Half an hour and several checks in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable (which was, in Brittany's opinion, just ridiculous, since Santana always looked beautiful) later, they pulled into her parents' driveway.
Santana was just shifting into park when her mother appeared in the front doorway.
"Come on, love," Brittany said with a quick wink.
She got out of the car to see her mother already making her way toward them. She gave Brittany a quick hug before letting her go and letting her eyes settle on Santana.
"Mom, this is—"
Mrs. Pierce wasn't listening. She already had her hands on Santana's shoulders.
"Santana, it is so lovely to meet you," she said with a genuine smile. Without warning, she pulled Santana into a tight hug — a better one than she'd just given to Brittany.
The blonde's eyes widened. Santana probably hadn't been expecting this at all.
"I'm so sorry to hear about your family, dear. I'm just so, so sorry."
Brittany moved forward to see Santana's face. "Mom! What the hell? What did we talk about?!"
Santana looked a little taken aback, but Mrs. Pierce wasn't letting go. After a few seconds, her expression softened, and she let herself hug Brittany's mom back.
Brittany wondered when Santana had last gotten a motherly hug from anyone. Suddenly, she wasn't so keen to break it up. A few more seconds passed, and Mrs. Pierce finally released her. Brittany waited nervously for Santana to make eye contact and felt nothing but relief and happiness when she did and smiled Brittany's favorite smile.
"Come on, Santana, let's go inside," Brittany's mom said sweetly. She looped her arm through Santana's like they'd been friends forever and led her to the front door.
"I'll get our stuff, no worries," Brittany muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes but smiling all the same. She turned around and grabbed the two small bags from the back seat.
Once she'd gotten inside, she found Santana seated on the couch with her mom and brother. Her father sat in his usual chair and was already talking to Santana.
"Hey Dad," she said quietly, not wanting to interrupt. She bent over and gave him a quick kiss to the cheek. Looking over, her brother was sitting to Santana's right on the very end of the couch. Knowing Santana couldn't see, he caught Brittany's eye and gave her two big thumbs up and a wide grin. What a surprise; he agreed with Brittany that Santana was hot (who could blame him?), and she had Josh's approval already.
"Scram, buddy," Brittany said with a wink, pushing him out of the way and replacing him in the end seat next to Santana.
"Always nice when you drop by," he said sarcastically. Brittany knew he was just joking, though.
For a while, they chatted in the living room, mostly about Santana's work and what she did in her spare time.
"To be honest," she said, taking a sip of Mrs. Pierce's sweet tea (which was funny in itself; it was obvious she wasn't used to the drink), "I worked as much as possible, even when I was off the clock. It became a bit of an obsession, I guess. Kept me distracted and busy."
Mrs. Pierce nodded like she understood why. Mr. Pierce nodded as if that was a respectful thing to do.
"It sounds like that's not what you do in your free time anymore?" Brittany's mom asked kindly.
"No, ma'am," Santana responded. She looked at Brittany and smiled. "I have your amazing daughter to thank for that."
Brittany's parents smiled at each other. Anyone so blatantly smitten with their daughter was just fine with them.
They spent the rest of the evening either at the dinner table or sitting together in the living room talking. The longer they were there, the more comfortable Santana seemed to become. She certainly hadn't opened up this quickly to Brittany, but the blonde supposed this was a good thing.
When the hour was late, her parents got up together to go to bed.
"Santana, dear, I hope you sleep well tonight. We're so very happy you're here," Mrs. Pierce said with a tired smile at the entrance to the hallway.
"It's nice to see you too, Mom!" Brittany called playfully at her mother as she retreated down the hallway. She heard a chuckle right before her parents' bedroom door swung closed.
"They love you more than me!"
Santana gave her own chuckle around a small yawn. "You're silly," she said, rubbing her eyes with a fist. She was smiling. It seemed Brittany's parents had won her over just as much as she'd won them over. "Are you ready for bed?"
The blonde herself stifled a yawn at that moment, but there was one thing left to do. "Almost. I want to show you something." She walked to the edge of the living room, where a glass door led to a small porch overlooking the view. "Come on," she said sweetly, holding out her hand.
The brunette looked hesitant again. "Um, aren't we on the side of a mountain?" she asked quietly, her old fear creeping back in her eyes.
Brittany only smiled. "Trust me."
Those were the exact words she'd told her right after they'd met, standing 17 floors up in a New York skyscraper. Now, just like back then, Santana came to her.
Brittany opened the door, and they stepped outside together. The mountain breeze was chilly, but they wouldn't be out here long.
"I can't see anything," Santana said, wrapping her arms around herself and looking out into blackness.
Brittany lifted Santana's chin with her index finger, directing her gaze upward.
"That's because you're looking in the wrong place."
By the light of the very white moon, Brittany saw Santana's jaw drop. There were more stars here than anywhere else she'd ever been. She wondered when Santana had last seen the stars.
"Heights, you see, are all about perspective," she said playfully, rubbing Santana's arms to keep her warm. "They aren't so bad when you're closer to the stars."
In the darkness that surrounded them, it really did feel like the sky was closer, like they could reach up and touch the moon and stars.
"You're much too good for me," Santana said softly, still looking up.
"Silly goose," Brittany said back. She pulled lightly on Santana's hand and led her back inside, down the tiny hallway, and into her old bedroom. They fell asleep almost instantly in the peaceful silence.