The Spotlight Diner was not exactly Santana Lopez's favorite restaurant, but it was certainly good enough to fill the place of Breadstix when she was short on time during her lunch break. Walking through the front doors of the establishment, the young woman glanced over at the hostess desk to find her friend, Rachel Berry, working her normal Tuesday shift. It did not take long for Rachel to catch sight of the woman, giving a small wave in greeting before going back ringing up the bill for her current customer, a rather familiar blonde.

It did not take long for Santana's brain to register exactly who she was looking at. In fact, the realization came almost instantly as she felt her heart start thumping in her chest at the sight of Brittany Pierce, an ex-classmate and local mechanic Santana had been in love with for as long as she could remember.

Taking a moment to observe the blonde, Santana noticed the navy polo she had tucked neatly into her pants that was embroidered with the Pierce Automotive logo. Though the brunette did her best not to blatantly ogle the beautiful woman standing just a few feet away, she still managed to fall short of her goal as Rachel caught onto what is happening. Surprisingly enough, however, the hostess managed to refrain from making a spectacle out what she witnessed. The only action that gave away the fact that Rachel even noticed Santana's staring was the small knowing smirk she failed to suppress as she shifted her focus back to the other customer.

It did not take long for the two women to finish their transaction. Once done, Rachel glanced over at her friend and teased, "You might as well put away your wallet, Santana, because I still owe you for buying dinner last week."

"It was just a burger and fries, Berry. Stop making such a big deal about it," Santana argued, attempting to make her words carry a tone of indifference as she proceeded to take out the proper amount of cash and held it out for the other brunette to take.

"No, Santana. I refuse to let you pay. This one is on me," Rachel insisted as she pushed away her friend's hand. Once Santana finally ceded, Rachel glanced between the two patrons and informed, "Now, give me just one moment, and I will be right back with both of your orders."

Brittany instantly looked over to Santana with a broad smile as soon as Rachel was out of sight, playfully chuckling out, "I guess some things really do never change, huh?"

"Yeah, she is still just as hardheaded and annoying as ever," the brunette grumbled under her breath as she shoved the money back into her purse. It was only then that she realized the comment must have been spoken just loud enough for Brittany to hear as she looked back up to find the woman struggling to suppress a laugh.

Rachel managed to return before the silence that developed between the pair had a chance to become an uncomfortable one, holding out a large bag of food for Brittany to take as she informed, "Tina wanted me to let you know that she threw in an extra order of food for Mike. She was hoping you wouldn't mind bringing it to him."

"Nah, I don't mind at all! Thanks again, Rachel," Brittany responded before tipping her head at the other patron standing beside her. "It was good to see you, Santana. Don't be a stranger."

"Oh, um- Yes. Y-you, too, Brittany!" Santana momentarily stumbled over her words as she barely managed to form a complete thought, causing the blonde to release another airy giggle. Santana felt her cheeks heat up as her body tensed with embarrassment, but she managed to ease up once the young mechanic moved past her and out the restaurant. Keeping her eyes trained on the blonde's form, Santana continued to watch on as the front door slowly closed behind the woman.

"Geez, you still have it bad. After what? Almost a decade? Decade-an-a-half?" Rachel inquired with a knowing smirk as she broke Santana out of her daze.

Turning her focus back towards the hostess, she found the woman already holding out a second bag of food for her to take. Snatching the paper sack from her friend's hand, Santana grumbled, "Shut it, Streisand."

Rachel rapidly threw her hands up in mock defeat, conceding, "Alright, alright. I was just pointing out the obvious."

"I know," Santana muttered, allowing her shoulders to slump in forward slightly. "She's just- She's Brittany, you know? How could I not like her?"

"Wow, who'd have thought the HBIC of McKinley High would still be hung up on the same girl after all these years? This might be kind of obvious, Santana, but you two could have probably already started dating by now if you would just girl up and admit your feelings to her. That is, if the rumors from back in high school were true."

"Ugh, not this again. She never liked me, Rachel. At least, not like that."

"That's not what I heard."

"What you heard was probably just a lie some dumbass jocks came up with because they were too bored with their own lame, moronic lives."

"Or they were telling the truth and she actually liked you."

"Berry, let's be real. Brittany Susan Pie-"

"Oh, God. You even remember her middle name?"

"Yeah, yeah. Make fun all you want. All I am trying to say is that Brittany Susan Pierce is the most beautiful, kindhearted genius who has ever graced this godforsaken planet, and while I would absolutely love to entertain the idea that she would actually be interested in a person like me, I still owe it to myself be realistic about those odds."

"What in the world is so unrealistic about her being interested in you? I mean, she's an out and proud bisexual, and you are kind of gorgeous."

"Yes, Berry, I am well aware that being a woman with the goods," Santana mentioned, motioning to her ample chest, "is not exactly a negative factor in this equation. What I'm talking about is the fact that I am an insecure bitch who hid behind a cheerleader persona all throughout high school to avoid having to accept the fact that I am a raging lesbian, which I actually mean that quite literally. Like, I genuinely have problems with always going to the yelling place because I have so much rage. My breasts literally ache with it, I get so mad sometimes."

"Yes, all of that might have been true back then, but that still doesn't make the older, wiser, moderately less anger-prone you unworthy of love."

"Okay, I think we've had enough rehashing of old times for one day, Babs," Santana grunted as she glanced down to look at the designer watch strapped to her wrist. "I should probably be heading back to the office, but we should hang out soon. I might even let you drag me to that bar that has the karaoke night again as long as you promise to buy the first round and keep the Broadway selections to a minimum."

An elated expression immediately formed the Rachel's face as she processed her friend's offer and giddily replied, "Deal! I will be holding you to that offer, Santana, so you better not forget."

"Yeah, yeah. I won't. Anyway, thanks again for lunch."

"Don't even worry about it! Have a good rest of the day."

"You, too. See ya, Rachel," the woman assured with a pseudo-salute before she turned to head outside.

Walking across the parking lot, Santana unlocked her sleek new car and slipped into the driver's seat. After placing her takeout on the passenger floorboard, she slid the key into the ignition and turned it only to hear a loud whirling noise from the engine turning. She held off for a brief moment before trying again, but the car continued to let out the same squealing sound to no avail.

Bending her head forward to rest between her hands atop the steering wheel, she quietly scolded herself for not having seen this coming. It was true that the vehicle had been giving her some trouble the past couple of weeks, but it had never just simply refused to start before. If anything, she had figured it was just the new car breaking itself in after being purchased only two months prior.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the window that caused Santana's entire body to give a sharp jolt. Snapping her gaze over to look out the driver's side window, she quickly spotted the same blonde she had seen only moments before and slapped a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm the forceful beating of her heart. Rolling down the window, she shakily yelped out, "Holy shit, Brittany! I thought you already left."

"Oh! Sorry for scaring you, Santana. I was just getting ready to leave when I noticed you might be having some car trouble. I thought I might offer to help, if that's okay."

"Oh, um," Santana momentarily hesitated, still trying to calm herself down enough to process the woman's offer. "Yeah. Yes. I'd actually really appreciate that. Thank you."

"No problem at all. Now, let's see what we've got going on." Pointing at the front end of the car, she asked, "Mind if I take a look under the hood?"

"Knock yourself out," Santana assured, reaching down to pull the lever designed to pop open the bonnet of the vehicle. She then watched as the hood was lifted and locked into an upwards position, effectively blocking the other woman from her sight.

"Okay, now try to crank the engine again please," Brittany's voice requested while the blonde mechanic continued to inspect the engine compartment. Confused, Santana did what was asked of her, causing the motor to recreate the same noise as before. "Alright, that's enough. Thank you," Brittany added after only a few seconds. Taking a moment to wipe her hands off on her jeans, the mechanic walked over to the driver's side door and notified, "Well, it looks like you might have a dead battery. I can get my truck over here and try to give you a jump. If that works, we can head over to the shop to test it with one of our multimeters and get you a replacement installed if the battery is bad. That is, as long as you have the time and are okay with that plan."

"Yeah, I guess that's the best option we have at the moment. Let me just call my mother to let her know that I won't be coming back to work anytime soon," Santana replied as she reached over to retrieve her phone from the purse seated in the passenger's seat.

"Oh, I can drive you to the office if you need me to. It honestly wouldn't be any trouble."

"No, it's alright. She will understand," the brunette responded, giving a nonchalant wave of her hand while scrolling through her contacts until she found the one she was looking for. Before connecting the call, she assured, "You can go ahead and get your truck. This should only take a second."

Once Brittany was out of ears reach, Santana dialed her mother's office number and listened as the line began to ring. After only a few short moments, she heard a familiar voice answer the call, greeting, "Hello, this is Maribel Lopez with Lopez Marketing Services. How may I help you?"

"Hey, Mami, it's me. I just wanted to let you know that I won't be returning to work anytime soon. My car battery apparently died while I was out picking up lunch, so I'm about to take it in to get it replaced."

"Okay, Sweetheart. Do you need me to call a tow truck or anything?"

"No, that's okay. Brittany Pierce is here helping me out. She's actually about to jump start my car so we can drive it over to her shop."

"Ah, I see. Brittany Susan Pierce, huh?"

"Yes, Brittany Susan Pierce, Mother. Look, Rachel already gave me a hard enough time about that less than five minutes ago, so I'd prefer no one else teasing me today if at all possible."

"I'm sorry, Santanita. I promise to leave you be."

"Thank you," Santana huffed out in a relieved tone when she noticed Brittany parking her vehicle right in front of her own. "Hey, Brittany's back, so I should probably let you go for now."

"Okay, don't worry about things here. I'll have all your calls forwarded to me for the rest of the day."

"Perfect. Thanks again."

"You're welcome, Honey. I hope Brittany can get you all fixed up."

"I'm sure she will. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Mija."

Brittany appeared back at her car window almost as soon as the line went dead, leaning over slightly so she can properly see Santana and asked, "Everything alright with work?"

"Yep, my mom has it covered. You ready?"

The blonde beamed at the woman as she gave her a thumbs up in confirmation and quietly turned to walk back towards her own vehicle. Once she managed to properly hook up the jumper cables to each of their batteries, she let her truck run for a few more minutes before giving Santana the signal to turn her key in the ignition. Both women gave a long sigh of relief at the sound of the car's engine roaring to life after only a few short moments of it failing to turn over. With a pleased grin, Brittany walked back over to safely remove the wires so they can make their way to the garage.

The drive was a rather quick one, and before she knew it, Santana was making her way past a familiar sign that reads Pierce Automotive: Lima's One Stop Auto Shop. Parking in front of one of the four open bays, Santana stood up out of the vehicle and realized, "God, I haven't been here in years. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only time I have ever been here was when my abuelo had to bring his old clunker in for an oil change while my parents were out of town on business, but that was forever ago. It's obvious that there have been some major renovations since then."

"Yeah, I actually had some work done on the place as soon as my grandfather gave me his blessing."

"Well, I certainly like the changes," Santana noted as she took in the new white and navy blue color scheme that replaced the old green and red paint job she remembered. "It makes the place look more open and inviting."

"Thanks! I think so, too," Brittany chirped as she continued to lead Santana inside through one of the open garage doors.

As they made their way through the Pierce Automotive, the shop owner greeted each of her mechanics, and Santana could not help but admire the level of respect each of the workers clearly had for the woman walking a few steps ahead of her. Just as they walked past a row of tool boxes, the pair spotted Burt Hummel, the father of one of their high school classmates, knelt down beside another mechanic that was lying underneath the car they were working on. Once the man caught sight of them, a small smile pulled at his lips as he stood to meet them.

"Hi, Burt. How are things going over here?"

"We're just about done replacing Mr. Wortham's master cylinder and brake fluid. All that's left after that is an oil change and tire rotation, which we should have done in no time."

"Good! That's what I like to hear."

Just then, a familiar burly gentleman rolled out from under the vehicle who Santana recognized to be David Karofsky, another fellow classmate and the longtime boyfriend of Kurt Hummel. After giving the brunette a small nod in acknowledgement, David turned to inform Brittany, "Kurt was looking for you earlier, Britt. I told him I'd send you his way once you got back."

"Alright, I'll head over to his office once I deliver this food," the blonde responded, motioning her head to the bag of takeout she still held in her hand. Turning to continue her path through the garage, Brittany threw over her shoulder, "Thanks for the heads up, Dave."

"No problem, Boss," the young mechanic called out after her before laying back down on the mechanic's creeper and returning to his work under the sedan.

It did not take long for Brittany to find Michael Chang by the back sink, thoroughly washing his hands with an orange-scented degreasing scrub. Clapping her hand on his shoulder, Brittany held up their meals for the man to see and let him know, "Tina asked me to make a special delivery. Hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm starving! Thanks, Britt," Mike excitedly grinned as he quickly dried his hands on a blue shop towel and took the container of food Brittany held out for him. Noticing Santana standing a few feet behind his friend, a curious expression crossed his face as he looked back and forth between the two and inquired, "Oh, are you two on a lunch date?"

The two women's eyes each bug out briefly before Brittany rushed to sputter out, "W-What? No! Not at all. Santana was just having some car trouble, so we drove over here to get her all fixed up."

"Oh, wow. I'm so sorry about that. I wasn't thinking," Mike rushed to amend with a faint blush dusting his cheeks, quickly motioning toward the bag of food Santana was holding. "I just saw that you both had food from the diner and assumed. My bad."

"It's alright. I was just planning to eat some of my food while Brittany works on my ca-"

"Oh, thank God you are back, Brittany! Dalton Auto won't stop calling again. They keep trying to make offers," the shop's office manager and accountant, Kurt Hummel, abruptly cut in before Santana could finish her statement. For once, however, she did not mind the interruption as she chanced a look over at the blonde, only to find her standing there with a tense look on her face.

"Okay, I'll deal with it once I am done replacing Santana's battery," Brittany muttered through gritted teeth, visibly irritated with the news she had just received.

"Sorry, Britt."

"It's alright, Kurt. It's not your fault," Brittany assured while setting her food down on a nearby tool box. Turning back around to face the front of the shop, the blonde asked, "Ready to get started, Santana?"

"Uh, yeah, sure thing," Santana timidly replied as she moved to carefully follow behind the blonde, unsure what else she could possibly do after her rapid change in mood. It isn't until about midway through Brittany changing her battery that she decided to finally break the silence that had developed between them, quietly asking, "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Just another corporate auto shop taking all our business and then attempting to buy us out once they have successfully forced us into the red," Brittany grunted in an aggravated tone before suddenly remembering who she is talking to. A worried expression takes over her features as she tried to amend, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be venting like that with customers, even one I've sort of known for years."

"It's okay. If you want, maybe I could try to help. I mean, I work in marketing now, so- I don't know. Maybe there's something I could do to maybe help."

"Thanks for your offer, Santana, but I'll have to turn it down. Sorry," Brittany stated in a blunter tone than usual, catching Santana completely off guard.

"Oh, o-okay then," Santana stuttered out at hearing Brittany's abrupt response. "I hope it isn't because I've only been working at my mom's firm for a few months. I mean, I am completely aware that I'm still fresh out of college, but my mom, you know, she is an extremely experienced marketing analyst. I'm sure together we can figure out a way help you-"

"No, I promise it's not about that at all. Experienced or not, I am absolutely positive you are good at what you do," Brittany interrupted before the brunette could get the wrong idea. Releasing a small sigh, Brittany elaborated, "If I am being honest, the reason I cannot accept your offer is strictly because of my pride. My grandfather never needed anyone else's help when it came to keeping his business afloat. He was always able to find a way to make things work, so I owe it to his legacy to trust in myself enough to find a way out of this. Alone."

"Oh, um, alright. That-That's totally understandable. Of course," Santana stumbled over her words, clearly embarrassed with herself for even speaking up while also hoping she had not made Brittany feel uncomfortable or pressured to accept outside help. "Just forget I even said anything. I'm sure you know what you are doing. You're super smart, especially when it comes to numbers, so you probably don't even need my help."

Brittany was just about to respond to the brunette's statement when she felt her thoughts come to a screeching halt, leaving her mouth gaping and the unspoken words still resting on the tip of her tongue. Once Santana's statement fully caught up to her, the blonde mechanic furrowed her brow and asked, "Wait, how do you know that?"

"Huh?"

"How do you know that I am good with numbers?"

"Because I, um-" The question left Santana's brain reeling once more as another wave of embarrassment hit her, but she quickly regained her bearings enough to answer, "I mean, how could I not? You were on the academic decathlon team. Our school would have never managed to win the State Championship our senior year if it hadn't been for you getting that question right about some really complicated math theory. God, what was it called again? Ree-something."

"The Riemann hypothesis?"

A triumphant grin quickly spread its way across the woman's face as she excitedly answered, "Yeah! That's the one!"

Brittany appeared to be even more stunned as before as she confessed, "I can't believe you even know about that, let alone remember it."

"Of course I do! Doesn't everyone?"

"No, not at all. Hell, almost everyone still thinks I'm just a dumb blonde who barely got her high school diploma."

"Well, the vast majority of the people in this town are complete idiots, so I wouldn't put too much weight in their opinions."

"Thank you for saying that. It really means a lot to hear someone say it. Also, please don't get the wrong idea about what I said. I really do appreciate your offer. It's just that it is only my second year of owning the shop, and I just feel the need to prove to everyone, including myself, that the faith my grandfather had in me wasn't ill placed."

"I get it, Brittany. Honestly. Just know that the offer still stands if you ever change your mind. There's no expiration date with this one."

"Well, thanks again for offering."

"No worries, Britt. It's the least I can do," Santana reaffirmed as she started to take out her wallet. "So, how much do I owe you for today?"

"Nothing. Consider it a gift for being a first-time customer."

Snapping her gaze back up to glare at the woman, Santana argued, "Brittany, I don't mean to overstep, but giving away car batteries isn't exactly good business practice. We both know you cannot afford to give me free service, so just tell me how much I owe before I just hand you three hundred dollars and walk out."

"Nope, I'll just mail it back to your house if you do."

"Damn it. Come on, Brittany! You did me a huge favor today, and I am not leaving without properly paying you back," Santana asserted to no avail. Quickly realizing Brittany was not going to budge on her response, the brunette rolled her eyes in exasperation before glancing around the room in an attempt to find the nearest mechanic she happened to know. After a few seconds of looking, she noticed a certain ex-football player in the middle of tightening the bolts to the front tire of the car he was working on and called out, "Hey, Karofsky. Sorry to interrupt, but can you please tell me how much a battery replacement generally costs?"

"Dave, do not answer that question!" Brittany snapped out at the man, causing his body to seize up in surprise.

Sparing a brief sideways glance at the blonde, Santana's facial expression hardened even further as she allowed herself to slip back into her high school mentality to give the man her best death glare as she growled, "No, David, you tell me the price or I'll be forced to tell Kurt every single embarrassing thing I have ever learned about you, including that time you-"

"Okay! Enough, enough!" the man rapidly shout out. He then shifted his gaze back and forth between the two women with a conflicted expression before nervously informing the brunette, "We, um, typically charge about eighty-five dollars to put in a new battery, but the one Brittany installed is the platinum-series model, which usually goes for roughly a hundred and eighty."

"Ah, fantastic! Sorry for having to play dirty. I promise to cover your entire tab the next time I see you at the bar," Santana apologized with a sympathetic look before forking out enough cash to cover the costs. Holding it out for the other woman to take, Santana teased with a victorious grin, "Keep the change, Britt-Britt."

Though still frustrated with how the events played out, the shop owner still accepted the offered payment from the other woman and tossed it onto the countertop beside the register. After ringing up the expenses, she slipped the money into the drawer and removed a few bills and coinage before walking back over, holding the change and a receipt out for Santana to take while informing, "We don't accept tips."

Releasing a quiet sigh, Santana immediately surrendered as she responded, "Okay, fine. I understand. Sorry again about having to resort to using dirty tactics. It just wouldn't feel right to not pay you for all your help, and that was the quickest way to figuring out how much I owe."

"It's fine. Just please try to refrain from scaring my mechanics shitless the next time you're in here," Brittany requests as a barely-there grin of her own starts to slowly dance its way across her lips.

"I'll be on my very best behavior. I promise," Santana teased before tacking on, "That is, as long as you promise to keep my previous offer in mind."

"Don't worry, I will. Just don't get offended if I never take you up on it."

"I hope you won't need to."

"Neither do I," Brittany chuckled out with an airy laugh. Realizing that their brief encounter was coming to a close, Brittany escorted the woman to the car's front door and pulled it open for her as she told the brunette, "You know, I never realized how stubborn you are. You might even have Rachel beat."

"I guess it's exactly like you said, then. Some things never change," Santana chuckled as she slipped into the front seat and turned on the car to leave. "I'll see you around, Britt."

"Yeah, see you around, San," Brittany replied, a small, giddy smile pulling at her lips as she shut the door and took a couple steps back to allow the brunette to pull out of the garage and drive away.