Glee and all related characters and places are owned by Fox - I just make them dance for my own amusement.
Well, that last chapter went down rather well to say the least. Got about 80 comments for that one chapter alone - that's just completely unprecedented, and massively humbling. Hope this one doesn't disappoint.
~xxx~
"It's about fucking time."
And with that, Brittany's lips were on hers. Had her brain not been on the verge of combusting, Santana probably would have noticed the strong arms locked firmly around her waist, or the fact that she was now pressed up against the door, or maybe even the way Brittany had stopped her from falling when she had pushed her back.
As if those details were important.
Brittany Pierce was kissing her. Like, really really kissing her. The blonde's lips were surprisingly soft – not that Santana had any real point of reference – though that could hardly be said for the force behind them. The pressure Brittany applied was dizzying, and the brunette was immediately thankful for the arms steadying her. And then, just when she was becoming quite certain that Brittany must have actually hit her and this was some sort of hallucination, she felt something wet and warm run along her lips. She would have gasped if it wasn't for the way Brittany's tongue instantly darted out as her lips parted, seeking out her own.
At the contact, someone let out a moan – though Santana couldn't be sure which one of them it had come from. Brittany's eyes were already closed, and as instinct took over and she began to tentatively reciprocate, the Latina felt her own eyelids fluttering shut. At the first sign of movement from the brunette, Brittany smiled into the kiss and tightened her hold around the other girl's waist. Though despite the blonde's strength, Santana was only vaguely aware of her touch; she was in a complete state of shock, almost certain she was seeing stars. The feeling was completely alien to Santana; she had never shared so much as a peck on the cheek with anyone other than family, and now her tongue was finding a steady rhythm alongside Brittany's.
Brittany.
The girl who was kissing her. The girl she had longed for all this time. The girl who seemed to have sensed her slight distraction, and slowly pulled away. Almost timidly, Santana opened her eyes, already nervous of what she would find waiting for her. But as it transpired, Brittany was smiling. Her bright eyes seemed to be shining even more than usual, but it really was her smile that drew Santana's attention the most – gone was the familiar cocky smirk, and instead it couldn't be described as anything other than warm.
After a moment of silence, punctuated only by Santana's shaky breathing, Brittany withdrew her arms from the shorter girl's waist. The brunette instantly missed the contact, but was still far too shocked to really focus on it. Brittany took a couple of steps back, moving from the porch to the path. She just continued to smile wordlessly, watching with a surprisingly soft expression as the other girl slowly regained her senses. Brittany bit her bottom lip for a moment, her smile only widening.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
And that was it. Without another word, she got back into her car – pausing only to wink at Santana through the window – and brought it roaring into life. As Santana watched the taillights disappearing from view, she finally seemed to fully regain her faculties, and let out an incredibly deep breath. She reached behind her to steady herself against the door. She could feel her heart beating a mile a minute, not just in her chest, but all through her body; it was like her veins were on fire.
Just what on earth had just happened? Kissing Brittany out of the blue was just the kind of crazy stupid thing she would do – that part, she could believe. But Brittany had kissed her? Brittany S Pierce, the most respected and feared student in the entire school, had intentionally kissed her. After spending so long positive that she would be alone for many years to come, she had received her very first kiss from none other than the girl she had desired since first laying eyes on her.
Mind racing, Santana finally unlocked the door and made her way into the dark house. Despite the key still being in her hand, she was almost halfway up the stairs before she realised she hadn't even locked the door behind her.
Or taken her shoes of.
By the time she made it upstairs, Santana was afraid she was going to end up breaking something. And yet somehow, she made it to the sanctuary of her bedroom, letting out another deep breath as the door closed behind her. The light from her laptop's screen was the only source of light, illuminating the path to her bed. Without another thought, she allowed herself to flop backwards onto it. Sleep was out of the question, she knew that much – how was she meant to relax when it felt as though her brain might overload at any moment?
And yet somehow, even as she contemplated getting up and spending some time on her computer, she found her eyes growing heavy, and it wasn't long before she was drifting off, her mind entirely occupied by a single thought.
Kissing Brittany Pierce was just about the most amazing experience of her life.
~xxx~
When Santana woke up on Friday morning, it was to the sound of her mother knocking on her bedroom door. It took less than a second for every single little detail of the previous night to come rushing back, and already the brunette's heart began racing. If her mother came in and saw that she hadn't even got changed, there would be awkward questions. Not that it was especially suspicious, but Maribel knew her daughter too well – it would have to be something pretty serious for her to fall asleep without changing for bed, given her usual strictness when it came to little things like that.
Cringing as she realised how stiff her joints were, Santana pushed herself into a sitting position, just in time to hear her mother's voice through the door.
"Santana?" she called. "Are you awake? I didn't hear your alarm go off."
'Too busy thinking about making out with Brittany to remember to set it, huh?' that irritating voice in her head mocked, but Santana just ignored it and got to her feet.
"Yeah, I'm up," she replied through the door. "Just getting dressed."
"What time did you get back last night?" Maribel asked. Santana was surprised she hadn't been louder when she had got back, given the daze she had been in.
"Uhh…" she trailed off; having been so focussed on Brittany, she hadn't even checked the time after they had left the theatre. "A little before three, I guess."
"Well just make sure you don't fall asleep in class," her mother said sternly. "Who else went in the end?"
"Oh, um…the usual people," Santana lied, already dreading her parents talking to Artie, Sam, or Nicole's and finding her out.
"Well you'll have to tell me all about it tonight," Maribel said, and her daughter couldn't help but smile; her parents didn't exactly understand everything she talked to them about, but they always showed an interest. Whether they were just humouring her or not, Santana appreciated it.
"Okay," she replied, turning away from the door and half-heartedly trying to work out where she had left her school bag.
"See you later, then!" her mother called. Santana listened as her mother headed down the stairs, before breathing a sigh of relief and stepping towards her wardrobe.
She quickly set about changing her clothes, swapping them for a rather worn hoodie – with bat symbol – and a pair of jeans. By the time she headed downstairs, her mother had left, leaving Santana alone in the house. With no one else to distract her, the Latina's thoughts returned to the previous night's events; just the mere thought of Brittany's lips against her own was enough to make the brunette shudder, even as she was buttering her toast.
She was halfway through it, and just starting to calm down, when the doorbell rang. She dropped the food to her plate and got up, assuming the mailman was delivering another random parcel her mother had ordered online. But before she had even left the kitchen, she glanced through the window and saw it.
Brittany's car.
But it wasn't in it's usual spot. Rather than simply sat on the road in front of the house, it was in the driveway only recently vacated by Santana's mother. Her throat instantly dry, the brunette hurried to the front door and opened it. There was Brittany, leaning against the doorframe and looking positively glowing. That same wide smile from last night was in place, and once again her eyes seemed to become even brighter as they met Santana's.
"Hey," the blonde greeted, her voice surprisingly soft.
"Hi," Santana managed, knowing there was no point trying to disguise how hoarse she was.
"I'm kinda early," Brittany said, nodding towards her car. "Can I come in?"
Stunned, Santana could only nod weakly and move aside. Brittany stepped over the threshold, throwing a wink at Santana as she passed – more than enough the make the brunette weak at the knees yet again. The shut the door and followed Brittany through into the kitchen, not quite able to believe that Brittany Pierce of all people was now in her house.
"Nice place," Brittany commented, trailing a finger along the table where Santana's half-eaten breakfast still sat. The brunette couldn't quite believe it; after what had happened last night, Brittany was making small talk?
"Thanks," she croaked, standing rather awkwardly in the doorway. Brittany continued to look around, setting her gaze upon the fridge. Her smile widened when she saw the photographs attached via magnet.
"Are these you?" she asked, sounding delighted. She moved closer and inspected them. The Latina inwardly groaned – why her parents still had pictures of her five year-old self on there, she didn't know.
"Yeah," Santana replied nervously, stepping over to the fridge and grimacing.
"Well that's just about the most fucking adorable thing I've ever seen," Brittany said, turning back to the shorter girl. "Well…almost, anyway."
"Almost?" the brunette asked before she could stop herself, and the other girl's eyes just twinkled again.
"Yeah, you were pretty cute last night, Specs," she said with a smirk, stepping past Santana and over to the table. She leant a hand against it. "Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Last night…?" Santana breathed, her throat becoming decidedly dry.
"Don't tell me it was so much past your bedtime that you don't remember?" Brittany teased, her tongue flicking out as she smirked. The Latina didn't know how the other girl could be so casual and blasé about it; either she was even more confident than Santana had thought, or…or it hadn't meant anything to her.
Suddenly, she felt rather queasy.
"No, I remember," she said, her voice coming out as something of a whimper. "I…Brittany…why did you kiss me…?"
"You kissed me first?" Brittany replied with a shrug. However, upon seeing just how nervous the other girl seemed, her expression appeared to soften. "Okay, serious mode." Her smile faded and she stepped closer, standing right in front of Santana. The brunette could see every single freckle upon the blonde's cheeks, finding herself momentarily distracted as the taller girl looked her up and down. "Where do you want to start?"
"Why…why did you kiss me back?" Santana asked shakily. "I mean…I…me kissing you is just the sort of stupid thing I'd expect. I was flustered, and I'd just had the best night of my life, and you were just standing there, and you're the most amazing girl in the world and I…I…"
"…you want to take a breath?" the blonde asked, her smiling creeping back into place. Santana just gave her something of a pleading look.
"I…I'm okay," she managed. "Brittany, I…"
"How about I help you out?" the taller girl said, placing a hand upon Santana's shoulder. "And I'll tell you why I kissed you." Santana simply stood there. Hearing Brittany talking about it was just surreal. "See, I've actually had my eye on you for a while."
Wait, what?
"You…you have?" the Latina stammered. That had to be a joke. Right?
"Yup," Brittany said, looking rather pleased with herself. "Remember that time last year when Fabray tried to trip you up when you were carrying your science project?"
"She fell over because someone trod on one of her shoelaces…" Santana murmured, remembering the incident vividly – Quinn had shouted and screamed at the entire corridor for the perpetrator to fess up, but they had already disappeared into the crowd. "That…that was you? But why?"
"…'cause I like you?" Brittany said, as though it were completely obvious. "What, did you think I spent all this time with you out of pity or something?"
"I don't know," the brunette replied, shaking her head slightly. "I…I spent hours trying to figure out why you even wanted anything to do with me…"
"Well let's start with the basics, shall we?" the blonde said, folding her arms and smirking. "First of all – you're a total fucking hottie." Santana's eyes widened. "…what, no one ever told you that before?"
"…I…no…"
"Huh." Brittany didn't seem impressed. "Well you might wanna invest in some new mirrors, because you're smokin', Lopez." As Santana's eyes continued to grow ever more disbelieving, Brittany just chuckled. "Seriously, none of those pervs you hang out with have ever tried hitting on you? Christ, they must be as gay as you are."
"I…I don't think they…uh…"
"Do you want me to just say my piece?" Brittany asked, supressing a laugh. "You're kinda going overboard with the stuttering schoolgirl thing."
"Sorry." Santana replied meekly, bowing her head for a moment.
"Right, yeah, so," the blonde began, regaining her train of thought. "You're super hot, don't let anyone ever tell you different." She nodded firmly. "Second, you have got to be one of the nicest people I have ever met." Santana cocked her head to the side. "Oh come on, you must know you are."
"I…I just try to be polite, I guess," Santana said, but Brittany shook her head.
"You should probably know that I've been watching you for a while, Specs," the blonde chuckled. "You're always really sweet to everyone, even though half the school treats you like crap. Hell, you help the Glee club with all their posters and crap, right? Anyone who can put up with Berry is a saint in my book."
"Rachel's one of my oldest friends," Santana clarified. "But…yeah, I guess she can be a bit…um…"
"So annoying I'd rather eat a rusty razorblade? Yeah, she is," Brittany cut in, rolling her eyes.
"So…that's it?" Santana asked. "You think I'm attractive and nice?"
"Aren't those compliments?" the taller girl asked, almost sounding genuinely puzzled for a moment. Santana couldn't believe her own words – Brittany Pierce had just told her she was attracted to her, and now she was responding by being rude?
"Sorry!" she blurted out. "I'm sorry, I…...this is all really weird for me." She sighed, and looked away. "But why me? There's plenty of nice people at school…"
"Sure there are," Brittany shrugged. "But they're not you, Santana." It was rare for the blonde to actually use her name, causing the Latina to meet her eyes again. "Look, I…I'm trying so hard to put this into words, but…" She let out a sigh of her own, and for a moment looked rather uncomfortable. "I like you, okay? That's the best way I can say it. I like you."
"But wh-"
"I don't fucking know, okay?" the blonde snapped, letting out a long breath and leaning against the table again. Santana felt bad for making her angry, but Brittany's behaviour was just baffling to her. Did she really mean it? She certainly seemed to be getting pretty worked up about it. "Look, when I've got my shit together, we can go over every little detail if you want, but right now…" She seemed to relax slightly, and took a step closer; their faces were suddenly almost touching. "Right now, I want to know if you like me."
"We…we've been talking about like like, right?" Santana asked, swallowing nervously. Brittany nodded, actually looking rather nervous herself. Santana nodded. "Then…yes. Brittany, I…I've been drawn to you since your first day at McKinley."
"That's just what I wanted to hear."
It was a much sweeter kiss this time. Brittany was surprisingly gentle, and having half-expected it this time, Santana was faster to reciprocate. But only moments later, her doubts bubbled to the surface, and she slowly pushed the taller girl back slightly.
"Wait," she said quietly. The taller girl looked rather put out, and frowned. "Brittany, I…I've dreamt of doing this with you for so long." She swallowed uncomfortably. "But…but I can't do this if it doesn't mean as much to you. I'll probably call myself crazy for saying no to anything with you, but…" She glanced to the side. "…I don't want to be a fling. I can't."
"Is that what you think of me?" Brittany asked. She didn't sound annoyed – more like confused. "Santana, I could have anyone I wanted. Shit, I could probably get Fabray into bed if I tried hard enough. But that's not me. There's…" She looked away for a moment, and Santana was positive the blonde's cheeks had taken on a slight pinkish hue. "…there's only one person I'm interested in."
"This…...this isn't a joke, is it?" Santana asked, unable to supress the hopeful feeling now bubbling in her chest.
"No. No it's not," Brittany said, quickly breaking into a wide grin.
"Wow, so…uh…" the Latina paused, looking up to meet the other girl's eyes. "Are you asking me out?"
"No."
"No…?"
Brittany smirked, and leant her head a little closer. Santana thought she was going to kiss her again, but she paused directly in front of the shorter girl's face.
"I want you to ask me," she whispered, her breath tickling the Latina's nose.
Santana let out a quiet gasp, her breath hitching in her throat as Brittany continued to watch her with unwavering attention. She swallowed with some difficulty, forcing her voice to find itself. She opened her mouth to speak.
And then fainted.
~xxx~
Everything was strangely warm. Santana felt as though she were wrapped up in a cosy blanket; even the air felt comforting. Letting out a content murmur, she turned slightly and snuggled further into her pillow, pressing her nose into it. She could hear distant voices, but nothing loud enough to stop her from falling back into a peaceful slumber.
Her pillow let out a chuckle, and continued stroking her hair.
What the actual fuck.
In an instant, Santana's eyes snapped open and she rolled onto her back. Above her, a mane of tangled blonde hair hung down, framing a rather amused looking face. She was in the living room, laying on the sofa with her head propped up against Brittany's thighs. The other girl herself was sat at one end of the sofa - the 'pillow' Santana had been nuzzling must have been the blonde's stomach.
"Morning, beautiful," Brittany said, bright eyes shining with adoration. Santana blinked up at her, brow knitted in confusion.
"What happened?" she asked, half-heartedly telling herself she should sit up.
"You asked me out by collapsing into me," Brittany replied with an amused shrug. "Honestly I would have settled for a 'Brittany, will you be my girlfriend?', but your way was good too." She smirked, biting at her bottom lip again. "Still said yes, though."
Well that made Santana sit up.
"What?" she asked hoarsely, twisting around to sit alongside the other girl. "You mean…you mean we're…"
"Dating?" Brittany finished for her. "Yup."
Santana looked away, her mouth hanging half open. She was getting tired of disbelieving every little thing that was happening to her, but this? She was dating Brittany Pierce? Once again, she found herself wondering whether Brittany really had killed her on the doorstep after the movie – just how could everything that had happened since be real? She looked up at the source of the voices she had heard – the television.
"Have you been watching cartoons this whole time?"
"Maybe," Brittany replied with a sly smirk. "Oh, I put my number in your phone." As she spoke, she held the device up. "Figured it was about time."
"But…my phone has a password lock on it," Santana pointed out, taking it back from Brittany.
"Yeah, same numbers as your locker combination," the blonde replied casually, clearly delighted at the incredulous look upon the Latina's face.
"I thought you said you'd had your eye on me, not that you were stalking me," Santana said, but she was far from angry – knowing that Brittany had been paying attention to her all this time? Just about the best feeling since waking up snuggled into her.
"Hey, you said you'd been eying me up since you first saw me," Brittany shot back, giving the other girl a playful shove. "You're the pervert, Lopez."
Santana couldn't help but laugh, rolling her eyes at the other girl's antics. She didn't know whether it was her somehow adapting to the situation, or just so baffled by it all that she couldn't help but feel giddy. She decided that there was no point worrying about how ridiculous this all was right now – not when Brittany was sat right next to her. She looked back at her phone, intending to see whether Brittany's claim about getting into it was true.
And almost screamed.
They were nearly two hours late for school.
In much the same way as she had sat up in shock only moments ago, she launched herself onto her feet, panic coursing through her. Brittany just stayed where she was, quirking an eyebrow at the Latina's sudden movement. Santana checked the clock beside the television to make sure, and found the same time staring back at her. Elation turned to horror as it sank in – she had never so much as been late to a single class during her entire high school career, and now this?
"What's up?" Brittany asked, almost as though she hadn't noticed the terrified expression upon the other girl's face.
"What's up?" Santana repeated, aghast. "We're late for school! Very late for school!"
"…so?" the blonde asked, frowning. "Go to school, or spend the day with my girlfriend… Yeah, that's real difficult to choose from."
"Well your girlfriend is going to school," Santana snapped before she could stop herself. She was almost out of the room before she realised exactly what she had said, pausing on the spot and slowly turning to the blonde. Brittany was grinning ear to ear, looking as though Christmas had come early for her.
"Well if my girlfriend is so set on it…" she began, getting to her feet and straightening her jacket, before shooting Santana a smirk. "…who am I to refuse?"
~xxx~
Arriving in the middle of a class, there was no need for Santana to walk the last part of the journey. She all but flew out of Brittany's car, before the blonde had even switched the engine off. Santana was a good ten meters away before realising her bag was still on the back seat; just what was causing her to become so scatter-brained? Brittany just laughed and handed it to her as she caught up, shaking her head in amusement at the Latina's mumbled thanks.
Once inside but before parting ways, Brittany took a quick look up and down the empty corridor, before leaning down and placing a quick kiss upon Santana's lips. Despite her usual light-heartedness, there was definitely an extra spring in the blonde's step as she headed off. Santana knew it would take a while to come to terms with all this – if it really was for real and not some elaborate joke – but right now, school came first.
As it transpired, she needn't have worried so much. Perhaps due in part to her stellar attendance record, her teacher barely batted an eyelid as she entered halfway through the class. She hated feeling smug about it, but given her grades, who would dare suggest that Santana Lopez of all people didn't have a good reason to miss school?
'Brittany is a pretty good reason, though,' that voice said, and Santana couldn't help but agree.
At lunch, her thoughts turned back to the blonde. Her friends were trying to ask her about the movie, but it was a testament to just how distracted she was that Santana had found herself asking 'what movie?' at first. She could see Brittany leaning against the wall on the other side of the lunch hall, deep in conversation with Puck. She knew they were friends, but it had been a while since she had seen them talking. Santana wished she could read lips, because whatever it was they were discussing, it seemed to be pretty important. She wondered whether Brittany was talking about her; she knew the blonde hadn't wanted their friendship to be known, and supposed it would be the same for them dating – even thinking the word made her want to squeal – but she wondered whether the blonde had confided in anyone. She knew Puck and Brittany had gone to the same school before McKinley, but due to their year's separation, as well as the mohawked boy's association with Quinn Fabray, she couldn't quite believe that Brittany would share such sensitive information.
She made a mental note to ask Brittany after school, and as she headed to the gym at the end of the day, her thoughts returned to the issue of just how secret this was going to be. She couldn't blame Brittany for wanting it to be hidden; she knew others might say she shouldn't be with someone who wasn't prepared to be open about it, but this was Brittany Pierce – she was more than willing to give her however much time she needed. Santana knew she was being hopelessly optimistic, but she would be lying if she said she hadn't already – fleetingly, mind you – pictured just what this meant for the future. They had been dating for mere hours – weak at the knees just thinking about it again – and already she was imagining a future together with Brittany. Was that normal? She had never dated anyone, let alone someone she would be more than happy to spend her life with. Hell, was already thinking she wanted to spend her life with Brittany even healthy?
Head buzzing with questions once more, Santana barely registered that she had made it to the musty old gym until she found herself face to face with Brittany. The blonde was already changed and prepared for her work-out, but grinned as she saw Santana approaching.
"Heyyy, there's my lady," she said brightly, walking over and pulling a rather surprised Santana into a hug. Just the simple feeling of those strong arms around her was enough to make Santana's head spin for entirely different reasons, and she found herself taking a deep breath into the blonde's shoulder, taking in the intoxicating smell of the other girl. She had often seen those badly written romantic stories where people are described as smelling like flowers, or nice foods, or even coffee – but the reality was different. Brittany smelt like Brittany.
And god did she smell good.
Pulling away, Santana gave the blonde a shy smile, unable to resist as she saw the delight in those blue eyes. However, Brittany seemed to be able to tell something was up.
"What's wrong?" she asked, sounding distinctly less cheerful. "You look kinda shitty."
"Oh, I…ah…I was just wondering…" she trailed off, not quite sure how to word it. "How many people know about us? I mean…not just the dating thing, but everything since we met…"
Brittany was silent for a moment, regarding Santana carefully, before she turned away and headed to her punch bag. She motioned for Santana to follow, and the brunette quickly took her usual spot to watch. She wondered whether Brittany was going to leave her without an answer, but before the blonde started, she spoke.
"A couple of people," she said, voice surprisingly quiet. "Puck knows. And Kurt Hummel. You know, from Glee club?"
"Yeah, I know Kurt," Santana said with a nod. "I'm a bit surprised you do, though."
Brittany chuckled. "I know everyone," she said, eyes sparkling. Santana was relieved to see her smiling again, at least. "And before you start worrying, Puck isn't going to tell Fabray – if he wanted to drop me in the shit, he could have given her all kinds of dirt on me a long time ago."
"And Kurt?" Santana asked. She wanted to know exactly what 'dirt' Puck had on Brittany, but right now couldn't believe that Brittany and Kurt knew each other well enough for the blonde to trust him with that information. It's not that he wasn't trustworthy – it was just unexpected.
"I've known Kurt since just after I arrived here," the taller girl replied. "Ask me later and I'll give you the full story."
"Okay…" Santana said with a slow nod.
"You can tell your little nerd clan, you know," Brittany said, checking the bandages around her hands. "I don't wanna make you lie to them."
"I wouldn't know where to start," the brunette replied, letting out a sigh. "Besides, we…well…we've been dating for less than a day, so…"
"You wanna make sure it's not gonna crash and burn before it's even started?" Brittany asked with a grin. "Fair enough – but I ain't gonna ruin this. That's a promise."
Heart soaring, Santana settled as Brittany set to work on the punch bag. As she watched, Santana couldn't stop remind herself that she was dating the magnificent woman in front of her. She had no experience, no expectations, and still no real clue why Brittany wanted anything to do with her. But even if it was doomed to fail, the more she watched, the more she became determined to make this – whatever this was – work. After the day's events, every little detail seemed to become more pronounced to Santana's eyes; the way the blonde's always-messy hair stick to her forehead with sweat, the way her eyes narrowed just a little bit before every punch, the way she managed to make such raw strength somehow look graceful. All was amplified, and Santana wanted nothing more than every single facet of Brittany to burn itself into her memory.
Later, as Brittany was packing her equipment away, Santana finally voiced a question she had been wondering all day.
"How long have you liked girls?" she asked quietly. Brittany stopped what she was doing, and gave her a searching look; it was as though she was looking for an ulterior motive. Santana couldn't help but feel she had done something wrong, and instantly regretted it. "I mean…um…I just assumed…uh…"
"A while," Brittany replied stiffly. "Well, I guess you could call me bi or pan or whatever, I dunno…I just like hot people. I mean, I guess I lean a bit more towards girls? Maybe that has something to do with all this…" She patted a hand against the punch bag slung over her shoulder. "I haven't exactly been with a whole load of people, you know."
"Oh. Oh, no, I didn't mean…" Santana trailed off, still feeling guilty. "I was just wondering…"
"Add it to the list of things to ask me later," Brittany said, disappearing into the store room. Santana nodded to herself. She couldn't blame Brittany for not wanting to spill everything right away; she supposed that given the blonde's personality, everything would be on the surface. But she was quickly learning that that was far from the case, and thought for a moment how little she would appreciate someone prying in the same way she herself was doing to Brittany. As she watched the blonde coming back into view, she made a decision – forget everything she thought she knew about Brittany Pierce, and find out for herself. If they were dating, that made sense, right?
Brittany finished getting changed, smirking as Santana watched her putting her belly piercing back in. She grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, but then she did something Santana didn't expect.
She held out her hand.
It might have been a secret for now, with a lot of questions still to be answered, but as Santana Lopez walked out into the afternoon sun, hand in hand with Brittany Pierce, she couldn't help but feel that everything was right.