Locked In

by SantittanyLopezPierce

Santana always knew that she was different, but she made a promise to herself to hide it away. Then, she met Brittany and tried to avoid all of those wonderful feelings that Brittany made her feel- but then, they get locked in a coffee shop and she can't seem to fight with what has always been inside of her any longer.

Santana always knew that she was different to her friends; While they were getting excited about new boy crushes in middle school and trying to think of new ways to get their attention, Santana was silently watching the popular girls and appreciating their beauty. She hated it, she hated how different it made her feel- how she would grow up to be an outsider with nobody to relate to or talk to about her problems. Santana always knew that she would do whatever it took to keep those feelings of difference locked inside, even if that meant pushing everybody away and getting that much more meaner to stop anybody from getting too close to her.

However, that all changed when she met Brittany at the start of her junior year. She could still remember that day so clearly, as she arrived at Cheerios late and stumbled into the locker rooms, as per usual, to find a new bubbly blonde with a beaming smile staring right back at her with curious eyes. God, those eyes. Santana thought that they were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen- she still does, but of course, Brittany doesn't know that. Well, Santana hoped that Brittany didn't know that she thought that. Santana's bubbling inner lesbian seemed to always try and make sudden appearances around the beautiful blonde, and Santana tried to tell herself for months that it was because she just wanted to be friends with the new student, but she knew that was just a big lie because when she did become friends with Brittany, Santana still wanted more. Santana's ever growing inner crush on Brittany only intensified when it became more difficult to avoid Brittany. The blonde somehow made it seem like the easiest of tasks to get through Santana's thick walls, tearing them down like a freaking wreaking ball with no warning and that scared Santana. She appeared wherever Santana looked; at Cheerios practice, in the hallways where their lockers were appreciatively placed beside each other, and now, in Glee club.

As Santana watched with widened brown eyes sparkling with adoration, and probably a little bit of drool falling from her opened mouth, Santana couldn't take her eyes away from Brittany's movements as she danced around the choir room. Brittany was the best dancer that she had ever seen and she could feel her heart race faster with each body roll and with each precise movement, her palms were getting hot and clammy as they fiddled nervously in her lap, while her eyes trailed appreciatively across Brittany's ridiculously- should be illegal- legs.

She was unabashedly leering, in public, and while Santana was usually paranoid about how this would be perceived, she couldn't bring herself to tear her eyes away. She was completely and utterly enamored by Brittany.

The music had come to and end, as the rest of the club stood up hollering and cheering for Brittany, but Santana remained stiff in her chair with wide eyes. Brittany looked down bashfully at the ground, her cheeks reddening and bunching from her wide smile. Santana thought she looked so fucking cute. "Wow, Brittany!" Mr. Shue clapped, going to stand beside Brittany with his creepy smile, "that was awesome!" Brittany lifted her head from the ground, her eyes immediately scanning the room and coming to a stop when blue met brown.

Here comes those butterflies again. Santana sucked in a sharp breath from Brittany's smile mixed with those gleaming eyes, and gave her a small smile of approval- not wanting Brittany to know just how effected she was by how she graciously moved around the choir room. "Thanks, Mr. Shue. So I'm in?" Brittany asked hopefully, her eyes never leaving Santana's.

"Totally! What does everybody else think?" Mr. Shue asked, and another round of cheers filled the choir room. Santana felt proud of Brittany, how her usual shy persona was suddenly taken over by this amazingly confident dancer. "Well, I think that's your answer. Take a well deserved seat," Santana's throat closed up, suddenly becoming dry when Brittany didn't hesitate to happily bounce over to the back of the choir room, taking the seat directedly at the side of her.

Mr. Shue continued with the lesson but Santana couldn't seem to focus on any of the un-important nonsense that he was talking about. All of her concentration fell on the softness of Brittany's thigh as it grazed against hers every time the blonde shifted in her seat, almost purposefully, heating up her entire body. Santana's inner Brittany turmoil was going at a million thoughts per second and the erratic beating in her chest was getting so loud that she could hear it pounding in her ears, she felt dizzy and all she could smell was the sweet smell of Brittany's strawberry and vanilla body-spray. Her eyes took quick glances beside her to the blonde, who had a small smile tugging on her lips as she seemingly paid attention to whatever crap Mr. Shue was spilling on about, and Santana bit down on her lower lip.

She wanted nothing more than to shuffle that tiny bit closer to Brittany, to rest her head on Brittany's shoulder and reach over to take Brittany's hand in hers. But that would be weird and inappropriate- and also incredibly gay. Santana refrained herself from any kind of movement, afraid that if she moved even an inch, she would crumble and give in to all of the Brittany urges that were rushing through her body.

"So, what did you think?" That sweet voice leaned in to whisper directly into her ear and Santana bit down harshly on her bottom lip to stop herself from whimpering at the feeling of Brittany's breath tickling her ear, sending a shiver of goosebumps over her entire body.

"W-What?" Santana stuttered out quietly, her voice slightly strained as she kept her eyes trained on her wringing hands in her lap.

"About my audition, silly," Brittany giggled, turning all of her attention from Mr. Shue and directly to Santana. "Did you like it?" Brittany asked and Santana's heart sped up that little bit more- which she thought was impossible. If her heart got any faster, Santana feared that she would go into cardiac arrest.

She took a brief breath in preparation and nervously met Brittany's gaze, who was still watching her closely with a same small smile. "You're the best dancer I've ever seen, Britt," Santana breathed out, ignoring the voice in the back of mind that was screaming at her to be quiet and not say anything that could get her into trouble. She watched as that small smile immediately grew, showing all of Brittany's teeth, and how her eyes seemed to shine that much more brighter from her words and Santana thought that that particular smile of Brittany's was her favourite.

Brittany seemed satisfied enough with Santana's answer, her cheeks tinting red, which Santana thought was adorable. She nodded her head shyly and then returned her attention back to Mr. Shue. Santana was even more unfocused than ever before and she could feel how her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to control her own breathing from that tiny interaction. Get a fucking grip, Santana repeated in her mind, trying to shake herself out of her thoughts; but it was useless, and all she could think about was Brittany.

Brittany, Brittany, Brittany, Brittany.

Santana internally groaned and rubbed her eyes, willing herself to contain her emotions and her thoughts and to stop being so fucking delusional. She couldn't have Brittany, she would never have Brittany, and the sooner her brain and her body understood that, the sooner she could go back to her pretending.

The ringing of the bell made Santana visibly jump and she scrambled to her feet quickly, startling everybody around her as they turned to her curiously. Santana grabbed her backpack and avoided everybody's questioning eyes. "Gotta go!" She rushed out, and hurriedly made her way out of the choir room, willing herself not to trip over her own two feet as she basically stumbled out of the room without another word or glance around her.

As she made it to the safety of the hallway, Santana took a few calming breaths; she really needed to get this Brittany thing under control.

---

Santana couldn't decide whether seeing Brittany everyday was a dream come true or a complete nightmare.

The blonde seemed to make her into a soft, stuttering mess; and that wasn't Santana. Santana was a baddass. She threw insults out and she was the top bitch that walked the halls of Mckinley, but that all seemed to change whenever she even caught so much of a glance of the familiar blonde who was unknowingly becoming all that Santana could think about. Santana kept telling herself that she hated it; all of the feelings that Brittany was making her feel, but her body was convincing her otherwise and she couldn't stop the fluttering in her heart whenever she was even just in the same room as Brittany.

Which, is why Santana was currently, once again, trying not to let her heart fall out of her ass as she tried to control herself. Brittany had been sending her glances and catching her eyes for the entire of Cheerios practice and Santana was stuck between wanting practice to end or for it to continue forever just so she could keep locking eyes with the gorgeous blonde.

"Hey," Brittany came up behind her, leaning on the lockers casually.

"H-Hi," Santana stuttered out quietly.

Brittany giggled, continuing to stare inquisitively at Santana. She tilted her head to the side adorably, her arms crossing across her chest and fuck, that smile. Santana was melting and basically becoming a puddle on the floor. "Do you want to hang out sometime?" Brittany asked her, and Santana was pretty sure that she was about to pass out and join her organs on the floor.

"H-Hang out? With you?" Santana asked.

"Who else?" Brittany laughed quietly, and then gave Santana an encouraging smile, almost as if she could sense the nerves that were oozing out of the Latina. Santana broke the eye contact and dropped her gaze shyly down to the floor as that one smile from Brittany, her favourite smile, seemed to immediately send a wave of calmness throughout her entire body. "Come on, San, I wanna hang out with you," Brittany said, the nickname shocking Santana and causing her to immediately snap her eyes back up to meet Brittany's.

Her palms were getting that familiar clammy feel when she noticed the playful pout on Brittany's lips, her eyes dropping to them momentarily and zoning in on just how kissable they looked in that moment. She shook her head of that thought, when they pulled up into a tiny knowing smirk, and her eyes lifted back to meet Brittany's with a racing heart. "O-okay," Santana whispered and that beaming smile was back on Brittany's face as she bounced up and down on her feet excitedly. She ignored everything in her telling her that this was a bad idea and that she shouldn't have agreed, that this was just a disaster waiting to happen and that she would most probably pass out before having any kind of decent interaction with the girl, and then realized that it would be worth it, that the beaming smile on Brittany's face was worth it; Brittany's smile was worth everything.

Brittany took a smaller step closer, and Santana made a small barely audible gasp because there was now barely any space between them and Santana could barely breathe or hold herself together. Her eyes were darting frantically between Brittany's deliciously inviting lips and the brightness of her blue eyes that could practically look straight into Santana's soul. "I'll let you get changed," Brittany's eyes dropped to slowly scan Santana's uniform clad body, trailing slowly down her chest and then back up those smooth caramel legs, "Then we can go for hot chocolate?" Brittany asked softly.

"Y-yeah," Santana breathed and rolled her eyes; she seriously needed to get this stuttering under control, "sounds good."

Santana watched with a daze as Brittany giggled again and pushed herself off of the lockers, "I'll wait for you outside," Brittany whispered and then brushed past Santana and left her breathless and alone in the locker rooms.

She took a breath to calm herself, which was slowly beginning to turn into a habit around Brittany, and closed her eyes. Get your shit together, Lopez, it's just getting hot chocolate, stop being such a sad hopeless gay. As Santana gave herself a quick pep talk, she hurriedly stripped herself of her Cheerios uniform and replaced it with a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie before releasing her long hair from the overly tight pony tail and using the comb she kept in her locker to quickly brush through it and make herself look more presentable. Okay, you can do this, Santana.

Santana gave herself one more second to collect herself and shut her locker door, slowly retreating herself out of the locker room. She found Brittany tapping away on her phone as she waited outside the door, and she quickly stuffed it into her pocket as she noticed Santana's appearance. She gave Santana a quick once over, her smile widening, "cute," she commented quietly and Santana could feel her cheeks heat up. She didn't know whether Brittany meant to say it out loud, judging from the tips of her ears and her cheeks getting that familiar twinge of red, but it settled some of the nerves that were bubbling in her stomach. "You ready?" Brittany asked, her voice a bit louder and filled with the usual confidence. Santana nodded shyly, falling in line with Brittany as they walked out of the now quiet school. "You're not much of a talker, are you?" Brittany's question came out more of a statement as they neared her parked car and Santana just shrugged.

"I am, usually," Santana smiled, "but apparently I'm not around new people." What Santana really meant, was that she wasn't really much of a talker around Brittany.

Santana's usual talkative nature and confidence were seemingly thrown out of the window whenever she was in a ten-foot radius of Brittany. Brittany turned not only her insides to mush, but also her ability to speak and have a somewhat normal conversation.

"Santana, we've been friends for like two months now, I'm hardly a new person," Brittany appeared amused by Santana's response, and something in Brittany's eyes told Santana that Brittany knew exactly what she meant with her words.

"Sorry," Santana blushed, again avoiding any kind of eye contact with Brittany. "I know. I guess that whenever I usually talk a spout of insults tend to come out without much warning and I don't want to do that to you," Santana admitted quietly.

"That makes me feel special," Brittany grinned, holding her hand over her heart dramatically. Santana giggled, you are special, she thought to herself. Brittany noticed Santana's inner thoughts making her grow quiet once again, and nodded her head in the direction of her car in front of them. "Come on, get in," Brittany encouraged and decided to quickly change the subject, not wanting to make Santana feel uncomfortable or make her decide to put an end to their hang out before it had even remotely started. Once they were both settled into their respective seats and buckled in, Brittany handed her phone to Santana with her Spotify app open, "you can chose whatever you want to listen to."

Santana nodded, and smiled gratefully at Brittany as she started up the car. Santana decided on Fleetwood Mac, one of her favourite albums, thinking that it would be a distraction to freaking out about being alone in a car with Brittany. The familiar tune of Landslide played through the speakers of Brittany's car and Santana smiled, humming along to the first few words as she looked out of the window, trying to avoid looking directly at Brittany and falling under her spell. Within the next few seconds, Santana's hum turned into a quiet sing along and she jumped when the car swerved slightly, her eyes widening as she turned to catch Brittany staring at her.

"Sorry," Brittany mumbled, shaking her head and quickly adverting her eyes back to the road. "Your voice is beautiful, Santana," Brittany complimented quietly.

"Thanks..." Santana whispered, that heat making it's way back to her cheeks. Now, Santana used to think that it was impossible for ethnic people to blush, but Brittany was quickly proving her wrong as she made it seem like the easiest thing on Earth to make Santana flustered. "Hey, are we not going to Lima Bean for hot chocolate?" Santana asked with a frown as she noticed that Brittany missed the turning to the familiar coffee shop.

Brittany glanced at Santana coyly, a small smirk on her lips and Santana raised her eyebrows questioningly. "The hot chocolate at Lima Bean is disgusting, San," Brittany laughed and Santana felt those butterflies swarming in her stomach at that nickname again, "So... I thought that we could go to this other place that I found. If that's okay with you? I can totally turn around and we can go back if you don't want to."

"N-No," Santana shook her head, "I want to."

"Good," Brittany grinned, "We'll be there in five more minutes."

Santana nodded in acknowledgement, a smile tugging at her lips, and she settled back and returned to singing quietly along to the music. She would take glances at Brittany every few seconds to notice that Brittany was subtly bopping her head along to her singing, a smile on her face and her eyes twinkling. Santana thought that she was just so beautiful; she didn't think that she had ever seen anybody just as beautiful as Brittany. Brittany looked like everything good in this miserable world and Santana felt like the luckiest girl just to be sat here with her, even if it was just as friends. She thought, even though she wanted nothing more than to have Brittany as hers, that having her as her friend would be good enough for her; she just wanted to be around Brittany. Which, she used to find kind of weird because normally she wanted to punch anybody that came even remotely near her, but after two months, she had come to accept that it was just part of Brittany's charm.

It was like as much as she tried to pull away from the situation, Brittany would give her that bashful but beautiful smile and those damn dreamy blue eyes and she was dragged blindly straight back into a world of everything Brittany; a world that was filled with butterflies in her stomach and a fast-paced heart, a world that Santana was dying to explore. But she couldn't, and she wouldn't. She had to just maintain a friendship- nothing more- and Santana thought that she could live with that, because a life with Brittany as her friend was better than a life without Brittany in it at all.

As the car pulled to a stop and Brittany cut the engine, the sudden silence became almost deafening and Santana wearily glanced up over to Brittany. The blonde was watching her silently with that familiar smirk and Santana's cheeks, once again, felt that newly-familiar heat rising on them.

"You ready?" Brittany asked sweetly and Santana nodded, because that was apparently all she could do whenever Brittany asked her a question without embarrassingly stuttering out a reply.

"More than ready, I need some caffeine after that God-awful practice. Sue makes bones that I didn't even know I have seize up," Santana complained as she unclipped her seatbelt.

Brittany laughed loudly, "need a piggyback?"

Santana's eyes widened, and Brittany's laughter turned into quiet giggles. "I-I'm okay," Santana told her, then smiled, "I'm a big girl." Brittany winked at Santana and turned to get out of the car, whilst Santana's heart erratically sped up before she fumbled with the handle to follow Brittany. She felt the brisk cold air hit her face and is silently thankful that she changed out of her Cheerios uniform. Her eyes trailed from Brittany to the small coffee shop, Andy's, and then back to Brittany. "What is this place?" Santana asked, intrigued.

Brittany smirked, "Well, when I first moved here and I found out that the Lima Bean sucked, I drove around for a few hours to find a different place. I noticed the sign and it felt like fate because Toy Story is one of my favourite films," Brittany explained and Santana giggled at her words.

"Toy Story?" Santana giggled.

"Yeah," Brittany beamed. "I come here all of the time now, I love it," Brittany told her as they walked up to the shop. Brittany opened the door and motioned for Santana to go inside first, Santana smiled shyly and entered the shop.

When she got inside, she glanced around and felt a sense of peace wash over her. The shop was cozy, filled with couches, candles, plants and fairy lights, and Santana thought that it was the most beautiful coffee shop that she had ever seen; she could see why Brittany loved it so much. "Wow," she breathed out in awe, appreciating her surroundings and then her eyes landed on a beautiful Brittany, who she appreciated even more. "Britt- this place is awesome!"

Brittany smiled in agreement. "I know," She grinned, "plus it's the only coffee shop that is open past hours and it's usually pretty quiet at those times. Sometimes when I can't sleep, I end up coming here to clear my head." Santana smiled back, imagining Brittany coming here at early hours in the morning and sipping on hot chocolate. "Let's get a drink," Brittany's hand touched the small of Santana's back, gently guiding her in the direction of the cashier counter. Santana jumped, and even though an article of clothing separated their skin, Santana's whole body still burned from the contact.

She didn't think that she could muster up any coherent words, so she silently walked up to the counter with Brittany directly beside her. Santana thought that she was about to have a heart attack from the closeness between them and tried her usual calm-down-around-Brittany procedure, taking internal deep breaths in hopes to calm the raging of her heart in her chest. She didn't have to do many, because an obviously gay man soon appeared behind the counter and his face lit up at the sight of them both, serving as much as a distraction for Santana.

"Oh, Brittany, darling!" He gushed, a wide smile on his face.

"Hi, Andy!" Brittany beamed and Santana looked curiously between them both; because it seemed that she wasn't the only one to be under Brittany's charm.

"It's been a while!... and you've brought a friend this time!" Andy grinned, looking with raised eyebrows between the two girls. Santana shifted on her feet nervously under his stare as he obviously took in her entire appearance, that small grin on his face widening. "Who is this beautiful girl?" He asked, almost teasingly and knowingly and Santana swallowed the nerves that were closing up her throat.

"This is Santana," Brittany told him and Santana turned to look at her just in time to see her sending Andy a pointed stare. "W-We just want h-hot chocolate," Brittany stuttered and Santana's eyebrows shot up on her forehead, because this was the first time that Brittany had ever sounded somewhat nervous.

"You got it, girly, coming right up," Andy winked with a small chuckle and turned around to prepare the drinks.

Santana took the few moments to appreciate Brittany a little bit more; how her eyes lit up as she watched Andy move around behind the counter, how she had that constant small smile tugging at her lips like whenever she felt content, how she looked completely adorable in her oversized hoodie and leggings. Santana couldn't pull her eyes away; she was hooked, and she knew that she was falling further and further into a mess that she wouldn't be able to get out of. This was dangerous territory and Santana knew that she shouldn't be crossing this line, but it was so hard not to. Santana couldn't stop herself, it was like she and Brittany were two different sides of a magnet and they were naturally being drawn together, no matter how badly she tried to fight it. Brittany was pulling her closer with ease, without even remotely trying, and Santana was helpless. She couldn't stop it and a tiny part of her didn't want to, even though she knew that it was wrong. This was all going to end with her getting hurt and she knew that, but she also knew that Brittany was something different, something special, and that tiny part of her brain that was making all of these bad choices was also telling her that Brittany would be worth every bit of pain.

"Two hot chocolates," Andy interrupted Santana's blatant leering and she jumped, darting her eyes to him to find him now giving her that same knowing look.

"Thank you," Santana mumbled quietly, reaching for the delicious looking hot chocolate that was topped with whipped cream and mini marshmallows, before fumbling to reach into her pocket for some cash.

Brittany reached out with her hand and stopped her movements, making Santana freeze. "I got it," Brittany told her with a soft smile.

"What? Britt, no," Santana refused and continued to fumble in her pocket.

"Yes, I got it," Brittany repeated and quickly gave Andy the cash she had in her other hand, "keep the change, Andy."

Santana's mouth opened and closed a few times, before she realised that it was pointless to protest now that Brittany had already paid and Andy was stuffing the notes into the register. "I'm paying next time," she told her with a smile, "thank you, Britt."

Brittany was winking again and picked up her own drink, "I'll hold you to that, Lopez."

Santana giggled and followed Brittany as she walked them over to a small booth at the back of the shop, which was isolated by an ivy covered wall. Santana shuffled in and she expected Brittany to follow opposite her, but the blonde shuffled in beside her and successfully stole all of the remaining air from her lungs. Santana sipped at her hot chocolate, humming appreciatively at the rich taste touching her tongue. Brittany raised her eyebrows at the sound and grinned, and Santana blushed when realizing that she actually moaned aloud instead of in her head.

"Good?" Brittany giggled.

"Super good. You were right," Santana agreed. She set her drink on the table and shyly looked at Brittany. "How come you asked me here, Britt?" Santana asked, surprising herself that it didn't come out either through a stutter or all jumbled up.

"I thought you might like it here," Brittany shrugged casually as she dropped her gaze to the two drinks sat side by side on the table.

"I do," Santana confirmed with a head nod and a smile. "I think this is the first conversation we have had without me making an idiot out of myself by stuttering," Santana added quietly. Even though she had managed to successfully speak without tripping over her own words, her insides were taking double the effect and she could feel the churning of the butterflies brewing in the pit of her stomach as she looked across at Brittany.

"I don't think you're an idiot, I think it's cute that you get nervous," Brittany smirked and Santana smiled shyly. "But I'm glad that you're actually here with me right now. I was actually nervous that you would say no," Brittany admitted.

Santana frowned at the admission, "why would I say no?"

"Because you always find a way to leave when we are alone together," Brittany pouted and Santana's heart melted at the sight.

"You shouldn't make that face," Santana commented, her eyes dropping to Brittany's lips.

"Why's that?" Brittany asked, exaggerating her pouted lips playfully at Santana, whose eyes seemed to be completely zoned in on them.

Santana's chest tightened and she subconsciously licked her own lips at the sight, before she cleared her throat and lifted her eyes back to Brittany's. "Brittany..." She whispered quietly, and then quickly shook her head to gather herself. "You must do a whole lot of damage with that look," Santana ended up saying and reached for her drink, sipping on it to prevent her from saying something that she would later regret admitting.

"Duh," Brittany laughed, "How'd you think I got my parents to buy me a car?"

"Explains a lot, Pierce," Santana laughed, her nose scrunching up.

"Yeah, they felt bad that they were moving me during my junior year and bargained with me, so after a good pout and some guilt tripping, we moved house and I got a new car," Brittany told her.

"Why did you move?" Santana asked, curious about Brittany and wanting to know more about the beautiful blonde that was slowly becoming the center of all of her longing thoughts and stares.

Brittany let out a small sigh, "my dad got a new job and it paid better and they thought that it would be helpful with me going to college next year. I really didn't want to come at first but I'm glad that they convinced me," Brittany told her and Santana gave her a curious look. "There's definitely not any girls as beautiful as you back in New York, I was missing out," Brittany spoke casually, and the casualness of her words made Santana shiver.

"Brittany..." Santana whispered again, every bad thought and temptation slipping away when Brittany gave her that favourite cheek bunching smile. "You shouldn't say things like that," Santana spoke quietly but she couldn't pull her eyes away from her. Brittany was staring at her too intensively and she was drawn in completely sucked in, those blue eyes starting a fire inside of her.

"It's true," Brittany told her simply, her voice much lower and almost soothing and Santana felt the flames settling instantly.

She took a deep breath and paused, contemplating her next words. Santana opened her mouth hesitantly, "So, what is it like in New York?" She asked quietly, completely changing the subject and adverting her eyes when she noticed Brittany's hopeful eyes draining of brightness ever so slightly.

She couldn't, she wouldn't, Santana needed to be cautious, and Brittany was somehow making her anything but.

---

Santana tried to remain cautious every day since she first went to Andy's with Brittany. She tried to stop her feelings from growing and from turning into more than a teeny-tiny crush, she tried to stop herself from getting caught up in everything Brittany but it seemed near enough impossible. Santana couldn't stop herself from getting flustered when Brittany would make slightly flirtatious comments, she couldn't stop herself from getting lost in those beautiful blue eyes whenever Brittany would catch her gaze, she couldn't stop herself from wanting more, and she couldn't stop her feelings from growing from a teeny-tiny crush to a massive crush that had her completely and utterly entranced by the blonde. Santana knew that going to Andy's was a bad idea, that first time, but that didn't stop her from going back with Brittany a second time, or a third time, or even a fourth for that matter.

Every evening, Santana found herself sitting in that same booth with Brittany, sipping on that delicious hot chocolate and hiding away from the rest of the world. It became their sanctuary, a place where Santana was finding it more and more easier to be herself with the blonde. She was beginning to return the flirtatious comments, she was beginning to leave those subtle and lingering touches, and she was beginning to open herself up more to the idea that this, between her and Brittany, might not be a bad thing after all.

Santana thought that she would be scared, completely terrified even, but Brittany made that seem silly. Brittany made her feel safe and secure- the complete opposite of feeling scared. Brittany was soft and gentle, she was understanding and she listened. Santana doesn't think that anybody she had ever met has made her feel more heard than Brittany did.

She was breaking, slowly, and the bubbling feelings that were growing stronger were begging to finally erupt and escape into the openness.

"Hey, beautiful," Santana jumped as a voice whispered directly into her ear.

A blush came to her cheeks and she turned around shyly, coming face-to-face with a beaming Brittany. "Hi, Britt-Britt," She grinned and shuffled over a tiny bit so that Brittany could sit beside her on the lunch bench. Everybody else seemed to slowly disappear around her and all her focus turned to the blonde; God, she's so beautiful, Santana thought. "Where've you been?" Santana pouted and Brittany let out a small giggle.

"Hey, that's my look," Brittany teased, dragging her thumb slowly across Santana's puffed out lower lip. Santana shivered at the touch and felt tingles on her lips, her eyes completely captivated by Brittany. "Why? Did you miss me?" Brittany asked quietly.

"You're so full of yourself," Santana rolled her eyes through a small laugh of amusement.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes... you missed me," Brittany sang quietly and teasingly, cautious of everybody else at the table who were continuing their conversations and paying no attention to them.

"Maybe," Santana shrugged nonchalantly, trying to ignore just how well Brittany could read her. Because in reality, it had only been less than twenty-four hours since she had seen the blonde and she did miss her, embarrassingly so.

Brittany was like her fucking kryptonite and she couldn't get enough. All of her walls, every single one that she had single handedly build up over years came crashing down to the ground whenever she was around. Santana used to think that it was a bad thing, something that she had to protect herself from, but now she was so close to throwing herself full force into the oblivion that Brittany surrounded her with. Because around Brittany, there was no such thing as walls to protect herself; Brittany protected her. With that beaming smile and those words that made her feel so vulnerable but so safe at the same time.

"Oh, Brittany!" Santana and Brittany were startled out of their own little world by Quinn and jumped apart slightly, avoiding eye contact with each other and everybody else at the table. Santana started down at her salad and Brittany turned to Quinn, half-questioningly and half-fuming at the interruption. Quinn glanced between the two for a second with a quirked brown, but continued anyway, "Sam was telling me earlier about the new guy on the football team, apparently he's crushing on you!"

Santana's ears perked up at the new piece of information as well as her head, as she snapped her gaze up to look at Quinn with a deep frown. She felt her heart skip a beat and not in the usual good way it does when she is around Brittany, but in a way that makes her skin crawl with jealousy and her insides churn with disgust. Santana could feel her face contorting unwillingly and she silently looked from Quinn to Brittany, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Her mouth open and closed a few times, as she seemingly processed what Quinn had shared, before she forced a smile on her face that Santana knew was fake. "I...I'm not interested," Brittany said, frowning slightly.

"Not interested? Britt have you seen him?" Quinn asked in shock.

"Yeah, not interested, sorry," Brittany shrugged, her frown deepening.

Santana pushed her salad away from her slightly, standing up suddenly, causing everybody to turn to her. "Forgot I have to speak to Sue," Santana mumbled, thinking of the first excuse she could to get her the hell away from that conversation. She ignored the stares of confusion and grabbed her bag, rushing out of the cafeteria faster than ever. She leaned against the lockers in the hallway, breathing deeply and willing all of the sudden burst of feelings to go away and to forget that that conversation had ever happened.

"San?" Brittany called and Santana's eyes snapped open, noticing Brittany quickly approaching her with concerned eyes, "are you okay?"

"What? Y-Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Santana asked, gulping and trying not to look into those piercing eyes that could now read her so well. She didn't want to let Brittany know just how effected she got from Quinn's words, when she didn't understand why she was so effected. Brittany said she wasn't interested, she didn't have to worry, but still, the thought and the possibility had her mind and her heart racing madly and uncontrollably.

"San," Brittany sighed, softer and almost understandingly. Santana kept her gaze fixated on the ground, but she was forced to look up when Brittany took a step closer to her and reached out, putting her finger gently under Santana's chin and guiding Santana's eyes to her own.

When Santana looked into that familiar deep shade of blue, she thought, that for the first time, she could read Brittany just as well. She could see the blue pooling with apologetic gleams, silently begging Santana not to withdraw back into herself and she could see the panic swirling around in them, hoping that Santana believed her words back there in the cafeteria; that she wasn't interested. Santana inhaled, and she did believe her, because Brittany was looking at her so fondly and so carefully that something in her cracked and her bottom lip instinctively began to tremble as her eyes watered.

"I'm sorry," Santana whispered, almost ashamed by her reaction. "I didn't me-"

"Don't," Brittany interrupted her softly and knowingly, shaking her head. "It's okay," Brittany told her, and then did something completely unexpected.

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's shoulders, pulling the shorter girl into an unexpected but needed embrace. It was the most contact they had made and in their Cheerios uniform, Santana could feel Brittany's warm skin against hers and she melted into the hug as she breathed out all of her sudden anxieties. She fell further into Brittany, her head naturally falling into Brittany's neck as her arms tightly wrapped around Brittany's waist, holding her tightly; as if she was afraid that if she let go, Brittany would suddenly disappear.

And with that one embrace, Santana didn't want to pretend anymore, Santana wanted Brittany.

---

From then on, Santana and Brittany only grew closer. Their accidental touches turned into to purposeful ones, meaningful ones, that had Santana's entire body reacting and craving more. Santana wasn't scared when Brittany would link their pinkies as they walked to their classes, because to everybody else it just seemed like something best friends would do when they didn't want to get separated in the busy hallways. Santana wasn't wasn't scared when Brittany would pull her into a tight embrace when dropping her home after their nightly visit to Andy's, because to everybody else it just seemed like something best friends would do when saying goodbye to each other. Santana, especially, wasn't scared when they started hanging out at each others' houses after school and cuddling in bed, because to everybody else that was just was best friends did.

But Santana didn't want to be best friends with Brittany, well, just best friends. Santana wanted Brittany in every way possible, every inch of her and every small piece that she could possibly have- Santana wanted. Santana wanted the pieces of Brittany that she shared with everybody, and Santana wanted the pieces of Brittany that she kept hidden away just for her until they were alone. Santana never wanted anything as much as she wanted Brittany. Santana was scared, but she wasn't scared of wanting Brittany anymore. Santana was scared that she wouldn't ever get Brittany, because that seemed like the most frightening thing of all. She was scared that Brittany wouldn't want her like that, that she was mistaking all of the signs for something more than they were and she was scared that Brittany also thought that everything they did was because they were simply just best friends.

"We're going to be late," Brittany giggled, coming up from behind Santana and wrapping her arms around her waist, resting her chin gently on Santana's shoulder.

That was way too intimate to be something best friends did, right?

Santana leaned back further into Brittany, melting into her as usual, and smiled at Brittany through the mirror. "I like to make an entrance," Santana laughed and Brittany dropped her arms from around Santana as she turned to face the blonde.

Santana internally pouted at the loss of contact and then quickly shook it off when she noticed Brittany take a step back from her, blue eyes trailing unashamedly over her entire body. She felt her face heat up under Brittany's eyes and bit down on her lips shyly when they lifted back up to look her straight in the eye. "Well, you definitely will. You'll be the most gorgeous girl at this stupid party," Brittany told her, and whilst Santana used to have trouble accepting compliments, coming from Brittany- they always wrapped around her heart and squeezed just the right amount of truth into her.

She lifted her hand, gently and affectionately stroking Brittany's cheek as they just smiled at each other for a few seconds. "I think that you are the most gorgeous girl in the entire world," Santana admitted quietly. Santana's heart was doing that thing again, where it was beating so loudly that she could hear it vibrating in her ears, and she briefly wondered if Brittany could hear it too because it was going so erratically.

Brittany gulped, her eyes briefly dropping down to Santana's lips as a thick silence grew in the air, and she opened her mouth before quickly closing it again and clearing her throat. Santana watched her silently, with nerves tingling across her skin and landing in the pit of her stomach.

"We should go," Brittany whispered, her eyes glancing down one last time when Santana nodded timidly.

A pale pinky linked with Santana's, giving it a small squeeze and Santana silently followed Brittany out of her bedroom and down the stairs. As they approached the bottom, Santana noticed Brittany's mom staring at them fondly from her position on the couch in the living room, and instead of feeling the need to fiercely snatch her hand away from Brittany, all she wanted to do was step closer and bask in the comfort that Brittany's presence simply brought her. So, Santana took a quick breath and shuffled in closer, basking in the pleasant warmth that rushed through her body instantaneously while ignoring the blush that creeped up her neck and to her cheeks when she saw Susan's eyebrows raise slightly at the movement.

"A bit dressed up for Andy's?" Susan commented knowingly.

"We're going to Rachel's to celebrate our sectionals win," Brittany told her mom with a smile.

"Okay, honey, be safe! Do you want me to drop you off?" Susan asked, shuffling a bit on the couch to get herself up but then stopped when Brittany shook her head.

"That's okay, mom, she only lives about a five minute walk away... plus San's gonna carry me," Brittany sniggered with a small smirk of amusement when Santana's head whipped round to face her with wide eyes.

"Um, and when did I agree to that?" Santana laughed, eyebrows raised questioningly. Brittany pouted and Santana began shaking her head repeatedly as she immediately dropped her gaze to avoid looking at Brittany. "Britt," She whined quietly, "that's not fair!"

Susan watched with amusement as Santana became a crumbling mess under her daughter's pouting expression, Brittany only deepening her pout. "Please, San?" She asked again, "but my feet hurt from Cheerios."

"But...But I'm wearing heels!" Santana tried to think of an excuse, but then she made the mistake of looking back up at Brittany and caught sight of her still pouting face and sighed, rolling her eyes. "Fine," she grumbled and watched as Brittany's face cracked into a smile of accomplishment.

"I'm kidding," Brittany giggled and again, Santana was rolling her eyes.

She couldn't stop the smile from breaking out on her face at the sound of Brittany's giggles; how they sounded like the best kind of music to her ears, Santana didn't think that she had ever heard a song that sounded better than Brittany's laugh. "You suck," Santana told her, and she could feel her dimple on her cheek becoming prominent because of how widely she was smiling back at the girl.

Brittany's giggles drew to a close and she just smiled back widely, as they both seemingly became completely lost in each other. Susan tried to hide her own smile as she watched them from the couch, and Santana was certain that she could probably tell just how fucking whipped she was for her daughter from that small exchange; but she couldn't bring herself to care that much. All Santana could focus on, or care about in that moment, was just how beautiful Brittany was when she smiled so widely and her eyes danced around with so many different emotions, emotions that Santana was getting so much better at reading and at... returning.

"We're gonna- we're gonna go..." Brittany trailed off, speaking to her mom but still directing her gaze to Santana, who hadn't broken the eye contact.

"Text me if you need me to pick you up!" Susan called to them, but she knew it was pointless and neither of them were listening as they stumbled over each other and to the door, their pinky finger's remaining intertwined in the space between them.

Santana giggled when Brittany pulled her out of the house and she finally broke eye contact as she attempted to look back to Susan. "B-Britt, I didn't say bye to your mom!" She smiled through her complaint, unable to stop the tugging of her lips when Brittany sent her a small wink.

"She's not gonna hate you for not saying bye to her, San, she saw me dragging you out of there," Brittany teased, "plus, I think it would be impossible to hate you."

Santana thought that she should probably do a scientific experiment and look into how Brittany made it appear to be so easy to send her into a flustered, blushing mess and she could feel her entire body reacting to Brittany's words. They swirled in her mind on repeat, that angelic voice burning in her head and making her entire body catch on fire. Brittany always knew just what to say to her and whilst a few months ago that made her feel vulnerable and exposed, now she just felt like Brittany was everything she was missing whenever she was made to feel ashamed of who she was. As they walked, pinky in pinky, Santana wasn't ashamed, and she wanted to drop Brittany's pinky and reach for her whole hand. But she couldn't, Santana wasn't brave enough for that yet. She didn't have the ability to push through that barrier, to take their friendship further, because there was still that tiny thought that circled in her head that wondered whether Brittany would want that. She was stuck in limbo, and normally Santana never lacked any form of confidence, but all of that was still completely out of the window around Brittany.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Brittany interrupted Santana's train of thought as they walked, blue eyes looking at her curiously.

Santana took a breath and without thinking she whispered, "you."

Brittany's expression softened and Santana almost corrected herself with a lie, but Brittany was looking at her with such adoration that she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth again and just silently watched the pink on Brittany's cheeks turn a dark red. "Santana," Brittany sighed quietly, halting her movements as she stopped walking and so halting Santana's movements, too. A few seconds passed and Santana opened her mouth to string out a rushed apology for overstepping any boundaries that were left between them, but Brittany subtly shook her head and Santana quickly bit down on her lip to stop herself. "You know, San, you should really go after what you want," Brittany told her and Santana's breath hitched.

She could feel the increase of her heart rate when Brittany took a small step closer and again, she was staring at Brittany's lips. Santana contemplated just going for it, throwing away all of the doubt and crashing down every single strategically placed wall she had built around her heart, and kissing Brittany. Santana wanted to kiss Brittany so badly, that she actually let out a small whimper as her tongue subconsciously dipped out to wet her own lips. That beating in her ears was back and her hands were shaking as they begged to reach out and grab Brittany to pull their bodies flush together.

But, just as Santana inhaled to muster up enough courage, a loud ring interrupted the moment and they both jumped apart from each other with frowns. "Fucking talk about timing," Santana mumbled with a frown and she swears she could see a grin on Brittany's face as she pulled her phone out of her bra with frustration. She rolled her eyes when noticing the blonde contact flashing on her screen and pressed it to her ear. "W-What?"

"Why do you sound funny?" Quinn asked through the phone and Santana's cheeks heated up as she looked straight at Brittany with wide eyes, before dropping them to the ground.

"I-I don't sound f-funny," Santana tried to defend herself and Brittany looked at her curiously.

"Then why are you breathing like you've just ran a marathon?" Quinn pressed.

Santana huffed with frustration and annoyance. "Quinn," She warned, "Did you want something or are you just calling to piss me off?"

Brittany sniggered and Santana lifted her eyes to smile. "Where are you? You were supposed to be here an hour ago!" Quinn replied and Santana knew that Quinn was slowly loosing her patience, whether it was with her or with Rachel's lame ass party, Santana didn't know; and she didn't really care.

"Whatever, it takes time to look this good. We're round the corner," Santana told her and hung up the call before Quinn had any chance to reply.

"Time to look that good?" Brittany asked, her eyebrows raised playfully as she scanned Santana's face, trailing them down her body. She took a small step closer and dropped Santana's pinky, her hands daringly lifting to cup Santana's cheeks. Santana inhaled deeply at the gentle gesture and tried to will herself not to pass out from all of the overwhelming sensations of Brittany touching her so directly. "You, Santana Lopez, are the most beautiful girl in the world. Whenever, wherever, you would always look this good," Brittany added and Santana felt every last bit of willpower she had to resist Brittany leave her, her face leaning affectionately into Brittany's soft caressing hands and she closed her eyes.

"B-Brittany..." She whispered nervously, she could feel herself shaking.

"Come on," Brittany giggled, "Quinn is going to kill us."

Santana's eyes popped open and she felt all of her nerves being replaced with disappointment, "what?" Santana's lip jutted out and Brittany ran her thumbs across her cheeks before dropping them from her face completely.

"If I do what I want to do right now, then we won't end up at this party," Brittany told her truthfully and Santana couldn't see the problem with that. All she wanted to do was kiss Brittany, and it was so close to happening that she could to cry with frustration. Brittany must be able to sense Santana's crumbling inner thoughts and moved in to press a delicately placed kiss to a tanned cheek, "soon," she moved to whisper directly into Santana's ear and that was the right amount of comfort she needed from the blonde.

"O-Okay," Santana breathed out, her hand lifting to cover her burning cheek. She could feel her entire body reacting to the affectionate and promising kiss; her skin burned from the softness of Brittany's lips, her heart was swelling so much in her chest that she thought it might actually explode, and she wanted nothing more than to just tell Brittany that she didn't even want to go to this stupid party anyway, that she would prefer to spend the entire night kissing her instead. But she didn't, instead, Santana filled her lungs with oxygen through a deep breath and reached down for Brittany's pinky again. "Soon," Santana confirmed with a smile.

They resumed their short minute walk to Rachel's in a comfortable silence and Santana wondered if Brittany was internally going as crazy as she was. She couldn't believe what had just happened, what had almost just happened, and she wanted to slap Quinn so hard across the face for interrupting the moment she had been waiting months for. She felt a bit of comfort though, knowing that Brittany had indicated that she wanted it just as badly as Santana did. And her lips, God, Santana fought the urge to touch her cheek again as she thought of how ridiculously soft they were, almost like pillows, and Santana wanted to kiss them forever. Santana glanced to Brittany, to find the blonde already staring dreamily at her. She watched as a shy blush immediately heated up Brittany's cheeks and Santana could see in Brittany's expression that she was feeling everything, too, she wanted this too; She wanted Santana.

Santana felt better about the situation knowing that small fact. All of those years forcing herself to keep her feelings locked inside, pushing them away and trying to force herself to be somebody she wasn't, they suddenly meant nothing because Brittany wanted her.

As they approached Rachel's front door, they gave each other one last shy smile before entering and instantly being met with the blaring sound of the music and one of their friends, probably Rachel, singing along on the karaoke machine. They giggled with shared eye rolls and walked through the familiar halls and down to the basement, taking one look around to see that everybody was already well on their way to being intoxicated. Santana momentarily contemplated dragging Brittany back up the stairs and out of the house before anybody had chance to notice them, to resume their earlier antics and go back into their own private bubble. But she didn't, because Brittany dropped her pinky and replaced it with her hand, dragging her over to where Quinn was pouring herself a drink.

"Oh, you finally made it!" Quinn said sarcastically when she noticed them approaching, her eyes momentarily dropping to their joined hands and then she looked between them suspiciously. Instead of commenting, which Santana was silently thankful for, she just grabbed two extra cups and began pouring them both a drink.

"Better late than never!" Brittany beamed excitedly, obviously trying to take away from the silence and Quinn's staring. Santana looked at her adoringly, because Brittany was always trying to make her comfortable and judging from how Santana was now shifting on her feet anxiously, Santana felt uncomfortable under Quinn's questioning look. Santana caught Brittany's eye, sending her a thankful smile which Brittany returned. "Also, I really hope Rachel doesn't sing like that for the rest of the night, how much has she had to drink?"

"She sounds awful," Santana added with a grimace, taking the drink off Quinn as she passed it over.

"Good luck with stopping her, she's been at it for almost thirty minutes," Quinn groaned as she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you left me with these losers for so long," Quinn complained and Brittany and Santana shared a look before taking a small sip of their drinks to hide their amusement.

"Well, we gotta get on their level to be able to deal with these annoying ass losers, come on, Britt," Santana lifted her drink to clink it against Brittany's and silently signaled for Brittany to quickly finish her drink so that they could feel at least a small buzz before everybody else noticed them. There was only so much she could take of the glee club when she was sober and she was dying to quickly get some alcohol in her system so that she could deal with them.

"Deal," Brittany agreed with a small laugh and mimicked Santana's actions, Quinn looking between them with raised eyebrows as they began throwing back their drinks without another word to each other.

Turns out, how quickly they drank those first drinks should have been an indication as to how their drinking would turn out. Because not even an hour later, they were already about five drinks in and Santana found herself beginning to slur some of her words and her entire body had a constant buzz as the alcohol swirled around inside of her. Santana watched with a lopsided grin from the corner of the room, a drink sloshing around in the cup held securely in both of her hands while she swayed side to side, as she focused on Brittany dancing on the stage. She couldn't take her eyes away, and Santana felt a rumbling in the pit of her stomach as her eyes followed Brittany's movements carefully; Santana loved watching Brittany dance, it was so fucking sexy and she couldn't get enough.

Santana felt her entire body heat up as she watched how unbelievably sexy Brittany looked moving her body, sending a shiver through her body and landing as a pit of butterflies in her stomach. Santana wanted to go on that stage to join Brittany, to feel Brittany move her body like that against hers, her front pressed against Santana's back and their hands and lips on each others body. Santana craved Brittany's touch more than ever and she wanted her so badly, in every way possible.

She leaned back against the wall to steady herself and brought her cup to her lips, not noticing Quinn appearing beside her because she was so completely enamored by Brittany's movements.

"What's going on with you and Brittany?" Santana jumped at the voice and her swaying come to a complete stop as she stiffly turned to Quinn.

"What?" Santana asked, wondering if the alcohol was making her hear wrong.

"What's going on with you and Brittany?" Quinn repeated slowly and at the mention of the blonde, Santana redirected her gaze briefly back to Brittany.

"What do you mean, Fabray? Nothing," Santana denied, slurring her words slightly and tried to avoid Quinn's disbelieving look.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Quinn sang with a small smirk and brought her drink to her lips, taking a sip as she stared at Santana.

Santana gulped thickly and let out a nervous laugh. "Quinn, you need to get a better hobby than sp-spec...speculating about my love life."

Quinn's smirk widened, "I didn't say anything about your love life," she shrugged nonchalantly, almost smugly.

Santana gulped again, "gotta g-gay, Fabray," Santana rushed out and quickly walked away from Quinn to avoid any further interrogation from her. However, Santana ended up stumbling over her own feet in an attempt to get away and just as her eyes widened while preparing herself for the most embarrassing fall of her entire life, Santana felt strong arms wrap around her waist and stable her body. She tried to focus her blurred eyes but she didn't even need to look to see who it was because she could smell the sweet smell of Brittany's body lotion. "Britt," Santana giggled, her arms clumsily coming to wrap around Brittany's shoulders.

"Steady there, pretty girl," Brittany whispered into her ear and Santana felt her entire body melt.

"You saved me, Britt-Britt," Santana beamed and Brittany's smile widened. Santana still felt slightly on edge from her conversation with Quinn and bit down on her lip, looking questioningly and hopefully at Brittany, "Can we go to Andy's?"

"Andy's?" Santana nodded, "like right now?" Santana nodded again.

"Yeah, I just... I jus wan to hang w-with you," Santana slurred and Brittany smiled back at her, making her heart flutter.

It felt like Santana was floating on clouds from just the way Brittany was looking back at her and nodded shyly, "let's go."

---

Forty-five minutes later and a drunken walk from hell, it had just passed midnight and Santana and Brittany were stumbling through the door of Andy's. It probably wasn't their best idea to walk to their favourite safe space, but they were both completely drunk and it helped clear up some of the alcohol in their systems.

Santana still felt a small buzz, just slightly tipsy, but she still felt the confidence from the alcohol pulsing through her and she was thankful for that. Their hands had been laced together tightly their entire walk, supporting each other to remain standing and willing each other to power through the blisters that were more than likely going to appear on their feet from the heels they were wearing. Santana wasn't usually a walker, but when Brittany had suggested it with an excited a grin when Santana pulled out her phone to call them a cab, she thought it was the best idea ever and giddily agreed without a second thought.

The walk was filled with shy, flirtatious glances and giggles as they stumbled through the streets of Lima without a care about anything but each other. Santana felt buzzed and not just from the alcohol. This whole thing with Brittany seemed to have sky rocketed in the past couple of hours and she was in her complete element, blushing and smiling harder than she ever has.

She was thankful that when they stumbled into Andy's that it was completely silent and clear, and Santana was surprised that Andy hadn't actually closed the shop early and just gone home because it only ever seemed to be her and Brittany that usually vacated the shop at these un-godly hours.

They shared shy smiles and Santana quietly asked Brittany, "do you want s-something to drink?"

Brittany shook her head, "no, thanks, you?"

Santana shook her head and then just silently dragged Brittany to their usual booth hidden at the back of the shop and as usual, Brittany shuffled in directly beside her. However this time, there was no gap between them and Brittany kicked off her heels before she lazily lifted her legs to rest them over Santana's. Santana blushed bashfully at the position and stared down at their touching skin as that familiar heat spread through her entire body.

A wide grin took over her face and she slowly let her shaky hands rest on stop of Brittany's thighs, enjoying how smooth pale legs felt under her fingertips. She had never felt anything so soothing and she suddenly felt so much closer to Brittany, and not just physically.

"I..." Santana started, lifting her eyes and pausing when she found Brittany looking back at her with that soft fondness. She took a deep breath, "I like this."

"I like this, too," Brittany whispered truthfully, that small smile appearing on her lips.

They grinned at each other for a few more seconds, and Santana decided to take another leap of faith. She swallowed the nerves and used the remainder of the alcohol effects to push them deep down, instead focusing on just how much she was enjoying this quiet and honest moment with Brittany. "No, I'm serious, Britt..." Santana trailed off and softly danced her fingers across Brittany's thighs as she spoke. "You- there's nobody like you," Santana told her.

Brittany shuffled slightly closer to Santana and Santana held her breath for a second because if Brittany got any closer to her then she would practically be sitting entirely on her lap- not that she minded, in fact, Santana would actually prefer that and had to restrain herself from just completely pulling Brittany further onto her.

"San," Brittany giggled, "you are so cute when you're all shy."

"I'm not shy," Santana defended.

"Then why aren't you looking at me right now?" Brittany challenged with a small laugh, cocking her eyebrow playfully at Santana as brown eyes instantly met hers.

Santana sucked her lip into her mouth nervously before releasing it again when she started smiling at the blonde. "You make me nervous," Santana admitted.

Brittany looked amused, but Santana knew that Brittany wasn't making fun of her and that made all of her truthful words seem okay. Brittany's hand came to rest on her stomach, on the exposed skin between her crop top and her skirt and Santana jumped slightly at the unexpected but welcomed contact. She internally willed herself to breathe as she reminded herself that this was the most they had ever touched each other and that singular thought set off a frenzy in her mind, a sudden internal panic and she could feel her heart speed up impossibly faster.

She was pretty certain that Brittany felt it too, because a pale hand gradually dragged up her chest and landed right above her heart. Brittany's grin widened, all of her teeth on show, and Santana couldn't ever get enough of Brittany's smile.

"Feel," Brittany whispered and used her free hand to take hold of Santana's, bringing it up and pressing it against her own chest, "you do the same to me."

Santana's eyes widened as Brittany pushed down firmly on her hand and she could feel the rapid beating of Brittany's heart. A small and barely audible gasp fell from her parted lips as she felt the rhythm of Brittany's heart as it danced against her hand almost in perfect timing with her own and she could feel that flustered feeling coming back and heating up her cheeks as she appreciated this vulnerable moment between them. As she silently appreciated the fluttering of Brittany's heart tapping against the palm of her hand, Santana could finally understand everything and all of her remaining fears slipped away. It was like every single doubt of who she was and all of those moments of forcing herself to be somebody she wasn't disappeared in an instant and she couldn't understand why she ever felt any kind of shame for feeling these feelings. Because these feelings that she had for Brittany, they were beautiful and Brittany was beautiful, and Santana wanted to scream to everybody just how special Brittany was; she wanted to scream to Brittany just how special she was.

"Wow," Santana breathed out, eyes trained on her hand resting on Brittany's chest.

"Cool, right?" Brittany giggled and Santana shyly nodded. "It does that since the first time I saw you," Brittany told her and Santana felt comforted in the fact that Brittany was also admitting her own hidden truths.

"It has?" Santana asked, watching as Brittany nodded her head with confirmation. "I wish that I knew that months ago," Santana blushed.

"Wasn't it obvious? Santana, I've been flirting with you this whole time," Brittany laughed when Santana's blush deepened.

Santana opened her mouth to respond, but was stopped when the lights of the shop went off and they heard the rattling of keys in a door. Both their eyes widened and they pulled apart slightly, "oh no," Santana mumbled nervously as they scrambled to shuffle out of the booth. Santana basically fell over her own feet as she approached the counter to find Andy nowhere in sight, her eyes glancing at the shop windows to find that the blinds had been pulled together and the 'We're open' sign that was situated on the door was facing them, which only meant the 'We're closed' sign was now facing the outside. She inhaled a panicked breath and she could feel her chest closing in and her throat tightening, "Brittany," she whimpered, "we're trapped!"

Brittany's eyes were equally wide, but she could clearly sense Santana's bubbling anxiety as she rushed over to the smaller girl. Pale arms wrapped around Santana and she pulled the girl into her comfortingly, "it's okay, San," she cooed.

Santana wiggled out of Brittany's grip and began rapidly pacing the shop floor, her hands coming to her head as Brittany watched her with an open mouth. "It's not okay, we can't get out, Brittany! Oh my fucking God... what are we going to do?" Santana exclaimed dramatically, her eyes brimming with tears and her hands moving around frantically.

It was obvious that Santana was freaking out, she was like a walking panic attack. Brittany quickly snapped out of her silent observation of an obviously distressed Santana and reached out for her, pulling her back into a still embrace, and Santana melted into her in an instant. The sudden erratic beating of her heart from anxiety was once again replaced by the usual erratic beating from being around Brittany, and she was thankful that Brittany interrupted her slightly dramatic moment before she ended up in a mix of alcohol and anxiety tears. She focused on how Brittany quietly wrapped her arms around her shoulders, squeezing with just the right amount of pressure to ground her body. She focused on Brittany's scent and how it washed over her like a calming aroma. She focused on the way Brittany's hands rubbed comfortingly up and down her back, soothing her and settling her.

Brittany had slowly became an expert in everything Santana, which was a strange but welcomed feeling, because people she had known her entire life still hadn't quite figured her out correctly. But Brittany somehow did it with ease, always knowing exactly what Santana needed; and in that moment, it was just Brittany.

"You okay, baby?" A soft whisper spoke directly into her ear as Santana clung to Brittany and Santana almost cried again just from those three words, but managed a small nod as she pulled back out of the embrace hesitantly, almost regretfully.

"Thank you, Britt, you always know what to do," Santana smiled softly, her hand cupping Brittany's cheek and stroking it with her thumb affectionately.

Brittany blushed and let out a quiet giggle, "I'm just an expert in everything that is Santana Lopez."

"Yeah?" Santana giggled, tilting her head to the side and smiling when Brittany nodded.

"I thought you we're about to have a panic attack," Brittany commented with a puff of air, bit down on her lip worriedly, "Is being trapped in here with me that bad?"

"Not with you," Santana told her, "come," she took Brittany's hand and guided her back to their booth to resume their previous position. "We might as well get comfortable, looks like we'll be here for a while. I can't believe he didn't realize that we we're in here!"

Although this time, Brittany wasted no time in sitting as close to Santana as she possibly could, pale legs once again coming to dangle over tanned ones, and Santana grinned; she could definitely get used to having Brittany like this. Then, for the first time, Santana didn't need to think twice as she reached down for Brittany's hand and intertwined their fingers together. They jolted slightly as sparks transferred between their touching skin, heating them both up despite the coolness of the coffee shop and their revealing outfits, and Santana never felt warmer with somebody.

"I could get used to this," Brittany grinned, and Santana didn't feel the need to question her, because she knew exactly what Brittany meant, so she just smiled back. Tanned fingers squeezed pale ones reassuringly and she brought their hands up without hesitation, placing a gentle kiss to the back of Brittany's hand and letting her lips linger for a few seconds longer than necessary. Santana, for the first time, was aware of Brittany's eyes following her every movement and how blue eyes were completely fixated on her lips and that urge to kiss Brittany senseless was coming back.

"Britt?" Santana asked, her voice breaking slightly and she cleared it with embarrassment, her face flushing.

"Hmm?" Brittany mumbled, her eyes still trained and unbroken on Santana's lips, naturally making Santana lick them, which made blue eyes meet brown.

Somehow, Santana's heart raced faster and she almost forgot her train of thoughts, but then her eyes dropped to Brittany's lips and she wondered how she could ever forget. Santana inhaled deeply, gathering up as much courage as she could muster and she let her eyes flutter shut for a few seconds. "S-Say if you liked somebody... and you think that they might like you back," Santana began and Brittany's eyes silently encouraged her to continue. Santana swallowed, "hypothetically speaking, if you wanted to kiss that person but you didn't know how that person would react... what would you do?"

Brittany's expression softened back into that same look of adoration that she so often directed to Santana. "Well, hypothetically," Brittany spoke quietly, her voice dipping to barely above a whisper, "I would just kiss them."

Even though Brittany spoke quietly, it was the loudest thing Santana had ever heard. Santana gulped and quickly dipped her eyes again to Brittany's lips as they seemingly inched closer to her. "So if I were to kiss you- hypothetically- would you kiss me back?"

"Why don't you kiss me and find out?" Brittany's words were playful, almost teasing, and her lips were only a few centimeters from Santana's at this point and just begging to be kissed and Santana didn't think she could resist months of built up urges for a second longer.

A slender, tanned arm smoothly snaked around Brittany's back, holding her waist and keeping Brittany securely in place as Santana inched closer. She could practically feel Brittany's breath hitting against her lips because they were now that close and she paused for a moment, giving Brittany the chance to pull away if she wanted to; but Brittany didn't and Santana let her eyes slam shut as she finally took that final leap of faith, connecting her plump lips with Brittany's. She felt her lips tremble from the light pressure of Brittany's kiss and had to fight the whimper that was bubbling in her throat at finally being able to feel the softness of Brittany's lips moving against hers for the first time. Santana felt overwhelmed by the kiss, even though it was slow and simple, just their lips moving against each other exploringly, almost cautiously and like neither of them had ever kissed anybody before, but Brittany was kissing her back and that was enough to send her straight into oblivion. Every single one of her senses was overtaken by Brittany and she breathed in through her nose when Brittany leaned in further, adding the slightest bit more pressure to Santana's lips and they were tingling from the feeling.

They pulled away after what felt like forever but Santana thought it still wasn't long enough- just one kiss from Brittany wasn't enough.

The small whimper that had been clawing up her throat finally fell into the air at the loss of contact and she fluttered her eyes open to find Brittany already staring back at her with a completely dreamy doe-eyed look.

"Hypothetically speaking," Brittany whispered, eyes staring right through into Santana's soul, "if I were to kiss you again, would that be okay?"

Santana nodded quickly and ignored the return of the loud pounding in her ears and instead listened to how Brittany hummed appreciatively as she brought their lips crashing together again for the second time. Santana's free hand that wasn't curled around Brittany instinctively moved to cup Brittany's cheek, prompting to keep her in place as they kissed more passionately, and she got completely lost in the feeling of kissing Brittany.

Brittany's lips felt like heaven and they moved so delicately but with such precision against hers that Santana couldn't get enough. This kiss was more certain, like they were both letting out their feelings in this one kiss, and Santana responded with just as much passion as Brittany gave to her. Their lips moved together smoothly and Santana almost moaned when she felt Brittany tilt her head back and daringly run her tongue across her lip, seeking the warmth of Santana's mouth. Santana didn't hesitate to allow the blonde access and when she felt Brittany's tongue dance against hers, she couldn't stop the low, withheld moan from tumbling out of her mouth and letting it get lost between them. Brittany didn't mind, in fact, she seemed to appreciate the noise of approval from Santana and shifted her weight completely. Santana let out a surprised breath, but the kiss still didn't break, as Brittany turned and effectively straddled her. The new position brought the two girls closer and Santana dropped both of her hands to the small of Brittany's back, pressing lightly in an attempt to pull Brittany impossibly further in to her and then their chests were flushed together. Brittany smiled against her lips, and Santana thought that that smile of Brittany's was her new favourite, even though she couldn't even see it- she could feel it and she thought that was even better. Santana loved how Brittany smiled into their kisses, it made her heart race and her body shudder and Santana thought that it was the cutest fucking thing ever.

Pale hands came to thread lightly through Santana's long hair and in that moment Santana was thankful of her decision to actually have her hair down for once, as Brittany took control over the kiss. Santana let her, surrendering to Brittany and allowing her to kiss her in any way that she wanted. Santana could feel the expanding of her chest getting impossibly tighter, requesting the return of air that Brittany was stealing from her lungs, but she didn't want the kiss to end. Santana had waited too long for this moment, she figured that her lungs could cope without oxygen for a few more seconds.

Then, as though Brittany was reading her mind, she pulled away from Santana's lips breathlessly. They were both panting, lips swollen and cheeks flushed, but the kisses didn't stop and Santana's head dropped back against the booth seat when Brittany started trailing featherlight kisses down her jawline and across her neck. Santana gasped at the new sensations of Brittany's lips pressing exploringly against different parts of her exposed skin and her grip on Brittany's hips tightened, silently willing Brittany to continue her actions. She didn't need to though, because Brittany was showing no signs of stopping as she appreciated Santana's skin with a mixture of openmouthed kisses, soft pecks and tiny nibbles, which were turning Santana into a trembling mess.

Santana's hands silently trailed higher, running up and down Brittany's back for a few seconds, before cupping the back of Brittany's neck and offering it a small tug. Brittany giggled against the skin just below Santana's neck and understood Santana's wordless request, lifting her head and bringing their lips back together. This kiss was softer than the last one, almost as gentle as the first one, and Santana tried to imprint it into her memory forever because the way Brittany was kissing her was making her head hurt with overwhelming emotions in the best way possible.

"Brittany," Santana moaned when Brittany nibbled teasingly on her lower lip, before releasing it with a small 'pop' and the blonde was pulling away to rest her head gently against Santana's.

"That," Brittany breathed out through her ragged breaths, her chest rising and falling faster than Santana had ever seen it but in perfect time with her own, "was the best hypothetical kiss that I've ever had."

Santana blushed, "y-yeah," she agreed quietly.

As Santana took in Brittany's post-make out appearance, Santana didn't know what took her so long to take that leap of faith. Her eyes trailed across Brittany's face, taking in and appreciating her flustered cheeks and her bruised lips, and how her eyes were the darkest of blue Santana had ever seen. Santana felt the hammering of her heart drop further down into the pit of her stomach and leaving a pool of arousal between her legs. Brittany was addicting, and whenever she got a little bit more of her, it just fueled her need and she wanted even more of her.

Subconsciously, her grip on Brittany's hips tightened and her nails lightly dug into warm skin, pulling Brittany's hips further against her. She only noticed and was brought out of her Brittany induced staring when a moan dropped from Brittany's lips and echoed in the booth as Brittany's forehead fell against hers. Santana's breath hitched at the sound, wanting to hear it on repeat forever, and she bit down harshly on her lip while her eyes shut tightly in an attempt to compose herself. Brittany's fingers tugged lightly in Santana's hair and she trembled from the touch, that heat between her legs intensifying and Santana didn't think that she had ever felt a desire for somebody so strong.

"I bet we're missing all of the fun games," Brittany whispered and Santana almost moaned at Brittany's warm breath hitting her lips, but she slowly pulled back in confusion from Brittany's words, her eyebrows scrunching together. "I love truth or dare," Brittany cocked her eyebrow, almost challengingly.

"You wanna play truth or dare?" Santana giggled at the randomness of Brittany's comment in the middle of such an intimate moment.

Brittany just grinned, "Truth or dare?"

Santana fought away the pout and hesitantly replied, "...dare?"

Brittany's grinned widened, "I dare you to touch me."

Santana was more than confused, because Brittany was straddling her and there was barely a centimeter of space between them. "Britt, I'm already touching you," Santana said quietly, not really understanding where Brittany was going with this little idea she seemed to have.

"No," Brittany chuckled at Santana's usual obliviousness, "I mean, I dare you to touch me."

Oh. Santana gulped at Brittany's request and Brittany eyed her silently, wondering whether Santana would break that final boundary. Santana inhaled deeply for the millionth time that night and Santana was suddenly so sober and so aware of what was happening but that only made her want Brittany even more.

"Touch you?" Santana asked and Brittany nodded. "Y-You want me to touch you?" Brittany nodded again.

"Do you want to touch me?" Brittany asked and Santana nodded, frantically.

"Y-Yeah, I do," Santana said without thought. "Are you- are you sure?" She asked, wanting to be absolutely certain that Brittany wanted this, too, even though she had given every indication that she did.

Brittany smiled softly and then wordlessly untangled her hands from Santana's hair, moving them to gently cover Santana's on her hips. Santana's dark, lust filled and curious eyes followed Brittany's bold movements as Brittany pushed Santana's hands further upwards. Santana's breathing heightened at the sensory overload as she could feel the softness of Brittany's skin beneath her hand. She watched with amazement as tiny goosebumps appeared on Brittany's exposed skin beneath her touch and almost frowned when her hand's reached the hem of Brittany's cropped top, but she didn't because she had a sudden realization that she was now gently and timidly cupping Brittany's boobs and she let out a shaky exhale.

"It's okay, San," Brittany cooed and gave Santana's hands a firm squeeze.

"Kiss me," Santana mumbled, her eyes moving from their hands on Brittany's chest and into dreamy blue eyes.

Brittany didn't hesitate and in an instant they were kissing again, Santana moaning hungrily against the softness of Brittany's lips. Every doubt and every fear was replaced with an undying need for the blonde girl and finally, she had everything she ever wanted. With that thought, Santana took control and tilted her head back, sliding her tongue across Brittany's lip teasingly in search for the warm of Brittany's mouth. Brittany gasped appreciatively and the sound almost crumbled Santana, but she willed herself to stay focused on the Earth-shattering and heavenly kiss, her hands finding their willpower and beginning to firmly kneed the clothed flesh on Brittany's chest. Brittany whimpered out a moan of approval as Santana simultaneously sucked on her tongue, her hips beginning to rock slowly into Santana's and sending them both to complete new level of want.

Santana appreciated this moment. She appreciated how well Brittany's lips moved against hers, how well they fit together and how fucking perfectly Brittany kissed her. Santana appreciated how Brittany's boobs felt under the palms of her hands as she appreciated them boldly and curiously. She appreciated the fire in her stomach and how it travelled through her entire body, how Brittany was making her feel and how she has been making her feel for months. Santana was getting dizzy and she didn't know whether it was from the kiss, or her feelings, or just Brittany in general, but she loved it and it was making her feel even more intoxicated than every drop of alcohol she had consumed earlier.

Brittany's hands finally fell from above Santana's, letting Santana explore her body freely and Santana gasped into the heated kiss when she felt Brittany's featherlight fingertips dancing across her neck and up her jawline, cupping her face. Santana messily broke from the kiss when her stupid lungs gave her that indication for air once again and her chest heaved heavily as she tried to gain enough breath to continue their kissing. She inhaled sharply, figuring that would be enough, and then plump lips were surging forward and attaching to the sweet skin on Brittany's neck. "Oh, fuck," Brittany whimpered when she felt the wetness of Santana's tongue dipping across her collarbone and her hips made another grinding motion in response as her head fell to the side, exposing more skin for Santana.

Santana smirked into Brittany's neck, enjoying all of the small sounds falling from Brittany and feeling that throbbing between her legs become almost unbearable knowing that she was eliciting those noises from the blonde. "You're so beautiful," Santana mumbled into heated skin, trailing kisses up the side of Brittany's neck and to that spot under Brittany's ear that made the girl shiver, "I can't get enough of you."

"Take it off," Brittany moaned and Santana, for once, didn't need any clarification or reassurance from Brittany. She knew exactly what Brittany meant and within seconds, she was reaching down and discarding the offending piece of clothing from Brittany's body.

"There's not any cameras pointing here is there?" Santana asked suddenly, her eyes scanning Brittany's exposed body. She licked her lips at the sight and looked at Brittany for confirmation. Brittany simple shook her head and jutted out her bottom lip adorably, making Santana giggle, and Santana's trembling hands were reaching back for Brittany's chest. "Why haven't we done this before?" Santana groaned at the feeling of Brittany, squeezing the mounds of flesh appreciatively and Brittany arched into her touch in response.

"Next time, don't take so long," Brittany mumbled and then pulled Santana back into another kiss, a softer and shorter one, almost just a gentle peck.

Santana blushed and Brittany gave her a small smile, "Can I... Can I take yours off?"

"Please," Santana whispered and Brittany's hands were gripping at the hem of her top, pulling it over her head without another word. Santana was thankful that the booths at Andy's were spacious, giving them enough room to wiggle around comfortably as Brittany discarded Santana's top beside her own.

The room fell silent again, but not an uncomfortable one, as they both merely appreciated the new skin exposed to each other. Santana thought she would feel more nervous than she did in that moment, because a few months ago, she couldn't even get out a full sentence around Brittany without stuttering over her words. But here she was, sat with Brittany straddling her with them both topless, but Santana felt so fucking good, and so comfortable with Brittany, that nerves didn't seem to matter to her. Santana's eyes trailed across pale, freckled skin, stopping on her boobs and appreciating how perfect they were, before falling to Brittany's stomach and she could feel her throat dry as Brittany's abs tensed under her touch when Santana ran her nails across them.

"Gorgeous," Brittany said quietly, and Santana lifted her eyes to find that Brittany was doing the same thing to her. She watched as Brittany licked her lips as she eyed Santana with hungry and longing eyes and Santana's body was lit on fire from the adoring stare Brittany was giving her. Blue eyes met brown and Brittany's smile widened, "You're gorgeous, Santana."

"You can touch me too...if you want," Brittany's eyes widened but had a special glint in them from Santana's request, and she nodded uncontrollably, making Santana giggle; she was glad that Brittany was responding to this the same as as she was.

Pale hands confidently moved to Santana's chest and Santana felt another moan rising in her throat from the touch but it was quickly swallowed when Brittany's lips found hers in another bruising kiss, and Santana couldn't think of why she ever thought that something that felt so right could be so wrong.

---

Santana didn't think she had even been asleep for that long when she felt the tickle of soft fingers moving up and down the bare skin on her back, causing her to stir out of her sleep and groggily squeeze her eyes shut.

"San?" Brittany's voice mumbled and Santana hummed, still half trapped in her sleep. "Santana?" The voice repeated and Santana huffed, burying her face deeper into the warmth of Brittany's neck, making her giggle. "Baby, get up," Santana's eyes popped open and she pulled back slightly, her cheeks heating up.

"What?" She mumbled sleepily through a small yawn.

"You're still laid half naked on top of me and Andy will be here any minute to open the shop," Brittany giggled when Santana's gaze dropped between them and her face became flustered; obviously only now just realizing that she was laid completely on top of Brittany's body.

Santana paused her wriggling movements to bask in this peaceful, perfect, moment; waking up in Brittany's arms, flushed against her warm body, and giggled. "How do you still look so beautiful after just waking up?" Santana questioned and Brittany bit down on her lip shyly, making her giggle again. "Kiss first?" Santana asked, and Brittany beamed up at her, nodding her head. Soft lips met hers in a lazy good morning kiss and Santana thought that she wanted to wake up like this, to Brittany, for the rest of her life.

"I don't think I'll ever get enough of that," Brittany whispered when their lips parted after a few moments of just slowly moving against Santana's.

"Me either, it's the best feeling ever," Santana agreed.

"Better than last night?" Brittany asked, cocking her eyebrow playfully and giggling when Santana slapped her on the arm.

"Brittany!" She scolded playfully, rolling her eyes slightly to hide just how flustered Brittany's comment had made her. Brittany laughed loudly and nuzzled her nose against Santana's, leaving a few soft kisses to her lips to get Santana to smile; which she did, bashfully. "Let's get up, I don't want Andy seeing you in your bra and panties," Santana chuckled, lifting her body and allowing Brittany to move beneath her into a sitting position on the booth seat.

Santana watched, with a small pout, as Brittany pulled on her clothes and covered milky skin and marks that Santana had made the night before. "Don't look so sad, didn't I tell you not to wait so long next time? I'm sure you'll be seeing me naked again soon, San," Brittany teased.

Brown eyes widened as she looked up into Brittany's shining blue eyes and she opened and closed her mouth a few times, before settling on just a small smile. Brittany tilted her head to the side, watching with amusement as Santana silently scrambled to collect her own clothing and fumbled as she pulled it onto her body. Santana inhaled and ran a hand through her hair, hoping to tame it and not look as rough under Brittany's curious eyes, and she let out a deep sigh. Santana didn't want her alone time with Brittany to end, she didn't want to leave Brittany and wonder what the night meant to her, because to Santana, last night meant everything.

She paused and met Brittany's gaze. "Go on a date with me?" Santana blurted out, her eyes dipping to those soft lips, that were pulled into a knowing smirk.

"What?" Brittany asked quietly. Santana knew that Brittany heard her clearly, but decided to repeat her question anyway.

"Brittany..." She started, her hands reaching out to lace with Brittany's, "I really, really, like you. Please go out on a date with me?"

Brittany kneeled on the end of the seat in front of Santana, and pulled her closer by their joined hands. "I would love to go out on a date with you, Santana," Brittany smiled softly and brought Santana's hands behind her to hold her in a hug before untangling her own fingers and lifting her arms to wrap tightly around Santana's shoulders. The embrace was intimate, and they both seemed to melt together in all of the right places, and Santana thought that she had never fit more perfectly against somebody else's body.

She nuzzled her face into Brittany's neck, leaving a soft and delicate trail of kisses to the exposed skin on Brittany's shoulder and collarbone; she couldn't believe this was happening, that she could finally do that whenever she wanted to.

Santana had finally accepted that she was different; she accepted that she didn't want any boy, that she didn't want to kiss them or date them. Santana wanted all of that with Brittany, and she had slowly learnt to love that part of herself. She loved how Brittany made her feel- she loved how Brittany listened to her, she loved how gentle and patient Brittany was with her, and how she could talk to her about everything. Santana knew, as she pulled back from the tight and warm embrace to look into Brittany's beautiful blue eyes, that she didn't have to keep all of her feelings for the blonde locked in any longer; even if that meant crumbling all of her walls right down to the ground. Because in reality, Brittany had them all crumbled from the moment she had very first met her.