HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Sorry for the wait.
Also, there's an important Author's Note/ PSA at the end.
Of Coffee Shops and Comic Books
Ch. 9: Upside Down
"If you could have one super power, what would it be?" Brittany asked suddenly, keeping her attention set on her and Santana's fingers intertwining and unwinding above them. She tilted her head so that it just barely rested over Santana's.
"Such an original question," Santana replied back in a light sarcastic sense as she let out a short laugh. The two were lying down on Santana's bed, next to one another on their backs (Santana on the right, Brittany on the left) and lounging while looking up at the ceiling... Or rather, at their ever moving fingers -no, not in a dirty way-
Today was Rachel's last full day in LA, she was flying back to New York the following afternoon. Kurt was going back the next week. Quinn, with the help of the others, had planned an entire day of going around Los Angeles and a small going away dinner party.
Everyone agreed to meet at Quinn and Santana's apartment at noon, of course Brittany arrived a little bit earlier to spend some time with her girlfriend. Quinn and Rachel's voices were distantly heard down the hall through the crack of Santana's door, which was slightly open.
Brittany had taken hold of Santana's left hand earlier and, for the past few minutes, she had taken the liberty to play with them. As in, to run her thumb over Santana's, clasp and unclasp their hands together, shift her fingers so that they just barely ghosted over Santana's, etc. She was simply exploring the power of touch with the use of her hand. It had this odd, but definitely welcomed, feeling of calm that settled over Santana.
"Oh come on, it should be an easy one for you," Brittany lifted her eyes to look over as she halted her fingerings. Wait- that might not have been the most appropriate word to use in this context...
"True," Santana paused for a moment before continuing on. "I chose the cliche answer, flying,"
"Why?"
"Who wouldn't want to fly? I mean, it's the coolest thing ever. Being able to float around in the sky, it can range from hovering slightly above the ground to as high as airplanes... if the altitude doesn't kill you. People liken flying to freedom, for example the saying 'let the birds fly free'. Also, I've always had the fantasy to sweep a girl off her feet and fly her up to as close to the moon as I could- umm... without killing her." Santana let out a breathy chuckle.
"Such a romantic," Brittany remarked after a hum, Santana could tell she was smiling without having to look over.
"You have no idea," Santana told her pointedly as she literally took matters into her own hands and clasped Brittany's fingers to combine with her own.
"Well, I think shape shifting would be pretty cool. A master of disguise of some sort. Turning into whoever or whatever you want. I could turn into a bird to fly, or a cheetah to run fast, or a unicorn to be magical and run along rainbows. Also, Jennifer Lawrence was pretty hot as Mystique in X-Men."
"Interesting choice," Santana was impressed with her answer and gave a thoughtful nod.
"So, if you were a superhero, would you be like Superman?" Brittany asked as she continued on with her questions.
"Sure. The thing that intrigued me about the Man of Steel was his messiah or savior complex. He's the blue boy scout with the motto of "Truth, Justice, and the American Way,". I can understand why people like Batman more with his brooding, vigilante and darker storyline. But if you think about it, Clark has gone through just as much, if not more, than Bruce has. He just has a different outlook on life, thanks to the Kents taking him when they found him. It's his heart and personality that really got to me." Santana stopped, took a deep breath and sighed.
"I'm sorry, I'm rambling and being extra nerdy right now, aren't I?" She scoffed at herself.
"Yes, but it's a major turn on," And there was that blunt honesty Brittany had that always took Santana by surprise.
"Oh," Santana stated simply as she craned her neck to look at Brittany.
"I could totally be your Lois Lane," Brittany whispered suggestively with a wink.
"Really, now?" Santana countered back as kept up with the familiar banter.
"You betcha, Smallville."
Before Santana could say anything else, Brittany turned over so that she was on top of her. A small "oomph" escaped from Santana's lips from the sudden shift of weight on her body, which caused Brittany to smile.
After the initial shock of being topped faded away, Santana chuckled as her hands unconsciously drifted down Brittany's sides.
"Getting a little handsy there, aren't we?" Brittany asked with a knowing glint of mischief in her eye. Santana stopped her hands right when they reached just below her hips before she answered back.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," She gazed directly into blue eyes as she spoke with an air of faux innocence.
Santana then flipped them over so that their positions switched, she now hovered above Brittany. Her hips settled directly over girlfriend's but she put the weight of most of her upper body on her forearms that were currently on either side Brittany's shoulders.
A tiny gasp came from Brittany as Santana smirked down triumphantly at her. She could feel Brittany's racing heartbeat while she dipped her head lower with intentions to ravish her right then and there... or to place a light kiss on her lips.
"Hey, San-" Quinn -out of nowhere- busted through Santana's door with Rachel right behind her. A small yelp accompanied with loud thump was heard throughout the apartment,
"Oh my god, umm... sorry?" Quinn's eyes darted between Brittany's flustered face on the bed and Santana's current position.
"Were we interrupting something?" Rachel questioned as she poked her head to the side with a confused expression on her face.
Santana heard a fit of laughter erupt from the girl who was still on top of her bed as she laid haphazardly on the floor. She groaned, half in pain and half in annoyance, when the laughter multiplied with the addition of Quinn and Rachel joining in from their place by the door.
"Fuck, Quinn! Ever heard of knocking?" Santana grumbled as she sat up while rubbing the side of her head. She had jolted away from Brittany, being startled by her roommate's intrusion, and instead of landing on her bed like she had intended, she miscalculated and fell off the side and onto the ground.
She blinked a few times and squinted at Quinn and Rachel. They were slightly blurry in her vision. Santana touched her face for the familiar frames that should have been before her eyes, but she was met with nothing. "And where the hell did my glasses go?"
The laughter subsided after a few seconds and Quinn took this opportunity to speak up again.
"I was going to inform you two that everyone's gonna be here in about five minutes, so get your shit together and we'll be on our way,"
"Thanks, Quinn!" Brittany chirped, she shifted up to an upright seated position and swung her legs over the side of the bed to face Santana. She gave them all a cheeky grin.
"You two are ridiculous," Quinn scoffed with a shake of her head. Rachel's smile never left her face.
"Get out of my room, Fabray," Santana scowled as she crossed her arms, "Don't forget to take Streisand with you,"
"Or what, are you gonna throw something at me, again?" Quinn emphasized the last part with a raised eyebrow.
"I'll derezz your ass," Santana said back, a hint of snide in her tone.
"What?" Quinn looked bewildered, not getting the reference this time, while Santana sighed audibly.
"Tron. Come on, Q. I made you watch that with me recently! Well, it was the sequel, Tron: Legacy. It had Olivia Wilde, Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges... Remember? The Identity Discs,"
"Oh! Right... that one... How could I ever forget?" Sarcasm dripped in Quinn's voice which caused Santana to roll her eyes at her.
"I have no idea what you two are talking about," Rachel chimed in with her two cents.
"I think I watched that," Brittany hesitantly thought out loud.
"The effects in that movie were epic," Santana continued on, trying to see if it would jog her roommate's memory.
"Yeah... no. Not ringing a bell," Quinn said with a nonchalant shrug.
"That just means I'll have to refresh your memory. We're watching it over the weekend." Santana concluded defiantly.
"Can I come?" Brittany cut in, intrigued with being able to watch as well. Santana looked over to her and broke out into a warm smile.
"Of course you can, baby." That last word slipped out of Santana's lips unconsciously.
A beat of silence passed in the room.
"What?" Santana saw Quinn and Rachel's expressions and was thoroughly confused.
"Uhh... Time to go, come on Rachel," Quinn hurriedly ushered herself and her friend out the door.
"But Santana just-" The door shut quickly before Rachel could finish her sentence, leaving the two alone.
"Why are you-" Santana began, but she paused and after a moment her eyes widened at the realization of what she had said earlier crashed upon her conscious mind. "Holy blubbering butterflies, Batman... I just called you 'baby'. I'm so sorry. Is that degrading in anyway towards you? Do you not like it? I'm such an idiot... I should have-" Her worried ramblings was cut short.
"Santana," Brittany's strong calm voice interrupted her.
"Yeah?" Blue eyes gazed directly into brown ones.
"Stop over-thinking." She stated from her still seated position on the bed. Brown eyes averted downward.
"Oh, okay. Sorry..." Santana replied back slowly, her eyes stayed trained on the carpeted ground she was sitting on.
"It's fine." Brittany told her, "I've actually been wanting to call you 'honey' for a while now," Santana looked up with interest and found Brittany with a small smile on her face.
"Honey?" She questioned as she felt the corners of her lips twitch upwards.
"Yep," Santana began to laugh at Brittany's simple answer.
"Are we in the 'pet name' stage of our relationship, now?"
"From this point on, yes."
"Well then, babe... have you seen my glasses anywhere?" Santana quirked up an eyebrow questioningly.
"No, sweetie. I haven't." Brittany replied back as she crossed her legs while still seated on the bed.
"Who knew I'd like this feeling of being so domestic..." Santana chuckled while getting on her hands and knees to feel around the floor for her lenses. Looking for them was useless since she could barely see as it was.
"It's a nice change, isn't it?" Playfulness was etched in Brittany's intonation. Santana sat back up and crossed her legs indian style before looking back up at her girlfriend above her.
"Hey!" Santana squinted, she could faintly make the blurry outline of Brittany's smiling face with something that belonged to her on the bridge of her nose, "You'll ruin your eyes if you keep wearing my glasses,"
"It's a good thing that you're gonna be a doctor then,"
"But I'm not aiming to be an optometrist or ophthalmologist..."
"Eye doctors?"
"Yes,"
"What kind of doctor do you want to be?" Brittany crouched down on the floor to slightly hover over Santana.
"I don't actually know yet,"
"We have plenty of time to figure that out. Come on, hun. Everyone's gonna be here soon," With that Brittany slipped the black frames rightfully back on Santana's face.
"Whatever you say, babe." Santana grabbed onto Brittany's wrist before she could make any movement to get up.
"Saaaaan," Brittany whined as Santana snaked her other arm around her waist securely.
"Briiiiitt," Santana mimicked back teasingly, she kept going with her intentions of pulling her girlfriend onto her lap.
"Honey," Brittany tried to sound as stern as she could while she suppressed the outward expression of glee.
"Baby," Santana countered back and smirked.
"Honey buns," Brittany wrapped her lengthy legs around Santana's waist and her toned arms hung loosely over Santana's shoulders.
"Sweet cheeks," Santana brought her face closer to Brittany's.
"Sugar pie honey bunch," Brittany scrunched up her face cutely while she said this.
Santana opened her mouth to reply back by singing the next line consisting of "you know that I love you". But nothing came out. She froze once her brain processed what the lyrics were.
Love.
There was that concept once again.
Santana wasn't sure if it was too soon to be thinking about it, let alone to be feeling it. Half of Santana wanted to take that leap of faith and finally talk about it with Brittany.
The other half of her was scared shitless.
Brittany's expression fell with a faltered grin as the seconds ticked by with no immediate reply from her girlfriend. Santana shook her head slightly before she shot a reassuring smile back. She then decided to not say anything at all and tried to convey it through other methods.
Santana arched her neck up and connected her lips with Brittany's. Making out on the floor of her bedroom wasn't so bad after all. Especially with Santana's left hand trailing up the small of Brittany's back (under her shirt) at the same time that Brittany deepened their kiss.
They broke apart and looked in the direction of the front of the room, when they heard the creak of the door opening, revealing two new people before them. A sigh of annoyance came from Santana as her expression hardened.
"Please ladies, don't stop on my account," A deeper male voice stated, a hint of cockiness evident.
"I think we should have knocked first," A second male voice added.
"Puck... you have about three seconds before something bad happens to you via Snix," Santana furrowed her eyebrows and stared menacingly back at him. Sam was standing right beside Puck. He looked a little guilty with the interruption they caused and rubbed the back of his neck timidly.
"Yes, but will it be worth it?" Puck crossed his arms and leaned on the door frame comfortably.
Santana silently counted to three in her mind before she sighed again and gave Brittany a last chaste kiss on the lips. Brittany bit her lip as she shifted out of Santana's lap and stood up. Santana then got up, walked over and pulled out a black frisbee looking object, with light blue borderings on it, from a corner of her room.
"You chose the wrong time and place, again, program." Santana informed him before quickly throwing it towards his direction. Sam darted out of the way and into the hallway in time... Puck wasn't so lucky.
The identity disc replica smacked Puck right on the forehead, and although it was made of plastic, the amount of force and precision that Santana used was able to knock his head backwards.
A strangled grunt of pain sounded from Puck as his head snapped back and he clutched where the object hit him with his hand.
"Fucking hell," The plastic toy clattered on the ground to Puck's left side.
And to answer Puck's question...
No.
It actually wasn't worth it on his account.
Because he now had a nice red mark on his forehead, which would probably turn into a bruise later one.
Also the wrath of Santana/ Snix was never good to be around.
"You're lucky it wasn't my real replica... that one is meant to be thrown, hence why it's lighter in weight." Santana explained with a bit of edge in her voice. Brittany brought a hand up to her mouth to stifle her bubbling laughter.
"Uhh... we'll give you two... five more minutes," Sam stepped back into their line of vision and began to drag Puck to where everyone else was -in the living room area-, "Quinn! Santana just derezzed Puck!"
"People need to learn how to knock on my fucking door," Santana huffed, her jaw still clenched in annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest. Brittany shook her head with a smile on before walking over to her.
"We can't help that we're so hot together," She placed her hands around Santana's midsection and slowly moved them into her jeans back pockets.
"True. But they keep interrupting our sweet lady kisses time," Santana's scowl turned into a pout as Brittany broke through Santana's previously hardened expression.
"Put up a sign... or just lock it," Brittany told her easily.
"You're a genius," Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany.
"Of course I am, babe," Brittany winked, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Hey, I already called dibs on that one,"
"Anything and everything is fair game, sugar,"
"I can't think of anymore," Santana racked her brain of anything and came up with nothing. Brittany held a smug smile as she nudged her nose to Santana's.
"We really should go. They're all probably waiting for us." Brittany said as she pulled away and took a step towards the door. She grasped Santana's hand and tugged lightly on it.
"Oh, I know they're waiting for us," Santana smirked as let her girlfriend pull her out of the room to meet up with their friends.
The day passed with the group of eleven (remember it includes: Santana, Brittany, Quinn, Rachel, Mercedes, Sam, Puck, Tina, Mike, Kurt and Blaine) going down Hollywood Boulevard, Rodeo Drive, and Beverly Hills.
Rachel and Kurt both gave their input to how they would one day get a Hollywood Star of their own as they all walked down the famous road and observed Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the El Capitan Theatre.
"It'll be right after I star in the impeccable movie adaptation of Spring Awakening. Which will of course be after I get the lead role in that musical in which I will also win multiple Tony awards for my flawless performance throughout that entire run. Rachel Berry will be a household name in the near future."
"I'll get my star because of the beautiful combination of fashion style and Broadway showmanship that critics will rave about. Although my vision of my future isn't as distinct and clear as Rachel's, I'll be right up there with her,"
"And this is how Kurt and I became the best of friends in NYADA. I found someone who was as talented and passionate as myself for making it,"
Rachel and Kurt hugged one another and flashed the rest of them huge smiles. Blaine, Tina, Mike and Sam laughed politely. Quinn, Mercedes, and Puck were observing the stars that were on the floor below them. Santana and Brittany were at a hotdog cart ordering some food.
"Hey Rachel, want a Hollywood Hotdog?" Santana called out, all the guys (except for Kurt) turned to her direction and made their way to get in line behind her.
"Santana! You know that I don't eat meat!" Rachel looked appalled at the mere thought of it. Mercedes and Quinn smirked at Rachel's response and shook their heads at Santana.
"Oh, whoops. Sorry. It must have slipped my mind," Santana replied back with a wave of her hand. She got two (one for her and one for Brittany) and then stepped out of line to let the guys have their turn. Brittany poked Santana's side.
"Stop being so mean to Rachel, she's leaving tomorrow,"
"She knows that this is how I show my affection for her. By subtle and not so subtle insults... also it's funny and it amuses me."
"She's a nice girl and best friends with Kurt, who happens to be one of my best friends," Brittany crossed her arms and looked pointedly at Santana.
"Britt. Babe. You haven't been with Rachel Berry long enough to understand." Santana pleaded. Brittany shot her a disapproving look and the other girl gave in with a deep sigh. "But for your sake, I'll lighten up a bit, okay?" She extended her arm to hand over Brittany's hotdog as a sign of truce.
Quinn made the sound of a whip cracking from behind them. Santana snapped her head around and glared at her best friend.
"Q. I will smack you with my Incredible Hulk Fists that I have at home in the name of all that is holy," Santana sniped at her as she pushed up her glasses.
"I was just adding to the drama of it all..." Quinn explained with a shrug, her smirk didn't leave her face. Mercedes, Sam and Blaine tried to cover up their laughing since they were the only three to overhear what was happening. Brittany put a hand over Santana's, which somehow caused all the anger to disappear from her, and placed a light kiss on her cheek. Brittany then set her eyes on the other blonde.
"Quinn," She stated warningly, but her tone was that of a teasing one.
"Oh come on, Brittany. I'm not the one you're in a relationship with," Quinn replied back as she pursed her lips together.
"But I still have slight authority over you when we have dance class,"
"Which isn't now..."
"Yes. But... when we do..." Brittany trailed off as she raised both her eyebrows up and looked directly at her. Quinn didn't say anything else but she backed off and eyed Santana, who had an amused expression on her face.
And... Being the mature twenty year old that she was, Santana stuck her tongue out at her roommate. Quinn's jaw dropped in shock... before she did the exact same thing back in retaliation.
"Quinn," Brittany spoke up again giving a serious glance to her friend and then over to her girlfriend, "San,"
"Your nerdy girlfriend started it..." Quinn told her as her lips pinched together in a straight line. Santana simply looked the other way.
"What am I going to do with you two..." Brittany sighed as she scratched her cheek. She finally took hold of the other hotdog in Santana's hand.
"I don't know about Quinn, but you can do whatever you want with me," Santana quirked an eyebrow up with a one-sided smirk. Brittany playfully smacked her on the arm with a laugh.
"Ew," Quinn had a partially disgusted face on, it was mixed with that of shock.
"Babe," Brittany tried to sound stern. Since it wasn't really the time and place for that... but she had to admit, it was pretty funny to see Quinn's expression.
"You two are sickeningly sweet sometimes, but that's seriously all I can handle right now," Quinn then walked off to Mercedes, Sam and Blaine.
Santana chuckled before she took a bite of her hotdog. Brittany followed suit.
After exploring the lives of the rich and the famous, the group returned back to Quinn and Santana's apartment for dinner later that night. To make things simple, they ordered some pizza and Chinese food. They were mostly all just college students anyway.
The night went on with exchanges of high school tales and embarrassing stories of each person, a few board games (guys verses girls... the girls won most of them) and last but not least, some karaoke with Rachel and Kurt being the main offenders (Mercedes and Santana did a duet, Blaine had a few solos, Mike and Brittany danced and did some background vocals, Tina and Quinn sang alone with the rest of them. Sam and Puck opted out but they did play some Rock Band so it was basically the same thing since they both sang and played at the same time.)
Eventually their time together had to come to an end. By 1AM Rachel insisted that she had to get an adequate amount of sleep before her departure in the afternoon. Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes and Puck knew in advance that they weren't able to make it to see Rachel off so they gave their farewells.
"You go back there and be the best diva that I know you are," Mercedes said as engulfed Rachel in a hug.
"My Jewish sister, from another mister... Shalom." Puck was next up and picked Rachel up as he hugged her.
"It was very nice to finally meet you, Rachel. Take care of Kurt for me when he gets back to New York too." Blaine gave her a polite squeeze before letting Kurt have his turn.
"Have a safe flight! Be sure to text me when you land. And remember to pick me up from the airport next week!" Kurt told Rachel before bending down to envelop her in a tight embrace as well. The others (besides Quinn and Santana) said their goodnights and that they would meet up at the airport an hour before Rachel's flight to officially say goodbye.
"If any of you happen to wander to New York, don't hesitate to contact me. You're all welcome to stay at my place," Rachel informed them once they all said their goodbyes before heading out the door.
Santana, being the well-mannered young woman that she was (Okay, well... forget about the incident earlier with her and Quinn sticking their tongues out at each other) decided to walk Brittany out to her car. Once they got there Santana took Brittany's hand in hers.
"Text me when you get home safe," She told her while she rubbed circles on Brittany's skin with her thumb.
"Okay," Brittany's warm smile formed on her lips. She unlocked her car, but before she could open the driver's side door for herself, Santana beat her to it. Santana gave a slight bow and gestured towards Brittany to get inside. Brittany's smile widened as she took a step forward, closer to Santana, and gave her a peck on the lips.
"Goodnight, babe," Santana stepped back and opened to door wider to let Brittany take a seat. Brittany slid in and started the engine.
"G'night, honey," Brittany said back before Santana closed the door for her. Santana then walked back to the curb of the sidewalk and waved. Brittany waved back and drove into the night.
Santana sighed in content as she watched Brittany's car disappear down the street after a few seconds. She turned around and made her way back to the apartment. A stupid grin stayed on her face the entire time.
Yeah.
This girl had definitely flipped her world upside down.
So, I have some exciting news to share! (Which explains why this took so long to update)
I just got into this Nursing program at my college! Which is good news for me and my personal life.
Unfortunately, that means bad news for this story... All of my free time will be dedicated to kicking ass and doing well in this program.
And this will be for the next three years, starting January 22, 2013.
I'm going to have to cut this story short from my originally planned, 15 chapters to 10.
(Technically it'll be 11 because I have an epilogue in mind)
I may have some time here and there to continue writing, but I don't know about any chapter ones, maybe just one shots, until I get the hang of my schedule/ new lifestyle.
I just want to thank all of you for taking the time to support and read this story.
It's been a fun experience. We got 2 more chapters to go so don't fret yet.
Thank you again and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
(Also I'm taking a trip to the East Coast for the next week and a half so give me at least 3 weeks for the next update. I need a vacation haha)
Have a safe and Happy New Year, everyone!
-Perseids