IV.
If Santana was giddy with excitement, it was nothing compared to how Brittany must have been feeling. That girl never hid her emotions and if her bright eyes, giant grin and outstretched arm anxiously dragging Santana's own was anything to go by, Santana knew she was in for a ride.
This was nothing new though; having Brittany Susan Pierce for a girlfriend meant you had to be prepared for a new adventure every single second. From daring swordfights with the town ogre (otherwise known as Finn Hudson) and being knighted by the king (Brittany had no competition in the presidential race; there was no doubt about it) to climbing to the highest heights (Ok, so perhaps Santana kept her eyes closed the whole time on the rollercoaster, but she'd admit it to no one) and releasing unicorns from the captures of evil beings (at least Lady Hummel wasn't a princess stuck in a frog's body; she did not want to see Brittany's lips near anyone else's other than her own). Of course her favourite adventure was when her knightess in shining armor saved her, the damsel in distress. Though their fairytale had its share of villains and magic spells gone wrong, not to mention the fact that the fairytale was yet to end, she already knew how it'd pan out; happily ever after, of course!
Santana had to admit that this week's adventure wasn't her favourite. In a lot of their previous adventures, Brittany and Santana had been a team. Even if the plot revolved around only one of them, the other was nearby, ready to jump in to lend a hand. Though Brittany was there the whole week, and really doing her best, Santana felt that they were out of touch and not on the same page. The dreaded 'future' had been brought up, and Santana was forced to think about what she was going to do after leaving the halls of McKinley High. This somehow lead to (and Santana cannot, for the life of her, figure out how) publically serenading Brittany in her mom's disco jumpsuit, the leakage of a private tape, judgmental sideways glances and the accidental blockage of a school toilet by means of bull testicle. To top this all off, she had somehow received a college scholarship without having to do anything herself. The only answer Santana could give to the copious amount of questions swimming in her head was Brittany.
Santana now finds herself seated in her usual booth at Breadstix, bemused at her girlfriend who looks utterly insane. She's beaming from ear to ear, and jittering with restlessness. When Jill arrives with the usual menus and bucket of breadsticks, Brittany actually yells, "THANKS JILL! CAN WE GET A PAIL OF WATER AS WELL? BUT BE CAREFUL NOT TO TUMBLE AFTER JACK!", startling the other patrons and Santana. Jill, used to the antics of the two girls, just shakes her head and walks away.
"Britt? Honey? You alright there? You're starting to worry me," Santana asks, concerned.
Brittany jerks her head around, her hair barely missing the breadsticks, upright in their tin. "Yes! Good I am! I mean, I'm good. What's taking Jill so long with our H2O? I bet she's broken Jack's crown," Brittany says in what can only be described as complete and utter word vomit.
"Have you taken your meds today, babe?"
"Lord Tubbington's hidden them all," Brittany deadpans.
Santana chuckles to herself and takes both of Brittany's hands in her own, and uses the pads of her thumbs to rub calming circles into the back of Brittany's hands. "How I got stuck with such a doofus, I'll never know. Let's take a deep breath here Britt. What's got you like this? We only just left school an hour ago,"
The touch of Santana's hands on hers seemed to soothe Brittany. She relaxes her shoulders, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When she opens them again, her eyes shine with adoration, causing Santana to melt. "I'm just really proud, Santana, like irrationally proud. My girl is going to college. She's all grown up and going to be the biggest badass on campus. My girl!" Brittany emphasizes the last two words, as if she had to make sure Santana understood the meaning behind them.
The word 'college' gave Santana a funny feeling in her stomach (a different feeling to the words 'my girl'). As much as the thought of moving out of Lima and leaving behind all the baggage that came with it thrilled and excited Santana, the nervousness she felt at the sheer thought of it was overwhelming. In addition, she still wasn't one hundred percent sure if that was what she wanted to do. Still, it was nice knowing that she had something lined up for her after high school. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for the person sitting right in front of her. "And I have you to thank. I still can't believe you got me a scholarship. I mean, how?"
"Well, after using some good old reverse psychology-"
"Reverse psychology?"
"Well, yeah. Hoarders, Fear Factor. All that fame,"
Santana suddenly felt very warm as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Oh, yes, right. Please continue," Santana says, eager to change the topic.
"Well, I just knew that you were so much better than that. And smarter. That's why I thought about applying for a college scholarship for you. That's where Coach Sue came in. She helped write up a referral letter and helped me fill out some of the forms. Coach was actually really supportive about it all. Must have been the baby hormones. I forged your signature, and wrote a few words about how you've become the brave person that you are now," Brittany smiles abashedly, "miracles can happen when you're doing something for the person you love, you know?"
Santana then felt even warmer than before, along with a slight tug at her heart. Though Brittany's methods could be considered unorthodox, they were just that, Brittany's methods.
"Wow, I love you so much. I'm never going to get tired from saying that,"
"And I'm never going to get tired from hearing it," Brittany says as she lifts Santana's hands and places a delicate kiss on both of them. Right at that moment, Jill appears, with a jug of water and ready with a small notepad and pencil.
"Alright lovebirds," (Santana and Brittany blush), "ready to order?"
"Just the usual thanks Jill," Santana replies, "you really don't need to bring us any menus anymore, we never use them," she adds as an afterthought.
"So two chicken salads and a bowl of fries to share?" Jill scribbles onto her notepad.
"Actually Santana, let's do something different," Santana looks to Brittany, her head cocked to the side in confusion, "we have to get something different. We're celebrating! Hey Jill, did you know Santana got a full scholarship to the University of Louisville?"
"No I didn't. Well done sweetie! That's so great!"
Santana gives Jill a small smile, but turns to Brittany. "It was all Brittany. She's the one who got me the scholarship. What did you want to get instead Britt-Britt?"
"Let's get the seafood platter!" Brittany states, closing her menu, her decision final.
"Can we even afford that Britt?" Santana whispers.
"Of course, Santana, anything for you," Brittany says as she pats Santana's arm. She passes Jill the menus and pours a drink for herself and Santana.
Shortly after, their seafood platter arrives; lobsters placed in the centre, surrounded by a ring of fresh prawns and oysters, topped off with deep fried calamari rings. Brittany squeals in delight and claps her hands. Santana is slightly overwhelmed by of the amount of food presented to her, but can't help but laugh at Brittany's reaction. They tuck in hungrily into their food, Santana struggling to pull the meat off the lobster shell and Brittany automatically reaching for the prawns. They're eating in comfortable silence when Brittany nudges Santana's knee under the table.
"Did you know oysters are afro discos?" Brittany says knowingly as she slurps down an oyster.
"Aphrodisiacs honey," Santana automatically corrects, "oysters are such ugly things," she takes one and looks at it closer, but quickly eats it instead.
"Aphrodisiacs are supposed to turn you on," Brittany purrs, her foot stroking Santana's leg.
Santana giggles like a little child. "Stop it Brittany, not now! You're tickling me!" Brittany smiles as if her mission is accomplished and takes a calamari ring.
"Santana, give me your hand," Brittany takes Santana's hand and slips the calamari ring onto Santana's finger, "I promise to get you nicer ring in the future, but for now, this will have to do,"
Santana looks down at her hand, the large calamari ring hanging off her ring finger. She opens and closes her mouth, unsure of what to say to Brittany. "Did you just propose to me Britt?" Santana says quietly, her eyes still fixed on her hand.
"Yes. I mean no. I mean sorta. It's more of a promise. It doesn't mean anything now. Well, I guess it could if you wanted it to, but really I was just joking around. But I sorta wasn't-" Brittany gushes until Santana puts another calamari ring onto Brittany's finger.
"Britt, it's perfect. And I promise to get you a better one in the future as well," Brittany's face radiates with happiness and kneels up onto her seat so that she can reach forward and give Santana a kiss. Santana sighs into the kiss as she feels Brittany mouth form into a smile. They're quickly interrupted by a small cough, and they break apart to see Jill standing over them, smirking.
"Girls, this one's on me. Just thought we should celebrate Santana's college scholarship,"
"Strawberry milkshake!" Brittany exclaims.
"Curly straws!" Santana shrieks. She quickly closes her mouth and looks from Brittany to Jill. "Did I just say that aloud?"
"How I got stuck with such a doofus, I'll never know" Brittany chuckles, "Thanks a lot Jill, we owe you one!"
They take a straw each and sip quietly on their milkshake, their foreheads touching, as are their hands on top of the table and their knees underneath. They silently play-fight with their straws as they drink and a few quiet laughs escape their mouths. Finally Santana sits back up and pats her stomach.
"Wow, I am so full right now, I don't want to ever move. I just want to sit here all day," Santana closes her eyes and leans her head back onto the side of the booth. Brittany continues drinking the rest of the milkshake, the slurping sound announcing that she's finished.
"Hey," Santana says shyly.
"Hi," Brittany replies as she takes a straw and pokes out her tongue, ready to lick it clean.
"Britt, what are you going to do after high school?"
Brittany stops licking her straw, and looks at Santana. She sits and doesn't look Santana directly in the eyes. "I was talking to Coach about Perdue..."
"Purdue? That's great! I could totally help you with the applications. It's the least I could do,"
Brittany suddenly looks sad, but tries to hide it with a smile. She thinks she must be somewhat successful as Santana smiles back. "Thanks Santana. That's really nice of you. But you know what, let's talk about this later. It's your day today,"
This doesn't seem to satisfy Santana, but she cooperates regardless. "I don't think I could do anything more today. I don't know if I can get out of my seat," Santana groans as she takes a lot of effort to sit up.
"I hope you're not too full, I've got more surprises for you,"
"More surprises? Gosh Brittany, you really don't have to. You've done so much for me this week,"
Brittany gets up and pulls on Santana's arms, forcing Santana to stand up as well. "I think I can feel those oysters kicking in," Brittany says with a wink.
If she thought she felt warm before, it's nothing compared to what she feels now, she thinks as she raises her hands to hide the blush forming on her cheeks.