A/N: Hey everyone! Okay, I'm not promising specific days anymore because whenever I do, something magically ends up getting in the way! :-p I do apologize for not updating sooner like I'd said I would, but my new job has been kicking my ass.
Either way, here's the next chapter. As I said last time, this one is mostly light, but it starts to get into all of the bigger things that are coming up next. I will say the chapters coming up are ones I've really been dying to write since November when I mapped out the story, so I'm pretty happy to actually be getting here! And I'm excited to actually start writing them, so hopefully quicker updates.
Hope you all enjoy! Thanks for all of the reviews/favorites/alerts as always and for the reminders to post again on tumblr! It all really helps to keep me going. I only had time for a really quick check again this time, so apologies for any errors!
"Airports are so disgusting." Rachel said and Santana rolled her eyes and flicked her sunglasses back over her eyes.
"You are impossible to travel with." she said.
"You can't blame me for not wanting to get into that hideous machine. It's like they're looking at your insides."
"You're such a prude. So you'd rather get felt up by some underpaid federal employee?" she shook her head.
"Can they really see inside you?" Brittany whispered, nudging Santana with a furrowed brow. "Could they like, see what I ate?"
"No Britt, don't worry about it." she turned to Rachel. "Berry is just paranoid." she said watching Rachel wash her hands with a sanitizing wipe.
"I'll have you know it's a proven fact that airports and planes are breeding grounds for germs. They're everywhere and I, for one, do not intend on spending spring break being sick." she huffed, handing Finn a wipe as well.
"Rach, I just used one of those."
"You can never over-sanitize."
"Actually, you totally can. You use enough of that stuff, it kills the good germs. Just saying." Santana said. "Come on Britts, let's go look in this store. We'll meet you two at the gate."
"Don't be late Santana, boarding starts in 20 minutes."
"Yes mother." she shook her head. "Do you really think we'd miss our flight to Key West? Seriously?"
"Merely a friendly reminder."
"We've got this under control." Brittany said with a serious nod and they parted ways.
"How the fuck did I end up on spring break with the fun killer over there?" Santana grumbled as she headed into the shop, looking around and Brittany smirked.
"She'll be fine when she gets down there and loosens up."
"Oh, you mean when I start spiking all her drinks with tequila shots?" Brittany chuckled.
"Exactly." She said, as she tugged on Santana's arm and placed a quick kiss on her lips, which caused her frown to break into a smile. "I'm just happy we get to go on spring break this year!" she bounced and Santana nodded.
"Me too. It was a must. Even if the lame roommates had to tag along." Brittany laughed, shaking her head.
"I'm amused by the fact that you still like to pretend they're not your friends."
"Let's not exaggerate. They're tolerable most of the time and I think I've been able to make some significant enhancements by extending my influence over them for the past year and a half, but we're not friends." Brittany rolled her eyes and kissed her once more, as she turned to thumb through a magazine on the shelf.
"They're your friends."
"They'll be much more tolerable when we finally move out." Santana said, as her eyes flickered over to gauge Brittany's expression. "Have you given any more thought to that?" Brittany sighed and shrugged, as she looked back over to her.
"I don't know Santana, there's a lot to think about. I mean, I feel bad just ditching them."
"The giant has a real job now."
"But still, he's at like the lowest pays he can be for that job."
"So? Still a job."
"Yeah, then there's us. How are we just going to afford a place? I mean I'm sure my parents would pay the same...but I don't think they'd be able to double it."
"My parents are much more receptive to us now, I'm sure I could get my dad to contribute more. And we don't need a two bedroom if it's just us. But I mean, we could help too. I told you I'm going to get a job soon if we do that." Brittany bit her lip in thought.
"Can we just talk about it when we get back?" she asked. "I don't want to get into all this right now, not when we're going away for a few days to relax." Santana's shoulders fell.
"Do you not want to live with me?" she asked with a small voice.
"Of course I do!" Brittany said emphatically, grabbing her hand and kissing it sweetly. "I totally can't wait to live alone with just me you Ariel and Sebastian." she said reassuringly.
"Then why are you so...opposed?"
"I'm not! I just want to make sure if we do that we can afford it." she gave a small guilty smile. "I'm kind of attached to the roommates too, it's been fun living with them. But mostly I just want to make sure we know what we're doing. It's a big decision." Santana nodded.
"Okay."
"Don't stress it Santana, we'll figure it out. I promise." she winked and pulled her over to the next store.
Unsurprisingly, Brittany and Santana stumbled onto the plane at final boarding to take their seats next to a disapproving Rachel. She glared at them as they slid in the row pas her and settled themselves into the seats.
"Stop with the glares, we were late I get it." Santana said, rolling her eyes. "We still made it, we're on the plane, so chill out."
"I warned you about boarding. You nearly missed it."
"Nearly, but we didn't. That's what's important." she sighed. "Berry if you do this for the next 4 days while I'm getting my relaxation on, I will kill you."
"Perhaps if you could make an attempt at being responsible, I wouldn't have to tell you these things." Santana rolled her eyes.
"Britt, do I really have to sit here?" she asked from where she sat between them. Brittany pouted.
"You know I get antsy on planes if I can't look out the window." Santana closed her eyes and let out a breath.
"Fine." she said, sinking back into her seat as Brittany smiled and pecked her cheek.
They arrived in Key West Friday evening in time to check in to their hotel and grab a quick, cheap dinner a few blocks down. They spent most of the night walking around and just checking out the town as they were all admittedly exhausted from the combination of school/work and travel.
After a few hours and a couple quick drinks they all decided to head back for the evening and meet back up in the morning for a trip to the Hemingway House. After Santana had showed it to her online, Brittany could barely contain her excitement at the though of seeing that many cats in once space and had insisted that they all go together the first day there.
"Oh my god, I'm never leaving here." Brittany said as she bounded down a path towards another furry cat sprawled across the ground.
"I knew you'd love this place." Santana said with an adoring smile.
"Seriously, I need to live here." she said, rubbing the fat cat who rolled around on the ground in appreciation. "One day when we're married and have tons of money can we buy a giant house and have this many cats?" she asked, looking up hopefully.
"Of course." Santana smirked and bent down to rub the cat's black and white head.
"He reminds me of Lord Tubbington a little." she giggled as the cat rolled around on his back and purred. "They're all so lovable." Brittany looked around. "This is like cat paradise."
"Totally. Sebastian and Ariel would kill to live here."
"I think they have it pretty good as it is." Brittany smirked. "Besides, Sebastian would never live here without you." She winked.
"Oh my god, Brittany you need to come to the other side!" Rachel said as she came rushing over excitedly, causing both Brittany and Santana to pop up and look at her with curiosity. "There are kittens!"
Santana watched as Brittany's face lit up and she took off with Rachel. She trailed behind and caught up to a smirking Finn, who just sighed.
"It's kind of crazy they keep this whole house like this just for some dead writer dude, isn't it?" he asked. "Not that it's not an awesome house." he added.
"It's like a historical site. He's an extremely famous and respected author." she said. "Besides, everyone loves to come see the cats." He nodded.
"Rachel loves this place. Good pick." he said.
"Thanks." she said with a smirk as they walked over to find their girlfriends cooing over the playful and clumsy tiny kittens climbing a cage.
"Santana, they're so cute! We need more." Brittany said longingly.
"Um, I think the two we have keep us plenty busy. Plus, I'm sure Hubbell wouldn't enjoy having another cat beat his ass every day." Brittany sighed.
"I guess...but one day, I'm having a place like this and getting more." she said determinedly and Santana it her lip and smiled. "You can't even argue it, you already promised." she said factually.
After almost another full hour of roaming the grounds and playing with the various kitties, Santana finally managed to pry Brittany away so they could move on with their day. They did some light shopping on their way back to the hotel, before heading back to spend a little time relaxing by the pool before they got ready for a real night on the town.
"You guys were supposed to be down here 20 minutes ago. We called you at least 15 times."
"Settle down Berry." Santana said, squeezing Brittany's hand as they made their way out into the street. "We're sorry, alright? We just got...distracted." she said and Rachel rolled her eyes.
"It's not really our fault. We fell asleep after the pool and then we tried to shower together to be more efficient...but that just never works." Brittany said, furrowing her brow. "Every time we do Santana just-"
"Britt!" Santana said, shaking her head and Brittany shrugged.
"What? Our shower sex is totally hot, you don't need to be embarrassed by it Santana." she said factually, causing Rachel's eyes to widen. Finn coughed uncomfortably and Santana blushed, looking down.
"You know, you think I'd be used to hearing the details of your sex life by now, but somehow...I'm not." Rachel said. Brittany opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off by Finn.
"So, where are we headed tonight?" he asked loudly, obviously trying to change the the subject quickly for which Santana was grateful.
"I've got a few places lined up, don't worry." she smiled.
"Cool." he said casually.
After a nice dinner, they made their way through the town to check out what was already a very busy Saturday night. After popping in to a few of the more famous and popular bars and getting a pretty decent buzz on, Santana checked out the map on her phone and led them over to a club she had marked off.
"Santana, this place looks kind of..."
"Gay?" she asked bluntly, turning back to Finn, who frowned.
"Well...yeah."
"And, you have a problem with that?"
"What? No! Of course not!" he shook his head as they pushed through the entrance. "It's just not really my thing and I've never been to a place like this before." he shouted over to her and she laughed.
"Relax Finn, you'll be okay." she winked.
"Ooohh test tube shots! Those look fun!" Rachel yelled, pulling Finn over to the buff shirtless guy carrying a tray of shots.
"Yes! This is exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to dance." Brittany said with a smile and leaned down to kiss her girlfriend softly.
"See? I did my research. I got my girl covered." she winked and kissed her again, pulling her towards her tightly.
"That's cause you're the most awesomest person on the planet." she smiled, squeezing her hips playfully. "Wanna go dance?" she asked enticingly.
"Let's go grab some drinks and head out there." She led them over to the bar where Santana watched with amusement as Rachel proceeded to take two straight shots with some guy she'd quickly befriended as Finn looked on uncomfortably. Brittany giggled.
"Rachel's going to be so drunk."
"I'm just having fun watching Finn's obvious discomfort. It's great." she smirked and Brittany laughed as they watched Finn politely greet a tall blonde guy that walked over to him.
A couple hours and a several drinks later Brittany and Santana found themselves grinding together on the crowded dance floor as they had been for the past while. Considerably drunker, it was becoming increasingly hard to keep focused on dancing. Santana wrapped her arms tightly around Brittany's neck pulling her down for an intense kiss that continued for a few minutes until they finally parted breathlessly.
"Wanna go get a drink and take a break?" Santana asked, placing soft kisses below her ear.
"Mmhmm." Brittany nodded and kissed her quickly. "Let's go." she said turning and laughing at the site of Finn awkwardly dancing with an extremely animated Rachel who was dancing and singing the lyrics to the Rihanna song blasting through the speakers at full volume.
"Classic drunk Berry." Santana said, tilting her iPhone to capture Rachel's current drunken escapade in all it's glory. "Say hi to Facebook Berry!" she said with excitement as Rachel danced over singing right into the camera and Brittany giggled, joining her for a moment before Santana laughed and turned off the camera.
"I'll meet you by the bar." she called to Brittany and headed towards the bar, Finn hot on her heels.
"How you doing out there Travolta?" Santana asked him with a smirk.
"Fine," he slurred, "although I've never had my ass grabbed so many times in one night...and it wasn't even Rachel." She laughed and glanced over to see Brittany and Rachel continuing to jump and sing with a few guys that Rachel had become friendly with over the course of the night.
"Wanna go grab that seat?" she asked, signing the card slip and grabbing the drinks as she nodded towards a couple small couches that had opened.
"Please." he said with relief and they made their way over, each plopping down on one of the loveseats.
"There you are!" Brittany yelled as she jumped onto Santana, nearly knocking over her drink. She kissed her heatedly and Santana groaned, grabbing onto her hips to steady her. Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat not sure where to look.
"Mmm, whoa, what's up baby?" she asked with a smile as she pulled back.
"Nuthin." she said, nuzzling into Santana's neck, and placing soft kisses there. "We should get out of here soon." she whispered in her ear and Santana shivered, nodding.
"Soon." she said. "Where's Berry?" she asked.
"She's still dancing with those guys..." Brittany looked backwards and shrugged, leaning over to take a sip of Santana's drink from her straw.
"Oh shit." Santana muttered through a chuckle as she looked up and saw a tall dark haired guy in a tank top had sat closer than necessary to Finn on the couch across from them. Brittany interrupted her assault to look over and giggled.
"Hey Finn, whose your friend?" she asked teasingly.
"Um...this is um..." Finn swallowed hard, looking around and Santana tried to contain her enjoyment at seeing him squirm.
"Rick." the guy slurred drunkenly and smiled over at them and they returned it, introducing themselves.
"So, where are you all from?" Rick asked, inching closer to Finn who continued to search the dance floor for Rachel.
"New York." Santana said.
"Ooh, a New Yorker!" Rick said excitedly. "I should have known, New Yorkers are always sexy."
"Oh, I..um, I have-" Finn stuttered nervously.
"Finn's a firefighter." Santana called out and he shot her a glare.
"A firefighter! Oh my god, even sexier." he said, sliding a hand onto Finn's neck, who backed away instantly. "Calm down sweetie, I don't bite...much." he said and Santana burst into laughter, but Rachel appeared a moment later, looking at Finn questioningly.
"What's going on?" she asked, trying hard to focus.
"Nothing!" he said, shooting up. "This is just Rick, he just came over to say hi. Rick, this is my girlfriend Rachel." Rick made a small "o" with his mouth and nodded with a laugh.
"Aren't you just fabulous?" he said, appraising Rachel. "Your boyfriend's quite the cutie." he said and she giggled.
"I know. I think you made him nervous." she laughed, as she pushed Finn down onto the couch and sat across his lap, throwing her hands sloppily around his neck and giving him a quick, but forceful kiss. "Do you do jello shots Rich?"
"Rick." he corrected with a laugh. "And I certainly do."
"Oh god." Finn sighed.
After finishing up their drinks they finally managed to convince Rachel to leave after a final round of jello shots. They stumbled back through the streets giggling as Rachel swayed from side to side and stumbled over her own feet.
"Spring break is AWESOME!" she yelled. "Who wants to go swimming?" she asked excitedly as they reached the hotel.
"I think we should call it quits for the night Rach." Finn said.
"You're such a party pooper!" she said, sticking her tongue out as she ran off.
"Where is she going?" Brittany asked.
"Uh oh." Finn said, chasing after her only to hear a splash.
"Have fun Finn." Santana said, as Brittany wrapped her arms around her from behind and dragged her back towards the elevator.
"You guys suck!" he muttered, heading off towards the pool to retrieve his drunken girlfriend.
"Rachel, you knocked on our door at 4:30 to say that popcorn could fly and proceeded to throw a handful of it in the air." Santana said, through her shades in the early afternoon as she sipped her coffee. "You were toast."
"I keep getting so many Facebook notifications." she said, squinting at her phone and Brittany just laughed. Her eyes shot up. "What did you two do?" Santana shrugged.
"I don't know, somehow a video of you singing and dancing in the club ended up on Facebook."
"Santana!" Santana held her hands up.
"Wasn't me Berry. It was Snix. You know how that works. Sometimes she just pops up." She said defeatedly.
"If I have to hear this asinine excuse about some ridiculous made up alter ego one more time."
"Snix is very real Rachel. Very real." Brittany said seriously. "You should know this by now." Rachel sighed and threw her head onto the table, covering it with her arms.
"I feel like death." she whined.
"You drink like that, you pay the price." Santana said mockingly and smiled as Rachel glared at her before collapsing her head on the table once more.
After brunch they all headed off to spend the day lounging on the beach and taking the sun as they suffered through the various degrees of hangovers. Once the evening approached the two couples parted ways, as they'd decided to spend the night apart and have their own date nights while they were away.
Santana and Brittany took a quick nap, before showering and heading over to a nice restaurant on the water for dinner, which Brittany was very proud to have saved her tips up to pay for. After convincing Santana not to put it on her dad's card they decided to head over to one of the bars with live entertainment to check it out and have a couple of tame drinks before calling it a night.
They sat at the bar, just enjoying each others company and the fun atmosphere around them as they sipped casually at their drinks and watched the performers on stage.
"Whoa! Look!" Brittany said, hopping up from her seat and pointing across the bar. Santana squinted and her head snapped to see what Brittany was pointing to.
"Oh my god, Sugar Motta." she said, her mouth hanging open.
"That's so random and look she has a...Puck." she said, her own mouth now hanging open in shock as well as her eyes landed on a notably mohawk-less Puck.
"Holy shit!" Santana said, watching with a mixture of shock and horror. "Am I really in Key West watching Sugar kiss Puckerman?" Brittany just nodded.
"Gross. Why is she with Puck?" Brittany frowned. "She can do better than Puck." Santana looked over at her in thought but shrugged. "Well, let's go say hi." Brittany, said, grabbing her drink in one hand and Santana's free hand in the other and dragged her around the bar.
"Oh. my. god!" Sugar yelled as they came into view. Santana smiled politely. "It's the Troubletones!" she yelled, shoving her drink into Puck's hands as she ran over and wrapped and arm around each of them. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Um, spring break...guessing the same thing you're doing here." Santana said, stepping back and quirking and eyebrow towards Puck who just smirked.
"Yeah!" Sugar said, hopping excitedly. "Noah and I are here for the week, how about you two?"
"This is our third night here, but we go back on Tuesday." Brittany said. "We actually came here with Finn and Rachel." she said and Puck looked at Santana curiously but she scowled back at him.
"Fantastic! Maybe we can all meet up tomorrow before you leave!"
"I'd love to catch up with Finn. It's been a while since we talked." Puck said.
"Hello to you too Puckerman." Santana said sarcastically, as Puck placed the drinks on the bar and came over to give each girl a quick hug.
"How are my two favorite lesbos?" Puck asked. Brittany frowned and Santana slapped him.
"Shut it dickhead." she said, shaking her head. "Some things never change."
"Geez, sorry, are you two like not together?" she rolled her eyes and entwined her fingers with Brittany's.
"Of course we're together loser. You're just a little politically incorrect."
"You can't just walk around calling people lesbos Noah." Sugar chastised. "It's inappropriate and I won't have it." she turned back to the girl with a smile. "Daddy gave me his American Express black card to use down here, so order what you want."
"That's awesome, thanks Sugar." Brittany smiled.
"Oh my god Brittany. I totally have some new dance moves to teach you." she said, rushing to Brittan'y side and eying her seriously. "I know that you've always been into dancing and appreciate how much you learned from me in high school." Brittany's mouth opened slightly in confusion and Santana just looked on in shock. "So now that you're trying to go to dance school and everything, which by the way - so cute - come on, let me give you a few tips."
"Um...sure." Brittany said with a confused grin as Sugar grabbed her arm and pulled her to the dance floor.
"Order anything you want!" she repeated, turning back towards Santana. "And don't worry, Brittany's pretty but I'm totally not going to steal your girl. I don't swing that way." she winked.
"Good to know." Santana muttered in disbelief before turning back to Puck. "So what are you doing here...with Sugar Motta of all people?" He shrugged. "I see you lost the dead rat on your head, congrats." she said.
"Yeah, she likes it better like this."
Over by the dance floor Brittany and Sugar giggled as they danced along to the song that came on between sets of the duo on stage.
"So what are you doing with Puckerman?"
"Noah?" Sugar shrugged. "He's makes a good boy toy." she said simply. "He does pretty much whatever I say and he's pretty hot now that I made him get rid of the disgusting growth on the top of his head." Brittany nodded. "He's lonely and I pretty much get a hottie on my arm wherever I go, it's a win win."
Back by the bar Puck was relaying his version of the same story to Santana.
"So it started because I was cleaning their pool and I mean she's pretty hot." he said. "The money's totally a huge- and I mean huge – perk, but I actually really like her. I mean, she kinda gets me." Santana rolled her eyes.
"You fall in love every other week Puck." she sighed.
"It's different this time." she laughed.
"Haven't heard that one before." she said, sipping her beer.
"No, really. She kinda gets me and we both like to travel and party. We have fun. I think I'm in love with her" She gave her best fake smile.
"Well good for you." she said before turning serious. "Just don't fuck with her. She's a cool girl. Troubletones stick together."
"That's what I'm saying. She's kinda awesome."
Soon Brittany and Sugar returned to sit back with them at the bar and the couples hung out for another hour or so, catching up on old times. They caught up on the gossip with what was going on around Lima and filled them in on the details of their life back in New York before promising to tell Finn that Puck was looking to meet up with him and heading off.
"Well that was pretty wild, huh?" Santana asked with a chuckle, as they made their way up Duval street towards their hotel. "I mean seeing Puck and Sugar...together. Unlikely."
"Yeah, that was weird." Brittany said with a frown.
"Hey." She swung her hand that was entwined with Brittany's to get her attention. "What's up with you? You've gotten super quiet?" she asked concerned.
"Nothing," Brittany shrugged, "I just...Puck is such a sleezebag." Santana's eyes widened slightly in surprise at Brittany's terminology.
"Wow, Britt, I never knew you felt that way. I didn't think you had a problem with Puck."
"Whatever, I don't really I guess. I just could have done without running into him." she said with aggravation and continued looking ahead.
"Britt." Santana said, tugging her hand as they reached the beach. She pulled until Brittany turned to face her, her expression unreadable. "Something's bugging you. Tell me."
"Nothing Santana, just leave it. You don't like seeing Artie, I don't like seeing Puck." she shrugged. "He didn't bother me so much in school but I guess now that we've been away from all that crap for a while seeing him and how he's never changed just brings me back and I don't want to think about that. I like our life now." Santana nodded, trying to follow. She laughed a little.
"Yeah, but Britt, I mean you're not jealous of Puck or anything. I mean, come on," she looked pointed to herself, "lesbian." Brittany sighed.
"No, I know that Santana. And I told you no big deal, but that's not it."
"Then what? I want to know and you can tell me anything." Brittany let out a frustrated breath.
"It just," she scrunched her face in disgust, "he's an asshole who used to use girls when he needed them to get laid in high school and he's kind of doing the same thing now. Except it's even grosser because he likes Sugar's money."
"He said he really likes her." Santana said and Brittany rolled her eyes.
"Right, would he still like her if she was broke?" Santana just shrugged. "It's not the point anyway. He just...he reminds me of this miserable time in my life where I was crazy about you and you were so far in denial that you were trying to convince me you wanted to be with him. And I guess it kinda makes me hate him even more." she said, with a shrug. "Whatever, it's not a big deal and I didn't want to make it one. I'm sorry I got quiet, I was just thinking. Can we just go upstairs and pretend it never happened." Santana looked at her seriously. "Please?"
They made their way up to their room and got changed for the bed. Santana washed her face and brushed her teeth and came out surprised to find an empty bed. She looked over to see that Brittany sat on the small balcony, legs up on the table as she stared out at the water.
"Hey." she said, standing at the doorway.
"Hey." Brittany looked back at her and smiled. "It's so pretty out here. I wish I could stay here forever." she said, turning back to the water.
Santana bit her lip and slowly made her way over, lifting Brittany's hands so she could sit in her lap. She settled in, with her head against Brittany's chest and watched the water, lulled by her girlfriend's steady breathing. After a few minutes she picked her head up and looked in her eyes.
"I'm sorry." Brittany's brow furrowed in confusion. "For what you said before. That you ever felt like that. And I'm sorry that running into that dopey bastard made all those feelings come back again." she smiled gently. "I wish I could go back and change all that, but I can't. What I can do, is promise you that I'll never make you feel anything like that again." Brittany smiled and nodded.
"I know." she said. "It's silly really. I didn't mean to bring that all up. Really, that's why I tried to say forget it."
"No, I know. But I really hate that you felt like that and I did that to you." she shrugged and frowned. "It was all so messed up. You trying to get me to open up and then me figuring out what I wanted when it was too late." she shook her head and laughed. "For two people who go together so easily, it took us too long to get our shit together." Brittany laughed with her and nodded.
"Truth." she said and smiled. "But we're here now, right?"
"Yep." Santana said, bobbing her head up and down. "And I'd never want to be anywhere else." she searched Brittany's eyes. "Puck was never...I mean you know he didn't ever mean anything to me. Like at all. Right?" Brittany smiled sweetly.
"I know." she said and rolled her eyes. "I always kinda knew. I guess that's why I tried to make you jealous." She shrugged. "Cause I thought it would work."
"And it did." Santana laughed before turning serious and looking deeply into Brittany's eyes. "I love you. It's only ever been you. And I'm sorry I was too coward to say that sooner." Brittany shook her head.
"You're the bravest girl I know." she whispered, rubbing a thumb gently across her face, before leaning forward slightly to meet her lips. "I love you too." she whispered before kissing her again.
Santana re-adjusted, turning in her lap to face her more fully, without breaking the kiss. They kissed slowly, trading long, deep kisses for several minutes before pulling apart slightly out of breath and resting their foreheads together with a smile. Santana turned again and nuzzled back into Brittany's neck as they sat back and watched the water in silence for the next half hour or so.
After a little while Brittany could hear her girlfriend's breathing start to even out and she laughed, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, before standing up and gently carrying her in her arms. She tucked her gently into bed and crawled up behind her to spoon her, thinking back on their conversation. She squeezed her arm around her waist and kissed her neck, content in the fact that they actually did end up here, no matter how crazy the path to get there was.
"Ew, are you kidding?" Rachel asked, shaking her head with disgust.
"Where are they staying?" Finn asked and shrugged. "I'd kinda like to see Puck. I didn't even have time over Christmas."
"The Ocean Key, that huge beautiful place that's like ridiculously expensive." Santana sighed. "Sugar's got so much money she makes my family look like beggars."
"Wow, Puck struck gold this time, didn't he?" Rachel asked.
"He claims to really like her." Santana said unaffectedly. "But if I had a dollar for every time I heard Puckerman say that about someone, I could buy their hotel."
"Hey, take it easy on Puck." Finn defended. "He's a good guy and when he falls, he falls hard." Santana rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. He's still a loser." she said.
"Truth." Brittany agreed, scooping eggs into her mouth. Santana just squeezed her thigh under the table and smiled. A moment later Finn's phone rang and he stood up to take the call.
"I'm so disappointed it's our last day. This vacation went far too quickly."
"Yeah." Brittany agreed sadly. "At least we're still off school for the rest of the week."
"Yes, I'm looking forward to just enjoying springtime in the city when we return." she nodded. "But enough talk of going back, what were you thinking about doing today while we're still here?" she asked.
"We were figuring we might walk around and go shopping, sit on the beach for a while." Santana shrugged. "Maybe catch dinner and a little more nightlife tonight."
"Sounds perfect." Rachel agreed, as Finn sat back down across from them.
"Hey, that was Puck!" he said with a smile. "He wants to go play golf . Sugar's dad has some membership deal going on and we can get into this sweet course. Would you mind?" he asked Rachel.
"Well it is our last day here." She said, unsure.
"I'd be back for dinner, it would only be a few hours." he looked hopeful. "I'd really like to hang out with him for a bit."
"I suppose that's fine. We were going to go shopping and to the beach."
"Cool!" he said triumphantly. "He's going to meet me here. He'll probably bring Sugar by. Is it cool if she hangs out with you guys?"
"Of course." Brittany smiled. "Sugar is awesome."
After a day of hanging out around Key West with Sugar, the three girls headed back to their hotel and hung out a bit at the pool area of her hotel. They tried to soak up the last of the sun and when the evening rolled around Puck and Finn returned from golfing to meet them.
They decided to all have dinner together and enjoy their last night in town. Since Brittany had to work Tuesday night, the four New Yorkers had an early flight home so they all parted ways relatively early to
get ready for their trip back to the city.
"How was golfing with Puck?" Rachel asked as she packed up her things.
"It was good." Finn nodded with a smile, throwing his own clothes into his bag. "I mean it was pretty cool just hanging with Puck again and catching up. It's pretty wild he's with Sugar. I didn't see that coming."
"Me neither." Rachel said. "Sugar's actually a really nice girl. A little conceited and delusional, but sweet." she added thoughtfully. "Kinda too sweet for Puck."
"Puck really digs her though. I mean, he was even talking about possibly buying an engagement ring at some point or something."
"Wait, what?" she asked, dropping her things and turning around to face him. Finn just shrugged.
"I don't know. I mean, it's Puck. I can't take him too seriously, but you know he seems really into Sugar."
"Really into Sugar, or really into the fact that her dad has an American Express black card?" Finn laughed.
"I guess you kinda have a point, but I mean there are worse things."
"Don't you think it's a little fast? A little young?"
"I don't know. I think people should do whatever they feel is right."
"I doubt she'd say yes anyway." Rachel said with a shy. "He's just arm candy for her for now."
"I'm sure he'll rebound. He always does." he said, zipping his suitcase shut. "You really think they're too young?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I guess not." she said. "I guess I just don't think they'd be remotely ready. I mean, Noah jumps into everything way too quickly."
"Well, that's true." he added.
"Plus, it's not like their life is stable. She's not done with school and he doesn't even go. He's still cleaning pools for a living and doing odd job. It's hardly an acceptable method of survival."
"I guess." he looked at her curiously. "You think that's important?"
"Of course." she said seriously. "Stability is key."
He laid back to stare at the ceiling as she continued to pack her things, pondering the conversation a bit.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, hopping onto the bed and placing a kiss on his lips.
"Just...stuff." he said. "Do you think we're set up okay for the future?"
"Of course!" Rachel said, with a laugh. "Don't be silly Finn, I have an entire 10 year plan."
"Ten year plan?"
"Yes, in two years I'll finish college, within 6 months of that we'll be engaged and them married approximately a year and a half later. Then we'll have 2 years to enjoy the honeymoon phase of our wedding before having our first child an then our second 3 years later, the perfect age gap to encourage a healthy relationship." Finn swallowed.
"Wow, you've like really put a lot of thought into this."
"Of course." she said obviously. "I mean, this is our future Finn."
"Did you ever think that you know...I might want some say in our future?" he asked, slightly teasing. "I mean, you know since it's half my life too?"
"Don't be ridiculous Finn, this plan is flawless."
"What if I don't propose in 2 years?" he asked. "What if I wait 3?" She furrowed her brow.
"This plan was perfectly structured around my blossoming Broadway career. My breaks for childbearing have to be perfectly timed." He just laughed.
"You're scary." He said, pulling her into a kiss. "I love you, but you're scary."
"Don't...mock...the plan." she said between playful kisses before popping up and getting ready for bed.
Finn just continued to lay back and contemplate their conversation, thinking about his own feelings on the topic. He sighed and smirked, contemplating how much thought she had put into her plan and how the slightest variation would throw her completely off her game.
Early Tuesday morning, Brittany, Santana, Rachel, and Finn all headed back on a plane to Miami and then New York. A relatively painless few hours later and they were catching a cab back to the apartment, where they were happily greeted by an excited puppy and two cuddly cats.
Unfortunately for Brittany she had to head almost directly over to the bar for her shift, leaving the others to relax back into their normal routine. They lounged around watching TV and eating pizza, deciding to head to bed around midnight.
The next morning, Santana was happy to wake up tightly wrapped in her girlfriend's arms. She turned around carefully, placing a soft kiss on Brittany's forehead, causing her to stir slightly when she tried to untangle herself.
"Nooo...come back." she mumbled, blinking against the sunlight. Santana pecked her lips.
"I'll be right back, I just want to go grab some water. But I'm still sleepy, stay." Brittany groaned.
"You better." she said, rubbing her eyes as Santana headed towards the kitchen, grabbing a few bottles of water and making a quick trip to the bathroom before heading back towards their room.
"I miss having our own space." Santana frowned as she walked back into their bedroom, shutting the door behind her and Brittany smiled back at her from her spot against the headboard, holding her arms open to her. Santana gladly climbed up her and rested her head against her chest, allowing Brittany to place a gently kiss to her head.
"It was nice." she admitted with a contented sigh. "Coming back yesterday and going almost straight to work was so exhausting."
"I can imagine."
"Do you think that Puck and Sugar are going to be like a real couple?" Santana considered it for a moment.
"He seems relatively tame...but I think she's totally going to get bored with him." Brittany chuckled.
"Me too, all she does is make fun of him." They laughed.
"Poor Puck." Santana joked. "Perpetually in love with women who are over him after a couple months."
"Sugar can do way better, anyway. I told you."
"Oh!" Santana said, popping her head up to look at Brittany. "I talked to Quinn last night while you were working to tell her about the trip and Puck and Sugar and everything. Guess what?"
"What?"
"She had a date on Saturday. Like a real, official date. Know who with?"
"Mike?" Brittany asked with wide eyes and Santana nodded with a smile.
"Yep." she said, settling back into Brittany's chest. "So weird...all these people hooking up after school."
"It's about time for them. I mean, they've liked each other for a while and Mike has been pretty much alone for the past 6 months since he broke up with Tina."
"She sounded pretty excited." Brittany smirked.
"I bet she was. You could totally tell how much she liked him last summer when she was here. Her face got all glowy when she talked about him."
"Yeah, it was pretty obvious. But I don't think she wanted to be responsible for another breakup."
"That's a good thing." Brittany said, scooting lower and nuzzling her nose into Santana's neck.
"Yep, I'm still trying to tell her to move here after graduation. I think hope she stays with Mike and he moves here to get work."
"It would be pretty cool to have Quinn in town." Brittany agreed. "I miss her." Santana grunted in agreement and they lay silent for a moment, content in each other's company.
"The whole glee club is like so incestuous, isn't it?" Santana asked with disgust as she lay in though. Brittany furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Why would you ever say the glee club are like insects?" she asked, slightly horrified.
"No." Santana chuckled, kissing her neck lovingly. "Incestuous. It's like family members all sleeping with each other."
"Gross." Brittany said definitively.
"Exactly." Santana replied. "I mean everyone has hooked up with everyone. It's totally gross."
"And even after school they still continue to do it." Brittany mused. "Weird."
"Us and Finn and Rachel, we're like...the stable ones." she said with a bit of disbelief.
"It's true." she nodded and leaned in to kiss Santana sweetly. "I'm glad." Santana smiled against her lips, kissing her back.
"Me too...believe me. Me too." she said, cuddling back into Brittany before letting herself slowly drift into sleep, happy to give in to a lazy afternoon nap with her girl.