Title: Where the Music Matters (part 6)
Title: Where the Music Matters (part 6)
Words: 6.5k
Pairing: Santana/Brittany
Summary: Santana's a DJ, remixer and aspiring record producer who's never made an album of her own. With a new locale, new job, and a certain club owner that won't leave her alone; she's never been so inspired.
A/N: Much love and infinite thanks to abnab and lemasquerade for their beta ninja skills. Any remaining faults are mine. Cross-posted to AO3
previous chapter
The station was doing its annual fundraising drive, trying to get funds to stay running and causing her schedule to get all sorts of tweaked. She and Artie's show had been temporarily moved to the prime afternoon rush-hour spot to drum up more excitement. It sort of messed up Santana's sleep schedule, and they both had to be on their best behavior. Not that she and Artie were prone to explicit content or dropping curse words like Marines, but it took a lot more focus from them to be constantly aware. Especially since they had gotten into a groove with each other and their show.
Having the nights off was a nice little change for her though. Their show was during the prime nightlife hours, so Santana hadn't really had the chance to explore the city she'd been living in. A part of her didn't actually care that much; she had Nemo's and it fit her like a custom tailored suit. Brittany was an added bonus to the experience, like the perfectly matching accessory that she never wanted to be parted from.
Santana scrunched her brow and entered the bar, Brittany wasn't some accessory. Her head's all messed up and she was stressed out from the show. She had spent other nights exploring, but tonight she needed something familiar. As she left the station she had invited Artie to join her at Nemo's to let off steam. He said he had an errand, but would catch up later, which was sort of perfect for Santana. She needed some alone time with her beer and those perfect sweet potato fries. Her mouth started drooling at the thought of those fries. She had practically begged Brittany every time she'd been in for the secret recipe, but Brittany would only smile coyly and shake her head. Maybe now that they were officially dating...
"God, Brittany, you can't just cancel a show at the last minute!"
Santana hears someone yelling from just around the corner.
"We're already having trouble making ends meet because you keep picking up strays to work here. Some of whom like to steal all of the cash from the register, and bottles from the top shelf, and never come back. You canceling a popular band that brings in customers at the last minute is going to fuck us multiple ways!"
"I don't care, Tina!" Brittany said with quiet intensity, "I don't want their kind here. This bar was made with the intention of being a safe place for unicorns and rainbows and I will not allow such racist and homophobic poopieheads to taint my club with their negativity."
"Poopieheads? God, grow up, Brittany, before you drive this --"
"Hey, Goth Asian Barbie, you need to step the fuck back from my girl before I mortally wound you with the razorblades I keep in my hair." Santana couldn't keep herself out of it any longer. No one should talk to Brittany like that ever, especially in her own bar. She didn't care who they were. Santana looked at Brittany to check on her and saw that she was shaking.
"Uh, excuse you bitch, this is a private conversation." Tina snapped her fingers to draw Santana's attention back.
"Yeah, uh, Honey? Newsflash, it's no longer a private conversation when the entire bar can hear you yelling at the owner." Santana stepped forward and got into this Tina’s face. "Now, why don't you go away and calm the fuck down before I can no longer contain the Snix."
Tina had been eyeing Santana skeptically, clearly not planning on budging one bit, until Santana had said 'Snix'. Then her eyes had widened to an almost comical degree. She stepped away from Santana.
"You're right." Tina nodded at Santana then looked at Brittany, "I'm sorry, Britt. I shouldn't have been talking to you like that. I just let the stress get to me. I'll just go count stock and calm down."
"I didn't need you to step in, you know." Brittany's voice was flat, devoid of any emotion and it physically pained Santana to hear it. Santana turned around and met Brittany's intense gaze. She gulped; she hadn't been thinking and just stomped her way into Brittany's business.
"Shit, Brittany, I'm sorry. Of course I know you can handle your own." Santana's gaze pleaded with Brittany, "I don't know what happened, I just heard her talking -- yelling at you like that and I snapped."
"You're adorable." Brittany's lip twitched in an attempt to smile, "...And really hot when you're being all protective, like a mama tiger."
Santana blinked, "What?"
"I didn't need you to step in," Brittany stepped closer to Santana and wrapped her arms around Santana's waist. "I'm glad that you did. It's been a long time since someone stepped up to defend me."
"You're the boss, Britt. They've got to listen to you."
"That wasn't how I wanted you to meet her." Brittany gave Santana a quick kiss on the lips before she stepped away and took Santana's hand. Brittany started to lead Santana in the direction of the main bar area. "Tina is actually my best friend and business manager."
"Friends shouldn't talk to each other like that, B." Santana squeezed their hands.
"Well, to be fair, I did kind of fuck us over with tonight's band situation." Brittany shrugged. They reached the bar and Brittany pulled out a stool for Santana to sit on.
"No one should talk to you like that, Brittany. I don't care what you may or may not have done." Santana knew she'd said worse and often, but it just didn't seem right to Santana for someone to talk to Brittany like that.
"She's the 'T', you know." Brittany winked and left Santana and walked around the bar. She took her time, making sure to put in Santana's usual order and filled a pint glass. Brittany placed it down on one of the bar's custom made coasters. Santana stood on one of the stool's footrests and leaned over the bar to give Brittany a kiss.
"Thanks, Britt." Santana said as she sat back down, "The 'T' in what? No, you know what, never mind. You can tell me later. What's up with your band situation?" Santana took a sip of her beer. She'd swear that she'd never had brews as delicious as the ones they served at Nemo’s.
"There was just this band that somehow got booked 'The Screaming Sticks of Rick'." Brittany rolled her eyes, "I noticed that they somehow got on calendar for tonight. Usually it's only Tina and I who book gigs. We're totally picky about the type of bands that play here, but I guess one of my 'strays'," Brittany made quotation marks with her fingers and rolled her eyes, "tried to help their friend's band out or something."
"Here's your fries 'Tana." Puck, the always shirtless bartender with a mohawk -- whom Santana had bonded with over taste in beers -- placed the bucket of sweet potato fries in front of her on the bar.
"Thanks, man." Santana smiled and quickly popped a fry into her mouth. Brittany merely stood there and watched Santana as if she were a puppy learning how to walk or something. Santana rolled her eyes and swallowed, "He one of your strays?"
"Yeah, he's a good one." Brittany smiled fondly over at Puck, who was currently giving a group of young men down the bar a gun show. Santana couldn't help but chuckle at his antics. "Actually, all of the kids that are here now are good ones. As Tina pointed out earlier, my 'strays' were mostly unreliable. I actually stopped hiring them, for the time being at least." Brittany winked. "Unique was the last one, actually. But I hadn't been paying that close of attention to the calendar 'cause it's always been Tina and I booking. I only caught the weird ass band name because I couldn't remember what day it was. Days are sometimes confusing, especially when your radio station goes into money mode and switches everything up."
Santana placed her hand on top of Brittany's, which had been tearing up a napkin into tiny bits.
"Britt, hey, it's going to be okay. Those fuckers don't deserve to be on that stage. It's just one night."
"Maybe, yeah, but --" Brittany sighed, bit her lip and looked at Santana with wide and watering eyes, "The main reason Tina was upset is because one of the 'strays' I hired was a total pirate!"
"Pirate?" Santana's brow furrowed. Brittany nodded.
"He pretended to be all nice and vulnerable and helpful, but Jessie totally made a scheme and stole nearly all of our profits for the year, before Tina figured it out what was happening."
"That scum sucking asshole! I know people Britt," Santana nodded earnestly. "I can find him and have him taken care of."
"Oh, no, I don't want to risk taking him in again." Brittany shook her head. Santana didn't have the heart to clear up the confusion. "We're well, this night of loss will set us back a lot, but if we can get a couple of huge events in -- we'll be able to break even and not have to worry for a couple of months. I just need to make sure not to try and help out any more strangers."
"Hey, I'm a stranger." Santana winked, trying to bring a smile back to Brittany's face.
"No, Santana, you're anything but." Brittany's smile was lopsided.
"I want to -- no. I need to help you with this, Britt." Santana straightened up on her stool and clapped her hands. She felt her heart skip a beat at the way that Brittany suddenly looked at her. "So, there's got to be, like, a million bands in this city just itching to play your stage."
"The last thing I need is fleas in here." Brittany pouted.
"No, Britt, I meant really excited." Santana smiled softly at Brittany, before she stood up, leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss. "I really love the way your mind works bab--rrritt!" Santana plopped back down on her stool and coughed, but not without noticing how Brittany's cheeks and ears had taken on a reddish hue.
"There might be, but we've got a really strong, like rhino strong, choosing process that we just don't have the time for right now. I mean, there's only an hour left before they're supposed to go on." Brittany shook her head and pouted.
"Oh." Santana tapped the bar with her fingers, trying to think of a solution. She brought her almost empty pint glass up to her lips, "Well, what about your besties band?" Santana swallowed. "Your other bestie. What were they called again? Something preppy..." Santana scrunched her brow, "The Loafers?"
"First off, I'm totally telling Blaine what you just called his band," Brittany laughed, "and B, I can't 'cause Blaine has his Masters in Music Theory thesis due tomorrow morning and the band is kinda lame without the sockless wonder." Brittany leaned over and whispered, "Don't tell Sam I said that. Also, don't tell Blaine I called him that." She raised her index finger to her lips and winked. Santana laughed. "Actually, Santana..." Brittany bit her lip, "God, I can't believe I'm about to ask you this."
"What is it?" Santana leaned forward.
"Just know that I know this is a huge thing to ask of you..." Brittany bit her lip and tensed her body, “Will you please perform tonight?”
“Oh.” Santana blinked. She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised by the request. Now that it was out there and rumbling around her head she didn’t know why she hadn’t just offered in the first place.
“If it’s too soon to ask for favors like that, I totally understand.” Brittany ripped at the bar napkin. “I promise you mean more to me than your music, okay? There are no ulterior motives; you can ask any of my friends, heck anyone in this bar. Even Lord Tubbington will tell you, and he likes to embarrass me.”
“Brittany, calm down okay.” Santana had walked around the end of the bar and turned Brittany around to finally get her attention. “If I was going to freak out about you being one of my biggest fans, I would’ve done so by now. I thought we moved past that already. C’mon Britt.” Santana took hold of Brittany’s hand, “At the very least you’re a special friend who I’d gladly do a simple favor for.” She brought Brittany’s hand up to her lips and kissed it, “But Brittany, you’re so much more than that. You shouldn’t have even needed to ask, and I’m the slow ass bonehead who forgot she had anything to offer.”
“Really?” Brittany blinked, she looked timid, as if she thought Santana would take it back.
“Of course. Artie was on his way over anyway, we’ll give ‘em a taste of what this Snixx is all about.”
“Awesome!” Brittany cheered with a huge grin and crushed Santana to her in a hug, “It better only be a taste,” Brittany said as she pulled away, “because I’m in for all seven courses and plan on devouring every inch.”
Santana gulped and started coughing.
“Oops.” Brittany giggled and stepped away. She took hold of Santana’s hand and led Santana towards the backstage area. Santana noticed Brittany nod to a now calm Tina as they walked past. Santana received a lopsided smile from her, one that Santana returned.
Santana wasn’t actually sorry for having yelled at Tina like that. It was really unprofessional for one thing, and Santana didn’t like the tone. Not towards Brittany. She understood pressure though, and how it can mess with people. Santana will give Tina a second chance; she is one of Brittany’s best friend’s after all. She needed to plan for the long run. She also needed to figure out a plan for the evening’s events.
Santana pulled her phone out of her bra and sent Artie a quick text letting him know that he’d need to get his Fiddy on when he got to the club. She received a reply almost instantly of “fo sho” that caused her to snort.
“Here we are.” Brittany smiled. She had led Santana to their soundboard. It was quite impressive to Santana, though she wasn’t too surprised. With Nemo’s reputation, it only made sense for them to have the ends to accomplish any auditory means. They could have some fun with this. She’d fill Fiddy in when he got there.
“Hey, Britt, I’ve got an idea. You mind if I invite Books to this lil party?”
“Go ahead.” Brittany raised an amused eyebrow, and Santana called Rachel.
“Hey Books, you busy?”
“Santana, when are you going to learn that my last name isn’t bookstore? I merely own one.”
“Come to Nemo's.” Santana shook her head with an amused grin.
“Why? I might be busy, Santana.”
“If you were, you wouldn’t have lectured me on your last name not being Berry, Books.” Santana grinned; she had to admit to a particular fondness when it came to verbal games with Rachel.
“Fine… hey, wait a minute!”
“Just come to Nemo's, Books. I need your voice and I’ll let you promo your show that’s opening up on 5th Avenue.” Santana paused, before adding, “But not if you talk too much.”
“You want my voice and are going to let me promote my show? Who are you and what have you done with Santana?”
“Listen, Rachel, just get down here, we have to be on in less than an hour. Do your vocal prep on the way, and don’t worry, there won’t be anything too intense.” Santana hung up her phone and rolled her eyes, then said to Brittany, “Besides being highly annoying while you’re trying to read, she’s a fucking awesome trip to talk to.”
“I find her very confusing.” Brittany nodded then stepped into Santana’s personal space. She placed her hands on Santana’s hips, “But I don’t find you confusing.”
“Oh, really?” Santana smirked and started to play with one of the buttons on Brittany’s vest.
“Mmhmm. It means a lot that you’re doing this for me, especially on short notice.” Brittany licked her lips and looked at Santana’s, “I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
“I’m sure you could think of something,” Santana rasped, enjoying their flirtatious banter.
“Oh, I’ve definitely got something in mind.” Brittany focused her gaze on Santana’s eyes and bit her lip.
“Brittany!” Santana gasped and pretended to be scandalized by the implications, “We haven’t even been on our third date yet!” Santana put her hand on her chest and noticed Brittany’s amused demeanor, “What do you take me for, some scarlet hussy?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking about.” Brittany leaned in and lightly nipped Santana’s ear lobe. “Homemade fro-yo isn’t that scandalous,” Brittany whispered and ran her nose along the edge of Santana’s ear. Santana let out a breathless chuckle.
“My bad, Britt, assuming naughty things about you,” Santana whispered.
“Nothing naughty about fro-yo, except for the part where I was going to let my abs be your dish.” Brittany bit Santana’s lobe again before she pulled away, “But if it’s too soon for you, I can totally just give you free beer and sweet potato fries.”
“Oh it’s like that, huh?” Santana visibly shivered.
“Kinda, yeah.” Brittany shrugged.
“You should’ve waited until after my set to tease me, B.”
“Really?” Brittany’s brow furrowed in confusion, “Why’s that?”
“Because it is so on like Donkey Kong.” Santana winked before leaning up for a heated kiss.
“Awesome!” Brittany grinned as Santana pulled away, “You taste like Narnia.”
Santana stepped away, she needed to focus. She couldn’t mess tonight up, not only because it would be a perfect test run for her upcoming gig, but Brittany was depending on her. Santana couldn’t let her down, “Britt, could you call Holly and let her know what’s going on? How Fiddy and I are doing a surprise gig at Nemos? Maybe it’ll draw in some more people for you. I’ve got to get my set up on or I’d do it myself.”
“Not a problem, Honey Bee.” Brittany winked.
“You’re gonna ruin me for all other girls, aren’t you.” Santana shook her head.
“Santana,” Brittany pinned Santana with her eyes and spoke earnestly, “if you wanted other girls, you wouldn’t have given in so easily. Now you’re mine, and I’m not good with sharing.”
“Then I suppose it’s a good thing that I haven’t even been able to look at anyone else since I met you.”
“It’s not your fault I’m perfect.” Brittany wiggled her eyebrows.
“Totally,” Santana laughed. “Now, go and call Holly, and get her to mention Rachel Berry.” Santana shrugged. It couldn’t hurt to appeal to the potential theatre crowd, and free publicity for Rachel’s show on the radio seemed like the perfect thank you. Brittany nodded and turned to walk away when Santana remembered something else, “Uh, Britt, any possible way you could get me a black tanktop and maybe some shorts?” Santana gestured at her body, “I’ve kinda got a thing and it’s not performing in skin tight dresses, no matter how bangin’ my body is.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve already got Tina on it.” Brittany winked. She started to walk away again, but turned around and walked backwards. "And Santana? With all the time you've spent in this bar, we're clearly closer to, like, the hundredth date."
---+---
Nemo’s was packed and the crowd hyped. The energy that filled the room was amazing. Santana had never felt this energized from one of her shows before. She could see the awe on Rachel and Artie’s faces, she was sure that hers held a similar expression. The crowd barely needed any buildup when they started their set. The audience, which had Nemo’s nearly full at the beginning of the show, had let out a huge euphoric cheer at the first drop. Santana was so surprised by the immediate response that she had looked up, wide-eyed, at Artie who seemed just as shocked. He had instantly recovered and a giant grin erupted on his face. Santana let out a boisterous laugh that he had no chance of hearing against the waves of music pulsating against the crowd.
They had a little pow-wow backstage before they went on. It was mostly for Rachel’s benefit, having never done something like this before. Santana had an idea, since she didn’t want to spoil the show she had planned for the next week; she thought to do a special edition of their FiddySnixx show with live vocals provided by Rachel. The idea was to bring a bit of Broadway to the club. Santana figured since Nemo’s was known for hosting music from a multitude of genres, and listeners of their radio station were as well, that it wouldn’t be too much of a risk to mix the two genres and have people like it. She just never thought that they would be as responsive to it as they were. Rachel had actually been the biggest risk. Santana knew that Artie would be able to handle the mixing on the spot since it was a regular occurrence for them, but Rachel would need to be able to improvise the songs on the go and deviate accordingly.
Santana had heard from other people at the station how talented Rachel was on stage. Santana knew some stage actors back in New York and Los Angeles, it was touch and go with who was able to improvise or not. However, the best ones were always able to handle any situation and Santana assumed Rachel was one of them. It was a huge risk, but Santana’s glad she took it and the way Rachel smiled implied that she felt the same.
It was a risk that had paid off almost immediately it seemed. It was easy to tell that the club was filled to capacity. In fact the doors were open to allow the people who couldn’t get in an opportunity to hear the music and dance in the streets. That was the beauty of having a club in an industrial part of town, no one to call in noise ordinance complaints. Santana had lost all sense of time, the combination of live experimentation of her music (and the fact that it worked) with the crowd’s adoration made her feel like she was floating and could keep on mixing forever.
She felt a soft and warm hand on the skin of her back. Tina took the term tanktop loosely and provided Santana with a top that was Book sized that barely covered her breasts. Whatever, Santana knew she had nothing to worry about in the looks department; at least Tina managed to find a black top so she could have some consistency. Santana turned her head to see whose hand was touching the small of her back to find Brittany staring at her. Santana took in her sweat dampened and flushed skin, and the way that Brittany was clearly trying to fight her body from dancing. Santana turned to look at Artie, who must’ve seen Brittany come up on stage behind Santana; he nodded to indicate that he’d take over. Santana set her headphones down and leaned back into Brittany.
“Its past closing time, we’ve kept the cops off of our asses as best we could. They’ve been real nice letting us have our doors open, but we really need to close things down.” Brittany spoke into Santana’s ear. Santana felt her body break out into goosebumps even though it was hot up on the stage, she couldn’t prevent the shiver that happened at the feel of Brittany’s teeth lightly scraping across her earlobe. “I know you can go all night, but I’m not sure how much longer I can watch you and not rip your clothes off and take you right here.” Brittany placed a kiss behind Santana’s ear and walked away. Santana wanted to follow; she’d just have to get Brittany back later.
“A’ight you sweaty, sweaty people,” Santana said into the mic after she gestured to Artie that they needed to take it down. “I’ve just been informed by the gorgeous -“
“And taken.” Artie’s voice cut in. Santana didn’t have to look at him to know he had a grin on his face, but she did anyway to send him a glare.
“-club owner that we’ve dun stayed up past our curfew.” Santana looked at the crowd and gave an exaggerated pout. The crowd let out a collective groan. “Now the party don’t have to stop, but ya can’t stay here.”
“Thanks for coming out to our surprise gig.” Artie took over, “If you liked our set, please tune in to our radio show, and if you enjoyed the vocal powerhouse that is Miss Rachel Berry, be sure to see her In Lippa’s The Wild Party as Kate at the 5th Street theatre.”
The audience cheered, Rachel curtseyed and Santana cut off her mic before Rachel could bring it up to her mouth and launch a monologue. Rachel huffed in Santana’s direction once she’d realized there was no sound from her microphone, Santana grinned and winked.
“Honestly, Santana, a true diva needs to properly thank her audience.” Rachel stuck out the mic for Santana to pack up.
“Yeah, and if you want to become that diva you need to know when to just let the crowd worship before you open your mouth and send them away with too many words they don’t understand.” Santana took the mic and put it where it was supposed to go, but turned back to Rachel. “You were amazing out there tonight, Rachel. No, don’t talk.” Santana placed her hand on Rachel’s shoulder, “Not many people are able to freely adjust a song in the moment, especially without preparation. You did me a solid and more importantly, you helped Brittany out. If you ever need me to return the favor, let me know.”
“May I hug you?” Rachel asked with wide eyes.
“Yeah, all right, but the woman that keeps me gets all sorts of jealous, so don’t get handsy. I know you want all up on this.” Santana winked.
“Despite you cheapening the moment,” Rachel said as she hugged Santana, “you don’t owe me a thing, tonight was amazing. Not only did it stimulate my mind, but your selfless promotion of my show was more than enough. I would’ve been fulfilled just by this exercise in improvisational skills.” Rachel let go and looked Santana in the eyes, “Thank you, Santana.”
“Yeah, yeah, get out of here Books.”
Breakdown was a lot easier than set up. The bar was closed and Brittany’s strays had stayed behind to help out, too energized from the evening and not wanting to have to go home yet. Santana couldn’t fight the giant smile on her face. She was excited for her solo show, slightly nervous at the prospect of people being let down from it not being as showy as the one she’d just finished. The way the crowd was instantly into it calmed her fears. They clearly were there knowing that they’d be given a show and weren’t disappointed.
“Hey, so I think you broke our cash registers.” Tina came up to Santana with a grin.
“I was on stage the whole time and cannot be held responsible for any -“ Santana didn’t look up from the cords she tried to wrangle.
“Santana,” Tina laughed, “as in we’ve got too much cash and not enough room.”
“Yeah?” Santana looked up at Tina with a slight smile.
“Yeah, maybe we should just set you up as a resident DJ,” Tina winked. “We’d never have to worry about money again.”
“Yeah, well.” Santana scratched her nose, she didn’t know what to say.
“I really am sorry about before,” Tina stepped closer. “That was the worst possible way for us to meet.”
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, T.” Santana set the last of the cords into their box and closed it.
“Britt and I have already talked, but I need you to know that you caught me in a horrible moment that -“ Tina sighed and ran a hand through her hair, “Listen, no one believes in Brittany as much as I do. I have nothing but love and respect for her, I am grateful for her unorthodox ways and her endless ability to love.”
“It really didn’t sound that way when I walked in.” Santana crossed her arms.
“Yeah, it wasn’t my finest of moments.” Tina shook her head, “I had just found out about the last minute cancellation after having the crappiest of - you know what, there’s no excuse. I took my frustration out on my best friend and in a public area. That’s something I’ve got to make up for, I know that.” Tina looked across the room to Brittany who was putting the last of the cleaned glasses away. “But you, Santana? You were amazing in a way that went above and beyond. You got all up in my grill, defending Brittany’s honor and then put this amazing show together like it wasn’t a big thing.”
“It wasn’t, though.” Santana shrugged.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Tina tilted her head and observed Santana.
“What? I’ve got a somewhat popular radio show and because I not only carry my laptop with me at all times, but also my obscenely huge terabyte flashdrive, I’m pretty much available to throw down some mixes at any time.” Santana shrugged, “I know Fiddy’s the same and he was going to meet me here anyway, so why not have some fun?”
“You honestly don’t know how popular you are.” Tina shook her head in awe.
“I know I’ve got some fans or whatever,” Santana waved off Tina’s comment. “How popular can I be? I haven’t even released an album.”
“You’ve released tracks though.”
“Every once in a while a check comes in, yeah.” Santana shrugged. “I couldn’t live off of them or anything.”
“You sell out all of your shows?” Tina placed her hands on her hips, eyebrows raised.
“I guess so, yeah.” Santana furrowed her brow, “I mean that’s never really been the point.”
“God, you really are perfect for Brittany,” Tina let out a breathless laugh and shook her head,“Do you know how rare it is for a band or performer to sell out a show? Even in a small club? Let alone do it on a regular basis and as an EDM artist?”
“Honestly Tina, I don’t really want to know. That shit might mess with my head. I get that I’m better off than most and I consider myself fortunate to have a following at all, you know. But I do this: I create music because I can’t not make it.” Santana looked away from Tina and around the bar but didn’t see who she was looking for. “Getting to perform the stuff I create and have people like it? That’s just the strawberry sauce on top of the cheesecake.”
“I now know what I want for dessert.” Brittany said from behind Santana and wrapped her arms around Santana’s waist. She looked at Tina, “I told you that she just used to sign up for open nights at random bars back in New York.”
“Britt, I’m all sweaty.” Santana pretended to complain.
“Yeah, so am I.” Brittany shrugged, “What’s a little sweat between girlfriends?”
“Oh, really now?” Santana leaned and turned so that she could look at Brittany and clearly show her amused look and raised eyebrow.
“It’s inevitable Santana, don’t fight it.” Brittany grinned and winked, “The less you fight what you want, the quicker you get to the good stuff.”
“Good stuff?” Santana smirked.
“Mhm.” Brittany nodded, “like strawberry sauce on homemade frozen yogurt.” Santana coughed and Brittany bit the corner of her lip as she patted Santana’s back. She looked at Tina, who was also smirking.
“I told you finding a DJ Snixxy show was like the best treasure hunt ever.”
“That has to be the worst business model ever.”
“You sound like Quinn.” Santana rolled her eyes, she then looked at Brittany, “and you sound like a stalker, babe.”
“I don’t know whether to be happy you called me babe or sad you think I’m a stalker.” Brittany pouted.
“Santana, I can attest that though she’s definitely a big fan of your work, it’s from a genuine non-stalkery place.” Tina nodded for them to start walking towards the door.
“Oh, no, I get that.” Santana squeezed Brittany closer as they followed Tina, “I’ve dealt with my share of stalkers. You can’t fake Brittany.” Santana winked, “I’m the one who booked my gig at Nemo's before anyone knew I was coming. You can’t blame her for taking full of advantage of fate laying a hand.”
“I don’t know anyone named Fate.” Brittany blinked.
“It’s late.” Tina laughed and shook her head, “You go, I’ll lock up.”
“Everything’s ready, that’s why I originally came to get you,” Brittany looked at Santana and blushed, “I just got kinda distracted.”
“It’s cool B.” Tina smiled made a shooing motion with her hands, “Get outta here!”
“Okay, okay!” Brittany laughed. She stepped away from Santana and grabbed her hand. “I’d say you were great tonight, but you’re always great, so.”
“It felt pretty amazing.” Santana ducked her head and followed after Brittany. “Not used to a crowd being instantly into a set, that was a trip.”
“I think I should confess something.” Brittany leaned over the counter and picked up Santana’s things. She handed them to Santana and bit her lip, “When we don’t have a live band performing that night, I kinda just force my customers to listen to FiddySnixx.”
“You aren’t kidding with your sponsor status, are you?” Santana laughed. “I always wondered how you were able to get your little messages through.”
“I might’ve watched the video feed on my breaks,” Brittany shrugged. “We’ve got a lot of music we can pull from in the back, you saw that before the show. It just seemed like the most perfect thing ever to play the show of a dear friend of mine: my future wifey.” Brittany paused at Santana’s flabbergasted expression, “Inevitable, deal with it. Also, obviously not tomorrow, honestly Santana, maybe next month.” Brittany winked and grinned. “It also supports the station for the people who might not know about it and it’s something fresh every night. I mean, I love the music we’ve got in stock, but there are only so many times a person should hear Freebird in a week, Santana.”
“I totally want to mix that into one of our mashup battles now.” Santana grinned and held the door open for Brittany to walk through.
“Thank you.” Brittany kissed Santana on the cheek and walked out. Santana immediately followed. It had rained during the show, the streets illuminated by the streetlights and neon signs of the surrounding area. The crowd from the show had vacated the area and the street appeared deserted. Santana felt like Brittany and her were the only two people on the earth, it was an amazing feeling. Brittany was staring at her, but she couldn’t help the smile on her face or the bounce in her step or the way she had her fingers intertwined with Brittany’s and squeezed.
“What?” Santana tilted her head, smile in place.
“Nothing.” Brittany wasn’t smiling; she just stared at Santana with wide eyes.
“Come on, what is it?” Santana lightly tugged Brittany’s hand. She wasn’t worried about what Brittany had to say, she didn’t look sad or angry.
“You’re radiating.” Brittany licked her lips, “You’re so gorgeous and radiating happiness right now. I feel like I could take you into the deepest darkest of places and you would be my light.”
“Really?” Santana’s smile changed, it became softer and aimed at Brittany. She let go of their hands and wrapped her arms around Brittany.
“Yeah.” Brittany nodded and wrapped her arms around Santana’s neck.
“That’s kind of funny, because I think you’ve been my lighthouse.” Santana brought up a hand to brush some of Brittany’s hair out of her face and behind her ear. “I was lost at sea for so long and couldn’t see dry land. Then suddenly you were there, guiding me in the direction I was meant to travel.”
“Really?” Brittany tried to blink away her tears, but Santana wiped them away with her thumb when they wouldn’t listen.
“Yeah.” Santana nodded and raised up to put her forehead on Brittany’s, who let out a breathless laugh and lowered her head so that Santana could simply stand. “I haven’t felt this alive in such a long time, Britt, and a lot of it has to do with you. I think you unconsciously took me in as one of your strays, even though I didn’t know I needed it, and you helped me remember what I was really trying to say.”
“Santana, you did it all on your own.” Brittany shook her head, “I simply took every opportunity I could to flirt with you.” Santana leaned in and gave Brittany a tender kiss, then pulled away and continued their walk down the sidewalk.
“Well, yes, you did do that.” Santana laughed, “But you were safe. You somehow managed to be ridiculously forward and non-threatening at the same time. I knew I could come to Nemo's anytime I wanted and having a place in a strange new city where I could feel safe when I just didn’t want to be home is beyond helpful. You challenge me in the most random of ways and it’s only helped me grow in my music. I know Artie feels the same way, we’ve had many conversations about it.”
“I've been purposely trying to find a set of songs to stump you two, you know,” Brittany grinned slyly.
“I knew it!” Santana lightly smacked Brittany’s arm, “Well, keep doing it, ‘cause we love it.”
“Like I’d stop.” Brittany scoffed. Santana bumped their shoulders together, then turned around and leaned against her car.
“God, I’m so hyped up right now.”
“It was an amazing show,” Brittany nodded and leaned into Santana’s body.
“You have any plans right now?” Santana played with Brittany’s fingers.
“Well, I did have a date with Mr. Bed planned.” Brittany shrugged.
“Right.” Santana nodded seriously. “Well, I know how serious that date might be, but do you want to postpone it a bit?”
“Hmm, depends.” Brittany leaned in and kissed Santana, “What would I be postponing it for?”
“I’m not nearly as captivating as Mr. Bed, but how about that date I owe you?” Santana looked Brittany in the eye, raised her eyebrows and bit her lip.
“Now?” Brittany laughed.
“Yeah, why not?” Santana shrugged.
“Yeah,” Brittany nodded, “yeah, I’ll just text Lord Tubbington to tell Mr. Bed that I’ll be late.”
“Good.” Santana smiled and squeezed Brittany closer.
next chapter
Words: 6.5k
Pairing: Santana/Brittany
Summary: Santana's a DJ, remixer and aspiring record producer who's never made an album of her own. With a new locale, new job, and a certain club owner that won't leave her alone; she's never been so inspired.
A/N: Much love and infinite thanks to abnab and lemasquerade for their beta ninja skills. Any remaining faults are mine. Cross-posted to AO3
previous chapter
The station was doing its annual fundraising drive, trying to get funds to stay running and causing her schedule to get all sorts of tweaked. She and Artie's show had been temporarily moved to the prime afternoon rush-hour spot to drum up more excitement. It sort of messed up Santana's sleep schedule, and they both had to be on their best behavior. Not that she and Artie were prone to explicit content or dropping curse words like Marines, but it took a lot more focus from them to be constantly aware. Especially since they had gotten into a groove with each other and their show.
Having the nights off was a nice little change for her though. Their show was during the prime nightlife hours, so Santana hadn't really had the chance to explore the city she'd been living in. A part of her didn't actually care that much; she had Nemo's and it fit her like a custom tailored suit. Brittany was an added bonus to the experience, like the perfectly matching accessory that she never wanted to be parted from.
Santana scrunched her brow and entered the bar, Brittany wasn't some accessory. Her head's all messed up and she was stressed out from the show. She had spent other nights exploring, but tonight she needed something familiar. As she left the station she had invited Artie to join her at Nemo's to let off steam. He said he had an errand, but would catch up later, which was sort of perfect for Santana. She needed some alone time with her beer and those perfect sweet potato fries. Her mouth started drooling at the thought of those fries. She had practically begged Brittany every time she'd been in for the secret recipe, but Brittany would only smile coyly and shake her head. Maybe now that they were officially dating...
"God, Brittany, you can't just cancel a show at the last minute!"
Santana hears someone yelling from just around the corner.
"We're already having trouble making ends meet because you keep picking up strays to work here. Some of whom like to steal all of the cash from the register, and bottles from the top shelf, and never come back. You canceling a popular band that brings in customers at the last minute is going to fuck us multiple ways!"
"I don't care, Tina!" Brittany said with quiet intensity, "I don't want their kind here. This bar was made with the intention of being a safe place for unicorns and rainbows and I will not allow such racist and homophobic poopieheads to taint my club with their negativity."
"Poopieheads? God, grow up, Brittany, before you drive this --"
"Hey, Goth Asian Barbie, you need to step the fuck back from my girl before I mortally wound you with the razorblades I keep in my hair." Santana couldn't keep herself out of it any longer. No one should talk to Brittany like that ever, especially in her own bar. She didn't care who they were. Santana looked at Brittany to check on her and saw that she was shaking.
"Uh, excuse you bitch, this is a private conversation." Tina snapped her fingers to draw Santana's attention back.
"Yeah, uh, Honey? Newsflash, it's no longer a private conversation when the entire bar can hear you yelling at the owner." Santana stepped forward and got into this Tina’s face. "Now, why don't you go away and calm the fuck down before I can no longer contain the Snix."
Tina had been eyeing Santana skeptically, clearly not planning on budging one bit, until Santana had said 'Snix'. Then her eyes had widened to an almost comical degree. She stepped away from Santana.
"You're right." Tina nodded at Santana then looked at Brittany, "I'm sorry, Britt. I shouldn't have been talking to you like that. I just let the stress get to me. I'll just go count stock and calm down."
"I didn't need you to step in, you know." Brittany's voice was flat, devoid of any emotion and it physically pained Santana to hear it. Santana turned around and met Brittany's intense gaze. She gulped; she hadn't been thinking and just stomped her way into Brittany's business.
"Shit, Brittany, I'm sorry. Of course I know you can handle your own." Santana's gaze pleaded with Brittany, "I don't know what happened, I just heard her talking -- yelling at you like that and I snapped."
"You're adorable." Brittany's lip twitched in an attempt to smile, "...And really hot when you're being all protective, like a mama tiger."
Santana blinked, "What?"
"I didn't need you to step in," Brittany stepped closer to Santana and wrapped her arms around Santana's waist. "I'm glad that you did. It's been a long time since someone stepped up to defend me."
"You're the boss, Britt. They've got to listen to you."
"That wasn't how I wanted you to meet her." Brittany gave Santana a quick kiss on the lips before she stepped away and took Santana's hand. Brittany started to lead Santana in the direction of the main bar area. "Tina is actually my best friend and business manager."
"Friends shouldn't talk to each other like that, B." Santana squeezed their hands.
"Well, to be fair, I did kind of fuck us over with tonight's band situation." Brittany shrugged. They reached the bar and Brittany pulled out a stool for Santana to sit on.
"No one should talk to you like that, Brittany. I don't care what you may or may not have done." Santana knew she'd said worse and often, but it just didn't seem right to Santana for someone to talk to Brittany like that.
"She's the 'T', you know." Brittany winked and left Santana and walked around the bar. She took her time, making sure to put in Santana's usual order and filled a pint glass. Brittany placed it down on one of the bar's custom made coasters. Santana stood on one of the stool's footrests and leaned over the bar to give Brittany a kiss.
"Thanks, Britt." Santana said as she sat back down, "The 'T' in what? No, you know what, never mind. You can tell me later. What's up with your band situation?" Santana took a sip of her beer. She'd swear that she'd never had brews as delicious as the ones they served at Nemo’s.
"There was just this band that somehow got booked 'The Screaming Sticks of Rick'." Brittany rolled her eyes, "I noticed that they somehow got on calendar for tonight. Usually it's only Tina and I who book gigs. We're totally picky about the type of bands that play here, but I guess one of my 'strays'," Brittany made quotation marks with her fingers and rolled her eyes, "tried to help their friend's band out or something."
"Here's your fries 'Tana." Puck, the always shirtless bartender with a mohawk -- whom Santana had bonded with over taste in beers -- placed the bucket of sweet potato fries in front of her on the bar.
"Thanks, man." Santana smiled and quickly popped a fry into her mouth. Brittany merely stood there and watched Santana as if she were a puppy learning how to walk or something. Santana rolled her eyes and swallowed, "He one of your strays?"
"Yeah, he's a good one." Brittany smiled fondly over at Puck, who was currently giving a group of young men down the bar a gun show. Santana couldn't help but chuckle at his antics. "Actually, all of the kids that are here now are good ones. As Tina pointed out earlier, my 'strays' were mostly unreliable. I actually stopped hiring them, for the time being at least." Brittany winked. "Unique was the last one, actually. But I hadn't been paying that close of attention to the calendar 'cause it's always been Tina and I booking. I only caught the weird ass band name because I couldn't remember what day it was. Days are sometimes confusing, especially when your radio station goes into money mode and switches everything up."
Santana placed her hand on top of Brittany's, which had been tearing up a napkin into tiny bits.
"Britt, hey, it's going to be okay. Those fuckers don't deserve to be on that stage. It's just one night."
"Maybe, yeah, but --" Brittany sighed, bit her lip and looked at Santana with wide and watering eyes, "The main reason Tina was upset is because one of the 'strays' I hired was a total pirate!"
"Pirate?" Santana's brow furrowed. Brittany nodded.
"He pretended to be all nice and vulnerable and helpful, but Jessie totally made a scheme and stole nearly all of our profits for the year, before Tina figured it out what was happening."
"That scum sucking asshole! I know people Britt," Santana nodded earnestly. "I can find him and have him taken care of."
"Oh, no, I don't want to risk taking him in again." Brittany shook her head. Santana didn't have the heart to clear up the confusion. "We're well, this night of loss will set us back a lot, but if we can get a couple of huge events in -- we'll be able to break even and not have to worry for a couple of months. I just need to make sure not to try and help out any more strangers."
"Hey, I'm a stranger." Santana winked, trying to bring a smile back to Brittany's face.
"No, Santana, you're anything but." Brittany's smile was lopsided.
"I want to -- no. I need to help you with this, Britt." Santana straightened up on her stool and clapped her hands. She felt her heart skip a beat at the way that Brittany suddenly looked at her. "So, there's got to be, like, a million bands in this city just itching to play your stage."
"The last thing I need is fleas in here." Brittany pouted.
"No, Britt, I meant really excited." Santana smiled softly at Brittany, before she stood up, leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss. "I really love the way your mind works bab--rrritt!" Santana plopped back down on her stool and coughed, but not without noticing how Brittany's cheeks and ears had taken on a reddish hue.
"There might be, but we've got a really strong, like rhino strong, choosing process that we just don't have the time for right now. I mean, there's only an hour left before they're supposed to go on." Brittany shook her head and pouted.
"Oh." Santana tapped the bar with her fingers, trying to think of a solution. She brought her almost empty pint glass up to her lips, "Well, what about your besties band?" Santana swallowed. "Your other bestie. What were they called again? Something preppy..." Santana scrunched her brow, "The Loafers?"
"First off, I'm totally telling Blaine what you just called his band," Brittany laughed, "and B, I can't 'cause Blaine has his Masters in Music Theory thesis due tomorrow morning and the band is kinda lame without the sockless wonder." Brittany leaned over and whispered, "Don't tell Sam I said that. Also, don't tell Blaine I called him that." She raised her index finger to her lips and winked. Santana laughed. "Actually, Santana..." Brittany bit her lip, "God, I can't believe I'm about to ask you this."
"What is it?" Santana leaned forward.
"Just know that I know this is a huge thing to ask of you..." Brittany bit her lip and tensed her body, “Will you please perform tonight?”
“Oh.” Santana blinked. She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised by the request. Now that it was out there and rumbling around her head she didn’t know why she hadn’t just offered in the first place.
“If it’s too soon to ask for favors like that, I totally understand.” Brittany ripped at the bar napkin. “I promise you mean more to me than your music, okay? There are no ulterior motives; you can ask any of my friends, heck anyone in this bar. Even Lord Tubbington will tell you, and he likes to embarrass me.”
“Brittany, calm down okay.” Santana had walked around the end of the bar and turned Brittany around to finally get her attention. “If I was going to freak out about you being one of my biggest fans, I would’ve done so by now. I thought we moved past that already. C’mon Britt.” Santana took hold of Brittany’s hand, “At the very least you’re a special friend who I’d gladly do a simple favor for.” She brought Brittany’s hand up to her lips and kissed it, “But Brittany, you’re so much more than that. You shouldn’t have even needed to ask, and I’m the slow ass bonehead who forgot she had anything to offer.”
“Really?” Brittany blinked, she looked timid, as if she thought Santana would take it back.
“Of course. Artie was on his way over anyway, we’ll give ‘em a taste of what this Snixx is all about.”
“Awesome!” Brittany cheered with a huge grin and crushed Santana to her in a hug, “It better only be a taste,” Brittany said as she pulled away, “because I’m in for all seven courses and plan on devouring every inch.”
Santana gulped and started coughing.
“Oops.” Brittany giggled and stepped away. She took hold of Santana’s hand and led Santana towards the backstage area. Santana noticed Brittany nod to a now calm Tina as they walked past. Santana received a lopsided smile from her, one that Santana returned.
Santana wasn’t actually sorry for having yelled at Tina like that. It was really unprofessional for one thing, and Santana didn’t like the tone. Not towards Brittany. She understood pressure though, and how it can mess with people. Santana will give Tina a second chance; she is one of Brittany’s best friend’s after all. She needed to plan for the long run. She also needed to figure out a plan for the evening’s events.
Santana pulled her phone out of her bra and sent Artie a quick text letting him know that he’d need to get his Fiddy on when he got to the club. She received a reply almost instantly of “fo sho” that caused her to snort.
“Here we are.” Brittany smiled. She had led Santana to their soundboard. It was quite impressive to Santana, though she wasn’t too surprised. With Nemo’s reputation, it only made sense for them to have the ends to accomplish any auditory means. They could have some fun with this. She’d fill Fiddy in when he got there.
“Hey, Britt, I’ve got an idea. You mind if I invite Books to this lil party?”
“Go ahead.” Brittany raised an amused eyebrow, and Santana called Rachel.
“Hey Books, you busy?”
“Santana, when are you going to learn that my last name isn’t bookstore? I merely own one.”
“Come to Nemo's.” Santana shook her head with an amused grin.
“Why? I might be busy, Santana.”
“If you were, you wouldn’t have lectured me on your last name not being Berry, Books.” Santana grinned; she had to admit to a particular fondness when it came to verbal games with Rachel.
“Fine… hey, wait a minute!”
“Just come to Nemo's, Books. I need your voice and I’ll let you promo your show that’s opening up on 5th Avenue.” Santana paused, before adding, “But not if you talk too much.”
“You want my voice and are going to let me promote my show? Who are you and what have you done with Santana?”
“Listen, Rachel, just get down here, we have to be on in less than an hour. Do your vocal prep on the way, and don’t worry, there won’t be anything too intense.” Santana hung up her phone and rolled her eyes, then said to Brittany, “Besides being highly annoying while you’re trying to read, she’s a fucking awesome trip to talk to.”
“I find her very confusing.” Brittany nodded then stepped into Santana’s personal space. She placed her hands on Santana’s hips, “But I don’t find you confusing.”
“Oh, really?” Santana smirked and started to play with one of the buttons on Brittany’s vest.
“Mmhmm. It means a lot that you’re doing this for me, especially on short notice.” Brittany licked her lips and looked at Santana’s, “I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
“I’m sure you could think of something,” Santana rasped, enjoying their flirtatious banter.
“Oh, I’ve definitely got something in mind.” Brittany focused her gaze on Santana’s eyes and bit her lip.
“Brittany!” Santana gasped and pretended to be scandalized by the implications, “We haven’t even been on our third date yet!” Santana put her hand on her chest and noticed Brittany’s amused demeanor, “What do you take me for, some scarlet hussy?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking about.” Brittany leaned in and lightly nipped Santana’s ear lobe. “Homemade fro-yo isn’t that scandalous,” Brittany whispered and ran her nose along the edge of Santana’s ear. Santana let out a breathless chuckle.
“My bad, Britt, assuming naughty things about you,” Santana whispered.
“Nothing naughty about fro-yo, except for the part where I was going to let my abs be your dish.” Brittany bit Santana’s lobe again before she pulled away, “But if it’s too soon for you, I can totally just give you free beer and sweet potato fries.”
“Oh it’s like that, huh?” Santana visibly shivered.
“Kinda, yeah.” Brittany shrugged.
“You should’ve waited until after my set to tease me, B.”
“Really?” Brittany’s brow furrowed in confusion, “Why’s that?”
“Because it is so on like Donkey Kong.” Santana winked before leaning up for a heated kiss.
“Awesome!” Brittany grinned as Santana pulled away, “You taste like Narnia.”
Santana stepped away, she needed to focus. She couldn’t mess tonight up, not only because it would be a perfect test run for her upcoming gig, but Brittany was depending on her. Santana couldn’t let her down, “Britt, could you call Holly and let her know what’s going on? How Fiddy and I are doing a surprise gig at Nemos? Maybe it’ll draw in some more people for you. I’ve got to get my set up on or I’d do it myself.”
“Not a problem, Honey Bee.” Brittany winked.
“You’re gonna ruin me for all other girls, aren’t you.” Santana shook her head.
“Santana,” Brittany pinned Santana with her eyes and spoke earnestly, “if you wanted other girls, you wouldn’t have given in so easily. Now you’re mine, and I’m not good with sharing.”
“Then I suppose it’s a good thing that I haven’t even been able to look at anyone else since I met you.”
“It’s not your fault I’m perfect.” Brittany wiggled her eyebrows.
“Totally,” Santana laughed. “Now, go and call Holly, and get her to mention Rachel Berry.” Santana shrugged. It couldn’t hurt to appeal to the potential theatre crowd, and free publicity for Rachel’s show on the radio seemed like the perfect thank you. Brittany nodded and turned to walk away when Santana remembered something else, “Uh, Britt, any possible way you could get me a black tanktop and maybe some shorts?” Santana gestured at her body, “I’ve kinda got a thing and it’s not performing in skin tight dresses, no matter how bangin’ my body is.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve already got Tina on it.” Brittany winked. She started to walk away again, but turned around and walked backwards. "And Santana? With all the time you've spent in this bar, we're clearly closer to, like, the hundredth date."
---+---
Nemo’s was packed and the crowd hyped. The energy that filled the room was amazing. Santana had never felt this energized from one of her shows before. She could see the awe on Rachel and Artie’s faces, she was sure that hers held a similar expression. The crowd barely needed any buildup when they started their set. The audience, which had Nemo’s nearly full at the beginning of the show, had let out a huge euphoric cheer at the first drop. Santana was so surprised by the immediate response that she had looked up, wide-eyed, at Artie who seemed just as shocked. He had instantly recovered and a giant grin erupted on his face. Santana let out a boisterous laugh that he had no chance of hearing against the waves of music pulsating against the crowd.
They had a little pow-wow backstage before they went on. It was mostly for Rachel’s benefit, having never done something like this before. Santana had an idea, since she didn’t want to spoil the show she had planned for the next week; she thought to do a special edition of their FiddySnixx show with live vocals provided by Rachel. The idea was to bring a bit of Broadway to the club. Santana figured since Nemo’s was known for hosting music from a multitude of genres, and listeners of their radio station were as well, that it wouldn’t be too much of a risk to mix the two genres and have people like it. She just never thought that they would be as responsive to it as they were. Rachel had actually been the biggest risk. Santana knew that Artie would be able to handle the mixing on the spot since it was a regular occurrence for them, but Rachel would need to be able to improvise the songs on the go and deviate accordingly.
Santana had heard from other people at the station how talented Rachel was on stage. Santana knew some stage actors back in New York and Los Angeles, it was touch and go with who was able to improvise or not. However, the best ones were always able to handle any situation and Santana assumed Rachel was one of them. It was a huge risk, but Santana’s glad she took it and the way Rachel smiled implied that she felt the same.
It was a risk that had paid off almost immediately it seemed. It was easy to tell that the club was filled to capacity. In fact the doors were open to allow the people who couldn’t get in an opportunity to hear the music and dance in the streets. That was the beauty of having a club in an industrial part of town, no one to call in noise ordinance complaints. Santana had lost all sense of time, the combination of live experimentation of her music (and the fact that it worked) with the crowd’s adoration made her feel like she was floating and could keep on mixing forever.
She felt a soft and warm hand on the skin of her back. Tina took the term tanktop loosely and provided Santana with a top that was Book sized that barely covered her breasts. Whatever, Santana knew she had nothing to worry about in the looks department; at least Tina managed to find a black top so she could have some consistency. Santana turned her head to see whose hand was touching the small of her back to find Brittany staring at her. Santana took in her sweat dampened and flushed skin, and the way that Brittany was clearly trying to fight her body from dancing. Santana turned to look at Artie, who must’ve seen Brittany come up on stage behind Santana; he nodded to indicate that he’d take over. Santana set her headphones down and leaned back into Brittany.
“Its past closing time, we’ve kept the cops off of our asses as best we could. They’ve been real nice letting us have our doors open, but we really need to close things down.” Brittany spoke into Santana’s ear. Santana felt her body break out into goosebumps even though it was hot up on the stage, she couldn’t prevent the shiver that happened at the feel of Brittany’s teeth lightly scraping across her earlobe. “I know you can go all night, but I’m not sure how much longer I can watch you and not rip your clothes off and take you right here.” Brittany placed a kiss behind Santana’s ear and walked away. Santana wanted to follow; she’d just have to get Brittany back later.
“A’ight you sweaty, sweaty people,” Santana said into the mic after she gestured to Artie that they needed to take it down. “I’ve just been informed by the gorgeous -“
“And taken.” Artie’s voice cut in. Santana didn’t have to look at him to know he had a grin on his face, but she did anyway to send him a glare.
“-club owner that we’ve dun stayed up past our curfew.” Santana looked at the crowd and gave an exaggerated pout. The crowd let out a collective groan. “Now the party don’t have to stop, but ya can’t stay here.”
“Thanks for coming out to our surprise gig.” Artie took over, “If you liked our set, please tune in to our radio show, and if you enjoyed the vocal powerhouse that is Miss Rachel Berry, be sure to see her In Lippa’s The Wild Party as Kate at the 5th Street theatre.”
The audience cheered, Rachel curtseyed and Santana cut off her mic before Rachel could bring it up to her mouth and launch a monologue. Rachel huffed in Santana’s direction once she’d realized there was no sound from her microphone, Santana grinned and winked.
“Honestly, Santana, a true diva needs to properly thank her audience.” Rachel stuck out the mic for Santana to pack up.
“Yeah, and if you want to become that diva you need to know when to just let the crowd worship before you open your mouth and send them away with too many words they don’t understand.” Santana took the mic and put it where it was supposed to go, but turned back to Rachel. “You were amazing out there tonight, Rachel. No, don’t talk.” Santana placed her hand on Rachel’s shoulder, “Not many people are able to freely adjust a song in the moment, especially without preparation. You did me a solid and more importantly, you helped Brittany out. If you ever need me to return the favor, let me know.”
“May I hug you?” Rachel asked with wide eyes.
“Yeah, all right, but the woman that keeps me gets all sorts of jealous, so don’t get handsy. I know you want all up on this.” Santana winked.
“Despite you cheapening the moment,” Rachel said as she hugged Santana, “you don’t owe me a thing, tonight was amazing. Not only did it stimulate my mind, but your selfless promotion of my show was more than enough. I would’ve been fulfilled just by this exercise in improvisational skills.” Rachel let go and looked Santana in the eyes, “Thank you, Santana.”
“Yeah, yeah, get out of here Books.”
Breakdown was a lot easier than set up. The bar was closed and Brittany’s strays had stayed behind to help out, too energized from the evening and not wanting to have to go home yet. Santana couldn’t fight the giant smile on her face. She was excited for her solo show, slightly nervous at the prospect of people being let down from it not being as showy as the one she’d just finished. The way the crowd was instantly into it calmed her fears. They clearly were there knowing that they’d be given a show and weren’t disappointed.
“Hey, so I think you broke our cash registers.” Tina came up to Santana with a grin.
“I was on stage the whole time and cannot be held responsible for any -“ Santana didn’t look up from the cords she tried to wrangle.
“Santana,” Tina laughed, “as in we’ve got too much cash and not enough room.”
“Yeah?” Santana looked up at Tina with a slight smile.
“Yeah, maybe we should just set you up as a resident DJ,” Tina winked. “We’d never have to worry about money again.”
“Yeah, well.” Santana scratched her nose, she didn’t know what to say.
“I really am sorry about before,” Tina stepped closer. “That was the worst possible way for us to meet.”
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, T.” Santana set the last of the cords into their box and closed it.
“Britt and I have already talked, but I need you to know that you caught me in a horrible moment that -“ Tina sighed and ran a hand through her hair, “Listen, no one believes in Brittany as much as I do. I have nothing but love and respect for her, I am grateful for her unorthodox ways and her endless ability to love.”
“It really didn’t sound that way when I walked in.” Santana crossed her arms.
“Yeah, it wasn’t my finest of moments.” Tina shook her head, “I had just found out about the last minute cancellation after having the crappiest of - you know what, there’s no excuse. I took my frustration out on my best friend and in a public area. That’s something I’ve got to make up for, I know that.” Tina looked across the room to Brittany who was putting the last of the cleaned glasses away. “But you, Santana? You were amazing in a way that went above and beyond. You got all up in my grill, defending Brittany’s honor and then put this amazing show together like it wasn’t a big thing.”
“It wasn’t, though.” Santana shrugged.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Tina tilted her head and observed Santana.
“What? I’ve got a somewhat popular radio show and because I not only carry my laptop with me at all times, but also my obscenely huge terabyte flashdrive, I’m pretty much available to throw down some mixes at any time.” Santana shrugged, “I know Fiddy’s the same and he was going to meet me here anyway, so why not have some fun?”
“You honestly don’t know how popular you are.” Tina shook her head in awe.
“I know I’ve got some fans or whatever,” Santana waved off Tina’s comment. “How popular can I be? I haven’t even released an album.”
“You’ve released tracks though.”
“Every once in a while a check comes in, yeah.” Santana shrugged. “I couldn’t live off of them or anything.”
“You sell out all of your shows?” Tina placed her hands on her hips, eyebrows raised.
“I guess so, yeah.” Santana furrowed her brow, “I mean that’s never really been the point.”
“God, you really are perfect for Brittany,” Tina let out a breathless laugh and shook her head,“Do you know how rare it is for a band or performer to sell out a show? Even in a small club? Let alone do it on a regular basis and as an EDM artist?”
“Honestly Tina, I don’t really want to know. That shit might mess with my head. I get that I’m better off than most and I consider myself fortunate to have a following at all, you know. But I do this: I create music because I can’t not make it.” Santana looked away from Tina and around the bar but didn’t see who she was looking for. “Getting to perform the stuff I create and have people like it? That’s just the strawberry sauce on top of the cheesecake.”
“I now know what I want for dessert.” Brittany said from behind Santana and wrapped her arms around Santana’s waist. She looked at Tina, “I told you that she just used to sign up for open nights at random bars back in New York.”
“Britt, I’m all sweaty.” Santana pretended to complain.
“Yeah, so am I.” Brittany shrugged, “What’s a little sweat between girlfriends?”
“Oh, really now?” Santana leaned and turned so that she could look at Brittany and clearly show her amused look and raised eyebrow.
“It’s inevitable Santana, don’t fight it.” Brittany grinned and winked, “The less you fight what you want, the quicker you get to the good stuff.”
“Good stuff?” Santana smirked.
“Mhm.” Brittany nodded, “like strawberry sauce on homemade frozen yogurt.” Santana coughed and Brittany bit the corner of her lip as she patted Santana’s back. She looked at Tina, who was also smirking.
“I told you finding a DJ Snixxy show was like the best treasure hunt ever.”
“That has to be the worst business model ever.”
“You sound like Quinn.” Santana rolled her eyes, she then looked at Brittany, “and you sound like a stalker, babe.”
“I don’t know whether to be happy you called me babe or sad you think I’m a stalker.” Brittany pouted.
“Santana, I can attest that though she’s definitely a big fan of your work, it’s from a genuine non-stalkery place.” Tina nodded for them to start walking towards the door.
“Oh, no, I get that.” Santana squeezed Brittany closer as they followed Tina, “I’ve dealt with my share of stalkers. You can’t fake Brittany.” Santana winked, “I’m the one who booked my gig at Nemo's before anyone knew I was coming. You can’t blame her for taking full of advantage of fate laying a hand.”
“I don’t know anyone named Fate.” Brittany blinked.
“It’s late.” Tina laughed and shook her head, “You go, I’ll lock up.”
“Everything’s ready, that’s why I originally came to get you,” Brittany looked at Santana and blushed, “I just got kinda distracted.”
“It’s cool B.” Tina smiled made a shooing motion with her hands, “Get outta here!”
“Okay, okay!” Brittany laughed. She stepped away from Santana and grabbed her hand. “I’d say you were great tonight, but you’re always great, so.”
“It felt pretty amazing.” Santana ducked her head and followed after Brittany. “Not used to a crowd being instantly into a set, that was a trip.”
“I think I should confess something.” Brittany leaned over the counter and picked up Santana’s things. She handed them to Santana and bit her lip, “When we don’t have a live band performing that night, I kinda just force my customers to listen to FiddySnixx.”
“You aren’t kidding with your sponsor status, are you?” Santana laughed. “I always wondered how you were able to get your little messages through.”
“I might’ve watched the video feed on my breaks,” Brittany shrugged. “We’ve got a lot of music we can pull from in the back, you saw that before the show. It just seemed like the most perfect thing ever to play the show of a dear friend of mine: my future wifey.” Brittany paused at Santana’s flabbergasted expression, “Inevitable, deal with it. Also, obviously not tomorrow, honestly Santana, maybe next month.” Brittany winked and grinned. “It also supports the station for the people who might not know about it and it’s something fresh every night. I mean, I love the music we’ve got in stock, but there are only so many times a person should hear Freebird in a week, Santana.”
“I totally want to mix that into one of our mashup battles now.” Santana grinned and held the door open for Brittany to walk through.
“Thank you.” Brittany kissed Santana on the cheek and walked out. Santana immediately followed. It had rained during the show, the streets illuminated by the streetlights and neon signs of the surrounding area. The crowd from the show had vacated the area and the street appeared deserted. Santana felt like Brittany and her were the only two people on the earth, it was an amazing feeling. Brittany was staring at her, but she couldn’t help the smile on her face or the bounce in her step or the way she had her fingers intertwined with Brittany’s and squeezed.
“What?” Santana tilted her head, smile in place.
“Nothing.” Brittany wasn’t smiling; she just stared at Santana with wide eyes.
“Come on, what is it?” Santana lightly tugged Brittany’s hand. She wasn’t worried about what Brittany had to say, she didn’t look sad or angry.
“You’re radiating.” Brittany licked her lips, “You’re so gorgeous and radiating happiness right now. I feel like I could take you into the deepest darkest of places and you would be my light.”
“Really?” Santana’s smile changed, it became softer and aimed at Brittany. She let go of their hands and wrapped her arms around Brittany.
“Yeah.” Brittany nodded and wrapped her arms around Santana’s neck.
“That’s kind of funny, because I think you’ve been my lighthouse.” Santana brought up a hand to brush some of Brittany’s hair out of her face and behind her ear. “I was lost at sea for so long and couldn’t see dry land. Then suddenly you were there, guiding me in the direction I was meant to travel.”
“Really?” Brittany tried to blink away her tears, but Santana wiped them away with her thumb when they wouldn’t listen.
“Yeah.” Santana nodded and raised up to put her forehead on Brittany’s, who let out a breathless laugh and lowered her head so that Santana could simply stand. “I haven’t felt this alive in such a long time, Britt, and a lot of it has to do with you. I think you unconsciously took me in as one of your strays, even though I didn’t know I needed it, and you helped me remember what I was really trying to say.”
“Santana, you did it all on your own.” Brittany shook her head, “I simply took every opportunity I could to flirt with you.” Santana leaned in and gave Brittany a tender kiss, then pulled away and continued their walk down the sidewalk.
“Well, yes, you did do that.” Santana laughed, “But you were safe. You somehow managed to be ridiculously forward and non-threatening at the same time. I knew I could come to Nemo's anytime I wanted and having a place in a strange new city where I could feel safe when I just didn’t want to be home is beyond helpful. You challenge me in the most random of ways and it’s only helped me grow in my music. I know Artie feels the same way, we’ve had many conversations about it.”
“I've been purposely trying to find a set of songs to stump you two, you know,” Brittany grinned slyly.
“I knew it!” Santana lightly smacked Brittany’s arm, “Well, keep doing it, ‘cause we love it.”
“Like I’d stop.” Brittany scoffed. Santana bumped their shoulders together, then turned around and leaned against her car.
“God, I’m so hyped up right now.”
“It was an amazing show,” Brittany nodded and leaned into Santana’s body.
“You have any plans right now?” Santana played with Brittany’s fingers.
“Well, I did have a date with Mr. Bed planned.” Brittany shrugged.
“Right.” Santana nodded seriously. “Well, I know how serious that date might be, but do you want to postpone it a bit?”
“Hmm, depends.” Brittany leaned in and kissed Santana, “What would I be postponing it for?”
“I’m not nearly as captivating as Mr. Bed, but how about that date I owe you?” Santana looked Brittany in the eye, raised her eyebrows and bit her lip.
“Now?” Brittany laughed.
“Yeah, why not?” Santana shrugged.
“Yeah,” Brittany nodded, “yeah, I’ll just text Lord Tubbington to tell Mr. Bed that I’ll be late.”
“Good.” Santana smiled and squeezed Brittany closer.
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