May 7

4.00 pm

Santana slowly crossed the threshold of her house but for the first time in the past three years it didn't exactly feel like home, she didn't feel relieved to be back where she was supposed to feel safe and she most definitely wasn't happy to be back in the company of her boyfriend.

Ray, as soon he heard the noise of someone walking downstairs, popped out from the staircase and rushed at her. Santana unconsciously took a step back as her body tried to overrule her mind and make her leave.

Ray approached her, but she could sense hesitation in his movements and she just stood still afraid to alter an already tense atmosphere. He stopped right in front of her, staring her in the eyes and she did the same, fearlessly.

"Honey, I am so sorry for what happened before." he admitted hugging her, not even waiting for her permission.

"Ray.." Santana whispered, overwhelmed by his tight hug.

She wanted to tell him that everything was fine and that she really understood the party was important to him. She wanted to be supportive and understanding, but in that moment all she could think about was thanks to his stupid party, she was probably missing Brittany's competition and that was just not acceptable.

She had never been a selfish person, quite the opposite actually, she was always trying to be helpful and try to put others needs first before her own, but this wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to feel obliged to be here with Ray when her mind was somewhere else, with someone else.

"It's ok Ray." she said sweetly caressing him on the back of his head.

"But don't do it again." she stated firmly.

"Oh come on, don't talk me like that." Ray replied and even though the tone was still calm and relaxed Santana detected an annoyed nuance in his words.

"Like what Ray? You yelled at me just because I was out on a Saturday afternoon when you were at that place doing God knows what!" Santana said stepping aside to get away from him. "What was I supposed to do!? To wait for you until you were finally back?"

"Hey, jellybean please calm down. I've already told you that I'm sorry."

"I don't want you to be sorry Ray, I want you to understand that I'm not a fucking possession! You cannot tell what to do and when to do it!" She insisted louder making him freeze at the sight before him.

"Babe…" He said trying to remain calm but Santana knew him and she was a 100% sure that he was not liking what he was being told at all. He loved to control her, he had always wanted to be a part of every aspect of her life, but sometimes Santana was left wondering if it was for true interest or just to control her.

"..I was expecting you to be on my side today. You know how much it me-"

But Santana interrupted him. She had absolutely no idea what was happening to her, she had absolutely no clue on why the hell she was screaming at her boyfriend who had just apologized to her.

The only thing she knew was that she couldn't stop

"Ray. It's just a fucking party, and I don't give a fuck about it! What the fuck can a party mean to someone who has already organized hundreds of events? So don't blame me for having gone outside for a couple of hours instead of staying home mulling over what I should wear tonight, ok!?"

She shouted in one breath and she could feel her heart almost exploding from her chest. Ray was still looking at her, his gaze was expressionless, revealing almost nothing to her.

"Oh and I forgot to tell you! I'm wearing a man's suit tonight. End of discussion." She finished.

"Wow." He commented. "I've never seen you like this."

It was true and she had absolutely no idea where this girl had come from. She was reminded a little bit of that old Santana Lopez she used to like.

"Is everything all right?" He asked visibly concerned.

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?" She replied snorting.

"I don't know Santana, you seem different. You have said fuck like four times in the last ten minutes. That's not you. Are you sure that seeing that tattooist isn't bad for you?"

Ray asked trying to get closer but all he got in response was her stepping back frowning.

No, no, no. He had wanted her to have that tattoo removed, he couldn't change his mind, couldn't make her interrupt her therapy now it had started, but most importantly he couldn't take Brittany away from her.

Santana suddenly felt her legs go weaker at the thought of losing the only person who was making her feel alive for the first time after so long.

"Bad? Are you out of your mind? I barely talk to her." She quickly lied and rushed to him to get both his hands and looked directly at him with a pleading expression. "I'm sorry Ray, I'm just a little bit nervous about tonight as well." She continued lying. She had no idea why the hell she was behaving like this.

"Are you?"

Santana nodded. "I'll be at your table and it means that I'll be with all my bosses and.."

But Ray didn't let her finish, he lifted one hand and gently caressed her on the cheek. "Oh honey, you don't have to worry about that. It's going to be fine I'll be there, right next to you." He said hugging her one more time.

"I know. Thank you." She said before trying to push him gently away but instead what she got was a kiss. At the contact with Ray's lips all her muscles stiffened and her first reaction was to run away. What the hell was happening to her and why did kissing her boyfriend feel so damn weird?

May 7

9.45 pm

Santana rolled her eyes up to the ceiling for the nth time in the past thirty minutes as Ray and the executive sales manager started the devastatingly boring discussion about the golf match that had taken place the previous weekend. She had tried to think about a less interesting topic but she was unsuccessful in finding one as boring as that.

She hinted a fake smile as the manager made a comment regarding a mistaken score that seemed to be very funny if Ray's exaggerated laugh was anything to go by.

The evening was going well so far, if well meant listening to those boring speeches and pretending to be having fun.

Yes, the evening was simply going as expected if it wasn't for every tiny detail annoying her like a thorn stuck in her side, slowly torturing her. She couldn't stop looking at her phone every two seconds.

She wasn't expecting any calls or texts, she was simply staring at it because all she could think about the whole evening was how much she wanted to text the blonde tattooist.

She wanted so badly to know how the competition had gone, she already knew that Brittany had won, that tattoo was too well done not to win a prize but she wanted to hear it personally from her.

She wanted to hear the happy sound of her voice when she would tell her the news, so why the hell didn't she just call her? Why was she so hesitant?

Brittany was just a friend and well, actually she was a person she barely knew rather than a real friend. But that still didn't explain why she was so nervous about letting Brittany know she was interested in knowing something about her.

Her brain was suddenly shaken by the unmistakable sound of her cell buzzing on the table. She immediately got a dark look from Ray for having her phone out.

"Sorry." She whispered. Sighing she took the phone excited for the distraction and yet she was resigned because she was well aware that when she unlocked her phone, the person texting her wouldn't be who she so desperately wanted it to be, Brittany.

She snorted silently as she laid her eyes on her mum's words.

Got fresh meat today, do you and Ray want to join us for a Sunday barbecue tomorrow?

How about fucking no?! But she knew that Ray would have probably got the same text and she also knew that he loved her parents and barbecues as well so the best way to act was not to answer and hope the invitation would be postponed.

With a slow natural movement Ray tilted his head in her direction and whispered.

"Can you please put that thing away?"

Santana turned herself to stare at him directly in the eyes and Ray didn't look away either. For a second Santana tried to search his eyes for the answers she had been seeking the past 3 years. Was he the right person for her? Was this what all the poets wrote about, that all consuming love? This time would be no different either, Ray just blinked and rolled his gaze back to the person he was talking to oblivious to her internal dilemma.

No, maybe this wasn't the best moment to look for enlightening answers.

She snorted, uncaring to be heard by her boyfriend, placing her cell phone back in her purse, but as she was just about to look up again, ready to fake her enjoyment and endure countless boring conversations with Ray's colleagues, something weird happened. Something it seemed was trying to save her from this evening.

All the lights of the huge dinner room went off simultaneously causing an increasing murmur among the guests.

"What the f-" Santana heard Ray whispering, but she was already too busy processing her vivid desire of going home sooner than expected.

She couldn't help but smile at the funny coincidence that the light was missing at an energy company's party.

"Ladies and Gentlemen please remain calm and I'm sure this will be over in a minute." Ray said standing up, or at least Santana figured he was since she heard firm movements right next to her.

Ten seconds of total darkness passed before something completely unexpected happened again. From the room speakers a classic melody interspersed with low, vibrating pitches started playing, causing the murmur to increase even more. She even heard the noises of other people standing, chairs moving and shoes' walking in god knows what direction.

What was really going on? It didn't seem like a normal black out and that couldn't be the music an operator would choose to calm people since the low pitches were really intense, it was as if they wanted to herald the arrival of an omen.

"Ray, is this something organized?" an unidentified man asked.

"Not that I am aware of." Ray replied quickly, he was still standing still next to her.

The atmosphere was surreal, it was calm and electrical at the same time since people weren't actually running or trying to move in the darkness, but everyone in the room were curious as to what was going on.

Suddenly a light switched on and was beaming straight towards the entrance of the room and Santana quickly turned her head, narrowing her eyes in the same direction. She frowned as she realized that it wasn't just a beam of light there were different ones, each one increasing its intensity with each passing second. They seemed like electrical torches approaching the entrance.

Good.

There must have been other staff members, running to their rescue and that only meant one thing, she would be home quicker than expected.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the men got into the room, the music was still playing but she had time to get used to it.

The first silhouette she noticed was wearing black or dark, trousers and a hoodie which was weird since this place was really elegant and classy. Even the parking valet was obliged to wear a shirt and a suit.

After just a moment her eyes rapidly caught sight of another person wearing the same outfit and it didn't take long for Santana to realize that more than thirty people, all dressed in dark clothes and holding a torch, had just entered in the place and were quickly walking toward their central round table.

Her left hand unconsciously clenched around the backrest tightly, as she tried to ease some of the tension that was quickly building inside her.

What the hell was happening? Who were those men? Why the hell were they walking towards them?

Suddenly all the men pointed the light beams against Ray, having the same effect as a huge spotlight. Santana could see his expression, a mix of fear, anger and disbelief.

Santana could tell that Ray had absolutely no idea about what was going on at his party and probably, knowing him, it was starting to piss him off.

The group of lights continued to move quickly towards them and each meter they gained Santana began to feel more and more uncomfortable. The music wasn't helping at all even though it was suited perfectly to the surreal atmosphere.

What did they want? She had absolutely no idea but she knew she was about to find out.

The leader of the group, or at least she figured he must have been the main member since the man was leading the mysterious group and walking in front of his army, stopped a few inches away from them and as she expected, his followers did the same.

"Ray Miller." the man exclaimed making her tremble from the power of his voice.

From the corner of her eyes Santana managed to notice her boyfriend stood still, not hinting any signs of a reaction. This was his typical behavior, not letting anyone see what he was feeling and was his classic way of dealing with situations. It was ok most of the time as well but lately Santana had started to feel like something was missing in their relationship.

"That's me." Ray replied firmly and fearlessly holding the imaginary gaze of the man in the hood.

Santana let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding for the entire time.

"What the hell do you want?" he added in his classic defiant tone he used to talk to his employees.

Santana, sitting at the edge of her chair, stiffened all her muscles. Why was Ray always so arrogant? They were clearly in a position of disadvantage and despite that he was talking as if he was the one in control.

"Ray, don't.." she tried to scold him but the man in the hood interrupted her attempt.

"I notice that you use insolence both in your public and private life." the man said. "How is it possible that you are here tonight to celebrate the achievement of reaching your targets two month in advance and yet the energy costs in the country are increased by three percent from last year?"

Santana now understood what this was about, she had even read about this group in the newspaper. She knew that, in the past years, multimillionaire companies had been targeted by a group of anarchists who were protesting the increasing economic gap between the high class of the country and the lower class.

The irony was that most of the times she had found herself agreeing with those people, but now she wishes she had read more about those protest and what happened at them.

Ray didn't answer those provoking words and Santana was simply hoping for him not to try something stupid. She could feel his rage and she could feel that he wanted to jump the man and show him who's boss.

The man in black stepped closer pointing his torch right in his face, making him raise a hand to protect his eyes.

The man stood still for a couple of seconds, then he turned his head towards her and even if she wasn't able to see his face she could distinctly feel his gaze on her. Santana immediately lowered her eyes, focusing on the floor patterns and trying to not let her fear control her body.

She almost jolted when the guy snapped his finger out loud in the air.

"Guys, grab them. I want to have a private conversation with Mr. Miller." he said getting even closer.

At that vocal command, the whole army of black hoods moved forward. Santana's first impulse was to stand up and run away, but her mind was already blurred by the fear and the agitation from being involved in something she had never experienced before.

But her muscles weren't ready to surrender and impulsively she managed to stand up and turn while, with one eye she could see the man almost facing Ray but in that moment she found she didn't care. The man was right after all, Miller Inc. hadn't lowered their prices at all, even though the company had brilliantly overcome the crisis period that had recently invested the whole country.

She just wanted to get the hell out of there and drive to her parents' place, but as soon as she was about to make her first step in the direction of the entrance she felt fingers wrap tightly around her wrist.

What the fuck.

With one eye she managed to realize that another hooded guy had gripped her and was not about to let her go anywhere.

"Let me go." she said but those words came out slowly and weak, too weak.

She quickly let her eyes dance around the room but all she could see were men wearing black hoods taking guests away from Ray and leaving him alone in the center of the room with the leader of these weirdos.

The person in front of her didn't say anything he simply pulled her away from the table with a firm, but not rude, movement. He wasn't hurting her he was simply leading her away.

Surprisingly Santana let the man move her, she didn't even try to fight and that was completely foreign, it was like her body was telling her to trust the unidentified person.

She heard the man in the hood speak again, starting to list all the issues common people had every day comparing them with what Miller Inc could do to help the lower class.

Even if she was just a few inches away from Ray, she was hearing those words as if they were being announced hundreds of meters away.

She was still walking when suddenly a flying beam of light stopped for a second on the hand that was holding her wrist and she almost had a heart attack.

She had no doubts, not even for a second.

She knew those hands and she knew exactly who they belonged to.

It couldn't be happening, it couldn't be possible.

She almost fell to the ground, her legs felt weaker than ever. She must be mistaken she thought, narrowing her eyes to try and get another look at the hand.

She wished she was mistaken, but her mind was still trying to process what she had just seen, that tattooed wrist was impossible to forget and the Pink Floyd lyrics marked on the smooth skin was a mark that had become ingrained in her mind.

Oh, fuck.

Electrical impulses finally managed to transfer from her brain to her muscles and she fought the direction she was being pulled in.

"You!" she said instinctively without thinking. "Let me go!" she added trying to stop, but the person in the hood pulled her applying much more strength than she was expecting, making her turn right in front of her. Santana wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out. She had fallen again into the all too familiar catatonic state and she was completely incapable of doing or saying anything.

She felt her body being pulled and turned and then she heard more than felt the dull noise of her slight frame being slammed against the granite column that was obstructing their way.

Santana leaned back against it, trying to find some of the support she was desperately craving.

The dark figure with the hood stepped forward, until she/he was right in front of her.

This is not happening.

"Shh" the person hushed placing one hand on her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

Oh fuck.

At the contact with that skin she had no more doubts, that hand was indeed the wonderful, soft hand of Brittany S. Pierce.

A normal person who found herself in such a difficult and surreal situation would at least try to fight back, but Santana didn't feel afraid or anxious anymore.

She looked up, with Britt's hand still pressed against her lips, trying to catch the blonde's eyes, but they were still covered by that hood.

She took in a deep breath and tried to murmur something against the soft skin, but her attempts seemed to be to in vain.

"I said shut up." Brittany's voice echoed in her mind and she briefly wondered if she had fallen into some kind of parallel world. "I'm not going to hurt you." She added cooing and she was so damn close that Santana could feel her fresh breath brushing her jaw.

She knew she was telling the truth, she knew that Brittany wasn't there to hurt her.

Santana nodded silently to make her understand that she had got the message and, as a natural consequence, Brittany let her hand slowly fall, finally freeing her mouth.

She immediately gasped for air but her uneasiness increased as the blonde closed the gap even more so that there was less than an inch separating the two of them.

Santana was shaking and her body completely pressed against the cold column and the blonde's almost touching her. This was too much. What the hell was she doing there?

"Good girl." Brittany commented teasingly as if they were playing some silly game.

Santana felt her breathing becoming even more erratic as she was desperately fighting to hold back the hint of a smile that was slowing approaching the corners of her lips.

She suddenly felt a wave of goose bumps running down her sides, spreading a heat flux into her stomach. She rapidly opened her mouth to reply but her words were once again blocked by Brittany pointing the light of her torch right into her eyes.

She blinked, disturbed by the annoying sensation of not being able to see anymore; it lasted only a couple of seconds, but it was enough time for her to hear the other girl giggle entertained by her playful torture.

The tattooist made a step back giving her some free space and slowly started moving the light beam from her eyes, down, to her lips. Santana wasn't still able to see properly but she could feel the warmth of the light hitting and heating her skin as it moved down her face.

Her heart was hammering so fast against her rib cage that she was afraid it was going to explode eventually.

She let her head roll back against the column as she felt the warmth of the torch moving down, and stopping right at her chest.

She was trying to breathe normally but that was completely impossible and her efforts of trying to take in deep breaths quickly turned into her almost panting.

Santana could feel the unbearable sensation of Brittany's eyes dancing all over her figure.

"I can't believe how good you look." She said again making her blush immediately.

Wait, was this situation even real? Was she really there complimenting her in the middle of an anarchists' protest?

"I-I…" Santana stuttered more worried about what to answer than what was happening around her. It was like time had stopped somehow and her brain wasn't able to process the man in the hood's words, and Ray's reaction anymore. No the only thing that mattered to her was that Brittany was standing right in front of her, dressed like she was in the post apocalypse and complimenting her on what she was wearing.

These things happen to crazy people not to me.

She thought sighing when the blonde made a step forward once again.

She slowly raised her free hand and gently caressed her jacket's collar, letting her fingernails slightly scratch the smooth skin under it. Santana's skin immediately felt like it was burning from the touch, this girl was the only one who could make her feel this way.

The blonde's pointer finger didn't stop it continued to roam up still gently grazing her skin making her legs even weaker than they already were. Santana couldn't do it anymore her mind was fighting between the urge to lean forward and the desire to run as far away as possible in the opposite direction.

"You followed my advice." Brittany whispered as her finger trailed up her neck, gently caressing her jaw.

Oh fuck, Santana focus.

But she was so lost in the moment that with every vibrating pitch of music that played it sent a tingling hot wave through her body directly to her lower limbs, slowly torturing her.

"W-what are you doing here?" Santana managed to ask, her palms tightly embracing the column behind her.

Brittany smiled while her thumb was slowly brushing her lips.

"Isn't it obvious?" she replied cryptically with the same flirting tone a guy would use on his normal date.

Santana felt a chilly shiver run down her side once again. She looked up and for the first time since those crazy people had invaded the dining room of the fancy hotel she managed to lock her eyes with ocean blue ones.

Despite the happiness of seeing those incredible blue gems again, she wasn't ready for that.

"I can stop whenever you want." Brittany whispered but Santana's thoughts were blurred and all she was able to think of was the pressure that was quickly building up in her body. She felt Brittany's hand glide over her neck again.

She shockingly realized she had never been so turned on in her entire life but she had no time to process that thought.

She was still holding the blonde's gaze when she suddenly managed to see with one eye another hand, quickly flying against then, or more precisely, against Brittany.

The tattooist wasn't expecting it either and she had no time to react. Santana instinctively turned her head to see a member of the staff punching the tattooist right in the face. The impact must have been hard since Brittany was knocked on to her back.

Santana was completely shocked. "No!" she exclaimed as the waiter jumped on the lying silhouette.

She tried to pull his arm to avoid Brittany being punched again and incredibly she succeeded in her intentions since the man stopped and looked at her with a questioning expression.

"Go and help Ray please." She improvised quickly and it worked perfectly. The guy obeyed without arguing.

"Don't worry Miss the police will be here in a minute." The man shouted while rushing against the guy who was still talking to Ray but Santana wasn't interested in that scene, she could see that her boyfriend was ok and that nothing had happened to him.

She quickly turned to check on Brittany's conditions but with her surprise the tattooist wasn't there anymore.

As quick as she had appeared she had vanished just as effectively.

10.37 pm

Brittany quickened her pace to could almost be described as jogging. She took the main street right at the entrance of the big hotel. The damn exclusive place was in the middle of nowhere, in the hills and this was creating a fucking problem. She was running down a big empty road, trying to get away from the spot where all of the LA police department would converge in a couple of minutes.

Still running she mentally reproached herself for having been so stupid, just because that rich bastard had treated Santana in an arrogant, unpleasant way she was risking her life. She had always been impulsive and incredibly stupid when it came to women but this was quickly creeping to the top of the list of all the other incredibly stupid things she had done for a girl.

"Fuck." She commented when she almost fell to the ground. The darkness, the aching jaw that was pulsating and swelling were not helping at all. Brittany S. Pierce had always been a calm person, she had always found herself completely at ease in all situations she had been involved in and she was practically a stranger to fear, but the current predicament she was in was starting to make her feel a bit uncomfortable. She had no idea how far she had ran, she had no idea where she was going but the worst thing was that she could hear the approaching sound of sirens in the distance.

So there in the middle of the empty, desolate road she stopped. Running wasn't going to take her anywhere, the police would be there in a couple of minutes and she would be screwed. Goodbye family, friends and goodbye Urban Ink.

Unfortunately, a fucking master's from MIT hadn't managed to teach her how to escape from the police. The only thing she could do was to run blindly down the hill, away from the road and hope for the police to be busy arresting all those other guys that were running as well.

The blood in her veins suddenly froze as she heard the noise of a car approaching.

Oh shit.

She approached the edge of the road, ready to jump into the darkness, trying to reach the far lights of LA when she suddenly halted smiling. She could recognize the sound of that engine anywhere.

Brittany stood still and as sound of the engine drew closer and her heart beat accelerated a bit.

She could just about distinguish the shadow of the Audi approaching her spot but it wasn't easy since the car's headlights were off.

The blonde hinted a smile shaking her head. Who would have thought that night she would have been the one needing saving.

The car stopped right next to her and she didn't hesitate, not even for a second before she jumped in.

"Go, go!" She ordered to Santana frantically but she could already feel her muscles relaxing in the comfortable seat.

Santana didn't say anything and kept on driving a normal speed, probably so they didn't draw any unwanted attention. Her eyes were focused on the road in front of her and she wasn't letting any emotions out.

"You know that helping a fugitive is a crime, don't you?" Brittany asked teasingly but she got no answer from the girl.

"Hey?" Brittany insisted but she wasn't ready for the reaction that followed her question.

Santana suddenly pressed her foot against the brake pedal and pulled over to the edge of the road.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brittany asked annoyed roaming her eyes around to see if there were any signs of the police coming.

"Shut up!" Santana said firmly, the tone voice was still calm and light.

"Santana, this is not the perfect time to have a conversation. I need to get the hell out of here."

"What the fuck were you doing there?" Santana asked ignoring her order.

Brittany was about to answer but apparently the wealthy girl hadn't finished.

"Do you realize that what you just did was against the law?"

"I do, believe me." Brittany nodded. "Now, start up the bloody engine please."

"Everything is a game to you, isn't it?"

"What?" Brittany replied frowning. What the hell was she talking about? But mostly did the girl have a switch off button?

"You had no right to come over tonight! I can take care of myself and I didn't ask for your help!" she said out loud.

"Do you really believe that I've organized all this for you? You are so wrong right now!"

"Oh, am I really? Get out of the car!" Santana exclaimed her eyes locked with Brittany's.

"What?" her jaw immediately dropped. "You can't just leave me here."

"Yes I can! You are acting like a three year old kid and I can do the same! So get out of this fucking car!"

Brittany tried so hard to hold the smile that was approaching the corner of her lips. Who was this girl?

"Ok fine! We'll talk, like adults, but we have to go now!" Brittany replied hastily still worried about what was going on a few hundred meters away from them.

Santana didn't switch on the engine. Two seconds of silence passed but Brittany swore they felt like an eternity. She was afraid of adding anything else since she was worried of upsetting the driver even more and that would mean an unhappy ending for her.

"Do you want me to take you out of here?" Santana asked at the end breaking the silence.

Was that even a question?

"Are you kidding me?" Brittany replied.

"You know that in three minutes a police patrol car will probably notice a car stopped at the side of the road and will come and check it out, right?"

Brittany finally understood. The girl was trying to blackmail her or something like that. The fact that her voice was trembling and she visibly couldn't hold her gaze was making her seem even more adorable.

"Santana, what do you want?"

"Y-you have to promise me that you'll stop."

"Stop what exactly?"

"Everything! Teasing, mockery and the inappropriate touching all of it needs to stop!"

"Ok, I will!" Brittany replied quickly.

No I won't.

"And you have to stop treating me like the poor little girl who needs protecting."

"Ok."

"Can we go now?" the tattooist insisted nervously chewing her lower lip.

"Fine!" Santana agreed.

11.40 pm

"Make yourself at home." Brittany said gently when opening the door of her apartment and letting Santana into her world.

Santana hesitated just for a second before she stepped into the tattooist's place. What the hell was she doing there?

She had agreed to take Brittany home because her jaw was starting to hurt more as time went on and she had practically begged her to give her a ride to her place. She just couldn't say no.

They had driven in silence for the entire trip and Santana had felt her unsteady heartbeat torturing her for most of the time.

Then when they had arrived right in front of Brittany's building the blonde had asked if she wanted a beer and she had agreed even though she wasn't drinking anymore.

She knew what she was doing was wrong on so many levels but she could barely recognize herself anymore and so she decided to just go with it. She really didn't want to go back home that soon, Ray was probably still at the party location to check the damages and release a statement to the police and even if he was at home, she really wasn't in the mood to listen to his predictable outburst against those people.

She had decided to text him that she had gone to her parents to recover a little bit from the shock of the attack and that she would come home later that evening.

"Thank you." She replied scanning her eyes around the apartment.

Wow.

The place wasn't that big but surprisingly it was cozy and peaceful. The furniture was modern, but warm at the same time. Santana could see that all the pieces there were there for a reason and were perfectly suited to one another. There were drawings on the walls, probably hers, framed in matte black frames that gave a unique feel to the house.

"Wow. I feel like I'm in the bat cave." Santana commented while sitting on the couch.

Brittany giggled. "I love this place." She stated.

"It's very nice." Santana agreed.

"I know it's not the mansion you're probably used to…" the tattooist added placing her eyes on her to check her reaction but Santana didn't give her one.

The tattooist vanished for a second into the kitchen and came back with a tea towel, probably full of ice cubes, two beers and sat right next to her.

"Ouch." She grumbled placing the cold towel on her jaw and Santana instinctively took if from her hand.

"Come on, let me see." She ordered gently slightly brushing her jaw line.

Brittany didn't say anything, she simply looked down at her and Santana couldn't help but blush when she realized how close the two of them were.

"Does it hurt?" she asked softly pressing the cold cloth against the swollen part.

"Not too much." Brittany replied shaking her head. "You know, this is the second time I got punched this week because of you!"

"It's not my fault if you are that stupid." Santana replied with the same teasing tone, but then her expression darkened. "Why were you there Brittany?" she asked even though she wasn't really sure she was ready to hear the answer.

"I swear I didn't organize it!" the tattooist quickly exclaimed looking at her directly with those eyes that seemed incapable of lying.

"I believe you, but it doesn't change my question."

"I don't know" she said and for a moment Santana had the feeling she had put the girl in a difficult position for the first time since they had met.

"…I really didn't like the way he treated you this afternoon." She admitted with her usual honesty that was continually shocking Santana the more time she spent with her. She wanted to ask her so many more questions but she knew how dangerous knowing would be.

"That was probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"I know."

"You could have been arrested!"

"I know."

"No seriously" Santana insisted while she kept on applying a light pressure to Brittany's jaw.

"You could have lost your shop and everything!"

"I know."

"Promise me you won't do anything like that again." She pleaded. She really didn't know where all these concerns for the blonde's safety were coming from but apparently it was so natural that she wasn't even thinking about what to say, she was simply saying it.

Brittany tried to smile but the pain was probably too much and the effort was transformed in a funny grin.

"I can't promise that." She said. "But it's nice."

"What?"

"That you care about me."

Santana was completely invested by those words. It was true, she did care about her, but she couldn't, she wasn't supposed to feel anything. Especially to feel this way towards a person like Brittany, it was unacceptable.
"I-I'm just worried about my laser treatment." she lied.

"I bet." Brittany replied gently lowering Santana's hand that was holding the ice. "Hell of a night." She continued stretching against the backrest of her sofa.

"Yep, hell of a night." Santana repeated in a sigh.

"You should have seen your face when we walked into the room." Brittany mocked her.

"Excused me? My face! "

"Yes, you were completely terrified!"

"That was because I was surrounded by dozens of psychopaths." She froze for a second rolling her eyes at the blonde. "No offence." She added obtaining a black look from the other girl.

"Oh come on, that was funny!"

"You are completely crazy! That wasn't funny at all, that was wrong and dangerous and terrifying."

"All the people there are good ones, they wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Well, I was scared."

"Oh, I have to apologize then!" but then she stopped. "...but that would be like the fourth time this week and I really don't want to spoil you"

"Ah! Right wouldn't want to spoil me would we?"

"How did the competition go?" Santana then asked trying to change the topic but Brittany didn't even need to answer since a big smile burst on her face.

"You won?" Santana asked just as excited as Brittany. "Oh my god! That is so cool!"

"It is!"

And they looked at each other, both smiling with their eyes.

Oh god.

Santana could still feel the pressure inside her that hadn't left her for a second that night. Brittany giggled, holding her gaze and for a second she seemed so adorable and innocent that Santana had the urge to hug her.

"I, I-" she stuttered before closing her eyes to try gain the control of her mind back. "I should go."

The last words were more a suggestion she aimed at herself rather than a real communication and they were a smart way of getting herself out of trouble.

There was only one tiny issue with her plan as she was absolutely not ready for what Brittany said next.

"Stay." The tattooist whispered.

Hey guys!

First I really would like to thank each one of you for all the feedbacks. I'm really glad about that.

Second, I want to thank my beta cos she's awesome!

And then I'll try to update soon, but my birthday is next week so..:)

Have an awesome week!