The morning of January 4th hits with the worst weather imaginable. Temperatures have raised enough for it to be raining instead of snowing, making part of the snow melt and turning everything into a muddy mess. Everything looks so...grey.
Just matching both of our ladies' feelings.
And a little gentleman's too.
Their time has come to an end. It's time to say their farewells, and all of them are dreading the moment of the final goodbye.
There's nothing else they can do now. No way of stopping time and staying in this place, in this moment, forever. No way of turning either of their lives around at the bat of an eye and have their own happy-ever-after.
Nothing else than saying goodbye and hoping for the best.
Brittany is in her room finishing packing all her stuff up when she suddenly sighs deeply, feeling her eyes dampen with a couple of stray tears. This weeks have been way more than she could have ever dreamt of. She came here to relax, to unwind of her never-stopping work load and all the personal stress she's been through after her mother's diagnose and her nomination for a Pulitzer prize . And she found that. She hasn't thought about any of it since she met Santana. She has been a breathe of fresh air. She has turned to be Brittany's anchor, helping her connect with reality, with herself and, in the mean time, showing her that there's still hope for true love in the world.
But now that she has to let her go, she's feeling...empty. Like Santana is going to take everything that is good with her, and will leave Brittany void, unable to function any longer, feeling like an emotionless automaton.
She has to actually shake her head powerfully to shake those thoughts away with another deep sigh as she gets ready to walk down to the reception to hand in her keys and do the final checkout.
Santana and Alonso are in a similar way. They almost haven't even talked since they woke up. Alonso is visibly upset, but he doesn't even have the energy to throw a tantrum, and Santana is restless. She hasn't slept much and anxiety is rushing through her veins uncontrollably. She came here to reconnect with herself, with her son, and to find purpose to her kind of stuck life. And fate, being the little brat it is, has decided that her purpose actually lives a whole country away from her. Brittany has reminded her that she doesn't need to be guarded all the time, that sometimes it's great to let go, and that she's actually a pretty cool and laid back person when she's with the right company. Brittany has shown her that anything is possible if you believe in it hard enough, and has taught her that she actually deserves love.
Santana has the mean and determination to change that, but it might not be that easy. There's a lot in stake, and it's not just her opinion that matters in this situation. She might not have any real ties to Portland, but her whole life is there after all, and so is Alonso's. His school, his friends, his quiet, friendly neighbourhood. And then there's Sue. And her studio. There's a lot to think about, a lot of conversations to have, a lot of things to take in consideration.
Either way, she is frustrated. And it shows when she literally throws Alonso's jacket at him and wordlessly opens the door of their room. The stern look she sends her son's way, makes him walk out just as wordlessly, but letting out a groan.
Brittany has already checked out and is waiting under a magnificent chandelier when she sees her two favourite people getting out of the elevator. Even if she's feeling all gloomy and blue, she can't help the soft smile that creeps upon her lips at the sight of them. Santana is truly the most beautiful woman she has ever laid eyes on, even if she's starting to believe she might be a little biased; and her young sidekick is just as charming as she is. He's going to be an absolute heartthrob once he grows up a little more. Santana might as well get herself a shotgun to scare off all the ladies, or lads, that will be gushing over her beautiful boy.
"Hi..." Brittany muses softly as they approach her. All the answer she gets is a grunt from Alonso, and a hard look from Santana, with an almost unnoticeable pause in her steps, before they walk right past her towards the reception.
Brittany sighs. They are all screwed.
Thankfully, once mother and son have done their checkouts, Brittany see them approaching her again, and her heart skips a beat when Santana looks at her again and her eyes look way softer this time.
"So... I guess it's time..." Santana mutters, crossing her arms over her chest protectively and biting her lip, hard. There's no way she's going to cry in front of Brittany.
Sensing her distress, Brittany decides to take her out of her misery and gives her a moment to compose herself, as she squats down to talk to Alonso.
"Hey, buddy..." She muses softly, her heart breaking as she sees the boy has his eyes filled with tears. "C'mon, give me a hug." She asks.
Alonso tries to resist for a moment, making complaining noises, but soon he's throwing his arms around Brittany's neck and hugging her so tightly that Britt feels how he is taking her heart with him. These two are definitely leaving her with nothing.
"I don't understand why you can't come with us..." Alonso mumbles into the crook of Brittany's neck with a quiet sob.
"You might understand it when you grow up, buddy. Adult life sometimes fucks you up in ways you didn't see coming."
Both Alonso and Santana widen their eyes at Brittany's cussing, but neither of them has the will or the energy to chastise her for her language choice.
"I'm going to miss you a lot, buddy. But you can call me anytime, okay? And we can video-chat any time you want too, okay?" She reassures the boy. "Now I'm going to say goodbye to your mama. Don't be a stranger." She adds, winking at him, and he can't help but chuckle, breaking their hug feeling visibly better.
"I still don't know what charm you work on him..." Santana muses, but is effectively shut up by a scorching kiss that takes her completely off guard.
It takes her a second to long to respond to the kiss, but when she does, she entirely pours herself into Brittany's lips, letting out a sigh that runs through Brittany's chest like an ice cold sword.
"Same charm I work on you..." Brittany mutters against Santana's lips, trying to act all calm and collected, and winks at the brunette playfully, effectively making Santana chuckle and give her a soft punch on her shoulder.
"C'mon, I'll walk you guys to your bus." Brittany says, trying to sound normal, but even she herself can hear her voice breaking with every word.
She hoists Alonso up on her left hip, and uses her right arm to wrap it around Santana's shoulders, as they slowly walk outside, where it has stopped raining, at least for a moment, but everything looks awful.
"So much for Winter Wonderland..." She scoffs, but hearing, and feeling, Santana's laugh against her rib cage, makes her feel instantly better.
If only she could feel it forever...
No more words are said. The three of them are quiet as Santana's bus arrives and a lot of people start making a line to get in it. Brittany is catching the next one, since her destination is a different one.
Santana waits till the last second possible, pestering Brittany with soft kisses to her neck or cheek every now and again.
"Goodbye, Britt." She says when she and Alonso are the last ones to get in the bus, and right when she's about to kiss Brittany, she moves away knowing that if she kisses her now, she'll never be able to leave.
Brittany's hear breaks a little as she sees them stepping up into the bus, but she's determined to see the bus leave.
Suddenly the bus opens it's door again and Santana nearly throws herself down hurriedly running to Brittany's arms and kissing her with everything she has. It's over almost before Brittany can even react.
"Wait for me, okay? I'll be true to my promise. I'll be here. I'll be here." Santana whispers hurriedly against the blonde's ear, and as fast as she came, she's gone, leaving Brittany with a sweet and sour feeling in the pit of her stomach.
As she's walking away, she catches a glimpse of them through one of the windows. Santana is looking at her, and Alonso is waving sadly.
Brittany waves back softly and clearly mouths the words "I love you" towards Santana, and soon the bus is out of her sight.
She's about to kick a stray stone with all the anger she has inside her right now, when her phone chimes in her pocket, taking her out of her reverie for a moment.
- Please, let me know you got home safely. Yours forever. Santana.