"Oh come on, I was so gonna sing that song tonight." Blaine whines, tugging on Kurt's hand as they come to a halt in front of Mick's. Kurt smiles at his boyfriend's charm and the way his perfectly gelled hair shines under the moonlight. "You know, when I was in high school, I put a boy band together for the talent show and we won the whole thing with that very song." He explains with a cute tilt of the head and All American boy grin.
"Fine." Kurt throws his head back in defeat. "You can have 'Teenage Dream', but you will never take 'Firework'. Rachel Berry would fight you to the death." He chuckles, even if he is being completely serious. "Now, come on. I've already gotten three texts from Santana and Brittany asking us to come save them from Rachel taking over the whole night." He pulls on Blaine's hand to lead them into Mick's and the crowd for Thursday night karaoke.
The bar is nicely packed out and they are greeted by two girls singing 'Respect' by Aretha Franklin. Blaine follows close behind while Kurt guides them through the sea of people, making sure to look from the wall to the bar in order to find his group of gal pals. He squeezes his fingers around his boyfriend's hand and glances over his shoulder to mouth 'over there'. With a flick of his head, Blaine's eyes follow the direction and finds Brittany and Santana standing close to one another by a table where Quinn and Rachel are sitting. He smirk to himself because Rachel has one of the giant binders filled with song choices spread out across the bar's most likely dirty from liquor table.
"Hey girls." Kurt greets his friends and pulls Blaine to his side.
Brittany and Santana turn their heads away from each other and smile when they see that it's Kurt and Blaine who have interrupted their intimate conversation. The former reaches out with her free hand to grab her best guy friend in to a sideways hug by the shoulder while the latter gives his dreamboat boyfriend a head nod. Quinn looks up from the song book and sends the boys an excited smile as well as an eye roll in her girlfriend's direction but with adoring amusement.
"We got a pitcher." Santana breaks the comfortable silence, lifting said pitcher to the boys and looks between the two of them. "Get a glass from Garrett." She tells them with a nod of her head towards the guy standing behind the bar. Kurt follows her line of vision and nods but Blaine just scrunches his nose and shakes his head.
"You're not drinking tonight?" Kurt asks.
"I am, I'm just in the mood for something fruity." He explains with a sparkle in his eye at the thought. Santana laughs and places the pitcher back down to the table.
"Too easy." She says to Brittany who giggles and shakes her head at her girlfriend's ability to still be able to come up with the obvious gay joke, even after all these years.
"I can't find it." Rachel exclaims, her disappointment clear to everyone standing by the table. "They had all of Barbra's classics just two weeks ago. This has got to be a mistake." She huffs, once again flipping through all of the pages to start at 'B' for Barbra.
"And they probably took her out because you've ruined the 'Funny Girl' soundtrack for everyone within a two mile radius." Santana says as she lifts her pint glass to her lips and gets a pointed look from Quinn who is sitting right across from her.
"What are you going to sing tonight?" Brittany asks with a whisper in Santana's ear, causing heat to creep up her neck and then down the rest of her body. She grins, kisses Brittany's cheek and squeezes her hand.
"It's a surprise." She winks and takes another sip of her beer, licking her lips to remove any foam that lingers. Brittany playfully rolls her eyes and bites on the tip of her tongue as she stares adoringly at the way Santana's lips move when she turns to say something to Quinn.
Kurt goes off with Blaine to the bar to get his man that fruity drink he is in the mood for, leaving the other three to try and steal the song book away from Rachel. When the boys return, Brittany goes up with Blaine to the karaoke DJ to put his name down for his jam, 'Teenage Dream'. While they're up there, Quinn and Santana manage to talk Kurt into going up a little later and singing a song with them. He instantly agrees and steps back to show some light dance moves they can all do together to make it look uniform.
With a nod and a not so subtle eye roll, Santana waves her hands to get him to stop because their significant others are on their way back and she doesn't need Brittany to give him any ideas on dances they can do. About a month ago, Brittany had somehow managed to talk Santana into doing the 'Cupid Shuffle' with her on the small stage while Kurt and Quinn sang along.
"Santana," Blaine sidles up beside her, drink in hand and colorful straw between his fingers. "How's that Political Science class going?" He asks seeming genuinely interested. His eyes flicker in a sort of panic when he hears a small 'oh no' coming from Kurt's direction. "It's just," He glances to Kurt who shakes his head and then to Quinn who is waving her hand in front of her as if to say 'no'. "I remember you saying… you were having issues a while back." He tilts his head to the side not sure if he looks confused, interested or constipated and frankly neither can Santana or Brittany, or anyone else for that matter.
"Actually," Santana drawls out and looks over her shoulder to where Blaine keeps glancing at. "I'm doing pretty good." She smiles at him and then to Brittany when she feels her girlfriend's hand grab her own.
"Cool. I guess those study groups are paying off." He adds feeling that he's done a good job at trying to connect with his boyfriend's friends. But then he's not so sure when he watches Brittany's eyes look down, Santana's look away from the group and the other three looking at the table while shaking their heads.
"Yeah, I've been working really hard." She answers, her smile a little less bright than it was a few moments ago.
Santana then turns away from the boy, pulling Brittany along with her and pretends to find something interesting in the bar. Blaine stands there, drink in hand and confused look on his face. He steps up to the table where Rachel, Kurt and Quinn just give him a look of pity.
"He doesn't know any better." Kurt informs his girlfriends, who shrug and nod in understanding. "I'll tell you later." He assures his boyfriend, placing his hand on top of Blaine's and gives it a light tap.
"Just no more questions." Quinn adds as a warning. Blaine looks from her to Kurt who is shaking his head to say 'yeah, no more questions'.
"You know, it really shouldn't be taboo to bring up school." Rachel tells the group, clearly citing her views on the topic. "I mean, really, what is the big deal anyway?" She huffs in frustration. "Wasn't it just a big misunderstanding?" She asks and looks to Quinn.
"Apparently last week," The blonde starts and leans to the middle of the table so that the conversation remains 'hush, hush'. "Santana told Brittany to just look through her messages." She tells them and shrugs her shoulders at why that would even be an option.
Brittany accepts to see Santana's cell phone and read through not so new and new text messages to and from Trish. Santana nervously waits, rubbing her fingers into her forehead as she watches Brittany's facial expressions.
"You're flirting back." Brittany says in disbelief and Santana's face screws up.
"No I'm not. I wasn't." Santana assures her.
"Santana, you have texts from two in the morning that say otherwise." Brittany points out, still scrolling through the group of saved messages. "Did…" She powers the phone down and lets it rest between her palms and looks away. "Do you want to have sex with her?"
"No." Santana chokes out instantly. "No." She repeats, getting Brittany to look back to her.
"But, you've thought about it." It's more of a statement than a question. Santana's mouth opens, her brow furrows and her head tilts to the side.
"Brittany," She finally finds her voice, grabs the phone from her girlfriend's lap and sets it down on the table. "The only person I think of like that is you." She explains and tries to place her hand on Brittany's, but she pulls away. "Even if I did," She shrugs her shoulders. "It's not like it meant anything. I mean, I've thought about how sex would be like with Earl the mail guy at work. Obviously I'm not having sex with Earl."
"This isn't a joke." Brittany rolls her eyes and gets up from the coffee table. "You think that if you make jokes and snarky 'Santana' comments that it's okay." She shakes her head to herself. Santana has always been like this, using sarcasm and random facts to lessen the tension. She usually appreciates this about her, but right now Brittany is finding it difficult to find it cute or funny.
"I seriously never thought trust would be an issue with those two." Kurt comments as he nods at Quinn's not so new information, letting his eyes flit over to the girls in question.
"It's not between them." Quinn reminds the boy and he does see where his friend is going with this. "It's that fucking girl." She rolls her eyes in annoyance at the current issue in her best friends' relationship.
"Santana probably just likes the attention." Rachel says as she skims through the song book, not really to anyone in particular but the comment causes Quinn to jerk her head back.
"Wow, Rach. Harsh much?" She asks in disappointment at her girlfriend's attitude towards her best friend. Rachel lets out a scoff of a chuckle and looks up as she turns a page in the binder.
"I'm sorry, but are we talking about the same girl here?" Rachel inquires, clearly in jest. "I'm pretty certain we are. Ya know, Santana Lopez, the girl who got a boob job junior year just so people would 'notice' her more." Blaine furrows his brow and turns to Kurt.
"Santana has fake boobs?" He asks in a hushed tone. Kurt holds his hand up between them as if to say 'not now', but then leans closer.
"They feel like those amazing pillows in the Martha Stewart Collection." He tells his boyfriend who responds with an arched eyebrow noting his intrigue. "Whether they feel 'real' or not is beyond me."
"And if I remember correctly, she's the same girl who helped get us together." Quinn points out and effectively Rachel is rendered speechless. "And right now, I'm not sure if I should thank her or yell at her for it." She adds and then turns on her heels, leaving the table down to three.
"Well, that was un-called for." Rachel mumbles quickly before going back to the song book.
Except for the random tension at the beginning of the night, it was a pretty top notch time for all involved. As Santana and Brittany walk to their apartment arm in arm laughing at the apparent 'dance moves' Kurt had forced the former into. Brittany couldn't help but grin from ear to ear and squeal when her girlfriend, her other best friend that's a girl and her best guy friend started serenading their significant others with One Direction's 'What Makes You Beautiful'.
"Seriously honey, you were so fucking adorable." Brittany tells Santana and places a kiss to her cheek when she sees her smile.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Santana mumbles, pretending she's not at all grinning.
"I promise, nobody saw you almost fall." The blonde assures her and rests her head to her girlfriend's for a moment. "Besides, I caught you." She reminds her with a proud smirk and this garners a laugh from Santana.
"My hero." She turns her head and lets her lips find the corner of Brittany's mouth for a quick peck. "Hey," She nudges her shoulder gently into Brittany's and then lowers her arm so that they can hold hands. "I was thinking that instead of going back to Lima this summer for a week, we go on our own little vacation." Santana suggests. She smiles when she sees the corners of Brittany's mouth turn up to match her very expression.
Truth is, especially with everything that's come up recently, Santana has been wanting to go on a nice, romantic vacation with her girlfriend. They haven't gone away since sophomore year of college for Spring break with Quinn and Rachel. Also, she doesn't quite consider their trips back to Lima as hot vacation spot where their accommodations are either the basement at the Lopez house or Brittany's childhood bedroom. Though both have proven to not really have an effect on their intimate moments, she's just really looking for some perfect and real alone time for them.
"That would be really great baby, but," Brittany starts softly and pulls affectionately on Santana's hand as they get closer to their apartment. "Can we afford it?" Santana's lips twist, only because she knew that this would definitely be a part of this conversation.
"We can make it work." She offers, figuring that no matter where they go it wouldn't matter as long as they are together. "I was thinking we could always drive the truck if we need to." She lifts her head when they reach the crosswalk to make sure it's safe for them to walk. "I was kind of leaning towards Disney." Her smile only widens when she sees her girlfriend's eyes sparkle at that one word.
"Ahh," Brittany squeals and practically dances as she walks. "Can we?" Santana giggles and shrugs her shoulder before leading Brittany up the curb and around the corner where their apartment building is.
"Well, let's make a plan then." She stands to the side as Brittany pulls out the keys to open the main door on the first floor. "Each week, we set aside some money for our super, awesome Disney road trip." Brittany once again yelps with excitement and all but throws herself into Santana as they walk towards the elevator.
"Another 'Quinntana' night?" Rachel asks a week later with an eye roll as she looks over from her spot on the couch and finds Quinn taking the 'essentials' out of her purse. "Been happening a lot lately, should I be worried?" She smirks when Quinn chuckles, shakes her head and sends her girlfriend a half amused, half annoyed look.
"The only thing you should be worried about is if Kurt decides to try and feng shui the apartment again." She comments as she shoves money and her ID into her back pocket. Rachel giggles and turns more on her side to watch Quinn toss her now useless to her bag at the foot of the coat rack.
"I feel a little out of the loop here Quinn." Rachel admits in a small voice. Quinn's brow furrows and she turns around to find her girlfriend looking down at her hands in her own lap. "I mean, you're going out almost every other night with Santana. Doing who knows what." She holds up one hand and Quinn knows what or who is going to be in the other hand. "Then there's Kurt who, when he's not with Blaine, is meeting Brittany at undisclosed locations." She blinks away that random fact and shakes her head not even trying to understand the top secret codes of Brittany's messages for Kurt.
Quinn sighs, crosses her arms loosely over her chest and nods in understanding. It's not like she wants to keep her girlfriend in the dark about everything. Truth is, Rachel does have a small idea of what has been going on, or at least what went on a few weeks ago. But, Santana pretty much threatened Quinn's life if she at all repeated any of the conversations that went on between them. She gets why, Rachel has what some would call a 'big mouth'. It's unfortunate, because she would love to come back after a long night out with a sad, complaining Santana and give her girlfriend a play by play.
"It's just personal stuff." Quinn tries to explain and the face Rachel makes kind of hurts her heart. "Not my personal stuff." She clarifies and it does lift the diva's spirits a bit. "Santana's just…" She can't seem to get the words 'going through a rough patch right now' out, because it would then become more obvious that it is somehow to do with Brittany. It's hard when she knows Rachel knows something is up, but isn't actually able to tell her.
"Just, try not to get in the middle of anything, okay?" Rachel warns. "Don't forget, Brittany is just as much your friend as Santana is." Quinn nods. It's true and she would never deny that much. It's just a difficult situation when the only person on the planet, besides Brittany, that Santana will show any kind of emotion to is Quinn.
"I won't be home late." She tells Rachel, walking over to the couch to lean over and press a kiss to her forehead.
"Or drunk." The brunette calls out with humor.
"Can't make any promises."
A few minutes away, Santana is doing the same as Quinn had been doing, pulling things from her bag that she's going to need for the night. She puts her lip gloss in her jackets inside pocket, ID and money in her jeans and then grabs her phone. She looks at it for a few long seconds and contemplates leaving home because she's just going out with Quinn for the night. At the end of those few long seconds she opts to just bring her phone because Brittany might text or call her and she doesn't need any added stress as to why she didn't respond to those hypothetical texts or calls.
"Is Quinn comin' here or are you meeting her out?" Brittany's voice coming from down the hall and into the living room catches her attention.
"Meeting." Santana answers, spinning around to lean against the couch with her hands at her sides. They smile at one another and Brittany steps in front of her, letting her hands grab at Santana's. "You know I love you, right?" She asks with a soft voice and tilts her head to the side, pressing a quick but soft kiss to her girlfriend's lips. Brittany grins, leans forward to bring their lips together again, and nods into the slightly longer kiss. "Is Kurt coming over?" Santana questions between kisses.
"No." Brittany tells her, finally pulling back and moves her hands from Santana's to the strings of her girlfriend's sweatshirt. "Actually, I invited some dance friends over." Just as Santana is going to respond, her cell phone goes off peaking both of their interests. Brittany's more than hers.
"It's Quinn." Santana says, even though Brittany didn't ask. But, she can feel those eyes on her wondering who it is every time her phone goes off. "I should probably go." She groans and wraps her arms around Brittany's waist, pulling her close against her own body. "Have fun tonight boo." Santana whispers against Brittany's neck as she kisses the skin there.
"Mmm, you too." The blonde giggles as she squirms under Santana's touch and kisses her under her ear in defense.
After a cab ride from her apartment, Quinn finally gets to the bodega just a few minutes away from the park and instantly spots Santana standing there waiting for her. As usual, her friend has gotten started without her as she spots the wispy cloud of smoke stream from Santana's lips thanks to the menthol cigarettes she's most likely just purchased. She grins with anticipation when she also sees the two large, forty shaped brown paper bags clutched close to Santana's side.
"Hey buddy!" Quinn calls out when she's a few feet away and catches Santana's attention right away. "I swear," She shakes her head as she accepts the cigarette that her friend offers her. "I think Rachel is starting to catch on with this." She lifts the smoke in her hand to point out what she is referring to. "I can only say 'I just walked through a crowd smoking outside of a bar' so many times until it starts sounding like a horrible country song." Santana chuckles as she is holding the cigarette between her lips as she flicks the lighter to light Quinn's.
"Ready?" Santana asks and hands one of the two brown paper bags over to Quinn, who nods as she accepts it. "Let's go."
"Ya know," Quinn interrupts their short lived silence while they head over towards the benches. "After all this time that we've been doing this, I don't think I have ever asked you if you and Brittany have a bench." She tilts her head to the side, letting this realization really sink in. "I mean, we have about three that we rotate." She adds as an afterthought while she waits for an answer as well for Santana to pick the bench they are going to take up for the evening.
"Yeah, we have a bench." Santana sighs as she finally picks one of their three spots and looks over for her friend to join her.
"Is it one of these?" Quinn wonders as she gets settled and unscrews the top to her beer.
"Nah, we have our own private one Fabray." She replies before sipping her drink, staring out in front of them but can feel her friend's curious eyes on her. "I feel like," Quinn takes a deep but quiet breath, she wasn't sure if they were going to get right into things but apparently they are. "I feel like I'm a disappointment." She hangs her head, so she can't see the confused look on the other girl's face.
"What would make you say that?" Quinn jerks her head back as she asks the question.
She's never thought something like this would ever come out of Santana's mouth. So, to actually hear it is not only surprising but equally sad and depressing. She watches as Santana chugs her beer for a few moments, and she follows suit figuring she better get prepared for some serious 'feelings' talk. She knows that whenever they go to the benches at Santana's request, it's really code for 'feelings'. "Do you mean to Brittany?"
"No." She shakes her head, swigs some more beer and then takes a drag of her smoke. "Not just her." She admits.
"Sorry S, but I really can't read between the lines here."
"I've just," Santana huffs, clearly frustrated with having to deal with these awful things called 'emotions' and trying to put them into words. "I feel horrible with this crap I've been thinking lately." Quinn's eyes widen and she decides the best way to avoid blurting out something stupid is to suck down some alcohol. "It's nothing you might be thinking." She quickly waves her hand in the air, as though to erase some bad ideas Quinn may have been coming up with. "I've just been getting really frustrated the past couple of weeks, two months or however long it's been." Her hand hits her leg and she glances over at Quinn who takes another long gulp. "I know B loves me. I love her. I feel like I'm just waiting for her to like… I don't know."
"I thought you and B, like, made up?" Quinn finally asks, feeling slightly confused at Santana's current state.
"We did, but," She shrugs her shoulders, brings her hands up to press her fingers into her eyes and lets out a sigh. "Now, I'm like, worried about upsetting her."
"Then don't do anything stupid." Quinn tells her flatly which gets her a glare from Santana.
"Every time I'm texting anyone from school or you or work, I feel like she's judging me or our relationship." Santana tries to explain her recent concerns. "I mean, I shouldn't have to be sneaky about it." She tugs at the paper bag concealing her beverage as she listens to the noisy city silence and waits for a response.
"That would hurt her more." Quinn says with ease and honesty.
"Right, but, on the other hand, am I supposed to tell her every time I'm talking to anyone who isn't her?" She points out because that would not only be exhausting but super grating on Brittany's nerves when said texts are from a certain classmate.
"Unfortunately Santana, you've managed to jam yourself between a rock and a hard place." Quinn sighs and glances out at the rest of the parks inhabitants, which isn't much. "You shouldn't hide texting classmates or friends. That seems super shady and makes you look guilty." Santana slumps her shoulders, nods in agreement and slowly lifts her drink to her waiting lips. "But, on the flipside, Brittany is clearly insecure about your relationship with that girl."
"Relationship?" Santana spits out incredulously, nearly jumping from her spot on the bench. "We have a few classes together and she's in charge of setting up our study sessions. I'd barely call us friends." She clarifies with a huff and crosses her arms over her chest, making sure to not spill or tip her drink.
"Whatever." Quinn sighs and rolls her eyes as she chugs for a few seconds. "Those are tiny details. In Brittany's head, this girl is a threat." She explains with a motion of her hand. "No matter what you say or how much you try to break it down for her. Britt is still going to have her mind spinning about it all."
"How am I supposed to ease her mind then?" Santana wonders aloud, desperate to find anything to stop the ever so obvious strain on her relationship with her girlfriend. "I should be allowed to have communication with people outside of Britt and our little family of friends, no offense." Quinn's lips twist and she nods. Santana's argument is completely valid. There should be no reason for her to not venture out of their little Lima clique and form other bonds. The only problem for Brittany is the intentions of potential friends.
"Of course you are allowed to have other friends, hang out and talk to them on the phone or text them." She explains, but with caution. Quinn doesn't want to come off as being completely on 'Team Santana'. "But," She drawls out, quickly catching Santana's full attention. "Constant communication with someone you only recently have become 'close' to," She is sure to use air quotes when saying the word 'close' as she's using the term loosely. "From Brittany's perspective could be seen as flirting." Santana's face screws up and she slowly shakes her head.
"I wasn't aware that discussing what the affect our atrocious economy has on third world countries was considered flirting." Santana states with irritation and throws back some more of her forty ounce, which is quickly dwindling down to not much.
"Santana, don't play dumb with me." Quinn calls her out and receives a half of an eye roll in return. "There's no way in hell that this girl is texting you random history crap facts all day long." She says pointedly. "Brittany told me the other night that texts from Trish totally interrupted your 'sweet lady love time'." Santana hangs her head and runs her fingers through her dark hair.
"What am I supposed to do then? Tell Trish to stop texting me?" She blurts out in frustration. "I mean, that'd be really bitchy of me." Quinn's eyes widen and she curiously stares at her friend.
"Who are you?" She asks in faux, and some real shock, then playfully punches Santana's shoulder. "You're Santana fucking Lopez. The fiercest and proudest bitch there ever was." She reminds her friend.
"We've just," Santana slumps in her seat, feeling defeated and tired. "We've been in a relationship for four and a half years, almost five." She holds her hand out to show off five fingers for emphasis. "Really, we've been together for longer than that. But, those four or five years, we've been with each other twenty-four-seven." She turns in her seat to fully face Quinn to show her how serious and honest she's being at the moment. "Literally with each other. Yeah, there are you and dare I say it Berry. But," Santana leans her arm on the back of the bench, puts her cheek to her palm and sighs sadly. "What about my life outside of us? Do I have one? Do I even get to have one?" She shakes her head, totally thrown off with everything she feels and if it's even fair of her to feel any of it.
"So," Quinn bites on her lower lip and scans her friend's expression. "You feel trapped?" She asks in a slow and steady, albeit, confused tone.
"I didn't say that." Santana's eyes shoot open wide and she sits up straighter. "That's not what I mean. It's just," She looks to the side to gather her thoughts and runs her fingers through her hair. "I… she was my only friend for a long time and somewhere down the road, we became more and I only know how to operate in a relationship with someone else in one of two ways. How I am with her and how I am with Rachel Berry." Quinn tries to hide her smirk at this statement while all the while trying to act hurt. "Sure, you're a huge exception but," Santana rolls her eyes when her friend smiles widely back at her, even if it's only short lived. "I don't know what anything is like without her. I'm trying to network myself socially and it's extremely difficult to do when she thinks I have an ulterior motive." When she sniffles and wipes a finger under the corner of her eye, Quinn knows that the alcohol is starting to get to her. "I don't like Trish. I'm not at all attracted to her or want anything other than friendship with her and I don't even know if I want that." Quinn tries to stifle a laugh because Santana is very anti-people so a line like this doesn't surprise her. "Out of anyone, I thought she of all people would know that she is the only one I want. Do I not make it obvious enough?" It's a question she asks out loud, but it sounds more like she is asking the universe and not Quinn. "Do I need to get 'Property of Brittany Pierce' tattooed on me? Even if someone did want me, I don't want them. It's as simple as that and I'm getting real tired of needing to assure her of this. I don't get what else it is I need to do for her."
Her shoulders slump some more into the bench and she takes a couple of sips of what's left of her drink. Quinn follows suit, but leaves a concerned eye on her friend as they sit in silence.
Two days later, it's Kurt and Brittany who are having their alone time. They meet at a small café between their places that has become a sort of safe haven for them when discussing their relationships with one another. As always, Brittany is sitting in the corner booth waiting for Kurt, all ready with their drinks on the table.
"Hey love bug." Kurt greets as he lifts his sunglasses from his eyes and sends his lady friend an adoring wink. She smiles back and slides his coffee drink over to his side of the booth. "Thanks." He lifts his cup to his lips and just watches the way Brittany sips her own beverage and glances around the small coffee shop. "So," Kurt starts, figuring he's just going to dive right into everything. "How are things?" Brittany's lips purse and she tilts her head to the side, letting her eyes watch her hand set her cup down to the table.
"Great." She replies with lackluster enthusiasm. "Good." She adds in an even lower tone and brings her eyes up to meet his. "Not so good." Brittany shrugs her shoulders and leans forward to rest her elbow to the table, then her chin to her hand. "I mean," She starts again, and Kurt remains quiet, ready for his girl to express herself. "I've never really been a super jealous person. Not like Santana." Her eyes widen a bit when she says this because out of all of the years she's known her girlfriend, she has seen some shades of green in her eyes a few times.
"I hate to even say it Britt," Kurt sets his cup down and weaves his fingers together in his lap. "But, I think you're short changing Santana a bit here." The corner of Brittany's mouth turns downwards. It's not to frown, but because the idea of this being true is rather distasteful to her. "I mean, we're talking about the girl who got off a plane headed for California just to be with you." He reminds her. "A girl who got a job as a waitress so she could stay here with you." He tilts his head and watches how Brittany nods her own. "Yeah, she's abrasive at times, but it's only because she's passionate. And, you are at the core of that passion."
"I know." Brittany sighs and reaches her hands out to grip at the sides of her latte cup. "I just…" She shakes her head from side to side, as though moving the thoughts around her mind to form a complete sentence. "When we were going through that trouble with my TA back in freshman year," Kurt nods, remembering this little rough patch between his best friend and her girlfriend. "She was so adamant about me not being alone with him and even came to classes for a while. But, it's like, now the tables have turned and she thinks I'm being unreasonable."
"Have you told her that it's not that you don't trust her, but that it's the other girl you don't trust?" Kurt inquires and in response Brittany covers her face with her hands and chuckles in frustration.
"I cannot believe I'm actually having a conversation about Santana and the 'other girl'." Her voice is so sad and all Kurt can do for her is offer his hand.
"You're jumping to conclusions Britt." He assures her. "I mean, have you ever even seen them interact?" He quirks an eyebrow and she shakes her head. "Well, if Santana is going to be friends with this girl, then you should probably meet her. She's met your dance friends right?"
"Yeah."
"So, suggest a night where you gather a few random friends to meet out with." He sips his coffee and smiles to himself when Brittany nods along with his idea. "Just explain to her that, maybe it would make you feel better if you actually met this girl and got to know her."
"Yeah." Brittany sighs out once more and shifts in her seat. "Enough about all this," She waves her hand in the air between them as though wafting away the prior topic of conversation. "How's the gay man sex with Blaine?" Nearly choking on his latte, Kurt wouldn't really mind staying on the topic of the Santana/Brittany relationship.
As per Kurt's suggestion, a few days later, the gang as well as a few new faces meets over at a bar in a restaurant by NYU. Brittany had said that they need to get out and expand their social relationships because they are in some serious need of branching out. Plus, they should want to know who the other is hanging out with and be comfortable being in the same company.
Kurt, Brittany and Santana sit at a high top in the front bar waiting for the rest of the random group that is about to gather. Blaine and Rachel weren't able to make, citing school issues as the reasoning for their absence, but two of Brittany's dance friends come walking through the door to make up for the other two.
Santana and Kurt have met Rikki and Alexis numerous times, so when they greet them it's as though they are saying 'hello' to their own friends and not Brittany's. The blonde smiles at the way her two best friends seem to accept her new friends so easily. It makes her wonder if she will be able to do the same with the fresh faces she is going to be meeting this very evening. Of course she's going to be her normal, friendly self, but she's also going to have a guard up when it comes to a specific person.
They are still on their first round of drinks when Trish shows up with two other girls from their study group. Trish makes a beeline for Santana, throwing her off balance and off guard at the sudden invasion of personal space. Her eyes flicker to Quinn because Brittany is actually standing behind her, which is probably better.
"Santana!" Trish cheers in excitement. "Finally a night out without books before or after the drinking." She laughs out which garners a small chuckle out of Santana as well as the other girls. "I love your top." She exclaims, taking a step back and openly staring Santana up and down.
"Thanks." Santana pulls herself free of Trish's embrace, wondering when they suddenly become touchy feely friends. Sure, they've grazed hands or something like that every now and again but this is not something she's used to. "You remember my girlfriend Brittany." She moves herself to Brittany's side, wraps her arm around her waist and uses her other hand to motion to the girl she's referring to.
"Yeah, I think I remember." Even if she doesn't, Trish at least is polite enough to pretend and she extends her hand out to shake Brittany's. Santana would like to think that makes up for the bum rush hug she's just gotten. "Trish." She says her name, but of course Brittany and pretty much everyone in their little Lima family know exactly who she is.
"Nice to meet you, again." Brittany smiles sweetly and pulls her hand back, letting it fall down between her and Santana's sides.
Quinn comes over to introduce herself to the ever infamous Trish and manages to remove Santana and Brittany from the equation by discussing some Political Science topics she's actually studying. The couple moves around the table so that Santana can introduce her beautiful girlfriend, which is the term she uses, to her other two classmates. It turns out that one of the girls from the study group knows Alexis because they went to dance camp together back when they were in middle school.
"What a small world." Santana comments with a laugh, glancing between the two who not only know each other already, but seem to get along famously.
"You know what's a small world?" Quinn's voice comes from over Brittany's shoulder. When the couple looks back at her she just nods with her head in the direction of the far wall that holds a few posters for Broadway and the off-Broadway shows.
"Wow." Santana lets out, seeming slightly impressed, but not enough to sound too enthused.
"Guess it's a good thing Rachel couldn't make it." Brittany points out as the three of them stare at an off-Broadway poster that clearly features Jesse St. James.
"Did you guys see that Jesse St. Suck poster?" Kurt asks in a loud and horrified voice as he rejoins the group after a trip to the bathroom. The three girls nod, shake their heads and turn their backs to the poster as though forming a silent protest.
"Ugh," Alexis comes from a different direction, entering the foursome's tiny circle. "I just saw a poster for some musical and right in the middle is a picture of my ex-boyfriend." She motions with her free hand towards the poster that Quinn, Santana, Brittany and Kurt were just purposely ignoring. Kurt tries to hide his smirk, Quinn does nothing to hide her wide eyes while Santana and Brittany let out their fits of giggles. "What?" She asks, suddenly self conscious and like she's just made a fool of herself.
"Wow, Lex, long story." Brittany throws her arm around her buddy's shoulder and pulls her into their circle where Kurt and Santana give a pretty detailed play by play about their knowledge of one Jesse St. James.
Apparently, about a year and a half ago, Alexis had gone to an audition for some dance troupe that was going to be traveling cross country to promote a dance studio that she's been interning at. After her third round of call backs she runs into this guy, Jesse St. James, who subsequently hits on her with some lame ass line from a musical and winds up getting her number. According to Alexis, their relationship had come to an end for a lot of the same reason that he and Rachel never worked out. Because the world revolves around Jesse St. James, well, in his mind it does.
"And I knew he was a spy, but no one wanted to believe me." Santana reminds her friends as she tosses back the rest of her wine and sets her now empty glass down on the table behind her.
"I did." Brittany murmurs as she sets her chin to rest on Santana's shoulder from behind her and wraps her arm around her waist.
"No," Kurt chimes in, waving his index finger in the air, stating that he recalls the story a little different. "Rachel didn't want to believe you." Quinn nods in agreement, as do the other two.
"Hey anti-social." Trish comes through their little group with one of the girls she'd come with behind her and grabs at Santana's wrist. "Come do a shot with me." She tugs on her to join them. "My treat." Trish grins widely and wriggles her eyebrows while she wraps her fingers further around Santana's wrist. Brittany feels Santana move from her as the other girl pulls her away. "And we can do that shot I know you love." Everyone can hear her voice trail off and the way that Santana lightly giggles. Brittany looks over her shoulder for a moment, watching the way her girlfriend is being dragged off to the bar with some other girl.
"She's not so bad." Quinn offers, her voice just loud enough for Brittany and Kurt to hear her. "I mean, I definitely expected worse." She tilts her head to the side and scrunches her nose as Trish laughs, throwing her head back. Neither one of them can figure out if Santana had said something funny, probably likely, or that Trish just has a low threshold for humor and an annoying laugh.
Luckily, Brittany's attention gets stolen by Alexis and the other girl from Santana's study group, whose name she learns is Dina. However, Quinn and Kurt keep an eye on the 'friendly' shot Trish has seemed to buy for herself and Santana.
"Cowboy cocksucker." Kurt tells Quinn in a low voice and his words cause the blonde's eyebrows to rise to her hairline and jerk her head back. "It's the name of the shot." He waves her off, realizing it had pretty much sounded like he was naming a character from porn. Quinn nods, now understanding why the girls had done the shot without using their hands to get the glass in their mouth.
Getting bored, Kurt leaves Quinn's side to join in on the conversation Brittany and her dance friends are having about costumes for past recitals. But, as soon as he turns his back, that's when Quinn spots Trish lift her thumb to wipe some excess whipped cream off of Santana. Luckily, Santana jerks her head back and removes the creamy treat herself but that is so not the point. If Santana can't see that this girl is totally, one hundred percent, hitting on her then Quinn is going to have to break it down for her.
Grabbing her bag and leaving the group at the table, Quinn intercepts Santana while the two are making their way back to the table stating she's having a girlfriend crisis. But, Santana can tell by the look on her face and the tone in her voice that Quinn is completely fibbing. She still follows her to the bathroom though, because she is wondering what it is that is on her friends mind. Quinn holds the door open for Santana, as well as a girl who is leaving the bathroom, and then walks in.
"She's flirting with you." Quinn says once they are alone in the bathroom. Santana's eyes widen a little as she looks through her bag. She was hoping that's not what was going on.
"Do you think Brittany thinks that?" Santana asks, nervously because she's sure she knows the answer. Quinn swiftly turns towards Santana and leans her hand on the cold porcelain of the sink.
"I don't think so. Well, at least not yet." Quinn tells her, not at all being gentle about it and Santana winces, letting her own hands rest on the sink as well. She rolls her eyes, sighs and turns back to face the mirror. "Better get your shit together Lopez." Is the last thing she says before leaning forward and smacking her lips together.
Santana watches Quinn walk out of the bathroom, leaving her to her thoughts as well as her friend's words. Her shit is together. Or at least she thought it was. As she rummages through her clutch for her lip gloss, she thinks about her current circumstance. She leans towards the mirror to apply her gloss and sighs as she does so.
Perhaps Quinn is right. She thinks that maybe she is a bit guilty for letting someone who isn't Brittany shower her with compliments and actually find her interesting. Of course Brittany thinks she's interesting. She's her best friend and her girlfriend. It's probably law she has to find Santana interesting.
Smacking her lips together and screwing the cap back to her lip gloss, Santana scans her reflection. She mulls over everything briefly and reasons that she shouldn't feel guilty for someone flirting with her. She's super fine and fucking awesome. Everyone should swoon. As long as she doesn't flirt back, Santana thinks that she's in the clear. If anything, she thinks as she snaps her clutch shut, Brittany should take this whole thing as a compliment and parade Santana around like the awesome, hot piece of ass she is.
When she gets back to the small group she's with, she notices the whole bunch of them are actually sitting at the table, not just standing around it. She easily finds her girlfriend and sidles up beside her chair, placing her clutch behind on the two glasses of wine in front of Brittany. Noticing Santana now closely by her side, Brittany sends her a tight lipped smile and motions to the glass of wine her clutch is resting beside.
"Oh, thanks baby." Santana coos as she reaches for the glass and presses a sweet peck to Brittany's cheek. She giggles when she pulls away because she's let a glossy smudge on her girlfriend's face. But, she's quick to lick her thumb and rub it off for her.
For a moment, Santana lowers her eyes to the contents of her glass, the sparkly jewel on her fingers makes her feel guilty. If this were the olden days, the ring on her finger would practically mean she is betrothed or whatever. This ring symbolizes not just one promise, but so many promises.
She rests her head against Brittany's and purposefully brings her hand to the table, palm down. Snuggling into Brittany, she smiles at the way her girlfriend's arm snakes around her and pulls her closer. She drums her fingers on the table and subtly motions her head towards the table where her hand is and smiles when Brittany follows her line of vision. She brings her thumb to the band of the ring and wiggles it cutely, gaining a quick smooch on the cheek from Brittany in the process.
"So," Dina, the girl from Santana's, turns her attention towards Brittany. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you." She smiles kindly at the blonde and sends a friendly grin in Santana's direction. "This girl," She points at Santana. "Practically turns into a pile of mush whenever she talks about you." Brittany beams at Dina and then at her girlfriend who cozies up closer to her. "And I think it's safe to say that's a feat in itself." She chuckles and it's followed by two tiny giggles from the couple. "I remember the first time I met Santana in study group."
"Yeah," The other girl, Lauren, from school pipes in. "What was it that Trish said?"
"Oh, umm," Dina twists her lips in thought as she is clearly recalling the words of their friend. "Intimidating but intriguing." She playfully rolls her eyes and sips her drink. "Whatever that means."
"Or maybe she said intriguingly intimidating." Lauren offers an interesting play on words in a way that Brittany finds interesting but also kind of true, so she smirks.
"I'm pretty sure I heard my name over here." Trish comes from out of nowhere and settles on the empty seat Santana had been standing next to.
"We were just telling Brittany here how much of a softy she makes Santana here." Dina explains easily, motioning with her glass that's in her hand to the girl in question. Trish nods with a short lived grin.
"Santana said that you guys have been together forever." Lauren says with a playful eye roll as she emphasizes the word 'forever', seeing as the word can be extremely vague. Brittany giggles out a smile and reaches out to grab Santana's left hand where she thumbs at the ring on her finger.
"Yeah, I would say that's pretty spot on." She bobs her head up and down. "I mean, we've been together for about," She looks to Santana as though her eyes are helping her do the math. "Five years. Just about." They nod, smile and lightly peck one another on the lips.
"Did you give her that?" Dina interrupts their cute coupley moment, noticing how Brittany is playing with the ring on Santana's finger. The blonde nods and within a second Santana's hand is pulled from her own and Trish is cradling Santana's hand.
"Oh," Trish lets out in an unimpressed tone. "It's cute." She shrugs her shoulder and sends Brittany a fake smile.
"Thanks." Brittany replies in a questioning voice, watching as Trish's fingers linger a little longer than she'd like on her girlfriend's hand.
"It's actually a promise ring." Santana unknowingly interrupts a stare down between the two women at her side, of course, unbeknownst to her. But, Dina and Lauren are quick to 'ooh' and 'ah' at the comment.
"Do you guys think you're gonna actually 'do it' in the near future? Like, for real?" Lauren asks the couple and by using the term 'do it', they all pretty much assume she means an actual engagement. They look back at each other, shrug slightly, and have to turn away from one another because they're both starting to feel the creep of a blush rise to their cheeks.
"We haven't really gotten that far." Brittany admits, but her tone isn't sad or disappointed. In fact, it's exciting because they really haven't spoken of impending engagements or anything of the sort. 'One day' is still the mantra.
"Yeah," Santana starts to add to her other half's explanation. "We're kind of just, focusing on school right now. Working and saving." She shrugs her shoulders again and the other girls nod along in agreement that that is probably a good idea. "For now, this ring means that it is going to happen, eventually."
"Well, that is pretty fucking cute." Dina says, sending the girls a cute puppy faced pout.
"And kinda smart." Trish finally jumps back in to the conversation, catching the rest of the girls' attention. "I mean, anything can happen between now and then." She shrugs her shoulders and right before Brittany turns her head in the direction of Quinn calling her, she catches Trish bump shoulders with Santana.
When they get home later that night and prepare to settle in for the night, Brittany sits in front of the vanity in their bedroom brushing her hair. Her eyes go to Santana's reflection when she walks out of the bathroom and towards their night stand, lifting the clock to set the alarm.
"Did you have fun tonight?" Santana asks as she settles the clock back down to the night stand. Brittany half smiles and nods her head, all the while continuing to brush her hair. "Me too. I can't believe Alexis and Dina know each other. So weird." She shakes her head, obviously still shocked that two seemingly random people have met before.
"Yeah." Brittany agrees. "I like Dina and that other girl."
"Lauren?" Santana finishes her thought, knowing Brittany is searching for the other girl's name. When Brittany nods, she smiles to herself because it seems as though the night of introducing and meeting new people has seemed to be a success. But there's one other person and she bites her lip, uncertain if she even needs to ask. "And Trish?" She watches as Brittany's motions halt for a moment and her posture flickers to a slump but only for a second.
"I don't want you to see her anymore." Brittany tells her in a soft voice, but the words cause Santana to snap her head in her direction. She shakes her head to herself, she can feel those brown eyes on her, but she watches the way her hand settles her hair brush to the vanity's table. "I know I'm not the smartest person." She continues after Santana doesn't respond. "But," She lifts her eyes until they fall onto the reflection of Santana's face. "I'm also not an idiot."
"Brittany," Santana starts and moves towards the foot of the bed, keeping her eyes locked to mirror image Brittany's. "There's really nothing to…"
"I shouldn't even have to be asking you this." Brittany cuts her off and spins in her chair to look at the real Santana.
"You're not really asking." She points out with a flicker of an eyebrow and lifts her foot to take off her sock.
"I get that you are gonna see her at school." Brittany shakes her head and glances down at the way Santana lifts her other foot to do the same with the second sock. "And you have study group, but other than that, I don't see the need for you to see her." Santana just stares back at her, sock still in hand and bare feet on the bed frame. "I really hate that I have to say any of this to you right now." Brittany's throat opens and closes as her frustration begins to get to her. Santana snaps out of it, drops her sock and moves to kneel in front of her girlfriend.
"Stop baby." She coos and rubs her hands up and down Brittany's thighs, desperate to ease her stress. She ducks her head, instantly finding those blue eyes and she sends her lady a comforting smile. "If," She swallows because she knows this needs to be done, even if it might not be that easy. "I won't see her out of school stuff." Santana tells her in her softest, most gentle voice. Her hand reaches up to run her fingers through Brittany's hair, letting her thumb graze her cheek. "But," She tilts her head to the side, all the while maintaining eye contact. "I do need you to trust me that nothing has ever or will ever happen." She sends Brittany a pleading look. One that desperate seeks for that trust and understanding, because if they don't have that then what do they have?
"I know." Brittany lets out and nods, letting her cheek push into Santana's hand until she's cupping the side of her face.
"I love you." Santana says firmly yet adoringly at the same time. Brittany breathes out a soft smile, closes her eyes and nods once again.
"I know that too." They giggle. It's not forced but it's not a hearty laugh, but, for the moment it's perfect because it is a sensitive conversation.
When Brittany opens her eyes again, she finds Santana staring back at her with a loving expression etched on her face. Her thumb caresses over the spot just at the corner of Brittany's mouth and she dips her head before leaning forward to capture those perfect, pillow like lips with her own. Even though they've kissed, and kissed like this so many times before, this one in particular only cements their hope for that impending 'one day' moment.
At least, for now.