A/N: This will make more sense when you read but for some reason Hawaii always gives me Brittana vibes, not sure why - not because of them going on that trip in canon either. I can totally imagine one of their sons being born in Puerto Rico and the other being born in Hawaii.
Not long after they dozed off, the piercing sound of Valentino screaming and crying woke them. Both women jumped up, startled and looked at each other wordlessly, immediately taking action as their protective instincts kicked in. Santana could see the fear written on Brittany's face and it mirrored how she felt inside but she tried to be strong for the blonde and their son. When they got to the boy's room, he was sobbing hysterically.
"What happened, Sweetie?" Brittany asked softly, sitting beside him. She took her son into her arms and held him tightly as he immediately sobbed against her chest. Santana stroked his head gently as Brittany rocked him.
"Did you get hurt? Are you sick?" Santana surprised even herself with the concerned questions that kept coming out of her mouth as panic rose up in her. Valentino shook his head.
"These monsters were hurting you and- and Mami ran away from us and she didn't come back even though I kept calling her!"
Brittany rubbed circles on his back, trying her best to calm him down.
"Oh Honey, it's okay. Don't you worry. You just had a bad nightmare, but it's not real, even though it feels real right now. I'm okay and your mom is right here, okay? Mami and Tubbs would never let anything hurt us."
Santana winced, avoiding Brittany's eyes as a wave of guilt consumed her. All she could think of was that this was all her fault. Her son was clearly terrified of being abandoned and of his mother being hurt. She couldn't blame him for having all these fears. She noticed he was holding the heart-shaped pendant on his necklace. It broke Santana's heart to see him in such a state.
After some time passed and Brittany kept singing to him softly in her soothing voice, the boy eventually calmed down, his sobs reducing to sniffles. Santana awkwardly rubbed his back, not knowing what else to do. She was still getting used to being a mom. Situations like this or him getting sick earlier and depending on her were new to her. At least Valentino didn't seem to mind and leaned into her touch.
Brittany eventually stood up, holding her little boy in her arms as he wrapped his long legs around her waist like a koala, the way he always did. The parents smiled at each other softly, relieved when Valentino seemed back to his normal self.
"Feel better, Kitten? Come, let's go lay down and cuddle up in Mommy's bed with Mami and Tubbs, okay?" Brittany suggested. Valentino's face lit up and he grinned widely, agreeing right away as she knew he would.
"Okay, Mommy."
She set him down and held his little hand, Santana taking the other as they made their way back to the blonde's bedroom. Santana was surprised by this but it made complete sense when she thought about it. Brittany just wanted their son to feel secure and loved.
The darker-haired woman was a little uncertain about what to do but Brittany just smiled at her knowingly as she lay on the left side of the blonde's bed and Valentino climbed in to lie down in the middle with Brittany on the other side of him. The blonde wrapped her son up in her arms tightly. Santana watched him and Brittany quietly, not knowing what she should do.
Her eyes widened when the little boy cuddled up to her, nuzzling into her neck. She smiled to herself, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend and son to hold them close. Santana's heart began to beat faster, realizing it was the first time she had slept with her son in her arms like this and they truly felt like a little family unit now. In that moment, she knew more than ever before that she would do anything to protect her family. Lord Tubbington chose that moment to jump onto the bed and situate himself on top of them, much to Valentino's delight.
Valentino slept peacefully with no more nightmares after that, although Brittany giggled at the way he kept squirming around, elbowing or kicking Santana in his sleep while the woman grunted each time he did that.
Brittany couldn't keep the smile off her face when she woke up to find herself snuggled up to Santana and their son, her fat grey tabby curled up at the bottom of the bed. She glanced over at the clock, noticing that it was already eleven a.m. She and Santana had always preferred to sleep in after a late night and it seemed Valentino had inherited that trait as well.
The sight of Santana holding Valentino with his little face pressed into his mom's chest as he clung to her was too adorable and she didn't want to wake them up just yet. Brittany could think of nothing better than being cuddled up to Santana and their son like this. Santana apparently felt her gaze on her and soon was blinking at her, stirring slightly, confused for a moment as she looked down and saw a little boy's dark, curly head and her girlfriend on the other side of them.
"Hi." Brittany greeted her in a whisper, leaning over to tuck strands of black hair behind her ear and then kissed a surprised Santana on the lips sweetly. Santana inhaled sharply, not expecting this but giving in to the kiss as soon as her senses caught up to her and cupping Brittany's cheek. When she pulled back, she thought it was adorable how shy and soft Santana looked. Brittany swore there was a tinge of redness in the woman's cheeks.
"Hi." Santana rasped softly in response, keeping her voice low as both of them were conscious of the little boy sleeping between them. Brittany dozed off for a while, enjoying the feeling of Santana stroking her hip and back. She woke up to the sound of her son's cute little voice and felt him moving beside her.
"Mommy!" He squealed, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing her cheek. Brittany loved his kisses and his little hand holding her face. He leaned over to give kisses to a disoriented Santana as well while Lord Tubbington jumped off of the bed, flipping his tail and glanced over at them in annoyance because of all the noise and movement was disturbing him from his nap. Brittany was proud of the way Santana was handling it all and the way her son had warmed up to his other mom made her happier than anything had in a while. "Mami!"
"Oh, look who's awake!" Brittany kissed him all over his face and tickled him while he laughed. She brushed back his wild, wavy hair that was sticking up just like Santana's currently was as identical pairs of deep, dark eyes she loved so much stared at her.
"What should we do today, Moms?" He asked, sitting on the bed with his legs crossed under him and grinning at the two of them cutely.
"Whatever you want, Rockstar," Santana told him softly, kissing him on the forehead. She wrinkled her nose as he breathed on her, tackling her on the bed. "First though, you really gotta brush those fangs."
Of course, that only made him breathe on her more on purpose, thinking that was hilarious. He laughed wildly as Santana groaned and pretended to hide from him, pulling the covers over her head as he tried to tackle her.
It was a bright summer day several weeks later, with perfect fluffy white clouds shaped like cats and a clear blue sky. Brittany had nothing to worry about… except her friends hating her girlfriend.
Telling her friends that she was officially dating Santana again brought some mixed reactions. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised, considering in the past Santana had made up nicknames to troll all of them and had attempted to pick a fight with almost all of them at some point. She hadn't exactly had a good reputation around Lima.
Mike just smiled slyly to himself with a mischievous chuckle, not remotely fazed as if he had known this was going on the whole time. Which, knowing observant Mike and the way he always knew everything even before his gossipy girlfriend told him, the tall, lanky man probably had.
Whenever Brittany would see him at the dance studio they ran together, Mike would instantly ask her how things were going with Santana and he seemed to figure out where things were heading between the two of them really fast when he learned that she was back in town.
Tina was just as unsurprised as her boyfriend and shared an unreadable look with Mercedes. Sugar squealed, clapping her hands excitedly and voicing her support. Meanwhile, in complete contrast to the rich girl, Rachel's jaw dropped and her husband Finn just blinked at Brittany, with that dopey, blank stare he sometimes got and one eyebrow raised as he tilted his head to the side.
"Brittany, are you completely sure about this?" Rachel asked, taking a tip of her tea as she watched her taller, blonde friend with narrowed eyes, pressing her lips together with that skeptical look she often got when Brittany was telling one of her outlandish theories. Rachel could never quite understand the thought process of her bubbly dancer friend. "I know you and Santana have always had a certain… simpatico but do you really think you can trust her with you and your son?"
The friends were sitting around in Whitney and Pierce's backyard at a table her parents had set up while Brittany's parents went back and forth between the kitchen and the barbecue her father was still attempting to set up for the meal they'd be having later. Valentino was off from school for the summer and supposedly watching cartoons inside with Rachel's daughters while Santana kept an eye on him.
"I had a feeling you wouldn't like it," Brittany responded after a while in her casual, breezy way as the rest of the group watched silently. Rachel and Santana had never exactly been on the best of terms, ever since Santana had told the short brunette she sounded like a cat in heat when she heard her practicing her vocals and Barbra Streisand movies were boring. They argued nonstop ever since. "I know you're just trying to help me but I know Santana."
"Whoa, so Santana really is Valentino's other mom then?" Finn sputtered. Tina huffed in exasperation beside him.
"Finn, you're seriously asking that now? He looks exactly like Santana right down to the freaking dimples, he acts just like her and his middle name is Santiago. Take a wild guess; who else did you think the other parent could have been?"
"I guess I should have seen this coming. Brittany seemed really into Santana when they were together. I mean… I think it was the longest I've ever seen her with the same person and she seemed way happier." The tall man shrugged while his wife shook her head at him.
"Finn, we shouldn't encourage Brittany to be with her ex-friend with benefits who just randomly threw a jealous tantrum and ran away," The Broadway singer looked over at her friend in concern, "She could get hurt again. Are you sure I can't introduce you to someone? I know some really talented and good people in the industry."
"No, that's okay. I don't want to meet anyone else." Brittany shook her head, groaning at the thought of meeting more of Rachel's Broadway friends. Even if she was looking for someone, they weren't remotely her types.
"Maybe Rachel's right," Tina chimed in and Mercedes nodded beside her. "Britt, I know you think she's hot and she's exciting but do you think she can really be there for you the way you and Valentino need her? She's not exactly… maternal."
"Guys, c'mon. She made a lot of mistakes and yes, she did hurt me but Santana's not a bad person. You don't get to see her the way I see her when she's alone with me. She's really sweet."
Her friends looked at each other doubtfully with raised eyebrows but didn't argue.
"Brittany… Let's be honest, you know she's kind of a scoundrel and a womanizer. She just left you the first time with no explanation. Don't you want someone a little more… stable? She's distasteful, she drinks, she's always fighting with someone, she goes through women faster than my dads go through home décor theme ideas, she drives those godforsaken, tacky sports cars way above the speed limit..."
"Sounds charming. Anyone I would know?
The woman in question appeared before them, smirking at their shocked faces as she took the empty seat in between Rachel and Brittany. The short brunette winced, pursing her lips in annoyance as she usually did when Santana appeared. Santana just laughed, throwing back the glass of wine Brittany handed to her and slamming it on the table as Rachel sputtered.
"Greetings, Santana."
"Hobbit." Santana muttered, barely acknowledging the shorter girl, who huffed in annoyance.
The blonde watched her girlfriend adoringly the entire time and bit her lip, thinking about how sexy she looked in a white tank top that showed off her sculpted arms and jean shorts, her black hair falling in perfect, tousled waves. Santana always looked hot but there was something about her look in the summer and that sweaty, bronzed skin that always turned Brittany on like nothing else.
The corners of her lips curved upwards as she caught Santana's eye, noticing how the woman was watching her as well in the pink crop top she was wearing that barely left much to the imagination.
"Oh, is that Little Mouse? Come over and help me in the kitchen, Love!" Whitney called to Santana who wanted to sink under the table in embarrassment as Brittany's friends began to snicker at the nickname her girlfriend's mom had given her. Brittany cringed, shaking her head but thinking Santana's meek reaction to her mother was adorable.
Santana had met Brittany's parents a few times back when they were together and surprisingly, considering how opposite she was to Brittany's eccentric parents in personality, the Latina got along well with them. Although Brittany almost felt sorry for the businesswoman given how exuberant and weird her parents were whenever her girlfriend was around them.
The blonde knew Santana had been terrified to show her face around her parents again after what had happened between her and Brittany in the past but she had reassured her that they knew the two of them were together and they weren't actually going to kill her.
"O-okay, I'll be with you in a second," Santana told the buxom blonde, middle-aged woman before scowling at Brittany's friends. "Shut up. Who do you clowns think you're laughing at?"
"Whatever you say, Little Mouse." Tina joked, making them all break out into laughter as Santana just growled and crossed her arms defensively but got up obediently to help Whitney. She flipped the short Asian girl off.
"I gotta go help her and save her from my parents. Be right back, Guys." Brittany announced, slipping away as she became bored of her friends' conversations. She found Santana alone in the kitchen, frying something on the stove for Whitney and slipped her arms around her from behind, feeling the darker woman shiver slightly and relax, realizing it was her.
"Britt?! What are you doing?" She chuckled.
Brittany swept her long black hair to the side, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck.
"I'm sorry my friends teased you. My mom really has you doing all the work for her, huh?"
"It's fine." Santana muttered but Brittany could tell from her tense body language and silence that something was bothering her.
"You're not though. What's really wrong?" Brittany winced, resting her head against her bare shoulder and kissing it. "You heard them trash talking you."
"Britt, it's just… maybe your friends are right." Santana spoke up after a moment of tense silence. She turned around to face her and Brittany noticed a dejected look on her face that she knew so well. She wrapped her arms around Santana's shoulders. She never got over how cute it was to see Santana being so tame and domesticated.
"You know I don't care what they think, Santana. I know you. The real you. They just don't get to see that soft part of you that I see, you know? You've more than proven yourself recently and you're continuing to do that everyday."
"You really think so? Thanks, Britt."
"Of course, Silly. You know something else? I love seeing you with our son, the way both of you just light up around each other and the way you try to protect him," Brittany admitted, stroking Santana's jawline with her fingertips. "I'm proud of both of you."
Santana smiled one of her genuine smiles, her dimples deepening and pulled Brittany into such a deep kiss that they both forgot where they were. Brittany gasped, feeling Santana's warm, strong hands on her hips and back.
As gentle and romantic as Santana was these days, sometimes Brittany's hormones went absolutely crazy. The feeling of her girlfriend's hands on her waist reminded her of that perfect night long ago when they first gave in to their lust for each other. She really wished Santana would forget all about her plan to hold back and wait until the moment was right for them to be intimate with each other again.
Maybe she could find a way to convince her girlfriend to give in… it wouldn't exactly be difficult for her to seduce Santana before the woman knew what hit her. She tilted her head and pushed her body up against Santana's, making it very clear what she wanted. She felt Santana tremble in arousal, her breathing heavier. She hissed Brittany's name warningly as the blonde pressed up against her, nipping her lower lip.
"Look at you two, lovebirds! Looks like your father and I can expect more grandbabies sometime soon, with the way you two are going at it in the middle of my kitchen!"
"Mom!" Brittany yelped while Santana looked like she was about to combust.
They broke apart, both blushing at the sound of Whitney's voice and the very thought of more babies nearly made Santana faint. Whitney was holding hands with Valentino, who squawked, protesting on principle when he saw them kissing and was confused about his grandmother's comment. So that's how babies were made?
The boy was mostly over his jealousy phase and didn't break down into crying spells and tantrums anymore when they kissed, at least, which was a relief to the two of them. Valentino ran to Brittany, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Help me with these, will you, Girls?" Whitney asked, pointing at the platters of barbecue steak and burgers, along with the million other dishes they had put together. Santana nodded politely and Brittany met her dark eyes with a sultry stare, making it clear that she wanted to continue where they left off later.
"Mommy kissed my other mom on the lips!" Valentino ran and told Brittany's friends at full volume as they all laughed in response, saying how cute he was. "We caught them!"
"Oh really?" Rachel played along with him, although she wasn't the least bit interested in Santana and Brittany's inappropriate but not unexpected behaviour.
"They do that all the time. They're always kissing in Mommy's bedroom and on the couch."
"I bet they are," Tina smirked at Mike, sharing a knowing look with him as the rest of the friends couldn't stop smiling. They both knew how wild Brittany and Santana were. They were probably all over each other just like she and her boyfriend always were… though maybe it wasn't a good idea for Brittany to do that considering getting hot and heavy with Santana had got her into this mess in the first place. "Ohh look, Lover Girl is here."
"Telling everyone the hot gossip? Twitter's got nothing on this guy." Brittany quipped, kissing his head as she started putting out a small plate for him. Her son was a picky eater, just like Santana. Unless it was something he was familiar with like a burger, steak or chicken nuggets, he would screw up his face and refuse to even try it.
Santana rolled her eyes as everyone giggled when she and Brittany took their seats at the table. She pretended to put her son in a headlock, ruffling his hair as he giggled and squirmed, trying to get away from her. Aside from a few arguments almost erupting between Santana and Rachel, the backyard barbecue at the Pierces ended up being not the disaster it could have been, Brittany mused.
"You've been so cute, taking me on all these fancy dates." Brittany giggled, sliding her fingers in between Santana's when her girlfriend reached for her hand. Santana had really been going all out in the past few weeks to impress her and Brittany had no complaints.
That night, she had surprised Brittany by taking her to some really fancy restaurant just outside of Lima. She looked amazing in a simple, classic white dress while Brittany complemented her partner perfectly in her sexiest black dress, both of them in high heels.
"Britt, I…" Santana ran her hand through her dark hair nervously. Brittany raised an eyebrow, wondering why the darker woman was suddenly so jittery. "There's something I wanted to ask you for a while now. I have to go back to Maui for business soon… but I really don't want to leave you and V. Would you like to go with me? I think you'd like it. We could stay at a resort, make a vacation out of it - I could show you guys around, maybe we could see the other islands too. Could be a good experience for the little guy. I hope I'm not overstepping boundaries here… and we totally don't have to if it's too much for you right now."
"Oh, Santana!" Brittany threw her arms around her with a happy squeal. "I'd love to do that. I've always wanted to go there. It's my favourite place ever."
"Glad to hear that, Britt." Santana chuckled, leading them out to her car. Brittany and Santana caught each other's eye on the drive home, both looking forward to telling Valentino the news of their trip when they came to pick him up from his grandparents' house.
"Mommy! Mami!" He squealed, rushing toward them.
"Hey, Kitten! So, your mami and I have a surprise for you," Brittany announced, patting the space beside her on the couch and he came running towards her, bouncing onto it excitedly. "We're going on a trip to Hawaii!"
"Really?!" Valentino gasped and Santana swore she could practically see stars in his eyes as he danced around happily. He had always thought Hawaii sounded like the best place ever and wanted to go there. "That's so cool! Hawaii is the best! I'm gonna go to the beach and see volcanoes and go surfing!"
"That's right, Buddy!" Santana gave him a high five, a gentle smile on her face. She turned to Whitney and Pierce who were elated with the news. They had been helping their grandson put together some Lego pirate ship they gave him as a birthday gift. "Grandma and Grandpa, you're welcome to join us as well if you like. It's my treat."
"Hawaii, oh my goodness! Mouse, this is super kind of you but you don't have to do all that for us." Whitney told her, elbowing Pierce who kept asking her where Hawaii was again with that typical confused expression he always had on his face.
"I want to. Brittany and I would love you to join us."
"In that case, you can count us in." Whitney winked at them, hugging Valentino goodbye before Brittany scooped him up.
"It's been a while since Kitten and I have been on a trip together. I can already tell you're going to totally spoil him the whole time," Brittany smirked at her girlfriend, eyeing her knowingly as she leaned against her frame, kissing her cheek later that night. Santana groaned at her teasing but didn't deny it, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend's waist. She loved teasing Santana about how soft she was for their son. "You love seeing him all happy, don't you?"
"Maybe," Santana shrugged, avoiding Brittany's eyes bashfully as she chuckled at the way her girlfriend was looking at her. "He's cute… he's my precious baby, okay? You both are."
"Aw. No one would believe me if I told them you're like this when no one else is around." Brittany murmured against her ear, trailing her fingertips up Santana's arm flirtatiously as she noticed the way Santana was checking her out her legs yet again for the millionth time that night.
"You and our son are the only ones who will ever be allowed to see it, Babe."