Chapter 3: Brittana's 3rd Year

It's the morning of their third anniversary and Santana wakes up to the smell of oatmeal. Long gone are the days of waking up and making coffee and pancakes because Brittany's been on a health kick for the past few months.

It's supposed to be good for them, or some shit.

Admittedly, they're both in the best shape of their lives. Well, more like Brittany is but that's because she's been dancing a lot. Not professionally or anything, just on her own to clear her head, usually in their living room in the middle of the night.

And it's not that Santana's not working out or anything because she does on occasion, she's just been really busy lately. Mostly with trying to make her own mark in the music industry. She does a few small shows here and there, but most of her time is spent in the studio, creating new music.

But they're both always on the go and that means a lot of last minute food runs that usually ends up being anything and everything, with no care in the world for how unhealthy it is, just as long as it's good.

They've become masters at stress eating.

Which is why -Santana thinks- Brittany took it upon herself to make sure that they're putting more care into their eating habits now. And she's been good about slowly incorporating a healthier diet but still, oatmeal every morning makes Santana feel like she's a middle aged woman with high cholesterol.

"Baby, please." Santana mumbles into the pillow, "Can we skip the oatmeal? Just for today?"

The sound of a soft giggle floats from the kitchen and soon, a bowl is placed on the nightstand beside Santana.

"But look, I made today's bowl romantic."

Santana peeks an eye open and strains her neck to look inside. It's basically her regular oatmeal, just with cut up strawberries added on top.

"What the hell is this, Britt?" She laughs.

"It's oatmeal," Brittany deadpans, "With strawberries."

Santana laughs again and quickly pulls her wife down onto the bed, making her yelp in surprise. She maneuvers her way until she's on top, her dark hair showering Brittany's lightly sun-kissed skin. "I'd rather eat something else for breakfast."

On their way back from their morning run, yet another thing Brittany has weaved into their daily routine, they find Uncle Alika hooking up a small trailer to the back of his truck. They greet each other as per usual, but before they walk away fully, Brittany stops in her tracks.

"What's wrong, babe?" Santana turns around to look at what her wife is staring at. When she sees what it is, she smiles knowingly.

"Is that a 125 two-stroke?" Brittany walks up to Uncle Alika as he rolls it out of their garage and onto the trailer. He looks surprised at first but Brittany continues, "I rode a YZ125 in high school."

"Well, aren't you just full of surprises?" He grins stepping back to allow Brittany the space to full inspect the dirt bike. Santana watches from behind and an all too familiar feeling takes her by surprise. Brittany's hands caressing a dirt bike just does things to her.

"How does she ride?"

"Feisty." He laughs, "This one's quite temperamental actually."

"Just how I like it." Brittany grins, looking back to shoot her wife a wink and Santana mutters a quiet, wanky. She chuckles and turns back to Uncle Alika, "Are you heading out to a track?"

He nods, "With the whole family actually. We get together every once in a while at the Kahuku track."

"That's awesome. Must be fun." Brittany smiles, but Santana can tell there's a hint of sadness behind it. She knows it's been years since Brittany's been on a bike. She knows she misses it.

"Well, what's on your agenda today? You two should tag along."

"Oh, no. I wouldn't want to intrude on your time with family." Brittany shakes her head and steps back to where Santana is.

"You won't be. I see them all the time. It's really not a big deal."

"What's really not a big deal?" Aunty Lin comes out of the main house and greets the two girls.

"Britt here has been holding out on us. She's been riding since high school. I was telling them to come join us."

Brittany blushes, "I used to ride in high school. Not anymore, though. I don't even think I'd be able to now."

"Don't sell yourself short, babe" Santana speaks up, nudging her wife's shoulder lightly, "You placed first at states."

"Seriously?" This time it's Aunty Lin's turn to be surprised, "Well, that settles it then. You're both coming with."

"Great!" Santana clasps her hands together, "We were just gonna lounge on the sand today anyways. This is even better."

Brittany's blush reaches the tips of her ears and Santana gives her a quick peck on the cheek to help her out.

"Wait, I don't even have gear." Brittany realizes, "What would I wear?"

"Oh, don't worry about that! We got you, girl. We'll just tell cousin Pat to bring extra."

"I'm so excited, babe." Santana gleams, "It's been way too long since I've watched you ride."

Brittany cocks an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk on her lips and a chill runs down Santana's spine.

"A bike." Santana clarifies, knowing all too well what the last thing Brittany rode was. "It's been too long since I've watched you ride a bike."

Aunty Lin laughs, "Well, if you're ready by the time we leave, you can follow us to the track."

With that, the girls quickly head back into their cottage to get themselves situated. It only takes them about twenty or so minutes before they're walking back out, Brittany wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans, and Santana in similar fashion.

"Are you really okay with this?" Brittany asks Santana once they're alone in the car ready to follow behind Uncle Alika's Tundra. "It's our anniversary and we'll be spending it at a dirt bike track."

"I'm more than okay with this, babe. Instead of sipping a margarita while watching you swim, I'll be sipping a margarita while watching you get dirty."

"Please tell me you didn't pack the tequila and margarita mix."

"Do you even have to ask?" Santana smirks.

"So, you're just going to sit there and watch me? You're not going to ride?"

Santana looks at her as if it's obvious and Brittany laughs.

"Not even a little? Not even for our anniversary?"

Santana narrows her eyes. She's not going to give in. Not yet, anyways. So, she shrugs, "We'll see."

"That's a yes." Brittany smiles, pumping her fist.

"No, it's a we'll see, babe."

"I can't wait to see you in gear." Her wife continues, ignoring Santana's objection and probably already daydreaming, "You're going to look so hot."

Santana thinks about bursting her bubble but can't seem to bring herself to do it. Not when Brittany's this excited. But if she's being honest, she's most definitely not getting on one of those death contraptions. She has way too much anxiety for that.

Maybe at the very most, she'll put a helmet on, just to appease Brittany's fantasy. She also makes a mental note to look up how much it costs to just buy one of those helmets. It might come in handy when they're back in New York.

For, you know, sex reasons.

The motocross track is huge.

Granted, Santana can't remember the last time she's even been to a motocross track so she has nothing to really compare it to. She notices a few people already riding and when they pull up to park, her eyes scan through the family members talking under a few canopy tents.

In the past two years, they've actually met a few of them. Some will stop by the main house on occasion and if Santana and Brittany are in the cottage, Aunty Lin will always stop by to ask if they want to join them for drinks on the deck.

One time, the electricity went out and when it finally came back on, a few of the appliances in the cottage stopped working so Uncle Alika had to call for an electrician to drive out to remedy the situation. Turns out it was his sister, and Santana probably thanked her a million times for getting the coffee maker to work again. Or was it the outlet? Whatever, point is, Santana was able to make coffee afterwards and that's all that matters.

And truth be told, part of what keeps Santana and Brittany coming back is how much Aunty Lin and Uncle Alika treat like family friends. It's a nice feeling to know that they've built a kind of relationship with them.

"I'm actually kind of excited." Brittany breaks Santana from her thoughts and she looks at her wife staring out the window and at the track.

"Kind of?" Santana laughs, "Britt, you've been watching motocross videos on your phone the entire ride over here."

"Well, I needed the refresher."

Uncle Alika gets their attention by waving at them to come over so they do, leaving the safety of their vehicle and walking over to the group.

"The infamous bed breakers!" Aunty Pat, the electrician, exclaims.

Santana blushes immediately, her ears instantly growing hot, "Are we ever going to live that down?"

"I hope not." Brittany reaches forward and offers the younger aunty a high five.

It doesn't take long until Brittany is being pulled away to see if any of Aunty Pat's old gear fits and Santana takes a seat under the shade.

She makes easy conversation with the others and before she knows it, Brittany is standing in front of her, completely covered in motocross gear, sans helmet. Santana's at a loss for words. Well actually, she has some words floating around in her head but none are appropriate for right now. Not while they're still within earshot of other people.

Brittany blushes at Santana's silence, and begins pulling at one of the buckles, "Is it too much? Maybe I should take off the roost guard-"

"No!" Santana says a little too quickly. She blushes and clears her throat, "I mean, is that the big chest… thingy?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it looks… important." She swallows dryly, "So, you should definitely keep that on. Because, um, safety or whatever."

Brittany chuckles, "Okay, honey. Thanks for thinking about my safety."

A wave of warmth washes over Santana and she hums, "What's it called again? A rooster shield?" She asks, pulling out her phone and opening her Amazon app.

"Santana," Brittany laughs as she tries to reach for the brunette's phone but Santana slaps her hands away, "Hun, we don't have money for that."

"I'm just looking, babe. You never know, one of these days we'll need protection from roosters in New York City and you'll be thanking me then."

Brittany just smiles at her and Santana uses the opportunity to open her camera app. As hot as Brittany looks, she also looks incredible adorable and she can't not snap a few pictures of her.

"How come you don't act like that when I'm wearing my gear?" Uncle Alika turns to Aunty Lin and Santana is reminded again that they aren't alone.

Aunty Lin laughs like it's obvious, slapping his beer belly, "Because you drink too much Heineken, dear."

They laugh along with everyone until Aunty Pat calls Brittany over again. Santana follows, mostly because she wants to see what else can be added to Brittany's ensemble to elevate it.

"Honey, you've seen me in my gear in high school," Brittany laces her fingers with hers as they walk, "Why are you getting all worked up?"

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. But it's just been so long, and I think the fact that it's our anniversary on top of everything, I just really want to jump you."

Brittany stops walking and faces her, "Do you remember what you used to give me before every race?"

"You mean your good luck kiss?" Santana smiles, remembering it fondly, "You always needed that extra encouragement."

"I think I'm gonna need one of those right now."

Santana blushes and glances around, "Britt… if I remember correctly, those kisses were anything but PG13."

"I'm kind of nervous to ride again." Brittany scuffs her shoe against the dirt, "What if I make a fool of myself?"

"You could never. You are Brittany Lopez-Pierce, genius dancer extraordinaire and motocross champion."

"Yeah, but it's been a while though."

"Just think of it like…" She pauses to think of the right words and chuckles, "like riding a bike."

Brittany cracks a smile, "That's not really helpful, hun."

"How about we put a pin in my special good luck kiss, and when we get back later tonight we'll revisit it?"

"Or, maybe it will help if you're riding alongside me?"

Santana smiles, tucking some of Brittany's stray hair behind her ear and she holds her there, "Nice try, babe. But it's not happening."

"What happened to we'll see?"

"That was before I saw how massive this place is. It looks scary. What if a rouge bike comes flying at me?"

"I'll protect you."

"Babe," She laughs, pulling Brittany in to kiss away her pout, "The fact that you think you can protect me from a flying two hundred pound death machine is very admirable."

"I protected you from a giant chess piece that one time."

"A giant chess piece made of foam. Plus, we were role-playing at the time. It was never actually going to explode and end the world."

Brittany frowns and Santana pokes at her cheeks until she giggles. Aunty Pat clears her throat from the other side of the truck bed and they both blush a deep red.

"I'm gonna go back to the tent and continue my amazon search for motocross gear. That way you can request for me to wear that chicken plate thing whenever you want."

"But it won't be the same. It won't get dirty from riding."

"Oh, it'll get dirty from riding all right. Now go before you get in trouble." Santana winks and turns to walk away, swaying her hips with extra care.

"I get it, now." She hears Aunty Pat say from behind her, "I finally understand how you two broke a bed."

To Santana's surprise, she's actually having a pretty good time meeting the rest of Aunty Lin and Uncle Alika's family. They're strange mix, and she's sure she won't remember at least half of their names by the end of the day, but they're all very welcoming.

Every now and then she'll glance up and watch as Brittany turns the dirt track into her bitch. Santana could tell her first few rounds were tentative, reacquainting herself with riding and learning the unfamiliar track, but it wasn't long before Brittany was flying through the air with more and more confidence after each round.

"So you mean to tell me," One of the cousins speaks up, "That that badass wife of yours is an actual math genius?"

"The most gifted mind of our generation." Santana states proudly, "She's currently trying to solve the Riemann Hypothesis."

"What's that?"

Santana shrugs, "I honestly have no idea. But she's very cute when she's dancing with a dry erase marker in her hand."

She smiles, thinking about the past few months, with Brittany up late most nights working in their living room. At first, Santana was unsure when Brittany mentioned she wanted to pursue Math again, but Brittany convinced her that this time she'd find a good balance between being a genius and doing what makes her happy.

And she did. No matter how much pressure Brittany was getting from her colleagues, Santana watched as Brittany became more and more comfortable in her abilities. She watched as Brittany found the courage to stand up for herself, not allowing anyone to take advantage of her and working at her own pace. It's not like they could tell her otherwise, they needed her more than she needed them.

As it turns out, dancing seemed to be only thing that helps when Brittany has a hard time focusing. Some nights, Santana would wake up to the sounds of music coming from the living room. She'd sneak past, and put on a pot of tea, knowing that by the time Brittany's mind was clear, she'd have newfound inspiration to continue working.

"And you guys really toured with Mercedes Jones?" One of the teenage girls asks, looking up from her phone.

"Who, Wheezy?" Santana laughs, "Of course. She wouldn't be where she is right now without us."

"I don't believe that. She's like, pretty famous."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're… not."

"I'll call her right now. Don't test me, kid." She quirks an eyebrow, the two of them apparently locked into a staring contest of some sort.

After a beat, the younger girl smirks before returning to her phone and muttering a simple, you're alright.

"Are you getting yourself in trouble over here without me?" Santana feels Brittany's presence behind her and she softens at her voice.

"She was just telling us about your exciting life in New York City." Aunty Lin tells her and Santana turns in her chair to look at her wife, not at all disappointed at what she sees.

Brittany's standing there, holding her helmet at her waist, slightly breathless. And most importantly, she's filthy. Covered in dirt. She's never been so turned on in her life.

"Babe, stop it." Brittany mutters quietly, blushing. Santana crosses her legs to dull her ache.

"I'm not doing anything."

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Stop looking like that, then."

Brittany shakes her head, chuckling, before pulling Santana up from her seat, "We'll be right back." She tells the others and they all share a knowing look.

Santana, eager as ever, follows Brittany's lead as she brings them to another trail that's off to the side. She looks around for a place that looks a little more secluded but can't seem to find anywhere, "I'm all for the outdoors thing, babe, but I don't think this is the place to get down and dirty. We're too exposed here."

"We're not here for that, silly. I wanted to show you something." Brittany grins at her and continues walking until Santana finally sees it.

"Nope."

"You didn't even let me ask." Brittany pouts and Santana rolls her eyes, motioning for her to continue. "I was thinking maybe we could try-"

"Nope."

"San..."

"Britt, that thing looks like it could kill a dinosaur. It's so huge." Santana shakes her head, looking at the massive vehicle before her.

"It's a two-up quad. We'll ride it together." Brittany steps forward, picking up the helmet from the seat and handing it to Santana, "Don't you trust me?"

"Hey, that's not fair."

"Just hold onto me and you'll be fine. I'll keep it light. Nothing too crazy."

Santana hesitates, but ultimately agrees, putting the helmet on. The absolute glee on Brittany's face already makes her decision worth it. She knows she's not exactly dressed for the occasion but she trusts that Brittany knows not get her too dirty.

As soon as they're both mounted and ready to go, Santana's heart is racing uncontrollably. Almost as if she can read her mind, Brittany hops off and removes both of their helmets. Confused, Santana stays seated and waits for Brittany's explanation.

"Honey," Brittany lifts Santana's chin, her thumb caressing her cheek, "Just breathe, okay? I'll keep you safe."

Santana closes her eyes, and focuses on her wife's touch, "Promise?"

"Always."

She opens her eyes, needing to see comforting blue eyes, and turns to kiss the palm of Brittany's hand. Thankfully, Brittany gets the hint and bends down to place a soft kiss to Santana's temple first and then her lips.

"Okay." Santana breathes, "Okay, I'm ready."

Santana's clothes get more than a little dirty. But, damn, was it worth it. She's never experiencing anything like that before and adrenaline is pumping through her veins. The only thing that's remotely bringing her mood down is the thought that she has to wait another few hours before she can tear Brittany's clothes off and have her way with her.

But even then, she's not complaining.

She's never felt so alive as they whipped through the dirt terrain, holding on to Brittany's chest protector thing. She seriously needs to get the actual name of it because it's probably the sexiest thing she's ever seen Brittany wear.

And now that they've come to a stop, she's breathless and admittedly giddy. Then, when she doesn't expect it, Brittany flips around in her position and faces Santana. Their knees hitting each others and Brittany's helmet still on, Santana's mind goes straight to the gutter.

"How is it that I can't even see your face," Brittany's voice is muffled but Santana can hear the smile she's sure is there, "but I already know what you're thinking."

Santana chuckles, taking off her own helmet and than Brittany's. She fixes some of her blonde hair that's moved out of place.

"Thank you for this." Brittany says, blushing.

"Why are you thanking me?"

"I don't know, I just feel like we keep doing things for me, on our anniversary."

"Trust me, babe," Santana grins, lightly tapping the plastic secured to Brittany's chest, "This is most definitely for me."

"You're ridiculous." Brittany giggles and leans in, capturing Santana's lips, "Do you know how much I love you?"

"Until infinity, right?"

"Until infinity." Brittany smiles softly, eyes sparkling, "Always."

AN: Motocross is a pretty big thing here, especially if you're from the westside, so I really couldn't resist writing canon motocross!Brittana. I, on the other hand, have never and will never ride a dirt bike or quad, lol. I'm a big baby and I am too afraid.

Also, for anyone interested, a good looking roost guard and motocross helmet would run you maybe $200 on Amazon. I like to imagine that Santana has a wish list titled "Sweet Lady Kisses" and she adds various items to it whenever she's struck with inspiration. And Brittany, when she has extra money to spend, will secretly order things from it without Santana knowing so that she can surprise her sometimes on the nights she comes home early from the studio.