A/N: Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/alerts as always. This took me a little longer to get up because of some internet/power issues, but it's a little bit longer. They're finally starting to settle into their NY life so all of the plot points I have are going to start kicking in a bit more as well. Hope you guys enjoy!
"A Broadway walking tour?" Santana asked, unimpressed. "You want us to walk around Broadway and stand outside theaters while some middle aged loser who has seen Les Mis 955 times takes us around and talks about each theater? Are you serious?"
"These walking tours have phenomenal reviews. I've checked several websites, they're supposed to be quite entertaining and extremely educational." Santana furrowed her brow.
"Entertaining for who? Little Broadway wannabes like you? I can't possibly believe they're entertaining for normal people."
"And you're a normal person?" Rachel asked.
"Well, I'm a million times more normal than you!" Santana spat.
"I think it sounds cool." Brittany shrugged and Santana just rolled her eyes.
"You think everything here sounds cool." Brittany pouted.
"Maybe because I'm in one of the biggest cities in the world and I want to try all different kinds of things in it." Santana just scoffed.
"Cause you're some big Broadway freak like the hobbit over here." she said sarcastically and motioned her head towards Rachel who just sighed and threw her head back.
"No, I'm not, but I'd like to experience different things. I mean who knows, maybe I'll like it. You don't even give things a chance San. You'll never learn about new things if you close yourself off to everything you don't think is 'cool' enough."
"I'm sorry that I don't find shelling out 25 bucks and hiking around the theater district with a bunch of sweaty tourists to hear about the history of different Broadway shows appealing! Sue me!"
"Why would I ever sue you for that?" Brittany asked with frustration and Santana just gripped the bridge of her nose and took a deep, calming breath.
"Whatever, I just don't think it sounds appealing. I thought the whole point of this was for us all to hang out together and do things that would be enjoyable." she said calmly.
"The point of this is actually for us all to pick different things that we like and share experiences with each other. You know, to bring us closer, expose each other to new things and experience the city together. I'm sure whatever activity you are planning for your night isn't something I'd be jumping to do either." Santana smirked at the thoughts of things she could possibly choose to have them do when she was in control.
"I think it will be cool. I mean it's not my thing either but it can't be that bad." Finn shrugged.
"Is there on original thought in that pea sized brain of yours or are you completely brainwashed by Berry?" Santana asked and Brittany elbowed her, with a warning look.
"It's better than sitting around the house." He said with annoyance. "Maybe everything would be a lot more fun if you didn't complain about absolutely anything that Rachel and I ever suggest." She rolled her eyes again.
"Look, I said I'd go, I'll go. Don't expect me to be happy about it." she said, getting up. "What time are we leaving?"
"It's at 4 o'clock so we should leave here at about quarter after 3." Rachel stated factually. "I've also made us reservations for dinner at a new restaurant close by the here after since the tour is a little over 2 hours."
"What kind of restaurant?" Santana asked.
"A new vegan place opened about 5 blocks away. I'm very excited to try it." Santana just mumbled under her breath in Spanish heatedly as she headed into her room to get ready.
"A vegan place?" Finn asked with a frown.
"Now you're complaining too?"
"I just...couldn't you have picked a regular restaurant with vegan options?" he asked gently. "You know the rest of us like to eat regular food."
"I thought I just explained that this is about getting to know each other and sharing things we all like."
"Right, then I'm sure you won't be upset when I pick a steakhouse when it's my week to choose." he said getting up and heading into their room to shower himself. Rachel sighed dramatically.
"This is a disaster already." Brittany just shrugged and smiled.
"I'm not complaining. I want to try everything." Rachel smiled.
"Well I'm glad someone besides me is able to grasp the spirit of this activity."
"I'm sure it'll be fine once we get there and everything. I'm super excited about date nights. I can't wait to see what everyone has planned."
"What do you have planned for next week?"
"Still working out the details." Brittany smiled. "There's so much to do I'm just trying to figure out which I want to start with."
"We'll let's just hope we're still doing this by this time next week." Rachel said with a defeated sigh.
Sometime close to 6:30 they were making their way back into a cab to head over towards the restaurant.
"That was the most asinine and torturous experience of my entire life." Santana said, as she fell into the seat and Brittany squeezed into the middle.
"I thought it was fun." Brittany smiled. "I mean I don't really care about all that theater history stuff the guy wouldn't shut up about, but I liked walking around and seeing everything."
"I thought the tour was extremely insightful and very interesting. The guide was fantastic, he had a very rich knowledge of Broadway history. I was quite impressed, what did you think Finn?"
"I kinda zoned out." he said from the front seat. "I don't know it was like every time he talked he was just speaking another language. Like the grown ups in Charlie Brown."
"I love Charlie Brown." Brittany said with a smile.
"Well I'm sorry you all couldn't appreciate the cultural experience of learning Broadway history more." Rachel huffed.
"It was fun anyway." Brittany shrugged.
"No, it wasn't." Santana said pointedly. "It was living hell. It's a million degrees, humid, and I'm starving."
"Well, we'll be at the restaurant any minute." Brittany said.
"Oh yeah, I can't wait to taste the exciting, flavorful vegan cuisine." Santana said sarcastically.
"This restaurant is highly rated by some of the best food critics in the city."
"Maybe for other people who enjoy eating wheat grass and tofu."
"There is much more to vegan food than that and I know that you're quite aware. I refuse to justify any more of your complaints with an answer."
"It's okay Berry, just wait until I get you out on my night. We'll have a blast." Santana smirked.
"I'm sure you'll make it a complete and total nightmare for me."
ma"I'm excited for yours San." Brittany said and kissed her cheek. "I'm excited for everyone's though, but yours the most."
"Thanks Britt." Santana said. "And don't worry Rachel. I promise everyone will have a good time."
"I told you it would be a good."
"I admit that it wasn't awful, but it certainly wasn't anywhere I want to go back to."
"You looked like you enjoyed your food."
"I did, but I still don't want to go back. Give me a burger or a steak anyday."
"Seriously." Finn said.
"I'm disappointed that you can't even have real cheese on anything." Brittany shook her head sadly.
"Brittany, cheese is made from milk, which comes from cows, thereby making it vegan."
"That doesn't mean I don't like how it tastes."
"Fine, point taken, no more vegan restaurants. I guess I'll be forced to go try places like that on my own."
"Maybe when you get to school you can meet other crazy PETA freaks to share the experience with." Santana said.
"I can't wait for school to start. I'm looking forward to meeting new people and taking some new dance classes." Brittany said, changing the topic, as they turned the corner. She squeezed Santana's hand tightly. "Are you excited to get to NYU too?"
"Yeah, I'm a little nervous to be all on my own." she admitted, "But I'm mostly excited to get moving. I can't wait till there's no more school and I can just live my life."
"I'm a little nervous too. I hope I can keep up with the dancers there." Brittany frowned at the thought.
"I'm sure you'll be great Britt, you're an excellent dancer." Santana said squeezing her close. "You're going to do awesome."
"Santana's right. Julliard accepted you and clearly they're confident that you can keep up. I'm sure you'll do great. Plus we'll still try and take our core liberal arts class together."
"Yeah, I hope that works." Brittany said with a smile. "It'll be nice to have at least one class with someone I know."
"Absolutely, but I wouldn't worry Brittany, you're very social. You'll have no trouble meeting tons of new people I'm sure." Rachel replied, not missing a sudden flash of nervousness that seemed to flash across Santana's face before she very quickly shook it off.
"Yeah Britt, even I have to agree with Berry on this one. You're totally going to do fine."
"Thanks guys...I hope so. But I'm definitely mostly excited about it too. I'm ready to just get going."
"Yeah, it'll be nice to settle into a little bit of a routine." Rachel agreed.
"I need to find a job too." Brittany added.
"What are you looking to do?" Rachel asked, causing Brittany to shrug.
"Anything really. I know you can make some decent money waitressing or bartending in the city at the right places. I was going to try and look around."
"Bartending?" Santana asked. "You never mentioned that."
"I heard it's great money."
"It definitely can be." Rachel said, as they entered their elevator. "Plus you're a pretty girl, you could do really well with it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Santana asked with a scowl.
"It's a simple fact Santana. An attractive female bartender can always make good money. Especially if she turns on the charm a little." she shrugged.
"Turns on the charm?" Santana asked, following them down the hall. "Are you implying that my girlfriend whore herself out to sleazy college frat boys to make money?"
"Whoa, Santana, calm down. Of course not. But a little flirting with customers can go a long way."
"Not real flirting, like the kind that makes people think you like them a little." Brittany said.
"I'm not sure I like where this is going." she said, closing the door behind them as they moved towards the couch. She grabbed a beer for herself and one for Brittany before heading back into the living room and plopping down next to her on the couch. "I don't know if that's a good option for you Britts, it's a dangerous job sometimes. Closing up bars late at night, getting home after."
"Girls do it all the time Santana. It's good money. I definitely want to look into it." she said. "I've always been good at mixing drinks. You're just worried that I'm going to flirt with strangers. It's sweet, but ridiculous." she said, leaning over to peck her on the lips.
"We'll see." Santana said grumpily. "What about you Finn? You've had no input on this conversation at all. What are you going to do when we all start school? I hope you don't plan to just sit around the apartment and eat our food."
"Finn's been job hunting for a couple of weeks now." Rachel said defensively. "And he's actually found a promising opportunity at the gym that's about 5 blocks away, right?" she asked him.
"Yeah, absolutely. Actually, I should be hearing back tomorrow." he said, smiling as he put an arm around Rachel and settled back.
"So your life's ambitions are to work at a gym?" Santana asked, taking a swig of the bottle in her hand.
"No, of course not." he said, eying Brittany nervously.
"I'm sure Finn will figure something out. You're looking into lots of different things, right?" she said, trying to help him out as Rachel watched his reaction with interest.
"Yeah, totally. I'm just trying to figure out what's best for me right now, whether that be school or something else. I'm going to figure it out soon." Brittany nodded and eyed him meaningfully, knowing that he still hadn't mentioned anything to Rachel about the FDNY test.
"Well I hope so. I want you to succeed too Finn. Monday morning we're all going to be headed off for classes and I hope you can start to find out what you want to do with your days, apart from the temporary work in the gym."
"Of course I will. I just need a little more time."
"Wanna watch a movie?" Santana asked.
"Oooh can I pick?" Brittany asked.
"Of course you can." Santana smiled and Rachel just rolled her eyes, as they all kicked back to relax for the rest of the evening.
They spent the next few days were getting themselves ready for the start of the school year. Brittany and Rachel had gone clothes shopping and Brittany attempted to spend some of her time walking around to various bars and restaurants to see about getting a job. Finn's job came through and he started on Friday. He had made quick friends with the day manager and it helped him to secure a decent starting pay and mostly day shifts.
The weekend brought rain and ruined most of their plans to explore the city, so apart from a mostly peaceful group trip for some household items and groceries they spent most of the weekend taking it easy since they knew their schedules would probably be out of control pretty soon. Sunday evening Santana was curled up on the couch watching reality TV and waiting for Brittany to come home, while enjoying a quiet house for a little while. A little after 5:30 she heard the key turn in the lock and in stepped Brittany, slightly wet, with a couple bags in her hands. She laid them and her umbrella down before coming over and sitting on the edge of the couch.
"Hey." she smiled and kissed her girlfriend softly on the lips.
"Hey yourself. Raining again, huh?" she asked, wiping a bead of water from Brittany's nose.
"Yeah it just started a little. And it's so windy, you might as well not even have an umbrella." she shook her head in defeat.
"How'd shopping go?"
"I got the last few things I needed for now – a few things to wear to dance classes and a couple notebooks and pens." she smiled broadly. "I got you that stuff too. And a pair of boots I saw when I was shopping."
"Boots?" Santana asked with a smile, grabbing Brittany's waist. "What for?" Brittany shrugged.
"I just saw them and knew you'd love them." she said, getting up briefly to grab the bag and show them to her. Santana examined the tall brown boots with a grin as Brittany handed them to her and leaned up to give her a kiss.
"Thanks baby, I do love these. But you didn't have to waste your money on me. Save what you have until you get work."
"Well, actually, that's another thing." Santana looked at her questioningly. "One of the reasons I took so long is I got a call from the Village Station, that bar two blocks down, when I was on my way to the store. They asked me to stop by to talk once more and they gave me a job!" she said with a bright smile. Santana looked skeptical.
"When do you work?"
"I don't start until Sunday but they want me to work Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. The girl that was working those shifts has her last day on Friday. I have to go in early on Sunday for a little training, but they said there's another bartender on too so he can help me."
"What are the shifts?"
"Sunday is like 11 to 7 normally, the night shifts are 7 till close at 4. You alternate late and early on nights that aren't so busy though. So sometimes I'll be done at 6 or 3. She said even earlier if it's dead, but that doesn't happen a lot here." she shrugged.
"So I can expect to not see you at all three nights a week and Sundays is basically what you're saying."
"I thought you'd be happy I have Saturdays off." Brittany said with a furrowed brow. "And that I got a job that will pay well at reasonably nice bar. You said yourself it looked like it was 'safer' than a lot of places." Santana huffed.
"What if we want to do something on a Friday night?"
"Then I'll change my shift. Santana, you're being ridiculous." Brittany said.
"I told you this wasn't my favorite job choice for you Britt." she said sitting up and leaning against the arm of the couch, folding her arms across her chest. "I don't want you closing the bars alone late at night and I don't want you walking home alone. I don't want to never see you and I don't want you flirting with all kinds of slime ball customers to get good tips."
"Santana they have a bouncer and he stays to make sure that everything's okay until close. We live super close and I'll make sure I find a way to get home. And I'm not going to be flirting with customers, I'm just going to be nice and friendly. You can even come sit at the bar and hang out with me."
"I can't believe you tried to buy me off. You got me those boots because you knew I'd be pissed about this."
"I got you those boots because I saw them and I knew you'd love them and I thought it would make you happy." Brittany said, displaying rare anger. "And I'm really offended that you would try to say that I was trying to 'buy you off'." Santana just huffed and shook her head. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"San." Brittany sighed, grabbing her hand and attempting to pull it towards her, but Santana was stubborn.
"What?"
"Give it a try." she said. "Please. I really think this could be good for me. It's a social job and it's something where I don't have to just sit around or think too much." she smiled enticingly. "I could make really good money and be able to take you on all kinds of expensive dates and buy you nice things."
"I don't care about nice things Brittany." Brittany rolled her eyes.
"Look Santana, just let me give this a shot. I promise if it becomes a huge problem or it gets in the way of our relationship in any huge way that we can't fix, I'll find something else." Santana just shook her head.
"Whatever, it's not like you're giving me much choice. But I am not happy about it." she said firmly. "At all. I'm going to be there a lot, especially in the beginning. I'm meeting the bouncer and he's going to agree to walk you home whenever you're alone and I'll make sure he knows I'll break his fingers if he ever lays one on you." Brittany smirked.
"You're crazy, you know that right?" she asked, shaking her head. "It's going to be fine, I promise. But if that makes you feel better, go ahead." she looked at Santana sternly. "But you are going to act normal. No threats, no mentions of razorblades, and you're going to be nice and not make me look stupid at my job."
"Whatever." Santana said with a frown.
"Where are Finn and Rachel?"
"The hobbit and lurch went on a date." she rolled her eyes. "They got tickets to some play she was rambling about and then they're going for dinner someplace. They were all dressed up. She said they'd be back around 9."
"Aw, that's sweet." Brittany looked her in the eyes grabbed her hand successfully this time. "Do you want to go on a date?" Santana shrugged.
"I'd rather just stay in with you tonight and enjoy the apartment alone for a few hours." she said softly, looking sad. "Tomorrow everything's going to start and get crazy, I wouldn't mind just having some 'us' time."
"That sounds perfect." Brittany said with a smile. "Why don't we order some food and we can cuddle on the couch and watch the Real Housewives of...whatever city it is today." she said glancing at the TV.
"Beverly Hills." Santana said, allowing a smile to peek through. "I could be down with that idea."
"You stay here and figure out what you want to order." Brittany said, pulling off her shoes and standing. "I'm going to go change and get comfortable and then I'll come back and call. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect." she said, grabbing Brittany's hand and pulling her down for a lingering kiss. "I'm sorry I freaked and accused you of buying me off." she said with a small sigh when they parted, still holding her close by. "It's really not my favorite idea, but I'll try and be open to it to start." she said honestly and Brittany smiled sympathetically.
"I think it's going to be fine San, but if it isn't like I said we'll either fix it or I'll find something else. It's just a stupid job." she shrugged. "It's not more important than you." Santana smiled.
"I love you."
"I love you too." she said kissing her once more. "I'll be back." she said scampering off towards the bedroom to change and Santana sighed in thought as she stared back at the TV.
"What a miserable weekend." Rachel said as they walked up the rain soaked street, glad that there was a break in the weather while they tried to catch a cab. "But today was lovely." she smiled.
"I'm glad you liked it." Finn said, with a proud smile.
"It was very thoughtful of you to get us tickets to that show. I know it's not in your budget just yet." He just shrugged.
"Eh, it's okay, I'll be getting paid next week and I put it on my credit card for now, no big deal."
"Dinner was wonderful too. It's been nice spending the day out in the city, just the two of us." she smiled shyly. "It kind of feels like everything I've always wanted is happening, us, New York, school, Broadway. It's perfect."
"It is pretty perfect, isn't it?" he said with a grin, squeezing her hand as he reached out his other hand to hail a cab. "One day I'm going to figure out how to get a cab driver's attention and it'll be even more perfect." he said, causing her to laugh.
"I'm glad you liked the show as well. I thought you might like Avenue Q, it's quite critically acclaimed but the subject matter is a little more modern. It won 3 Tonys."
"That's those awards you always talk about right?"
"Yes, they're like the Oscars of Broadway." she said, climbing into the taxi they hailed and giving their address. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. "I can't believe school starts tomorrow already."
"Yeah, but you're excited." he said, nudging her gently. "I'm sure you'll do great. When do you start your vocal classes?"
"Wednesday evening." she said and he nodded, processing the information. "Don't worry, tomorrow I'll have a schedule prepared for you so that you know where I am all the time."
"Cool." he said. "How are your dads, any better about Santana's car?"
"They're still pretty angry. In fact, I'm probably going to be on low funds for a little while. That was certainly money that they didn't expect to spend and they're not pleased."
"At least the car comes back on Tuesday." he said.
"Yes, and then I hope we can put this whole debacle behind us once and for all. It's bad enough I'll never live this down, but hearing about it on a daily basis is getting quite tiring."
"So, what you said about community theater, are you going to start looking into that?" he asked after a few moments of comfortable silence.
"Maybe soon. I really want to settle into my new schedule and make sure I don't put too much on myself. It's most important that I succeed in my courses and vocal training. I'm lucky enough that my dads have saved enough that I don't have to worry about work for now."
"Yeah, that's pretty awesome." he agreed. "I think you definitely should do it though. I mean I'm sure they'll be opportunities in your school, but it will be good to get involved in something outside that too."
"Why are you so eager to have me take up another activity?" she said, eyeing him suspiciously.
"No reason really. I just think it's a good idea for everyone to have their own thing." he shrugged. "It's important."
"What about you?"
"Well, Jeff and I were talking about starting up a band maybe."
"A band?"
"Yeah, I would drum and he'd play bass. He's got another friend that plays guitar that he said might be interested so we might try and jam and see what happens."
"Don't you think you should be focusing on your career and school?"
"It's not like I can't do both. I love music and I really miss what we had in Glee club. I think this could be a cool way for me to make friends and have something that's my own again." he said looking at her seriously. "I feel like I need that here. You all have so much going on, I want to make sure I find my thing too."
"What kind of band?"
"Just a cover band." he said. "We figured we could get some gigs around here and play around for fun a little. Nothing too serious."
"I guess that could be fun for you." she said as they paid the driver and exited the cab.
"You could come see us play, maybe even sing a song or two sometimes." he said, opening the apartment door for her as they headed towards the elevator.
"I do love performing." she said with a smile. "I suppose that could be fun as a hobby for you." she agreed after thinking for a minute. "Jeff seems like a nice guy from the brief time I met him. We should all hang out soon."
"Yeah, definitely, he's been saying the same thing. We'll have to set something up in the next couple of weekends."
They made their way to the door and Rachel put her key in, opening the door only to be greeted with the sound of the TV blaring and Brittany and Santana heatedly making out on the couch.
"Oh my God my eyes, my eyes!" she screamed covering her eyes.
"Shit." Santana said, shooting up quickly and causing Brittany to almost fall off the couch, as she reached forward to grab her back up.
"Hi guys." Finn said awkwardly. "Um, how was your...day?"
"Great." Brittany said.
"This is why you have a bedroom with a door and a lock." Rachel said with a huff. Brittany looked confused.
"You weren't home." Santana shot back. "And you said you wouldn't be back till..." she trailed off seeing the clock read 9:07. "Oops, guess we lost track of time." she said with a sigh.
"It was just sweet lady kisses Rachel, we weren't doing anything else, I mean we'd save that for-" Santana elbowed her to shut up. "Too much again?" she whispered and Santana nodded.
"That was something I never needed to see, thank you." Rachel said as she sat on the other couch and Finn went to grab a water.
"Well, sorry, but those are the breaks of living with another couple. I'm sure one day I'm going to have to deal with walking in on you and Frankenteen." Santana said, suddenly bringing a hand to her forehead. "Gross, mental image I'll never get rid of." She shook her head.
"How was your date?" Brittany asked as she cuddled into Santana's side and attempted to both diffuse and change the subject.
"It was excellent." Rachel said, lighting up. "The show was wonderful and very funny. I think even you would enjoy it Santana. It employs a healthy dose of sarcasm, which we all know you are quite fluent in."
"Yeah, it was actually funny. And there were muppets."
"Muppets?" Brittany's eyes lit up. "San, we should go too!" Santana sighed.
"We'll see."
"We went to a great Italian restaurant too, we should all try it sometime." Rachel suggested.
"It was really good and not too expensive." Finn agreed.
"Okay." Santana shrugged.
"How was your day?" Rachel asked.
"I just hung out home and lounged out. Britts went out shopping."
"And I got a job!" Brittany said excitedly, re-counting the details she had given to Santana earlier that evening.
"Nice!" Finn said. "Free drinks."
"Great." Rachel said with a sigh. "Just what we all need." Santana chuckled, appreciating Brittany's job for the first time.
"You're really screwed now Berry." she said and Rachel just pouted and nudged Finn in the ribs when he laughed along with her. "Well, we'll leave you to continue your date night." she said dragging Brittany up with her as she headed towards the hall. "We're going to go enjoy the rest of our last night of freedom in our room, you know the one with the door and the lock." she said, laughing again as they made their way down the hall.
"She's insufferable."
"Oh, come on Rachel." Finn said with a laugh. "It's not that bad. I think you guys are actually getting along much better." Rachel just sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's go watch a movie." he said, turning off the TV and tugging her up as they made their way into their own room for the night.