April:

Santana wasn't surprised when Brittany ultimately ended up saying yes to the premiere. She knew that because things were so weird with Ava suspecting that they didn't like each other that Brittany wouldn't make it more complicated. It wasn't like Santana was asking Brittany to be her date anyway, she was just asking her to tag along with the kids and see a movie which she knew that Brittany would really like. That was one thing when they were dating, Brittany always dragged Santana to every new Disney and Pixar movie—and some DreamWorks movies too—and she knew that Brittany would end up taking Ava to see it again if she didn't come with them to the premiere. That's why she'd invited her…at least that's what she kept telling herself.

The whole afternoon before they were set to leave, Brittany was at work. They were going to end up taking separate cars into the city because she'd get out late and Santana had to get there to make sure that her client stayed away from the bar and put on her most wholesome persona in front of the cameras. Maybe it wasn't going to be the easiest with two kids, but she was convinced that she could do it, convinced that this working parent thing wasn't as hard as she initially made it out to be. So she picked up Ava at school and JJ at daycare and she got them dressed in the outfits she'd picked out for them before putting on her own business attire and loading them into the car. Ava finally had her cast off, so it was much easier putting her in the car seat, and Santana set out, knowing there was going to be traffic.

"Aunt Santana, can I have popcorn at the movies?"

"If they have popcorn, you most definitely can have some."

"Can I have ice cream?"

"Um…you're going to have to check with Aunt Brittany on that one."

"But you always let me have ice cream."

"I know, and Aunt Brittany says it's bad for your teeth to do that. I think she might be right."

"But you eat ice cream and you have pretty teeth."

"Smooth talking ain't gonna get you anywhere, kid." Santana laughed. "I also don't complain every night and every morning about having to brush my teeth."

"I don't always complain."

"Listen, Aves, we've gotta work with Aunt Brittany on some of the rules. I can't always be the one letting you break them. I'm one of the adults too."

"But you're funner than Aunt Brittany!"

"Hey." Santana sighed, even though she knew it was kind of true. "Aunt Brittany is doing a lot for you and I think you need to start being a little nicer to her."

"Is she your girlfriend again? Are you going to kiss?"

"She's not my girlfriend. But we're trying to get along, just like I promised you."

"So now I can't have ice cream?" Ava grumbled.

"You can still have ice cream, just not all of the time."

"But you won't get shrinky?"

"I won't get shrinky."

Santana parked the car in a garage near the theater and unbuckled Ava before she lifted JJ into her arms. Ava complained the whole walk to the theater that she was cold and Santana tried not to roll her eyes, thinking that if she just would have put the tights on that she'd asked her to, she wouldn't be so cold. She made her promise to stay close to her as she dealt with her client, threatening the young actress with her life if she so much as touched one drink at the bar. She'd just managed to get her onto the red carpet when Brittany arrived wearing a gown that very much contrasted with the suit Santana had picked out to wear since she didn't exactly get to dress up whenever she was invited to premieres. She tried not to stare at Brittany as she sauntered toward her, knowing that it was a very real possibility that her mouth was agape.

"Is this okay?" Brittany tugged on her dress. "I didn't know you were wearing work clothes."

"Well I'm working, so…" Santana shook her head. "Anyway, you look great."

"I've never been to a movie premiere before."

"Yeah, I kind of started having to go to these things…after."

"I always knew you were going to be a big deal…" Brittany trailed off and Santana took a deep breath. It was really hard thinking about the line that was drawn between them but it was also harder smudging it.

"You did?"

"Santana, you were always so devoted to being great. I know you wanted to be an actress at one point, but I think a publicist is a good fit for you. You're good at making other people look good."

"Me?"

"I know you pretend you don't have a heart, but…"

"Prominent New York publicist Santana Lopez." One of the reporters called out to her. "Can we get a picture with you and your family?"

"Oh, this isn't…." She trailed off, unsure of how to even classify what the four of them were. "Yeah, if it's okay with Brittany, sure."

They posed for the camera, a cavernous gap between Santana and Brittany as she shifted JJ on her hip and Ava cheesed for the cameras. The photographer showed her the picture and she had one of those what if moments. What if she'd actually been able to propose to Brittany when she'd planned? What if she was there with her wife and their own kid? What if everything didn't get so messed up that they weren't there as barely friends with their dead best friends' kids? It was a lot for her to handle, so she stepped back and handed JJ to Brittany.

"Santana, how long have you been with your wife?" One of the reporters called out and Santana bit her lip.

"She's not my wife."

"Girlfriend then."

"Not my girlfriend either…she's just…a friend." Goddamnit she muttered under her breath, not realizing that she was actually prominent enough in her career that people actually gave a shit about her personal life. "I'm going to run to the bathroom, can you take them to the seats?"

"Yeah, uh huh." Brittany looked dazed. "Go ahead."

Once she got to the bathroom, Santana spent a long time there just staring at herself in the mirror. She wasn't sure why she had to look at herself like that, but she just did. When she finally managed to pull herself together, she went to their seats and found Ava bouncing around and JJ playing with a toy that Brittany kept in her purse. Neither her nor Brittany said anything, they just waited for the lights to dim and the movie to start. It was easier that way, it was easier not talking about everything that was between them, and for the first time, Santana thought that maybe Brittany was right that it was a bad idea for her to come to the premiere.

"Aunt Santana." Ava leaned over when Santana got back from the bathroom. "You forgot to get my popcorn."

"I'll get it." Brittany offered and maybe it was wishful thinking, but Santana kind of thought that maybe she needed some air and some space too.

"Let me give you some money."

"It's fine, I got it."

"But I'm the one who promised it to her."

"Santana, seriously, it's not a big deal." Brittany handed JJ over to Santana and stood up.

Santana nodded, figuring it would be ridiculous to have an argument with Brittany over who paid for the popcorn and she sat back in her seat, listening to Ava chatter away. She was really excited about the movie, she was really excited about the popcorn and listening to Ava talk sort of calmed her down. She couldn't believe how anxious she was about absolutely nothing and she had to remind herself that nothing was ever going to happen between her and Brittany, they were done, their relationship was dead, they'd both made a choice to do this together and it seemed wholly unnecessary to complicate things. When Brittany came back, she handed Santana a box of Milk Duds and Santana was actually surprised that she remembered she liked them.

"Thanks, they're my favorite."

"I know. I figured since you pulled some strings to get us invited here, the least I could do was buy you some candy."

When the movie was over, Brittany took the kids home and Santana stayed behind, watching her starlet like a hawk every time she drifted closer to the bar. Because she was on babysitting duty, she couldn't even have a drink herself, and by the time she got the actress into a car to go home, she was exhausted. She went to her own car and just sat looking at the wall in front of where she parked for a good ten minutes. She hoped that Brittany would be up in her room when she got home, she hoped that she wouldn't have to interact with her because she wasn't sure she could. Something about that picture really set her off and she just needed time and space to process it.

Unfortunately, she didn't get her wish. Brittany was on the couch watching a re-run of Friends when she came in and Santana went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She stood at the sink, filling and refilling her glass as she kept drinking it down, maybe in an effort to wash away the evening. She couldn't really understand why everything had to feel so complicated, she should have been over Brittany, she shouldn't have had any sort of weird feelings toward her, but the more time she spent with her, the more she realized that she was still utterly in love with her. When she heard footsteps behind her, she froze, and when she turned, Brittany was standing there.

"Ava had a really good time tonight. She talked about it the whole way home, and then the whole time I was trying to get her to bed."

"Did she cry?"

"She actually didn't." Brittany smiled. "Sometimes I think you spoil her, but then I think sometimes that it's working."

"To be fair, I didn't let her have ice cream tonight."

"That's true, you didn't."

"I also told her that she needs to be nicer to you."

"You did?"

"I did." Santana nodded. "I don't want it to be unnecessarily harder on you."

"Well thank you for that. It's not easy being the strict parent."

"It's not easy being a parent period."

"John and Cass obviously thought we could do it though. And they were probably the best parents there ever were."

"They really were good. Remember when Ava was born and John paraded her through the hospital?" Santana smiled at the memory.

"He just wanted everyone to know that he was a dad. I don't think I've ever seen a dad like that."

"It makes me so sad to think about them…"

"Me too, but I think about them every day. Ava already reminds me so much of Cass."

"She's sassier than Cass." Santana laughed. "But I think because she looks just like her she feels like a miniature."

"Do you ever think about JJ?"

"All the time. I can't believe he won't remember them and we're going to be the only parents he knows."

"We'll tell him about them though."

"We will." Santana purses her lips. "Anyway, did you like the movie?"

"You know I always love Pixar. Was the rest of the night a nightmare?"

"Hannah kept getting closer and closer to the bar. She makes it almost impossible to craft a good image of her when she keeps getting up to her party girl antics."

"She's young. Remember—never mind."

"Yeah, let's not."

"Are you mad at me or something? You seem…I don't know."

"I'm fine, I'm just tired."

"I'll let you go to bed then."

"Yeah…thanks." Santana turned away, then turned back, looking at Brittany's sunken smile. "Hey, thanks for coming tonight."

"It was a really good night."