The cold weather continued to roll in overnight, and by morning, Santana was curled up into a little ball, her duvet tucked tightly around her form as she burrowed down as far as she could into Brittany's jacket. She had hardly slept, but not even her exhaustion was enough to fight off her body's irritation with the growing cold. Cursing herself for her aversion to weather forecasts, she eventually forced herself out of tepid sanctuary of her bed and into the hall to turn on the heater, figuring she could at least give Quinn a chance at getting some restful sleep.
After starting a pot of coffee and returning upstairs, Santana padded across her bedroom to retrieve a warmer set of clothes, the previous night having left her desperately longing for a bath. The woman undressed and moved to step into the shower once the bathroom door closed behind her. Just before she managed to do so, however, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Instantly straightening her stance, Santana moved to stand in front of her reflection as she took a long hard look at the familiar form, her eyes unable to leave the marred skin that was left after all of the emergency procedures and surgeries that came as a result of a secondary infection she experienced following her breast augmentation. Sucking air into her lungs, she forced herself to release a slow, shaky exhale as she continued to take in the woman she saw before her.
Santana had never been much of a fan of mirror therapy, but she supposed that was kind of the whole point. Despite it being the absolute last thing she ever wanted to do, she still forced herself to do it from time to time at the behest of her therapist, who claimed that she would eventually learn to not recoil every time she caught sight of the scars if she actually allowed herself to get used to them marking her once unblemished skin.
After another long moment of eying herself, the brunette released a breath she didn't know she had been holding and tore her gaze away from the mirror so she could slip into the shower. As soon as the hot water hit her skin, she heaved a sigh of relief at finally escaping the cold temperature of her home and her own discomfort with herself. As she stood under the shower head, Santana allowed the water to stream across her body and down the drain as she thought back to the texts Quinn had sent the previous night after she had locked herself in her bedroom.
From Quinn: Please don't overthink this, S. She likes you. Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?
From Quinn: Can we just talk about this?
From Quinn: Hell, we don't even have to talk. I just want to make sure you're okay.
From Quinn: I'm always here for you if you ever need me. I hope you know that. I love you, San. Please get some rest.
Santana was well aware that she had a tendency for self-imploding, leaving nothing but pain and destruction in her wake. That being said, the brunette had truly been trying her best to turn a new leaf and not shutdown at the first sign of trouble. Her thoughts then shifted to the text she had received from Brittany.
From Brittany: hey san! just made it home. thnk u again for getting tacos with me. i had so much fun 2nite! anyway hope u have a good nite. sweet dreams!
Her mind was suddenly overtaken by flashes of the previous night. Brittany standing up to Nick on her behalf. Brittany holding her in her warm embrace after she had stormed out of the bar, the blonde's jacket wrapped tightly around Santana's form as they clumsily danced in the middle of the parking lot. The other woman taking her out to dinner, their arms occasionally brushing against one another due to their close proximity. Then, the final moments they had shared on the her porch.
Shaking her head, Santana decided to put those thoughts aside for the time being as she moved to turn off the water. Stepping back out of the shower, she was relieved to find the mirror had fogged over due to the steam from the shower, obscuring her form from view. Santana then quickly dried off and changed into the sweatpants and hoodie she had selected. Once dressed, she made her way downstairs to pour a cup of coffee.
She had just finished filling a mug when she heard the soft sound of footsteps behind her, which came just before she felt a pair of arms snake their way around her torso.
"Good morning, San," Quinn hummed out, exhaustion clear in her tone.
Leaning back into her best friend's embrace, Santana replied, "Morning, Q."
"Thank you for turning on the heater. Last night was pretty damn miserable without it."
"You could have gotten up to turn it on at any time. Hell, you were closer to the thermostat than I was."
"I know, but I didn't want to risk losing the warmth I had built up under the covers," Quinn giggled before as she tightened her hold around the woman, asking in a more serious tone, "Are you feeling any better today?"
"I mean, I slept like shit, but other than that, I guess I am."
"Mm," the blonde hummed out in an understanding tone. "You know I love you, right? You're my best friend in the whole world."
"Yeah, and you're mine, too. Cursed to be stuck with me forever."
"I better be," Quinn teased as she released her hold from around the other woman and took a step back to give her some room. "Are you still feeling up to brunch with your mom?"
"I have to be," Santana answered with a glance over her shoulder as she spooned a couple of teaspoons of sugar into the cup. "There's no way she'd let me miss it."
"She would if she knew you had a bad night."
"All the more reason for me to go. No need to have her worrying about me, right?"
"San," Quinn instantly sighed out in a chiding tone.
"I'll be okay, Q. Really," Santana reassured as she opened her fridge to grab a bottle of non-dairy creamer and splashed it into the cup. "I was just tired last night and had a moment of weakness after unintentionally doing something really terrifying. We can't let Mom know about any of that either, okay? She'd get all excited and shit, and I don't want her to get her hopes up."
"You mean you don't want to get your hopes up."
"Two things can be true at the same time," Santana answered as she gave the beverage one final stir and handed the woman the coffee she had been fixing, which contained the amount of sugar and creamer she knew her friend preferred. She then reached back up into the cupboard to retrieve another cup for herself.
"Thanks, San," Quinn told her as she blew at the hot drink in an attempt to cool it off just enough to drink. After taking her first sip, Quinn released a contented hum and stated, "You know, you are never going to beat the allegations if you keep remembering how I like my coffee."
Santana could not help but laugh as she responded, "Please. Anyone who actually knows us is aware that we would never actually work. We are much better off as friends." Once she had her own cup of black coffee, she turned in place before leaning back to rest her lower back against her cabinets. "Plus, you're allegedly straight, right?" Santana joked with a little smirk as she moved to take a sip of coffee.
Quinn rolled her eyes, her tone carrying a little more bite than intended as she snapped, "Not allegedly, asshole. I am."
Realizing she had accidentally touched a nerve, Santana apologized, "Sorry, I swear I didn't actually mean anything by it."
"I know. It's fine. I'm just really tired," Quinn sighed out in a clipped tone as she looked away from her friend. The blonde involuntarily chewed on her bottom lip for a brief moment before moving to set down her half-full mug on the counter and turn toward the stairs, informing the brunette, "I'll be getting ready if you need me."
Santana started to follow after her but quickly decided against it, knowing it was better to just give Quinn her space like the blonde had done for her the night before. Afterall, they each had their own set of internal struggles and traumas that they were dealing with, so if it was space that Quinn needed in that moment, then it was space that Santana was going to give her.
The pair continued to remain quiet up all the way up until they reached the parking lot of the Starlight Diner. Once the car was parked, Santana reached over to stop her friend from exiting the vehicle, saying, "Quinn, I'm sorry for my comment earlier."
"It's alright, S. I know you didn't mean anything by it," the blonde attempted to dismiss with no hint of malice in her tone.
"I still should have just kept my mouth shut when I had the chance."
"I mean, you're not completely wrong, though. Or I guess what I mean to say is that there might be some bearing to your insinuation, even if it was intended to be a joke. Either way, I'm really not ready to broach that subject just yet, okay? It's just better for me to not even think about it until I absolutely have to confront it, which is hopefully not anytime soon."
Catching onto what her friend was trying to tell her, Santana quickly answered, "Understood. I promise to not bringing it up again. Just know that I will always be here if you ever want to talk about it. If anyone were to understand, you know it'd be me."
"I know you would, and thank you. Let's just not worry about any of that right now, okay? I just want to have a good meal with my two favorite people and to enjoy the rest of my time in Lima before having to return to Yale." The blonde then reached across the center console to pat her friend's forearm, silently letting her know that everything was okay between the two of them as she stated, "Now, let's get inside before your mom gets upset for keeping her waiting."
The pair then exited the vehicle, jackets bundled tightly around them as they quickly made their way over to the entrance of the restaurant. Maribel had already texted their group chat to inform them that she had managed to snag their favorite booth, so they quickly moved past the front desk and toward the back of the establishment where they knew they would find Santana's mother. Surely enough, they found the woman looking out the large window with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. Maribel had just moved to take another sip when she spotted the two making their final approach toward the table from out of the corner of her eye. Removing the cup from her lips, a bright smile overtook her face as she shuffled out of the booth and wrapped Quinn up into a warm hug.
"Hi, Honey. It is so, so good to see you," Maribel cooed excitedly as she rocked Quinn from side to side. She then released the woman to hold her at an arm's length so she could get a good look at her. Gently carding her fingers through the bottom of blonde's short hair, the older woman added, "Aw, I didn't know you got a new haircut."
"Yeah, I decided to switch it up a bit."
Sending the woman a sincere grin, Maribel reassured, "It looks wonderful, Quinn! This style really suits you."
"Hey, I'm right here, too, you know," Santana grumbled from behind her friend, her arms crossed over her chest in mock annoyance.
"Aw, Santanita. Don't be jealous," Maribel teasingly chided as she moved passed the blonde to pull her daughter into an exaggerated hug, gently rocking the woman from side-to-side. "You know I love you, too," she chuckled as she leaned back slightly to a good look at her daughter's face, her eyes widening in surprise at what she found. "Sweetheart, you look exhausted."
"Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night, but I'll catch a nap when I get home," Santana replied as she pulled away from the woman and motioned back towards their table, adding, "Now, let's get seated before we get in the waitstaff's way."
Sliding into the booth, Santana found two additional mugs of coffee placed across from where Maribel was seated. Santana quickly figured that they must have been placed there right before their arrival judging by the steam steadily rising up from the warm liquid. While her mother and best friend continued to catch up with one another, the younger brunette took a sip of the hot beverage, savoring its taste as she spotted her phone light up. Reaching over, she tapped the screen and found a new text notification.
From Brittany: morning, san!
Santana did not even try to fight the smile that pulled at her lips at the sight of the woman's message. Unlocking her phone, she navigated to her messaging app and typed out a reply.
To Brittany: Good morning, Britt-Britt. How are you today?
"Uh-oh, she must be talking to Brittany," Maribel suddenly teased, effectively drawing her daughter's focus away from the device.
Looking up, Santana found the two other women peering over in her direction with knowing grins. "No, I'm not," she attempted to convince them otherwise.
"Please. You are a terrible liar, Santana," Maribel refuted. "Plus, you have your Brittany look written all over your face."
"What Brittany look?"
"She's talking about your heart-eyes," Quinn supplied. "You might as well not even try to deny it. Your facial expressions give you away every time."
Huffing out a sigh, she decided to give up the rouse with an exaggerated eyeroll as she answered, "Fine, I'm talking to her, but please don't tease me about it."
"We won't, Honey," Maribel assured as she moved to open her menu. "I'm just happy to see you two getting along so well."
"Oh, just wait until you find out about last night," Quinn quietly muttered under her breath just loud enough for Santana to hear, earning the blonde a swift kick under the table. Thankfully, the brunette's mother was too focused on scanning through the brunch specials to notice their antics. Spotting her phone light up with another text notification, Santana ignored her friend's pained groan and picked up the device once more to read Brittany's response.
From Brittany: pretty good. cant complain. wut r u up to today?
To Brittany: Quinn and I are out to brunch with my mom before Quinn leaves to go to Beth's birthday party. No plans other than that. What about you?
From Brittany: a few employees and i r over at the shop setting up christmas decorations. u r more than welcome to join if u get bored while quinn is at the party
To Brittany: I would actually love to, but Quinn will be taking my car. I'll be pretty much stuck at my house for the rest of the day.
From Brittany: if u really want to come hang, then don't let that stop u. i'd be more than happy to come pick u up if u wanna hang. or if quinn drops u off, then i can always bring u home after. no pressure, obvi. jus wanted to put it out there.
Santana was about to respond when she suddenly spotted Tina making her way over to their table with a bright grin and a hot pot of coffee. "Good morning, you two," Tina greeted Santana and Quinn as she topped off each of their mugs. "What can I get started for everyone?"
Realizing she had not even glanced at the menu, Santana motioned for her mother and Quinn to order first so she could quickly scan through her options before settling on a simple two egg breakfast platter. Once Tina left to place their orders in the kitchen, Santana shot off a quick text to Brittany to tell her that she'd ask Quinn to bring her by the shop on her way to Shelby's house. Just as she was setting her phone back down on the tabletop, she spotted her mother looking over in her direction, seeming to have remembered something.
"Oh, Santana. I've been meaning to ask, but can you ask Brittany if she would be willing to help us sell your abuelo's truck? Alma called me yesterday to let me know that she is finally ready to let it go."
Giving a nod of her head, Santana answered, "Yeah, I can talk to Britt about it. I don't want to outright ask for her help since she already has enough on her plate, but I can see if she can maybe give us a price range of what she thinks the truck is worth based on some pictures or something."
"Of course. Be sure to also tell her that we'll obviously pay her for her time and expertise."
"I'm pretty sure she won't take you up on it, but I'll let her know you offered," Santana answered, which her mother accepted with a nod as she took another sip of coffee.
It was not long before Tina returned with hot plates of food, and the three instantly dug into their respective meals once they were placed before them. As Maribel started cutting into her syrup-covered French toast, she glanced over to Quinn and asked, "So, how is New Haven?"
"It's alright. I think I am ready to finally be home, though."
Santana snapped her gaze over to her friend, the bite she was preparing to take still hanging in the air as Maribel's cutlery clamored a bit against her ceramic plate. None of the women had discussed what Quinn's plans were after she graduated from law school. Both Santana and Maribel had always hoped that the blonde would return to Ohio once she earned her degree, but they also understood that Lima held just as many bad memories for her as it did good ones.
After a brief pause to fully comprehend what Quinn had implied, Maribel cautiously asked, "Wait, really?"
"I mean, yeah," Quinn answered as she glanced between the two women, her tone making it sound like it should have been obvious that she would be returning to her hometown. "Despite not being exactly thrilled to be near my parents again, I do really miss my adoptive family."
A broad grin quickly spread across Maribel's lips at the news as she excitedly replied, "I am so happy to hear that, Quinn. I know I can speak for both of us when I say that we have missed your presence in our lives."
"Yeah, I've really missed you both, too," Quinn reassured as she glanced between the two Lopez women. "I know I am still a ways away from graduating, but I hope it'll be okay for me to continue my work as an underwriter once I finish up my degree. I've already received a couple of offers to join local law firms, but I don't think I'll be quite ready to hang up my hat at Lopez Marketing after I'm done with school."
"Of course, Quinn. You will always have a job with us for as long as you want and in any capacity you need."
"Okay, good. I really do enjoy being able to help out where I can."
"And we love being able to work with you, Honey," Maribel responded with a bright smile as she moves to return to her meal. Suddenly, a loud crack of thunder caused the three women to jump in surprise. Their attention was quickly drawn outside as rain began to splatter against the window, steadily picking up as the storm continued to roll in.
"Was it supposed to rain today?" Santana absentmindedly asked, causing her mother to snap her gaze over to look at her.
"Santana, I beg you. Please start checking the weather. Yes, it is forecasted to pour today. It wasn't supposed to come in until afterwhile, but I guess it decided to arrive early," Maribel responded as she flagged Tina down and asked for the check.
Once Tina returned with the receipt in hand, Maribel quickly snatched it up before her daughter had a chance to foot the bill. Laughing at her mother's antics, Santana finished the bite of hashbrowns she had just taken and turned her attention to the waitress to ask, "Are you ready for the photoshoot at Pierce Automotive on Tuesday?"
"Yeah, I'm actually pretty excited," Tina replied with a broad grin. "It's been a while since I've done a Christmas-themed shoot."
"Well, it looks like you might have even more to work with by then. A bunch of them are apparently up there right now decorating the shop."
"Oh? And you know this because?" Tina inquired with a sly glint in her eyes.
Rolling her eyes, Santana easily assumed, "You already knew, didn't you?"
"Yeah, Mike let me know he was headed over there about an hour ago. What's your excuse?" the server challenged with a knowing smirk.
"She's been texting Brittany all morning," Quinn cut in when Santana did not immediately provide a response, mirth dancing in her eyes as she shared a look with the waitress.
Tina did not appear the least bit surprised at the news, but her excitement was still tangible as she drawled out, "Aw, that's really cute."
"Ugh, whatever," Santana sighed out as she looked over at her mother, who had long since finished with the check and was now watching the scene between friends unfold in front of her. "Are we good to go?"
"Yes, Sweetheart. We can go," Maribel assured, figuring that her daughter had been messed with enough for one morning. Sliding out of the booth, she stood up and waited for Santana and Quinn to tell Tina goodbye before they all headed back to the front of the restaurant.
It was still steadily raining when they reached the entryway of the diner. Sharing their own goodbyes under the outside awning, Santana handed her keys over to Quinn so they could start making their way to her car while Maribel took off jogging in the other direction. The two friends quickly barreled into the vehicle a few moments later, and Quinn quickly turned it on so they could start warming up. Once they had made it out of the diner's parking lot, Santana spoke up again, telling the blonde, "Take a left up here."
Quinn glanced over the woman with a confused look, inquiring, "Why? That's not the direction of your house."
"Yeah, but it's the direction of Pierce Automotive."
A shit-eating grin suddenly spread across her friends face as she flipped on her blinker and started taking the turn as instructed, teasing, "Oo, going to see your girlfriend?"
"She's not my damn girlfriend, Q," Santana groaned as she typed out a text to let Brittany know she was on her way.
"But you are going to see her, right?"
"I mean, yeah. There wouldn't really be much of a reason for me to go to the shop on a Sunday if she wasn't there," Santana replied as her phone lit up with Brittany's response.
From Brittany: Do you have an umbrella? It's pouring over here.
To Brittany: Nah, but I'll be fine. I'll just run in once I'm there.
"So, you are just going to go hang out while everyone decorates the shop?" Quinn continued.
Pressing Send on her message, Santana drew her attention away from her phone to answer, "Yeah, she invited me to join them if I got bored."
"And naturally you cleared your schedule."
"Like I have anything else to do today," Santana said with a roll of her eyes. Unlocking her phone, she found a new message from the mechanic.
From Brittany: jus stay in the car. ill grab one of the umbrellas we have here and come out to get u
To Brittany: Britt, it's really okay. No need to worry.
From Brittany: how am i supposed to flex my lady knight in shining armor title if u don't let me? srsly, I insist
Santana couldn't help but laugh at Brittany's response, causing her friend to glance inquisitively in her direction before focusing back at the road. A curious smirk pulled at Quinn's lips as she inquired, "What did Brittany say?"
"Nothing. She's just being silly."
The comment caused the blonde's brow to suddenly furrow. Once she fully came to a stop at the red light in from of them, she glanced over to the woman in the passenger seat and chuckled, "Did Santana Lopez just use the word silly?"
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up while you can," the brunette huffed out in annoyance.
"Hey, I'm just messing with you. I'm glad she makes your soft side come out."
"I don't have a soft side, jerk," Santana grumbled in protest as she folded her hands over her chest and turned to watch the rain coming down outside the passenger window.
"Please. You have always been a big ol' softy for Brittany S. Peirce."
Glancing back over to her friend, Santana released a sigh and relented, "Okay, fine. I can't really dispute that."
"Wow, I think that might be the fastest you have ever given up an argument."
"Oh, shut up," Santana laughed as she dropped her folded arms to lightly shove her friend just as the light turned green.
There was a brief lull in their conversation as Quinn moved to take another turn. Once the started moving straight down one of the side streets that lead to the garage, she added, "I like it, though. I hope she'll be around more to bring that side out of you."
"Alright. Chill, you mushy ass. Stop getting ahead of yourself," Santana playfully warned as she watched Pierce Automotive come into view.
"I'm not any more ahead of myself as you are, Miss Chin-Cheek Kiss."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say," Santana chuckled as her friend pulled as close as she could to the shop's front doors. "Have a good time at Beth's party, okay?"
"Will do. Hope you have fun, as well," Quinn replied right as she looked over Santana's right shoulder, her grin unexpectedly widening as she caught sight of something happening just behind the brunette.
Following her friend's gaze, Santana found Brittany sprinting through the rain with an umbrella in hand. Before she could do anything else, Brittany was opening the door while holding the barrier over Santana's car to block the rain. The downpour was suddenly all Santana could hear. Rain droplets rhythmically thumped against the material of the umbrella as Brittany called out, "Hey, San!" Dipping down a bit to look at the driver side of the vehicle, the blonde gave a little wave as she greeted, "Hi, Quinn!"
"Hey, Brittany. Don't keep her out too late, okay? She's got a curfew."
"Will do, Ms. Fabray!" Brittany joked with a little salute of her empty hand before holding it out toward Santana for her to grab. Santana quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and allowed the woman to help her up out of the cab before shutting the door behind her. The pair then briskly raced toward the garage's front door, all the while doing their best to stay under the cover of the umbrella.
They both burst into the shop's main lobby a few seconds later in a fit of giggles, catching the attention of all the nearby employees. Closing the umbrella, Brittany moved to return it to the stand located just behind the front desk with a giddy grin. Once she was back at the marketing associate's side, Brittany seemed to finally get a good look at the woman, her expressing taking on an abrupt look of concern.
"Yeah, I know. I look like shit," Santana confirmed, internally questioning how bad she must look for her to get so many stark reactions.
Carefully tucking a rogue strand of hair behind the brunette's ear, Brittany corrected, "No, you just look really, really tired. Did you not sleep well?"
"Not really."
"I hope it wasn't-" Brittany started before cutting herself off, appearing to have thought better than to just casually speak to the woman. Apprehensively biting her lip, the blonde carefully around to make sure everyone had returned to decorating and were no longer focused on watching them before leaning in at step closer to gently ask, "Was it because of what happened last night?"
"No, Britt. Don't worry. It wasn't that," Santana quietly assured despite her knowing the statement was more of a half-truth. The brunette could acknowledge that what happened between the taco stand and her front porch had played a part in her downward spiral the previous evening, but it had truly been her own deep-seated insecurities in conjunction with the biting cold that had kept her up the night before.
Brittany did not seem fully convinced by her answer, but the blonde still elected to drop the matter in the end as she noted, "I wish I had known you hadn't slept well before inviting you over. I hope you didn't feel obligated to come."
Taking a step closer, Santana reached out to link the woman's pinky in hers and swore, "Don't worry, B. I want to be here. I promise."
"Would you like to take a nap?" Brittany questioned as she lightly rocked their joined hands back and forth a bit. "The couch in my office is perfect for midday naps."
"Hm, maybe later," Santana hummed out, unable to stop her lips from pulling into a little smile pulling at the care and thoughtfulness the other woman always showed her. Giving Brittany's little finger one last squeeze, she released her hold so she could prop her hands up on her hips, asking, "Now, where should I get started?"
"Actually, I was hoping you could come help me with something."
"Oh?" Santana questioned in surprise.
"Yeah, follow me," Brittany said as she led her over to the left side of the room where an empty artificial tree stood. "Want to decorate the tree?"
"Yeah, I would love to."
"Awesome," Brittany replied giddily as she reached down to grab a string of multi-colored lights and handed them over to the other woman. "By the way, you and your mother are invited to the Fourth-Annual Pierce Automotive Holiday Party Extravaganza. We are planning to have it the third Saturday in December. I don't know if Quinn will be in town, but she is also more than welcome to join if she is."
"Unfortunately, she won't be back until right before Christmas, but I think my mother and I should be able to attend," Santana commented as she began to string the lights around the bottom of the tree, her answer resulting in Brittany happily bouncing on the balls of her feet.
With a beaming grin, Brittany replied, "I'm so excited now. Christmas is my favorite time of year, and this one is already shaping up to be a really good one."
"Yeah, I think you might be right," Santana agreed as she chanced a sideways glance up at the other woman, which was instantly met by sparkling blue eyes. The breath she had been taking unexpectedly got lodged within her throat. Breaking their gaze, Santana quickly looked down and the lights in her hands as she self-consciously sucked in her lips. She felt her cheeks heat up as Brittany sidled up beside her, the blonde leaning over to gently press into her side to silently let her know the feeling was mutual before rising back up to put a comfortable distance between them once more.
After they were done lighting up the tree, Brittany knelt down to open a large storage container and reveal an assortment of ornaments.
"Wow, that's quite the collection you have there," Santana commented as she peered over to view them.
"Yeah, we have one for every member of the staff and anyone we consider to be part of the Pierce Automotive extended family, which reminds me," Brittany began as she stood back up and made her way over behind the shop's front counter. She then quickly returned with two unopened boxes and held one out for the brunette to take. "Here, this one is yours."
Gingerly grasping the package in her hand, Santana glanced back up to the blonde with a questioning look, asking, "Mine?"
"Of course! How could we have a Christmas tree full of ornaments for our most important people and not include you and your mom?"
"I-Thank you so much, Brittany. That really means a lot."
"It's nothing compared to everything you have done for us. Now, go ahead and open the box so you can pick out a spot for it."
Doing as the woman instructed, she carefully peeled back the seal of the cardboard packaging and pulled out a flat stained-glass ornament that depicted something Santana was not quite expecting. Looking up to the mechanic, she asked, "An angel?"
"Yeah, I wanted to find something meaningful, and every time I think of you, I can't help but think if Heaven. Angel wings also remind me of you, so this one just seemed perfect."
"You know, I think you might be the only person to ever make that association," Santana replied with a slightly confused but bashful grin as she glanced up to look at the tree. "Where do you think I should put it?"
"Well," Brittany began as she reached down into the large plastic tote to retrieve a porcelain ornament of a cat playing with jingle bells and eagerly hopped over to the tree to hang it near the top, "I always place mine there, so I think yours should be pretty close. That is, unless you think it'd look better somewhere else."
"No, I think you're right," Santana agreed as she moved toward the tree. Reaching up, she carefully threaded her ornament onto a nearby branch as she commented, "I think mine would look best right about here."
"That's perfect, San," Brittany softly cooed, her eyes shining even brighter than before. "Do you want to hang up your mom's, too?" After opening the box to unveil another stained-glass ornament of a slightly different angel, the blonde explained, "I don't really know your mom as well as I do you, but I figured that the woman who raised someone as awesome as you would probably be best represented by an angel, too."
"Well, she does have the patience of a saint and has managed to put up with all of my shit without killing me, so I think you might be right. But honestly, she's going to love it, Britt. Here, let me send a picture to her now," Santana replied as she moved to hang it up near hers before slipping her phone out of her coat pocket to snap a picture of all three ornaments. Once she had successfully texted a copy of the photo to her mother with a brief explanation of what Brittany had told her, she locked the phone and turned her attention back to decorating.
By the time they were done with the tree, almost everyone else had left. The only lingering employees that remained were Burt, Dave, Mike, and Allie. The two women moved to assist the four workers in putting up lights is the garage portion of the shop, and before long, their work was done.
Brushing her hands together as soon as the last decoration was in place, Brittany noted, "Thank you all so much for your help today. Everything looks perfect."
"Of course, Britt! It was fun," Mike commented as he pulled out his phone to check the time. "Oh, I need to go get dinner in the oven so it can be ready by the time Tina gets home from her shift," the man stated as he moved to retrieve his jacket from the coat rack located in the back corner of the garage. Once it was slipped around his frame, he headed towards the front doors, calling over his shoulder, "I'll see you all tomorrow. Good night!"
"Yeah, I better take off, too, so I can get home to help Kurt decorate the apartment," Dave added, grabbing his own coat that had been thrown over a shop chair. After waving goodbye to everyone, the ex-football player turned to follow the same path Mike had taken to leave.
Once they were gone, Brittany glanced over at Allie to ask, "Are you still wanting to review for your final exam?"
"Actually, I was going to stay to help Al study," Burt informed. Noticing a look of protest forming on his boss' face, he reassured, "It's really okay, Britt. I know you've been excited to show off your office, so why don't you take Santana up to see it while we get started down here."
"Are you sure?" Brittany says as she looks between the pair.
Allie immediately gave the blonde with a firm nod as Burt insisted, "Yes, we've already talked about it. You got started super early this morning, so go relax for a bit. I've got everything covered."
Turning to the woman standing beside her, Brittany motioned in the direction of her office to silently ask Santana if she wanted to see it. After receiving a nod of approval from the brunette, Brittany relented, "Alright, we will be upstairs if you need us."
"Sounds good. I'll let you know if we finish before you return," the chief mechanic called out from behind the two women as they made their way through the main lobby and up the stairs.
Santana could not help but release a quiet gasp as soon as Brittany opened her wreath-adorned office door, which revealed twinkling pre-lit garland that hung around the windows and gently illuminated an otherwise dark room. Another ornamented Christmas tree also stood tall in the corner of the office, which also assisted in lighting up the room in order to show off all of the holiday decorations that had been placed around the space. There were wrapped gifts placed under the tree and rows of stockings hung on the front edge of Brittany's festoon lined desk. As Santana continued to peer around at all the other decorations, she picked up on the sound of holiday music softly weaving its way through the room as it drifted out from the wireless speaker that was stationed near the tree.
The brunette could not help but think about how cozy it all looked. Suddenly, Santana noticed the mechanic walk over to start shoving at her desk. Stepping further into the office, she asked, "Um, Britt? What are you doing?"
"I'm moving this out of the way," she easily replied as she used the felt sliders under the desk to easily move the desk off to the side of the room. Brittany then moved toward the couch lining the far wall and pushed it over to take the desk's place in front of the window.
Once the furniture had been adjusted to the woman's liking, Brittany looked over her shoulder and patted the back of the couch as if she was trying to entice the woman to take a seat. "Here, come sit down while I go make a cup of hot chocolate. Would you like one?"
Although she was typically not one for sweets, Santana was unable to tell Brittany no when the other woman looked over at her with excitement in her bright blue eyes. Nodding her head, Santana quickly answered, "Sure, Britt-Britt. I would love a cup."
"Awesome! I'll be right back," the blonde assured as she paced back across the room to fetch their drinks. Walking around the perimeter of the couch, Santana peered outside the rain-smattered window as she took a seat atop the cushions. It was not until that moment that Santana noticed exactly how late it had gotten as she noted that just the slightest hint of light remained due to the sun setting just behind the trees.
Time always seemed to pass too quickly when she was around Brittany. Santana could not help but wonder if there would ever be an instance when would feel like she had spent enough time with the mechanic. Judging by her long-term infatuation with the woman, the brunette concluded that she would probably never get sick of being in Brittany S. Pierce's presence.
As she continued to sit in front of the large windows, she realized how cold the room was as she slipped a little deeper into her coat. Thankfully, she did not have to wait long for Brittany to return with two hot mugs of cocoa held carefully in her hands.
Walking around her end of the couch, Brittany caught sight of the cold brunette and quickly handed her their cups. "Sorry, I forgot to get these set up before I left," the mechanic apologized as she knelt down to turn on a nearby space heater. She then padded to the other end of the room to retrieve another one, explaining, "It's really hard to keep it warm up here without portable heaters since it's a metal building. It also doesn't help that this top portion catches the most wind." Once the second heater was plugged in, Brittany made sure both heaters were angled in their direction before taking her seat, adding, "You are more than welcome to kick your feet up on the couch, by the way."
"My feet are too cold to take my shoes off right now. I don't want to get your couch dirty," Santana explained as she handed one of the mugs to the blonde, taking a careful sip from her cup to savor its warmth.
"This is just a shop couch, San. Don't let your shoes stop you from getting comfortable," Brittany laughed out in a reassuring tone as she reached her free hand to grab a thick blanket that had been draped over the back of the couch. Holding it out to the woman beside her, she reiterated, "Feel free to do whatever you want in order to get comfortable. Don't worry about any of the logistics."
Knowing she now had a blanket, Santana quickly moved to kick off her shoes and tucked the fabric tightly around herself as Brittany moved to further adjust the heaters, making sure that their oscillations were primarily pointed in Santana's direction.
"Britt, now you are barely getting any of the heat," Santana protested.
"It's okay. I'm hot, remember?" the blonde teased, referencing back to Santana's words the night before.
Giving the woman a playful eyeroll, Santana lifted the right side of the blanket and patted the empty space beside her, "Come here, goofy. You may be a lady knight, but that doesn't mean you should suffer out in the cold."
Santana watched as a shy grin pulled at the mechanics lips as she carefully scooted across the cushions to fill the offered spot. Once they were comfortable, the pair easily started up a conversation about the shop and the success that they were seeing with the tutorials Brittany had filmed. Eventually, Santana found her back comfortably resting against a throw pillow that was braced by the high arms of the couch, her freezing toes tucked under the blonde's warm thigh as they continued to talk about the upcoming photoshoot they had was scheduled with Tina.
After moving on to their personal holiday plans, Brittany realized Santana's legs were still cold and gently moved to pull Santana's legs across her lap.
"Hey, you don't have to do that. I'll survive."
"San, you always take care of everyone else. Let me take care of you for a little bit, okay?" Brittany plead as she tucked her end of the blanket tightly around the other woman's feet.
Santana felt her cheeks warm at the comment, her heart thumping in her chest as she conceded, "O-okay. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Brittany whispered out as she gently rubbed her right hand along the side of the other woman's calf in an attempt to further warm her extremities.
Suddenly feeling her eyelids start to become heavy, Santana tiredly admitted, "I need to come clean about something, Britt."
"Oh?"
"I wasn't telling the whole truth earlier about yesterday. It did play a tiny part in me not being able to sleep, but it's not in the way you might think. I'm sorry lied. I just didn't want to give you the wrong idea."
"It's okay, San, I know," Brittany quietly responded as she continued her soothing menstruations. "I also know that you seem to have your own stuff going on, and that's okay. I don't mind waiting."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with slow," Brittany reassured as she continued to lightly trace her fingertips up and down the woman's legs.
"Hm, 'mkay. Good," Santana tiredly hummed out as she sunk a little deeper into her seat, her eyelids suddenly feeling very heavy as the sound of rain against the window and metal roof continued to lull her to sleep. Unable to fight the pull any longer, Santana grumbled, "You brought me up here to nap, didn't you?"
"I plead the fifth," Brittany chuckled, adding, "Get some rest, San. I'll be here when you wake up."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
A long while later, the sound of Santana's phone vibrating caused her to stir. Unsure of where the device was located, the brunette began blindly feeling around to no avail. Releasing a sigh, the woman allowed her eyes to squint open so the dim glow of the twinkling Christmas lights could aid her in her search. Sitting up slightly so she could feel around a bit more, Santana accidentally jostled the sleeping blonde whose arms were gently folded over her legs.
"Mm, y'u 'kay?" Brittany tiredly slurred after being suddenly woken up.
"Yeah. Sorry, Britt," Santana apologized as she finally fished out her phone from between the cushions just as it stopped buzzing.
"S'okay. What time is it?" Brittany yawned as she pulled her arms up over her head to stretch, tilting her head to the side in hopes of relieving the stiffness that had developed in her neck and shoulders.
Tapping the screen of the device, she released a gasp as soon as she saw the time. Immediately feeling more awake, she shifted her legs off Brittany's lap and informed, "Shit, it's eleven-thirty." It was then that she noticed the missed calls and texts from Quinn, which she assumed were due to her having not returned home. Quickly unlocking the device, she quickly typed out a message to let her friend know she was okay.
To Quinn: Hey, sorry I didn't answer. We fell asleep.
From Quinn: Oh?!
From Quinn: Did the taco talk actually become more metaphorical?
To Quinn: Q, please. You know we aren't anywhere near that yet.
From Quinn: Yeah, I know, but how else you would have fallen asleep at a damn auto shop?
To Quinn: She has a couch in her office. We were talking and dozed off. NBD.
"Guess we're late for curfew, huh?" Brittany groggily joked as she slid her sleepy blue eyes open to focus on the brunette beside her.
"Yeah. Good thing I don't actually have to answer to her."
"Yeah, that's true," Brittany laughed as she continued to watch on with a dazed expression. "I'm still sorry I didn't wake you up sooner. I don't even know when I fell asleep."
"It's fine. Burt did say you got here early this morning, so it sounds like we were both due for a nap."
"Yeah," Brittany hummed out. "Just give me a minute to wake up a bit more, and I'll drive you home."
Santana's phone lit up with a new message. Looking at the notification she found a response from her friend.
From Quinn: NBD, my ass.
Choosing to ignore the text, Santana leaned into Brittany's side. Allowing a content smile to grace her lips, she rested her head against the woman's shoulder and stated, "Take your time, Britt-Britt. There's no rush."
Thank you so much for reading this chapter of Wild Hope! I had a lot of fun writing this one, as you might be able to tell by the 8,000 word count. That being said, I hope you also enjoyed it just as much. As always, I'd really appreciate to hear any feedback you have (as long as it is constructive), and I hope to see you again next chapter, which will hopefully be written and ready to post within the next couple of weeks if everything goes to plan.