After having a calm and laid back Christmas meal all together in Santana's room, Brittany left, mainly to take a very long shower and gather some things in her own room, with the promise of coming by again that same evening.
After stepping out of the shower, only wrapped in a fluffy white towel, Brittany took a moment to sit down on the edge of her bed, take a deep breath and think some things through as the mature adult she is. She really likes Santana, like really, really like her. And she is deeply fraternally in love with Alonso. But would she really be able to drop all her life for something that has been going on for a few days? Realistically, probably not. She knows this thing with Santana isn't just a winter fling, it feels way more real than things she has had with people she's been actually dating for months. But not everything is going to work in their favour. Would she want to try a long distance thing? Maybe. But she knows that for two adults like them, with busy lives, and with a child involved on Santana's side, it's not a sustainable situation. They can make it work for a while, but after that...what? Who is going to leave everything they have built behind for the other? She would never ask Santana to do that, it doesn't seem fair. And again, doing it herself...it just feels like too much of a risk. A risk she isn't sure she'd be able to take. Yet she doesn't want to say goodbye forever come the day of her departure. She doesn't know what to do, or how to approach the conversation with Santana.
On the other hand, after Brittany left, Santana had a truthful conversation with her son. She knows he is mature enough to understand that things are not always as easy as they seem. She told him all she feels for Brittany, and how happy she is that him and the blonde have bonded so fast, but she also told him that he shouldn't get too attached because there is a chance that they never get to see her again. That part sounded more like she was trying to convince herself instead of him. After the conversation with her son, she too takes a moment to think as she smokes a cigarette in the small balcony she has in her bedroom. She is not a big smoker, but it's a habit she hasn't been able to quit completely. It helps her relax when she is feeling stressed. She doesn't know what to do either. There's not really much tying her down to Portland, except her business, but moving to the other side of the country when you are nearly 40 and with a son...well it is scary. She is not sure she'd make it through. But she needs to find a solution, and she needs to find it fast.
The clock is ticking for both of them.
A soft knock on the door startles Santana around 9 in the evening, but a big smile is drawn on her lips when she opens the door and sees Brittany there wearing grey sweatpants hanging low on her hips, and a tight white tank top, a duffel bag hanging on her shoulder.
"Hi, you." She greets softly as she softly pecks Brittany's lips before letting her in.
They settle down on the couch and half watch a movie as they talk about their days. Brittany asks about Alonso, and Santana tells her he is already sleeping. That information makes a mischievous smile appear on Britt's lips as a sneaky hand wraps around Santana's lower back and pulls her closer to her body.
They kiss for what feels like hours, as their hands explore every inch of the other's body. There is no rush this time, but the passion they share is still palpable in the room. They don't go further this time though, they relinquish on every second they are sharing, getting to know each other really intimately without the feral hunger that consumed them last time. Brittany discovers that Santana has a very ticklish spot right between her 10th and 11th ribs, and that the sight of goosebumps along her chest really turns her on. Seeing Santana's brown eyes turn almost black in desire turns her on in return. Santana, on the other hand, learns that Brittany's most erogenous spot seems to be the back of her neck and that she seems to be really attracted to Santana's own body odour. She finds it adorable how Brittany tries to be sneaky with her sniffing but isn't great at it, and how she almost purrs when she finds a spot she really likes. Her armpits seem to be Brittany's preference for now. In any other situation Santana would have found it weird, but coming from Brittany, it actually awakens her feral instincts.
When their make out session dies down, they keep talking. It's amazing how they have gone from sharing three full sentences tops, to having hours long conversations. Or rather Santana is amazed that Brittany has this effect on her. Santana has never been the most talkative person, but it just flows naturally with the blonde and she is liking it.
"Tell me something you haven't told anybody else." Santana muses as she plays with a stray strand of Brittany's long blonde hair.
"I'm nominated for a Pulitzer." Brittany spurts out without even thinking about it.
"That's...a weird thing to confess..." Santana starts with a chuckle, but it dies short as her brain catches up with what Brittany has really said. "Wait, wait, wait, come again?" She asks now looking at Brittany with wide eyes.
"I am nominated for a Pulitzer." Brittany repeats monotonously.
"But that's huge, babe!" Santana praises and Brittany almost dies at the endearing nickname. "Congratulations!" Santana says kissing Brittany deeply in a frenzy, who takes a moment to catch up but is soon kissing her back. Santana breaks the kiss as fast as she started it though, and Brittany whines wantonly. "How come you haven't told anyone?"
"I want it to be a surprise for my mother..." Brittany answers and sighs softly. "She has been diagnosed with early states of Alzheimer's. She's still doing great aside from some memory fails of no importance as of yet. But we all know where this is leading. We don't know if it will take months, or years, but I want her to feel happy and proud while she still can, maybe for the last time in her life." Brittany adds biting her own lip.
"Oh...I'm so sorry..." Santana says wrapping her arms instinctively around the blonde. "That is beautiful, though. Eventhough I am sure she is already proud of you. You are an incredible human being, Brittany." Santana adds again kissing the blonde softly.
"So...Sandbags?" Brittany asks after a little while of silence trying to hold back a chuckle. "Sue isn't really your mother, is she?"
"No, not really." Santana answers also laughing a little. "But she is the closest thing to one I have. She found me when I was at my lowest and she took me in and gave me a future. I was technically an adult already then, so it's not like she could adopt me or anything, but she has been taking care of me for almost twenty years, and she is amazing with Sonso. In my book she is my mother, even if there is nothing that actually relates us."
"She sounds..." Brittany tries to find a way to define her based on the conversation they had on the phone this morning, but she doesn't know what to say without sounding offensive.
"Oh, she is something else, believe me, I know." Santana laughs at Brittany's expression. "She has this acidic sense of humour that most people find despicable, like how she calls me Sandbags because she was convinced when she met me that I had had a boob job. 'Nobody has tits like that naturally' she would say. But she is an amazing woman."
They end up falling asleep on the couch as they keep talking and talking and talking. Their bodies seem to fit perfectly into one another.
By the middle of the night, Alonso wakes up and goes in search of his mother. He finds her sleep with Brittany and can't help the urge of grabbing his mother's phone and snapping a picture of them before he crawls in between them, nestles himself in whatever hole he can find, surrounded and protected by a bunch of legs and arms.
It's a wonder how they all fit in the small sofa, but neither girl wake up as Sonso manoeuvres himself between them, and all three of them get a great sleep that night, their hearts beating in unison, their breaths calm, and their minds at ease.
If only life was a little easier...