A/N: Hi everyone. A little longer than expected, so apologize for the delay but I was sick for the majority of this week and I didn't get to really start writing until Friday. So, most of what I have planned for the rest of this story takes place during the latter half of their second year of school, so this and the next few chapters are kind of a few glimpses into their lives as we get there. This chapter is about their first summer in the city and a few highlights, especially Quinn's visit.
As for last chapter, I'm really glad everyone liked Brittany coming to the rescue. I really wanted to have Britt stand up for Santana and just solidify how much she's really in it and in love with Santana. Someone did mention her being exceptionally eloquent with Santana's mother and just to comment on that – from my perspective Brittany has always been especially eloquent when it comes to emotional issues. I feel like that's where she's at her best and she's always very well spoken – like in the locker scenes or the prom scene – so that's the train of thought I was going on.
Hope you all enjoy! Apologies if there are any errors at all, I really wanted to get this up and I went over it once but I usually check it a couple times before I post. Thanks again for reviews/alerts/favorites, I'll be back with more soon.
Oh, and also I got a note on tumblr last week, but if anyone else wants to contact me that way, I'm at therewasamouseinmine [dot] tumblr [dot] com
June 2013
"This is absolutely unacceptable. We're full time residents of this household! We pay half the rent and have a say in who gets to stay here and who doesn't."
"You can't just mandate that our best friend can't come stay here. That's like me telling you that Lady Face Hummel can't come stay here."
"That's completely different – Quinn used to date my boyfriend!" Santana shrugged.
"So? Kurt dated Brittany." Rachel narrowed her eyes.
"Don't even try and compare the two situations. Even you know that it's ridiculous."
"Whatever." Santana said throwing her hands in the air. "This is totally unfair. You really do have a flair for the drama, don't you?" she shook her head. "All that shit that went down with you and Quinn and Frankenteen over there was in high school and was over years ago. Stop living in the past."
"Seriously Rachel, you're acting even crazier than you normally do." Brittany said from the couch, sipping soda from a straw. "It's not right for you to say who can and can't visit us." She pouted.
"My name is not Santana, that pout won't work on me." Santana muttered in Spanish and shook her head.
"You guys were getting along in senior year, it's not like you still have stupid boy drama." Brittany added.
"It's not a matter of drama or getting along. I'm quite confident upon seeing Quinn once more that we'll get along just fine, but having her stay in this house is a completely different story. These are tight quarters and she's proved to be nothing short of bi-polar. I'm not comfortable with it."
"What about you Finn?" Santana challenged. "You've been exceptionally quiet through all of this and you have no problem speaking up when you agree with Berry. What do you have to say?"
"I...well...I mean..."
"Spit it out!" He sighed in frustration.
"I have no issues with Quinn. Everything with us is in the past." he shrugged and looked to Rachel. "I'm kind of insulted that you don't even trust me enough to have her under the same roof for a couple days."
"It's not that I don't trust you Finn. I don't trust her. She's completely unstable and who knows what she'll try when given the opportunity to be in your presence again." Santana rolled her eyes.
"Gross. You know what? Enough insulting Quinn!" Santana spat. "She's a completely different person now and she's doing really well." she made a disgusted face. "Completely over that stage where she would chase around your man child over there." Finn frowned.
"That's fantastic for her and I'd love to see her but I'm not comfortable with her staying in this house." Rachel countered.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Finn asked, standing to walk over towards her. "Seriously, I mean do you think she's going to just jump me and suddenly I'll forget all about you and just sleep with Quinn? Give me a little credit." he said, turning to Santana and Brittany. "I vote she comes." he said defiantly as he walked into the other room.
"Yes!" said Brittany, pumping a fist.
"Why can't she stay in a hotel?"
"Because she didn't start a summer job yet and her mother is being bitchy enough about her coming. She's trying to reserve what cash she has on getting here and actually doing something when she does." she sighed. "This is ridiculous, I don't have to explain anything to you. It's 3 to 1, she's coming next week and she stays here."
"How long is inconvenience occurring for?"
"She gets in on Friday afternoon and leaves on Monday night." Santana answers.
"Just deal with it Rachel." Brittany said, shaking her head slightly in frustration.
"So...here it is." Santana smiled, opening the door and allowing Quinn to enter with her bag ahead of her as she took in her surroundings. "That-" she pointed to the couch, "will be your quarters for the next few nights." She shrugged. "I tried to kick Berry and Hudson out of their room but it wasn't happening." Quinn chuckled and tossed her sunglasses on the table, plopping onto the couch.
"It's cool. I'm just glad to be able to crash here for a few nights and get out of Lima with my mom." she rolled her eyes.
"I bet." Santana nodded, leaning against the back of the opposite couch and studying the pillows in thought. "I'm so glad I got out of Lima." she said honestly, looking back up at Quinn who just nodded.
"Yeah, I get that, especially for you. My mom may be annoying, but living with yours would be..."
"Yeah." she said with a small smirk. "Although, she's getting better." she admitted.
"Yeah, you said Brittany had a talk with her on the trip." Santana nodded.
"Yep. It was pretty amazing." she smiled.
"Brittany certainly has a way of getting Lopez women to do what she wants, huh?" Santana shrugged.
"Britts kinda gets everyone to do what she wants." she laughed, moving around to sit on the loveseat.
"But it's still going okay? With your mom?"
"Yeah, I mean...it's far from perfect. But our conversations are a little more frequent. Even a little more civil. It's baby steps I guess, but she does ask about Brittany."
"That's great." Santana nodded.
"It's a relief. Hopefully she'll keep coming along."
"I'm sure she will." Quinn assured her. "So...what's the plan?"
"Well, Brittany started work like a half hour ago. I thought maybe since this is the only night she's working while you're here we'd go see her, grab food there and a few drinks. I mean...it's certainly cheap."
"Works for me. What about your roommates?" she asked with an arched brow and Santana laughed.
"Berry is at community theater something or another and Finn gets home soon but I half remember him saying that he was going somewhere with one of the guys from the band."
"I'm bummed I don't get to see you play."
"Me too. We rock." she said factually.
"Glad to see your ego is still in tact."
"You know it." she said standing. "I'll give you the grand tour." she said nodding towards the hall. "And then we can get ready." she said as her phone buzzed.
Brittany 3 (6:37) - Stop hogging the company and bring Quinn noooowwww! :-)
Santana just shook her head and laughed.
"What?" Quinn asked and Santana flashed her the phone in response. "Awww, she feels left out. Come on, let's get moving before she gets sad."
"See what I mean? Always gets her way."
Santana and Quinn spent most of the previous night getting tipsy at the bar with Brittany serving them and sneaking them free shots. The bar was busy as usual, and they caught up on the basics and made general conversation as they drank before Santana leaned over the bar giving Brittany a sweet kiss and promising to see her in bed a little after 1. Finn and Rachel were already apparently asleep or at least locked in their room, so Santana made sure Quinn was set up and headed to bed herself.
The next morning came and Santana yawned, turning in Brittany's arms so she could place a soft kiss to her lips.
"Mmmm...no...I don't want Ariel to fly the plane to France." Santana furrowed her brow and giggled softly as her girlfriend continued to mumble nonsense in her sleep and it made her wonder exactly what Brittany dreamt about. Shaking her head and deciding it was better left untouched she kissed her forehead and gently slipped out of her arms to go see how things were going outside.
Stepping into the living room her eyes glanced at Quinn, still very much asleep on the couch and traveled to the kitchen where Rachel and Finn sat at the table, drinking coffee quietly and reading the paper over breakfast.
"Morning." Finn said softly.
"Hey." Santana mumbled, making her way to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water.
"What did you do last night?" he asked and Rachel looked up with interest.
"Just hung out with Brittany at work and had some dinner and drinks." she said simply, moving to get her own coffee. She sat down and tried to wake up over her coffee as she pulled some of the discarded paper over to read herself. After a little while Quinn came padding into the kitchen in her pajamas.
"Hey." she said with a groggy smile.
"Hey!" Finn smiled and stood up, going over to give her a hug as Rachel's eyes widened in jealousy and Santana just shook her head. "How are you?"
"I'm good!" she said with a smile.
"You want some coffee? Water? Juice?" he asked and Rachel scowled at him.
"Coffee would be wonderful, thank you." she nodded and walked towards the table.
"No problem."
"Hey Rachel." she said, sitting down next to Santana and across from Rachel.
"Hello Quinn." she said with a tight smile. "How are you?"
"I'm doing great. Ohio state is treating me well. You?"
"That's great. I'm doing very well. Finn and I are doing wonderful." she said. Quinn shot Santana a look and Santana just rolled her eyes.
"Here you go." Finn said, putting a cup down in front of Quinn and sitting down. They made light conversation over Finn's career choice and Ohio state and finally an hour later Brittany appeared, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Hey baby." Santana called and Brittany pouted.
"There's no seats." Santana smirked and held her arms open, pulling her chair back so Brittany could sit across her lap. She smiled and put her arms around her neck, giving her a gentle kiss before leaning her head against her shoulder. "Yeay, everyone is here. It's like almost half the glee club." Santana smiled and kissed Brittany's temple.
"So we're going to the park and going shopping today right?" Quinn asked and Santana nodded. "Yep, we can grab a quick breakfast on the way."
"Do you guys want to join us?" Brittany offered.
"I...um...I..." Finn stumbled.
"We have other plans." Rachel said.
"Well we're going out later. Quinn doesn't have a fake ID so we'll probably just be back at the Station or that seedy bar Santana found around the corner that doesn't check if we get sick of it."
"Duffy's?" Finn asked and Santana nodded. "Adam is throwing a party tonight actually."
"Oh shit, that's right." Santana said. "Forgot, but oh well."
"Who is Adam?"
"Their bassist." Brittany said, still cuddled into Santana's shoulder. "He has a really sick apartment and he throws great parties."
"Yeah, just ask Rachel." Quinn quirked a brow as they all turned to a furiously blushing Rachel.
"His parties are fine."
"Oh please." Brittany giggled. "He always has jello shots and Rachel does like 70 and then tries to entertain everyone."
"Sounds fun." Quinn said. "I don't mind if you guys wanna stop by."
"We'll make an appearance."
"Wait a minute, you kissed Mike Chang?" Santana asked, pausing before they continued up the block.
"No, I said Mike kissed me." Quinn sighed and rolled her eyes, stopping to look at them. "Look it was one time, we were both drunk and lonely and he totally regretted it."
"So you didn't?" Brittany asked.
"What?"
"You said he regretted it, does that mean that you didn't?" Brittany pressed and Santana squinted with curiosity. Quinn sighed.
"No, of course I regret it. I'm like a cheating whore okay? I've been involved in some form of cheating with most of the straight male members of the glee club and I'm not proud of it so clearly I'm not happy that I continued the streak." she waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever, it was a moment of weakness and he was really missing Tina and it just started to stop being weird. Just forget it, pretend I never said anything."
"You like Mike Chang." Santana said with a smirk and Brittany nodded.
"She totally does."
"I'm told you I'm dating Josh."
"Oh please, you hardly seem interested in that dude and the last thing you need is another football player." Santana said, ringing the buzzer and waiting for the door to open.
"I don't want to come between Tina and Mike. She's already pissed."
"I'm sure." Brittany said, raising her eyebrows.
"How did you not hear about this?" Santana asked, opening the door and letting them walk through. Brittany shrugged.
"I don't know. I haven't talked to Tina in a while actually." She frowned. "She did sound kinda upset the last time I did, but mostly we just talked about them visiting later on in the summer and her school plans."
"She's not coming to Ohio State. Mike was pretty upset but she got a full scholarship to the University of Chicago and it's one of the top schools in the country so..." Quinn shrugged.
"I think you and Mike could work." Santana said, pressing the button on the elevator.
"I'm so staying out of this." Brittany said, holding up a hand.
"Don't worry Britt, I'm just focusing on Josh right now." Quinn said.
Once they left the elevator they headed into the party, leaving that conversation behind. They handed some beers to Adam who greeted them happily and proceeded to introduce Quinn to the rest of the guys from the band and their girlfriends, stopping to say hi to Finn and Rachel. Things were going smoother than expected and Santana was relieved to see that despite some early tension, after a few jello shots she seemed to fall into her normal party activities of hogging the karaoke machine and chatting around to everyone.
A couple hours into the party, Rachel was hovering around the karaoke machine and Santana frowned as she eyed Brittany and dark haired stranger who seemed quite taken with her girlfriend, who to her dismay seemed just as enthralled. She took a sip of her drink and tried to keep her attitude in check as she sauntered over and stood next to where Brittany was sitting on the sofa.
"Hey Britt."
"Santana!" Brittany said, clearly a little tipsy.
"What's up?" She asked, her eyes shifting between the smiling guy on the couch and her girlfriend.
"This is Andrew and you're never going to believe where he's from!" she frowned, unimpressed.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she said, pulling her over to the side as Brittany stumbled with her frowning.
"What's wrong?"
"That guy is like all over you."
"Santana, don't be silly. He's just friendly. Everyone is super nice where he's from!"
"Why do you keep talking about where he's from?"
"He's from Oz!" Santana shook her head in confusion.
"What?"
"He said he's from Oz!" she shook her head once more trying to figure out what she was saying. "I can't understand like most of what he says and I keep trying to ask him about the flying monkeys but he just keeps saying something about Koala bears." she said, biting her lip in thought. "But I don't remember any of those in the movie." Santana's eyes widened in realization and she smiled.
"Britt, I think he means he's from Australia."
"What? No, he said..."
"No babe, Oz is what people call Australia...you know...kangaroos, Koala bears?" Brittany's mouth widened.
"Ohhhhh, no wonder he didn't seem to understand when I asked him about the munchkins. I knew it wasn't real!" Santana giggled and, grabbed Brittany's hand, pulling her into a soft kiss.
"You're such a silly drunk." she said kissing her once more. "Jeff is looking for a beer pong partner." she mumbled into her lips.
"Oooh!" Brittany said hopping up. "I'm going to go play!" she said, pecking her lips as Santana smacked her playfully on the behind and smirked seeing the guy on the couch looking dejected at what he'd just witnessed.
She watched Brittany join Jeff at the beer pong table and made her way over to join Jeff and Adam's girlfriend's where they sat back in the living room. She glanced over and saw Quinn seemed to be doing fine on her own making conversation with Finn and allowed herself to settle into some easy conversation.
Rachel programmed the karaoke machine and started up on her own rendition of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" as she gave a tipsy smile and glanced around the room. She zeroed in on Finn and Quinn talking and laughing and cringed a little on the inside, but exercised her better judgement and took a swig of her drink as she kept singing.
As she started on the next song she kept her eyes trained on her boyfriend and his ex, alcohol swirling in her head as she felt her jealousy grow. She watched as Quinn laughed casually, swatting Finn's shoulder and clenched her jaw down. Finn nodded and smiled, squeezing Quinn's shoulder gently and finally something in her snapped.
"Okay enough!" she yelled into the microphone, causing everyone to turn and snap their heads in her direction. Santana squinted in confusion and looked to Brittany who was looking back at her just as lost. She just shook her head.
"I've had to deal with you and your serial cheating ways since sophomore year! Can you just try for once in your life to keep your hands off my man? Because I assure you that he is not interested in being your next baby daddy." Quinn's eyes widened and Finn swallowed hard.
"Oh shit." Santana coughed, dropping her drink to the table as she sprang towards the mic.
"And let me tell you something else-" Rachel raged on, pointing towards the kitchen where they stood, but Santana reached the mic just in time, covering it with her hand.
"Are you insane?" she asked, glaring at Rachel as she pushed her backwards and nearly toppling them over. "Don't move!" she muttered, before turning back with a smile and speaking into the mic. "Give it up for Miss Rachel Berry everyone! And now, my lovely girl Brittany Pierce would like to dazzle you with a little Ke$ha."
Brittany looked at her in confusion but she just nodded her over with pleading eyes so she smiled and ran over, grabbing the mic as Santana hit the proper buttons to start up Tik Tok on the machine.
"Thanks." Santana mouthed, grabbing Rachel's wrist and heading towards the balcony. "So, I'll ask again – are you out of your fucking mind?"
"Did you even see them?" she said, horrified. "I mean seriously. She was all over him!" Santana sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Jesus Rachel, get over it and stop living in high school. You're making a fool out of yourself. Quinn is not even remotely interested in your oversized, but under-intelligent boyfriend. She seriously couldn't be less interested. She's got a boyfriend of her own and her mind is so far out of high school and the glee club that Finn is not even a passing thought in her mind."
"I saw them!"
"You saw them talking. Normal people talk. And if you were that bothered, you could approach her in a civil manner. You don't need to go all high drama and make a production out of it! God Berry." she shook her head. "Finn waited in line for Spice Girls tickets with me in the snow. Spice Girls tickets He clearly adores you and he's basically your lapdog yet you're still sitting here dwelling on something that happened years ago when we were in high school? Grow up!" she huffed, turning and returning inside to the party where she caught up to Brittany who was handing off the mic and they made their way towards Quinn. Rachel stood, looking out over the city as she contemplated what just happened, Santana's words having a sobering effect.
After a little while she decided to head back inside and looked around, finding Finn laughing with Jeff in the hallway.
"Hey." she said softly. "Can we talk?" Jeff just nodded and left them alone, Finn looking over to her with disappointment.
"What the hell was that Rach?"
"Sorry." she said sadly, looking down at her feet. "I just...I don't know what came over me. This whole thing with Quinn, I just let it get out of hand."
"You can say that again." he said and sighed. "Rachel, how could you even think something like that was going on with Quinn and I? I mean we put that stuff in the past over two years ago."
"I know, I know...I just...she'll always be a sore spot for me. We went through so much and I know...I mean, it's obvious there's nothing going on now. I just have a hard time trusting her."
"Rach, I'm pretty sure Quinn has absolutely no intention of trying to get me back...but even if she did," he shrugged, "all that's important is that I love you." He took her hand and pulled her close. "Just have a little faith in me...and in us, okay?" She looked up and saw the sincerity in his eyes and nodded gently.
"Okay." she said, raising her arms to reach up to his shoulders. "I'm sorry." she said.
"It's alright. Just..." he scrunched his face in thought playfully, "maybe next time you have a meltdown about something you can wait till you're not holding a mic?" he smiled. She laughed.
"Promise."
"Good." he said, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you."
"I love you too." she said, kissing him once more.
"I think you may need to apologize to our house guest though." She sighed.
"Yeah, yeah...I know."
"Good morning." Rachel said, walking into the kitchen where the three other girls were laughting over breakfast. Santana scowled at her and picked up her plate.
"Morning." Brittany said.
"How are you all feeling?"
"Hung over." Quinn responded with a sigh.
"Me too." she agreed.
"Where's the giant?" Santana asked.
"He went over to help one of his friends from the academy move."
"Well that's a sucky hang over activity." Brittany commented before standing up and sighing. "I gotta head into work." Quinn pouted.
"Sorry Britt." Brittany just shrugged and smiled as she walked towards Santana.
"Nah, it's no biggie. I'm used to it. I'll be fine. We're meeting out for sushi later, right?" Quinn nodded happily.
"Yeah, Q and I are just going sit on the couch and recover today." Santana said wrapping her arms around Brittany's neck and giving her a tender kiss. "Have a good day. We'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too." Brittany giggled and met their lips once more before heading towards the door. "Bye Rach!" she called over her shoulder.
"Bye." Rachel said with smiled, which tightened as she felt the uncomfortable tension that remained. "Quinn, I was hoping I might be able to talk for a moment?"
"If you're going to harass my company any further, I suggest you turn around." Santana said, placing food and water down for the cats who circled her feet in anticipation.
"It's okay Santana." Quinn laughed.
"Fine," she grumbled. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll meet you on the couch for a Kardashian marathon in 20." she said, heading down the hall towards her room, Sebastian quickly abandoning his food to prance after her. Quinn shook her head.
"She's so...domesticated...and with the animals and everything." She stifled a laugh and turned back to Rachel who sat across from her.
"It's almost alarming at times." Rachel agreed. "Sebastian follows her everywhere."
"Her own little feline minion." Quinn chuckled and Rachel laughed before they sat in silence for a moment.
"Quinn I..." she started to speak, " I just wanted to apologize for the way I've acted since you've arrived, most especially last night. It was uncalled for and completely inappropriate. You've been nothing but the perfect house guest." Quinn just smiled.
"It's okay Rachel. I mean..." she laughed, " I admit I thought we'd kind of moved past that in senior year. We were kind of friends." she shrugged. "But I understand that old habits die hard and we have a long history. However, I can assure you I have no interest in rekindling any kind of relationship with Finn beyond friendship." Rachel nodded.
"I can see that now...I just...I guess I've been thinking about the past and having him here and all to myself, it's been kind of freeing. Seeing you just brought up all my old defenses."
"I get it." she smiled. "So...we're good now? For real this time?" Rachel nodded.
"We're good."
"Awesome." she said with relief. "I know I stirred up a lot of crap over the past few years...just trying to settle everything down and move on."
"Well for what it's worth, you seem to be doing a great job. And, please, any time you'd like to visit, I swear, it's not an issue."
"Thanks." she said and released a breath before standing up. "I'm going to go head over to my quarters." she smirked, nodding towards the couch. "If you want to watch trashy reality TV with us, you're welcome I'm sure."
"As appealing as it sounds, I actually have a full day today. I have a community theater meeting soon and Finn and I have plans this evening. But thank you." she smiled, standing up. "No worries though, Brittany and Santana ensure that I have more than my fair share of reality TV."
"Oh, I bet they do." Quinn laughed. "Have fun."
"You too." she nodded and headed off to move on with the rest of her day with a sense of relief.
The rest of Quinn's trip went by without incident and consisted mostly of the girls hanging out and walking around Manhattan. It seemed like before they knew it they were packing back into the car and driving her out to the airport, promising to see each other the next time the girls chanced a visit back to Lima.
As June came to a close, all of the girls in the house found themselves easily adjusting to a very light summer schedule. Santana picked up a few bar waitressing shifts where Brittany worked as some people had gone back home for the summer and actually found a sense of accomplishment at making a few dollars of her own to spend, though she was still grateful to so far avoid working during the school year.
Rachel's dad's came to visit for a few days in early July and she thoroughly enjoyed seeing several Broadway shows and shopping with them through the city. Finn still had the tiring academy each day but managed to meet them each night and attend every show and dinner without complaint, which Rachel was grateful for.
Everyone enjoyed everything the city had to offer in the summer from street festivals to free outdoor concerts to the Monday night movies each week in Bryant Park. Weekly movies in the park had become a thing for Brittany and Santana because they both just loved laying out on the grass under the stars and watching old films. Sometimes it was them and sometimes they met some of Brittany's friend but either way they never missed a week. Even Finn and Rachel tagged along once or twice when he wasn't too tired from his days at the academy. Overall with the warm weather and the relief of stress from school, the summer made them love living in the city even more than they had before.
In late July Brittany's parents and sister finally showed up for a long overdue visit. In contrast from Santana's parents' visit earlier that year, the 5 days spent with the Pierce family was relatively stress free, although quite exhausting. Much like their daughter, the Pierces were interested in seeing everything imaginable in the city.
Between trips through Central Park, a ride to Liberty Island, the Museum of Natural History, Times Square visits and more, once they left Brittany and Santana wanted nothing more than to rest. Even with the fast pace of the trip she had to admit it was nice having stress free dinners bought for them each night and even nicer to be in the presence of parents that were as accepting as Brittany's. Sure her own parents were making great strides and the tension was easing, but with the Pierce family, they were free to just be...them and it was liberating.
"You girls have really done well for yourselves here, Santana." Mr. Pierce commented as Brittany and Kelly had taken off to play with the video games in Dave and Busters on the last night of their trip. "We're really proud of you guys."
"Thanks Mr. Pierce." she smiled. "That really means a lot."
"We miss you guys so much, but we're really glad to see how happy you are here." Mrs. Pierce agreed.
"We love it here." Santana admitted, holding back the strong emotions she felt at the way Brittany's parents were always so inclusive of her when they spoke. "It was really great seeing you guys for the past few days. I know Brittany has really enjoyed it."
"So have we. I haven't been to the city in years." Mr. Pierce said with a chuckle. "It's been fun running back through it all and seeing what's changed and what's the same. I know Kelly has loved every minute of it as well." he said and Santana laughed.
"She's going to be exhausted when she gets back to Lima." Santana said.
"Santana!" Brittany came running over and threw her arms around her neck. "Come play skee ball with us!"
"It's okay babe, you hang out with your sister."
"Please." Brittany pouted and Santana sighed.
"Okay, okay. Give me like, 5 minutes."
"Yes!" Kelly cheered and Brittany pecked her cheek before taking off with her sister once more. She turned back to Brittany's parents who just laughed.
"You spoil my daughter rotten." Mrs. Pierce said seriously and Santana shrugged.
"I can't help it."
"You know, I know we've talked about this a little in the past," Mrs. Pierce said, putting a gentle hand over Santana's, "but we're really so happy you two are together." Santana beamed.
"Well, me too." she agreed.
"Really Santana, you two have been attached at the hip for long as we can remember. And we know how much you love our little girl." Mr. Pierce agreed.
"And we've adored you since the moment we've met you. You know you're like another daughter to us. You can always come to us for anything you need. Don't be shy, okay?" Santana nodded, swallowing back a tear.
"Thanks." She said meaningfully. "That means more to me than you can imagine. I'm really glad you guys are so okay, with..." she waved her hands around, "all of this."
"You love who you love sweetie. And that's how it should be. And Brittany is crazy about you." Mrs. Pierce said emphatically and Santana laughed.
"Yeah well, I hope so, because I'm crazy about her too." Feeling too overwhelmed by the conversation Santana laughed nervously and nodded backwards. "I better head over and play some skee ball before your daughters come back and abduct me."
"Go on." Mr. Pierce said. "We'll see you over there in a bit." Santana smiled and headed over to where Brittany stood, watching as her sister navigated a racing game.
"Hey!" Brittany said, wrapping an arm around Santana's waist. "Everything okay?"
"Everything's perfect." she smiled and pecked her lips. "You know your parents." Brittany just grinned widely.
"Good." she said, tugging her towards the other end as Kelly finished up. "Time to for Kelly to kick our butts."
In the second week of August Mike and Tina appeared for a long weekend and the couples were saddened to find that the once happy couple seemed to be showing it's cracks. After a short while it seemed clear that Tina wasn't over Mike's little slip up with Quinn and Mike wasn't over the fact that they would be in separate states in a few weeks. The worst part was that it seemed like instead of talking about those bigger issues, they continued to fight over the trivial things.
Regardless of the tension that existed between the couple, everyone still managed to have a good time while they were in town. They did some sightseeing during the days and Brittany finally got in her long awaited trip to the Bronx Zoo, which to no one's surprise, she loved. They even happened to show up on a week the band was performing and luckily at the Village Station, so Brittany was able to get them into see the show.
Still as fun as it was having their old friends in town for a while, everyone had to admit they were a bit relieved when they left and the tension between them followed.
"It's so sad. They used to be the happiest, cutest couple." Rachel lamented, her head on Finn's chest as they all watched TV in the living room.
"Yeah but it was high school. Not everyone that is together in high school stays together." he said. "It's even harder when one person stays in high school and the other goes away to college. Look at Kurt and Blaine."
"It just makes me feel like we're lucky. All four of us." she said, tossing a look towards Brittany and Santana who lay on the other couch, Santana's head on Brittany's lap and Sebastian in a ball on her stomach.
"Yeah." Brittany agreed. "But maybe they're just not meant to be. Or at least not meant to be right now. I just hope they figure it out soon."
"Yeah, they're just making each other miserable." Santana sighed.
"It's all different when you get out into the real world." Finn said with a sigh, before tapping Rachel's shoulder. "I gotta head to bed, you coming?" She nodded and stood up. "Night guys."
"Goodnight." They called as Rachel trailed Finn to their room and shut the door.
"San?"
"Yeah, Britt?" she asked, looking up at her girlfriend who had a serious expression painted across her face.
"I don't ever want us to be like that okay?"
"Be like what?" Santana asked, scrunching her nose in confusion.
"Like Mike and Tina. If we have problems, we have to talk about them and not avoid them. And if I'm ever making you miserable, just tell me." Santana just laughed lightly and leaned up to meet their lips.
"You could never, in a million years make me miserable Brittany." she said, kissing her again. "And we're already good at talking."
"But still."
"I promise." Santana said seriously and smiled, laying back down. "But seriously, you and me?" She shook her head simply. "It's a whole different thing than Mike and Tina." Brittany smiled and nodded.
"I know. Just making sure." Santana squeezed her thigh. "You and I are forever."
"You know it." Santana smiled and reached back up to steal another kiss.
The rest of the summer passed by more quickly than anyone would have liked and before they knew it they were facing the start of their second school year.
"I hate amusement parks. Rides really aren't my things." Rachel commented. It was the week before Labor Day and classes were picking up during the coming week, so they had decided to pack into Santana's car and head out to Six Flags to enjoy their last true free weekend of the summer.
"Aww, but you love group dates hobbit." Santana smiled into the rearview mirror as Brittany squeezed the hand that sat on the shifter between them.
"I hate roller coasters."
"Don't worry, you probably won't be able to get on any of them anyway because I doubt you're tall enough." Brittany laughed into her hand and Rachel scowled.
"I just don't understand the need to drive almost two hours out of the city and spend all of this money to wait on lines and get tossed around on rides all day long."
"Come on Rach, it'll be fun." Finn encouraged. "Besides, summer's almost over and it's an excuse for us all to get out and do something together."
"Whatever." She pouted as they pulled up to the gates.
"Santana, don't forget safari first."
"Don't worry baby." Santana smiled. "I know."
A little over an hour later they walked through the doors of Six Flags, with mixed moods.
"That was like the coolest thing we've ever done in our entire life!" Brittany smiled broadly.
"Damn giant birds." Santana muttered.
"Aww, baby but they were so cute." Brittany said, holding onto Santana's arms with
"They tried to like...peck my windows." Santana frowned.
"The ostriches were kind of feisty today, but you gotta admit they were pretty giant and awesome." Santana just sighed, grumbling as they continued through the park. "And I know you love when they giraffe stuck his head in the sunroof." she sang playfully and Santana shook her head, barely able to contain a chuckle.
"If I wasn't so worried about extensive damage to my car...I guess it would have been pretty cool."
"It was totally cool. Like the animals were right up in our faces." she bounced. "I loved it!" Santana just smiled and kissed her cheek.
"I'm glad you liked it. Berry seemed to enjoy it as well."
"While it was wonderful experience to see such magnificent animals up close, I still feel bad for those sad little baboons behind the fence. They looked so sad."
"Because they used to rip the shit out of people's cars." Santana frowned. "And that's true stuff, I did extensive research on this place before I drove my car into it."
"Even still."
"I still thought it was awesome." Brittany said without care. "Let's go on rides!"
"Ugh." Rachel groaned. "Can we please try one of the easier ones first." she asked.
"Yeah, sure. Santana, you looked at this place, what's the best one to try first?" he asked. Santana looked at the map and bit her lip as she mulled the options.
"Don't even try to say the enormous thing over there." Rachel said pointing over her shoulder. "I already saw that thing about it being the tallest one in the world." She pouted.
"Relax Froto, I'm not going to tell you to go on that first, you think I'm an idiot?" Brittany leaned her chin on her shoulder surveying the map.
"How about this one?" she said. "Nitro sounds like a cool name."
"Oh yeah..." Santana smiled. "That one is perfect."
"Are you...are you sure?" Rachel asked.
"Totally." Santana said, nodding in affirmation. "Let's do it."
A half hour later as they stepped off the ride, Rachel turned to Santana with anger.
"Are you seriously trying to tell me that was the easiest ride you could have put me on?"
"Whoa Rachel, please." Brittany said grabbing her ears. "I don't even thing I can hear out of my right ear because of how much you screamed for the past few minutes." She winced.
"Okay, okay, so maybe I gave you like the hardest one first. I mean I knew you wouldn't go on the big one so..."
"I specifically asked to start on something easy. Had I known the intensity of that ride, I would have never gone on it." Santana shrugged and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, look on the bright side, everything else will be easier now."
"That was completely unsafe! My shoulders weren't even strapped in. At the height and speed that thing went it should be illegal!" Santana groaned.
"Please Berry if you want to live to see the fireworks, let it go."
"I am never sitting next to her on a ride again." Brittany huffed and Santana, squeezed her hand before letting it go and walking towards the gift shop.
"You guys head towards that Batman ride and I'll be there in like two minutes."
"Where are you going?" Finn asked.
"I just want to check something out, be right there."
As the day wore on they made their way through all of the rides that they had wanted to get on. In the end Rachel was actually grateful to have gotten the hardest over with first. Thought she screamed as loud as she could during every roller coaster and the log flume, they were all relieved to see her panic quickly simmer down as she was able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening.
As the night went on they spent their time walking the grounds eating carnival food and winning prizes at the games. Santana still wasn't sure where they were going to put the 5 stuffed animals Brittany was carrying around, but she was so thrilled with them that she didn't even dream of complaining. They rode the ferris wheel together and headed off to find a bench for the fireworks show before the partk closed for the night.
Both couples cuddled together on separate ends of the bench as they sat patiently waiting for the display to begin, just happy to rest their tired feet. Rachel and Finn popped up for a moment to go to the bathrooms, saying they'd be right back.
"Today was amazing." Brittany said, as she nuzzled into her girlfriends neck and smiled.
"Good, I'm glad you had fun." Santana responded, squeezing the arm around her shoulder and placing a gently kiss to her head.
"I'm really glad you came up with this idea. And it was really cool you decided to invite Rachel and Finn along. I mean I know you don't always love them but I know you've learned to like them...at least a little."
"They're not the worst people to hang out with." Santana admitted. "Sometimes." Brittany chuckled.
"I'm just glad Rachel adjusted to this. That was actually really smart, making her go on the scary one first." she murmured.
"Mmm...yeah well, I admit it worked out well but I was really just being a bitch." she said and Brittany let out a hearty laugh.
"Santana!" she chastised, although she was still laughing. "That's mean."
"It was too easy." she said with a giggle. "Plus, I bought the picture from that ride and I'm totally going to hack her facebook and change it to her profile picture tomorrow." Brittany continued to giggle. " Plus, there was a total bonus of Finn making the most terrified face."
"Are you kidding? Let me see!" she said popping up, but Santana pulled her back.
"Not now, when we get home. I don't want them to see in case they come back." Brittany huffed.
"You're just making excuses because you want to cuddle."
"That too." Santana said softly and Brittany grinned up at her. She leaned down to give her girlfriend a soft peck before letting out a contented sigh and falling back against the bench.
"Can you believe it's been a whole year we've been living here?" Brittany asked, toying with Santana's hand as she entwined their fingers.
"Best year ever." Santana said definitively as she squeezed her hand.
"Yeah, it was...well so far. I bet you the next one is even better."
"Me too."
Finn and Rachel came back, sitting down on the other side of the bench and snuggling back up to wait.
"Hey, this was a really good idea Santana." Finn said with a smile. "We had fun."
"Yes, although I was hesitant at first and put up quite a fuss, I have to admit that I had a really good time today with you guys. I know we don't really do date nights and things anymore, but this reminded me of when we did."
"I liked date nights." Brittany pouted.
"We all just got so busy." Santana shrugged. "But we hang out together a lot with the band and just regular day to day things in the house."
"I know, but it's fun to get out and do things sometimes."
"We should try and do them every once and a while." Santana looked at her skeptically. "No more schedules. I promise." she said seriously and Santana smiled.
"Okay, every once in a while." she laughed a little to herself.
They sat in silence as there was some music that made it clear the display was going to start. A few moments later the sky began to illuminate and they watched with big smiles as they fireworks flashed above their head. Santana smiled chanced a glance at Brittany and saw her face lit up with pure joy as she watched the display above her and somehow she couldn't decide which she'd rather watch.
Feeling the stare Brittany turned and giggled when she met Santana's eyes.
"San, you're missing the whole show!" she said with a chucked and Santana just shook her head.
"I've got the best show in the world right next to me." she said and Brittany blushed, leaning over to kiss her softly and lovingly. They parted a few moments later with a smile and Santana pecked her lips once more.
"I love you."
"I love you too." Brittany said with a smile, returning the peck. "So much." Santana smiled broadly and Brittany nudged her. "Now watch the fireworks before they're over. I'm going to be here forever." she said, turning back to watch the sky.
Santana swallowed the lump she felt at that statement and turned her attention to the sky, before taking a quick glance across the bench. All in all, there were worse ways to spend a summer day.