Santana is sitting nervously at a table in a completely unknown restaurant to her. She's never been there before because it's quite a distance away from where she lives so she's never had a reason to go there. She's really hoping she's actually at the correct place because Brittany was supposed to be here half an hour ago and she isn't. This is supposed to be their first date so Santana is nervous enough about being on a date never mind worrying about whether she has the location wrong. Not only has Brittany planned the whole date so Santana isn't surprised she doesn't know the restaurant but also Brittany wanted to go somewhere where people didn't know them so that makes her even more unsure of whether this is the right place.
After another 15 minutes of waiting and constantly looking around or checking her watch, Santana decides to just leave. It seems clear to her that Brittany can't be coming anymore so she doesn't want to humiliate herself anymore. She snatches her purse from the table and abruptly pushes her chair out with some force. She's in no mood to be graceful right now because she's pissed off that she's been left sitting there like an idiot on her own. She places some money on the table to pay for the drink she's had while she's been waiting, before beginning to walk away.
"Hey, are you leaving?" Brittany asks surprised as she rushes over to the table.
"Yeah, this was a mistake" Santana sighs.
"What do you mean?" Brittany asks confused.
"We shouldn't be on a date Brittany. I mean we've been kidding ourselves that something like this could really work" Santana shrugs.
"This can work Santana, honestly" Brittany smiles.
"You are over 45 minutes late, Brittany" Santana shakes her head. "That is not the way I want to start things off with someone I really like. I really like you Brittany but I can't start things with you if I'm going to continue to be disappointed. I'm too old for messing around now. I want someone I can be serious with and this so far doesn't look like it."
"You're blowing this whole thing out of proportion" Brittany shakes her head. "I am so sorry I'm late but this one accident does not define our future. I mean if I really wasn't going to turn up here then I wouldn't have reserved a table. I'd have told you to just meet me here, wouldn't I?"
"Ok, fair enough" Santana sighs.
"Look, let's sit down and get a drink and I can tell you all about the reason I was late" Brittany suggests.
"Ok" Santana nods.
"I really am sorry" Brittany says sincerely before gently kissing Santana's cheek.
"O-k" Santana says nervously while blushing slightly. She's starting to get shy around Brittany now that they're getting closer again.
"Let me get your chair" Brittany says while pulling out Santana's chair for her.
"Thanks" Santana says smiling slightly. She's getting really nervous now around Brittany.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're extremely cute when you're nervous?" Brittany asks with a smile. She finds it very endearing that Santana is nervous right now.
"No I guess they haven't" Santana replies. "Anyway the waiter is making his way over here so let's just order a drink and look at the menus" she adds.
"Ok" Brittany smiles. Once the waiter comes over they order their drinks and look over the menu before ordering what they want.
"So why were you late?" Santana asks curiously.
"My mom had an appointment at the hospital but she kept it a secret because she didn't want to worries us all but we found out so my dad, sister and I all went to the appointment with her" Brittany replies.
"I'm so sorry for thinking the worst" Santana says feeling bad.
"It's my fault because I should have dropped you a text or something so I'm sorry for making you think I wasn't coming" Brittany replies.
"You don't need to apologise because I know the history with your mom so I don't blame you for putting her first" Santana smiles. "Was everything ok at the hospital?" she asks in concern.
"Yeah it was just a routine check-up so she wasn't going to say anything because we always panic when she goes to the hospital but after we found out, we were insistent to go anyway to make sure everything was ok" Brittany tells her.
"I'm glad it was good news" Santana smiles.
"Me too, you have no idea" Brittany says breathing a sigh of relief. This just solidifies how much Santana likes her because her family means the world to her too so she gets how Brittany feels. "Anyway enough about my family, this date is about you and I" she smiles.
"It is" Santana nods.
"So what have you been up to today besides being your awesome self of course" Brittany smiles.
"Just working I guess" Santana replies. "I live a very boring life" she shrugs.
"Well good thing I'm in it now and I can spice things up" Brittany smirks.
"Uh…yeah" Santana says looking away.
A silence fills the air around them for a few moments so Brittany is so relieved when their food is brought over. She hates silences so she usually talks all night if she has to to prevent an awkward silence but tonight with Santana is different. She really likes Santana so she doesn't want her to get bored of her non-stop chatting. Plus she's getting the feeling that Santana isn't in a conversational mood either. At least with the food here now then she figures they can focus on eating and deal with the awkward silence later. However after 5 minutes of silence, Brittany can't take it anymore.
"Are you ok?" Brittany asks in concern.
"Yeah" Santana nods, putting on her best fake smile. It doesn't seem to convince Brittany though.
"If this is about me being late then I really am sorry. I'm not going to make a habit or turning up late all the time if that's what you're worried about" Brittany tells Santana honestly.
"It's not that" Santana shakes her head.
"But there is something?" Brittany probes.
"Yeah but it's my thing, it's not you" Santana assures her.
"Ok so what's going on?" Brittany asks curiously.
"I don't know what to say to you" Santana shrugs. Usually on first dates she would get to know the person but this is different since she already knows Brittany. She doesn't know how to act around her because they're already somewhat friends so she doesn't know whether to just lead with that and catch up with Brittany or if she should be doing something else. I mean this is a first date so maybe things should be a little more romantic than friendly.
"I didn't have you down as someone who wasn't good with conversation or being around other people" Brittany replies. Santana's job does involve working with people so she's a little surprised at this.
"I'm good with people because of my job but when it comes to my private life everything changes. I mean with my clients I see them for a little while and then not again whereas in my personal life I sort of have to see them all the time so I need to know they like me" Santana admits.
"I do really like you" Brittany smiles.
"I know but who's to say I won't mess things up and then you don't like me" Santana replies. "I'm just nervous and uptight I guess because I really want this to go well but at the same time I don't want to do or say something to put you off because we already know each other a little bit."
"Let's start from the beginning then. We've just met ok" Brittany smiles.
"Ok" Santana laughs.
"I'm serious" Brittany smiles. "Hi, I'm Brittany" she says while holding her hand out to Santana.
"Santana" Santana replies while shaking Brittany's hand.
"So what is it you do Santana?" Brittany asks as they retract their hands.
"I'm a wedding planner" Santana smiles.
"So do you get to check out all the hot brides all the time?" Brittany asks smirking.
"No I don't" Santana laughs.
"Would you rather just check me out?" Brittany teases.
"Brittany, come on" Santana rolls her eyes. "You know I'm nervous enough tonight so don't say things like that to me."
"Not even if they could be true" Brittany smirks.
"I like you Brittany, I like you more than I have ever liked someone in a really long time so please don't make this hard for me. I need to know this is going to be ok before I can laugh and joke" Santana says seriously.
"Ok, I'm sorry" Brittany says genuinely. "I really like you too so I'm going to make sure this works" she assures Santana.
"Ok, good" Santana nods.
XXXXXXXX
After having a nice meal together, they split the check before heading outside to get a cab home. Since they were a bit of a distance from home then they figured they'd share a cab and get to talk some more on the ride. Brittany is now walking Santana to the entrance to her apartment building.
"I had a really fun time tonight" Santana smiles.
"I did too" Brittany smiles back. "We should definitely do it again sometime" she adds.
"Yeah we should" Santana nods in agreement. "I'm sorry for being a bit weird at the beginning of dinner, I was just really nervous" she says turning to face Brittany.
"Honestly don't even let it bother you" Brittany smiles. "I actually found it really cute plus it means you care if it means a lot to you, you know?" she shrugs.
"I don't want to scare you away but I also don't want to pretend I'm looking for something else from this. I'm not going to lie, I don't want to just date people anymore. I want to get something out of this so if you aren't looking for something serious then I'm not the girl for you" Santana admits.
"I know I've just gotten out of a 'relationship' of sorts with Rachel but my feelings for her disappeared a long time ago so I am ready to move on, more than ready actually" Brittany smiles.
"We can't rush in though at the same time, we need to tread carefully and do things right" Santana states.
"We will" Brittany nods. "I've got a bit of a busy work schedule the next few days but how about we have dinner together on Thursday?" she suggests.
"Sounds like a plan" Santana smiles.
"Excellent, I'll see you on Thursday" Brittany says before kissing Santana's cheek. She doesn't want to push things since Santana was quite nervous tonight so she'll kiss her properly on Thursday.
"See you then" Santana says happily.
"I can't promise I won't text you before then though" Brittany smirks as she walks away.
"Ok" Santana laughs.
"Goodnight Santana Lopez" Brittany winks.
"Goodnight Brittany" Santana smiles. She watches Brittany walk away before skipping upstairs to her apartment. She was nervous tonight but at the same time she really enjoyed having dinner with Brittany.
Santana has only had one date with Brittany so far but she is in a really happy place right now. She and Brittany have been texting a lot recently and it's somewhat settled the nerves she had the other night. It's also made her a much happier person at work which has thrown her colleagues for a loop.
Brittany, on the other hand, hasn't been having such a great time. She is really liking where she and Santana are going but before she can really enjoy herself, she has to clear up a few things with the Berry's. She and her dad have went to talk to Mr Berry to see how to proceed with the joint business venture and Brittany isn't expecting things to go smoothly.
"She has destroyed my daughter so there is no way I want to continue working with you" Mr Berry states.
"I never meant to hurt Rachel, you have to know that" Brittany says trying to assure them. "You should really be speaking to Matt about all of this" she adds, looking over at Matthew.
"You keep trying to blame him but what you're saying about Matt is wrong. Just admit you strung my daughter along and broke her heart" Mr Berry says shaking his head.
"Excuse me, don't talk to my daughter like that. She is telling the truth so I would speak to your son first about all of this before putting everything on Brittany. She did what she thought was best in the horrible situation she was in" Brittany's dad replies.
"I haven't done anything wrong" Matthew states.
"You might fool your dad but you don't fool me" Mr Pierce says glaring at Matthew.
"This is going nowhere" Brittany says in frustration while shaking her head. "Look can we please sort all this out and you never need to see us again" she says.
"There's not much to sort out here. The paperwork for our joint business plan is all in my name so it's all rightfully mine" Mr Berry states.
"So since I hurt your daughter, you're going to leave my dad with nothing?" Brittany questions. "What I did is not my dad's fault and how Rachel feels is nothing to do with business either so what you're doing isn't fair" she adds. Rachel and Brittany are nothing to do with their dad's business so she doesn't see why others should pay for her mistakes.
"You and your family are only getting what they deserve" Mr Berry shrugs.
"My dad had nothing to do with what I did. You can't punish him for that" Brittany sighs in annoyance.
"Brittany just leave it sweetheart" her dad says. "I don't want their money anyway because they've probably made half of it illegally anyway" he shrugs. He knows it's probably not true but if they can say what they want to Brittany then he can be just as nasty back.
"You earned half of it though" Brittany says feeling bad. She knew this would likely happen but it doesn't make her feel any better.
"Honestly, it's not worth it Brittany" Mr Pierce smiles. "Let's just go home and leave them to their miserable life. I mean it must be that miserable if they'd rather have money than family."
"Ok, fine" Brittany says while standing up and following her dad towards the door. "Don't say I didn't warn any of you about Matt. He'll bring your business down or even take it right from under you" she states.
"I think I know my son thank you very much" Mr Berry states.
"You really don't but anyway, I'm not staying to argue about that" Brittany says before she and her dad leave. "I'm really sorry dad for doing this to you" she apologises as they get into the car.
"None of this is your fault so don't let it worry you" her dad smiles. "It's not an ideal situation but I will make it work so don't worry about the business because it'll be fine."
"I can try and give you some money from my business" Brittany replies.
"No don't be silly. I don't need you to give me money" her dad assures her. "The business will be fine plus that sum of money that Santana gave us will tide us over for the moment if we come into any financial issues. I promise you though, none of this is your fault so you don't need to help us out."
"I just…"
"Honestly Brittany, there was no other way this could all go so you're not to blame. I actually admire you for going to all those lengths to try to prevent anyone from getting hurt" her dad smiles.
After spending some time with her parents, Brittany goes back to her apartment. She makes some lunch and briefly texts Santana to see what she's up to. She should really be going into work but she isn't in the right head space right now after the conversation with the Berry's. She knows her dad said she shouldn't worry but she can't help it, she is human after all. She is trying to tell herself that it's all over now and she can finally move on but hurting Rachel is still in the back of her mind. She's just sitting down to eat when she hears a knock at her door before it opens and Quinn walks in.
"Quinn?" Brittany asks surprised. She didn't think she'd see Quinn so soon after everything.
"How are you?" Quinn asks while sitting down at the table with Brittany.
"I'm not great but I shouldn't really complain because there are more upset people than me" Brittany says, meaning Rachel.
"It's ok to be feeling pretty crappy after everything" Quinn tells her.
"I'm guessing you'll be wanting to end our friendship now and be friends with Rachel" Brittany sighs.
"You are still one of my best friends Brittany" Quinn assures her. "Plus we work together so that would be a little tricky if I said I didn't want to be your friend."
"You and Rachel have gotten close though over the years so I could see why you'd want to support her too" Brittany points out.
"Yes I like Rachel but she's not my best friend like you are. Also it's not like you deliberately went out of your way to hurt her. You did what you thought was best and I get that" Quinn replies.
"My dad said I haven't to let it bother me but I can't help it" Brittany sighs.
"Things will get easier over time" Quinn says optimistically.
"I hope so" Brittany nods. She doesn't just mean for her sake but for Rachel's too because Rachel didn't deserve to be hurt in any of this.
XXXXXXXX
Santana is walking past reception, heading to her office after being out looking at venues with a couple. It took up more of her morning than she expected it to so she's just hoping she hasn't missed any important phone calls when she was out. As soon as her receptionist Emma spots her, she rushes over.
"Your next appointment is already waiting in your office for you. I'm really sorry Miss Lopez. I did try to stop her" Emma says breathlessly as Santana was walking way quicker than she could keep up with.
"It's ok" Santana smiles.
"It is?" Emma asks confused. She did not expect that reply. Usually she would get told off for letting people into Santana's office before Santana was there.
"Yes it's fine, now back to work" Santana replies.
"Wow, Miss Lopez is in an awful good mood this morning" another employee points out. "Maybe she's finally getting some so she's relaxing a bit" he jokes.
"I heard that" Santana snaps, her good mood disappearing somewhat. She'd rather her staff members don't make comments like that. She's fine with them seeing a slightly softer side to her but she doesn't want them talking about her private life like that because it's personal for a reason.
"I'm sorry Miss Lopez" the employee says sincerely.
"Just go back to work please and mind your own business" Santana states before going into her office and closing the door.
"So how are you?" Mercedes asks as Santana sits down across from her. She's not exactly got an appointment with Santana because she's her best friend and she's not actually getting married but Santana told her receptionist it was an appointment so she knew not to book anyone else in to see her when Mercedes was here.
"Yeah I'm good" Santana smiles. "Before we catch up though, can I quickly check to see if I have any missed calls or messages because I didn't meant to be away for so long this morning?" she asks.
"I'm not working today so I have plenty of time so do what you need to do" Mercedes smiles.
"Thanks" Santana nods. As soon as she's finished, she makes them some coffee and they get right to it catching up with one another.
"So how was the date the other night?" Mercedes asks excitedly.
"Really good actually" Santana smiles brightly, just thinking about how much she really likes Brittany.
"You seem to be a lot happier these days. Could that all be down to Brittany" Mercedes smiles.
"I spent a lot of my time depressed and on my own. I would work nonstop because I hated being so miserable all the time but I think Brittany has changed that" Santana smiles. "I actually like myself a little bit more now."
"I don't know her that well but I think you two seem really suited together" Mercedes says. She'd like anyone who could put a smile on Santana's face like that.
"I'm just scared I mess this up though" Santana admits.
"What makes you think you could do that?" Mercedes asks curiously.
"I don't know, I just have this feeling I'll do something. I mean I really like Brittany and I think she really likes me too so I don't want to mess things up" Santana sighs.
"Tell her that then. Explain how you feel and why you're nervous about things" Mercedes says.
"No I don't want to scare her away with my emotional stuff" Santana shakes her head.
"I think Brittany will understand" Mercedes replies. By what she's heard about Brittany then she's sure she'd understand. "You're maybe just panicking about panicking if that makes sense. Talking to Brittany about how you really feel will help."
"There must be a reason though as to why I've barely had a proper relationship" Santana states. She doesn't want whatever the reason is to crop up and affect things with Brittany.
"The reason is probably just you waiting on the right person. I would overthink things right now because you like Brittany and she likes you" Mercedes smiles.
"Ok" Santana nods.
XXXXXXXX
After spending some time with Quinn, Brittany realises there's no point in sitting inside feeling miserable about the situation. She's not being heartless but what's done is done so there's no point in trying to change things that can't be changed anymore. She thought she would cheer herself up and visit Santana so she's currently just walking into the building right now.
"Miss Pierce?" the receptionist says surprised.
"Is Santana here or is she out of office right now?" Brittany asks.
"I thought you weren't getting married anymore so what are you doing here?" the receptionist asks.
"Looking for Santana actually. Is she here?" Brittany asks again.
"She's in her office but she might be on the phone so how about I let her know you're here first instead of walking right in" the receptionist suggests. Mercedes has left now but Santana could be on an important phone call like she mentioned so she doesn't want anyone to disturb her
"It's fine. She won't mind me walking in" Brittany says before walking towards Santana's office.
"She might" the receptionist says chasing after Brittany. This is the second person to walk in without waiting so she doesn't want Santana to get pissed at her.
"Honestly, she'll be happy to see me" Brittany smiles.
"Ok" the receptionist sighs. She doesn't like this but she can't physically stop Brittany from walking right in.
"I brought you coffee" Brittany says smiling at Santana as she walks into the office.
"Thank you" Santana smiles back.
"I'm supposed to be working but I just really wanted to see you before Thursday" Brittany says.
"I'm happy that you're here" Santana smiles.
"So have you had a busy day?" Brittany asks as she sits down.
"Reasonably busy" Santana nods. "You?" she asks.
"More emotionally exhausting than busy" Brittany replies. "Enough about that though, I want us to talk about happier things."
"Like our next date" Santana smiles.
"Exactly" Brittany smiles back.
"So what are we doing on Thursday, are we getting dinner?" Santana asks.
"We should definitely do dinner but I thought I could cook for us instead of going out. You can come over to my apartment and that way it'll be a little more private than our last date" Brittany replies.
"Private, huh?" Santana asks with a slight smirk.
"Oh I don't mean we need to do anything" Brittany says nervously while shaking her head. She knows how Santana felt the other night so she doesn't want to rush into something if Santana doesn't want to.
"I know, I was just teasing" Santana smiles. "It will be nice to have somewhere quiet to talk and just relax" she adds.
"Yeah that's what I mean" Brittany smiles. "So is there anything you don't like or you're allergic to?" she asks.
"Not really" Santana shakes her head. "I eat basically everything but all in moderation of course" she smiles.
"Yeah same here" Brittany nods in agreement. "Anything you particularly fancy to eat then or shall I just prepare something and surprise you?"
"I like surprises so make whatever you want and surprise me" Santana replies.
"Ok" Brittany smiles. They fall into a silence for a moment or two before Brittany breaks it. "Is it weird that I sort of missed you these last few days?" she doesn't want to come on too strong but she does generally miss Santana.
"It's not weird" Santana shakes her head. She'd be lying if she said otherwise because she's really missed Brittany too even though they've only just started dating properly.
"Ok, good" Brittany says sighing in relief slightly. Another silence fills the air around them for a moment before Brittany gets up from her chair and walks around the desk to Santana. "Do you like all surprises or only certain surprises?" she asks.
"I like any kind of surprise" Santana replies.
"Good" Brittany nods before leaning down to kiss Santana. Santana is slightly taken aback for a moment but begins to kiss back and relax into it.
"I actually had no idea you were going to do that" Santana laughs nervously.
"I wanted to do it the other night after our date but you seemed so nervous that I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything. I figured now was ok though because it's just us here in your office" Brittany replies.
"And the CCTV cameras" Santana adds.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry" Brittany apologises.
"It's fine, it's not like they are constantly looked at. They're just here if we need to check on something but I don't have security sitting staring at us right now" Santana smiles.
"Ok" Brittany smiles. "You're a good kisser by the way" she says.
"Thanks" Santana says trying so hard not to be embarrassed.