Look Back and Smile
Title: Look Back and Smile
Author: Lezgirls65
Rating: PG
Length: 4200 words
Spoilers: None
Summary: Taken from this prompt from the Glee Fluff Meme.
“Hey, Tina.” The blonde cheerleader bounced up next to the other girl, who was sitting on the risers in the choir room, looking forlornly at Artie with Quinn on his lap, rocking back and forth on the back two wheels of his chair, making her squeal with delight. “Hey Brittany.” She replied, dejected. Brittany looked to Tina, then to Artie, then back to Tina. “You know, I had an cool conversation with him earlier today.” Tina’s head jerked up and she watched Brittany. “What about?” She questioned. She twirled her ponytail with one hand and leaned her chin on her other hand. “He was sitting in the library in front of that display with all the funny hats on it, you know?” Tina quirked an eyebrow and raised a hand to pause Brittany’s speech. “Wait, you were in the library?” She received a “duh” look before Brittany continued. “Yeah. S and I spent time in there together last year. Defacing yearbook pictures and,” she smirked, “other stuff.” Tina shook her head, ridding herself of the mental image, and motioned for her to continue. “Anyway, he was looking at the one with the Korean flag under it and I asked him what was wrong and he said that he didn’t want to talk about it, which always means it’s a girl problem. So I asked about it again. He said he wanted to apologize but he didn’t know how.” Tina scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure. He looks so sorry now.” She gestured with her head towards the front where Quinn was still seated on his lap and he was doing laps around the piano. Brittany smiled softly. “Yeah. He is. I promise.” “No he isn’t.” Tina ducked her head but Brittany raised it with her hand. “Yeah. He is. There’s nothing going on there.” She pointed to the pair, and Quinn waved at her. She waved back and smiled. “I have it on good authority that Quinn is involved with a certain brunette diva in our glee club.” She then pointed to Rachel who was sitting in her chair singing along to Puck’s guitar but was watching Quinn with an expression akin to love. When Tina looked back at Quinn and saw she was returning the look, even while seated on Artie’s lap, she allowed a small smile. “You really think he’s sorry?” She spared a small glance towards Brittany, who nodded her head vigorously. She leaned in to Tina and whispered, “He was trying not to cry in the library.” Tina’s smile grew until it was consuming her whole face, and she threw her arms around the other girl, squeezing tightly. When she released, and was released, she said a quiet ‘thank you’ to Brittany, stood and walked to the front, where Artie was. Brittany watched as Quinn excused herself, going to sit next to Rachel and subtly brushing their hands together. She also watched as Tina bent down and whispered something in Artie’s ear, who smiled and pulled her onto his lap for a sweet kiss. And she smiled to herself. *************************************************************************************** Finn smiled down at Brittany and apologized for the seventh time. “I’m sorry Brit. I just don’t understand.” Brittany just smiled back and nodded lightly. “I get that. It’s like math for me. So many formulas.” He nodded and looked back at his feet, which seemingly have a mind of their own and refuse to do what he asks of them, including, it seems, not stepping on Brittany’s feet. “Hey.” She said, causing him to look up from where he was silently cursing his feet. “What comes naturally to you?” “What?” He asked, puzzled. “What do you do that comes natural to you?” She asked again. He thinks for a moment and she sees his face light up with recognition. “Singing. Singing comes naturally to me. More natural than football even.” She nodded and gripped his hands in hers, placing one on her waist and pulling his other into the proper position for a slow dance. “Okay. Then think of it like singing. It should come naturally. If it helps, sing along to whatever you’re listening to.” She leaned over to the piano and pressed play on the radio sitting there. I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing comes blaring over the speakers and they start to gently sway. They danced slowly in silence for a few minutes before Brittany spoke again. “I think it’s really nice that you’re doing this for Carly.” He blushed and smiled lightly, eyes lighting up. “Thanks. I just want to be decent before prom. I don’t want to embarrass her by having to go with me, just because I can’t dance.” She smiled and they fell back into silence for a few minutes before she pulled away and held both of his hands in hers. “You’re doing great, Finn. I have to go though. I’m supposed to meet S at her house in a few minutes.” She pushed up on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. He blushed again and smiled. “You’ll do great, Finn. She’s not going to be embarrassed. I promise.” As she grabbed her bag and walked out the door, she glanced back, and saw Finn smiling to himself. And she smiled to herself. **************************************************************************************** She hadn’t seen it happen, but she had seen right after. She had seen Karofsky walking away with an empty slushy cup in one hand and the other high-fiving Azimio. Then she saw Rachel face and clothes, covered in green corn syrup and ice. And for some reason, she saw red with the green. She marched over to Karofsky and placed her hands on her hips. “Hey, Brit. What’s up?” He asked before trying to put his arm around her shoulder. She pulled away and glared up at him. He furrowed his brow and tried again, but she pulled away, yet again and moved in front of him. “Why’d you do that?” She questioned. “What? Slushy Berry? Cause she was being freaky and using words we didn’t understand.” He looks to Azimio for confirmation and he nods. “It was mean. You shouldn’t do that.” She shook her head as she spoke. “Yeah well-“ Before he could finish his statement, Brittany had kicked him square in the groin and he fell to the ground. “Dude!” Azimio exclaimed before kneeling next to his friend. He looked up at Brittany. “Why’d you do that?” She shrugged. “Because he deserved it.” And with that she walked away, grabbed Rachel by the wrist and dragged her to the nearest bathroom. Once they were safe in the restroom, Brittany tugged at the bottom of Rachel’s sweater, pulling it over her head, leaving her in just a tank top and her skirt. “Do you have an extra set of clothes or something in your locker?” She asked the brunette. After receiving a small nod of affirmation, she told Rachel to stay put while she went to her locker. Quickly she ran back out to grab a bag that seemed to have extra clothes out of the girl’s locker and back into the bathroom. When she returned though, Rachel was not where she had been. “Rachel?” Then she heard the quiet sobs coming from the handicap stall. She had to smile a little bit. Even Rachel’s voice was recognizable through her tears. But as soon as the smile had made its way to her face, it fell away. She set the bag on the counter and quietly made her way to the door. She knocked gently and tried to get Rachel’s attention with her name again, but there was not response. “Rachel?” She tried again. No response. “Rach, I’m a cheerleader, I can go under or over but I’d rather not.” She expected something. A chuckle, a verbal response, but all she got was an increase in the volume of the crying. “Okay.” She sighed. With dexterity only she possessed, Brittany climbed up the stall wall, flipped herself over, and landed gracefully on her feet, right in front of Rachel. Rachel seemed surprised but the sudden intrusion but she certainly wasn’t unwelcoming. In fact, she just launched herself into the blonde’s body, hugging her with a ferocity she had only seen in Rachel’s singing. She wrapped her arms around the brunette, trying her best to comfort her; one hand cradling her head against her chest, the other rubbing soothing circles on her upper back. The pair spent several minutes like that, until Rachel’s sobs quieted and she loosened her grip on Brittany. When they pulled away enough to look at each other, Brittany gave Rachel her warmest smile and tugged her hand back into the main part of the bathroom. Rachel followed and when they reached the counters, and Brittany patted it, and she jumped up easily, facing the blonde. Brittany reached into the bag she had grabbed and pulled out a few towelettes and started to tenderly wipe the brunette’s face down. Over her forehead, smoothing the lines, to her cheeks, removing the mascara that had run down her face and the remains of the tears, down her chin, and neck, removing the sticky green substance. Rachel caught one of her hands by the wrist and looked Brittany in the eyes for a moment, before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. When she pulled away, they both understood it for what it was. A ‘thank you for taking care of me’ kiss. Brittany licked her lips and giggled. “Lime. I think that’s a new flavor.” Rachel shivered. “I hate lime. It’s green and, while I normally advocate for all things green, this is not one of them. Apparently it’s going to be impossible to get out of clothes.” She pointed to her previously white sweater, now splotched green down the middle of the front. “That’s okay. Dry-cleaning works wonders.” They smiled at one another, before the door burst open and a distraught Quinn flew in along with a worried looking Santana. Rachel’s eyes lit up when she caught sight of the other blonde, before being engulfed in her arms. Quinn rocked Rachel back and forth gently, before turning to Brittany and reaching her hand out to her, which she gladly took. Quinn squeezed her hand, mouthed a thank you, and then released her, focusing all of her attention back on Rachel. Brittany’s other hand was covered by a warmer one and she turned to Santana, who tilted her head to the door, and tugged gently. She nodded and they headed out the bathroom door. Brittany took one last look inside and witnessed Rachel and Quinn’s lips connect tenderly. And she smiled to herself. **************************************************************************************** Mike called after her, when she was leaving the choir room after Glee rehearsal. “Hey.” She nodded at Santana who gave her hand a squeeze and continued out, then turned back to Mike. “Hey. What’s up?” He nervously looked to the floor, one hand in his pocket while the other one rubbed across the back of his neck. “Well, I actually wanted to ask you something.” “Oh!” Brittany smiled guiltily and put her hand on his forearm. “Mike, I’m actually kind of involved.” She nodded back to where Santana had just walked out. He looked confused. “Oh.” He pulled his head back and furrowed his brow. Then his features relaxed into shock and amusement. “Oh. No. Brit, I just need your help with this dance class. The person I usually teach with just called and said she’s sick with the flu or something, so she can’t come. I just need your help.” Brittany giggled, out of embarrassment, and clasped her hands in front of her. “Yeah. Absolutely. When is it?” Two days later, in the late afternoon, Mike collapsed on the hardwood floor, breathing heavily, open shirt billowing to his sides and revealing the sheen of sweat on his chest and abs. “Are you always this tired after class?” Brittany asked from her place in the middle of the floor doing turns, watching herself in the mirror. He lifted his head off the floor enough to see her, before exhaling loudly and dropping back down. “No. But they were unusually hyper today.” The ‘they’ in question was a class of 10 year olds that they had just finished teaching hip-hop routines to for an hour and a half. Brittany stopped her turn on one foot, and looked at Mike. She saw the rise and fall of his chest and she thought back to watching him dance. He really was a beautiful dancer with beautiful movement and lines, even if it was just a hip-hop class. He moved fluidly and effortlessly. She glided over to him and sat down cross-legged next to him, stretching her arms over her head and groaning. He watched her, appreciatively looking her up and down. She smirked at him and brought her arms down and pushed them together, pushing her breasts together. He blushed and turned away. “We’ve been over this, Mike. It’s not gonna happen. It’s not you. Really, it’s me.” She spoke sarcastically, but smiling at him sweetly. He turned over on his side to face her, leaning up on his elbow. “Really? You’re positive?” His face fell comically. “But, no, Brittany. I love you!” With that he pushed himself up and lunged at her, tickling her sides until she began to retaliate. After a few moments of tickling, they fell apart, breathing heavily. He stood and pulled her to her feet, before embracing her in his lean arms and giving her a light squeeze. “Thanks for doing this, Brit.” He released her and held her at arms length. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.” She let out a lighthearted laugh. “You probably would have passed out halfway through class.” He smiled and nodded. “Probably.” They said their goodbyes and she gathered her things and left. But as she walked out the door, she stopped to look back and saw Mike trying to stop himself in a turn, the way she had earlier. And she smiled to herself. **************************************************************************************** “Well, fine! I hate you!” And with that, Santana slammed her bedroom door shut, startling Brittany out of her sleep. Brittany slowly opened her eyes to take in the scene around her. She was in Santana’s bed, naked (not shocking), and Santana was huffing, pacing around the room, and speaking under her breath in Spanish. She slowly sat up, clutching the blankets to her chest. “Hey, baby.” She said, her voice still thick with sleep. Santana turned to face the blonde, and gave her a small smile. “Hey. Morning.” Her face fell a little. “Did I wake you? I wanted to let you sleep.” She sauntered over to Brittany’s side of the bed, (they had long since decided who should sleep on what side of the bed) and gave her a chaste kiss. Brittany gave a satisfied sigh and rolled over on her back to stretch, giving Santana full view of her breasts. She giggled as Santana’s eyes darkened. “No, it’s okay. I don’t mind you waking me up.” She chuckled again and gave Santana another kiss. They both sighed and Brittany pulled Santana over her, so that she settled next to the blonde. Brittany curled up next to the brunette and laid her head on Santana’s chest, with her arm over the other girl’s stomach. Santana wrapped her arm around the blonde’s shoulder and rubbed circles with her thumb. They laid in silence for a few minutes. Brittany felt the steady thump of Santana’s heart and the rise and fall of her chest. It was all so in sync with her own; she thought they could meld into one person. “So what do you hate your mom for now?” Brittany spoke softly so as to not startle the other girl. Santana sighed. “I went down to get something to eat and Mom ambushed me with this thing about Winter Break and going to Montana or something. And I don’t want to go. I want to stay here and spend Christmas Eve with your family like we do every year since, I don’t know, forever. So we got into an argument, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, and I ended up here with you.” She sighed again and tightened her hold on the blonde. Brittany tilted her head up to look at her girlfriend, who had her eyes closed and her jaw clenched like she was holding back tears. She kissed the underside of Santana’s jaw and nuzzled her head back into the crook of her neck. “I love you, you know that?” Brittany spoke again. Santana turned her head so she could see the blonde’s face. She smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Of course I do. And I love you too.” “And you know I’d love you even if you didn’t spend Christmas Eve with us?” She asked. Santana frowned but nodded. “It’s not that, it’s just that-“ Before she could finish her thought, Brittany had leaned up and captured her lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. Santana moaned quietly and kissed Brittany again with more vigor. Before she could deepen the kiss, Brittany was pulling away. “I love you. And I know you love me. But I also know you love your mom, despite what you just said. And you haven’t been spending a lot of time with her lately. So I think you should go.” Santana started to protest but Brittany cut her off. “I think you should go. I think you should go to Montana or whatever with your mom.” Brittany stated with finality. And Santana well knew that once Brittany made up her mind, there was no changing it. So she left it at that. A few months later, Santana showed up at Brittany’s window at midnight on Christmas, fresh back from her vacation with her mom, and there were no sexytimes because Santana couldn’t stop talking about what a great time she had. In the early hours of that morning, when Santana was laying half on top of Brittany, asleep, and snoring lightly, exhausted from her vacation and their talk, Brittany placed a kiss to Santana’s temple. And she smiled to herself. **************************************************************************************** Brittany was seated in the choir room, after school, when Glee Club was supposed to be happening, but she was the only one there, besides Brad, the piano player, who looked almost as forlorn as she felt. She looked to him for a moment then asked, “Where is everyone?” He shrugged and went back to looking at the sheet music on his stand. She sat silently, shoulders slumped, for another moment before the door opened and Puck stuck his head in. “Hey, Brit. Will you come here for a second?” He gestured out the door with his head, and shot her a charming smile. “Sure.” She stood and followed him to the door. They walked along the hallway for a minute before she spoke again. “Where are we going? And where’s everyone else?” “Huh?” He turned his head to face her. “Oh. I can’t tell you. And I can’t tell you.” She pursed her lips in thought as they continued walking. “So it’s a secret?” He chuckled. “For about thirty more seconds, yeah.” He pointed down another hallway, and they turned. By the time they had reached the door, Brittany had accepted her fate in this secret, and followed him out into the parking lot. “Puck, we aren’t going to your truck, are we? I already told you that I’m with Santana. And she said you can’t watch, so,” she dragged out the word, “what are we doing?” He smirked again, but continued walking. “I’ll convince her soon enough. But, no, we aren’t going to my truck.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Well then where are we-“ She let the sentence fall, when she saw where they were headed. There, in the middle of the McKinley High School Parking Lot, were pens. Pens full of ducks. White ducks, Ballad ducks, ducks she didn’t know their names, all kinds of ducks. And surrounding the pens? The Glee Club. They were all pointing and talking over one another, while Mr. Schuester was standing next to a van with the words “Mr. Happy’s Petting Zoo” painted on the side, talking to a burly man dressed in cargo pants and a Mr. Happy’s polo. “Oh my gosh!” She squealed, drawing everyone’s attention. “What is this?” She questioned. Santana stepped forward out of the group. “Well, babe, everyone was talking the other day about you. And we were all saying how you’ve been doing some really sweet things lately, and we haven’t been able to repay you, so we all pitched in, with some help from our favorite Cheerio’s coach, and called Mr. Pain-in-the-ass over there, and talked him into bringing out these guys.” She took a few steps more and grasped Brittany’s hand with her own, tugging her over to the pens. Finn stepped forward, then, drawing their attention. “I wanted to thank you for helping me with the dancing thing. Carly said yes when I asked her to prom, so I really appreciate it.” He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. She smiled brightly and met him with a hug, which he returned fully. Then Tina got up from her place on Artie’s lap and strode over to do the same. “I would probably still be upset with Artie if you hadn’t told me what you did. But I’m happy now, and I have you to thank for that.” After a hug from Artie, Mike danced forward, stopping right in front of her. “And I probably would have had a heart attack that day at the studio, if you hadn’t been there. Those kids were insane and you handled them like a pro. It’s amazing to watch you dance and even more amazing to watch you teach, so thanks for letting me see that.” He did a few more dance moves and then squeezed her hand, before moving back and allowing Rachel to step to the front. She glanced down before clearing her throat and looking up to meet Brittany’s eyes. “I wanted to say thank you for helping me clean up the other day, after Karofsky so rudely slushied me. Quinn actually convinced me to refrain from expressing my thanks in song so I had to stick with words, which she has also convinced me I’m good with. But I feel that ‘thank you’ sums up my feelings very well, although less eloquently than I would prefer.” The whole glee club chuckled at Rachel’s speech, before she fell back into her place next to Quinn, who placed an arm around her shoulder and a kiss on the top of her head. The blonde ex-cheerleader spoke then. “Thank you. When Santana came to find me, and told me what happened, I panicked. Because for a while the slushies had stopped so I was worried that Rachel wouldn’t handle it well. But you were there for her. Santana also told me what you did to Karofsky and I appreciated that more than you will ever know. So I just wanted to say thanks for sticking up for my girl.” Brittany released Santana’s hand to walk over to the pair and give them both warm hugs, before retreating back to the other girl. When she reached Santana, the girl placed her hands on Brittany’s shoulders and turned so they were facing each other. “And I, well, I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done and been to me. You love me for who I am, and despite who I’ve been before, even to the people in this club. And I talked to my mom and I’m glad you pushed me to go for Christmas. You know why?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow. When Brittany shook her head, she continued. “Because my mom told me she couldn’t wait. And she looked excited. Excited, B!” She reiterated. “And then we had dinner and actually talked for a few hours. Mom and I are starting to get along better because of you.” She looked suddenly shy. “We haven’t gotten along in forever. Having you in my life, having you around me makes me a better person. And I will always love you for that.” She blushed, her cheeks tingeing pink over the caramel skin tone. Brittany’s smile had grown and grown all while Santana was speaking, until it was threatening to split her face in half. When the brunette was finished, Brittany cupped her face and kissed her softly. Once, twice, then a third time. Until Santana realized the Finn was chanting ‘mailman, mailman, mailman’ under his breath. Then they broke apart and Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana’s neck and Santana’s arms went around her waist, holding her tightly. They pulled apart only when Mr. Schuester clapped his hands and said that they only had another half hour before Mr. Happy’s friend had to leave. So the club went back to focusing on the ducks. Santana grasped Brittany’s hand again, and pulled her over to the pens. The blonde felt her heart overflow with love for the other girl and she couldn’t stop herself from whispering, “I love you.” in her ear. Santana glanced over and placed a soft kiss on her cheek before turning back to the ducks. Brittany’s gaze lingered on her face for a few moments longer before responding to a quacking duck. And she smiled to herself.
Author: Lezgirls65
Rating: PG
Length: 4200 words
Spoilers: None
Summary: Taken from this prompt from the Glee Fluff Meme.
“Hey, Tina.” The blonde cheerleader bounced up next to the other girl, who was sitting on the risers in the choir room, looking forlornly at Artie with Quinn on his lap, rocking back and forth on the back two wheels of his chair, making her squeal with delight. “Hey Brittany.” She replied, dejected. Brittany looked to Tina, then to Artie, then back to Tina. “You know, I had an cool conversation with him earlier today.” Tina’s head jerked up and she watched Brittany. “What about?” She questioned. She twirled her ponytail with one hand and leaned her chin on her other hand. “He was sitting in the library in front of that display with all the funny hats on it, you know?” Tina quirked an eyebrow and raised a hand to pause Brittany’s speech. “Wait, you were in the library?” She received a “duh” look before Brittany continued. “Yeah. S and I spent time in there together last year. Defacing yearbook pictures and,” she smirked, “other stuff.” Tina shook her head, ridding herself of the mental image, and motioned for her to continue. “Anyway, he was looking at the one with the Korean flag under it and I asked him what was wrong and he said that he didn’t want to talk about it, which always means it’s a girl problem. So I asked about it again. He said he wanted to apologize but he didn’t know how.” Tina scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure. He looks so sorry now.” She gestured with her head towards the front where Quinn was still seated on his lap and he was doing laps around the piano. Brittany smiled softly. “Yeah. He is. I promise.” “No he isn’t.” Tina ducked her head but Brittany raised it with her hand. “Yeah. He is. There’s nothing going on there.” She pointed to the pair, and Quinn waved at her. She waved back and smiled. “I have it on good authority that Quinn is involved with a certain brunette diva in our glee club.” She then pointed to Rachel who was sitting in her chair singing along to Puck’s guitar but was watching Quinn with an expression akin to love. When Tina looked back at Quinn and saw she was returning the look, even while seated on Artie’s lap, she allowed a small smile. “You really think he’s sorry?” She spared a small glance towards Brittany, who nodded her head vigorously. She leaned in to Tina and whispered, “He was trying not to cry in the library.” Tina’s smile grew until it was consuming her whole face, and she threw her arms around the other girl, squeezing tightly. When she released, and was released, she said a quiet ‘thank you’ to Brittany, stood and walked to the front, where Artie was. Brittany watched as Quinn excused herself, going to sit next to Rachel and subtly brushing their hands together. She also watched as Tina bent down and whispered something in Artie’s ear, who smiled and pulled her onto his lap for a sweet kiss. And she smiled to herself. *************************************************************************************** Finn smiled down at Brittany and apologized for the seventh time. “I’m sorry Brit. I just don’t understand.” Brittany just smiled back and nodded lightly. “I get that. It’s like math for me. So many formulas.” He nodded and looked back at his feet, which seemingly have a mind of their own and refuse to do what he asks of them, including, it seems, not stepping on Brittany’s feet. “Hey.” She said, causing him to look up from where he was silently cursing his feet. “What comes naturally to you?” “What?” He asked, puzzled. “What do you do that comes natural to you?” She asked again. He thinks for a moment and she sees his face light up with recognition. “Singing. Singing comes naturally to me. More natural than football even.” She nodded and gripped his hands in hers, placing one on her waist and pulling his other into the proper position for a slow dance. “Okay. Then think of it like singing. It should come naturally. If it helps, sing along to whatever you’re listening to.” She leaned over to the piano and pressed play on the radio sitting there. I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing comes blaring over the speakers and they start to gently sway. They danced slowly in silence for a few minutes before Brittany spoke again. “I think it’s really nice that you’re doing this for Carly.” He blushed and smiled lightly, eyes lighting up. “Thanks. I just want to be decent before prom. I don’t want to embarrass her by having to go with me, just because I can’t dance.” She smiled and they fell back into silence for a few minutes before she pulled away and held both of his hands in hers. “You’re doing great, Finn. I have to go though. I’m supposed to meet S at her house in a few minutes.” She pushed up on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. He blushed again and smiled. “You’ll do great, Finn. She’s not going to be embarrassed. I promise.” As she grabbed her bag and walked out the door, she glanced back, and saw Finn smiling to himself. And she smiled to herself. **************************************************************************************** She hadn’t seen it happen, but she had seen right after. She had seen Karofsky walking away with an empty slushy cup in one hand and the other high-fiving Azimio. Then she saw Rachel face and clothes, covered in green corn syrup and ice. And for some reason, she saw red with the green. She marched over to Karofsky and placed her hands on her hips. “Hey, Brit. What’s up?” He asked before trying to put his arm around her shoulder. She pulled away and glared up at him. He furrowed his brow and tried again, but she pulled away, yet again and moved in front of him. “Why’d you do that?” She questioned. “What? Slushy Berry? Cause she was being freaky and using words we didn’t understand.” He looks to Azimio for confirmation and he nods. “It was mean. You shouldn’t do that.” She shook her head as she spoke. “Yeah well-“ Before he could finish his statement, Brittany had kicked him square in the groin and he fell to the ground. “Dude!” Azimio exclaimed before kneeling next to his friend. He looked up at Brittany. “Why’d you do that?” She shrugged. “Because he deserved it.” And with that she walked away, grabbed Rachel by the wrist and dragged her to the nearest bathroom. Once they were safe in the restroom, Brittany tugged at the bottom of Rachel’s sweater, pulling it over her head, leaving her in just a tank top and her skirt. “Do you have an extra set of clothes or something in your locker?” She asked the brunette. After receiving a small nod of affirmation, she told Rachel to stay put while she went to her locker. Quickly she ran back out to grab a bag that seemed to have extra clothes out of the girl’s locker and back into the bathroom. When she returned though, Rachel was not where she had been. “Rachel?” Then she heard the quiet sobs coming from the handicap stall. She had to smile a little bit. Even Rachel’s voice was recognizable through her tears. But as soon as the smile had made its way to her face, it fell away. She set the bag on the counter and quietly made her way to the door. She knocked gently and tried to get Rachel’s attention with her name again, but there was not response. “Rachel?” She tried again. No response. “Rach, I’m a cheerleader, I can go under or over but I’d rather not.” She expected something. A chuckle, a verbal response, but all she got was an increase in the volume of the crying. “Okay.” She sighed. With dexterity only she possessed, Brittany climbed up the stall wall, flipped herself over, and landed gracefully on her feet, right in front of Rachel. Rachel seemed surprised but the sudden intrusion but she certainly wasn’t unwelcoming. In fact, she just launched herself into the blonde’s body, hugging her with a ferocity she had only seen in Rachel’s singing. She wrapped her arms around the brunette, trying her best to comfort her; one hand cradling her head against her chest, the other rubbing soothing circles on her upper back. The pair spent several minutes like that, until Rachel’s sobs quieted and she loosened her grip on Brittany. When they pulled away enough to look at each other, Brittany gave Rachel her warmest smile and tugged her hand back into the main part of the bathroom. Rachel followed and when they reached the counters, and Brittany patted it, and she jumped up easily, facing the blonde. Brittany reached into the bag she had grabbed and pulled out a few towelettes and started to tenderly wipe the brunette’s face down. Over her forehead, smoothing the lines, to her cheeks, removing the mascara that had run down her face and the remains of the tears, down her chin, and neck, removing the sticky green substance. Rachel caught one of her hands by the wrist and looked Brittany in the eyes for a moment, before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. When she pulled away, they both understood it for what it was. A ‘thank you for taking care of me’ kiss. Brittany licked her lips and giggled. “Lime. I think that’s a new flavor.” Rachel shivered. “I hate lime. It’s green and, while I normally advocate for all things green, this is not one of them. Apparently it’s going to be impossible to get out of clothes.” She pointed to her previously white sweater, now splotched green down the middle of the front. “That’s okay. Dry-cleaning works wonders.” They smiled at one another, before the door burst open and a distraught Quinn flew in along with a worried looking Santana. Rachel’s eyes lit up when she caught sight of the other blonde, before being engulfed in her arms. Quinn rocked Rachel back and forth gently, before turning to Brittany and reaching her hand out to her, which she gladly took. Quinn squeezed her hand, mouthed a thank you, and then released her, focusing all of her attention back on Rachel. Brittany’s other hand was covered by a warmer one and she turned to Santana, who tilted her head to the door, and tugged gently. She nodded and they headed out the bathroom door. Brittany took one last look inside and witnessed Rachel and Quinn’s lips connect tenderly. And she smiled to herself. **************************************************************************************** Mike called after her, when she was leaving the choir room after Glee rehearsal. “Hey.” She nodded at Santana who gave her hand a squeeze and continued out, then turned back to Mike. “Hey. What’s up?” He nervously looked to the floor, one hand in his pocket while the other one rubbed across the back of his neck. “Well, I actually wanted to ask you something.” “Oh!” Brittany smiled guiltily and put her hand on his forearm. “Mike, I’m actually kind of involved.” She nodded back to where Santana had just walked out. He looked confused. “Oh.” He pulled his head back and furrowed his brow. Then his features relaxed into shock and amusement. “Oh. No. Brit, I just need your help with this dance class. The person I usually teach with just called and said she’s sick with the flu or something, so she can’t come. I just need your help.” Brittany giggled, out of embarrassment, and clasped her hands in front of her. “Yeah. Absolutely. When is it?” Two days later, in the late afternoon, Mike collapsed on the hardwood floor, breathing heavily, open shirt billowing to his sides and revealing the sheen of sweat on his chest and abs. “Are you always this tired after class?” Brittany asked from her place in the middle of the floor doing turns, watching herself in the mirror. He lifted his head off the floor enough to see her, before exhaling loudly and dropping back down. “No. But they were unusually hyper today.” The ‘they’ in question was a class of 10 year olds that they had just finished teaching hip-hop routines to for an hour and a half. Brittany stopped her turn on one foot, and looked at Mike. She saw the rise and fall of his chest and she thought back to watching him dance. He really was a beautiful dancer with beautiful movement and lines, even if it was just a hip-hop class. He moved fluidly and effortlessly. She glided over to him and sat down cross-legged next to him, stretching her arms over her head and groaning. He watched her, appreciatively looking her up and down. She smirked at him and brought her arms down and pushed them together, pushing her breasts together. He blushed and turned away. “We’ve been over this, Mike. It’s not gonna happen. It’s not you. Really, it’s me.” She spoke sarcastically, but smiling at him sweetly. He turned over on his side to face her, leaning up on his elbow. “Really? You’re positive?” His face fell comically. “But, no, Brittany. I love you!” With that he pushed himself up and lunged at her, tickling her sides until she began to retaliate. After a few moments of tickling, they fell apart, breathing heavily. He stood and pulled her to her feet, before embracing her in his lean arms and giving her a light squeeze. “Thanks for doing this, Brit.” He released her and held her at arms length. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.” She let out a lighthearted laugh. “You probably would have passed out halfway through class.” He smiled and nodded. “Probably.” They said their goodbyes and she gathered her things and left. But as she walked out the door, she stopped to look back and saw Mike trying to stop himself in a turn, the way she had earlier. And she smiled to herself. **************************************************************************************** “Well, fine! I hate you!” And with that, Santana slammed her bedroom door shut, startling Brittany out of her sleep. Brittany slowly opened her eyes to take in the scene around her. She was in Santana’s bed, naked (not shocking), and Santana was huffing, pacing around the room, and speaking under her breath in Spanish. She slowly sat up, clutching the blankets to her chest. “Hey, baby.” She said, her voice still thick with sleep. Santana turned to face the blonde, and gave her a small smile. “Hey. Morning.” Her face fell a little. “Did I wake you? I wanted to let you sleep.” She sauntered over to Brittany’s side of the bed, (they had long since decided who should sleep on what side of the bed) and gave her a chaste kiss. Brittany gave a satisfied sigh and rolled over on her back to stretch, giving Santana full view of her breasts. She giggled as Santana’s eyes darkened. “No, it’s okay. I don’t mind you waking me up.” She chuckled again and gave Santana another kiss. They both sighed and Brittany pulled Santana over her, so that she settled next to the blonde. Brittany curled up next to the brunette and laid her head on Santana’s chest, with her arm over the other girl’s stomach. Santana wrapped her arm around the blonde’s shoulder and rubbed circles with her thumb. They laid in silence for a few minutes. Brittany felt the steady thump of Santana’s heart and the rise and fall of her chest. It was all so in sync with her own; she thought they could meld into one person. “So what do you hate your mom for now?” Brittany spoke softly so as to not startle the other girl. Santana sighed. “I went down to get something to eat and Mom ambushed me with this thing about Winter Break and going to Montana or something. And I don’t want to go. I want to stay here and spend Christmas Eve with your family like we do every year since, I don’t know, forever. So we got into an argument, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, and I ended up here with you.” She sighed again and tightened her hold on the blonde. Brittany tilted her head up to look at her girlfriend, who had her eyes closed and her jaw clenched like she was holding back tears. She kissed the underside of Santana’s jaw and nuzzled her head back into the crook of her neck. “I love you, you know that?” Brittany spoke again. Santana turned her head so she could see the blonde’s face. She smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Of course I do. And I love you too.” “And you know I’d love you even if you didn’t spend Christmas Eve with us?” She asked. Santana frowned but nodded. “It’s not that, it’s just that-“ Before she could finish her thought, Brittany had leaned up and captured her lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. Santana moaned quietly and kissed Brittany again with more vigor. Before she could deepen the kiss, Brittany was pulling away. “I love you. And I know you love me. But I also know you love your mom, despite what you just said. And you haven’t been spending a lot of time with her lately. So I think you should go.” Santana started to protest but Brittany cut her off. “I think you should go. I think you should go to Montana or whatever with your mom.” Brittany stated with finality. And Santana well knew that once Brittany made up her mind, there was no changing it. So she left it at that. A few months later, Santana showed up at Brittany’s window at midnight on Christmas, fresh back from her vacation with her mom, and there were no sexytimes because Santana couldn’t stop talking about what a great time she had. In the early hours of that morning, when Santana was laying half on top of Brittany, asleep, and snoring lightly, exhausted from her vacation and their talk, Brittany placed a kiss to Santana’s temple. And she smiled to herself. **************************************************************************************** Brittany was seated in the choir room, after school, when Glee Club was supposed to be happening, but she was the only one there, besides Brad, the piano player, who looked almost as forlorn as she felt. She looked to him for a moment then asked, “Where is everyone?” He shrugged and went back to looking at the sheet music on his stand. She sat silently, shoulders slumped, for another moment before the door opened and Puck stuck his head in. “Hey, Brit. Will you come here for a second?” He gestured out the door with his head, and shot her a charming smile. “Sure.” She stood and followed him to the door. They walked along the hallway for a minute before she spoke again. “Where are we going? And where’s everyone else?” “Huh?” He turned his head to face her. “Oh. I can’t tell you. And I can’t tell you.” She pursed her lips in thought as they continued walking. “So it’s a secret?” He chuckled. “For about thirty more seconds, yeah.” He pointed down another hallway, and they turned. By the time they had reached the door, Brittany had accepted her fate in this secret, and followed him out into the parking lot. “Puck, we aren’t going to your truck, are we? I already told you that I’m with Santana. And she said you can’t watch, so,” she dragged out the word, “what are we doing?” He smirked again, but continued walking. “I’ll convince her soon enough. But, no, we aren’t going to my truck.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Well then where are we-“ She let the sentence fall, when she saw where they were headed. There, in the middle of the McKinley High School Parking Lot, were pens. Pens full of ducks. White ducks, Ballad ducks, ducks she didn’t know their names, all kinds of ducks. And surrounding the pens? The Glee Club. They were all pointing and talking over one another, while Mr. Schuester was standing next to a van with the words “Mr. Happy’s Petting Zoo” painted on the side, talking to a burly man dressed in cargo pants and a Mr. Happy’s polo. “Oh my gosh!” She squealed, drawing everyone’s attention. “What is this?” She questioned. Santana stepped forward out of the group. “Well, babe, everyone was talking the other day about you. And we were all saying how you’ve been doing some really sweet things lately, and we haven’t been able to repay you, so we all pitched in, with some help from our favorite Cheerio’s coach, and called Mr. Pain-in-the-ass over there, and talked him into bringing out these guys.” She took a few steps more and grasped Brittany’s hand with her own, tugging her over to the pens. Finn stepped forward, then, drawing their attention. “I wanted to thank you for helping me with the dancing thing. Carly said yes when I asked her to prom, so I really appreciate it.” He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. She smiled brightly and met him with a hug, which he returned fully. Then Tina got up from her place on Artie’s lap and strode over to do the same. “I would probably still be upset with Artie if you hadn’t told me what you did. But I’m happy now, and I have you to thank for that.” After a hug from Artie, Mike danced forward, stopping right in front of her. “And I probably would have had a heart attack that day at the studio, if you hadn’t been there. Those kids were insane and you handled them like a pro. It’s amazing to watch you dance and even more amazing to watch you teach, so thanks for letting me see that.” He did a few more dance moves and then squeezed her hand, before moving back and allowing Rachel to step to the front. She glanced down before clearing her throat and looking up to meet Brittany’s eyes. “I wanted to say thank you for helping me clean up the other day, after Karofsky so rudely slushied me. Quinn actually convinced me to refrain from expressing my thanks in song so I had to stick with words, which she has also convinced me I’m good with. But I feel that ‘thank you’ sums up my feelings very well, although less eloquently than I would prefer.” The whole glee club chuckled at Rachel’s speech, before she fell back into her place next to Quinn, who placed an arm around her shoulder and a kiss on the top of her head. The blonde ex-cheerleader spoke then. “Thank you. When Santana came to find me, and told me what happened, I panicked. Because for a while the slushies had stopped so I was worried that Rachel wouldn’t handle it well. But you were there for her. Santana also told me what you did to Karofsky and I appreciated that more than you will ever know. So I just wanted to say thanks for sticking up for my girl.” Brittany released Santana’s hand to walk over to the pair and give them both warm hugs, before retreating back to the other girl. When she reached Santana, the girl placed her hands on Brittany’s shoulders and turned so they were facing each other. “And I, well, I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done and been to me. You love me for who I am, and despite who I’ve been before, even to the people in this club. And I talked to my mom and I’m glad you pushed me to go for Christmas. You know why?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow. When Brittany shook her head, she continued. “Because my mom told me she couldn’t wait. And she looked excited. Excited, B!” She reiterated. “And then we had dinner and actually talked for a few hours. Mom and I are starting to get along better because of you.” She looked suddenly shy. “We haven’t gotten along in forever. Having you in my life, having you around me makes me a better person. And I will always love you for that.” She blushed, her cheeks tingeing pink over the caramel skin tone. Brittany’s smile had grown and grown all while Santana was speaking, until it was threatening to split her face in half. When the brunette was finished, Brittany cupped her face and kissed her softly. Once, twice, then a third time. Until Santana realized the Finn was chanting ‘mailman, mailman, mailman’ under his breath. Then they broke apart and Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana’s neck and Santana’s arms went around her waist, holding her tightly. They pulled apart only when Mr. Schuester clapped his hands and said that they only had another half hour before Mr. Happy’s friend had to leave. So the club went back to focusing on the ducks. Santana grasped Brittany’s hand again, and pulled her over to the pens. The blonde felt her heart overflow with love for the other girl and she couldn’t stop herself from whispering, “I love you.” in her ear. Santana glanced over and placed a soft kiss on her cheek before turning back to the ducks. Brittany’s gaze lingered on her face for a few moments longer before responding to a quacking duck. And she smiled to herself.