A/N: At one point while writing this I remembered that this story was supposed to be a one shot and I laughed out loud. Anyway, please let me know what you think of this chapter, it's been in the works for a minute now and has been re-written an ungodly number of times, so I hope you enjoy it. Happy Hump Day!

6 Months Later

"What's wrong, Santana?"

Quinn is standing in front of me, her face knitted in concern. Her hands reach out for what I'm holding, but freeze halfway to me when I pull back and shake my head.

"San. What is it?"

I blink back the tears in my eyes and raise my eyes to my fiancée's slowly.

"Britt…she RSVP'd to the wedding." I flick my wrist and send the response card spinning through the air. "She's not coming, Quinn. She fucking said 'no' to coming to our wedding!"

"What?!"

I slump against the back of the couch and run my hand through my hair while Quinn stomps over to the RSVP on the floor and picks it up in disbelief.

"This doesn't make any sense. I thought we were past her having an issue with us. You told her we were getting engaged, right? You didn't just send her the invite without talking to her first, right San?"

"I…told her I was thinking about asking you before we got engaged. She didn't seem too excited about it so I didn't mention it again after we did. I didn't think she'd actually say no to coming to the wedding though."

Quinn's expression changes quickly from shock to fury, her eyebrow cocked in that way that struck fear in most of our high school classmates. Her voice is low and unnaturally calm when she speaks to me. "I can't believe you, Santana. Not only was that legitimately cruel to do to Brittany, but do you have any idea how this makes me feel? We're getting married, and you didn't tell your ex-girlfriend because you didn't want to hurt her feelings? You two haven't been together in years, and yet somehow the biggest event of our lives was swept under the rug for her. Lovely."

"You know it wasn't like that, Q. I just didn't know what to tell her."

My eyes flicker to the floor as I speak, but I hear Quinn scoff at my weak explanation.

"I have some ideas for you. Maybe, 'hey Britt, guess what? Quinn and I are getting married!' or 'I have some great news, Brittany. Quinn asked me to marry her and I said yes!' or you could have gotten really crazy with it and gone with 'Quinn and I are engaged!' Literally any of those would have worked better than just sending her a wedding invitation. You're a coward, Santana Lopez, and you are going to reap what you have sown now. You need to fix this."

Indignation flashes through me when she calls me a coward and I lash back without thinking.

"Why didn't you just tell her then, if it's so easy, huh? She's your friend, too. You could have let her know if you wanted to."

"You're fucking kidding, right?" Quinn asks as she moves quickly in front of me, her finger pointed at my chest and her eyes narrowed. "You can't possibly be serious. Brittany was in love with you, not me. She needed to hear this from you, not me. Don't try to turn it around. You spent so much time worrying about hurting your two best friends with your feelings, and guess what, the moment has arrived. You need to un-fuck this with Brittany, and you need to figure out why you couldn't bring yourself to tell her something that you claimed was the best thing that ever happened to you."

"You are the best th-"

Quinn silences me with her hand and continues.

"Just don't right now. I love you, and I want to marry you, but this fucking hurts, Santana. I've done my best to be supportive of your friendship with Britt and I have trusted that you chose me, but this feels like you chose her. You chose to protect her feelings over being proud to be with me, and that sucks on a level that I can't even get my mind around. I think you should call Brittany. I'm going over to Rachel's. Please just give me some time and space."

I close my eyes when Quinn leans forward and kisses my cheek sharply, almost as if it's an obligation and not a choice. She grabs a jacket and her purse without another word, and leaves me leaning against the couch.

The weight on my chest feels all encompassing, as if it's crushing every bit of me. I knew deep in my heart that I'd chosen the worst possible way of going about this when we sent the invitations out, but Quinn is right, I was a coward about it. I figured Brittany would hear it from someone at some point, even if she has inexplicably abandoned all social media.

I pull out my phone and stare at it, my stomach doing little flips. It's eerily reminiscent of the moment before I called her to tell her Quinn and I were dating, just about three years ago.

April 2014

I swallow nervously as the phone rings and glance at Quinn, who is studying me intently. She has gently insisted, yet again, that I tell Brittany that we're dating. I'm out of excuses at this point. It's not that I'm not proud of being with Q, it's just that I'd rather stab myself than cause Britt any pain. Somehow I'm certain that the news I'm about to tell her will not go over well.

"Hi Sanny!" Brittany answers brightly.

"Hey B! How are you?" My voice is too high pitched to sound natural and I wince at the sound of it. Quinn cringes too, then gets up to give me some space. I watch her walk away, feeling guilty that I'm having such a hard time with this.

"Umm, I'm okay. Are you okay? You sound…off."

"No, I'm…I'm good, actually. I just, um…I have something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh. Well fire away, I'm all ears."

I breathe deeply and close my eyes.

"So…you know how we talked about me coming out here and chasing my dreams, maybe finding someone new?"

"Yeah…" I have known this girl since I was 5 years old. I know her voice. And I know she's afraid of what I'm going to say next.

"Well, I've met someone, Britt. I'm…it's…it's pretty serious. I just didn't want you to hear from someone else or something."

I hear shallow breathing on the line, but Brittany hasn't said a word. I wait, uncertain of what I should say.

"Who is she?"

"What?" I heard her, but for some reason I stall, not ready yet to say what I really need to say.

"Who is she? Where did you meet her?" Brittany tumbles out questions in a quiet voice.

"Umm. It's uh…actually it's funny you should ask that…because it's kind of an unexpect-"

"Santana. Who. Is. She."

My heart breaks, because it's clear now. Brittany is upset, and it's about to be so much worse.

"It's Quinn, B. I'm in love with Quinn."

Absolute silence. Not even breathing.

"I'm sorry, Quinn? As in…Quinn Fabray? As in…head cheerio, had a baby at 16, temporarily Artie-ed, our other BEST FRIEND, Quinn?"

My voice shakes when I respond. "Yes. That Quinn."

"You have to be kidding me, Santana. Quinn?! When…how?"

"We got together about a month ago and things just…fell into place."

"But…HOW? Quinn is less gay than I am. You can't honestly think she's going to last in a lesbian relationship, she cares way too much what people think. More than you even did before you came out. You know this, Santana." Brittany's voice is harsh as she chastises me and I feel a flash of anger burn up my guilt for a moment.

"Look, she's serious about us, Brittany. I know this is a lot to-"

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not patronizing you, B. I'm just trying to be honest with you. You told me to get a real girlfriend and I did, but you're still my best friend!"

"I didn't think you'd get with QUINN, Santana! I wanted you to be able to chase your dreams, not fall into bed with someone from Lima who wants to know if you're everything I always said you were. She's not a real girlfriend, she's just…Quinn."

My mouth opens and closes in shock. Q peeks around the corner and catches my eye at that moment and I know she can see in my face that this is not going well.

"Britt…I love her," I finally say in a quiet voice.

"Of course you do, Sanny. She's our friend. But that's all she is, that's all she can be. Honestly, I'm kind of pissed at her for messing with your head."

"DAMN IT, Brittany! This isn't a game! We're together. It's real. She loves me, too. You need to accept this if we're going to be okay, and I love you too much to lose you. Please just listen to me. Quinn and I are dating. We're in love."

The beat that follows feels heavy, like a moment weighed with the most important things we've ever said to one another.

"You told me…you said you'd always love me the most, Santana. You said that."

I feel tears well up in my eyes at the hurt in my best friend's voice. Quinn sits down next to me and takes my free hand, her eyes full of concern.

"I know, Britt. And I do love you. You are still my best friend."

Brittany scoffs in disbelief. "Is she with you now?"

I glance up at Q and consider lying. "Yes, she is."

"Let me talk to her."

Quinn is reading my expression, surely seeing the trepidation that has graced my features at Britt's quiet demand. I put the call on speaker and look at my girlfriend with a nervous, apologetic shrug. She immediately takes the hint.

"Hey Britt," she says lightly.

"Quinn." Brittany responds, her tone clipped and short. "I…I don't even know what to say to you. How…Jesus Christ, Quinn…how could you?"

My eyes snap to my girlfriend's face and I open my mouth to jump in, but Quinn squeezes my hand and shakes her head.

"It's not something we planned, Britt. I'm just in love with her, I can't help it."

"And what about me? Did you forget about your friend who has been in love with Santana for longer than you've even known her? Did you even consider what this would do to me?"

Quinn closes her eyes and bites her lip for a second, then draws a shaky breath.

"Honestly, B? I did think about you. I had feelings for Santana for a long time and kept it to myself for you both. I wanted you to be happy. But you guys broke up and you moved on with Sam. You can't be mad at us for finding each other after that happened."

"She's mine, Quinn. You know that in your heart. We're meant to be. You just can't compete with that."

I turn the speakerphone off and snatch the phone up to my ear. My girlfriend looks devastated.

"Brittany, I love you, but you are way out of line. You can't decide to claim me a year after you told me to move on. Please don't do this, okay? I know this is hard but we're best friends. I need you."

"Right now I don't think I can be your friend, San. I'm sorry, but this is just…this is crazy. I'm going to need a lot of time to process this and try to forgive Quinn for doing this."

"You don't need to forgive Quinn for anything, this isn't her fault. I fell in love with her first, a long time ago. I wrote "Cop Car" about her, Britt. Nothing happened until after you and I broke up, but she didn't start this, I did. So if one of us needs forgiving, it's me."

I can hear Brittany sniffling on the other end and I feel like dying.

"Well then I need time to forgive you, Santana. I'm going to do my best, but…I don't know. This is worse than when we broke up, to be honest. I'll always love you. Bye, San."

"Br-"

The line is cut off and I sit with the phone at my ear for a long moment before I accept that she really just hung up on me, that she doesn't want to talk to me. My arms feel heavy. I can hear my blood rushing in my ears. It's so loud.

Quinn brushes her thumbs over my wet cheeks and tilts my face up so she can look at me. I don't know what she sees, but she gently brings her lips to mine and then pulls me close, cradling my head against her chest. It feels like she's shaking, but then I realize with a start that her body is shaking from the force of my own sobbing.

I just lost my best friend.

December 2014

I'm lugging my tired body up the staircase to the loft, having spent the last hour working my ass off at the gym. There's this creepy ass bitch who keeps leering at me in the showers there, so I decided to just leave and shower at home. I put sweats on over my soaked gym clothes, but the trip home has still been exceedingly cold. All I want to do is get in a hot ass shower and relax, then maybe see if Quinn wants to come over since she finished her last final today.

As soon as I slide the loft door open, I know all of my plans for the night are dashed. Sitting on my couch, chatting with Hummelberry, is Brittany S. Pierce. She looks up at me immediately, and I feel the air leave my lungs.

"Hi San," she says softly, standing up as I walk in and slide the door closed.

"Hi Britt." I walk slowly into the room, uncertain as to what the hell is going on.

Brittany looks down at her hands and twists her fingers together before looking back up at me. She seems kind of nervous.

"I um…I miss you, Santana. And I miss Quinn, too. I decided to come down and tell you both face to face that I am so, so glad that you are happy together. And that I'm sorry for being so upset when you first told me. So…can we be friends again?"

I walk over and stand right in front of her, our eyes trained on one another.

"No, Britt. We can't be friends 'again.' We're best friends, and we never stopped being best friends," I tell her earnestly.

The familiar squeal that precedes Brittany wrapping me in a bear hug actually warms my heart, and I squeeze her back with all I have in me.

"I missed you too, B. Thanks for forgiving me."

Brittany shakes her head at me. "I didn't need to forgive you, San. Quinn was right, it wasn't fair of me to be angry. I just…I was really lonely and homesick and we had finally started to get close again. I needed to let go and let you be happy, and I've finally done that."

We hug again for a long moment.

"So, can you call Quinn? I want to apologize to her, too. I need her to know that I support you guys." Brittany asks quietly.

I grin broadly and pull out my phone.

September 2016

I'm searching the internet for engagement ring ideas while Quinn is out shopping with Kurt. The selection is so incredibly overwhelming, and I keep unsuccessfully wracking my brain for any hint Quinn may have dropped about what type of ring she'd like. I groan in frustration just as my phone starts ringing with Brittany's ring tone.

"Hey Britt Britt. What's up?"

"Hi Sanny! Nothing much, just wanted to check in and see how things are going."

"Welllll, I'm actually looking for an engagement ring for Quinn right now. I'm going to ask her to marry me!"

"Whoa. Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'm going to ask Kurt to go ring shopping with me this weekend. I'm so excited, Britt. I mean, I'm nervous, but…I'm ready. And I think she is, too."

"Wow. I didn't realize you were…um…that's great, San. Listen, I gotta run though."

The change in Brittany's tone grabs my attention. Something is very, very off.

"Wait, Britt, what's wrong?"

"Nothing! I just…forgot to, um…wash my hair. So I've got to do that. Now. I'll call you soon."

"Britt-"

"Bye, San."

I stare at my phone for a minute after the line goes dead, in complete shock. It's been nearly two years since she came all the way to New York just to spend time with me and Quinn in hopes of repairing our damaged friendships. Since then, Brittany has visited us, stayed in our apartment with us, gone on vacation with us. She even Skyped with us when we were naked in bed once, although she didn't know it. Britt, of all people, knows how serious we are about our relationship. I can't believe she is reacting so badly to us possibly getting engaged.

"Babe, I'm home! I brought dinner back with me too."

I push Britt's weird reaction to the back of my mind instantly at the sound of Quinn's voice.

"Great, I'll be right out!" I quickly close the browser and delete the search history, then walk out to find my girlfriend taking to-go tins out of a paper bag. I wrap my arms around her waist and press against her back, then kiss her neck softly, smiling when she giggles and scrunches her shoulders up.

Quinn turns in my arms and crosses her wrists behind my neck, pulling me closer for an unhurried, sweet kiss.

"What have you been up to while I was out?" she asks before placing quick kisses along my jaw and nibbling gently at my earlobe.

I shiver slightly and grin, grabbing the back of Quinn's thighs and picking her up onto the counter in one smooth motion. I smirk up at her as I unbutton her shirt slowly, then answer her between the kisses I place along the newly exposed skin.

"I've been…thinking…about…touching…you."

"Oh yeah? Where?" Quinn's husky sex voice never fails to turn me on even more.

I lean up into a passionate kiss and whisper against her lips.

"Everywhere."

I finally find the courage to hit the call button, then hold my breath as the phone rings. Part of me prays she doesn't answer, because I'm too ashamed to even talk to her.

"Santana."

"Hi, Britt."

"I know why you're calling."

I feel like throwing up.

"I'm sorry, B. I really am. It was an asshole thing to do."

"Yeah."

"I thought…I mean, it seemed like you weren't too happy about it, so I didn't know what to tell you."

I hear a deep sigh on the other end.

"Look San, I know I was weird when you said you were going to ask Quinn. But I just needed a minute, that's all. Then you don't ever mention it again and bam! I get an invitation to your wedding. We're supposed to be best friends and you didn't even tell me you got engaged. Worse, you just send me an invite, like I'm just another person in your life. I don't want to sound rude, but if two of my best friends are getting married, I kind of figured I'd be in the wedding party."

"I want you to be! You're my best friend, I want you to be next to me when Quinn and I get married. I just…I don't want to hurt you, Britt. I feel like no matter what I do, I'm hurting you."

"We're not in high school anymore, Santana. You can't keep trying to shield me from everything that hurts. It took me a long time to realize that really loving you meant letting you be happy, even if someone else gets to have you. I want to come to your wedding, Sanny. I only replied no because I knew it would force you to talk to me."

I sigh as my eyes fill with tears. I've been such a moron about this.

"So you'll come?"

"Of course."

"And you'll be my Best Lady?"

"You better believe it."

"I love you Britt, thank you. And I'm so sorry, again."

"You're forgiven, and I love you too." I can hear the smile back in Britt's voice and it relieves some of the weight that's crushing down on me until I remember Quinn.

"Quinn is pretty upset with me about this, B. I really screwed up."

"So go fix it, dope. And tell her I said congratulations. She's going to be a beautiful bride."

"Yeah, she is. I'll call you soon. We need to go dress shopping. Maybe I can come to LA."

"Let me know. I can't wait. Bye San."

"Bye, Britt Britt."

Quinn walks into our apartment well over an hour after I sent her a text asking her to come home. She looks at me warily, as if she's afraid that once one of us speaks the fight will begin. I decide that I need to just dive into it, so I immediately begin apologizing.

"I am sorry, Quinn. What I did was…childish and immature, and unfair to both you and Brittany. I was an idiot."

A slight shrug is all I get in response. Q is angled slightly away from me, her eyes on her forefinger tracing patterns on the countertop.

"Brittany told me to tell you congratulations, by the way. She's coming to the wedding, and she agreed to be my Best Lady."

This revelation finally earns me some eye contact, hazel eyes meeting mine, but Quinn remains silent.

"She also said you're going to make a beautiful bride, a sentiment that I couldn't agree with more," I offer quietly into the pronounced silence between us. I wait, hoping she'll speak, but once again receive no response. I slowly walk to the other side of the island countertop she's leaning on. "Quinn, talk to me, please."

My fiancée sighs deeply. "I appreciate your apology, Santana, I do. And I love you. I'm just still kind of pissed, but I am glad you worked things out with Brittany. Thank you for doing that."

I bite my lip so hard it hurts, unsure of what to say.

"What can I do, babe? How can I make this better? I've already apologized." I ask, my palms to the sky. My frustration colors my voice, and I know before I finish speaking that I've just poked a bear, but I'm surprised when Quinn doesn't snap at me. Instead she sighs and responds in a soft, resigned voice that makes my heart ache.

"You don't get to be annoyed with me, San. You put Brittany before me. You'd be hurt too, if you were me."

I run my hand through my hair and look down. "You're right. I'm-"

"Sorry. Yeah, I know."

Quinn's arms are folded protectively over her chest and she looks pointedly away from me. I know this woman, this is about more than me not telling Britt we were engaged. I walk around the island and gently put a hand on her arm. "Honey I can't fix this if you won't tell me what's really hurting you. Please talk to me."

My chest constricts when her full lower lip quivers and she draws in shaky breath as she brings her eyes to mine. "I know it's stupid, but...I can't stop thinking that maybe you still…you're still in…"

She can't finish her sentence, but I put the pieces together quickly, my eyes widening as I realize what she's thinking.

You're still in love with Brittany.

"Quinn, NO. Listen to me, baby, please. I'm in love with you. Only you. Okay? I told you, I'm always going to love Brittany, she's my best friend. But you are it for me, Quinn Fabray, the only one I want. You know that right?" I'm relieved when she starts nodding. I can't believe I've made her doubt that she's the one I want.

I cup her beautiful face in my hands and bring my mouth to hers to give her the softest kiss imaginable. I need her to feel my love, I need her to know for certain that she's my everything. After a moment she kisses me back, her lips move tentatively at first but quickly become more insistent. I begin to lean back, but Quinn follows me to keep her mouth on mine, her hands sliding up my back to hold me in place. I smile into her lips as I press myself firmly against her body. I love Quinn's bossy kisses.

She finally breaks the kiss and leans her forehead against mine. "I love you, Santana," she says simply.

"I love you too, Q. Forever and ever." I sneak a quick peck to her lips to punctuate my point.

A million dollar smile spreads across her perfect face as she reaches down to grab the hem of my shirt and pull it off of me in one smooth motion. Her mouth immediately moves to the top of my breast, pushed up by my silky black bra. She nips my skin gently, then sucks down hard, drawing a shocked gasp from my mouth. Quinn straightens up and smirks at me before moving her lips to my neck, where she licks and kisses my skin before again sucking down hard. I pull back this time and look at her incredulously.

"Seriously? Hickeys? What are we, 14 years old?"

Q tosses her head back and laughs at my exasperation, a grin on her face when she says, "Just marking what's mine, that's all."

I reach out quickly and grab the top of her jeans, pulling her closer to me. I fiddle with the button and slowly slide down her zipper as I look into her eyes.

"Is that so? Well in that case…" I hook a finger in the top of her underwear and run it back and forth along her skin, smiling lightly at the change in her breathing. "I guess I better pee on your leg to make sure everyone knows you're mine."

Quinn laughs as she pushes me away from her, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "You're so gross, Santana."

I grin broadly and shrug. "Maybe so, but it would be an effective way to keep anyone else from ever touching you again."

"Would it keep you from touching me again, too?" I know that tone all too well. My fiancée is kicking off her shoes and pulling her shirt off as she walks slowly towards the bedroom. I follow behind, undoing my jeans as I walk.

"Literally nothing in this world could stop me from touching you, Q. Touching you is my favorite thing in the whole world, kind of a major weakness of mine, actually." I round the corner into our room and find Quinn facing me, sliding her pants down her legs. Our closet doors behind her are full length mirrors, and I watch her ass in the reflection as she bends over.

I can hear the smirk in her sexy voice when she climbs onto our bed and turns to look at me.

"Prove it."