Chapter Six: Everlong

After a brief visit to Massachusetts to pick up Brittany's belongings, the Pierce's kindly taking the bulk of it back to Lima for her, they touched down in New York together to gather Santana's things. Brittany was eager for Santana to show her around, to show her the life she'd been living for the past 5 months, but Santana was keen to get away on vacation, just the two of them. They had a lot of making up to do, and the rest of forever to live their lives in New York together.

So off they headed to paradise. Just Brittany and Santana in their own little bubble. They held hands down the narrow, cobbled streets of Greece, and they cuddled atop Mauna Kea as they watched the stars in Hawaii. They tried new foods, drank lots of wine (pleased that they were of age in Europe), they laughed, and they reconnected. They shared sunset kisses and sweet words at sunrise, and they more than made up for all of the sex they had missed out on in their time apart.

It was a time of sheer happiness and bliss, that neither of them wanted to end.

8 and a half months of pain and misery

8 and a half months of pure love and happiness and rebuilding.

Both girls agreed they would have suffered it all, to come out the other side as happy as they were now. They returned to New York in April 2014, better connected and stronger than ever.

The issue was, that they didn't have a home, and neither of them could even afford a deposit. Their travels had left them high and dry, but they couldn't return to Lima, they were sure of that. Santana was offered her job back at the diner, and she figured she could save all of her tips up, for a deposit. Brittany, got in contact with an old friend she knew from the dance world, and he offered her a gig teaching dance freelance.

They were barely going to be rolling in money, but it was a start to their dream in New York together. Brittany's friend kindly allowed her to stay with him rent free on his couch, since they went way back, so it was just Santana in need of a place to stay while they got saved up.

She couldn't go back and live with Berry again, so she reached out to Mercedes to see if she could stay with her while she got back on her feet. Mercedes had agreed, but warned her that Sam was living there too, but Santana told her she had no issue with this. Sam wasn't with Brittany any longer, so Santana could abide him now.

One thing neither Santana nor Brittany wanted, was for their honeymoon bubble to burst. Being back together felt so special and sacred, and they didn't want any outside influences to infiltrate that.

They hatched a plan together, deciding to keep Brittany's presence in New York a secret for now, the only person who did know about it, being Mercedes. It felt exciting, meeting up for date nights just the two of them, both of them living in their own little world and seeing each other as often as possible, putting money into their joint savings account ready for their own place. Their first home.

When Santana was offered an opportunity by Mercedes to join her on tour, she wanted to jump at the chance, knowing the money could be great in going towards their deposit. But she told Mercedes the same thing she had told her, when she had asked her to join The Troubletones. She wouldn't do it without Brittany.

"Easily done" Mercedes had shrugged "I'll talk to the label. She can come as my backing dancer"

And just like that, Brittany was signed up too, much to both Santana and Brittany's delight.

Then Santana was offered another Yeast-I-Stat commercial, and as much as she didn't want to be known nationally as the girl with the raging yeast infection, she knew it would be foolish to turn the money down. So off she went to Iowa, while Brittany showed up at Kurt and Rachel's as planned, imposing herself on her friends now that Santana was out of town.

She was grateful they bought her excuse about being stuck in the airport and had no idea she was staying not too far away for the past month. She'd just been far too wrapped up in enjoying Santana that she didn't want to have to split her time with her friends. She loved them but, they could be a little overwhelming at times. And Santana didn't want to have to share Brittany either, so she was more than happy with their arrangement, as temporary as it was.

At the end of their four-month tour with Mercedes, where they'd had the best time (making sure to celebrate their one-year anniversary since getting back together while they were out there), they returned to Lima just in time for Homecoming.

With the money they had saved, they were confident they'd be able put down a healthy deposit for a place of their own, and they were excited for the future. But Rachel and Kurt had begged them and all of their friends to help out with the revival of the Glee Club, so they put their plans on a short hold. The Glee Club held a special place in their hearts, and it had helped them get together and realise their love for each other, so they couldn't say no.

It was just like the early days of their relationship, spending nights at each other's family homes, predominantly Brittany's house. They lay on Brittany's bed one Friday evening in post-coital bliss, feeling so wrapped in happiness.

They'd been back together for over a year now, and it had been the most amazing 16 months spent together. Santana had brought around champagne and strawberries, and Brittany had hinted for her parents to go out for dinner and leave them to some alone time, both knowing what the date was and how important it was to be together. It was unspoken, but they both knew, until Brittany brought it up.

"You know what today is?" Brittany asked absentmindedly, as she stroked Santana's arms. Santana was laying on her chest, cuddled up against her.

Santana glanced down, it was the 4th October, of course she knew. It was two years to the day that she had broken up with Brittany. She swallowed, feeling consumed by guilt still.

"How could I ever forget? I'm sorry Brit…"

"Shh don't apologise!" Brittany calmed her firmly "We're here now baby. And all that time apart was so hard but, it helped us to grow. It helped us to see how we could never be without each other. It made us stronger. That day I felt like my heart had been physically shattered, but I'm here with you exactly two years later, and it feels so full. We've come full circle"

Santana couldn't speak, her emotions getting the better of her. She simply leaned up to place a long and gentle kiss on Brittany's lips. Brittany could taste the salt of Santana's tears, and she stroked her back reassuringly, knowing that Santana still felt the guilt over their break-up, no matter how many times Brittany had assured her.

Santana lay her head down on Brittany again, the two of them falling into a content silence, before she changed the subject to something a bit lighter. This prompted a conversation about scissoring, and Brittany telling Santana in a matter of fact voice that scissoring had been invented by the Ancient Egyptians, but actual scissors hadn't been invented for many centuries after that. Brittany's plan worked, and it caused Santana to laugh, her conscience easing.

Conversation soon turned to what song they would perform for Glee Club, and at first, they'd had different ideas. But Brittany was weak for Santana, and she could never resist what she wanted.

"Okay I may be a genius but…how could I argue with the logic of your giant generous heart?"

Santana laughed, her heart so full. She had always told Brittany she was a genius, and Brittany had always told her that despite what others thought of her, she had the biggest heart. Underneath the snarky comments and the sarcasm, Santana was the kindest, sweetest, softest soul that Brittany knew.

Watching Santana's face light up at the compliment, Brittany couldn't resist any longer.

"Come here" she smiled, moving in towards Santana.

They melted into the kiss, soft and gentle, and as they pulled away, they both shook their heads and smiled. They knew they both had that same dizzy feeling, like they were kissing for the first time.

"Uh…we are so awesomely in love. I would totally hate us if I didn't know us" Brittany smiled.

"I was thinking…I think that you and I should live in New York together. You know, I wanna go back to college, NYU or Columbia. And you can just go…wherever I get in…genius" she smiled, as Brittany laughed coyly.

They had already discussed that New York was probably going to be the place they moved together permanently, after their brief test run before they went on tour with Mercedes, but as always Santana wanted verbal clarification. Two years ago, she had broken up with Brittany because she couldn't be without her, and distance was still a sore spot for her. She couldn't ever go through life without her physically by her side again. She had to make sure.

"How much fun would it be to be back in school together again?" Santana continued.

"It would be amazing" Brittany enthused, as Santana softened even further. Pleased that as always, they were on the same wavelength, and that she'd had her clarification.

"I love you Brit"

And Brittany melted, because even though she heard those words several times a day from her girlfriend, it still made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Like she could dance around the room in happiness.

"I love you too"

"I'm serious I mean, living my life with you is…one of the few things that's actually as good in real life as it is in my imagination" she said, curling back into Brittany's open arms.

"Like rain and phones?" Brittany giggled, the happiness she felt causing her silly side to come out.

"Exactly!" Santana laughed, but she wanted Brittany to know how much she meant what she was saying, so she changed her tone again.

"I'm serious" she lifted her head to look at Brittany "You make me so happy"

And Brittany bit her lip, so moved by her girlfriends' words as always.

"And I'm never going to stop doing just that" she assured Santana, and Santana shifted comfortably. She knew Brittany was hers forever now, but it still helped to hear it.

"As a math genius, I am one of the few people who understands the concept of infinity, and I will love you until infinity, Santana Lopez"

And it was at that very moment, as Santana listened to Brittany's meaningful words, that she had a realisation. She wanted to love Brittany forever, to make her happy until the end of time, to grow old and grey with her. As she lay in her arms, she could see a whole future ahead of her. Graduating college together, buying their first home, marriage, children. She wanted it all. But why wait? Why couldn't she jig the order around a little bit.

She had never been so sure on anything in her life. The past couple of years had been muddled with confusion, but the one thing that had always remained certain, was her love for Brittany. On the surface, you'd think Brittany would be the one to propose, being that she loves gestures so much. And if she left it any longer, maybe it would be Brittany, but Santana was sure that the biggest gesture of their relationship so far, needed to come from her.

Brittany had been the one to fight for Santana back, and now Santana was going to be the one to make the everlasting commitment to them forever.

And she was going to do it in front of all of their friends, in a place so special to them. The place they fell in love. She had broken up with her in that room, but now they were going to create new memories in there.

At the very beginning of their journey together, Santana had been too scared to admit her feelings, and she couldn't even speak to Brittany about what they had. Let alone, in front of anyone else. The few times they had talked about it, she'd whispered ashamedly, glancing around to check nobody was listening. Declaring her love for Brittany in front of everyone, standing proud and promising to love her forever, truly would be coming full circle.

October 4th 2012; she had broken up with Brittany, because she couldn't stand to live without her.

October 4th 2014; she had decided to propose to Brittany, because she couldn't stand to live without her.

"And I will love you until infinity too Brit" Santana answered, her face determined, because she knew that she really would love Brittany, always and forever.

Telling her parents that evening that she was going to propose to Brittany, hadn't gone quite to plan. Both of them were shocked, and her father in particular had been quite unhappy, ranting in Spanish that Santana was far too young.

But the words didn't sober Santana, she knew what she wanted, and she was going to get it.

"I'm an adult Papi, I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm going to be 21 next year…" she protested

"Santana you have only just turned 20, and it's no age to make a big commitment like this"

"It doesn't matter my age, I know what I know in my heart, and that's not going to change. Brittany and I are in love, and we want to make each other happy for the rest of our lives"

"Santana, I know how much you love Brittany, but maybe you should just have some more time to think over it…" Maribel said softly.

"Time to think over it!?" Mr Lopez cut in angrily "Oh Maribel don't encourage any of this. She can have all the time in the world to think over it, but she's not getting married until she's at least 25. They don't know how they're going to feel about each other next week, never mind next year or the rest of their lives for that matter!"

This started a rage in Santana, how dare he doubt her love for Brittany like this.

"No, don't you dare!" she warned "I'm sorry dad but I won't have you tell me how I feel about Brittany. I have loved her since I was 14. Since the first moment I laid eyes on her. And it took me two years to realise and come to terms with that, and I doubted myself for years. So, I will never, ever have anyone doubt my love for my girlfriend, when it took me this long to be sure. And from the moment I realised I loved her, I never stopped. Not when I watched her date other people instead of me, not when I was too scared to admit who I was inside, not when we finally got together but had to keep it secret, not when I was outed, not when I was rejected by Abuela, not when we broke up, not when we lived miles apart from each other and not when I tried moving on with someone else. I will love Brittany forever, because she is my soul mate, and my life isn't worth living without her. So, if you can't accept that, then I guess we'll just have to get married without your blessing"

And without another word, Santana walked out and retreated to her bedroom, leaving her parents speechless.

Santana was listening to her music to calm down, when she heard a knock at the door. She let out a frown as her mother walked in, still feeling stubborn from the earlier argument. She could understand her parents worry, but she couldn't abide them doubting the way she felt.

"You're still a little girl to your Papi" Maribel said softly "It's a lot for him to process"

Maribel cautiously walked over to Santana's bed, sitting on the edge of it and trying to read her.

"His little girl I may be, but that doesn't change the way I feel about Brittany, and how I know I'm going to feel about her this way forever" Santana said firmly, not letting up easily.

"She makes you really happy, huh?"

And Santana softened at last, because how could she not when she was talking about her love?

"So, so happy Mom. Like you wouldn't believe…" she gushed

"And you're sure that Brittany loves you just as much as you love her?"

Santana nodded firmly, a smile playing across her lips as she thought about Brittany's obvious love for her. All the things she had done over the years, to show Santana how much she cared. Starting at the beginning of their relationship where she had helped Santana accept herself, right through to now, where she would still go out of her way to do anything that made Santana's life easier.

"She loves me so much. And she really makes sure I believe it" Santana smiled "You know, it's funny. A few years ago, we had an argument about all this, because I was scared that I loved her more than she loved me, because I used to be the one to say it more. I never realised until that day, that there are so many ways you can show you love someone, without saying it. I never doubted it since" she said simply "In her head, it was that I should have just known, but since she knew how important it was for me to hear it, she went to the extra effort to tell me more. She still does that now. We have such a strong understanding of each other, on how to make each other happy. I've never felt more loved in my whole life"

Maribel nodded understandingly.

"We struggle with our words in this family. We never express ourselves properly, and there is no reason, it's just the way we are. You know that your Papi and I love you Santana, but I know we never said it to you, as much as we perhaps should have. Maybe that's why you seek love with your words so much…" Maribel said softly

And Santana gasped lightly, because suddenly it all made sense. Of course, she knew her family loved her, but Maribel was right, they weren't the kind of family to go around saying it a lot. The Pierce's were quite the opposite, and they were constantly telling Brittany how loved she was as a child.

Maybe that was why in their adult relationship, Brittany had always been more secure in love and preferred actions, while Santana had needed the words.

Either way, it didn't matter, because they understood each other's love language's perfectly now. They each knew how to communicate with the other, based on what they needed.

Sometimes they'd use their own love language, sometimes they'd switch their love language to suit the other, if they thought they especially needed it. But either way, they just saw everything now as different forms of love.

The important thing was, that they never doubted their love for each other.

"You know that actually makes a lot of sense" Santana agreed "the thing is now, I don't need the words as much now to know Brittany loves me, I just don't doubt it. It's as true of a fact as the sky being blue and the grass being green. We never tire of showing and telling each other, but even if we never told each other again, I'd know it to be true. I love Brittany, Brittany loves me"

Maribel smiled

"Then I will come with you tomorrow to help pick out an engagement ring for Brittany" she watched as Santana's eyes lit up, as she took her into a hug "We will worry about your father later"

Two days later, Brittany and Santana were in the choir room ready to perform their duet. Santana was unsure how she was even going to get through it, the nerves for what she was about to do, truly setting in. But they did it, and it went down really well, and they exchanged loving looks throughout.

Rachel clapped her hands together, pleased that they had set a good example for the newbies to follow.

"And that is how a mash up is done!" she whooped.

"No, actually this is" Santana interrupted, needing to seize the moment before her nerves truly took over her. She turned to address her girlfriend softly.

"Brit…can you take a seat?"

"Okay" Brittany smiled, nervously, wondering what Santana was about to do here.

"So…I figured that this is good a place as any to ask you this question…uhm…mainly because it's gonna really upset all of the single guys and gals in here" she joked, before taking a deep breath to say what she wanted to say.

Yes, words came easy to Santana, but this had to be perfect. And she looked at her teary-eyed girlfriend, who was visibly moved already, the words came flowing out right from the heart.

"But…I wanna mash up with you forever Brit. I mean…some people love someone because they make them a better person and…that's not why I love you, because you've always just wanted me to be myself"

Brittany couldn't wipe the smile from her face, as she watched her girlfriend nervously rambling on, declaring her love in front of everybody. She had never seen her quite like this before, and it was adorable, and she was so warmed.

"You're my favourite person in the whole world" Santana continued, and she meant it "And…we're a big deal, you know? Like no matter how many times we've tried to put our thing down and walk away from it, we can't because…I don't wanna live my life without my one true love. And…I normally use a lot of words when I'm saying something negative, so since this is the most positive thing I'm ever gonna do, I'm gonna keep it simple"

And of course, Santana had used plenty of words already, but she really wanted to try and keep this focused on Brittany, since this was her proposal. On a gesture, an action, on showing Brittany how much she loved her. She could stand there all day and speak about her love for Brittany, but she was going to leave it there and express it physically instead.

And Brittany gasped, as she watched Santana take the small box, fumbling with it nervously. She realised what was happening, and she shook her head as she felt her words choke in her throat and her eyes begin to water.

"Brittany …will you marry me?"

And Brittany raised her hands to her mouth in disbelief. There in front of her, was the love of her life, on one knee; presenting her commitment to her forever. After everything they had been through, after the long road they had travelled to get here. The most beautiful grand gesture, of all.

Before she could even say yes, Brittany had taken the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger, because she couldn't make this commitment to Santana quick enough. Then realising she hadn't said anything at all, she spoke out.

"Oh my God, I would love to!"

"Really!?" Santana exclaimed, her whole face lighting up in joy and relief.

"I would love to!" Brittany repeated, taking Santana into a full body hug as they squeezed each other in complete happiness.

They kissed tenderly, before Santana pulled Brittany back into her arms again, she didn't want to let go just yet. It was such a special moment.

So, when Kurt chimed in with his unwanted opinion on how they were far too young to get married, Santana had seen red. How dare he interrupt their moment like that? With the anger from her father's disproval still burning inside her, Kurt's words only fuelled the fire, and she made sure to give him a piece of her mind in the hallway later on. In true Snixx style.

Later that day, Brittany was preparing an engagement present for Santana. In true Brittany fashion, she had calculated the number of minutes Santana and her and spent together and was filling a large heart shaped jar with Mounds bars, to represent this. Kurt had joined her to help, after Santana had made him realise how wrong he was for interrupting like that. Santana had accepted his apology; on the condition he would find Brittany immediately and apologise to her too.

As Kurt had opened up about his failed relationship with Blaine, Brittany had given him her brutal honesty. He needed to move on.

"That's easy for you to say. Santana broke up with you, and now here you are all loved up and engaged" Kurt sighed.

"She did break up with me" Brittany nodded "But I did eventually let her go and move on. I had too. But I did always know that we'd find our way back to each other. You have to believe the same could happen for you and Blaine, but you have to let it go. If and when the universe thinks the time is right, Blaine will show up in your life again. If it's meant to be, it will always be"

"But how did you know?" Kurt asked "How could you be so sure she'd come back to you? So much seemed to happen to drive you two apart. Same with me and Blaine"

"Because through it all, she always held my heart. And I held hers. Through it all, we loved each other. I hate to say it but…we're different to you and Blaine. There was no cheating on each other or…anything like that. And that's not me judging your relationship, it's just me being honest. There wasn't ever a time we didn't love each other, even when we were apart. That's when you know you're meant to be with someone"

"How did you realise she still loved you, after all that time apart?

"It was never a realisation" Brittany explained "It was just something I always knew. Santana shows her love with her words, her encouragement, her support. She never stopped doing that. She never stopped telling me how amazing she thought I was, how in her eyes I've always been a genius"

"I'm sorry Brit. I really do believe in you two" Kurt sighed "I just hope that one day Blaine and I get our happy ending the same as you did"

Brittany smiled, appreciative of his apology, before she caught sight of Santana appearing at the top of the auditorium.

"You'll find your happiness Kurt. I promise…now if you don't mind, I need some time alone with my Fiancé" she whispered, her head gearing towards her approaching girlfriend.

"Oh sure! I'll leave you two alone" Kurt laughed, taking the hint. He flashed a wink in Santana's direction, who was looking in amazement at the large heart shaped jar in front of her.

Kurt headed out of the auditorium, just in time for Santana to approach.

"Brit! When did you get chance to do all this?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Well it was a bit of a rush, but Kurt helped me. We had a good chat and he's sorry" she assured, knowing Santana would want confirmation he'd apologised to Brittany.

"It's your engagement present. Do you like it baby?" Brittany asked hopefully, as she explained to Santana the effort that she had gone to in calculating all the minutes they'd spent together.

"Babe, I love it!" said Santana, pulling Brittany in for a kiss "Thank you" she said softly, pulling her in again and placing 5 chaste kisses on her lips.

When they finally pulled away, their eyes sparkling as they held each other in their embrace, Brittany caught sight of her ring, as she glanced down at her hand on Santana's waist. She still couldn't believe this was real life.

"We should get you a ring too" she suggested softly, but Santana shook her head.

"I don't need a ring baby. Having your heart to hold in my hand forever, is enough for me"

Brittany's pupils dilated, her heart swelled, as she pulled her fiancé in for a passionate kiss.

Santana and Brittany, Brittany and Santana, forever they would be.