Hey all! Just wanted to say thank you for the follows and reviews, they really help motivate me. :)
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Santana and Brittany came upon a crew member who looked to be sorting through patches and cables as he stood amongst gear. He was sporting an official looking vest and lanyard as well as a walkie talkie on his belt.
''Hey you, we need a hand,'' Santana said as they approached.
''Huh?'' the man asked looking up.
Brittany dangled their cuffed wrists in the air. ''You have any tools?''
With a confused look the man pulled out a small toolkit. ''Why are you handcuffed together?''
''I don't know, why does your face look like that?'' Santana smarted back.
''What's your name?'' Brittany asked him.
''Finn,'' he said, scratching his head.
''Okay Finn,'' Brittany carried on. ''We don't really have the time to answer your questions right now. I have a show to play in like three hours. Can you help us get these things off?''
With a doofy smile he nodded and started to inspect the handcuffs. Santana and Brittany placed their hands down flat on a piece of equipment so he could get a better look. He took a set of wire cutters out and cluelessly started to prod at the keyhole for several minutes.
''Do you know what you're doing?'' Santana asked.
''No,'' Finn answered. Then, after thoughtfully rubbing his chin he pulled out some kind of giant mallet and without warning slammed it down against the tiny chain connecting the cuffs, rattling Brittany and Santana.
''The hell!'' Brittany shouted.
''You could've hurt us!''
''What's wrong with you?''
Finn shook his head. ''Yeah those things aren't coming off. What you need is a real pair of bolt cutters. Or a bomb. I saw an episode of Macgyver where he made a bomb out of a sleeping bag, vodka and an oxygen tank.''
''Unfortunately I'm fresh out of oxygen tanks,'' Santana said snottily. ''Look why don't you just go fetch us some bolt cutters?'' Santana waved him off with her free hand. ''You probably have some of those somewhere around here right?''
''I can't,'' Finn answered. ''I'm busy, I have to set up the main stage for The Chainsmokers. Sorry.''
With that Finn gave them an apologetic shrug and shuffled off with several mic cables on his shoulder.
''The Chainsmokers sucks!'' Brittany hollered at his retreating form.
Santana raised a shoulder. ''I kinda like that song they did with Halsey.''
''Gross. You would. That song is horrible.''
''You're horrible.''
''Your face is horrible.''
There was no bite in this back and forth, now it was almost as if they were going at each other because they found amusing more than anything else.
So it seemed Finn the roadie was of no help whatsoever but on the bright side he had left the toolkit behind. Santana nabbed a small screwdriver from the box and stuffed it in her jeans before she and Brittany started off in search of a solution again. Twenty minutes later they thought they found it when they came across a fire safety team hanging around their emergency services truck. All in all they were the best bet to getting the cuffs off and more than likely would have done so had Santana not stormed up to them demanding their immediate attention. Put off by her brashness they asked for identification at which point Santana began to huff and puff and started a loud and nasty spiel about ''IDENTIFICATION? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I'M SANTANA FUCKING LOPEZ! ASKING ME WHO I AM! PAH! YOU SHOULD KNOW WHO I AM!''
Needless to say after a good solid five minutes of that the safety crew weren't interested in giving them any help. They took off in their vehicle further into the grounds, mumbling something about ''stupid spoiled celebrities'' under their breath as they went.
''Can you like not be annoying for, I don't know, five minutes?'' Brittany asked.
''Can I? Probably. Will I? Unlikely.''
''They could've helped us you know. And so what if they didn't know who you were? You're not the end all and be all. Not everyone is going to be so willing to fall at your feet.''
''Whatever, we'll find another way.'' Santana oddly didn't seem too bothered as she began to search the pockets of Brittany's jacket. Because Santana had put it on during their squabble prior to getting cuffed together there was no way for her to actually take it off now. She was stuck wearing Brittany's coat for the time being and thus decided to take a moment to explore it. With a devilish little grin she found a pack of gum and threw a piece into her mouth.
''Delicious.''
"Stop eating my Hubba Bubba." Brittany snatched the pack away. ''And so help me god if you ruin my jacket."
"Nothing's getting ruined, calm down. Besides I think we can both agree, I look better in it." Santana did a little pose and tugged on the lapels.
Brittany rolled her eyes. "Let's just go.''
''Go where?''
''Well…'' Brittany hummed with a playful lilt and batted her eyelashes in a coy manner. ''You said you wanted to show me your trailer...so show it to me.''
Santana widened her eyes at the implications. Sure she had been getting her flirt on with Brittany a bit but she hadn't actually expected the girl to take her up on it like this, especially since for the most part they had been at each other's throats. ''Are you serious?''
Brittany nodded and struck speechless Santana blinked rapidly and smiled as they started off once more. This time navigating their way to the artists quarters.
The artists quarters were sectioned off from the rest of the festival and required special passes to enter. There behind secured gates were dozens upon dozens of identical furnished star trailers which were lined up and assigned to performing bands and artists. Amongst them were also special trailers set up with showers and bathrooms. There was also a giant white tent in the middle of the space that served as a sort of dining hall for musicians and celebs.
They bypassed that area and made for Santana's personal trailer. She opened it up and allowed Brittany to walk in first. As far as trailers went it was spacious enough. There was a bed as well as a table with a couple of chairs and a small desk in the corner. On the floor was an open suitcase where clothing as well as a few books were scattered about. Santana had obviously already been here Brittany deduced.
Once she was inside Santana followed after and closed the door behind them. The minute it clicked shut though Brittany had Santana up against it and the blonde's hands immediately began feeling and fondling around Santana's jeans, more specifically her more intimate areas.
''Whoa-ho! Impatient are we?'' Santana grinned at being felt up, relishing in being cornered by Brittany. ''I like that you're eager, it's hot.''
''I'm not trying to have sex with you,'' said Brittany with an inward laugh. ''I'm trying to get that screwdriver. I saw you pocket it after we ran into that Finn guy. Where is it?''
''I'd tell you but I'm kind of enjoying your search for it. Oh yeah, keep going, a little to the left.''
Slightly amused Brittany shook her head until she found what she was looking for and pulled the screwdriver out of Santana's pocket and lead them both to the nearby bed. She forced Santana to take a seat with her as she herself began trying to work said screwdriver into the small keyhole by making several jabs at it, like she was breaking a chunk of ice with a pick. When she wasn't successful that way she just stuck the tip of the screwdriver into the hole and started wiggling it about as if it were an arcade joystick.
''I can't believe you thought I wanted to come to your trailer for that.''
''What was I supposed to think? You were giving me a sex kitten smirk and batting your eyes all flirty like and I'ma be real I am what one would consider a sexual terrorist.''
''What does that even mean?''
''That I'm a badass at giving orgasms,'' Santana clarified. ''I thought maybe you changed your mind. Usually when I'm handcuffed to a girl sex eventually becomes part of the equation.''
''Are you always this way?''
''What way? Smoldering? Dreamy? Irresistible?''
''Smug, are you always this smug? And if you're so used to being handcuffed don't you know any tricks in getting out of them without a key?''
''I was joking about being handcuffed before,'' Santana said. ''Trust me this is as foreign to me as it is to you.''
''I realize most girls would kill to be in my position right now, handcuffed to you and everything but just so we're clear here what happened when we walked into the room is as close as we're ever going to get to sleeping together. I'm not falling for you or your lines or your ridiculously cute dimples.''
''You think I have ridiculously cute dimples?''
Brittany was silent as she went back to work, banging away at the cuffs and obviously no closer to getting them off. She kept it up for several minutes until her arm hurt and then tossed the screwdriver to the floor. Giving up for the time she plopped herself back onto the mattress.
Sensing that Brittany was at her wit's end Santana softened, realizing maybe she had pushed a little too hard and hadn't been taking their situation as serious as she should. She scooted up to sit beside Brittany who was staring at the ceiling dejectedly. She didn't know Brittany very well and it wasn't likely that they would know each other after all of this but she did feel compelled to distract her, if only so that all of the tension wasn't rolling off of her and towards Santana.
''You know earlier when Sam asked you who your band was...I already knew,'' Santana said quietly.
''What?''
''I already knew who you were the second I saw you. Not formally or whatever but I knew who you were because I own your album.''
''You...do?'' Brittany propped herself up onto her elbows.
''If you hadn't threatened to smash my favorite acoustic apart I probably would've told you that I'm a big fan.''
''No, you're not,'' Brittany laughed dismissively. ''I mean how can you be? You're like...you.''
''What's that supposed to mean?'' Santana asked, she wasn't offended more so curious.
''I don't know,'' Brittany said and wrinkled up her nose in consideration. ''I guess I didn't think you were the kind of person who would get my kind of music.''
''What kind of person is that?''
Brittany really didn't have an answer and when that was clear to Santana she shrugged and carried on.
''Right. Well. It was my guitar tech who turned me on to you, er, your band I mean. He told me there was some new band on the scene with an amazing album,'' Santana explained. ''I checked your stuff out.''
''And?''
''And I really dug it. It gave me some sweet Sleater-Kinney vibes in the best way possible.''
''You know who Sleater-Kinney is?''
''I get that you think I'm a sell out but I'm not clueless, especially not when it comes to music, especially not when it comes to good music..''
''Carrie Brownstein is like my idol,'' Brittany admitted. ''She's also like a bi icon...a bicon.''
''I can tell, I hear that influence in your stuff. That and like a dash of Liz Phair and Karen O. Now that I think of it maybe even a little bit of PJ Harvey. Stories From the City, Stories From The Sea era. A little bit in sound but mostly in atmosphere. Sonically I think your album is in the same vein. Your record has that same sexy organic thing that PJ album had. All mixed in with like something that's just uniquely The Dirty Pinks. Uniquely you,'' Santana said sweetly and subtly sprinkling words of praise. ''I think you have that thing, that thing that all iconic frontwomen have.''
''Which is?'' Brittany asked, still a little doubtful.
''That pure kind of charisma and confidence that can't be contained or produced in a studio. Either someone has it or they don't.''
''And you think I have it?''
Santana cleared her throat in an attempt to play down her compliments. ''You and your band. Yeah. And maybe I've been acting like an ass to you a little bit because a) you were acting like one to me first and b) because there's a possibility I was intimidated by the fact that you have it in spades.''
It was the last thing Brittany had expected to hear. She had always just assumed Santana and The Make as a whole had been manufactured the way so many other bands had. She for whatever reason had figured Santana was just a face. She hadn't thought Santana would know who any of those women were but she did, not only that but she seemed to have a profound understanding of their sound.
She was a little more than meets the eye.
"You look surprised," Santana said.
"I am...I guess I didn't expect you to know anything other than Top 40. I certainly didn't think you'd ever be a fan of my stuff.''
''Yeah well, the fact that you look like this…'' Santana threw a flirtatious glance over Brittany. ''...didn't exactly hurt either. You've totally got that 90's Kim Gordon sex appeal.''
Brittany smiled. Even when Santana wasn't trying to she still couldn't seem to not hit on her. ''Thank you.''
''I may say and do a lot of things but when it comes to music I'm brutally honest so I hope you know I'm not saying it just to say it or to make you feel better or to get you in bed-''
''You already have me in bed,'' Brittany joked and motioned down to the mattress beneath them.
''You know what I mean.''
''I do, and I appreciate it. With the way things are going for The Dirty Pinks, we need all the fans we can get but it doesn't change the fact that the clock is ticking and I have a show to play in a few hours and frankly I don't know how well I'd be able to perform handcuffed to another person. If this were any other time or any other gig I might be able to laugh all of this off but tonight...I need everything to go right on stage. For myself, for my band.''
Santana nodded and wiggled down to retrieve the screwdriver once more and went back at it, attempting to pick the lock. They might have been from totally different genres, from totally different places, with vastly different popularity but they were both musicians and if there was anything Santana took seriously it was music. It didn't matter that she and Brittany had butted heads or annoyed each other, not at this point, if it was the last thing she did Santana was going to make sure Brittany was on stage in time for her gig.
They spent a good forty five minutes on that bed taking turns, trying to pop open the cuffs. It was an awkward task because they each only had one hand to work with so neither of them could really put their full strength into it. They even tried moving the cuffs as well as themselves in different positions to see if that would make any difference at all.
Eventually position after position Santana found herself situated in a way that had her half straddling Brittany as Santana used the screw driver to bang at the links between the cuffs. Because of the force she was using the bed rocked ever so slightly beneath them.
''Do it again...right there!''
''Here?''
''Yes there!''
''Did you feel that?''
''It's fine, keep going. That's it! Keep hitting that spot!''
''K...uh-uh-uh...I'm gonna go harder. Hold onto the bed frame!''
Together they were making noises that, well, would be a bit confusing to anyone who randomly opened the door and happened upon the scene.
Which is of course exactly what happened.
''Please tell me this isn't what it looks like,'' came a strange female voice from behind them.
Santana and Brittany scrambled away from each other to get a good look at the intruder who had just suddenly walked into the trailer. Brittany didn't recognize the woman but Santana did because her face immediately flashed with a look of panic.
''It's not what it looks like,'' Santana said trying to put as much space between her and Brittany which was obviously impossible because handcuffs. ''But just so we're clear, what does it look like?''
The woman folded her arms. ''It looked like you were on top of some girl, fingering her and doing god knows what!'
''What? No,'' Santana explained
The woman came closer to the bed to get a better look at what was going on. ''Then explain the handcuffs, Santana!''
''Okay,'' Santana said. ''Maybe this looks like I was in the middle of some random sexual escapade but nothing was going on.''
''Who is she?'' the woman demanded to know.
''I'm Brittany,'' Brittany supplied.
''She's a stranger. A lead singer from some other band,'' Santana rushed to explain. ''Some crazy chick ran up and for some crazy fucked up reason handcuffed us together and then ran away. We've been trying to get the cuffs off ever since.''
''Where's the key?'' the woman asked.
''If we had the key we wouldn't still be handcuffed to each other.''
Santana and the woman went back and forth for awhile in hushed tones that had Brittany rolling her eyes. Brittany didn't have it in her to resist the urge to have some fun.
Using a naive innocent tone Brittany spoke up, getting the woman's attention. ''She told me she was single when she brought me back her.''
Santana shot Brittany a wide eyed look that said 'stop being cute, now is not the time to play games'.
Santana then looked to the woman standing in front of them. ''She's joking, Brittany tell her you were joking.''
Brittany did no such thing and only responded to that by leaning into Santana and licking the side of her neck until she reached her ear which she lightly bit at before releasing it with a happy little moan. Despite the fact that Santana was desperately trying to prove nothing was going on she couldn't stop the excited little squeak of pleasure that rolled out of her mouth at Brittany's sly move.
The woman shook her head at Santana. ''You know what, come find me when you're ready to be honest.''
With that the woman stormed off out of the trailer leaving Santana to lightly nudge Brittany in the side.
''Nice move, thank you,'' Santana sighed in frustration and rubbed at her face.
''What was that about?'' Brittany laughed.
''That...was my girlfriend.''
The mirth on Brittany's face disappeared. ''Your what?''
''You heard me. That was my girlfriend Lake.''
''Lake?'' Brittany squinted as she tried to place the face and the name. ''I've heard of her I think. The model?''
''Yeah the model.'' Santana crawled out of bed, gently tugging Brittany up as well so they were both standing. She walked them out of the trailer and scanned the area looking for Lake the model who was now nowhere in sight. All they saw was a handful of musicians hanging out in front of their trailers, a few were smoking and chatting, a couple of others were sitting on the outside steps of their rooms fiddling with guitars or talking on their phones.
''Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?''
Santana avoided the question and started them off walking around several rows of trailers, searching for her model girlfriend in the hopes of getting a chance to explain herself. The model however was nowhere in sight leaving them both to wander the area aimlessly, each of them unsure of their next move.
''Honey! Hey! Over here! Hey!''
Brittany and Santana both halted when they realized someone was jogging towards them. It was a man waving his hands about wildly. It took him a few minutes to reach them and when he did he enveloped Brittany into a giant hug.
''I've been looking everywhere for you,'' the man explained with a smile. ''I just came from your trailer and you weren't there.'' He then looked over to Santana and then down at the handcuffs and tilted his head in thought. ''What's happening here? Who's this?''
It was Brittany's turn to fidget now. ''This is-''
''I'm Santana,'' Santana leaned into Brittany's side and delivered a smirk at the guy. ''And you must be who now?''
''Santana, this is Mark my boyfriend...Mark this is Santana,'' Brittany made a rather awkward introduction as she shifted in place.
''Nice to meet you,'' Mark the boyfriend offered Santana in a kind but stuffy way.
Santana just raised an eyebrow. If Brittany thought it was fun to play games then Santana was going to play right back.. ''Boyfriend? Huh...she didn't mention she had a boyfriend earlier. I don't know where you've been all afternoon but I've been keeping your girlfriend nice and busy in my trailer for the last hour.''
''You've been what now?''
Brittany waved her free hand around as if to dismiss that idea. ''She's pulling your leg. It's a long story, trust me nothing's going on, Mark. She's just trying to screw with you.''
It appeared that this Mark guy was rather trusting because he immediately took Brittany's word. The man just seemed to be very square and vanilla and polite that it seemed hardly worth the trouble of trying to pull one over on him. ''That's right...I was just joking with ya man.''
''Joking?''
''Some weirdo handcuffed us together and ran off with the key, that's all that's happened,'' said Brittany.
Mark frowned at that but looked concerned nevertheless. ''What about your show?''
''That's why we're trying to figure out how to get out of these,'' answered Brittany.
''Well I knew a few handy people. Why don't you two let me make a few calls and see what I can do?'' The man smiled at them both and started leading them towards the dining hall tent. It only took them a few minutes to reach and enter it.
It was a vast white tent where a small buffet and bar were set up to cater to the musicians and bands. There were over a dozen tables with elegant white tablecloths draped across them. Off in the corner there was also a lounge area with a couple of minimalistic couches. It was on these couches that they spotted Sam as well as The Dirty Pinks lounging around, sipping water and nibbling on tiny finger foods being served to them.
With Mark, Brittany's boyfriend, wandering off to a different corner of the tent to make a phone call about locating a key or bolt cutter, Santana and Brittany went to approach their bandmates who all appeared to be laughing at Sam for some reason.
''This morning I woke up and decided to swallow the sun,'' Sam said in his best James Earl Jones.
''What have I told you about doing that offensive impression,'' Santana sighed.
''Oh my god, where have y'all been?'' Quinn asked.
''We went looking everywhere for you two,'' said Tina.
Dani laughed. ''What are you talking about? We looked for them for five minutes and then decided to get cotton candy.''
''Did you guys find that Holly chick and get the key back?'' asked Sam.
''What do you think?'' Brittany asked, holding up her and Santana's still cuffed wrists. Together they took a seat on a strange oversized chair, their hips making contact with each other.
''Oh I ran into your girlfriend, Santana,'' Sam said as he stuffed a slice of apple into his mouth and crunched on it loudly.
''Yeah your model girlfriend started ranting to us about finding you two in bed together,'' cackled Quinn who was totally tickled by it all.
''It's not how it sounds. That was a misunderstanding,'' said Santana. ''Plus we had clothes on the entire time.''
''I figured it was something like that. We all told her how you got handcuffed against your will,'' Sam said between chews.
''We totally vouched for you,'' Dani said before cupping her mouth on one side and whispering to Brittany. ''Though I still want details later.''
Both of them shrugged their bandmates off, insisting everything had very much remained PG-13 between them. With Santana's girlfriend MIA at the moment and Brittany's boyfriend still occupied on his phone the two took a minute to catch their breath and decided that while they were here they might as well grab some water as well as a bite to eat. They left the others in conversation and went to check out the buffet together. They made a slow stroll as they browsed the food, picking at the fruits and salads and small pre-prepared sandwiches. They took their time filling their plates as they quietly spoke to one another now that they were a safe distance from everyone else's ears.
''So why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?'' Santana asked finally.
''I don't know, maybe the same reason why you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend,'' answered Brittany. ''It's not exactly any of your business and anyway why do you care?''
''I don't care.''
''Then what does it matter?''
''If it doesn't matter why did you get that funny look on your face when my girlfriend showed up?''
''I didn't get a funny look on my face.''
''Also if you ask me you seemed entirely into that neck thing you did to me.''
''You know what for a minute back there in your trailer when we were talking I thought you might just have some kind of integrity or something.''
''I do have integrity.''
''Right,'' Brittany said breezily. ''Which is exactly why when you thought I was making a move on you pushing you up against the door, you were fully prepared to sleep with me when in actuality you've had a girlfriend this entire time. Some integrity.''
''Me and...it wasn't...Lake...and...what she and I are about is complicated, okay?''
Brittany scoffed.
''It is,'' Santana insisted quietly but intensely. ''And I wasn't the only one who overstepped some kind of line, okay? You're the one who put your hand between my legs.''
''I was looking for the screwdriver!''
''You could've just asked me for it you know, you didn't have to get all gropey on me but you did, now you tell me, why is that?''
''I don't want to talk about this.''
''Fine, I don't want to talk about this either.''
They focused their attention back to the buffet in front of them, packing piles of food on their plate.
''Oh my god they have a fondue station!''
''What the hell is fondue?''
X
Meanwhile outside of the tent Mike and Sugar were standing about. They had covertly been filming through a small plastic window that allowed them a view of The Dirty Pinks and The Make, though their focus had of course been on each of the respective lead singers.
''We've been filming for twenty minutes and the only thing we got that's even half interesting is Sam Evans doing a pretty spot on James Earl Jones impression,'' said Mike who dropped his camera to his side in frustration. ''Brittany and Santana are still handcuffed yeah but I'm still not seeing the fireworks that you claim are going off between them. To be honest it kind of looks like they can barely stand each other. I don't get why you're so invested in this or them.''
''I'm not entirely sure either, but you gotta trust me. Something is there. Look at them,'' she whispered excitedly, pointing back to the small window into the tent. ''Have you ever seen two people as smitten as them?''
Mike glanced in at the pair in question. ''Brittany just dumped a serving of jello into a fondue bowl and Santana looks so grossed out by it that I think she's dry heaving.''
''In the pantheon of music think about all of the great iconic chaotic love affairs that have occurred between two passionate but complicated artists. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Johnny Cash and June Carter. Chris Stein and Debbie Harry. Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. Mark my words Mike...Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce are going to be the next it couple.''
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ETA- the names of the boyfriend and girlfriend come straight from the movie Tonight You're Mine/You Instead because I didn't want to make them other glee characters