Waking up beside San was honestly the best thing ever, especially after everything we had been though since my New Year's Eve confession. As we each slowly began to stir in the early morning hours, we somehow managed to sink further into one another underneath her thick comforter. Her back pressing more firmly into my front. Threaded fingers pulling my arms more securely around her waist. My face buried in her messy bedhair.
Everything was perfect. That is, until we heard a sudden pawing at her bedroom door that broke the peaceful ambiance surrounding us, followed by a very distinct bark.
"Looks like little Delibird's awake," I sluggishly mumbled out with a small, knowing smirk as I playfully nudged her shoulder with my own. "Better go let your son out before he really starts causing a ruckus."
"Mm, before sunrise, he's your son," she hummed out just as Del started scratching at the door again, this time accompanied by a loud round whimpering.
"Oh, yeah?" I quietly giggled out in a challenging tone. "Well, okay, Mufasa. Let me get up, then, so I can let him out."
"No," Santana grumbled as soon as I attempted to unravel myself from around her, flipping over so she could bury her face into my chest and effectively pin me to the bed. "Don't go," she begged, her groggy voice slightly muffled by the shirt I was wearing.
I couldn't help but laugh at how cute she was being as I reasoned, "Babe, you know I'm going to have to get up eventually, especially since not all of us are lucky enough to have the rest of the week off from work."
"I know," she unwillingly conceded as she pushing herself up to hover over me. Looking down with a soft expression, she then whispered out a sweet, "Love you."
"I love you, too, Sleeping Beauty," I replied as I leaned up on my elbows to press our lips together in a brief morning kiss. "Now, let's get up so we can spend some time together before I have to leave."
"Okay, I'll go fire up the stove while you take your shower," she informed with a loving grin as she crawled off the bed with as much vigor as her tired, half-asleep body would allow before a cup of coffee.
As expected, there was already a pot brewing as I made my way into the kitchen about ten minutes later. Glancing around the room, I found Santana pulling out a huge container of old-fashioned oats from her cabinet and started making my way over to her.
She must have noticed my presence because she quickly flicked her gaze over to me as she shut the pantry doors and informed, "I still have no idea why you love this stuff so much."
"Well, Dad used to make oatmeal for us all the time growing up. Plus, it's good for your heart."
"Hm, I guess those are justifiable reasons," she jokingly acknowledged as she walked over to the stove and started pouring the oats into a pot of water. "I still prefer waffles and bacon, though."
"I know you do," I chuckled out as I pressed quick kiss to her temple, carefully reaching around to turn on the proper burner in the process. "Thank you for buying me a new box, by the way. I've been meaning to run by the store to grab one."
"No problem, Babe. I know how much you love your oats," she replied as she stirred the contents of the pot.
Once I was done eating, I looked over at the clock and realized I needed to get back to my morning routine. Wrapping one of San's hands up in mine, I brought it up to my lips and gave the back of her knuckles a gentle kiss, silently thanking her for breakfast, before standing up from the dining room table so I could leave to get ready.
It was weird not having Santana beside me as I spread a thin line of toothpaste across the bristles of the toothbrush I kept in her bathroom. I had grown so accustomed to us sharing a morning routine that it almost felt odd going at it alone while in her house. Sure, brushing your teeth is a bit monotonous in the grand scheme of things, but that's what I loved about it. It had become such an ordinary thing for us to do and was most definitely something I looked forward to hopefully sharing with her someday.
Shaking my head to break myself out of my daydream, I suddenly realized that it was almost time to leave the safe bubble we had found ourselves in since the night before. Everything had been so wonderful, and I couldn't help but wonder if anything would change one we were forced to return to our normal, everyday lives.
Doing my best to suppress the bit of uncertainty still lurking in the back of my mind, I chose to instead focus solely on the task at hand as I quickly spat out the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth. After replacing the brush in the holder, I left the bathroom to grab a pair of socks before slipping on my shoes by the door.
"Here, let me help you with your coat, Britt," Santana offered as she retrieved the article of clothing from off the coat rack. Holding it open for me, I carefully slipped my arms inside and jostled the sides a bit to get it more comfortable around my shoulders before zipping it up. "And here's your scarf and beanie," she added as she pulled the scarf around my neck and tugged the beanie over the top of my head. Just then, she looked up at me, and her face dropped.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked with a concerned tone, somehow knowing something was off with me.
"Nothing."
"Babe, please don't lie to me. What's the matter?" Watching me suddenly start to tear up, Santana must have realized what was going on in my head because she gently placed her hands on both sides of my face and assured, "Hey, hey. It's okay, Britt. We're going to be alright. I'll still be here whenever you're done, okay?"
"Okay."
"Do you want me to come over after you get off?" she asked, to which I immediately gave a slow, timid nod in response as she lightly traced the pads of her thumbs across the sides of my cheeks. "Okay, then just text me when you're leaving, and I'll be there waiting for you when you get home," she confirmed with reassuring grin, running her thumbs over my skin a few more times before returning her hands to her sides.
"Thanks, San," I shyly mumbled out with a small smile of my own before turning towards my dog, who was laying next to Delgado on his bed. "Come on, Lay. Let's head out."
I could almost feel San rolling her eyes at me, knowing I had every intention of bringing her to my parents' house like I would on any other day. "Just leave her. I'm sure Del would love to have someone else here to hang out with," she immediately insisted.
"You sure?"
"Britt, do you really need me to answer that question?"
"I guess no."
"You guess no?"
"No, I know no."
"That's more like it. Now, here's your lunch," she informed as she held out a paper sack and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Have a good day, Britt-Britt."
"I'll do my best," I teased, leaning in for one last kiss before heading out the door.
The day after a major holiday is always a busy one at the clinic, and the second day of the year was no exception. We were absolutely slammed from the minute we opened the doors, and I barely had a moment to breathe the whole morning.
It wasn't until lunchtime that I finally had a chance to retreat to my desk, sliding out the peanut butter and banana sandwich San had packed for me. I had just taken my first delicious bite when Jessica, our phones person of the day, peeked her head inside my office.
"Hey, Dr. Pierce! Your sister called. She wanted you to just call her whenever you got a chance."
"Alright. Thanks, Jess," I responded with a small wave, letting her know that she could return to her desk before retrieving my phone from out of my purse so I could call Hailey back.
After a few rings, my sister voice came over the receiver, greeting with a curious, "Hey, Sis! Busy day?"
"Yeah, I actually just got back in from a bunch of in-rooms. I swear every single one of my appointments today are animals with upset stomachs."
"Well, tell the owners that their pets wouldn't be experiencing so many gastrointestinal issues if they'd stop feeding them so many table scraps during the holidays."
"I've tried. Doesn't work," I replied with a laugh. "Anyways, what's up?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay after everything that's happened the past few days, but from the way you sound, I assume everything's good between you and Santana?"
"Yep. Better than expected, actually."
"That's awesome, Britt! I'm so happy to hear that," she exclaimed before giving a slight pause. Heaving a small sigh, she continued, "Look, about what happened on Christmas Eve. I, um-I know I went about everything the wrong way and took things too far, but I really did have good intentions. I just wanted to make sure you knew that, and I really hope I didn't push you into doing something you weren't ready for."
Quirking my brow at her uncharacteristic apology, I cautiously inquired, "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with my sister?"
"Hey, I'm trying to being serious here, Jerk!"
"Well, you shouldn't. Doesn't suit you," I teased before returning to a more earnest tone. "I know your intentions were good, Hails, and I'm sorry for yelling at you, even though you kind of deserved it. Regardless, you still got me thinking and provided the little push I needed to finally come clean with San, so thank you."
"I'm not sure if I should say you're welcome or I'm sorry again, but either way, I really am glad everything worked out between the two of you."
"I honestly couldn't agree more," I chuckled out while glancing down at the clock located in the bottom corner of my computer screen. "Anyways, I should probably go. I still have to finish eating lunch and get caught up on all my exam notes before my hour's up."
"Good luck with that. Talk to you later, Britt!"
"Kay. Bye, Hailey."
True to her word, Santana was already at my house waiting for me when I got home that evening. As I pulled up into the driveway, I saw her car parked in its normal spot beside mine, and I couldn't help but think about how perfect it felt to have it parked there, like that's where it was meant to be.
Not allowing myself to get too wrapped up in my musings, I grabbed my things and slid out of the car to make my way inside, knowing my girl was already in there waiting for me since San already had her own key to the house by that time. (Not that she wouldn't still be able to figure out where the spare was hidden since I'm apparently still horrible at finding good hiding spots, but I digress.)
Opening the front door with my free hand, I walked in to catch a whiff of something delicious drifting over from the kitchen and walked over to see what it was. "Hey, I'm home," I called out with a small grin as I spotted her over by oven, checking on whatever was inside.
Looking up towards me, she quickly closed the oven door and made her way across the room to meet me, cheerfully greeting me with a soft, "Hey, Baby! How was your day?"
"Not too bad. Can't really complain, " I answered honestly as I felt her begin to softly trace her fingertips across the backs of my forearms. "How was yours?"
"Can't complain," she repeated playful as she slid her hands down to thread her fingers between mine, adding, "Hope you don't mind me borrowing your kitchen to make dinner, by the way."
"No, of course not. What'cha got cookin', good lookin'?"
Shooting me her signature Really, Britt? look, she let out a small giggle and responded, "Nothing much. Just steak, mashed potatoes, and steamed veggies."
"Oh my goodness, San!" I gleefully moaned out at the thought. "That sound absolutely amazing right now!"
"Well, don't get too excited. It's not quite ready yet," she teased as she started leading me out to my back patio, where I assume she had previously been sitting since she had a glass of wine sitting out on the small table next to the porch swing. As we got settled and started to rock back and forth, she commented, "I've always meant to tell you how much I love sitting out here. It's so peaceful."
"Yeah, it was one of my favorite features about the house when I first checked it out, though I've actually been dying to do a bit of landscaping back here," I divulged, motioning to the large, open yard in front of us.
"Well, why haven't you then?"
"I guess you can say I've been waiting for the right time." Suddenly feeling my mouth go dry, I licked my lips nervously and added, "When I went to the future, I heard we had this big, nice house with plenty of room for as many new additions as we'd ever want, whether it be dogs or cats or, you know, otherwise."
Glancing down briefly, I tried to gauge how Santana was taking all this new information. Seeing that she didn't seem too freaked out by it, I continued, "For years, I would go running around town and jokingly try to figure out which house would one day be ours. Then, this house went up on the market, and I just knew. So after a lot of negotiating, I was finally able to talk them down to a price I could afford and moved in. Other then that, I've mostly been waiting for you to be okay with all this before doing any kind of remodeling."
"You didn't have to wait for me to do all that," Santana replied with a small frown, clearly upset that I put my plans on hold for her.
"I know. I just thought it'd be nice to do it together. That way we could each have some input and make it a home for both of us."
"But you know I don't care about that stuff. All I care about is us being together."
Feeling a hopeful smile tug at my lips, I cautiously asked, "So, does that mean you're okay with this place? Because I'm totally open to us finding somewhere else."
Giving me a sweet smile of her own, she shook her head and answered, "No, we don't need to worry about finding another house. I like this one just fine."
"Well then with that being said, I just wanted to let you know that this house was always meant to be just as much yours as it is mine, so you can most certainly feel free to move in whenever you'd like. Of course, it doesn't have to be today or tomorrow or a week from now or whatever. I just want you to know that the offer is on the table if and when you're ready."
"Oh, so all the times you told me to make myself at home? That was supposed to be taken literally?"
Releasing a loud laugh, I instantly nodded my head and confirmed, "Yes. Very much so."
She sat there for a minute, staring at me with a broad grin spread across her face, before resting her head on my shoulder, looking out at the yard as she conceded, "Okay, then I guess you better start filling me in on all these big landscaping plans you've been holding out on."
Author's Note:
Surprise! Bet you didn't expect another one of these so soon, did you? Haha.
Actually, I randomly decided to start working on this chapter yesterday, and then somehow managed to get it all written by today. Either way, here's the final chapter before the epilogue, which I'm also pretty darn excited for!
Until next time!
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