Chapter 20: We Don't Need No Di-rections
"Can somebody please explain to me what the fuck just happened?"
Brittany's voice carries across the expanse of concrete just outside the Pierce shop. She's carrying Santana in her arms, bridal style, holding her close and being very careful not to jostle her or any unseen injuries she may have.
The rest of the crew filters in around Brittany. Mike and David drove the bikes back to the shop after trying to supply Brittany with a car to transport Santana back with. When she flat out refused to actually let go of the smaller woman and drive a car, Joe had to help her in the back of his pick up truck before he drove back.
"Evans and his crew got out of there pretty quickly," Mike begins to speak up as he comes in to Brittany's left, "Once we saw Santana go down, and you rushed to her side, we took our eyes off of him and when things calmed down and we went to find him, he, his bike, and his crew were long gone."
"And did you send anyone after him in the direction that we suspect he would have gone?"
Brittany is perceptive enough to catch the brief glance that Mike and Joe share between each other. Her eyes narrow and her brow creases, "Mike? Want to tell me what your little look means?" She tries to speak as calmly as possible, but if someone doesn't start saying something soon she's going to freak the fuck out on everyone.
Mike noticeably swallows a lump in his throat, "We uh…we were sending Puck and Lauren after them. They…they haven't come back yet, and apparently Finn Hudson is gone too." He speaks quietly, as if any raise of octave in his voice will provoke even more hostility from his boss.
Truthfully, it probably would.
As Brittany is about to reply to Mike, the sound of a Toyota Supra engine and the hum of Puck's Bugatti Veyron can be heard approaching the shop. Every single person standing around, including Brittany, turns their attention towards the approaching vehicles. Puck is first to step out of his car and run a hand through his messy unkempt strip of hair atop his head. Lauren steps from her own vehicle, not looking any more put together or pleased.
Santana shifts slightly in Brittany's arms, dozing in and out of consciousness, mostly due to utter exhaustion, Brittany assumes, but she also knows Santana is probably more injured or hurt than she's letting on. Which means she needs to get her lying down and examined as soon as possible.
"Puck, Lauren," She addresses the approaching crewmembers, "Follow me to my condo. I want Santana to be comfortable, but I want a full report on what the hell is going on. Mike, Quinn I'll need you're eyes, ears, and words as well."
Everyone addressed nods their consent and silently follow Brittany towards her condo. Brittany pauses before she gets too far away from the rest of her crew and glances over her shoulder.
"David, Joe, and Cooper," She calls aloud, all three men turning to hear what the tall, commanding woman has to say, "Keep an eye on things and get everything put away. Once this is all figured out I'll be calling a meeting to discuss what's going on, in the mean time just hold the fort down until we get back."
Nods of understanding are sent her way and Brittany turns to continue on towards her condo.
Once inside, Brittany takes the few steps over towards her bed and gently lies Santana down on top of it after removing the armor jacket wrapped around her tiny body. Santana hardly moves and makes no attempt to open her eyes as Brittany runs her fingers softly over her cheek and through her hair, leaning in to press a tender kiss to her temple.
"I'll be right back Santana." She whispers before she drapes a spare blanket over the woman and turns back to the four people waiting for her. Brittany inclines her head towards the kitchen, which will allow them the opportunity to speak with a little less apprehension or fear of waking or upsetting Santana.
Brittany reaches the kitchen and turns around to lean against the counter, folding her arms across her chest she glances at Puck, "Speak." She says, assuming he's at least got enough brains to figure out what she means by that.
He nods hesitantly once, his eyes flickering in Lauren's direction, "We headed off in the direction that the Evans guy and his crew took off in…" he starts to say.
"Go back to the beginning, when did you see them leave?"
Brittany's interruption doesn't seem to throw Puck off much, "Well we all saw him crash shortly after Santana and he became engaged on their bikes. When you rushed to Santana's side, Paul's crew rushed to his. It all happened so fast. One second you were helping Santana and he was being helped by his crew and the next thing we know, they're all gone. No trace of him, the crash, the bike. Nothing."
"But then you went after him?"
Puck nods, "Yeah, Mike and Quinn both started shouting that we couldn't let them just disappear," Brittany smiles slightly at those words, she's never officially appointed anyone as her second but Mike and Quinn never fail to grasp for it, and they both often prove very sufficient at doing so, "Lauren and I had both driven our cars out, and knowing we were probably the fastest out of who was left, we went after them."
"Do you know why the hell Finn Hudson is missing too?"
Puck's eyes go wide and he quickly shakes his head.
"We saw a car pass us when we were out there, but we had no idea it was Finn's." Lauren speaks up, explaining the situation as best as she's capable.
Brittany's forehead creases in confusion, "What the actual fuck is going on then?"
There's no attempt of answer to her question from anyone.
"That's not the worst part Brittany," Quinn does speak up though and Brittany's blazing blue eyes flicker in the direction of her best friend.
"What the hell else could be this bad? Santana's hurt, Finn is missing and we don't know why the hell that is, and the Evans crew is probably out for even more blood now."
The faint glance that occurs between Mike and Quinn following Brittany's words does, again, not go unnoticed by Brittany.
"Spit it out Fabray."
Quinn's eyes show remorse for what she's about to divulge, but the steely glare that Brittany is sending her way forces her to at least do her the favor of saying it.
"Brittany," She beings to say, every single person in the room hanging on her every breath, "Hunter's gone too."
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Every once and a while, there is a moment in everyone's lives where something is said or spoken or discovered and the individual can only reply with a simply 'oh'. In some cases they actually call it the 'oh' moment. Where you learn of something so shocking, so surprising, so deceitful that you're at a loss to respond in any way.
It's as if there is nothing else in your vocabulary that can successfully be applied to whatever you are trying to process or comprehend.
This is not one of those moments for Brittany, because it's an entirely different kind of moment.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"
Brittany's outburst is followed by the sudden realization of every little detail that has occurred in the last few hours for her, Santana, and their respective crews.
She remembers lining up for the race. It had been her, Hunter, Paul, and his mystery rider. The signal had been given and Brittany, naturally, raced to the lead only to find herself quickly becoming the filling to a motorcycle sandwich. Her riding talent and her penchant for evasion allowed her to divert herself from injury by slamming on her brakes and causing the two other racers to speed on ahead.
This is when Brittany remembers that it was Santana that flew by on the bike that Hunter had intended on racing, as she raced to catch up to Paul and the mystery rider.
"How the hell did Santana even get on a bike?" Brittany finds herself asking, to no one in particular, but addressing the general surrounding company hoping that one or more of them can supply some sort of answer. They'd better be able to tell her something.
"It all seemed to happen so quickly," Mike starts to speak up, Brittany's eyes focus on him, "One second you are all racing off, and we see Hunter propping his bike up and stepping off of it."
"I swear Santana was going to punch him in the face again, she was furious." Lauren adds from her corner of the kitchen.
"She yelled at Hunter but he didn't really respond. Just kind of kept walking away and then two beats later she was on the bike, starting it and racing off after you." Mike then continues.
Brittany glances in the direction of her bed where she sees Santana still resting peacefully, her heart flips a little at the general kindness of Santana's actions. Despite being in far more danger than Brittany would ever like to see Santana in again, she also may have very well prevented Brittany and others from getting hurt. She sure as hell ensured that Paul Evans and his crew would most likely not be coming around anymore.
If they want to keep their lives, they won't.
"He just took off though?" Brittany directs herself back to the conversation. She could give a shit about Hunter, but the fact that there's still an unknown confidential informant out there, as well as a potential spy, she's not likely to just forget about him. And she'd never put it past Hunter to do something so low, but at the same time it's kind of surprising that he really does give no fucks about family.
Maybe because he never really felt like family in the first place.
But really, that's far from being Brittany's problem. If Hunter wasn't such an asshole constantly trying to bring her down, Brittany might have thought a little more of him.
"He's gone Brittany," Quinn responds to her question, shrugging lightly, "His office is free of any and all files and documents he had been hosting. All of his essentials, clothes, money, and everything else is gone from his house, including the Maserati."
Fuck, Brittany curses silently, "I knew he'd take the car if he ever got the chance. Ungrateful bastard." She sighs and glances around at her crew, "Look, it's a bitch that my half-ass brother left and shit, but to say I'm surprised would be a lie. The only thing I want to figure out now is what the fuck is going on. Does St. James know about anything? Are Evans and his crew going to run tail to him and blow all of our covers? Are Santana and Jake still going to be okay? Those are the kind of things I'm worrying about."
A collection of nods and murmurs greet Brittany as she finishes her speech, but then another thought occurs to her.
"Plus there's the situation of Hudson missing now. And none of us know what's going on there."
"But boss, we can't just assume that Finn was out to get us. He left Rachel here after all, and they seemed pretty close." Mike cuts in with a shrug.
"Yeah well, sometimes looks can be deceiving. Either way, we should be on the lookout for his or Hunter's return, if they decide to come back it's something I'm not just going to let slide," Brittany begins to say and there's a mumbled rasp of her name that filters in from her bed area. She glances over to see Santana shifting slightly around on her mattress.
She turns back to address her crew, "Look this is shit and I swear if I see Hunter I'll probably kill him myself just for putting Santana in so much danger but right now we need to keep our heads on. There are a couple other things I have to discuss with you guys and this whole missing crewmembers makes a difference. But I want everyone to be on the same page so, I think it's safe to assume that I'm in full control of this crew now."
"No one ever doubted you were the boss, boss. We've got your back Brittany." Mike says and everyone else gives a solid nod. She nods back and silently dismisses them. One by one they filter towards her door until its just Quinn that's standing next to her. Brittany watches as her friend's hazel eyes focus in on her.
"I hope you know I do trust her now." Quinn says, and Brittany quickly gathers that the shorter woman is referring to Santana.
Brittany quirks an eyebrow, "Well I'm glad that you finally feel that way, sucks she had to put her life in danger for it though."
Quinn's head hangs in shame, "I know and I'm sorry."
Brittany nods, "Yeah I know but it's not me you should be telling that to."
Hazel eyes flicker in the direction of Santana briefly before Quinn bites her lip and nods.
"I'll apologize Brittany I will."
"Good, me too. It's only fair," Brittany admits, a soft smile on her face, "Now wanna get out of here so that I can properly take care of her."
Quinn's nose crinkles up in disgust and she whacks Brittany on her arm, "Gross. Let's just stop sharing things like that."
"Whatever Quinn, you need to get over it," Brittany rolls her eyes in return, "But honestly, give us the night and some time in the morning we can all sit down and reevaluate things. Okay?"
"Sure thing boss, have a good night."
"You too Q. You too."
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A few minutes pass before Brittany arrives at Santana's bedside, holding a first aid kit and a warm washcloth in her hands. She's never been much of the caring; help patch 'em up type, but Santana's made her do things differently from the start anyway so it only makes since for this to be different.
Brittany scoots a chair up close to the bed and sets the kit down on the bedside table. She watches Santana's face carefully until tan eyelids flicker open and brown eyes settle upon her. A soft smile spreads across Santana's lips.
"Hi."
Brittany's heart skips at the tone and tenderness, "Hey." She says back, trying to keep the shake out of her voice. She gently reaches out and strokes the tips of her fingers across the exposed side of Santana's cheek, pushing a few loose strands of unruly dark hair behind her ear. As she goes to draw her hand back, Brittany finds Santana's hand quickly latching onto it.
She watches the smaller woman shuffle around a little until she's sitting up and resting her back against the headboard, Brittany's hand still held firmly in her own as it lays it upon her lap.
"I'm really sorry."
"Are you okay?"
The statements are spoken simultaneously, and both woman stop and give each other sheepish smiles.
Santana clears her throat and looks at Brittany, "Go ahead." She tells her and Brittany takes a deep breath before nodding.
"Are you okay?" She asks again, tentative and sweet. Santana smiles and nods slowly.
"Yeah, I'm just a little tired." She admits and sinks back into the bed a little, "It was like I had an adrenaline rush out there when I got onto the bike and everything happened so quickly and then boom I'm exhausted."
"I was really scared," Brittany suddenly blurts out, quiet but still loud enough Santana catches it.
"I'm so sorry Brittany, I just saw that you could have been hurt and I couldn't let that happen.
Brittany smiles her way a little, "Are you kidding me? You don't have to apologize for that. It's one of the bravest, hottest, most awesome things anyone's ever done for me. Santana, you basically saved my life so please don't apologize for that." She says before her demeanor turns a little less excited, she sighs heavily and her clouded blue eyes flicker off to the area just past Santana's shoulder.
Santana reaches out and gently cups Brittany cheeks, imploring her to say something. Say anything. Letting her know she's there, and despite the fact she obviously can't go anywhere, she wouldn't even if she could.
"I thought I was going to lose you," Brittany whispers, and both she and Santana sit in shock at the sincere gentleness of the words. A heavy sigh escapes Brittany's lips, "I was scared that I wouldn't get to show you how much I really care. How much I want to work all of this out, how much I-I…"
Brittany can't seem to continue. The words are stuck on the tip of her tongue. What words? She's not even entirely sure if she knows, but she doesn't get the chance to allow her brain to process and speak them because Santana's lips are capturing hers and leading her into an all emotions encompassing kiss.
It's like every single piece of Brittany's body is broken apart with that kiss only to be put back together a second later by those same tantalizing lips.
The kiss is short, but sweet and so much more powerful than Brittany could have ever imagined. Santana's chocolate brown eyes are practically glowing when she pulls back form the kiss and locks those damn orbs straight onto Brittany's. The breath gets sucked right out of her lungs, and even though she's sitting down, Brittany feels herself falling just a little bit more.
"Fuck Santana, your lips short circuit my brain." Brittany mumbles out, not entirely intentional but it earns her a sweet giggle and a soft peck to the tip of her nose so she can't really regret it.
"I know the feeling."
Brittany smiles back and lets out the heavy air that was weighing down her lungs. If she thinks about it, there's not really anything she should be ashamed of or hiding from Santana. After all, if she's the first and only girl to ever evoke this kind of central, physical, emotional reaction from Brittany, she should have the guts to talk to Santana about everything.
It's what she deserves.
She turns her focus back on Santana, her hand reaching out to softly brush stray strands of hair out of those beautiful eyes she falls into more and more everyday.
"Are you hurt?"
Santana returns Brittany's smile and leans in to place a soft kiss on pink lips, "No. A little sore but I can manage."
Brittany nods, gathering the underlining answer Santana is giving to her original masked question. Brittany stands from the bed and helps Santana out of it, inching a leather jacket over her shoulders in place of the armored one she removed earlier.
Softly taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze, Brittany leads Santana from her house in silence.
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Brittany could have gone to the Canyon with Santana. It's where she normally goes when things are shit, but something told her that she needed to take Santana somewhere more special. Somewhere that was calm and relaxing. She was compelled to make sure that Santana knew just how serious she was about everything. Which is how they find themselves at the edge of a desert bluff that overlooks the tranquil and clear Lake Mead.
Brittany brings the Boss to a stop and turns to glance at Santana, her heart flipping at the way the moonlight flickering off the lake's surface is giving a mysterious and stunning glow to Santana's features.
Her eyes seem to shine brighter, her skin radiates beauty, and her smile is soft and calming. Brittany leans across the console on her own violation and brushes her lips to Santana's cheek before she even realizes what she's doing. Almost immediately she feels heat creep up to her cheeks and when Santana's eyes glance at her in question, Brittany finds her own eyes averting their gaze as she clears her throat and tries to make the situation anything but awkward.
She doesn't see the way Santana smiles at her with that knowing glint in her eyes.
Brittany steps from the car and makes her way to the hood, waiting for Santana to join her before she tosses a spare blanket over the metal and climbs on top of it, reaching her hand out to offer to the shorter woman. Santana takes it and is gently hoisted up onto the hood where she watches Brittany recline onto her back, her hands tucked behind her head. She's quick to follow the woman's lead.
"It's beautiful out here."
Turning to face Santana, Brittany smiles at the other woman's words, "Yeah, it really is." She says, her eyes not gazing away from the woman's face, "I've only ever been up to this place a couple times…my dad was actually the one who brought me here first."
Santana turns to analyze Brittany's mood as she listens to her speak. She finds the other woman with her eyes closed, a serene almost unemotional softness displayed on the rest of her features. Brittany sighs and slowly opens her eyes to gaze at Santana.
"You don't have to tell me everything." Santana whispers and sincerity laces her voice. Brittany smiles sadly and twists to lie fully on her side, scooting as near as Santana as possible until their noses are touching and she can gently cup her cheek.
"Yeah I do, not because I have to," She begins to tell her, her thumb stroking the soft tan skin under her thumb, "But because I want to."
With that Brittany leans in and tenderly brushes her lips against Santana's, pulling back when the action has calmed the raging storm that exists in her chest. She takes another deep breath and without taking her eyes off of Santana, she tells the woman everything she's never told anyone else.
"My mother was always the greatest mystery to me. I don't know if she was ever really scared of my father getting in trouble for the things he did, or if she feared not being able to keep up with her own work. It took me a long time to realize that my mom never actually had a problem with the life she lived. She met my dad when she was a dancer at the Rhino. They were both in their late 20's, and he was a rising booster in the city." Brittany explains with a sad smile on her face. Santana reaches out and gently takes Brittany's hand in her own ghosting kisses across her knuckles in encouragement.
"I think I was five when I realized that the 'job' my father had wasn't your average everyday job. Of course at that point, him and my mom had already been on again, off again. He always had a problem with her career choice, and the fact that she'd never chose her family over it. It was kind of ironic, considering he'd never do the same thing either. Plus, he'd met Hunter's mom two years after they had me and even though I wouldn't know about him for several more years, my mom sure did.
On days she had to stay home to watch me because my dad was out boosting, those seemed like the most difficult days. I know that somewhere deep down, she loved me but I think she also resented me because apparently I just reminded her of how things used to be and the fact they'd never be the same for her. There'd be days where my dad wouldn't come home until the next afternoon, dirty and greasy, with alcohol on his breath. He'd be grinning out the window of some car I'd never seen before in my life, and my mom would always tense up the moment she saw him. The second he stepped out of the car, she'd go off to do whatever she could to stay away from the house. I guess I got used to it. It became commonplace."
Brittany is surprised by the touch of Santana's lips against hers as she whispers, "You shouldn't have had to get used to it Brittany."
She smiles sadly again in return, "Yeah we'll sometimes life isn't perfect. You know, you lost your parents too."
Santana's eyebrow wrinkles as her eyes sadden, "Yeah, but they were taken from me."
With a shrug Brittany sighs again, "Well sometimes it feels like mine were taken from me too. Things got worse with my mom but seemed better with my dad as I got older. He started letting me in on the cars side of the job. Fixing them, stripping them, painting them, driving them. He taught me everything he could, and as the days went by my mom got more and more frustrated with everything. I think the breaking point for her was when my dad finally brought Hunter around, his mom had died and he had nowhere else to go. I was 13."
A gentle squeeze to her hand lets Brittany know that Santana is still there for her.
"Even though Hunter was too young to actually drive, my dad would take us out on the easier boosts and show us the ropes. He had me driving cars by the time I was 14, and that's when my mom finally left. She never even said goodbye." Brittany chokes up on the words, angry tears starting to pool in her eyes, "I found something I was good at doing, that I enjoyed and my mom walked out on me without even so much as a fucking goodbye!" She says slamming the palm of her freehand down solidly on the blanket-covered hood.
"My dad never seemed to recover from that, he died a little over a year later. They said it was alcohol poisoning, and even if he'd be too damn stubborn to admit it if he was alive, I still think it's because of a broken heart. My mom left us, and then he left me." The last words cause Brittany to break, the floodgates release and tears streak her cheeks. To her ever tough girl credit, she never lets out more than a single whimper, but Santana wraps her arms around her and holds her close.
She coos softly to Brittany and presses light kisses against her forehead and cheeks as Brittany scoots closer and clutches her tightly in return.
"I'm not going to leave you Brittany."
Brittany chokes out a whimper of disbelief at that, "You can't know that."
"Yeah actually I can," Santana starts to say and she cups Brittany's cheeks and draws those hazy blue eyes up to meet her focused brown, "I can because…I'm falling for you Britt. So hard that every time I look into your eyes, I can't think of anything else that I'd ever want to see. I can't leave you, Brittany, because I don't know what I'd do without you."
Santana barely gets to finish her sentence before Brittany's lips are crashing against hers in desperation. Brittany grips tighter at the fabric of Santana's shirt bunched in her hands as her lips slide across full lips and her teeth clash with Santana's teeth. Their bodies' mold together in perfect alignment, and their mouths continue to work against each other.
It's carnal, uninhibited, and completely full of passion.
But soon enough the passionate kisses are interrupted by the flood of hot and wet tears as they fully flow uninhibited from Brittany's eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to turn out so messed up."
Brittany's words break Santana's heart. She knows that if Brittany could have avoided the harshness of her childhood, the abandonment and the lack of love, she would have.
"Shhh, Brittany it's not your fault. You are not a bad person. You're one of the best people I know and it's okay because I'm still here. I still want you." Santana murmurs to Brittany, pulling her in close and holding her tight for the next fifteen minutes or so as Brittany's sobs drown and wrack her body.
Eventually, she feels Brittany's sobs subside and her breathing calm, and when Santana looks down at the woman in her arms she notices Brittany's has cried herself into an exhausted sleep.
Gentle and caring, Santana lays a kiss on Brittany's forehead before she shifts back to be more comfortable and stable while continuing to hold Brittany tightly in her arms.
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When Brittany wakes up in the morning she's a little disoriented and acutely surprised of the fact that she's currently lying in the backseat of her Mustang Boss. She's also a slight bit surprised to find that though the angle is awkward and the space less than comfortable, Santana is slumbering peacefully in her arms, her head resting softly against Brittany's chest. She definitely doesn't remember when that happened.
But the one thing she is not is even remotely terrified of the situation. In fact, Brittany feels freer than she ever has felt before in her life.
An incoherent mumble of words escapes Santana's lips and draws a giggle from Brittany, her chest shaking as she laughs. Ultimately, this action causes Santana to stir from her stupor and awake to slowly lift her head from Brittany's chest and blink down at the other woman with tired brown eyes and a mess of long dark locks.
"Mornin'" Santana rasps, causing Brittany's heart to thump at the tone as she wonders how Santana can sound absolutely drop dead gorgeous this soon after waking up. She fears that her own voice will be decidedly less attractive, and thus remains mute, merely offering the other woman a smile before she leans up and places a kiss to her cheek.
"So you're probably wondering how we got back here?" Santana carries on the one-sided conversation, a long and seemingly endearing yawn occurring directly after the question. She shifts to straddle Brittany's lap, causing the woman below her to bite back a moan at the tantalizing sight of Santana sitting so delightfully above her. Pale hands drop to covered thighs but still Brittany remains mute, simply shrugging to show she's heard but isn't really bothered by the whole thing.
Santana quirks an eyebrow at Brittany's continued silence, "What?" She starts to say and then a horrified expression crosses her face, she slaps a hand to her mouth, "Oh my god I have horrible morning breath don't I?"
Brittany's eyes go wide and before she even realizes what's happening, she's sitting up and wrapping her arms around Santana's waist to keep her perched comfortably in her lap.
"NO!" She exclaims, the volume a tad more excessive than she had intended. But at least one thing's clear, she can speak and she doesn't appear to have a frog's voice. She calms a little, one palm cupping Santana's cheek and stroking softly, "No, you don't at all." She reassures much calmer and notices the way it quickly calms Santana down as well as she drops her hand from her mouth.
Brittany continues to smile at Santana, those bright blue eyes gazing unabashedly into brown, before she leans in and touches their noses together, "And even if you did," Brittany begins to whisper, before tilting her head down so their lips are centimeters apart, "It wouldn't bother me in the slightest." She husks before stretching the distance to capture Santana's lips in her own.
Much like last night, both women practically melt into the kiss. It's unrushed and sweet, like a good morning kiss should be. And Brittany exhales contently when they finally break apart, her forehead cozying up to Santana's immediately after as tan fingers stroke her cheek.
They sit like that, silent for a few minutes until Santana brushes golden blonde locks behind Brittany's ear and places a tender kiss to her temple, "In case you were wondering though, after you passed out last night I managed to carry you to the backseat and lay you down. Then I fell asleep shortly after."
Brittany chuckles but nods, "I had a feeling you were stronger than you looked." She teases.
"Hey!"
Santana's smack to her arm is weak and playful and causes Brittany to chuckle more, she looks up with smile pulling at her lips, "It's okay I'm not judging you."
After a good-natured eye roll of her own Santana sighs and sinks back into Brittany's embrace, "Kidding aside though, you never really did finish your story, if you wanted to that is."
It takes a few seconds but Brittany finally nods, and shortly after she continues the explanation of where her messed up childhood lead her.
"Once my dad died," Brittany begins, a forlorn edge to her voice, Santana squeezes her arms around Brittany tighter once more in encouragement to continue. "Quinn's crazy mom ended up taking Hunter and I in until we were old enough to go out on our own. For three years I honed my skills, Quinn by my side and a pesky younger Hunter always bugging the shit out of us."
That elicits a chuckle from Santana.
"I met Mike and Joe one night when Quinn and I were out surveying our neighborhood for jobs. We joined forces and started up a pretty successful venture. By the time we were 20, we'd met Rory and Lauren and were doing very well for ourselves. Of course, that was also around the time the Evans crew popped up in Vegas too. They were, as they still are, royal pains in the ass. But our exploits, and my dad's name essentially helped take us to where we are now. When we aren't boosting, you've seen it; we race. And we're good."
The end of Brittany's story is met with respectable silence, as Santana both absorbs and processes what she's just been told. It's a lot to take in, but at the same time it truly sheds light on a lot of things. Including why Brittany seems to be the way she is. She knows things like that don't disappear, but she also knows that with someone there strong enough to fight with and for her, Brittany could make it through anything.
Santana rests her hand lightly on Brittany's chest, feeling the steady beat of her heart. She tilts up to press a kiss to the underside of Brittany's jaw, feeling the way the other woman shudders in her arms. She smiles and leans back down to rest her head against Brittany's shoulder.
"Sugar seems like an unusual addition to your crew."
Brittany kind of chuckles at Santana's words, "Oh, yeah Sugar. I still don't know much about her. She can be annoying most of the time, a little strange, but she's really a nice girl. She literally came out of nowhere about seven months ago. Dropped into our shop after a boost waving money around. We thought she was the owner of a car we'd boosted until she told us 'My daddy has a lot of money spend on me but not a lot of time. I need something to do in my life that's not boring' and that was it. I mean, she grows on you. She doesn't do much else but financially fund us sometimes, but she enjoys it and I don't know…"
"You have a soft spot for her?"
Brittany nods with a small smile, "It's weird I know because we're practically the same age but I feel like she's my little sister or something."
"I get that. It's cute."
With those words Brittany's smile falters, "Cute? I'm not cute?"
Santana leans away from Brittany's chest to squints a little up at her while raising her thumb and index finger up in a pinching motion, "Kind of, a little bit. Yeah you are."
Upon seeing Brittany's pronounced pout, Santana giggles and leans in to kiss those pouty pink lips, "Don't worry, I think it's unbelievably sexy." She says which elicits a playful eye roll from Brittany and at least a small smile.
She sighs, "Fine, but only for you." She implores while wrapping her hand around the back of Santana's neck and pulling their lips together once again.
The soft muffled ring of Santana's telephone is the only thing that prevents their heavy make-out from turning into something much hotter with a lot less clothes. Brittany groans, and Santana hates to answer it until she sees that it's Jesse calling.
After a brief conversation and lots of 'Uh huh' and 'Okay I understand' statements coming from Santana, she hangs up and turns apologetically to Brittany.
"He 'needs' you doesn't he?"
Santana merely nods, regret painting her features before Brittany nods and pecks her on the lips, climbing back into the front seat of the car and waiting for Santana to get situated before she drives them back to the shop.
###############
"I probably don't have to tell you this but I have an overwhelming urge to be extremely protective of you so I'm going to say it anyway," Brittany begins to say as they return to the shop and she puts the Boss in park, turning towards Santana before either of them exit the car. Santana looks at her patiently and Brittany takes a deep breath as she runs a hand through her hair, "Just with everything that's happened lately, I'm begging you to be careful around Jesse. We don't know what he knows yet, and I haven't had the chance to properly brief everyone of the situation yet."
Santana smiles sweetly and leans over to press her lips firmly against Brittany's.
"I promise I'll be super careful and watchful."
"And if anything even seems kind of fishy you'll get out?"
"I promise Brittany."
Brittany breathes a sigh of relief and nods before they start to get out of the car. They meet each other in front of it, Brittany instantly reaching out and taking Santana's hands in her own. Santana leans in and brushes her lips against Brittany's cheek, softly exhaling as she nuzzles her nose against the skin. Brittany's heart flutters with that previously unfamiliar feeling that seems to be cropping up a hell of a lot more around Santana these days.
Blue eyes glance hesitantly into brown and Santana smiles apologetically again, "I have to go." She says and Brittany nods before pulling Santana in and wrapping her up in a tight embrace, her lips automatically pressing to the skin at the shorter woman's forehead.
"You'll come back though, right?"
The uncertainty lacing Brittany's tone causes Santana's heart to clench painfully, she pulls Brittany closer, her nose burying into the crook of her warm neck. She ghosts kisses across the skin and angles them up the column of a pale neck, across the ledge of Brittany's jaw until finally their eyes meet again and Santana's lips slide across pink lips.
When she pulls back, Santana gazes adoringly at Brittany as a small smile tugs at her lips.
"I'll come back Brittany. I could never just leave you."
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As much as Brittany would like to shuffle into her home and throw her body on her mattress like the dead weight it feels like, she doesn't have that luxury. Two seconds after watching Santana drive off into the distance, a very pale faced and shocked looking Mike comes rushing out to meet his boss.
"Brittany you have to come now. You're not going to believe this."
Umm, it's not really a 'who's the person at the door' cliffhanger right? I mean it's not so bad? And the good news is that you will be getting an update next Friday! How exciting is that? In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you all think about this emotionally filled chapter, was it too much? Not enough? Still leave you wondering? Anything else you'd like to ponder on? I'm just simply impressed that this story has 300 reviews! I mean DAYUMMM you guys that's awesome. I can't thank you enough, but I will continue to try. Thanks y'all!