For the rest of what remained of that summer after senior year, Santana tried everything possible to distract Brittany and make her happy. She was dreading the end of summer and what it would mean for them.

She wanted to make up for lost time as well, for all of those years when they weren't out in public as a couple the way they should have been.

So she took her girlfriend on a million dates and Brittany went with the Lopez family on their annual trip to Puerto Rico as she sometimes did, this time as Santana's official girlfriend, who she was comfortable showing off openly. Brittany was so delighted whenever Santana would hold her hand or kiss her in public.

Santana knew something was still bothering the blonde a lot even after the pregnancy talk but she wasn't telling her. Anytime Santana tried to mention anything about the storks, or ask about how Brittany felt about her next year of school, her girlfriend would change the subject or go quiet. Santana didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable by pushing the subject and she was too distracted by her own college preparation to focus on anything else.

Brittany didn't want to say or do anything that would bring the mood down for them even if she felt very confused and lost. Not when Santana and her family were this excited about their daughter going off to college in Louisville. The Lopez family were very proud of Santana both for being in the Glee Club, who had just won Nationals, and for getting into college. What Santana didn't realize was how devastated and insecure Brittany secretly felt about not being smart enough to pass the school year, even though she made jokes of it and pretended it was no big deal. The more Brittany deflected or didn't mention that it was an issue for her, the more Santana would play along, assuming this wasn't so much of a problem to her girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Santana was secretly terrified of all of the major whirlwind changes that were coming up but she didn't want to let Brittany or her parents down, or make them think she wasn't strong enough to handle something like going to college alone in another state. She needed to be strong enough for both of them to be able to do this and be successful.

They had just been back home for a weekend after returning from the Puerto Rico trip and Brittany had been spending time with Santana, helping her shop for some college supplies, which turned into a personal clothes shopping trip for the two of them instead and then they went out to lunch together for dim sum, turning it into a romantic date.

Santana planned to sleep at her girlfriend's house for the night, just as they had done a million times before but that night felt different.

When Santana walked into Brittany's bedroom later that night after dinner with the Pierce parents and her girlfriend, she swore she caught Brittany dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. The darker-haired girl's face fell and she immediately moved toward her in confusion and concern, wrapping her arms around the girl. Brittany's eyes widened, clearly not expecting her girlfriend to walk in on her at that moment.

"Britt, are you okay? Were you crying just now?" Santana asked in a soft voice, as she glanced over to make sure the door was locked. She couldn't even bear the thought of Brittany crying like that alone in her bedroom. She assumed everything had been going well that day after seeing the blonde laughing and smiling with her so easily earlier.

"Don't worry about me, Silly," Brittany didn't quite look her in the eye, her smile a little too wide and her voice a little too strained as she tried to act like her bubbly self. "I'm just a little tired after all the fun we had today."

Santana opened her mouth to argue that she knew her girlfriend better than that but then Brittany was pushing the curves of her body up against Santana's slim frame and covering her mouth with hers. She couldn't really think of anything else when Brittany's tongue was in her mouth and she was guiding Santana's hands up to her breasts.

"Although, there is something else I really want to do with you, though, right now, that will be even more fun."

Brittany had a mischievous smile and a twinkle in her eye when they separated, both breathing hard.

"Oh yeah?" Santana waggled her eyebrows, smirking and pushed Brittany down into the mattress, spreading her legs apart then grinding her hips against hers a little insistently and making her intentions obvious. She was so beyond turned on after spending so much time touching and kissing her girlfriend for the last few days and watching Brittany strut around in a tiny bikini without being able to do much about it since her mother or another relative always seemed to be around to interrupt them. Santana's voice was low and husky against her ear. "Is that so? What a coincidence, I was thinking the same thing, so I hope you're not too sleepy. Should I get that thing you like so much from your drawer and ravage you, right here, just the way you like it?"

Santana really wanted her girlfriend and everytime Brittany so much as innocently brushed up against her skin during the past day, she felt like she was practically buzzing with arousal and now it seemed like Brittany was just as ready. The fairer girl's cheeks turned pink and she seemed conflicted for a moment, whimpering softly as she pushed her hips up into Santana's downward thrusts.

"You're really hot but that's not quite what I meant," Brittany laughed through a small moan, as Santana kept kissing her neck and then nipping it in an attempt to distract her. She pushed her hand against her shoulder to get her girlfriend's attention with a high-pitched whine. Santana groaned in frustration, practically squeezing her own thighs together. "Santana, wait just a little. At least, not until after we do this one thing first, to make it feel even better when we do it."

"What do you mean?"

Santana was perplexed as Brittany walked calmly over to her cupboard once her girlfriend had reluctantly released her but relieved that the blonde seemed back to her bubbly, perky self after the sad mood she had seen her girlfriend in recently when she skipped back over to the bed.

Instead of a sex toy of some kind or lingerie, Brittany took out a pink book that Santana had never seen before. It looked like a witch's grimoire but the cover was so bright in that colour and each page had sketches of rainbows and hearts, along with Brittany's signature loopy writing in colourful shades, so it wasn't quite as intimidating.

"That's cute but do you really want us to be reading your diary right now?"

Santana swore she could practically hear the sexually frustrated edge in her own voice and it would be embarrassing at any other time but she was past the point of caring as she whined to her girlfriend. Brittany giggled when she saw her facial expression and heard her tone of voice.

"There's this spell I read about that can keep us together forever. It's like, the most special soulmate spell ever."

"Huh? Soulmate? A soulmate spell?"

"Yeah. I found it online. Everyone says it really works. It'll keep us bonded together forever and make our love even stronger."

Santana blinked several times, trying to figure out what Brittany was getting at with all of this magic stuff. Her girlfriend could be pretty quirky and out there with some of her ideas but she was so adorable.

Santana had never really thought too highly about the concept of soulmates. She always considered the concept kind of silly and unrealistic. Soulmates seemed like they were only for little girls' fantasies. Part of her was cynical because she thought that since she was gay, she'd never be able to find or be with a soulmate but then she'd started dating Brittany and all of a sudden the idea didn't seem as impossible. Brittany made the fantasy seem so fun.

The taller blonde smiled gently at her confused face and gestured to her girlfriend to sit cross-legged opposite her on the bed. She leaned in, gently kissing the perplexed scowl off of Santana's face and using her fingertips to smooth away the furrow between her brows.

"I know you're confused. You might not believe in magic or soulmates but I just know you're my soulmate. I've always felt that way, you know. Even before we started dating officially."

Another part of Santana was touched, melting at how romantic the idea was and her heart began to beat faster as her stomach fluttered. Now that Brittany put the idea in her head, she was overwhelmed. Brittany thought of her as her soulmate. It was too good to be true.

"Aw, Britt."

"It's true. I know you are."

Still, Santana knew her girlfriend was superstitious about all kinds of things and she didn't want to make her think magic was what made them so good for each other after they had worked so hard to be together.

"It's really cute, Britt and I love that you're passionate about this but you know we don't really need to depend on a magic spell to make our relationship work, though. I think we can manage just fine, like we always have."

"I know," Brittany sighed, "It's just, the world - the future - is so scary sometimes and everything's changing so much right now. I just wish I could… protect that special thing we have together."

Santana wrapped her arm around Brittany's shoulders, noticing the nervous look on her face. She completely understood what Brittany meant about being anxious about what the future held in store for them. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin Brittany's fantasy and there was nothing wrong with the girl believing in spells or soulmates if that made her happy.

"I'll be honest, I've never really thought about being someone's soulmate but if they do exist, I really want you to be mine."

"Really?"

"I couldn't imagine anyone else being my true soulmate. Lucky for me, I have the prettiest one of all."

Brittany laughed softly and put her hands on Santana's cheeks, kissing her deeply. Santana reciprocated, getting a little carried away as their lips moved together and trying to pull her girlfriend into her lap.

They both knew this would probably be their last time being intimate with each other before Santana had to leave. It was obvious neither of them were fully at peace with everything but both were trying to maintain their composure and be strong for the other.

Santana was worried and sad, both about the state her girlfriend had been in lately and about her move to college but at Brittany's words, she couldn't help but smile. She couldn't help but think about what an amazing distraction Brittany's spell idea was and how it was the perfect way to comfort both of them, just for a little while.

Besides, no one would ever know they were doing this.

"You know what? You really are a little genius. We'll do the spell together, if it makes you feel better. I just want you to be happy, Britt."

Brittany beamed at her as the darker-haired girl did everything she instructed from then on, without argument. She felt a little nervous when the blonde lit candles all around the room. They stood facing each other in the dim light as Brittany placed a hand on Santana's left side over her heart and her girlfriend did the same to her as they recited what she assumed were loving words to each other. She told her that it was really important that they each focused on their love for each other as they performed the spell, so Santana focused on everything she loved about Brittany and their memories together.

Lord Tubbington appeared out of nowhere, rubbing up against Brittany's legs and brushing against Santana's back, as if he wanted in on the action, then watching them from the corner of the room. Weren't cats drawn to magic or witches or whatever? Santana remembered hearing something about that and it freaked her out a little but she didn't want to hurt Brittany's feelings by telling her she was a little weirded out by everything magical.

The two of them read the spell from the book together and it was actually kind of romantic having this really secret, intimate way of showing their love to each other. Santana felt a little silly, especially reciting some Latin incantation that she didn't even know the meaning of but then she saw the look in Brittany's soft blue eyes that were so glazed over with adoration and that made it feel much more real, rather than just some silly make believe spell.

Santana winced when she had make a cut on her own left palm very lightly with a pocket knife and then watch Brittany cut her own right hand the same way, making a small line down the center so they could press their cut hands together tightly to cast an oath and make a blood pact between them, according to her girlfriend.

Afterward, Brittany pressed her lips against hers to help seal and finish the spell. Something felt deep and sacred about it, as if they were getting married or something and Santana felt nervous but giddy at the thought. They both felt how the energy of the room had changed.

Santana was sure she had to be imagining the way everything seemed to sparkle around them and her girlfriend's beauty was more entrancing than ever, the blue of her eyes more vibrant and shimmering, her pale skin more radiant and her hair an even more gorgeous golden shade. It was as if all she could focus on was Brittany's smiling face and the rest of the world faded away.

"Now there's one last thing we have to do, to make the magic work." Brittany purred seductively against her lips with a sultry glance, getting Santana to lay on her back and gaze up at her in awe as she straddled her, stripping away all her clothes before she helped her girlfriend do the same. Santana loved those moments when Brittany got on top of her and took control of both of their bodies. She wasn't sure if Brittany was joking or not about the last part of what she said but there was no way Santana was going to argue with that when a sexy woman was on top of her and she suddenly was very much aware of that throbbing heat between her legs.

Santana had never felt more turned on in her life, shivering when Brittany finally stripped away the last remaining piece of fabric and she knew she was indescribably wet, that familiar heaviness and heat curling lower in her stomach. Brittany noticed the state of her arousal, giving her a sexy sideways smirk and then proceeded to kiss the breath out of her.

She wasn't sure if she was imagining it but every touch felt sweeter, every kiss between them just a little more passionate and heated that night as they made love so many times, she lost count. She was going to always remember every soft moan and cry she pulled from her lover, the feeling of Brittany clutching her shoulders and the small of her back every time Santana thrusted into the tight warmth deep inside of her. Brittany clung to her, pulling her into a soul searching kiss as if she couldn't get enough of her, constantly caressing her skin and running her hands through dark hair.

"Love you so much." Brittany whimpered against her mouth, a tear sliding down her cheek as she sobbed and Santana kissed her, trying to hold back her own tears.

They were going to be tired the next day but if this was all the time they had left, they didn't want to miss a second of loving each other before they were going to be split apart.

She woke up early as soft light filtered into Brittany's room, shedding a few tears silently the next morning. It was agony to think of having to be physically away from her lover for so long and not knowing when she'd experience this again. She watched her lover's angelic, sleeping face, wanting nothing more than to stay beside her forever.