Translations at end of chapter.

After stepping up into the cab of Brittany's truck, Santana rushed to shut the door behind her in an attempt to escape the brisk night air. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to fight off the cold as a shiver suddenly ran down her spine, causing her shoulders to give an involuntarily shake. Looking over to the driver side, she watched as Brittany reached to slide the key into the ignition so she could start warming up the interior. The other woman then met her gaze, chewing on the inside of her cheek in thought. Santana supposed the blonde must have figured out whatever she was trying work through as Brittany's blue eyes sparked with realization.

"Wait, I think I might have an extra jacket in here!" Brittany stated as she hopped out of the vehicle and opening the back driver side door. After fishing around under the rear bench seat for a few seconds, the blondes face lit up in excitement as she pulled out a mechanic jacket. Holding it out to the woman over the center console, Brittany announced, "Here you go!"

"Oh, are you sure?"

"Of course!" Brittany insisted as she gave the coat a little shake in an attempt to entice the woman into taking it. "It should get you feeling more comfortable in no time."

"Alright. Thanks, Britt," Santana replied as she took the article of clothing from the blonde and began maneuvering it around so she could put it on. The jacket easily slipped around her, and she could not help but smile as she looked down to find it branded with the Peirce Automotive logo right over the left chest pocket. She then looked back up to find Brittany sharing small grin as she moved to lift herself back up into the driver seat, all the while keeping her eyes on the brunette. "Is this your work jacket?" Santana inquired as she pulled the sides of the coat tighter around her frame.

"One of them. I try to keep a few of them everywhere I go so I can always have one handy, if necessary. To be honest, I kind of have a habit of misplacing things."

Santana could not help but laugh at the blonde's statement before looking down to absentmindedly trace the tip of her index finger over the stitching of the company's emblem, stating, "I like it."

"Then, that one's yours."

"What? You don't have to do that, Britt," the brunette stated as she snapped her eyes up to meet the other woman's gaze.

"It's honestly fine, San," Brittany assured with a wave of her hand. "I have a whole box of them back at the shop, so I can just grab a new one on Monday. Plus, you are basically an honorary member of the team now, so it's about time you got some of our swag."

"I-" Santana started to say before thinking better of it. Deciding not to fight Brittany on the matter, she responded, "Thank you, Britt." She immediately knew she had said the right thing as a big beaming smile lit up across the mechanic's face.

"You're welcome! Sorry if it is a little big on you. I usually tend to go a size up with those so I can have a little more range of motion when working. We might have a slightly smaller size lying around the shop somewhere if you would prefer that one."

"No, this one's perfect," Santana said a little too quickly as she wrapped her arms around herself tighter, almost as if she was preparing for Brittany trying to take it from her. This jacket was special. It had been Brittany's until just a few moments prior, after all.

Brittany could not help but laugh at Santana's reaction as she responded, "Okay, then it's yours."

"Cool," Santana murmured shyly as she loosened her hold and looked down to fiddle with the pull of the zipper.

"Yeah, very cool," Brittany chirped out happily in return, watching the woman's antics for another moment longer before moving to shift the truck into reverse. She then reached to place a hand on top of the passenger seat's backrest as she twisted to look behind her and began backing up, all the while glancing between the two rearview mirrors and her back-up camera. The pair then made their way toward the southern part of town, and they eventually found the taco truck in question, which still had a long line despite the late hour.

"Damn, this must be the place to be after a night of drinking."

"Yeah, it's the best. I know the owners, so I sometimes come out here just to hang out," Brittany said as she moved to exit the vehicle with the brunette following her lead. The two women then made their way over toward the line, which moved faster than Santana had expected. Once it was their turn, the man standing behind the register gave the blonde a bright, welcoming grin.

"Hi, Britt!" his deep voice called out as he leaned forward onto the counter with crossed arms. Getting a good look at him, Santana soon realized that the man vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she knew him from.

"Hey, Manny," the blonde replied with a wave before speaking up so the older woman standing in front of the grill could hear her over the sizzling sounds of meat and onions cooking, "Hola, Señora Garcia."

"¡Hola, Brittany!" the woman greeted as she glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the blonde's voice. She then shifted her eyes to the woman standing beside her and gave a friendly smile, "¿Quién es esta linda mujer?"

"Esta es Santana," Brittany replied in Spanish, catching the brunette by surprise. Santana could not help but eye the mechanic with a shocked glance as Señora Garcia continued to speak, drawing her attention back away from the blonde.

"¡Ah! ¿La Santana famosa, eh?" Señora Garcia inquired as her eyes lit up in a way Santana knew all too well, although it was usually pointed in her own direction any time she mentioned Brittany in front of her mother. Santana's brow furrowed out of curiously as she shifted her gaze back and forth between the two women, trying to figure out why Señora Garcia would be sharing that look with Brittany when referring to the marketing associate.

Brittany's expression became visibly strained at the cook's comment. Taking an elongated inhale through her nose, she then slowly released it as if trying to calm herself before requesting, "Señora Garcia, por favor deja de hablar."

"Okey, okey, Brittany. Te dejaré en paz," the cook relented with a cheeky laugh as she prepared to take their order. "¿Qué te gustaría comer?"

"Quisiera dos al pastor y uno barbacoa."

"Si, y Santana?" the woman asked as she looked at Santana expectantly.

Brittany glanced over to her then, seeming to have just realized that there was a chance Santana might not know Spanish. Shooting the blonde a look that told her otherwise, Santana answered, "Me da uno al pastor y uno carnitas, por favor."

Before the exchange had a chance to progress any further, Brittany cut in to add, "Y voy a pagar por ella."

"Britt," Santana groaned out in protest as she cut her gaze over at the blonde, but Brittany made a point to ignore her as she took out her wallet and handed over enough cash to pay for their meals.

"I don't need any change back, Manny."

"Alright. Thanks, Britt. I can bring everything over once they're ready if you want to go have a seat."

"Awesome, thank you!" Brittany replied as she turned to lead Santana over to the nearby picnic tables.

"Thank you for paying, even if I was begrudgingly forced to accepted it," Santana teased as she took a seat at one of the picnic tables set out in front of the stall.

"You're welcome," Brittany singsonged as she swung her legs over the bench to sit beside her, lightly bumping into the woman's side during the process.

"I had no idea you could speak Spanish, by the way."

"Yeah, I actually learned from Señora Garcia and Manny."

"Speaking of Manny, he looks really familiar. Did we go to school with him?"

"He's a few years younger than us, but yeah, he was a freshman during our senior year. His full name is Manuel Garcia, but he prefers to go by Manny."

"Ah, his name doesn't really ring a bell. I must have remembered seeing him in the halls or something," Santana assumed before inquiring, "So, I take it you are close with them?"

"Yeah, the Garcias are our neighbors. Well, technically just my parent's neighbors now since I moved out several years ago. My mom used to work nights at a department store, and dad was always working odd jobs in between helping out where he could at the shop. Because of that, Señora Garcia would pick me up from middle school and let me hang out at their place until my parents got home."

"Oh, yeah. You went to Lima West, right?"

Brittany gave her a curious glance, "Yeah, I did. How did you know that?"

Realizing she had just put her foot in her mouth once again, Santana quickly tried to amend, "Oh, I just remember seeing you during freshman year and not recognizing you. I figured that I would have remembered seeing you around if you had gone to Northside, which left you being either a transplant or simply just from another Lima middle school. Eventually, I found out it was the latter."

"Wow, it's still kind of wild to find out just how much knew about me back then," Brittany said with a slightly stunned look.

Santana instantly kicked herself for not thinking before she spoke as she replied, "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound as weird as it did. I didn't, like, stalk you or anything. I just liked to keep tabs on people back then. You know, learn a little about everyone so I could potentially know what to expect from them."

"Oh, no! I know. I just always figured you barely even knew who I was, so it's interesting to now know that most of my assumptions were completely wrong after all this time."

Suddenly, Manny came walking out and handed them their respective orders as he informed, "Ma threw in an extra taco and some salsa verde to each order. Let us know if either of you need anything else."

"Will do. Thanks, Manny!" Brittany said before turning her attention back to the woman sitting beside her as she worked to unravel her first taco from its foil wrapping.

Realizing this was the perfect chance to get their previous conversation back on the rails before she had the chance to dig herself into an even bigger hole, the brunette inquired, "So, you and Manny are friends?"

"Yeah, he was one of my childhood best friends despite our age difference. Not many people know this, but Manny actually helped me start Fondue For Two. He would help me come up with episode ideas and even filmed the first several episodes until Lord Tubbington could figure out how to work the camera. Lady Tubbington eventually learned camerawork from Lord Tubbington, as well, which allowed me to increase the production value of the show by adding a second camera angle in later seasons." Realizing that she was getting off topic, Brittany redirected her train of thought as she stated, "Anyway, I would occasionally film little end segments where Manny would try to teach me Spanish. It actually ended up helping out a lot because I was then able to communicate with Señora Garcia better. Eventually, I realized that I had developed a pretty big Latino following for Fondue For Two, which resulted in the segment eventually splitting off to create Fondue For Two's sister show, Queso Por Dos. By that point, I was pretty good at conversational Spanish, so the new show allowed for more long-form speaking that helped me continue to progress my language skills."

"Woah! I guess I must have started tuning in after the split. I never even knew about Queso Por Dos."

"Well, it was picked up by Univision not long after that, so- Hold on, you actually watched Fondue For Two?"

"Oh! I, um-" Santana sputtered as she internally scolded herself for once again giving herself away. She then quickly decided to just blame it on the alcohol, not wanting to actually admit that she was incapable of keeping her guard up around Brittany. "Y-yeah, I did. I caught pretty much every episode after I found out it was a thing."

"Dang, I wish I had known. You would have been the most awesomest guest ever."

"I mean, who knows? Maybe it's not too late to bring it back."

"You think?"

"Of course, Britt! You're a unicorn with a knack for creating her own magic. You can literally do anything you put your mind to. Plus, I'm sure your amazing fanbase would love to see the grand return of Fondue For Two. I know I certainly would."

"Well, we'll see. I have a lot going on with the shop right now, but maybe one day I can bring it back with you has my most special first guest."

"I'll definitely be there. Just say when," Santana assured as unwrapped her al pastor taco to drizzle some lime juice and salsa verde on top of it. She then picked it up to take a large bite, instantly letting out a hum of contentment as she commented, "Damn, this is the perfect way to end a night of drinking."

"Yeah, I completely agree."

Giving the woman sitting beside her a little smile, the brunette lightly brushed their arms together and stated, "Thanks again for taking me here, by the way. I probably would have inadvertently brought the mood down if I had tried to stay at the bar after everything Nick said, so I'm glad we could do this instead."

"You're welcome. You looked like you needed some cheering up, and Señora Garcia always says her food can brighten anyone's day."

"Well, her claim remains true. I'm feeling better already," Santana assured as she moved to take another bite, all the while noting the blonde watching her out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, San."

"Yeah, Britt?"

"I would never force you to talk about anything you didn't want to, but if you ever need to talk about something, I hope you know that I'm always here to listen."

"Thanks, Britt-Britt. Honestly, his comments aren't really worth repeating. He basically just regurgitated every little insecurity I've ever had in one fell swoop, but it's nothing I haven't heard before. I'll get over it," Santana replied with a shrug before catching Brittany give a look she couldn't read. "What?"

"Nothing," Brittany responded a little too quickly.

"Hey, it's okay. You can talk to me, too."

"Well, I have just kind of noticed that you tend to speak down about yourself a lot while trying to play it off as a joke, but-" Brittany bit her lip, as if thinking over if she should speak her thoughts out loud. Deciding to continue, she stated, "It never reaches your eyes. You might be able to hide it well for everyone else, but I can see it. They just, I don't know how to describe it. They just sort of dim. It's like all the light leaves you, but you still try to act like it doesn't bother you so no one else has to worry. Well, except for maybe Quinn and Rachel, who seem to know more than anyone else about what's really going on in your head."

Nervous as to what exactly Brittany had seen, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"I kind of noticed them looking at one another a lot after that comment about you and Rachel's time at NYU. Then, they kept checking up on you before you redirected their attention back to having fun."

"Oh, you were able to pick up on all that?" the brunette questioned as she began to worry that she had let on more than she had intended back at the bar.

Brittany seemingly became self-conscious then as she tried to clarify, "I just happened to catch it while sitting across from you three. I think I was the only one who noticed, though. It didn't seem like anyone else thought it was anything more than an offhand remark."

"Okay, good," Santana sighed out in relief. At least it was hopefully just Brittany who had seen. "I do have a pretty bad habit of doing that, though. You know, talking down about myself and such. I have really tried to work on it, but it's kind of hard get out of that mindset when most of the people around me have eventually let me down or treated me like some sort of consolation prize."

The mere thought of someone doing that to Santana seemed to irk the blonde as she made the other woman look at her square in the eyes and declared, "The absolute last thing you are is a consolation prize, Santana Lopez. You are the damn jackpot, and anyone who deserves to have the absolute privilege of having you in their life will show up for you whenever you need them. Proudly so."

"I really appreciate you saying that, Britt, but I'm not really that special. Very far from it, actually."

"Not in my eyes, you're not. To me, you are pretty much the best person ever. You were the one that defended me when the other popular kids shoved me into lockers, and you would always guide me into the nearest bathroom to help wash the slushies out of my hair and eyes whenever one of the football players threw them at me. You always went out of your way to help take care of me when you absolutely did not have to."

"But that's completely different, Britt. I did all those things because I loved yo-" Santana asserted as she unintentionally allowed her words to get away from her. She unfortunately was not able to cut herself off in time as her eyes widened with the realization what she had just said. Shit. Santana felt Brittany go rigid beside her, and Santana didn't dare look up to meet her gaze.

"What did you just say?" the blonde quietly inquired with the slightest quiver in her voice.

"N-Nothing. Let's just please move past it."

"I-" Brittany started, almost as if she wanted to say something more, but she seemingly dropped it as soon as she began. Slumping her shoulders forward in defeat, she ceded, "Alright."

The pair quickly finished their meal in silence, and Brittany took a moment to say goodbye to Señora Garcia and Manny before leading the brunette back to the truck. Once back at Santana's house, Brittany shifted the vehicle into park and looked over to Santana, who was absentmindedly staring down at her folded hands, which were lightly resting on top of her lap. Biting her lip, she watched the woman for a minute before gently informing her, "We're here."

The brunette seemed to snap back to the present, shooting her focus up to the woman before looking out the windshield toward her house. "Oh, um, thank you."

"You're welcome," Brittany replied with a softened gaze Santana did not see.

Santana then reached to open the passenger door and slid down toward her paved driveway. She had just begun making her way toward the front door when she heard the sound of another car door shutting behind her. Turning around, she saw Brittany making her way around the truck.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm walking you to your door," Brittany answered before her expression became a little self-conscious, "unless you don't want me to. I just wanted to make sure you got there safely."

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, that's okay," Santana clarified as she turned toward the door. Realizing Brittany did not immediately follow, she turned to ask, "Are you coming?"

"Y-yeah, I am," the blonde responded as she carefully fell into step with her friend.

Once the reached her doorstep, Santana turned to let Brittany know, "Look, I'm sorry about before and for acting weird ever since. I just- You weren't supposed to ever know that."

"Are you ashamed of it or something?"

"What? No, Brittany. Of course not. I just don't want you to think any different of me for having felt that way about you."

"San, that'd be pretty hypothetical of me," Brittany commented before spotting Santana's confused expression. Thinking over her words, she realized she had misspoken and clarified, "I mean, hypocritical."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you ever stop to consider that maybe I felt the same way?"

The brunette's eyes widened in surprise. "You actually liked me back then?"

Unable to hold back the laugh that bubbled up the back of her throat, Brittany sighed out, "Of course I did, Santana. You were the hot head-cheerleader who was never anything but nice to me. You always treated me like a person and did everything you could to protect me. How could I not have a crush on you?"

"Damn it, I can't believe Berry and Quinn were right," Santana grumbled under her breath, knowing she would probably receive an onslaught of I-told-you-so's if the two women ever found out. "Just to be clear, you were the exception. There were still dozens of other people I would terrorize and bully on a day-to-day basis."

"Yeah, but did you do that because you wanted to or because you felt like you had to in order to protect yourself?"

Santana was immediately disarmed by the question as she sucked in a quick breath out of surprise. After pausing for a moment, she then looked up at the other woman to say, "You know, you really are more perceptive than anyone gives you credit for."

"Thank you," Brittany replied with a small smile, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Santana like the woman had hung the moon.

Feeling unprepared to be the subject of the blonde's unfettered gaze, Santana leaned in as she quietly noted, "And thank you again for this evening." Before she could second guess herself, the brunette rocked up onto the balls of her feet as she leaned up to kiss just below Brittany's cheek. The woman stayed close as she lowered herself back to her normal stance. Realizing what she had just done, she instantly got nervous as she continued, "Okay. Well, I'm going to go ahead and let you get home, Britt. Um, have a good night!" Santana told the woman as she moved to open her front door before remembering that she forgot to say something. Looking back at the woman, she added, "Oh, and text me when you get home, please, so I know you made it back safe."

"I, um- Will do. Have a good night, San," Brittany said in a dazed tone, clearly stunned as she reached up to touch the spot that was previously occupied by the other woman's lips, but Santana never got the chance to catch the motion as she scrambled in through the doorway and closed the door behind her, pressing her back against the door once it was fully shut once more. Exhaling a long breath, she pressed a hand to her chest as she did her best to try to calm her heart, which was thumping rapidly in her chest.

"Are you okay?" Quinn's voice called out, causing Santana to give a little yelp in surprise as she snapped her eyes up to find the woman sitting on her couch with a book and a glass of wine.

"Holy shit, Q. You just scared the hell out of me."

"Please, you were already scared shitless. Now, what the hell is going on?"

"I just kissed Brittany. Well, kind of."

"What? How do you kind of kiss someone?"

"I'm mean, like, I didn't kiss her kiss her, but like- I gave her a cheek kiss. Or would that be considered a chin kiss?" Taking a moment to think about it, Santana looked over at Quinn as she pointed at the spot in question. "What is this little space between your chin and cheek? It wasn't really the corner of her mouth, but-"

"Santana, is this really what you want to be focusing on right now?"

Snapping back to the matter at hand, Santana continued, "Oh, um, no. Anyway, I sort of kissed her, but I- I don't know. I mean, I never let myself even consider the possibility of her liking me back. Hell, I actively denied it anytime someone would even try to insinuate that it might be true. My head is still trying to catch up, but I guess Brittany apparently has more feelings for me than I previously thought?"

"Oh, you guess?"

"Yeah. Well, at least she did back in high school. We kind of spoke in past tense," Santana replied as she nervously chewed at the inside of her mouth as she thought over everything that had happened since leaving the bar. As she details continued to replay in her head, she felt her shoulders become more and more tense as reality set in. "But I mean, this still can't go much further even if she still does like me, right?"

Quinn instantly dropped her teasing grin as her brows knit together in confusion, asking, "What in the world are you talking about, Santana?"

"I don't know, Quinn. This was never supposed to happen," Santana admitted. "I mean, realistically, where would this even go? Britt and I get to know each other better, we start dating, and then what? This is a dead-end road. I mean, it's not like I can ever let her see me," Santana tried to explain as she blanched at the thought. Suddenly feeling increasingly self-conscious, she crossed her arms over her chest, Brittany's jacket bunching around her as she ducked down into it slightly. Nick's earlier remarks suddenly repeated in her head as her eyes began to prick with tears. Rushing to blink them away, she explained, "I-It's not pretty. The surgery left a lot of scarring because of that fucking quack of a doctor, and- I just can't let her see me like this. I don't know what I'd ever do if she reacted poorly."

"You know Brittany isn't like that, Santana. She's not going to think differently of you if she sees."

"You never know. She might," Santana replied as she allowed her walls to be thrown back up. Steeling herself against the onslaught of memories regarding all of her past failures and letdowns, Santana quietly said, "Anyway, it's getting pretty late, so I'm going to head to bed. Have a good night, Q."

"San? Santana, wait!" Quinn attempted to call out as she watched her friend turn and pace up the stairs, but the woman was already gone. The last thing she heard from the woman was the sound of her bedroom door closing behind her.

Thank you all so much again for taking the time to read this story. I had no intention of being back this soon with another chapter, but this one kind of wrote itself. That being said, I know this chapter was probably a bit of a doozy, especially at the end, but this is all part of the story I have planned. There are still a lot of things about Santana's past that have been hinted at but not yet fully discussed, and she has a lot of pain and feelings that she is still trying to personally work through. Everything will eventually come to light as the story progresses. It'll just take a bit of time to get there.

I also wanted to note that I am not a native Spanish speaker, but I tried my best using my current language comprehension and quite a bit of research to make sure I got as close as I could to the dialogue that I wanted them to have. I will include translations at the end of this closing message in case you weren't sure what was said during that section of the chapter.

Thank you all so much again for all of your thoughts and feedback. It really means a lot to me.

Until next time!

Translations:

"Hola, Señora Garcia." – "Hi, Mrs. Garcia."

"¡Hola, Brittany!" – "Hi, Brittany!"

"¿Quién es esta linda mujer?" – "Who is this pretty woman?"

"Esta es Santana." – "This is Santana."

"¡Ah! ¿La Santana famosa, eh?" – "Ah! The famous Santana, huh?"

"Señora Garcia, por favor deja de hablar." – "Mrs. Garcia, please stop talking."

"Okey, okey, Brittany. Te dejaré en paz." – "Okay, okay, Brittany. I'll leave you alone."

"¿Qué te gustaría comer?" – "What would you like to eat?"

"Quisiera dos al pastor y uno barbacoa." – "I want two al pastor and one barbacoa."

"Si, y Santana?" – "Yes, and Santana?"

"Me da uno al pastor y uno carnitas, por favor." – "I'll take one al pastor and one carnitas, please."

"Y voy a pagar por ella." – "And I'm going pay for her."