Thanks to everyone whose still reading. The pace of the story will increase now.
A big thank you to bodybroke who is amazing :)
I hope you enjoy this chapter.
12th November 2019
Santana sank deeper into her chair, her hands letting the magazine rest purely on her lap.
"Marley, is it on yet?" Santana asked, glancing over the curtain covered changing room.
"Let her change in peace. Doesn't this make you wanna get married?"" Quinn murmured, as she glanced through the different aisles of wedding dresses; before turning to look at Tina and Santana; "Again?"
"No." Santana replied curtly, not in the mood to waste time with silly questions when Brittany was due back from the nearby starbucks.
Tina giggled, looking up from Sophie's face to glance at Santana; "Not even a second marriage to Britt?"
"What's the point? We're already married... It'll change nothing." Santana grumbled, with an annoyed expression.
"It's supposed to renew your vows, show that your love for each other hasn't changed." Quinn said, sending Santana a pointed look
"It sounds like a way of gaining money from idiots who have too much." Santana replied, leaning forward, to stroke her forefinger against Sophie's rosy cheek; "I'm right, aren't I cutie?"
Tina laughed as Sophie giggled in response; "Sounds like you're right."
"I'm always right..." Santana said, leaning back; "Weddings are boring anyway... God knows why Marley's following tradition."
"Even your own?" Quinn asked, with a crooked eyebrow, as if testing Santana who rolled her eyes.
"My wedding was perfect because of Britt; not because of the over priced venue, dresses, and the rest of the crap." Santana replied
Quinn licked her lips in thought, before letting out a soft sigh; "Brittany's lucky... you know that right?"
"She's visiting practically every state doing what she loves, yeah.. I'd say that was accurate." Santana replied curtly
"Well, that's Brittany through and through." Tina mumbled
"If you're going to badmouth my wife, do it elsewhere." Santana snapped, curtly; her eyes glaring at Tina dangerously.
"What, you badmouth her yourself..." Tina grumbled
"She's my wife. I'm allowed to criticize her decisions." Santana replied
"So am I." Tina said
"No, you're not. Stop saying things about Brittany... or I'll make sure things stop." Santana said
"How?" Tina asked
"Don't make me choose between you and her... Because she'll win every time." Santana replied, turning to cross her leg over the other one, releasing a deep breath.
"Look, I'm just angry at what she did. I don't hate her; she's Britt. Everyone loves her, she's a great person and friend... but she nearly ruined things." Tina said
"Oh, I didn't realize you were married to her." Santana replied sarcastically
"You know what I mean." Tina mumbled, gently wiping Sophie's face with a napkin
Santana looked over to Quinn who shrugged her shoulders in response, signaling for Santana to tackle it herself; "Brittany's my wife... and I'll handle things that involve me and her... and our marriage, okay? I get your concern, and I love you for it... but it doesn't involve you."
Tina nodded softly in response, the message being received loud and clear; "I get it... I'll back off."
Santana nodded, shifting in her chair whilst willing Marley to hurry up changing so the conversation would change; "I don't appreciate you badmouthing my wife when she could just walk in. Have some respect, she was one of your best friends."
Tina nodded softly; "I get it..."
Santana let out a deep sigh, her eyes flickering to the entrance, wondering where Brittany was.
Quinn giggled; "Someone's cranky."
"Lack of Brittany." Tina interjected, with a grin
Santana rolled her eyes before standing up; and walking towards the window, to try and find Brittany.
"I'm back." Brittany called, as she let the entrance door close behind her; Santana turned round and sent her a small smile; Brittany passed two coffees to Quinn and Tina before walking towards Santana; "I got you an iced caramel... I thought we could share."
Santana nodded, and leaned forward to meet Brittany's lips in a chaste kiss; "I talked to Tina... About how... She's treating you. Long overdue, I know... but it's done."
Brittany nodded softly, and pressed another kiss to Santana's lips; "Thanks..."
Santana sighed, and turned to face the curtain covered changing room; "I don't get what's taking her so long. She's practically marrying herself right now."
Brittany giggled, and leaned down to press a kiss to Santana's skin, where the shoulder met the neck. "You're so impatient."
"She's gonna look perfect whatever she wears." Santana grumbled, as she let herself rest against Brittany's front; "And there's much better things I'd rather do than stand in a wedding shop."
"What kinda things?" Brittany asked, against the rim of Santana's ear
"Like last night, and this morning... Kinda things." Santana replied, turning her head so her lips could meet Brittany's in a light kiss; her lips parted slightly to allow the tip of Brittany's tongue to dip into her mouth.
Brittany let her fingers glide through Santana's medium length locks as she pressed her lips back against Santana's firmly. Santana pulled away with a low moan, ignoring the pointed glare from Quinn.
"She'll be ready soon." Brittany murmured, letting the tips of her fingers glide along the back of Santana's neck, feeling Santana relax more against her body; she gently squeezed at the curve of her hip; "Wanna do dinner tonight? Hit a restaurant..."
"Yeah, baby... Sounds good." Santana said
Brittany placed a light kiss against Santana's hairline; "Cool."
Tina tapped Santana's shoulder; "Can I talk to Britt?"
Santana looked to Brittany who nodded; "Sure."
Santana sat on the nearest chair to Tina and Brittany, not wanting to leave them alone in case Tina was rude to Brittany again.
"Look, I'm sorry for what I've said." Tina said softly, her fingers coming up to brush through her own locks; "I just... I guess I felt like you got away with treating Santana like that. I mean, you're doing everything you ever wanted; and all you had to do was lie to your wife... I just... I guess I felt annoyed that you'd got off without anything happening."
Brittany leaned forward; and angrily snapped; "I nearly lost my wife. Is that what you class as nothing happening?"
Tina stepped back; "Back off. You didn't lose anything. She's sitting right there."
"And that means everything's okay? Just because we're together doesn't mean everything's okay... You have no idea what's going on between us. So please stop trying to interfere because your life is obviously too dull to keep you happy." Brittany snapped
Santana pressed her palm over the material covering Brittany's stomach; "Calm down..."
Tina released a deep breath; "And you wonder why I badmouth you?"
Santana snapped her eyes to Tina; "I asked you to stop this."
Tina rolled her eyes; "Be honest, Santana for once in your life."
Santana scoffed before turning to look back at Brittany.
"What is she talking about?" Brittany asked
"Nothing... Just some rubbish to cause even more problems between us." Santana said
"As if you need any help." Tina replied, moving to sit down in front of her child.
Santana rolled her eyes; and let her palm brush against Brittany's upper arm; "Look, we'll talk about this at home along with everything else."
"I thought we were going for dinner?" Brittany asked
Santana nodded; "We are... Afterwards."
Santana turned to glance at the changing room; when the curtains opened and Marley walked out, wearing a traditional wedding dress, tight around the torso before flowing downwards into a small train by her feet.
"Wow, Rose..." Santana murmured, her eyes running over the dress; "Literally speechless..."
Marley let her small hand slid over the smooth white material, as she turned from everyone's faces.
"You look incredible." Tina said softly, making Marley smile wider.
"Really? You think it's the one?" Marley asked, looking down at the perfectly molded dress.
"You look so beautiful." Quinn replied softly; "I think it looks perfect for you."
Brittany nodded softly; her hand which was resting against Santana's hip slowly slipped off as Santana walked closer towards Marley. Her tan fingers wrapping lightly around Marley's thin wrist.
"Rose, this is the one, sweetie. This is the dress you're getting married in." Santana murmured gently, watching as Marley nodded with a tears forming in her eyes; "Don't cry..."
"I found it..." Marley whispered, holding back a sob which was released shortly after, along with a small giggle; "I found the dress... I'm marrying Jake in."
Santana smiled softly, letting her fingers rub gently against Marley's forearm; "Yeah, you have."
Marley then turned to Tina and Quinn who were bursting with unsaid compliments. Santana looked at Brittany who was already looking at her.
"What?" Santana asked, brushing a strand of her hair back behind her ear, Brittany let a grin ghost over her features; as her fingers followed Santana's path, as she took her own lock of hair behind her small ear.
"You are such a good friend." Brittany said softly, letting a small blush cover her cheeks; "I've missed seeing you like that..."
Santana shrugged softly; "I guess you've missed a lot..."
"Not for long." Brittany replied, stroking her fingers along Santana's tanned wrist, until her fingers entwined with Santana's; "So shall I book reservations?"
Santana nodded; "I guess so."
Brittany pursed her lips for a moment before leaning forward until her pouty lips pressed against Santana's forehead gently; "We don't have to... I mean, dinner at home will be fine."
"I don't mind." Santana replied, pressing a quick kiss to Brittany's cheek before stepping forward to involve herself in the conversation with Marley, Tina and Quinn.
"Marley's gonna buy this one." Quinn said
"Oh that's great." Santana replied, watching as Marley grinned
"I'm gonna get unchanged; and then buy it... You guys are free to leave if you want. I mean... We're meeting up tomorrow to buy the bridesmaids dresses." Marley said
"Yeah... I think we're gonna take off... but that dress... You're killing it." Santana said, leaning in to briefly press a kiss to Marley's cheek, trying to avoid touching the dress in fear of marking it; "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah... See you tomorrow... And thank you for today." Marley replied
Santana smiled, sending Marley a wink before saying a quick goodbye to Tina and Quinn. Brittany followed after Santana's lead, saying goodbye to Marley, Tina and Quinn before leaving the wedding dress shop with Santana.
Santana and Brittany arrived home a few minutes later, Santana excused herself to take a shower, Brittany found herself alone in their bedroom, dressed for their dinner reservations, watching the news.
Santana walked out wearing just a towel; her hair slightly damp; Brittany shifted until she was sitting up.
"Sorry..." Brittany mumbled
Santana giggled, walking over and leaning over until her face as inches away from Brittany's; "Were you sleeping, baby?"
Brittany let a sheepish grin appear on her face; "Not yet."
Santana let out a sharp poof of air, before moving until she was sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers combing through Brittany as if like a soothing manner; "You wanna stay home?"
"Not if you wanna go out." Brittany replied, her eyes flashing open to meet Santana's.
"I'm not really bothered." Santana grumbled, leaning down to press her lips to the skin above Brittany's left eyebrow; "I'm gonna order Chinese... Do you wanna get a beer or something?"
Brittany smiled; and grabbed Santana's wrist before she could leave; she let her lips pressed against the inside of her wrist; "Thank you for today."
"I didn't do anything, Britt." Santana said softly, her fingers stroking down Brittany's face.
"I know but... You weren't angry at me... and I appreciate it." Brittany replied
Santana released a small poof of air from her parted lips; she tugged her arm free; "Britt, don't do this right now."
"What?" Brittany asked
"Don't act like I'm being this great person, when you know I am angry at you... I just... I don't want our time together to be based on me being angry with you." Santana said, running her fingers through her damp hair; "I'm not in the mood for you to try and make out that I'm acting like we're okay... So that makes us okay... We're not."
"I was just thanking you for making today nice. You don't have to bring this up all the time. I get it, okay? Our marriage isn't okay. You don't have to remind me every day. I know it by now... and if not, I'm sure you'll remind me tomorrow." Brittany snapped abruptly; sliding off the bed; "I'll go cancel our reservations."
Santana rolled her eyes as Brittany slammed the bedroom door behind her; before walking towards her wardrobe.
Santana quickly got dressed into a clean white vest and a pair of baggy shorts before walking on enroute to the bathroom; losing her footing slightly on the edge of Brittany's suitcase. Santana released a deep sigh as she leaned down, and picked up the knocked over suitcase. As her fingers traced over the handle, a single tear ran down her cheek.
Santana sniffed softly; and stood up, wiping her eyes as Brittany walked in from the kitchen; a small bowl of ice cream in her hand.
"What's wrong?" Brittany mumbled, with the spoon between her lips
"Nothing. Just me repeating myself. Crying all the time, just doing everything over again." Santana quipped; as she continued walking towards the bathroom.
"I didn't mean it like that." Brittany said
"Then how did you mean it?" Santana asked, turning round to look at Brittany; "I'm reminding you every day that our marriage is failing. And you're fed up... Well, forget it. I'm done telling you things that you know about; and refuse to fix them."
"I can't fix them, can I?" Brittany snapped, slamming her bowl on the dressing table beside her; "You're blaming me. I don't have any problems. Why don't you fix your own fucking problems? You moan about your stupid job, I had a job for 5 years, and I didn't complain once. You know why?"
Santana remained silent, slightly shocked by Brittany's outburst.
"I didn't because of you. Because you were so happy that I got that job. I felt guilty for wanting something more. And I felt angry... Angry at my wife for forcing me to take a job, she knew I didn't want." Brittany continued
"I don't want you to want more, Britt. I wanted you to just want me... but you didn't." Santana replied
"I do want you... I dealt with everything in the wrong way, I've admitted that but I can't be punished for the rest of my life." Brittany said, her eyes now leaving Santana's.
Santana sighed deeply but didn't respond.
Brittany cleared her throat, her tone slightly softer; "San, I can't fix problems which aren't mine. I'm not here for some time... But it's only until January."
"And then what?" Santana asked, her tone quiet, snapping Brittany to lower her eyes to meet Santana's teary ones; "And then what, Britt? We live happily ever after."
"And we'll be together... and we can be happy." Brittany said
Santana nodded, licking her lips as she stepped back and in through the half opened bathroom door; "I don't see the point in even arguing with you anymore. You think you're right, so yeah, we'll be happy when you're back."
Brittany didn't reply as Santana turned to lock the bathroom door. Brittany switched the mute button off the TV, and resumed watching the news channel. There was no point in getting upset about Santana when she was due to leave tomorrow.
Brittany climbed underneath sheets, and had switched off the TV and lights by the time, Santana had returned from the bathroom. Her eyes red rimmed, even in the dim light from the moon, Brittany felt guilty for arguing on the night of her leaving.
Brittany held her breath as the bed dipped beside her; the bed sheets being tugged away from her slightly, to cover over Santana's body.
"I'm sorry. " Santana said softly
Hearing nothing in response, Santana sighed; "I love you, Britt."
Brittany felt a stab in her heart as Santana's words cut deep. She didn't know why she hadn't reply to Santana. She just felt too tired for even making up. It wouldn't change anything, Santana would still consider their marriage in some trouble. She released her sigh and turned over, her back facing Santana as she willed sleep to take over and end this night.
13th November 2019
As Brittany quietly busied herself round the bedroom, finishing getting ready. She took her bags down to her car before returning to the almost silent bedroom. The almost soothing little whimpers emitting from Santana's mouth.
Brittany slipped her jacket on as she watched Santana sleep, part of her wondered whether to just let her sleep or wake her up to say goodbye.
Brittany walked closer to the bed, and bent down, pressing her lips against Santana's forehead; "I love you too baby, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I'm hurting you... You know I don't wanna hurt you."
Brittany walked back to the door, she sent once more glance to Santana's sleeping form, worried about whether an argument would be the only result if she woke Santana up to say goodbye. With a heavy sigh, she decided to write a small note instead, placing it on the pillow beside Santana before she softly closed the door and left out of the house.