A/N: This chapter is more of a filler. I'm trying to establish re-connection between Santana and Brittany without having them jump in to things too fast. As such, there isn't a whole lot of plot in this chapter, but a lot of interaction; I hope it isn't too boring.
Out of Kindness
Chapter Three
Brittany was startled from a heavy slumber the next morning by the sound of violent buzzing. The noise of the phone vibrating on the nightstand was much more intrusive than the sound of the alarm tone itself. As she slowly regained her senses, yet kept her eyes closed to shield them from the morning light, she felt the warm body of her boyfriend cuddled up behind her. The arm draped over her waist showed no sign of moving and the breaths she could hear coming from behind remained slow and even.
"Charlie," She mumbled but got no response so tried again, louder this time. "Charlie!" Still nothing, yet the buzzing caused her to become increasingly irritated. She retracted her arm and jammed her elbow into the ribs of the body behind her and the effect was instantaneous. She heard a sharp intake of breath and felt his body stiffen.
"Ow, Britt?" Charlie was confused and dazed but now very awake.
"Your alarm, Charlie, please, for the love of god make it stop," Brittany mumbled out as she withdrew the pillow from under her head and placed it over her face.
Charlie was still somewhat confused but, did as she asked. Sitting up, he reached over to the nightstand on his side of the bed, picked up his phone and turned the alarm off.
"Shit. What was I thinking? I must have set my alarm a half hour late last night. Why would I do that? Shit, shit, shit..." He dashed out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom leaving Brittany in peace.
She dozed off into a half sleep so that she could wake up slowly in her own time. If there was one thing Brittany hated, it was being rushed awake. She liked to let her dreams linger for a little while longer and wait until all feelings of sleepiness had left her body before she opened her eyes. Even on the mornings she had to get up early, she would set her alarm twenty minutes before she was due to get up just so she could lay in bed and greet the day in her own time.
Rolling onto her back, Brittany spread her legs out under the sheets, moving them back and forth as if she were making a snow angel. She opened her eyes slowly, sat up stretched her arms over her head and let a smile play on her lips because, despite the intrusion to her sleep moments ago, she was confident that today was going to be a good day.
Brittany made her way to the kitchen, poured herself an orange juice and sat up on the countertop letting her legs hang over the edge, swinging them lazily underneath her. Minutes later she was joined in the kitchen by a very corporate looking Charlie who walked up to her and placed his hands on her thighs.
"Bye, Honey, I have to go. Running a little late this morning," He said before placing a chaste peck on his girlfriend's lips.
"Okay, see-ya tonight. Will you be home for dinner? It's not like I'll cook or anything but if we order something should I order for you, too?"
"No, that's alright. We're in the middle of a massive deal, so chances are I'll be working late tonight. Okay, gotta go. Have a good day, bye." He tapped her playfully on the thigh as he walked away, picked up his bag and coat off the table and rushed out the door.
Staying where she was on the counter top, she sipped slowly on her juice, enjoying the sensation of the cool liquid gliding its way down her throat. With one last gulp she smacked her lips and placed the empty glass next to her. She let herself fall gracefully fall off the countertop landing steadily on her feet and slowly sauntered back down the hall.
Stopping once she got to the door of the guest room, which had been left slightly ajar, she softly pushed it open. Leaning her shoulder against the door frame, Brittany lazily crossed her arms and smiled at the sight in front of her. Santana was laying on her side with one arm up under the pillow and the other hugging the blanket close to her as though it were a teddy bear. The blanket was all bunched up in front of her and one of legs was bent at the knee and draped over the bulk of blanket.
Santana had the most peaceful look on her face, vastly contrasting the expression she had held the night before, and Brittany couldn't help but be drawn towards her. She walked over to the side of the bed that Santana wasn't occupying and gently slid under the cover. It felt natural to be laying next to her because, really, they had slept next to one another far too many times to count.
Brittany felt Santana's body unconsciously shift a little closer, so she rolled on her side to face the brunette, grabbing hold of the arm that had been hugging the blanket and pulled it softly towards her. The comfort of the closeness gave Brittany a sense of warmth that lulled her back into a peaceful slumber.
XxXx
Santana sleepily opened her eyes and jumped with a start after noticing another body in her bed. She saw blonde hair splayed out in front of her and a pair of pale, slender hands lazily gripping her own left arm, she laid her head back down and smiled at the sleeping blonde. Watching her sleep gave her a surreal yet comforted feeling. For a large chunk of her life, Santana had woken up to this very sight and it made her feel at home again, almost whole. The fact that Brittany had been missing from her life for almost a decade also provoked a feeling of unease within her.
Santana knew Brittany; she knew who she was, but how much had she changed in the time they'd spent apart? Was she still the same girl, beautiful on the inside and out, who Santana could trust with her deepest secrets? She felt the strongest feelings of nostalgia being in the presence of this girl once more and it brought about a certain lack of control which scared her to death. On the one hand, Santana wanted to protect herself with all the resources she held within, yet she couldn't help but feel the heaviness of her burdens weighing her down, begging to be shared.
Santana was pulled from her reverie when the very blonde clouding her thoughts began to stir. Brittany opened her eyes and found warm, dark eyes and a smiling face looking back at her.
"You're awake," Brittany said with a lazy smile.
"Mmhmm, just when did you sneak into my bed?"
"Earlier this morning, just after Charlie went to work. I came in to wake you up and annoy you so we could start the day but then you looked so peaceful and all cuddly, I couldn't help myself. I didn't even mean to fall asleep, but I'm glad I did. Did you sleep okay?"
Santana just smiled at Brittany's tendency to give long-winded answers to simple questions. Waking up like this was just like stepping back in time; Santana always marvelled at the way Brittany would greet the day with so much vigour and enthusiasm.
"I slept fine, Britty. What do you mean start the day? You have something planned?"
"Well..." She drew a breath, readying herself for another long answer. "I woke up earlier craving juice, I kind of always do that when I've had a little to drink the night before. So, when I got up I got some orange juice from the refrigerator but that totally didn't satisfy the craving, you know?"
Santana nodded, wondering where she was going with this. Watching her ramble was so like watching a teenage Brittany Peirce; as though nothing had changed.
"But," Brittany continued, "that's because I know what I really feel like; a fresh juice from this awesome juice bar across the road from my favourite beach. So I was thinking, juice and then a couple of hours at the beach sunbaking and swimming. Oh, and you're coming with me, you have no choice in the matter."
Santana let out a throaty laugh through her nose.
"Sounds like you have it all figured out. I'm in."
"I know you're in, I just said you don't have a choice," Brittany deadpanned, but gave her a playful wink and a goofy grin a second later.
XxXx
"God, you weren't kidding Britt; best juice ever." Santana took a long sip of her juice while sitting on her beach towel, watching the waves crash on the shoreline.
"So delicious," Brittany responded. "It's the way the way they blend it with like, a ton of ice. It's kind of like a slushy, but fruity."
"Yeah, it's amazing. I love the way they top the straw with pieces of fruit. It's almost like getting a complementary meal with your beverage."
"I know, right. What did you get again?" Brittany asked.
"Number 23, I think it was mango-passion or something. Want some?" Santana held her cup towards Brittany, gesturing for her to take it.
"Yeah, here have some of mine."
The girls swapped drinks, both humming in appreciation of the taste.
"So, San," Brittany started after she cleared a second mouthful of Santana's drink. "What was with the sudden move here? Are you on the run from the law? Did you break up with a boyfriend?"
Santana squawked out a laugh.
"Funny Britt, obviously being on the run from the law is far more likely than me even having a boyfriend to break up with."
"What do you mean?" Brittany asked, glancing at her friend with a quizzical expression.
"Haha...wait, are you serious?" Santana looked over the rim of her sunglasses at Brittany. "You know that I'm...that I'm gay, right?"
"What!" Brittany exclaimed, sitting up suddenly and turning to face the brunette squarely. After taking a moment to stare pensively at Santana, she spoke again. "I'm actually not all that surprised though. Remember how we used to make out all the time? But instead of calling it 'making out' we'd say 'sweet lady kisses'."
Santana flushed red at the memory and the fact that Brittany was bringing up something she thought was going to be left unsaid.
"Yeah...maybe we shouldn't tell Charlie about that. I honestly thought you knew."
"Obviously not, considering I just asked you about boyfriends." Brittany still looked somewhat bewildered, her eyebrows knitted together and her lips pursed slightly.
"You don't care, do you Britt?" Santana was starting to get a little self conscious after taking in the expression on her friends face.
"Care?" Brittany asked with her eyebrows now raised as Santana's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"About me...being gay?" Santana responded, looking down at the sand, averting her eyes from Brittany's gaze.
"No, god no! I'm just a little annoyed...Not at you," she added when she noticed Santana starting to form a hurt expression on her face. "Charlie should have said something. We fought about you coming to stay, I mean, before I knew you were you obviously. He said you were a girl that he was super close with in college and spoke about you like you were some old flame. He didn't even correct me when I said that and just let me get all jealous but told me I was acting crazy. Why didn't he just say 'my lesbian friend from college is coming to stay' and there wouldn't have even been any argument?"
"Wait, stop right there. He didn't tell you?" Santana asked incredulously.
"No, Santana, I just said that. Are you even listening?"
"It was a rhetorical question, Britt. He goddamn lied to me. But, why? I called him before I came and asked if you were okay with me coming. He said that you freaked a little at first but then he explained to you that I'm a lesbian which is what made you come around. Why would he lie about that?"
"Why would he not say anything when he knew it would have made me feel a whole lot more comfortable with you coming to stay? And the way that he implied that the two of you used to sleep together..."
"Yeah, about that..." Santana bit the corner of her lip and glanced at Brittany, whose eyebrows were so far raised that they almost disappeared into her hairline. "It was only a couple of times in freshman year, and I used to sleep with like, everybody back then anyway." Santana looked down, as though she were embarrassed by the words she had spoken. "Sorry, Britt."
Brittany's face softened as she took in Santana's expression. She reached a hand out and put it on Santana's knee.
"S'okay, San. It's way in the past and before Charlie and I even knew each other. And you're flaming gay so, who cares?" She playfully pushed her friend's legs before grabbing her arm and pulling her up as she stood. "C'mon, let's get in the water. It's like, a million degrees on this beach."
After shedding their clothes until they were just wearing bikini's, Brittany ran, pulling Santana behind her all the way to the water's edge. She then dropped her friend's hand as she ran into the waves and dove under the whitewash while Santana stood in ankle deep water, testing the temperature.
"Coming in?" Brittany asked as she re-emerged.
"It's a little chilly."
Brittany walked slowly and nonchalantly back in the direction of where the brunette stood, whilst ringing some of the salt water out of her hair. When she got close enough to Santana, she jumped at her, throwing her arms around her thighs and hoisting her on to her shoulder. Santana squealed in surprise and Brittany jogged deeper into the water, struggling a little under the extra weight.
"Of course it's going to be chilly if you stand there inching your way in." Brittany chided.
"Put me down, Britt." Santana said through panicked laughter, knowing it was a hopeless request.
As expected, Brittany didn't listen but kept jogging deeper, so Santana decided the only thing to do was to fight back. Reaching her hand down, she grabbed the waistband of the electric-blue bikini Brittany was wearing and reefed it up as high as she could and didn't let go.
"I swear to god, Brittany, if you don't put me down, it's gonna take days to fish your bikini out of your ass cheeks."
The sensation of the wedgie caused Brittany to gasp in surprised and laugh uncontrollably. It only took a couple more strides for her legs to give out and the both of them fell into an oncoming wave, becoming completely submerged.
Santana came up spluttering.
"Briiiitt!" She whined.
"You wedgied me?" Brittany said, still surprised yet amused.
"What else was I supposed to do? Have you ever known me to give in without a fight?"
At that, Brittany splashed her square in the face, rousing the Latina who took a giant leap at her friend. The two wrestled playfully in the water until Brittany came up gasping for air.
"Okay, truce!" The blonde said, holding one hand up in the air and extending her pinky.
"Truce," Santana responded, wrapping Brittany's pinky finger in her own and giving it a subtle shake before letting it go.
The two of them waded lazily in the shallows for a couple of minutes, still trying to catch their breath, before they headed back up to lie down on their towels.
"I swear I'm still trying to get the rest of my bikini out, it's like, stuck up there."
"Told ya," Santana said with a self satisfied smirk.
They laid in a comfortable silence, both on their backs, the beads of water glistening on their skin as the sun beamed its warmth down on them.
"Today's been nice, San. Hanging out with you, I mean." Brittany looked over at her friend, tracing her features with her eyes. "It's almost like we were never apart because it just feels so normal." This caused Santana to smile and hum in agreement.
Brittany let her eyes subtly wander some more over the brunettes body, glad she had sunglasses to disguise her leering because something caught her attention. The tops of Santana's thighs were littered with white marks; old scars. Some of which thin and barely evident, some were thick, deep and prominent. All of the scars were straight, horizontal lines, many in neat rows as though she were bar-coded, like she had marked herself as a product to be sold.
What happened to you? Brittany thought as she studied the scars.
"San?"
"Hmm"
"Remember last night, when you said you missed me when I was gone?"
"Uhh, yeah," Santana said a little shakily, as though she were a little embarrassed the Brittany was mentioning it.
"I missed you too, and I want us to be close again," Brittany said turning her head to the side to fully look at her friend
"Yeah, me too, Britt," Santana smiled softly as she spoke, hoping she'd be able to let her guard down enough to appease Brittany, silently praying for the guts not to escape when things became too real.