Hey everyone, I'm sorry it took a little long to get this out. It definitely was not supposed to. I was waiting to write this for so long that it actually took a while to get it right. It still feels a little unfinished to me but I think that's because ultimately this story isn't finished, just this particular part is. :-)
I can't believe I've gotten to the end. This story has been so much fun to write and as much as I hate to see it go, I'm really looking forward to moving on with this characters in the next phase of their life and I hope you all are too! You can put me on author alert or check back with my tumblr to see when it gets posted or just check my profile. And if you have anything you want to see in the next story please don't be shy, I'm always open to suggestions!
I just wanted to thank everyone one last time for all the kind words that you've left me here and on tumblr about this story. I really do appreciate it - they always encourage me and make me want to keep going. Thanks also for the favorites/alerts etc. It's great to know there are people reading. Also just throwing out a thanks to my sister Alex who's pre-read every chapter for me and helped me brainstorm on more than one occasion!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this final chapter just as much and that you will come over and read the next story too. I'll be getting the first chapter up for within the next week. :-) Enjoy!
7 Months Later – April 2016
Santana lay on her side, as the early morning sun poured through the window, studying the sleeping figure next to her with rapt attention. She watched as Brittany breathed evenly, making small movements to tighten her grip around Santana's waist in her sleep every few minutes. After a while Brittany stirred in her sleep, scrunching up her nose and Santana fought a grin as she gently tucked the few strands of hair that fell over her face behind her ear, leaning forward to place a soft kiss to her forehead.
"You're staring again." Brittany mumbled without opening her eyes.
"Sorry." Santana admitted guiltily.
"It's ok." She said, creeping closer and burrowing into Santana's neck.
"What time did you get in? I was out cold, I didn't even hear you."
"Ugh…4:45, it was a really long night. There was a bunch of people there for a birthday and they wouldn't leave."
"Aww, babe."
Santana tightened her arm around Brittany and kissed the top of her head. They lay that way for a while, Santana rubbing soothing circles onto her girlfriend's back as she slowly let herself wake up. Finally, a few minutes later, Brittany pulled back to look at her, smiling sleepily.
"How long have you been up?"
"A while."
"Why?" Brittany asked with concern. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine." Santana nodded reassuringly. "I just couldn't sleep. I was thinking…and watching you." Brittany smiled again.
"You're a creeper."
"Sometimes." She squinted her eyes trying to read Santana's expression. "Maybe I just missed you last night."
"You've been weird lately. What's up with you?" Santana laughed it off, pulling her closer to press a kiss to her lips.
"You're being paranoid." She whispered against them. "I'm acting the same way I always do. I've just been doing a lot of thinking, about how college is almost over."
"You're still going for your masters."
"Different." Santana smirked. "Thinking about how much I love you too."
"I love you too!" Brittany said cheerily, peeking over Santana's shoulder to look at the clock. "Shit!" she yelled, sitting up. "I have to go!"
"Noooo." Santana groaned, pulling her arm to tug her back down. "Stay. Come on let's cut today."
"Santana." Brittany chastised as she laughed, falling back on top of her girlfriend. "I can't babe. There's only a little more than a month till graduation, no time to be a slacker now." Santana just hugged her tighter.
"Please." Santana begged, placing soft kisses to her neck and collarbone.
"San…" she said, sighing contentedly.
"Please."
"Santana…no. I have a lot to do today sweetie. I'm sorry." She frowned. "I'll make it up to you tonight. I swear." Santana pouted.
"Fine." She said releasing her as Brittany gave her one more lingering, intense kiss.
"I'm sorry. I wish I could cuddle, but I'm going to be late already." Santana sighed.
"Go shower, I'll drive you and be back for my class."
"You sure?"
"Positive." She said pecking her lips and patting her underwear clad butt. "Go."
"You're the best." Brittany smiled before hopping up and heading towards the bathroom.
"Hello." Rachel smiled, from where she sat on the bench, sipping her Starbucks.
"Where's my Starbucks?" Santana scowled.
"Well, seeing as how I had to re-arrange my day to come meet you here in front of the 'Imagine' circle specifically while your girlfriend is in class, I didn't have time to think." Santana huffed, sitting on the other end of the bench and turning to face her.
"Lame excuse."
"So…why the covert meeting? And why aren't you in school?" Rachel frowned. "There's only a few weeks left to classes. This is no time to be a slacker." Santana narrowed her eyes.
"You've been brainwashing Brittany again." She accused.
"I've done no such thing. I'm merely promoting behavior that will lend to her growing and succeeding in her life. You should do the same."
"And you should get off that high horse you're riding on. It's a long way to the ground for someone your size." Rachel's face turned down in annoyance.
"If you've brought me all the way out here to insult me, I'd be happy to back to my vocal training. Last time I checked it's customary to treat someone doing you a favor with a little bit of courtesy."
"Do you ever stop preaching? You're like a miniature Billy Graham." Rachel stood.
"Fine."
"Wait!" Santana said, sighing, and pulling her back down to sit. "Wait, please. It's not really for me, it's for Brittany, okay?" she pleaded and Rachel's face softened a bit.
"What do you mean for Brittany? You said Brittany couldn't know."
"She can't. That's the whole point." Santana shook her head seriously. "You have to swear."
"Okay, okay. Can you tell me what's going on already?" she looked concerned. "Is something wrong? Did you cheat on Brittany? Is she sick? Is there a scandal?"
"What? A scandal?" Santana asked, looking at her like she had grown an extra head. "How many soap operas do you watch?"
"Well then what is it? The suspense is killing me!"
"It's just…I…" Santana sighed and rolled her eyes, before looking back at Rachel seriously. "I want to propose." Rachel's eyes widened and with a deafening scream Santana grunted at the weight of Rachel flinging her arms around her as she sat stiffly in place.
"Oh my god!" she said, leaning back to bounce in her seat. "I'm so excited!" Santana looked at her with uncertainty.
"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you."
"Santana! Don't be silly. This is so exciting!" She looked at her. "You always said you wanted to be more settled and be in jobs. I think Brittany was certain you'd want to wait till after you finished all of your schooling." Santana shrugged.
"I just…lately it's like I can't stop thinking about it." She admitted. "I keep waking up early and staring at her and she knows I've been acting weird…and I'm not saying we have to get married tomorrow, but I feel like it's time to take the next step I guess." Rachel smiled. "It's like all of a sudden I just don't want to go another day without making it official."
"Well, that's wonderful. And honestly? It's been time for a while now."
"Yeah, yeah…I guess for a while I just put it out of my head…"
"I'm so honored you picked me to speak to about this." Rachel gushed.
"Well…." She frowned. "It's not like I have many in town options. Quinn isn't going to be here for a while."
"God, could you be a little more complimentary?"
"Sorry." She sighed. "I'm just fucking stressed out. I mean this needs to be perfect. It needs to be better than perfect. And I have to find a ring and then I have to figure out where and when and what to say and…." She shook her head. "You don't know how easy you had it Berry."
"Santana, if there's anything I can promise you, it's that no matter what you do, Brittany is going to love it. I think you could buy Brittany a plastic ring from one of those little machines for a quarter and she'd marry you." Santana bit her lip.
"I know…I mean I know she's not picky and I know she wants this but, I want her to feel so special. I want it to be something she just never forgets." She shrugged. "I want to knock her off her feet." Rachel smiled.
"Well…what can I do to help?"
"I thought maybe you could come ring shopping with me?" she asked hesitantly. "I made a few appointments at some nice jewelers. I'd just…I'll second guess myself forever."
"I'd love to. I've done extensive research on rings and diamonds in specific so I believe I'll be quite the asset." Santana sighed.
"Yeah, sure…just…try and tone it down?"
"Tone what down?" Rachel looked distraught. "This is me toned down." Santana smiled tightly.
"Awesome." she said sarcastically.
"Hey Britt, what's doing?" Finn asked, jumping down off the truck and wiping his hands on a towel.
"This fire house is way better than that other one. I like that I can visit it."
"Yeah…it's not the best schedule but I like being closer to home." He smiled. "What are you doing here anyway? I was kind of surprised to get your text. I thought you would be at that seniors luncheon Rachel was all psyched about."
"Oh yeah…I skipped that. I have something way more important to do."
"Okay…"
"Well, I was going to actually talk to you and Rachel together but she's always busy lately and she's been acting weird the last couple of days. Whatever." She waved it off. "But I need to know the name of that guy that sold you Rachel's ring."
"Her…her engagement ring?" he questioned.
"Yep." She nodded. "I'm proposing." His eyes widened with surprise.
"Wow…Britt…really?"
"Yeah. I just don't want to wait anymore. Santana is so stubborn and she gets these things in her head about how things should be. I know she has school left, but I'm graduating. And I think that's good enough. Sometimes she just needs a little push in the right direction." She smiled. "Kinda like you needed to do with Rachel."
"Yeah…that's great. I guess I just always envisioned Santana being the one to propose to you." He said thoughtfully.
"Why does everyone say that?" she asked with frustration, falling back onto the couch.
"I dunno." He said, considering. "I mean, it just feels like something Santana would do."
"Well, maybe I want to ask her." Brittany said defiantly. "Maybe I want to be the one to make the grand gesture for once."
"Hey…whatever works for you guys. I mean, I think it'sawesome." He smiled. "Marriage is amazing."
"So you'll help me?" she asked excitedly.
"Of course I will." He smiled kindly. "When do you want to go?"
"As soon as we can."
"Do you know how much you want to spend? I mean, I put mine on a credit card-" she shook her head.
"I've been saving money since I started working at the bar. I mean, in the beginning when we lived together and I needed less money saved more. But I've put aside at least 25 dollars for every week I've worked. Plus I saved some Christmas gifts from my grandparents."
"Wow." Finn said. "That's really impressive Britt." She shrugged.
"I had a goal and I had to make it happen." She responded simply. "And now I have like, more than 5 thousand bucks!" she said, smiling proudly.
"Awesome…well, we can go tomorrow if you want. I'm not working."
"Perfect. I'll figure out something to tell Santana I have to do."
"You text me a time and I'll be there. Rachel has some theater stuff during the day." She tossed her arms around him and gave him a quick hug.
"Thanks Finn."
"Of course."
"Hey Rach." Finn said, dropping his bag at the door and stepping into the apartment. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." She said, closing her laptop quickly.
"Why are you being so shifty?"
"Shifty! I'm not being shifty…I don't know what you're referring to."
"Okay…." He chuckled, kissing her hello and plopping down on the couch. "Well, I've got some news."
"News?" she asked.
"Brittany stopped by the fire house today." He said and Rachel tilted her head with curiosity. "She asked me to take her to the dude I bought your ring from…the same guy we went to for our wedding rings." he said grinning broadly. "She's going to propose to Santana." Rachel's face dropped.
"You have got to be kidding me." She said with disbelief.
"I know, I was totally shocked too. I always thought Santana would be the one to propose."
"Well…" she said with a frown.
"Well what?" He asked, scrunching his brow in confusion. "Do you know something?" She sighed with resignation.
"I wasn't actually supposed to tell you this." She began slowly, pausing to consider. "But, I suppose now I have no choice. Santana is planning on proposing."
"What?" he asked in shock. "Are you serious? But Santana-"
"She doesn't want to wait anymore. And she really thinks she's going to shock Brittany."
"Oh….wow…" he said, stifling a laugh. "Huh. Well, she would definitely shock Brittany. I mean she seems to think she needs to take matters into her own hands."
"This is so ridiculous…yet so very Brittany and Santana." Rachel mused.
"I know." He agreed.
"When is Brittany planning on proposing?"
"As soon as possible I think." He shook his head. "She doesn't seem to want to waste any time. What about Santana?"
"Within the next couple weeks." They eyed each other curiously.
"I think you need to get Santana to push it back." Finn spoke first.
"What? Absolutely not! She's extremely excited about this. She keeps telling me how much she wants to create the perfect moment for Brittany and how she wants to make her feel so loved. "
"And Brittany told me all about how much she wanted to be the one who gets to make the grand gesture. She thinks Santana deserves to be the one who swept off her feet for once."
"Santana came up with the idea first!"
"Brittany has wanted to get married for years!"
"And Santana wants to fulfill that wish!"
"But Brittany wants it to be about Santana for once!" They both looked at each other frowning. Rachel chewed on her lip in thought for a moment.
"Perhaps there's a way we can settle this where everyone wins." She said thoughtfully.
"How?" Finn asked with curiosity. "What do you want to try and get them to propose at the exact same moment?"
"Not exactly the same moment necessarily. But maybe the same general time…we can work something out." She said.
"I think we should still make Brittany go first." Finn reasoned. "She really wants to do this. Santana deserves to have her socks knocked off sometimes too."
"Mmm, possibly…it's also possible Santana would handle the situation better and go with the flow when it comes to waiting her turn. We might be able to steer her in the right direction more easily." She thought for a moment. "This is definitely going to require some plotting and planning on our part. It has to be precise in order to work."
"Agreed." He gave her a crooked grin. "But if there's one thing we're good at…"
"It's plotting and planning." She said excitedly.
"Exactly." He said, raising a hand that she quickly met with her own in a high five.
"We are awesome friends." She said with a nod.
"The best." He smiled, pecking her lips as he stood. "I'm going to go shower. Order dinner and brainstorm?"
"Perfect." She grinned.
A little less than two weeks later, Brittany brought up the idea of having a date night that Saturday, much to Santana's happiness as she was planning on approaching with a similar idea. Brittany had been insistent that they return to the Cloisters in the afternoon – the scene of their first real date in New York City and so many since. Ever since that first visit they'd always taken comfort in going back and enjoying the peace and beauty of the surroundings to escape from the hectic city for a few hours.
"I love it here so much." Santana smiled as they held hands and walked. "It's so peaceful."
"That's why I wanted to come here. It's totally our spot."
"We have lots of spots." Santana challenged and Brittany laughed.
"Yeah, we do." She agreed quietly, tugging Santana's hand as they made their way over to the terrace that looked out over the river. They leaned against the stone wall, taking in the view before Brittany turned her attention to Santana who she watched with open adoration.
"What?" Santana giggled after a minute, looking over at her girlfriend. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Brittany swallowed nervously. She quickly found that while she had confidence that Santana wouldn't turn her down, Finn was right when he said it didn't make the situation any less nerve wracking.
"What you're the only one who is allowed to stare?" Santana laughed.
"Maybe I am." She said teasingly, looking back and still searching Brittany's face for an answer. She raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"Because I love you so much, that's why." She said softly and Santana grinned broadly.
"I love you too." She said easily and Brittany nodded.
"Yeah, but I need to tell you…" she looked down, gathering her words and sighed. "I have a lot I want to say to you…that I've been wanting to say. It's why I wanted to bring you here." she shook her head. "I just need to put it all together." She took a shaky breath and Santana stroked her arm in re-assurance, now looking at her with some concern and a hint of nervousness that wasn't lost on Brittany.
"Take your time baby." Brittany steeled up her nerve and looked back up at her questioning eyes. "I'm not going anywhere." After a moment Brittany nodded and began to speak.
"From pretty much the moment I met you…you've been the most important person in my life. When we were kids, you were like the only person I wanted to spend time with. You were the only person whose opinion I cared about. You're the most important person and you always will be." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "You're my favorite." Santana chuckled and rubbed her thumb across the back of her hand.
"You're my favorite too." Brittany smiled but continued.
"You are such an amazing person Santana. I'm constantly in awe of you. I always have been." She looked off for a moment in thought. "You're brave and funny and sweet and so determined. You don't let anyone or anything push you around. I know with most people you put on this front and you act so tough…but with me? You're always caring and your gentle and you're so sweet. You literally do anything I ever ask you to - always have. Sometimes when you look at me I feel like you should have like 10 hearts because there's so much love inside you…and even though it shows itself so much with me, I see it with everyone. I know you care and not just a little." She took a breath.
"You do everything for me." She nodded with determination. "But I want to do everything for you too. You are my everything Santana. You always have been. That's why I never gave up on you even for a second." She shrugged. "Those things you said to me when I first tried to talk about us…they hurt, but I just knew…I knew you loved me too because I could always feel it when I was with you no matter what we were doing. So I knew I had to be strong and not give up on you." Santana gave her a watery smile.
"Well I'm really glad you didn't." She added softly and Brittany grinned, happily before swallowing another breath.
"I couldn't because it's impossible for me. Sometimes I'd try to stay away from you for my own good, because it hurt so bad, but you're like a magnet for me. I'm physically not capable of staying away from you. And it hurt me so bad to hurt you that day you told me how you felt. So bad. I wanted to die when I watched you walk away from me." Santana shook her head and looked down.
"Brittany, that's in the past, I don't hold that against you." She sighed. "I wasn't really ready, not yet…I don't know." Brittany, cupped her chin to gain her attention once more.
"You weren't, but that didn't make me regret it any less. I just..I thought you needed time, that you needed to accept yourself more. But the more I was with you the more I realized that I just needed to do it with you." She smiled again. "I want to do everything for you Santana. I want to take care of you too the way that you have always made sure to take care of me."
"Britt, I know that and you already do." Santana defended emphatically. Brittany held up her hand to silence her.
"It's sweet that you're defending me from myself, but wait. This is the important part." She said, with small, shy smile before looking directly into her eyes once more and tightening her grip on her waist. "I love you. I love you for all those reasons I said and about a billion more. I more than love you – I completely adore you. No one has ever made me feel more special or more loved than you have and no one else ever could. And even more than that, I don't' want them to."
"I'm finishing school now and I've been thinking about the future and what's going to happen and there isn't even one single passing thought I have where you're not in it. I want to make you feel every little bit as special and loved as you have made me feel every day for the rest of my life." Santana's eyes flickered between her blue ones. "And I don't even have the tiniest little doubt about that." She slid her hand into her pocked and produced the ring she'd been holding there, presenting it to Santana, whose jaw dropped slightly in shock as she looked back up to Brittany in amazement.
"No way…" she gasped under her breath.
"Santana, you are the only thing that matters to me in this whole world. You're the only thing I need to move forward and be happy. Will you let me spend the rest of my life proving that to you?" she smiled a little. "Will you marry me?" Santana swallowed and gasped for a breath, nodding before she really knew what she was doing.
"Yes, yes." She laughed, grabbing at Brittany's face with both hands and kissing her fiercely. "Of course." She nodded, swallowing back some tears. "Yes." Brittany's face lit up with pure joy and any small regret Santana had about being beaten to the punch instantly drained. She brought both hands to Brittany's cheeks once more, kissing her again.
"I shocked you." Brittany said proudly, nuzzling her nose with her own and Santana nodded once more.
"You sure did baby. You have no idea." She said, taking a deep breath and inhaling everything that was Brittany. "And you beat me." Brittany shrugged simply.
"Who knows how long I'd have to wait if I waited for you." Santana bit her lip to contain a smirk that wanted to break through, as she considered how to response carefully, weighing her options.
"True..." she said trailing off before shaking her head and taking a deep breath to clear her head. "How…I mean…how long have you been planning this?" she asked with curiosity.
"Not that long. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep a secret for super long or anything." She smiled guiltily. "It was already almost impossible. I think I told Finn and Rachel like two weeks ago. Feels like two years." Santana eyed her with interest, the pieces to the puzzle beginning to click in her own head.
"Finn and Rachel huh?" Brittany smiled.
"Yeah, I really liked that shop Finn went to for Rachel so I asked him to come with me. Plus, I needed to tell someone." She giggled happily, pecking Santana's lips, still unable to contain her excitement.
"I see." Santana nodded, knowingly, wondering how much of her own conversations with Rachel had fit into this plan.
"I was going to do it this week but Rachel really thought today would be perfect." She shrugged and Santana stifled a laugh.
"Of course she did."
"Are you happy?" she asked, searching Santana's eyes as she rocked them back and forth and Santana beamed.
"Are you kidding me?" She laughed, reaching up to meet Brittany's lips. "I've never….been….happier." Santana said, between kisses.
"Good." Brittany mumbled against her mouth and sighed, resting her forehead against hers. "I'm so in love with you it's ridiculous. I hope you know that. Sometimes I feel like I don't do enough because you do so much-"
"Shh," Santana cooed with a smile, pecking her lips a few more times. "stop with the nonsense. You do plenty and I feel more loved than anyone in the entire world."
"Good." Brittany whispered, looking back up into her eyes. "Do we need to go to those dinner reservations?" Santana considered for a moment before shaking her head.
"Let's skip them." Brittany looked confused. "But…why?"
"I just want to go be with you at home. Is that okay? This is so special…I just don't want to share it yet." Brittany smiled.
"You're always so bad at sharing." Santana chuckled. "But that sounds good. We can just…order something really nice."
"Anything you want."
"Nope." Brittany shook her head, leaning back to grab her hand so they could begin walking slowly. "Anything you want today."
"We'll see." She said, looking over at Brittany and shaking her head, before pulling her back to a stop once more. "You're incredible, you know that, right? You never cease to amaze me." Brittany giggled with pride and rolled her eyes.
"I try." She said and Santana pulled her into one more long, sweet kiss before they started heading out. Brittany stopped for the bathroom and she used the opportunity to quickly text Rachel to ensure that her own plan hadn't been compromised. She smirked when there was already a message waiting.
Berry (6:43): By my estimations, you might have noticed a slight deviation from the original plan by now…rest assured, your plan is still a go and everything is done. ;-) You can thank us later.
She sighed, shaking her head and shoving her phone back into her pocket.
"Unbelievable. Outsmarted by Berry."
As they made their way downtown, Brittany turned on the ipod and they mostly stayed in comfortable silence, basking in joy of what had just happened. They found it physically impossible to stay apart, Brittany's left hand clutching Santana's right on the shifter and placing tiny pecks to it every so often. She sat in her seat, turned to face her now fiancée and watching her with a smitten grin as she drove. Santana stole her own glances when she could, smiled never faltering as she leaned over for quick kisses at every light.
When they finally arrived home they chose for tonight to put the car into a lot, not wanting to waste time on searching for parking and picked up take away from the small Italian place down the block on their way to their building. They climbed the flight of stairs, Santana turning to throw a proud smile over her shoulder at Brittany as she turned her key in the door.
"Why do you look like Lord Tubbington when he caught that mouse?" she asked, wrapping her arms around Santana's waist and nuzzling into her neck to place soft kisses there. "What aren't you telling me?" Santana sighed at the contact and shrugged.
"Nothing." She said simply. "You'll see." She pushed open the door as the cats came bounding over, weaving in and around their feet.
"Santana-" Brittany said, pausing in shock when she took in the living room. "When did you do this?" Santana smirked, walking over to place the food on the kitchen table as Brittany's eyes travelled across the rooms that were softly lit with dozens of electric candles and several bouquets of flowers. A bottle of champagne stood in a bucket on the coffee table while a bottle of their favorite wine stood on the kitchen table with two glasses and place settings.
"She was even ahead of me on this." Santana muttered before turning back to Brittany with a grin. "I didn't myself, but I might have asked Rachel to." She shrugged.
"Awww, Santana….and it ended up working out so perfectly!" Brittany said, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"Yeah, amazing." Santana said with a hint of sarcasm before meeting her lips. "Let's eat so we can go relax inside ok?" Brittany nodded happily.
They sat at the table, unpacking the food quickly before sitting down to eat. They sat happily feeding each other and sharing their food as they giggled and exchanged occasional pecks. Once they were done they quickly put the plates into the sink before Santana pulled Brittany over into the living room and they sat her on the couch before disappearing briefly. She soon returned and sat facing her on the couch, placing her glass on the table.
"So, there was a reason Rachel set up this whole apartment like this for me."
"Oh yeah?" Brittany asked with amusement.
"Yep. There was a reason she pushed you to move up your proposal too." Santana smiled, taking Brittany's hand into her as she looked at her confusedly. "I may not have known about it before…but I definitely figured it out afterward."
"Why? Because she knew you had this romantic night planned?" Santana smiled.
"Kind of." She said gently, rubbing Brittany's hand gently with her thumb. "You said some pretty amazing things back there today. Do you think I could tell you a few things I wanted to say to you?" Brittany scrunched up her face in thought and Santana smiled at how adorable she looked.
"This was kind of supposed to be all about you." Santana considered that for a moment.
"I actually think this is all about us. I mean, it's our life together, right? And given that, I think it's only fair that I should be allowed to say what I need to as well. Besides…aren't you supposed to be giving me what I want?" She countered and Brittany sighed.
"You always win these things….fine." She chuckled. Santana grinned and kissed her sweetly before settling back and looking at her. Her nerves still rattled with anticipation.
"Brittany, my life…it's definitely been interesting and it hasn't always been the most simple path for me. When you came into my life…it changed forever in the best possible way. Even if it confused me for a long time." She smiled and paused.
"See, people kind of annoy me." She said honestly and Brittany looked at her with rapt attention. "I mean, they get on my nerves and they mostly just aggravate me, but you…you got under my skin. You were the first person I ever met that I actually wanted to really know. And more than that, it was like I couldn't stay away, even when we were kids. I wanted to spend all my time with you. I wanted to get you know you." Brittany grinned with pride.
"You're like this perfect, perfect person." Santana said, looking at her intently. "You're so perfect and for some reason, you chose to be with me. I'm a mess. I'm a bitch, I'm easily annoyed and sometimes I'm not even a good person." Brittany tried to protest but she held up a finger. "But when you look at me? I don't know how but you see something else. You see the person I want to be. Somehow you find good in me…and it never stops amazing me. Because you're perfect and you could be friends with anyone or date anyone but no matter what you always choose me. You never give up on me and you're always there to catch me and you're always pushing me to be that person."
"You are that person." Brittany said. "You are." Santana chuckled lightly and squeezed her hand, shaking her head as she continued.
"When things started to progress for us, everything about it scared the crap out of me." She spoke plainly. "I was scared because you were a girl, I was scared because of how much I felt, I was scared because you were my best friend…I was just scared of everything. But I could never deny how much I wanted it or how it made me feel to be with you." She paused.
"You've always been like the other piece to my puzzle. You're like the yin to my yang. You're everything I'm not in the best possible way. And when I ran away, you would always chase me. And that was exactly what I needed. You have always been exactly everything that I needed." Brittany smiled, cheek twitching as she felt hot tears press behind her eyes.
"You said so many things I wanted to before, but every word you said I feel…just as much. Sometimes I do feel like I need 10 hearts to contain all the love I have for you….maybe even 20. I adore you, Brittany. Every single thing little about you, I am crazy about. And you're 100% right – I'd do absolutely anything for you."
"I'd do anything for you too." Brittany squeaked quietly and Santana just nodded.
"Like I said, there was a reason for all this." Brittany looked at her in confusion, still trying to figure out what she meant. "And the reason is that a few weeks ago I woke up and I just couldn't do anything but stare at you. I looked at you and thought about how crazy about you I am. How I want to go to sleep next to you every single night and wake up to you wrapped around me every single morning." She took a breath and smiled, getting down on a knee in front of Brittany.
"See, the plan?" she rolled her eyes and laughed. "The plan was because I finally realized that it's not just that I don't want to wait anymore, I can't. I can't wait another day to start the rest of my life with you. So, I was going to bring you back here and show you this," she said, popping open the box she had behind her back as Brittany's eyes went wide with shock of her own, "and ask you if you would do me the honor or being my wife? If you would agree to keep choosing me…forever."
"Santana…" Brittany said, eye flickering from the ring to look up at Santana with disbelief. "But I…" Santana nodded and smiled.
"I know baby, I couldn't believe it either." She said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly. "I know the question may have lost a little of it's effect-" Brittany shook her head quickly.
"No! No, it didn't. And yes." She said emphatically, pulling her up and throwing her arms around her tightly. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." She said into her lips as she pecked her continuously. "I love you so much and this was…I just…you made me feel so special again."
"Cause you are." Santana said, letting out a breath as she wrapped her arms around her tightly. "You are."
"I can't believe you were going to propose too." Brittany laughed, pulling back to look at her and kissing her profusely. "Oh my god!" she said, hopping up and down in her seat as they parted. "Baby, you kept saying-"
"I know..I know…" Santana smiled. "But sometimes I'm an idiot."
"So Finn and Rachel…wait, you went to Rachel?" Santana rolled her eyes.
"I was stuck and I needed someone in town."
"Santana, this was so sweet and amazing." She said, gesturing around her. "It was perfect." She pouted. "I'm sorry if I stole your lightening." Santana laughed lightly.
"Brittany, what you did for me today is something I'll never forget for the rest of my life. So don't ever apologize. It doesn't even matter. All that matters is that we both want this…so much."
"So much." Brittany agreed. "And in sync."
"As always." She hummed against her lips. "I can't wait to do this with you."
"Me neither. I've been waiting forever."
"Sorry it took me so long." She said, pecking her lips.
"Do we need to tell people?" Brittany asked, scrunching up her face. "I feel like we should but I kind of don't want to talk to anyone right now. Is that selfish?" Santana shook her head.
"No…and even if it was, tonight is about us remember? We're allowed to be a little selfish. Besides, we can tell everyone tomorrow." Brittany grinned in relief.
"Good." She said. "Did you tell anyone besides Rachel?"
"No, I was going to tell Quinn, but I wanted to let you have that." She said and Brittany's smile grew bigger. "I did ask your parents." She said and Brittany looked at her with alarm.
"Oh my God, I should have asked your parents. What if this gets worse." Santana laughed and kissed her re-assuringly.
"No sweetie, it's okay. My parents are different animals."
"Your parents aren't animals."
"I just mean that they're different people than your parents."
"Well clearly-"
"No I mean…" Santana laughed. "Calm down Britts." She said, caressing her face. "You're panicking. My parents are very different than yours. It wouldn't have been the same, even though they've come a very, very long way."
"Still."
"You can talk to them when we tell them if you'd like." Brittany nodded.
"I would." She smiled again, pulling Santana to fully sit astride her lap as Santana looped her arms loosely around her neck. "What did my parents say?"
"Well, I Skyped them while you were at work last Sunday."
"No wonder my dad hasn't talked to me all week. He was afraid he'd crack." Santana laughed.
"He was worried about that." She nodded. "But they were thrilled. Your mom cried." Brittany rolled her eyes.
"Predictable. Does Kelly know?"
"No, I wanted it to stay a secret." Santana said, sighing as she leaned into Brittany.
"This was the most amazing day of my entire life." She said, squeezing her arms around her. "Seriously, today was perfect."
"It was." Santana said softly. They sat in silence for a moment, contemplating. "Now we can plan the next most amazing day together." Brittany's smiled stretched even wider.
"I can't wait to do that with you." Santana looked up at her, eying her seriously.
"I can't wait to do everything with you." She said.
"Me too." Brittany said nodding softly and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Me too."
A/N 2: Just a couple of fun things in case you're interested in a few visuals. Just add tinypic to the front of the below addresses.
Brittany's tattoo is pretty much this, with a small date in place of the word. Another shout out to my sister who drew this:
.com/r/2mqouv4/5
The bar looks something like this inside:
.com/r/usqj6/5
What Ariel looks like:
.com/r/357hi4z/5
And everyone's fav, Sebastian:
.com/r/350tlhw/5