back.
"Except not all if it was acted." Brittany says and causes Santana to look up in astonishment.
"No?" She says just like she said "Really?" when Brittany told Aiden that she was going to watch Santana's show next week.
She feels silly.
"When I told your family about how annoyed I get about your stupid blender – it was the truth."
They both chuckle at the revelation. Santana feels a certain bitterness in her chest. It's a sore feeling and she doesn't like it.
She really wants to feel like she felt earlier but the courage leaves her.
"Right well… I better get back to cleaning up the rest. I'll bring you the cake tomorrow, ok?"
She turns away from Brittany, ready to sulk alone in her bed tonight. She fumbles with the keys in her hand, completely forgetting about the fact that she was supposed to bring the trash downstairs. She doesn't care.
Only when something grabs her wrist, she looks up. Brittany's warm hand holds her back. Santana turns to find herself in Brittany's arms. They're wrapped around her lower middle in that protective way again.
Santana can't help but love that sensation so much. Before the moment could get ruined again, she guides their lips together for a warm and anticipated kiss.
New… soft… warm and with so much curiosity.
Courageously she pushes Brittany back against the nearest wall and leans into her to give the kiss more intensity. It works because Brittany wraps her arms tighter around Santana's waist and holds her close, their bodies fitting quite perfectly.
They make out passionately for the longest time until Brittany's hands start wandering over Santana's butt and up her back, clearly wanting more.
Santana doesn't want their night to be over, either so she breaks away from the kiss. She needs to press the palms of her hands against Brittany's shoulders to keep her from diving in for another hungry kiss.
Her chest is heaving and so is Santana's.
"Your place or mine?" She gasps when Brittany starts kissing down her neck.
The blonde pauses for a second and looks up. They get lost in each other's eyes, then they start grinning.
With another peck against her lips, Brittany grabs her hand and leads the way.
It's three in the morning but they're both still awake. Santana is lying in Brittany's arms in the dark, letting her fingers run over perfect abs under the covers.
"How did you know about my rehearsals in the morning?" Comes to her mind.
Brittany chuckles.
"It was a wild guess… I can hear you sing the same number every day lately."
Santana is impressed.
"Sorry… that must be so annoying. Just like my blender."
The blonde gently laughs again.
"No. It's the best part of my day."
Santana turns her head to find Brittany lovingly gazing back at her.
"Stop it. You do know that we're going back to ignoring each other after this, right?"
Brittany's jaw drops playfully but there's a hint of realness behind it.
She supports herself on her elbow, looking down at Santana's naked body.
"You mean this is the only time I get to do this?" She lowers her head and presses a kiss to Santana's chin. Then her jaw, her throat, her collarbone.
Santana nods.
"Yep. In a few hours we'll get up, say goodbye and you can go back to ignoring my looks again."
She must have hit a nerve because the blonde bites her bottom lip.
"I really do that?"
"Yes. But it's kinda cute. I always wonder if it's gonna be a head-down or head-up day when I leave my apartment."
Santana watches how the blonde grins sheepishly. Her blue eyes make their way down Santana's upper body.
"Well… that's too bad" She mumbles. "Because I could get used to this."
With a swift move she rolls onto her back and pulls Santana with her. They're gazing into each other's eyes.
"I'm probably just one of your hookups." Santana states matter-of-factly before she kisses her once, not able to ignore the blonde's greedy lips. "I have seen so many women going in and out of your place – I've lost count."
Brittany's outraged face makes her laugh.
"You're absolutely exaggerating!" She exclaims, squeezing her thighs around Santana's lower half. "So I've had some fun but what – maybe three times?"
Santana nods quickly.
"Exactly – way too much for my liking."
She watches the shift in Brittany's expression. It turns softer.
"Are you saying you were a little jealous? Because you've been fancying me?"
Santana rolls her eyes but can't help and enjoy Brittany's demanding gaze and the way her fingers are making circles on her back.
"That's… not at all what I'm saying. But whatever."
They start kissing again but before Santana can deepen their kiss, Brittany pulls back.
"You don't have to bake that cake by the way. I can get something on the way there."
Santana thinks for a moment.
"But I want to make it for you. You deserve it."
The blonde lets those words sink it, too. Then she lifts her head to kiss Santana's cheek and whisper something into her ear.
"Well in that case… maybe you should come to the party with me."
Santana's eyes widen.
"You want me to come to your niece's birthday party?"
The blonde nods.
"I've met your family, time for you to meet mine."
They both break into laughter.
"I think we're moving a little fast there." Santana gasps when Brittany starts sucking on her neck and one of her hands has found it's way between their lower halves.
"Don't worry" The blonde mutters with her lips attached to Santana's skin. "As you said – after all this we're back to being strangers and we never have to speak a word ever again-"
Santana makes her shut up by bringing their mouths together for a kiss that will hopefully give her enough energy to do that thing they did before for one more time.