A/N: I haven't updated in ages, but here is the new chapter! :) Thanks to all for being patient for this update.
I do not own Glee or any of it's characters. All mistakes are my own.
"Where in the hell have you been?! Did you decide to take a trip to Timbuktu?!"
I stood with my shoulders slumped and eyes down to the floor. I wrung my hands waiting for the yelling to stop. Sue had decided upon my arrival to drag me into her office by the ear and give me the lecture of a lifetime about punctuality.
I peeked over my shoulder through the office window to see everyone was waiting for me, looking bored and ready to go home. Brittany stood next to Quinn with a worried expression on her face, lightly pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth.
"Where is your head Lopez! I need you to stay focused and serious on the job, not go into la-la land where you can disappear. Am I clear? LOPEZ." Sue snapped in order to gain my attention.
"Crystal." I respond meekly.
"Go home. I'm sick of looking at your face."
I turned on a dime to get out of her office, I didn't dare look back. I beelined it towards the door, smiling at the gang waiting for me.
"Did you survive the sea hag's wrath?" Kurt joked, giving me a nudge.
"Barely, I'm lucky to be alive." I laughed.
"Can we go please? I am starving and Kurt said he would cook BLTs for dinner tonight, you know I can't restrain myself around bacon San." Quinn whined loudly, leaning against the door frame.
"I don't know what bacon is, but it sounds delicious. I'm famished!" Brittany chipped in.
"WHAT? That's changing immediately!" Quinn grabbed Brittany's hand and ran out of the shack.
"She's ridiculous, but that's why we love her."
I simply nodded as I followed Kurt out towards the parking lot. I could hear Quinn rambling on and on loudly about the wonders of bacon. I was still coming to terms with the fact Brittany revealed herself to me as a mermaid. It felt like a foggy dream I was still trying to wake up from. I'm guessing it will be taking me some time to wrap my head everything that happened not even two hours ago.
Brittany listened enthusiastically about bacon stories all the way home. I sat in the passenger seat watching the sky dim as the sun settled comfortably in the skyline. Kurt humming along to the music playing on the radio while Quinn breathlessly talked about bacon. Everyone content about the day and ready to unwind at our shared home.
It was only a few more minutes until we pulled into the driveway. I still couldn't believe the enthusiasm Quinn had after such a long day, and yet she sprinted to the door and grabbed the skillet for Kurt to begin cooking.
"Quinn, I haven't even made it through the door and you want me to slave over cooking dinner!" Kurt hollered getting out of the car.
"It's bacon-lettuce- and tomato sandwiches though! They are amazing!" Quinn with the same excitement as a little girl on Christmas.
"Alright, go change out of work clothes and wash up, because you're going to do some work to contribute to dinner."
Quinn leapt off towards her room to change and didn't say another word. Brittany on the other hand stood in the kitchen smiling as she watched Kurt maneuver around in the kitchen. He moved any dirty dishes to the sink and got a few cutting boards out.
"Is there anything I can help with Kurt?" I offered.
"You and Brittany can do the dirty dishes so the sink is clear to wash the veggies, if that's okay with you Brittany?" Kurt asked, placing a "Kiss the Cook" apron around his neck.
"Is there anything you can't make look good?" I say with a wink, walking to the sink.
"Maybe a brown paper bag, but I would make it work."
"You're too funny Kurt." Brittany replied, bouncing over to give Kurt a peck on the cheek, then towards the sink with me.
Kurt stood stunned for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head. I restrained the little jealous monster inside me from saying something, never wanting more in my life to be Kurt right now. I could only imagine what her soft lips would feel like pressed against my skin, a simple chaste kiss on my cheek.
I slipped on the elbow high yellow gloves to start washing the weeks' worth of dishes that had piled up. It was only disgusting when it was left over milk in some bowl that really got to me. Mainly Quinn's doing. She is a creature of habit that thoroughly enjoys a large bowl of cheerios every morning, forgetting about it until she hears me grumble with annoyance. We just all have a tendency to get busy and forget about doing our dishes, like most people I assume.
I squirted a glob of dish soap over a sponge and had a few bubbles escape the plastic container. The bubbles floated freely overhead before bursting.
"Woah! How did you do that?" Brittany exclaimed.
"Do what?" I asked confused.
"Whatever floated up and popped! It came from this device, what is this glorious green stuff?" She asked reaching for the dish soap.
I made sure Kurt wasn't listening to our conversation, because I know how this would sound normally. She would sound like she was five years old and easily entertained. While now I know about her personal life, it would make sense she didn't know what dish soap is, I wouldn't imagine them even having dishes down under I suppose.
I leaned in towards Brittany, grabbing the bottle from her hand and squeezed it producing small little bubbles to float gracefully. Little giggles pushed past Brittany's lips and she had the sweetest smile on her face as she reached out to touch the bubbles.
"It's soap, you use it to clean things. " I explain to her.
"That's super neat! We just use sea urchins and other grazers to clean things for us. They are especially great during algae blooms!" She replied happily.
"Algae blooms?"
"Yeah, my room would always get the worst of them, or around town when it gets warm. So we would wrangle up a bunch and let them do their thing."
"That's too cute." I laugh and shake my head.
I realized that she was basically the expert of anything marine, clearly. She knows the secrets and stories of the sea, which is undeniably the most fascinating part of her. It baffles me a bit to think of what new things I can learn about her, or even from her. She returned to washing the dishes like I had, but kept side-eyeing me with a devilish smirk. Kurt was blissfully humming to himself while the bacon was sizzling. Quinn was busy clearing off the table and setting up plates and utensils.
While they weren't looking, I flicked some water droplets lingering on my hand in Brittany's direction, successfully hitting the tip of her nose and cheeks with water. She gasped a bit at the sudden moisture laid across her skin, blinked slowly and turned her gaze towards me to smile widely.
"What?" I asked innocently and shrugged my shoulders, continuing to wash the dishes.
"You little jerk, you did that on purpose." She accused me with a playful tone and shove.
"You're imagining things." I hip check her and flick more water at her this time.
"San! Quit it!" Brittany laughed and ran her soapy hand down my arm, covering me in suds.
"Kids! Play nice!" Quinn hollered from the dining room, Kurt simply ignoring our shenanigans.
But I wasn't about to back down from an all-out water fight, it was war. I grab the spray nozzle on the side of the sink and held it in front of me like the weapon it was. Brittany froze, raising her hands ever so slowly before arching her perfectly sculpted brow in a challenging and defying manner.
"You wouldn't" She whispers, eyeing me and the spray nozzle.
"Santana I swear if you make a mess in the kitchen again…" Kurt says absentmindedly, as if he already knew what was about to play out.
"Oh, I would." I smirk back in response and pull the trigger of the nozzle.
A steady stream of cold water hits Brittany square across the upper body, dousing her and her clothes. She yelps in response and jumps towards me in an attempt to pull the nozzle out of my grasp, but it back fires when we become a mangled mess of flailing arms and bodies fighting over the nozzle, effectively covering every surface in the kitchen with water.
I think Kurt is screeching like a panicked school teacher while Brittany and I continue to dual over possession of the nozzle, saying something like the kitchen being a complete disaster, but I was too happily distracted with the fact Brittany is standing close enough so that I can count the number of freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. It seemed almost slow motion as we wrestled over the nozzle, the way her smile widens when she thinks she's winning, or the bursts of laughter when she exhales. My stomach and chest fill quickly with warm pools of content watching it all unfold, but in the midst of my distraction, she grabs it from my hands and pushes me back with her left hand forcefully until I hit the counter. Her right hand is in the air holding the nozzle out of my reach.
We are both panting and smiling like idiots over the recent battle, but that's not what has my heart racing. Her left hand sits comfortably on my hip, being held firmly against the counter. But it was the simple action of her thumb that made my breath hitch. It gently would brush the exposed skin of where my shirt had risen accidentally. We stared at each other for a mere movement as we settled down from the physical activity we exerted, which surprisingly was a lot.
My eyes flickered down to her lips and back to her eyes. They were crystalline, striking beyond belief. It was almost too much blue for me to handle at the moment, feeling uncannily like drowning, or maybe it was the way she was looking at me. Her facial expression soft and serene with hopeful eyes, waiting for something.
"Goddamn it Santana! We just had a roommate agreement last week about water fights in the kitchen!" Quinn scolded, effectively drawing Brittany and I out of our daze.
I coughed awkwardly and moved away from Brittany to create some space to breathe and collect my thoughts. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to see or think of anything else but blue eyes and soft pink lips, so forming a coherent sentence seemed like a daunting task.
"Oh yeah, right, I know that. But Britt didn't." I fumbled along with my words.
"I'm sorry Quinn, I can help clean the mess up." Brittany apologized genuinely and returned the spray nozzle to its original resting spot.
"No, you two can go change before dinner. Kurt and I will grab some extra towels from the laundry room." Quinn waved off annoyed, briskly walking past me.
"You do all the chores next week San." Kurt said giving me a wink before following Quinn to the laundry room to retrieve towels.
"Come on Britt, I've got some clothes you can borrow."
She happily followed me to my bedroom and closed the door gently behind us. I knew it was not that big of a deal to have the door closed, we are changing after all, but it still made me jittery with nerves. I quickly walked to my dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts and a comfy t-shirt. The moment I turned around I was assaulted with the image of Brittany removing her dampened shirt and tossing it to the floor. My mouth went dry immediately and I slapped my face a little too hard in an attempt to cover my eyes.
"Fuck... Ow." I mumbled to myself. "Brittany!" I exclaimed feeling my face flush.
"What?" She asked as if nothing was wrong and proceeded to pick up the clothes I dropped to the floor.
"What are you doing? You can't just strip like that." I tried to explain without my brain malfunctioning.
"Well I figured it wasn't a big deal since you've seen me topless and with a tail."
"But.. that's completely.. it's not.." I tried to compile any form of communication.
"There! See all done." She replied proudly. I gingerly peeked around my hands to see she was indeed fully dressed in the clothes I pulled from my dresser. I let go of the large breath I didn't realize I was holding, letting my shoulders slump lowly.
"You should hurry up and change to. It would be unfortunate to sit through a dinner soaking wet." She causally spoke. An inaudible groan escaped my lips as my blood pressure spiked hearing the end of her sentence.
"I'm going to shower!" I say rather loudly, not meaning for it to come out so forcefully. She giggled a bit before sitting on my bed and picking up the nearest magazine, I'm assuming to wait for me.
I gathered the clothes I wanted to change into quickly and scurried to the bathroom without giving Brittany another look. I shut the bathroom door and locked it immediately, feeling a wave of relief wash over me. I knew Brittany was beyond anything I could have imagined, but she is making me feel things to a certain level I have never experienced before. Things with her seemed to be amplified and exaggerated, every look and touch seems to be more powerful than the last. Maybe it has something to do with mermaids? Maybe they just had this alluring power to seduce people with an irresistible charm. Clearly it was working on me.
My mind was just being consumed by all things Brittany, anything and everything there could be about her and her life I wanted to know. No, I needed to know. I couldn't help but let my mind wander through the different ideas of what her mermaid heritage is like. Where did she come from? Where are all the other mermaids? There was a pull towards her stronger than any tide I have experienced. Does she feel the same way? Could she feel that way about me? I know it's very early to be even thinking those kind of things, but I could see myself with Brittany, spending a lifetime learning everything there is about her. I let my thoughts carry me into a Brittany-bliss paradise. It wasn't until I felt cold water pelting my back did I notice I overstayed my time in the shower.
I shut off the water and reached outside the curtains to grab my towel. It was a brisk chill getting out of the shower, but it felt strangely nice. I put on my comfy clothes and towel dried my hair before putting it up in a messy bun. I reached for the door handle, took a deep breath, and reassured myself that I can keep my emotions under control with Brittany, that I don't want her to feel uncomfortable with the crazy attraction I may have towards her.
I opened the door to my bedroom and watched as the steam from the bathroom poured in. There laying on my bed as docile and sweet as could be was Brittany. Her lips were slightly parted and she had spread out across the top of my comforter like a starfish. The magazine had been haphazardly thrown to the side it seemed. She looked too adorable to wake. I gingerly sat down on the bed next to her and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, running my finger down the length of her jaw to her chin. She moved an inch towards me and leaned her head into my hand.
"Brittany, wake up Britt." I softly coo to her. She opened her eyes slowly and gave me a lazy smile.
"Hi." She says quietly.
"Sorry I took so long, didn't mean to keep you waiting." I apologize.
"That's okay, I don't mind. I got in a nice whale nap." She says through a mighty yawn and stretch.
"A what?" I asked confused.
"A whale nap. My sisters and I would always take naps with the whales after they made long journeys." She says sweetly and sits up in bed.
I shake my head and laugh because I will never get tired of learning new things about her, especially her life under the sea.
"One of these days you'll have to tell me all about you and your family." I smile and hold my pinky out.
She eyes it suspiciously. "Okay…" She hesitates unsure of what I am doing.
"It's a pinky promise. We interlock pinkies and then it's a binding word that you'll uphold." I explain and demonstrate by taking her pinky with mine.
"Oh, well then deal! As long as you tell me more about yourself too." She smiled widely.
"Deal." I reply excitedly.
"Kids! Dinner is ready!" We hear Quinn yell from the other room.
"Ready to have your world flipped upside down?" I ask her.
"It already has since meeting you, but yes I'm excited to try this glorious bacon Quinn ceases to stop talking about."
And with a simple sentence she makes those quiet hibernated butterflies erupt into a whirlwind of beauty and glee. Walking into the dining room I could smell how delicious dinner was going to be. The table was covered in food and ready to be devoured by kings and queens. Quinn was nearly drooling, completely unaware of the ear-to-ear smile I had across my face. Kurt however just smirked at me, to which I cleared my throat and lessened my giant smile to act casual.
"I am so ready for food, I literally am dying over here." Quinn exclaimed, grabbing a handful of bacon and putting it on her plate.
"Slow down there nelly! Save some for the rest of us poor fools." Kurt laughed passing around the tomatoes.
"But if I don't eat now, I may-"
There was three loud knocks on the door that made Quinn abruptly stop speaking. We looked around at each other confused.
"Were we expecting company?" I asked, looking at the door.
"No and it's too late for mail." Quinn says looking at her watch.
Quinn got up from the table and approached the door. We all waited in silence to hear the voice of whoever knocked on our door. Instead of hearing Quinn politely decline the sales offer I imagined it to be, our ears met the loud hollering and cheers of Quinn and an unidentified man.
"You guys come here quick! I have a wonderful surprise!" Quinn yelled.
As we gathered by the door, a young man stood in front of Quinn generously smiling and looking particularly friendly. I will admit he is handsome and has a striking resemblance to Quinn, but has a rather large mouth for my taste.
"Everyone this is my cousin Sam, he is from Australia and will be staying with us for awhile! Isn't that exciting?!" Quinn nearly squeaked.
"Hi everyone." Sam said in a thick Aussie accent.
"Hello, nice to meet you, I'm Kurt."
"I'm Santana." I said reaching forward for a handshake.
"And I am Brittany." Stepping forward in the same fashion I had.
"My, aren't you a beaut." Sam said flirtatiously to Brittany, giving a charming smile and making her blush.
"So how long will you be staying with us?" I asked abruptly, tasting the bitterness laced in each word.
Brittany just stared adoringly at him and he returned the same gaze before being elbowed by Quinn to answer my question.
"It's really up to Quinn for how long she would like to host me." He shrugged happily. I gave a very forced smile before looking to Quinn.
"Well! Join us for dinner and we can talk all about it." Quinn said nervously, seeing me sternly stare her down.
I can already tell this is going to be trouble.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! :) I promise to update sooner than every few months! Thanks again for the follows, reviews, and favs.