Author's Note: Urgh adulting is hard! I miss my Uni days of going to the odd class and then just watching copious amounts of queer TV shows/films while eating pizza in my underwear. I mean, I still do that most of the time, it's just fraught with anxiety and responsibilities now =/ anywho, the writing is starting to slow down cos I have packing to do, responsibilities to deal with, organising to... organise... you get the drift. Plus I'm back at work and moving in August, starting my Masters in September, gotta get the friggin' assigned reading done for Uni too *sigh*

Before we begin, thank you so much to all you awesome people for reading and especially to the folks who have reviewed! I'd be writing this anyway but you guys make me want to keep posting for sure =)

To Beatriz: Thank you for your kind words. If I can push through my bullshit and mental health stuff to write this after six years then you can get back to doing what you love too. I believe in you. Keep on keeping on, lovely person!

Much love,

Maxx

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, if I did Glee would have been even gayer!

Chapter Four

Everybody at William McKinley High School knew Brittany S. Pierce. Mostly because she'd made out with about 99% of the student body! But also because she always seemed to be dancing to her own tune, literally and figuratively. The teachers had given up trying to tutor her or even make her stay awake in class, they left that seemingly unenviable task to the blonde's ever-present guard dogs, Santana and Quinn. The students barely noticed the girl's antics anymore; more out of sheer necessity and fear of their own wellbeing than anything. Because God help the kid who thought it was a clever idea to pick on her or thought it was any business of theirs what Brittany got up to. Santana and Quinn had only had to publicly deal with one or two such incidents before people got the message.

So when Brittany wandered down the empty hallway well before the bell was set to ring to end her current class, no one batted an eyelid. She pirouetted past the hall monitor, popped-and-locked past a couple of classrooms and moonwalked the rest of the way to the choir room – only pausing to slip notes into a few of the lockers as she went past.

The choir room door shut behind her and Brittany dropped her backpack onto Rachel's usual chair in the front row. She set about stretching for a few minutes. Once she felt warmed up enough, she pulled out her iPod and ear buds and searched through her music until she found the perfect song. With a smile she put her earbuds in and pocketed her iPod before starting her routine. There were very few times and places in the world that Brittany felt truly at home and truly in control. One such time was when she was dancing. She felt connected, not only to her body, but to everything in those moments – like she finally understood the world. And she felt like the world finally understood her too.

Today wasn't about that though. This private dance-a-thon was about losing herself for a little while. She had so many things in her head, so many worries and what-ifs jumbled up in there that she felt like she might explode from it all. So Brittany dealt with it the best way she knew how: she just danced until she figured things out.

At that same moment, Rachel Berry stepped out of class clutching a hall pass and headed towards the girl's bathroom. She darted past the choir room without a second glance. It wasn't until her return journey that she noticed a flash of movement through the glass in the choir room door. She backtracked and peered inside to see the tall blonde, complete focus and concentration on her face, dancing like she had never seen her dance before.

Rachel couldn't help herself – she slowly opened the choir room door and stepped inside. Brittany had her eyes closed and her music blaring so did not notice a thing. Rachel, her back against the closed door, slid down until she was sat on the floor, her legs stretched out in front of her, and watched the blonde. She was transfixed, in awe of the way the girl could move her body, the way she made it look so effortless and so fluid. Rachel had taken a number of different forms of dance in her life so thought herself well above average in the art but Brittany? Brittany was something else and the diva could not take her eyes off her.

With sweat dripping from her and her breath coming fast, Brittany finally wrapped her routine up - she timed it perfectly with the end of one of the songs. She took a moment to let her heart rate slow and pulled out her earbuds, stowing her iPod back in her bag as she grabbed her towel and buried her face in it to dry off. The sound of applause behind her made her turn and her eyes fell on her unexpected audience.

"Rachel?"

"That was phenomenal, Brittany. I have never seen anyone move the way you can! You are quite a sight to behold when you're dancing," Rachel climbed to her feet and smoothed out her clothing.

Brittany grinned. "Thanks, Rach, you're so nice!"

"Seriously, Brittany, I have been taking dance classes all my life and I still can't make my body do half of the things you seem to do so effortlessly. You're going to kill it at Sectionals tomorrow!"

"Dancing isn't about being perfect, and you should never compare yourself to anyone else. It's about feelings and freedom and connection," Brittany moved to Rachel and took the girl's hand, twirling her on the spot and making her smile. "See?"

Rachel blushed as the girl returned her smile and pulled her into her arms so they could dance together. Brittany wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist and took the lead as they two-stepped around the choir room, spinning gracefully together. After a while Rachel couldn't quite work out where she ended and Brittany started and she found she did not mind. The blonde was solid and strong, yet gentle and giving; Rachel felt safe in her arms and even though they were moving quite quickly now, somehow she knew Brittany would not let her fall.

Their pace slowed little by little until Brittany pulled away, Rachel's hand still in her own, and bowed. Rachel curtsied in return with a laugh.

"That was so much fun, thank you, Brittany."

"Dancing is always best when it's for fun. That's why I do it whenever I can. Plus it helps me think too," Brittany let go of Rachel's hand and bent to pick up her towel where it had fallen during their spinning.

"It does?" Rachel sounded shocked.

"Uh huh. And I think I've figured something out finally."

"Figured what out?"

Brittany turned back to Rachel, her gaze intense all of a sudden. "I want to kiss you. But I can't yet."

Rachel blinked at her. "Umm… what?"

"I can't kiss you yet, Rachel. Because I think you want someone else to be your first sweet lady kiss." Brittany dabbed the back of her neck with her towel and sat in the front row facing the diva.

Rachel frowned now. "…I do?"

"Yes. You just… aren't ready yet. Or you don't know how to ask her, I'm not quite sure which. But that's okay. You need to take your time and sort it out in your own head too." The blonde took a swig from her water bottle. "But I would like to kiss you at some point and not because of my make-out list. Because you're cute and I think you'd taste like cherries and sheet music."

Rachel did not quite know how to respond. She stared at the blonde for a long minute, the girl staring right on back at her expectantly. Brittany's eyes flickered to the clock behind Rachel and she sprang to her feet.

"Class is almost over, Rach, you should probably get back before you get in trouble!" Brittany ushered the still floundering diva out of the choir room. "If your teacher says anything just tell them you were helping me. They should be nice to you then. See you in Glee!"

With that, Brittany shut the choir room door leaving Rachel to wander back to her class in a daze.

"Hey, Britt-Britt, what'cha doing?" Santana, closely followed by Quinn, entered the choir room to find the dancer sat thoughtfully on top of the piano.

"We're a triad, 'cuz there's three of us, what would four people make?" Brittany mused.

Santana exchanged a knowing glance with Quinn before hopping up on the piano beside her girlfriend. "Still worrying about Rachel, huh?"

Brittany turned to wrap herself around Santana and lay her head on the brunette's shoulder. "She's so small. I don't want her to get hurt."

"It seems you and Q agree on something for once."

Quinn slapped Santana's knee with a glare and pulled herself up to sit the other side of Brittany on the piano. "She's tougher than she looks, B." Quinn rested a hand on the dancer's shoulder and squeezed gently.

Brittany leant back into Quinn, letting the other blonde wrap an arm around her and place a kiss into her hair. "That's true. And she's an awesome dance partner! I bet I could lift her real high in the air…"

Santana narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Something you wanna tell us, Britt?"

Brittany just shrugged. "We danced." The tall blonde slid off the piano, leaving Santana and Quinn with very uncertain looks on their faces.

"Oh-kay…" Santana looked at her girlfriend suspiciously. "Britt… what did you do?"

"I told you, San, we danced. It was fun, she's very light on her feet. Then we talked about kissing and about you, but it wasn't, like, saying your name or anything, but I think Rachel knew it was about you. And then she had to go back to class," Brittany saw the two girls watching her with wide-eyes and laughed. "Yeah, she looked exactly like that when she left! How did you guys know?"

Santana glanced over at Quinn for some support, but the girl had her head in her hands. The brunette got down from the piano and approached Brittany. She crouched down in front of her and clasped her hands tight.

"Britt-"

"I know what I'm doing," Brittany nodded earnestly. "Just trust me, San. I danced on it!"

Santana couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face, or the wistful chuckle that slipped out. Brittany had her own way of looking at things and her own way of dealing with them too, but the girl had never let them down, and she was yet to be wrong about something she had danced on.

"I do trust you, Britt. And I trust your dancing!" Santana pressed her lips to Brittany's hands before turning to Quinn, who still sat shaking her head on the piano. "Out of the three of us, who is less likely to spook Rachel? Huh?"

Quinn rolled her eyes but hmm'd in agreement.

"And out of the three of us, who has never been wrong about stuff like this?"

Quinn did open her mouth to protest at that but a glare from Santana stopped her short. "Brittany," she grumbled.

"That's right." Santana turned back to her girlfriend who was practically vibrating with happiness. "If you say you know what you're doing then we trust you, don't we?" She called over her shoulder.

"Of course we do," Quinn slid off the piano and came to sit next to Brittany, linking her arm through the dancer's. "No one else has a mind quite like yours, Britt, that's for damn sure."

Brittany beamed at them, swelling with pride and happiness at their words. All she wanted was to keep their little family safe and happy. And she had a feeling that Rachel could help with that too. Maybe her motives were a little selfish, but she genuinely thought they could help Rachel as well. A problem shared was a problem halved, that's what her mom always said. Brittany was a firm believer in it and made sure her, Quinn and Santana had an evening every week where they could unwind and talk. Sure, the tastiness of Breadstix was definitely an added bonus, but it was one of their few safe spaces and the nice atmosphere and unlimited breadsticks always managed to shift Santana and Quinn's worst moods.

"I want Rachel to come with us to Breadstix tonight!" Brittany told the two, a hint of desperation in her voice.

Santana sighed, straightening. "I know you do, Britt, but you can't force Rachel Berry to do anything. Believe me, Glee Club has tried many times-"

Someone cleared their throat behind Santana. She turned to find Rachel Berry herself stood in the doorway with a shy smile on her face.

"I'd love to come to Breadstix with you tonight," She watched Santana uncertainly. "If-If that's okay with you?"

Santana glanced behind her at a smirking Quinn and a bouncing Brittany before turning back to Rachel. "It's more than okay with us. We just don't wanna get in the way of any harmonising plans you had!"

The mischievous smile that reached all the way to Santana's eyes told Rachel she was poking fun at her. The diva's heart beat a little quicker.

"Nope, my schedule is free and clear this evening," Rachel strode past Santana without even acknowledging the cheeky note in the girl's voice and sat herself in her usual seat once Brittany had scrambled out of it and plonked herself on Quinn.

"Okay then, I guess it's Breadstix for four tonight!" Santana rubbed her hands together with a wink at Rachel.

"Who's going to Breadstix?" Finn had entered the choir room and smiled dopily at Rachel.

Santana caught the slight deflating the boy caused in Rachel and managed to claim the chair the other side of the diva before Finn could. She offered the boy a smirk as he scowled at her and chose a seat directly behind Rachel instead. Rachel peered sideways at Santana and, when she caught the girl's eye, mouthed 'thank you' at her. The Latina shot her a wink and mouthed back 'anytime' before stretching and casually putting her arm along the back of Rachel's chair.

Once the final Glee Club rehearsal before Sectionals was over and done with, and Mr. Schuester had given them all their schedules for tomorrow's competition, Santana leant over to the diva next to her and whispered in her ear.

"You sure you're up for Breadstix tonight?"

Rachel gave her an uncertain look but didn't pull away. "Umm yes?"

Santana held her gaze, their faces centimetres apart, until she heard Finn huff in annoyance and finally get up to leave. She grinned and sat back again. "Awesome. Glad to hear it, Rach." She looked past the girl to the blondes. "Shall we?"

Brittany shot out of the choir room at breakneck speed dragging poor Rachel by the hand. Quinn linked arms with Santana and the two of them followed at a more reasonable pace.

"You really shouldn't wind Finn up like that, S," Quinn murmured as they passed the pouting boy in the hallway. "You know what he gets like and he always seems to get his way in the end."

Santana rolled her eyes. "He's a giant toddler who, you're right, is used to getting his own way. I'm just teaching him a valuable life lesson that he'll have to learn sooner or later anyway!"

"He's straight, white and male, Santana. If he doesn't want to learn that lesson he's not going to!" Quinn held Santana's gaze, fear creeping into her voice. "You or Rachel will be the ones who get hurt. And I couldn't bear that."

Santana stopped them and pulled Quinn to face her. "Whether or not Rachel is a part of our family, I won't let anyone make her feel uncomfortable or hurt her. So yeah, I'm probably gonna have to piss Hudson off a little until he gets the message!"

Quinn scowled and opened her mouth but Santana pressed a finger to her lips before she could get a word out.

"I won't let anything bad happen, Q, to any of my girls. I'd rather die than let anyone hurt any of you ever again." Santana pressed a kiss to the blonde's knuckles and grinned as they heard Brittany yelling 'Breadstix' from outside.

Quinn watched as Santana backed down the hallway, beckoning her with a finger before finally spinning on her heels and disappearing outside. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest and she couldn't keep the worry from seeping onto her face.

"Yeah, S, that's what I'm afraid of."

"Table for four tonight, huh?" Sandy stopped to take the group's order, her usual customer-service smile softening into genuine happiness at seeing the girls.

The older blonde woman had been a server at Breadstix for many years now and had practically watched the Unholy Trinity grow up. She had seen many a birthday, many fights and tears, and laughter too! She had been witness to Brittany and Santana's first date years ago, although she was quite certain neither girl had realised that was what it actually was until much later. She had seen each of them on dates with a number of the boys from their school too, but not once had she ever seen them look so happy and relaxed than when they were here together.

And now, she noted with some curiosity, they seemed to have a fourth. Sandy gave the smaller girl a once over. The girl looked a little out of place and a touch anxious, and Sandy was sure she had never seen her in Breadstix before! Oh, that was why - she had just ordered one of the few vegan items on their menu with a few probing questions about if they were made on site and if the ingredients were fresh. The older woman watched Santana roll her eyes but quickly follow it up with a smile and a gentle bit of teasing.

Sandy read their order back to them before leaving them to it. She chanced a glance back over her shoulder, just before she headed into the kitchen, and caught the smaller girl smile a beaming smile. Something told her that it wouldn't be long before their little table for three became a regular table for four.

"…So she stands there, hands on her hips, murder in her eyes and tells Coach Sylvester that she's 'not finished', right, Q?" Santana eyes sparkled as she glanced over to Quinn for confirmation.

The blonde uh-huh'd, her own eyes drinking in Santana as the girl turned back to the captivated diva beside her.

"Quinn demands that the Cheerios give up one of their six pages in the yearbook and give it to the Glee Club, free of charge! And then she even has the fucking badass-ness to tell Coach Sylvester she doesn't even wanna be on the Cheerios anymore," Santana sits back in the booth and meets Quinn's eyes, sliding her hand across the table to link her fingers with the blonde's own. "She'd rather be a part of a club that's proud to have her. Like Glee Club."

Rachel managed to wrench her eyes away from Santana to take in the blush and sweet smile on Quinn's face. "You really did that? That's… so selfless and lovely, Quinn. But why wouldn't you want to be back on the Cheerios? I know how much easier the uniform and the status would have made your life back then."

Quinn gave Santana's fingers a gentle squeeze before turning her focus on Rachel. "You're right, it would have made things easier. For a little while anyway. But it would have just been one more charade to keep up, one more person I was at the mercy of and I just couldn't do it." Quinn shrugged; the sadness in her voice made Brittany loop her arms around her and rest her head on Quinn's shoulder. "And anyway, it was Coach Sylvester that got our amateur status revoked and almost got us kicked out of the competition, did you know that? Not Mr. Schue, and definitely not you, Rachel. I know you thought it was your fault but you were just trying to do what you thought was right for us. Coach Sylvester was pretty awful to Glee Club, and she made the three of us do some pretty awful things too. I just couldn't be a part of it any longer."

Rachel returned the blonde's wistful smile and found herself subconsciously reaching across the table to her, stopping just short of Quinn's hand. "Santana's right. You are a badass."

Santana snorted, making Quinn roll her eyes, but Rachel ignored her and pushed on, determined to make the blonde hear her words.

"I had no idea what you did for us, for Glee Club… for me… even when I didn't, or maybe wouldn't, see it you were there looking out for us. You are intelligent, and loyal, and fiercely protective over the people you care about. And those are things I understand and respect, Quinn." Rachel smiled gently and started to pull her hand back.

Quinn caught it and held on tight. She held Rachel's shocked gaze and, with all the sincerity she could manage in her eyes, she nodded. Rachel felt her heart clench painfully in her chest. It was only a touch and a nod but she knew things had changed between them in that moment. They understood each other a little better, understood that they weren't quite as different as they had first thought.

"Do you wanna kiss Rach now too, Quinn?" Brittany had been peering at them curiously, watching the exchange with a smile that matched the soppy one on Santana's face.

"Brittany!" Quinn took her hand back from Rachel and elbowed the tall blonde beside her for ruining the moment.

Santana laughed and nudged her girlfriend's knee under the table with her foot, which was quite a feat as she'd had to navigate both Quinn and Rachel's legs on the way. Brittany stuck her tongue out at her, to which Santana blew a kiss in return. Rachel watched all this with curiosity and a little awkwardness, but it was her curious nature that won out in the end.

"So how long have you been together?" The diva asked as nonchalantly as she could manage.

Quinn caught Santana's eye and quirked an eyebrow, her smile turning mischievous. Santana, just managing to stifle a laugh, gave the blonde a small nod and sat back to enjoy this.

"Who are you asking about?" Quinn enquired.

A slight frown found its way onto the diva's face as she looked back and forth between the three girls, all looking at her expectantly. She swallowed hard but still no words managed to find their way out of her mouth.

"Are you asking about Santana and I? Or Brittany and Santana? Or perhaps Brittany and I?"

"Yes?" Rachel croaked out. She had so many questions to ask the three, regarding their unusual relationship especially, but she felt as if she were suddenly stood in the middle of a field full of landmines. One wrong step and… She felt a finger under her chin then, tugging her face round until she was looking into Santana's dark eyes… dark eyes full of mischief and mirth…

"Relax, Rach," The Latina stroked her thumb over the diva's cheek. "We're just messing with you."

A tingle ran down Rachel's spine at the girl's touch, it was all she could do to stop her eyes from sliding closed and stop herself from leaning into her hand. The diva let out a shaky laugh when Santana finally, sadly, took her hand back.

"How about this: for every question you answer, we'll answer one too?" Santana wiggled her eyebrows at the smaller girl. "Deal?"

Rachel thought about it. It was a reasonable request and seemed fair enough. It was just… what could they possibly want to know about her? Yes, she had been insanely curious about the three of them since the start of school but what if she got an answer she didn't like? Or couldn't handle? And what if they asked something she couldn't answer?

"I promise," Quinn leant across the table towards Rachel when she caught the sudden tension in the girl's small frame. "That you don't have to answer anything you don't want to, okay?"

Rachel found herself nodding. "Okay. Deal."

Quinn smiled and sat back. "To answer your question, we've been together since summer break. Well, romantically anyway. We've been the Unholy Trinity since kindergarten."

"Fuck yeah we have!" Santana grinned. "Your turn to answer, Rach-"

"Did you really like the vegan meatballs?" Brittany piped up, her chin resting in her hands as she awaited her answer.

"Britt!"

"Shush! I wanna know! So did you?"

Rachel laughed quietly at the waves of frustration coming off of the Latina next to her. "They were not the best I've ever had but yes, I did like them, thank you, Brittany." She turned to Santana. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Red. And black. I look hot in both," The Latina smirked when Brittany let out a wolf whistle. "What do your dads do?"

Rachel smiled at the mention of her fathers. "Daddy, LeRoy, is a doctor and Dad, Hiram, is a lawyer."

"Aww that's so cute!" Brittany bounced in her seat until Quinn put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Can they sing as awesomely as you can too?"

"They are both able to carry a tune, yes. They have quite good ranges but lack experience. However that does not stop us from enjoying many a singalong after dinner." The diva informed them happily. "But that was two questions so I get two now! I know you all only joined Glee to spy for Coach Sylvester, but why did you stay?"

The Unholy Trinity exchanged looks before answering.

"I love dancing and singing, and I got to make new friends," Brittany poked Rachel's arm. "Like you, Rach!"

"It was the first place in my life that I felt like I fit in even a little bit," Quinn admitted. "And truthfully, I actually joined Glee to keep an eye on Finn, you know, back when I was shallow and pathetic and didn't think I had options other than him."

Santana raised an eyebrow and tutted at the blonde but Quinn just threw her napkin at her.

"What about you, Santana?" Rachel turned to her hesitantly.

"Yeah, S, what about you?"

Santana threw the napkin back at Quinn and turned to Rachel. "Like I told you last year, it's the best part of my day. I wasn't lying about that! And anyway," the Latina jerked a thumb at the two blondes. "Where they go, I go."

"What's your second question, Rach?"

Rachel hesitated a moment. She knew that once she started this there was no going back… "When did you first know you liked girls?"

Santana held Rachel's gaze. The Latina cocked her head to one side. "When did you?"

Rachel's mouth ran dry and she could hear blood rushing in her ears. "I… I don't know. I suppose I've-I've always been interested in the female form, I just never really found someone who made me want to act on those feelings…" the diva drew in a stuttery breath. "Until now."

Santana subconsciously licked her lips as she felt herself drawn to Rachel. The act made Rachel ache; she needed to taste Santana and she needed to taste her now or she was going to lose her mind.

"Can I kiss you?" Rachel heard the hitch in Santana's throat and watched the girl's eyes dilate.

"Yes."

Santana let Rachel come to her, let her dictate the kiss – a kiss that was tentative, a brush of their lips, a momentary mingling of their breath… it was barely a taste but already Rachel was hooked. She pushed herself into Santana then, with a little more force than she had meant to but the Latina didn't seem to mind as she cupped the diva's cheeks and returned the kiss. She felt Santana's lips curl into a smile against her own and before she knew it she had her fingers tangled in the girl's hair. Rachel had been dreaming about this moment for months and months. She had envisioned so many different scenarios for her first kiss with Santana – strangely none of them had involved Breadstix or the two blondes watching them with rapt attention from across the table. But it was finally happening and she found she didn't care about anything else.

Santana was warm and real and kissing her, something she never thought would actually happen! The girl's mouth opened to her a little, yielding under her, as Rachel trapped her bottom lip between her own. The sensations of the kiss started to overwhelm her; not all at once, just little by little it crept up on her. First, when Santana cupped the back of her neck, fingers stroking so lightly making a shiver run all the way down her spine. Then again when Santana's tongue touched her own, just briefly and so very gently, but it was enough to make Rachel crave more.

Her head felt fuzzy and her body was on fire and suddenly Rachel couldn't take it anymore. This was nothing like it had been with any boy she'd ever kissed. They had been hard and unrelenting – Santana was soft and confident. She needed to process all this, she needed to understand what it meant, but mostly, the sudden intensity of which the feelings had hit her all at once was overwhelming and it scared her.

Rachel pulled away, lips a little swollen, her hand going to her mouth as she stared at Santana. The Latina chuckled when she saw Rachel Berry had been rendered speechless. "I mean, I knew I was a good kisser and all but…" She trailed off when she clocked the fear and uncertainty there in the girl's eyes. "Hey, it's okay, Rach, this doesn't have to mean anything more than you want it to, okay? I promise-"

"I-I have to go. It's late, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here, I shouldn't have done that." The words falling out of Rachel's mouth in a rush as she frantically grabbed her bag, pulled some bills out of her purse and put them under her glass before bolting out of Breadstix without looking back.

Santana slipped into Brittany's bedroom, her teeth brushed and night time routine complete. She expected the two blondes to already be on their way to sleep; instead she found both of them sat cross legged on the bed waiting for her.

"Uh hey?" Santana approached them cautiously before sitting cross legged opposite them. "You okay?"

"Are you?" Quinn asked pointedly.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you kissed Rach and she ran away," Brittany chipped in sadly.

Santana rolled her eyes and got back up to pull the covers open so she could go to sleep. Brittany launched herself across the bed and landed in front of Santana, trapping the blanket under her.

"Nope. No bed until we've talked about this! Please, San?"

"Britt's right, S, we have to talk this through!"

"Why? There's nothing to talk about is there? We kissed, she said it was a mistake and she fucking ran off. Are we all on the same page now? Good. Now let me go to fucking sleep!" Santana yanked at the cover under Brittany but the girl didn't move. A growl slipped from the brunette's mouth and she threw her arms up in defeat. "Fine, I'll fucking sleep on the floor then!"

A hand wrapped around her wrist as she turned, stopping her and gently but firmly turning her back round to face the shorter blonde stood in front of her.

"It's okay, S. You're allowed to be angry, and you're allowed to be hurt. Just don't shut us out. We love you."

"Yeah," Brittany's quiet voice tugged at her heart strings. So did the unshakeable trust and love she saw in both girl's eyes.

The anger drained out of Santana and she deflated. "I just need to think." She gave them a half-hearted smile before walking out of Brittany's room and down the stairs to the Pierce's living room.

Santana threw herself on the couch with a sigh and lay there for a few minutes just staring up at the dark ceiling. How had she let this happen? How had she let Rachel Berry, of all people, get in her head and fuck her up this much? Over one fucking kiss, might I add! A month ago the girl had barely been on her radar, and then Brittany had to go and say something and be her kind, sweet self and push Santana to want to get to know the girl.

For a minute there, Santana had started picturing what it would be like to have Rachel as part of their family. She had pictured them waking up beside the diva, sharing breakfast with her, holding her hand as they all walked to Glee together, a regular table for four at Breadstix… she had pictured so much love and happiness that she was sure her heart would burst from it all!

But it seemed Quinn had been right to worry and remain a little cautious… gay panic, or whatever it was, or not, Rachel running out on them like that had hurt and felt like a middle finger to everything they had been trying to build between them. She should never have put herself, her family, in that position. After everything they had been through, all the work she had done on herself, is this really all it took to fuck her head up again? One confused diva with big brown eyes and soft lips? Really?

"Fuck."

Yes, that's all it took apparently.

"San?" Brittany had crept down the stairs and was stood wringing her hands together at the foot of the couch, her big blue eyes full of tears.

Santana immediately sat up, crawled to the end of the couch and pulled Brittany into a tight hug. "Oh Britt, please don't cry. I'm sorry for walking off like that, I never meant-"

"I just wanted Rachel to be happy again, San. I didn't want you to get hurt!" The blonde sobbed into her arms.

"No, no, no, Britt, no! This is not your fault, I promise you!" Santana pressed kisses into her girlfriend's hair. "You have such a big heart and always see the good in people, it is never the wrong thing to try and help someone. It's just… sometimes they can't be helped. Or maybe they're just scared to let someone in…"

"Like you and Quinn?"

Santana let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, Britt, like Quinn and I. We're stubborn and bad tempered sometimes, and we don't always know what's good for us either! But that's why you're our heart, that's why you're so fucking important to this family…" She pulled away a little to look the blonde in the eye and wipe away her tears with the pad of her thumb. "You never give up on anyone, even when they've given up on themselves. And you remind us every day of all the good and beauty in the world just by being your awesome, loveable, brilliant self."

Brittany sniffed and gave a small nod. "But you're still hurting, San."

"Yeah," Santana pressed a kiss to the girl's lips, tasting her tears. "But I will get past it, I promise. Do you know why?"

"Because you have us. And we have you." Brittany recited with a firm nod.

"Exactly."

The blonde's fingers gripped Santana's tank top and pulled their mouths back together for a long slow kiss; refusing to pull away until she felt the brunette finally relax into her with a sigh. Quinn watched the two from the stairs with a full heart and a fierce determination in her eyes.

AN: Let me know what you thought of the Britt insight and Rachel finally joining them at Breadstix! Told you there'd be aaaaaangst XD