A/N: Be warned that Santana's dirty mouth makes an appearance in this chapter.
It was exhausting watching Brittany flit from exhibit to exhibit, animal to animal. The dancer seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy, which Rachel and Santana desperately wanted to siphon off and use for their own. Their girlfriend had spent most of the day glued with her hands in either girl's, tugging them back and forth, alternately pressing her face as close to the Plexiglas or chained link fence as she could.
"C'mon! San, Rache, closer! I want it to look like you're being stalked by him."
Exchanging mixed dislike and suffering expressions, Santana and Rachel shuffled a bit closer to each other, making sure they were still in line with the male lion that was sunning itself on a big rock.
Studying them with a cute intense look on her face, Brittany pulled Rachel's camera up to peer through the viewfinder. "Aww…" she pouted, pulling it down, "It would look so much better if you were actually in there…"
As Santana spluttered, "Oh hells no!", Rachel drew herself up straight. "It's okay, Brittany," she smiled at the blonde, "We don't want to disturb him, isn't that right, Santana?" She nudged the girl next to her.
Santana glared at her. "This is your fault," she hissed lowly, "You're the one who gave her that damn camera to play with. I swear that if she tries to climb over the railing to get that 'cutest shot' again, it's. On. You." Then, raising her voice, she smiled at Brittany, "Yeah, Berry's right. He's probably tired from holding court, you know?"
"Court?" Brittany looked confused.
"Yeah, King of the Jungle, B. Remember?" Deciding that Brittany wasn't going to take the picture after all, Santana walked over to her, "Like Simba."
Brittany smiled. "That means she's Nala, right?" she pointed at Rachel.
"What?" Rachel frowned, turning to make sure her girlfriend wasn't pointing at her.
"Holy shit. B, camera! Camera!" Almost yanking the camera away from Brittany, Santana managed to capture the exact moment Rachel realized that the lioness that had been previously across the enclosure had made her way over to crouch behind her. Even through the Plexiglas, it was obvious she had her eyes trained on the small girl, and the shock caused Rachel to scream and scramble backwards.
"Yes!" Santana crowed, pumping her fist, "I got it! I got it! Fuck yeah!"
Brushing herself off and accepting Brittany's hand up, Rachel glared at the dancing girl. "You are intolerable. I do not appreciate my embarrassment being celebrated."
Brittany enfolded her into a tight hug, nuzzling her cheek, "You okay, Rachie?"
Rachel melted and switched her whole attention onto her girlfriend, smiling, "I am, baby. Just my pride is wounded." She leaned up and softly kissed Brittany.
Santana rolled her eyes, making faux retching noises. "I wants to gets my mack on, too," she muttered, crossing her arms.
Brittany looked up. "S! Come over here!" she smiled broadly. When Rachel made to take a step away, she shook her head and tightened her hug.
Approaching cautiously, Santana asked, "What's up, B? You want your camera back? You jus' have to promise me that you won't delete the picture, kay?"
Dropping her arm from Rachel's waist, Brittany reached out and grabbed Santana's jacket. Pulling her in, she kissed Santana soundly, then slid her arm around her waist. Squeezing her girlfriends tightly, forcing the two girls' shoulders to press against each other, Brittany smiled happily then skipped back. "What's next, what's next?" she jumped up and down on her toes.
Santana and Rachel immediately stepped away from each other, trying to pretend that they weren't glaring at each other. "Hold on a sec, B. Berr – Rachel and I," Santana called out, giving Rachel a tight smile, "Are gonna go buy some of those lemon ice things you love, okay?"
"What?"
"Yay!" Retrieving the camera from Santana, Brittany immediately snapped a picture of the two girls. "Churros, too?" she asked.
Santana smiled. "Churros too, B. Why do you think I'm taking Rachel with me? More hands, more eats."
"Suuuuure," Rachel muttered, but obligingly followed after the other girl around the corner and further away. "Alright, what is it you want?" she stopped once they were what she deemed an adequate amount of distance away, asking suspiciously.
"Berry, get lost."
"What?" Narrowing her eyes, Rachel crossed her arms.
Santana glared at her, propping her hands on her hips. She leaned closer. "Get lost. Me n' Britts are 'bouts to gets our mack on, and I don't want you there."
"Oh yeah?" Rachel raised her eyebrows. "You just decided this?"
"You bet your ass." Santana took a step forward, trying to crowd the smaller girl.
Rachel stubbornly held her ground. "Santana, that is not part of our agreement. Brittany wants us both to stay with her."
"Yeah, yeah, she did. But I'm changing the game plan." Smirking humorlessly, Santana sat back on her heels, making a shooing motion with one hand, "So go hang out with the gorillas for an hour or two – I'm sure you'll fit right in."
Rachel shook her head, ignoring the insult. "No. This is Brittany's day. If she wanted to spend time with us individually, she surely wouldn't be shy about asking."
"Or she's too fucking nice. Huh? You ever think about that, Berry?" Santana retorted. "You know B. You tell me she'd want to play us off against each other."
Rachel set her jaw, "I think you're the one who's so threatened by me that you're intentionally forcing this discord."
"You think?" Santana snapped. "Though I'm sure as hell not threatened by you, I am 'intentionally' angering you. Is it working?"
The smaller brunette glared at her. "What the he – " she took a deep breath, pressing her eyes closed for a couple of seconds. When she started talking again, her voice was low, annoyed, her eyes dark when they met Santana's, "What is you want me to do, Santana? I didn't ask for Brittany to chase me."
"Yeah, but you sure as hell didn't run very fucking hard, now did you?"
"No, you're right," Rachel shook her head, dropping her arms to slide her hands into her pockets, "I didn't. Because I fell in love with her. Because she fell in love with me." Her angry expression eased a little. "I know we should have talked about this earlier, you and me, but Santana, it really seems to me that you have more of a problem with Brittany dating someone else than you pretend that you do."
Santana growled, then took two furious strides forward, pushing her face in close to Rachel's. In a low, dangerous whisper, she spoke almost directly into Rachel's ear, "You will shut the fuck up. You will fuck off, and you will leave me the fuck alone. All day long you have been annoying the hell out of me, and I am fucking sick of it. You think you're so pure and high and mighty, don't you? But the truth, princess, is that you're just as much of a bitch as I am." She took a step back, a deathly calm expression settling onto her face, "But, unlike you, I'm up front about the fact that I am one. That I do not like you. I don't hide behind a fake sugary sweet mask, afraid that B'll see just how much of an ugly, fuckin' hypocrite I truly am."
Rachel sucked in a deep breath through her nose. "Santana," she started stiltedly, picking her words carefully as she clenched her hands at her sides, "If this is the attitude you expect to continue exhibiting in front of me, I will not stoop so low as to return it. You are only trying to get a rise out of me, I know this. And I will not give you the satisfaction of succeeding." Narrowing her eyes, she held her chin up proudly, arrogantly staring at the taller girl, "You should be ashamed. Do you think Brittany would be happy to hear that you do not wish to do this one simple thing for her – to even attempt to be cordial with me –as her girlfriend? Do you really feel so little for her that you would not listen to her – "
Santana lashed out, shoving Rachel back, cutting her off mid-sentence. "How dare you?" she hissed, shaking with rage, "You know nothing about Britts and my relationship. Just because you've been fucking her for six months does not mean you have a sudden magical insight into who the hell we are. You don't know any-fucking-thing about us." Breathing deeply, she held up a finger, shaking her head violently when Rachel opened her mouth, "No, Berry. You went too goddamn far. And you know it. So do the 'fucking mature thing' and leave me the fuck alone."
Swinging around on her heel, Santana stalked off, back in the way towards Brittany and the lion exhibit. Staring at her, Rachel rubbed her upper chest through her shirt, swallowing heavily. After a couple of seconds, she dropped her head and walked away in the opposite direction, a troubled expression on her face.