Chapter 5: Brittana's 5th Year

"Brittany, be careful with that bag." Santana grimaces as Brittany shoves the extra luggage in the trunk of their rental car.

With a final push the trunk clicks shut and Brittany turns to Santana, breathless and with a hand already on her hip.

"What?" Santana mumbles, shuffling her feet on the pavement, "It's just… important."

"It was unnecessary."

"We had to." Santana frowns, "You saw how crazy they were this summer. It was like wild animals were let loose in a grocery store."

"I don't think I'll ever understand Hawaii's obsession with Trader Joes snacks."

Santana shrugs, "I don't get it either but I think it's cute. And they love it so we had to bring some for them."

"Some?" Brittany raises an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "Honey, you packed it in it's own luggage."

"At least it's only a small one." Santana tries to justify, "And look it fits perfectly in the trunk!"

Brittany laughs and moves closer to her wife, holding her at her waist, "You're the sweetest, you know that?"

Santana hums at that, tilting her head just enough to kiss Brittany's cheek, "Only to you, babe."

"No…" Brittany giggles, "To those you love."

It's true, Santana and Brittany really do love their Hawaii family. After last year's anniversary they've grown a lot closer and now it really does feel like they've come home.

Truth be told, it's only been about half a year since they've seen them last. The whole family had been planning this big trip to California, with all the uncles and aunties and all their kids. Unbeknownst to Santana, they planned it to be around the same time as her first major tour.

Brittany was in on it, of course. It was the only surefire way they could secure 30 or so of those front row seats. And as much as Brittany tried otherwise, they were all adamant that they pay full price. It was important to them to support Santana, to which Brittany couldn't argue.

So you best believe when Santana walked out on stage on her final night on tour and immediately saw all of them there, she nearly lost it. She didn't see it coming at all but she knew Brittany had to have known. She knew there was no way they could've organized it without the help of her wife.

After the show they went out to celebrate together as a family. The family talked about their plans for the rest of their trip and Santana's wheels were already turning, knowing it was the perfect way to pay Brittany back.

Plus, she couldn't help but notice the way Brittany's eyes lit up the moment they started talking about Disneyland the next day. When the offer to join was extended, Santana accepted right away. It wasn't until they actually got there, that Santana and Brittany realized how intense their family actually was about Disneyland.

It was really fun though, and it made them feel like they were a part of something. The matching family vacation shirts that one of the aunties gave to them also helped. Brittany, of course, made sure to take tons of pictures to document the occasion. Mostly because she knew Santana hated the idea of matching anything but wasn't about to be rude and not wear them.

But Santana felt honored to have even been included. To think that they made sure to have an extra pair of shirts for them on the off chance that they'd be available to join in, she knew the sentiment shouldn't have been taken lightly. She couldn't imagine the headache involved in planning a trip of that caliber and it probably wouldn't happen again for a long time. They were a part of something the whole family will remember for years to come.

So who could blame her for actually being excited to see everyone again?

And Brittany is just as excited. She's itching to fill in Aunty Lin on all the antics they were up to since Santana's tour. She especially can't wait to finally witness Santana and Maya's annual stare off.

The first time Santana told her about it, she couldn't help but laugh. She wishes she could've been there to see the teenage girl challenge her wife, and then she missed it again at the house party last year. Santana told her something along the lines of Maya finally admitting that she was cool, though Brittany figures she took some liberties in the retelling of that conversation.

Brittany's pretty sure her wife sees a little bit of herself in the young cousin and admittedly, she sees it too. Mostly it's the quick wit, unforgiving sass, and the obvious pretending to be unbothered or uninterested. But Brittany finds it super cute every time they see each other, both ready to square up at the drop of a hat. She knows that Maya is just messing with her wife by testing her boundaries and dismissing her as not worth her time. Which is exactly the thing that gets under Santana's skin.

But now Santana has the upper foot. Especially after they were all backstage after Santana's show and the one and only Miss Mercedes Jones walked in. The look on Maya's face was satisfying enough, but Santana took it one step further and introduced the young one to her old friend, making sure to emphasize that not only did they tour together, they practically grew up together.

The whole night made Brittany's heart warm, seeing all of them supporting her wife. To see that they meant what they said when they made her and Santana a part of the family. Even Maya was singing along to every one of her songs and the best part is that the young girl can't deny it either because it's fully documented thanks to Brittany recording everyone from the sidelines.

"Britt, you have the check ready, right?" Santana asks, interrupting her thoughts as they pull up the driveway to the familiar cottage. The paint is even more faded than last year and it's even chipping in some parts of the front panel. A pang of guilt hits her and she sighs, knowing that their found family is losing out on the extra income every time they visit from now on.

Brittany reaches into the front pocket of her bag and pulls it out, "She's not going to accept it. You know how Aunty is."

"Well, we still have to try."

They look toward the main house and can already see Uncle Alika walking out to greet them, waving his hand up and smiling widely.

"Why is it that even when he's happy, he's still so intimidating?" Santana laughs and Brittany smiles at her, reaching over the middle console to squeeze Santana's leg. By the time they get out of the car, he's standing right in front of them, arms wide open.

"How was the flight?" He smiles and hugs them both, squeezing lightly.

"Bumpy." Brittany rolls her eyes, "Santana almost broke my hand from squeezing it so tightly."

He laughs, patting Santana on the shoulder, "Well, you kids must be starving. Come on inside, Aunty made a big pot of pastele stew."

Santana's mouth already starts watering. She wasn't able to stomach anything on the flight over but she looks at their car and sighs, knowing they still have to unpack.

As if Uncle Alika knows what she's thinking, he moves behind them and starts pushing them toward the main house, "Nevermind your bags. Can't do anything on an empty stomach!"

Once they get inside, Aunty Lin nearly tackles the girls to the ground.

She has them sit at the kitchen table as she starts making their bowls, already gushing about what's been going on with the rest of the family in the last few months.

"Aunty," Santana chuckles, standing to help, "Please, let me do that."

"Nuh uh, sit that little ass of yours down," The older woman turns around and Santana, shocked and mildly offended, quickly takes her seat again, "You two are guests in this house."

At that, Brittany and Santana share a look, nodding. This is the perfect time to do it.

"Well, in that case-" Brittany starts, reaching into her pocket but Aunty Lin immediately stops her.

"I swear to Christ, if that's a check I'm going to hit you with this spoon." She says pointedly, holding said wooden spoon out like she means it.

Uncle Alika's laugh bellows from the living room around the corner, "I told you they were gonna try it, Lin! You owe me fifty bucks!"

"It's only something small." Santana tries to justify, "Please, just take it. It's the least we can do."

"We already told you girls. Family doesn't pay."

"But you just called us guests." Brittany counters. But Aunty Lin holds her ground, placing their bowls in front of them.

She grins, arching an eyebrow, "Get your own spoons then."

The younger women share another look and then chuckle, shaking their heads as they stand and move toward the far left drawer of the kitchen, already knowing where it is. When they sit back down, Aunty Lin's still sporting that smug look of hers.

The pastele stew, as expected, is amazing. About halfway through their meal, Santana runs out to the car and returns with the biggest smile on full display, their luggage full of Trader Joes snacks in tow.

Brittany can't help but smile at how enthusiastic her wife is as she's pulling out all the items. By the time she's done, the entire counter is covered and Aunty Lin's eyes are wide.

"I tried telling her it was too much." Brittany laughs but the older woman shakes her head.

"Impossible. This'll probably last us one month tops." She turns to Santana, "I'm gonna call Pat and tell her you guys brought home presents."

Santana smiles at the fact she said home, and also loving that they view something as simple as snacks, from Trader Joes of all places, presents. She makes a mental note to send Trader Joe's a perfectly crafted letter, urging corporate to consider opening a location in Hawaii. They would seriously make a killing.

"Hey." Brittany calls out softly to Santana once Aunty Lin leaves the room to grab her phone, "Come here."

Santana blushes, but does as she's told. She takes her seat again but turns, allowing her to lean back into her wife's open arms.

"You're being extra cute, right now." Brittany smiles, turning her head slightly to kiss Santana's temple.

Santana scoffs playfully, "Excuse you, I am always this cute."

Brittany hums into dark hair and chuckles. They sit like that and listen as Aunty Lin gushes to Aunty Pat on the phone.

"I told you it was important." Santana smiles when the older woman comes back in to take a picture of the mini mountain on top of her counter.

"You know we can always just mail them Trader Joes when we're back in NY, right?"

Santana shakes her head softly, "It's not the same. Plus it's more fun this way."

"That is true." Brittany smiles.

She gets lost in her thoughts as they sit there in silence, taking everything in. Five years. For five whole magical years, they've been wife and wife. Her eyes tear a little at the thought of how far they've come. She wishes more than anything, if she could ever get that damn time machine to work, to go back in time to when they were fifteen and tell her younger self this is where they'll be.

She'd tell herself that all of that pain she's feeling will be worth it in the end because she'll get her girl. She'd tell her that Santana isn't perfect and neither is she but they can be imperfect together and they'll work their way through life in the way that only they know how.

And then, five years after they say I do, they'll be sitting in a beach house in Hawaii, holding each other and thinking about the many more years to come.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Santana suddenly stands, giving Brittany a chaste kiss before grabbing their dirty dishes and proceeds to wash them in the sink.

It's so casual and domestic, but Brittany will never tire from seeing her wife like this.

She sits there quietly watching as Santana hums softly to herself, her hair is tied up in a ponytail so messy that Sue would have her running laps for committing such an offense. Almost as if Santana can sense her eyes, she glances back with the smallest smile and winks. It takes Brittany's breath away and she knows then, this will definitely be an anniversary to remember.

The morning sun creeping onto the bed wakes Santana. She groans, kicking off the blanket and turns over. Her hand lands on a piece of paper, and her eyes open slowly. Confused, she inspects it further and as soon as she reads what it says she's up and out of bed within seconds.

I'm in the bath. Come get your anniversary present.

By noon, Santana's pretty sure they did some major damage to Lin and Alika's water bill. That, and possibly even some water damage to the bathroom floor.

"They finally stopped talking about the broken bed, Britt. We can't give them a new reason to tease us." Santana sighs, trying her best to wipe up all the water that spilled over with the extra towels she found in the closet.

"It's fine, Santana. See?" Brittany says, moving the towels around to reveal the floor, "There's no damage."

"Let's hope not." Santana stands, eyeing the wood as if just simply staring at it will tell her anything.

Brittany watches her and licks her lips, noticing the smallest sheen of sweat already forming on Santana's forehead. She moves easily around Santana and goes straight to the bathtub, turning it on. Santana looks at her curiously.

"Britt, what are you doing?"

"You're gonna need another bath after all that hard work. You're all dirty again."

"Britt…"

Brittany smirks, already starting to undress from her robe. She turns away to check the temperature and just before she moves to step inside, she feels Santana's arms wrap around her torso, both of their bodies bare.

"We're never gonna leave this bathroom, are we?" Santana mumbles into her neck, kissing it softly there.

"Mm, not a chance."

They finally emerge from their cottage around early evening, solely for the purpose of sustenance. They thought they could scavenge for any residual snacks left in their luggage but apparently snack mix packets from their flight were not acceptable enough for Brittany.

Santana agrees though. It's their fifth anniversary and she'll never forgive herself if all she fed Brittany was snack mix. Well technically, that's not all she ate.

They decide to head to the closest grocery store to pick up a few things for the rest of their trip, grabbing their usual breakfast fruits, some chips for snacking, and a couple of pounds of different styles of poke.

Before heading home, they stop at a nearby plate lunch place, completely okay with something greasy for dinner. They've learned to share one plate, remembering how big the portions were last time.

When they get back home they sit at the kitchen table and eat together. Brittany struggles eating a particularly long noodle and it takes her a few tries but she eventually gets the whole thing in her mouth.

"I love you." Santana smiles, adoring her wife. Only Brittany could make fighting with a noodle look beautiful.

Brittany, embarrassed, ducks her head shyly, "I love you, too."

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"This didn't just happen, Santana." Brittany shakes her head, points between the two of them, "We put in the work to make this happen. Together. And as easy as it is to love each other, it also can be hard at times. But no matter what, we always chose each other. We always fought our way back."

Santana, caught off guard, tears at her wife's words, "I'm so glad we didn't give up then."

"I would never give up on you." Brittany says genuinely, reaches forward to wipe away a rogue tear.

"Never."

Since they spent the entirety of yesterday inside, today they decided to go to town to do some shopping like last year. This time though they avoid town town, and opt for Kapolei town, not willing to make the hour long drive into Honolulu.

Ka Makana Alii is beautiful, and it's only been a few years since it opened so they take their time exploring the new mall. They even take turns attempting to say the name, though they later find that they were both very wrong once they hear someone else say it in passing.

At one point, Santana even thinks she saw Bretman Rock but before she could embarrass herself she realizes it was just an ordinary Filipino boy.

After about two hours, Santana is sure they walked into every skin care shop the mall had to offer. Partly because Brittany's obsession this year was skin care. She's all about that morning and evening routine. Of course, Santana doesn't mind it as much as the health kick a few years back, mostly because she'd never say no to more skin care products.

Truthfully though, Brittany's been super stressed at work recently, and she's scared of getting worry lines. It's not that she can't handle it, she definitely can now. But even though she's been a lot better at keeping a good balance of work and fun, she's been putting a lot more hours in because she really believes in the work that she's doing now. She's carving out a place for herself in the world and people are starting to notice.

And this time around she's not being touted as some weird freak teenager from Ohio that can solve complex equations from seemingly out of nowhere. No, now she's made sure she's being taken seriously and being treated professionally.

But above all, she just wants to hold on to the comfort of looking her age. Which is why they don't have to think twice before booking side by side facials and massages.

After their relaxing day, and once their stomachs start to rumble from hunger, Santana tells Brittany that they have to go home for dinner, despite the fact that they have zero food they can turn into a respectable meal in the cottage. But Santana offers her some lame excuse and Brittany doesn't question it, knowing that there's probably another reason that she's just not willing to divulge yet.

When they pull up their driveway and step out of the car, Brittany notices a large group of people in the grassy area by the beach. And as strange is it appears, she chalks it up to it probably being some sort of family party.

"Let's go check it out." Santana says, smiling slyly and already walking away from her.

"But dinner…" Brittany follows slowly, not really sure what's going on.

But Santana turns to her, her smile full of excitement and reassurement, "The guest of honor can't be late to her own party."

"Wha-"

Brittany's words stop in her throat when she looks closer and finally sees them. All of them. The last time everyone was together in one place was at Disneyland the day after Santana's last show.

"You didn't really think they were just going to celebrate my big achievement and not yours, did you?"

"Wait, this is for me?"

"You're a genius, Brittany." Santana takes hold of Brittany's hand and kisses her knuckles softly, her eyes full of love and admiration, "And now the whole world finally knows."

"Santana…"

"I'm so proud of you, babe."

Brittany's heart takes flight and she lunges forward to kiss Santana, completely at a loss for words. It's not like every ordinary person wins a Norbert Wiener Prize, but it's also not like every ordinary person even knows what that is or what it means.

"How did they even find out?"

"I told Aunty Lin about it when we were in Disneyland. While you were on the Incredibles coaster."

"I had a feeling you were up to something!" Brittany blushes, "I knew I should've made you ride it with me."

"Oh, no. You had one free pass and you used it on our senior ditch day."

"Santana, that's insane. You can't swear off coasters for the rest of your life after riding a little bitty one back in high school."

Santana scoffs, "That was NOT little bitty, Brittany. It was massive!"

"It was barely twenty seconds long, Santana."

The shorter woman shrugs and raises an eyebrow in challenge, "I mean, we can spend all night arguing about that, or we could go over there and you can be celebrated for being a super hot genius."

Brittany's smile grows as she squeals and takes her wife's hand, pulling her toward the crowd.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone cheers once the girls are close enough and Brittany's already nearly in tears.

It's a familiar scene with the tents being set up in the same fashion as the house party last year. The only difference this time is the massive banner hanging off from one of the sides that reads, All Hail Brittany S. Lopez-Pierce, Queen of Math & Dat Ass.

Brittany turns to Santana, "You were in charge of the sign, weren't you?"

"Obviously."

"It's inappropriate, Santana."

"But accurate."

Brittany blushes, knowing that all the kids in the family are definitely old enough to read. But her embarrassment is soon forgotten once everyone starts coming up to give her a hug, almost all of them giving her lei after lei in congratulations. One even handmade a lei po'o for her to wear on top of her head.

Santana stands back and watches as her wife is adorned with praise and love. Once the last lei is placed on her wife, the only thing Santana can see is her blonde hair peeking through. She's sure Brittany can barely see let alone breathe properly under everything.

"The Norbert Wiener Prize is a cash prize, right?" Santana looks to her side and finds Maya, "So what'd she spend the money on?"

"She donated it." Santana smiles proudly, "To medical robotics research for paralysis."

"Whoa, seriously?" Maya's eyes widen in shock and Santana nods.

"We have a friend whose dream it is to dance and Britt refuses to give up on him." Santana explains and Maya smiles at that. Santana's actually taken aback, she almost can't believe she's having a decent conversation with her young enemy. She watches as Maya looks at Brittany in awe.

"That's pretty badass. Brittany is like… an icon."

"I think you mean, bi-con." Santana jokes, immediately regretting her choice to use finger guns in that moment.

"Wow, she really settled with you, huh?" Maya quips easily, displaying a smirk that rivals Santana's.

Santana's smile drops and she turns fully to the girl, "What did you just say, you little-"

Maya's laugh cuts her off, holding up her hands, "Damn chill, Santana. I'm just messing with you."

Santana's still fuming as the girl walks away. Soon enough she feels a hand on her lower back and immediately recognizes it as Brittany's, instantly calming her. She's kept a couple of choice lei around her neck and the rest were neatly placed on the table beside them. The mixture of different flowers still clinging to Brittany's own scent and Santana inhales deeply.

"What's wrong?" Brittany coos, noticing Santana's shift in mood. She follows her line of sight until she sees who's back Santana is staring daggers into, "Oh damn it, did I miss it again!?"

"She's gonna catch these hands one of these days."

"She's a child." Brittany holds back a giggle, silently loving that her wife is this worked up.

"I don't care. She's mean."

"You were also mean at that age."

"What do you mean, at that age? I can still be mean." Santana folds her arms over her chest, not giving up.

"Not mean enough to fight a child, Santana."

Santana's eyes follow Maya as she takes a seat at one of the far tables and she sizes her up, "Fine. But when I was her age I could've taken her."

"You do know she's a reigning state wrestling champion, right?"

Santana scoffs, "So? Zizes wrestled and I took her." She tries to counter but Brittany laughs loudly at that.

"I'm sorry babe, but you didn't take anything. Zizes demolished you."

"I don't remember it that way." Santana mutters, rolling her eyes, "Plus, Maya is like a hundred pounds soaking wet. I'm pretty sure I could take her."

"Hon, as much as I love to see you pinned down, I much rather be the one doing it."

Santana's mouth drops open and she looks away blushing, "Brittany, we're around children."

Unamused, Brittany points at the giant sign across the tent, "Your sign literally says, dat ass."

When Santana shrugs, clearly not apologetic for her actions, Brittany giggles and pulls her closer. They hold each other there and look over at their family. Everyone together again, some laughing, some bantering, some playing music and singing together.

Brittany takes it all in. To think that all of these people have never, not for a second, questioned her intelligence, it warms her soul. All of them gathered here to celebrate her.

Brittany never thought she'd ever get recognized for her work. She never would've thought she'd be recognized for anything, much less this publicly and it being accepted by colleagues.

She really made something of herself. No longer just some dumb cheerleader. She knows she's a lot stronger than the words anyone can spit at her. She conquered her demons.

And Santana was by her side supporting her the whole time. Her own personal cheerleader to lift her up and encourage her when she needed it because that's what they do for each other. It's their individual growth that makes their love that much stronger, always staying true to who the other is as an individual.

They really do make the perfect mash up.

"Thank you for this, Santana." Brittany looks down at her wife already smiling softly at her.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?"

Brittany blushes, remembering, "Tell me again."

AN: Tbh, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter but I'm posting it because I feel really bad since this is already so outrageously late! I also wrote up some fic notes that give a little bit of insight into some things mentioned throughout this fic, and it's just been sitting in my tumblr drafts for like a whole two months now because I really don't know if it'll just go over your heads or if it's just completely unnecessary lol.

Anyways… shout out to the Brittana Discord server :P If anyone out there is looking for a found family, look no further and consider joining! It's a blast in there.