Five Months Before The Proposal

Brittany couldn't help but release a dejected sigh as she watched Santana darting around her apartment, looking for a particular shirt she wanted to take on her trip home to celebrate her mother's fiftieth birthday. The original plan had been for Brittany to venture back to Lima with her girlfriend, but she had to abruptly cancel after the unexpected deadline change of a project her creative team had been working on for months. Ever since that moment, an unshakable damper had been placed on the blonde's mood.

Santana had taken special strides to make the best of the situation, despite being a bit disappointed herself. It was an unspoken agreement that she would spend the night at Brittany's the night before she had to leave. They had shared an evening of drinking wine and making love before eventually falling asleep in one another's arms, both wanting to be as close as they could to the other before having to spend an entire week apart.

As soon as Santana woke up the next morning, she forced herself out of bed to cook her girlfriend breakfast, but not before making a pot of coffee for herself, of course. Brittany had greatly appreciated the gesture and made sure to tell her girlfriend as much with the best grin she could muster, though Santana could still see that her smile quite meet her eyes. The blonde was just as bummed about her leaving as she was.

Once Brittany was dressed and ready to go to work, she started making her way to the door of her apartment to find her girlfriend slipping on her jacket. "What do you think you're doing?" the blonde questioned with a quirked brow.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm driving you to work," Santana replied as she moved to slip on a scarf, as well.

"San, you know how crazy traffic can be. It will take you forever to get there and back. Didn't you say that you wanted to leave by nine?"

"I know, but I'm not ready to leave you. Can't I just leave tomorrow? Or better yet, I could always postpone it for another couple of days. I mean, her birthday isn't until Thursday, so I have plenty of time to get there," Santana reasoned with a small pout.

"San, you told them that you'd be staying for the entire week, and I refuse to let you lie to your parents," Brittany replied firmly. "Plus, they sounded so excited when you told them you were coming down, and I do not want to have the guilt of causing them sadness on my conscience so you are most definitely going."

"Um, Britt, don't you think you're kind of exaggerating a little?" Santana questioned with an unconvinced expression. "I mean, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be that heartbroken about it."

Giving a slight shake of her head, the blonde reaffirmed, "Doesn't matter. Any amount of sadness would be too much."

"But I-"

"Nope. Don't care."

"Aw, come on, Bab-"

"Santana," Brittany warned as a small but smug smirk made its way across her lips, already knowing she had this one in the bag.

"Alright, fine. Gosh, why do you have to be so logical all the time?" Santana groaned with a poorly suppressed grin.

"Because if I didn't do it, then neither of us would," Brittany quietly teased. She was fully aware that she was going to regret it later, but she also understood that Santana had to get on the road today. So with one last kiss, she bid her girlfriend a safe trip and began her morning commute to work.

Day One

It was a relatively busy day for Brittany as she tried to make all the necessary final preparations for her team's project, though she spent as much of it as she could hidden away in her office. Normally, she'd be out amongst her co-workers to lend a helping hand when needed, but she just wasn't feeling very sociable. Not while Santana was en route to Ohio without her.

She hated the fact that she would have to make the long journey home to an empty apartment that evening, with the exception of Lord Tubbington, of course. She also did not like that she would be forced to spend an entire week without getting to fall asleep next to her most favorite person. Sure, they technically still lived separately, but rare were the nights that they actually slept alone. Thinking back, she never really used to have a problem with flying solo, but now that Santana was in her life, the brunette just made everything feel like-

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door that pulled Brittany out of her thoughts. Shifting her gaze towards the office's entrance, she watched as Chris popped his head into the room.

"Hey, Britt, I'm sorry to bother you, but Erin is having a little trouble with something and is apparently too scared to come ask you for help," he informed without walking into the room.

"Scared? Why would she be scared?" Brittany asked with a curious expression.

"Well, you have been in a bit of a mood today if I'm being completely honest."

"What? No, I haven't! How have I been in a mood?" Brittany snapped, which only caused her boss to raise his brow in a told you so manner. "Oh, okay. Sorry about that. I've just been a little agitated because I was supposed to be taking that-"

"-trip to Ohio with Santana today. I know, and I'm really sorry I had to make you stay. If there had been anyway to finish this without you, I would have, but you-"

"No, no. It's okay, Chris. Really. I understand that I'm kind of the brains of the operation, but it still doesn't make it suck any less," Brittany admitted with a small shrug.

Chris seemed to take a moment to think before abruptly insisting, "How about this? Let me take you out for drinks once this is all over. I mean, it's the least I can do after making you stay."

"Yeah, that actually sounds really good," Brittany conceded with a smile. "Lord knows I'm going to need a drink after this project is done."

"I know, right?" Chris responded with a small laugh. "Anyways, go easy on Erin, okay? This is the first time she's seen you like this, and she doesn't know how to not take it personally yet."

Rolling her eyes at his teasing, she chuckled, "Yeah, the last thing that I need right now is for my team to be afraid of me, so I'll be sure to not take my stuff out on them from here on out."

"Good, good! Well, I'm just going to leave you to it then," the man informed as he started making his way back towards the office door.

"Alright. Thanks, Chris," she responded with a small wave before returning to her work so she could reach a stopping point before going to help Erin.

Day Two

Brittany was lying in bed long after another long day at work, curled around the stuffed duck Santana had given her nearly a year before, when she finally broke down and decided to call the woman she'd been thinking about all day. After a few rings, she felt a grin tug at her lips as she heard her girlfriend's cheery voice hum out over the receiver.

"Hey, Baby. I was just thinking about you."

"You were?" the blonde asked in a curious tone.

"Yep, I was thinking about maybe calling you, but I didn't know if you'd be sleeping since you normally crash as soon as you get home on the weeks you have a deadline," Santana answered, unintentionally catching Brittany off guard with one particular choice of wording. After an extended moment of silence, the brunette spoke up once more, asking, "Britt? You there?"

Realizing she had been caught in a daze, Brittany brought a hand to her face and briefly rubbed her eyes to bring herself back down to reality before answering, "Yeah, San, I'm here. Sorry, got distracted. I, uh-I miss you. Like, a lot."

"Well, I would still be there if you had let me leave a few days late. Just saying," Santana instantly responded with a hint of a smile in her tone.

"Shut up. Don't remind me, Jerk," Brittany playfully grumbled, burying her face into the stuffed duck as her muffled voice added, "Señor Pato smells like you."

"Yeah? Well, Mr. Bear smells like you, too."

Feeling her eyes widen a bit in surprise, Brittany asked, "You took him with you?"

"Of course I did. You know I couldn't leave without my second favorite snuggle buddy. I needed something to hold onto that reminded me of home since I knew you wouldn't be here."

And there it was again. The word that had been floating around Brittany's head ever since Santana first referred to her apartment by that title a few weeks before. Home. Even just the memory of it was enough to make her heart start thrumming in her chest.

"I miss you," Brittany suddenly spat out before she could stop herself.

"You already said that, you silly goose," Santana giggled before adding, "But I miss you, too. I can't wait to get back."

"Well, you still have a few more days left in Lima. Enjoy your time off with your family while you can."

"I know, I know. It's just hard when a very important member of my family isn't here with me."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," the blonde agreed with a small smile, fully aware that the other woman had been referring to her. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Britt. More than anything."

Day Three

A similar progression occurred the following evening as Brittany walked in after another long day at work and slid almost directly into bed, immediately pulling both Santana's pillow and Señor Pato to her chest as she looked over to her girlfriend's usual spot across the mattress. After staring at the empty side of the bed for a long while, the blonde finally rolled over to face the opposite direction in hopes that she would finally find rest, but the effort was to no avail as she flopped onto her back and released a loud, defeated groan.

The bed was just too big without Santana there, and she knew she wasn't going to get any sleep as long as she stayed so she did the only thing she could think of. Pushing her self up off the bed, she got up and pulled the comforter lazily behind her as she made her way into the living room and curled up on the couch to try to get some rest. Even there, however, the overwhelming silence still got to her, so she took out her phone without a second thought and dialled the same number she had the night before.

Much like the last called they shared, her girlfriend picked up the phone after only a couple rings and answered with a quiet, "Hello?"

"San?" Brittany asked timidly as she watched Lord Tubbington make his way across the room and jump up onto the end of the couch to lay by her feet.

"Hey, Britt. What's up?"

"Were you asleep?"

"No, not yet. Why? What's wrong?" Santana instantly questioned, her voice laced with concern.

Carefully itching under the cat's chin with her blanket-covered toes, the blonde quietly replied, "Nothing. I just, uh-I was wondering if you could maybe, um-"

"Hold on, Britt. I'm going to get somewhere away from everyone so we can talk, okay? Just one second."

"No, wait! You don't have to leave! It's stupid. Honestly, don't worry about it."

"Nothing you say could ever be stupid, B. Plus, I was just visiting with my parents, so it's really not a big deal. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I'm sorry, but would you mind maybe telling me a story so I can fall asleep? I-I've been having some trouble the past couple nights, and your stories always seem to do the trick. It's just that we are so, so close to finishing this project, and I need all the rest I can get but I just, I can't-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Babe. You don't have to explain yourself. I'd be more than happy to tell you a story. Which one would you like to hear?"

Taking a deep breath, she let a loving grin make its way her lips as she responded, "You know the one."

"I sure do," Santana agreed with a smile of her own, and taking a deep breath, she began, "Okay, well once upon a time, there was a Unicorn and a Narwhal who were both very much in love…"

Day Four

The following evening, Brittany once again walked into her apartment with only Lord Tubbington there to greet her as she put down her bags and removed her shoes. It had been a long day with a lot of last minute rushing to make sure everything got done in time, but they made it through with only the last finishing touches left before completing the project, which she was absolutely ecstatic about.

Not really feeling all that hungry, she planned to just eat a bowl of cereal for dinner and get changed for bed, but not before hearing her phone start to go off in her purse. Rushing over, she pulled out the device and read the name on the screen before answering, "San?"

"Hey, you're not still at work, are you?"

"Nope, just walked in the door, actually."

"Good because there's someone who really wants to talk to you, okay?"

"Alright," Brittany quietly giggled out.

"Brittany? Brittany, are you there?" a familiar voice suddenly yelled out, causing the blonde to quickly retract the phone from her ear. She gave a brief pause to make sure the Maribel was done yelling before retracting the phone to it previous position just in time to hear Santana chiding her mother about how she didn't need to shout every single time she tried to talk on the phone, which made Brittany chuckle a bit.

"Yeah, Mama Lopez, I'm here. Might be a little deaf now, but here, nonetheless."

"Oh, so sorry, Sweetheart. I didn't mean to hurt your ears. I just never know my volume on these things, and I wanted to make sure you heard me."

"No worries. I think I'll survive. Happy birthday, by the way! How old are you again? Thirty?"

"Oh, Brittany. Always the sweet talker," Maribel commented with the same sultry voice she knew drove Santana crazy when directed at the blonde.

As if on cue, Brittany heard Santana in the background suddenly inquiring, "What? What did she say?"

"Nothing, now hush! I'm trying to talk to your future wife," the older woman told her daughter seriously before refocusing her attention on the blonde on the other end of the line as she reclaimed her previous tone. "Anyways, Dear, where were we?"

"Oh my God, give me the damn phone! I knew this was a mistake!" Santana griped. There was sounds of the phone being shuffled about for a moment, followed by more unintelligible yelling in the background that had something to do with taking the Lord's name in vain and Santana shouting out, "Sorry, Abuela!" as the other voices seemed to get further and further way. There was a distinct closing of a door before she heard Santana grumble, "Damn woman. I hate when she does that."

"Aw, don't get salty, San. She was just messing with you."

"Yeah, well that shit is annoying. Anyways, would you mind if we Skyped tonight? I really want to see you."

"Not at all! Let me just get my computer," Brittany informed, hanging up the phone as she quickly pushed herself up off the couch and dashed to her room to retrieve her laptop. Rushing back, she turned on the device and waited for it to boot up before sending a video call invite to her girlfriend. Suddenly, Santana's face appeared on the screen, causing a huge grin to spread across her face as she greeted, "Hi, San!"

"Hey, Beautiful. How are you?"

"I'm good. Just getting ready to go to sleep after I get something to eat in a minute," Brittany informed with a yawn as she laid down and moved the computer to rest on top of her abdomen.

"Wait, why is your pillow and comforter on the couch? You haven't been sleeping on the couch, have you?" Santana asked as she slipped between her own sheets to get comfortable.

Glancing away from the screen, Brittany gave her head a slight nod as she reluctantly admitted, "Yeah. Bed's too big."

"Britt, that's the same bed you've had for years."

"So? Still doesn't change the fact that you're not in it."

Suddenly, Santana's shoulders slumped in as everything clicked in her head, a small frown forming on her lips. "Yeah, I know, B. I know," Santana agreed with a sigh, feeling much the same as she sank further under the covers of her childhood bed.

Day Five

Brittany stumbled into the apartment the next evening after an extended cab ride home from a local bar. True to his word, Chris had taken her out for drinks after work to celebrate the end of the project. The night was fun while it lasted, but once she was away from all the distractions, her focus shifted back to the same person who always seemed to take precedence in her mind. With her head feeling fuzzy with the number of alcoholic beverages she'd had, she completely forgot about how late it was and slipped her phone out of her pocket to call her girlfriend.

"Mm?" the sound of the sleepy brunette muttered after answering the call.

A huge grin spread across Brittany face as soon as she heard Santana's voice and drunkenly cried out, "Baby! Baby, are you there?"

"Britt?" Santana tried to clarify, sounding a little more awake than before.

"Baby, I love you! Are you e'er coming home? 'Cause it's been fo'ever an' I miss you lots and lots."

Feeling her brow furrow in confusion, the brunette asked, "Brittany, are-are you drunk?"

"Nah, Babes. Just a lil' buzzed s'all," Brittany slurred into the phone as she fought to take off her shoes without falling.

"Really? Because you sound a little bit more than just buzzed."

"Okay, so maybe I'm a lotta bit buzzed. Blame Chris. He took me out drinkin' 'cause we fin'lly finish'd the project!" she exclaimed as she lazily pointed towards the apartment door, as if her boss were just on the other side.

"You did?"

"Yeah, we really, really did!" Brittany eagerly confirmed as she let out a big yawn, draping herself across the couch that already had her pillow and comforter spread out across the cushions. "I'm so excited but also sad 'cause I still have two more days till you get home."

"Hm, that does sound like an awfully terrible predicament, doesn't it?" Santana playfully mused.

Feeling herself starting to drift off to sleep, the blonde quietly mumbled, "Mhmm. Does. Miss you."

"I miss you, too," Santana returned, though unable to hold back a chuckle. The line went quiet for a long while with neither side saying anything until the brunette decided to speak up once more, quietly asking, "Hey, what do you say to me coming home a day early, Sleepyhead?"

Unfortunately, her question went unanswered as she heard the quiet snores coming from the woman she loved.

Day Six

Brittany was fast asleep on the couch once again when she heard the distant sounds of her front door opening and closing followed by bags hitting the floor. Suddenly, she heard the quick padding of feet coming toward her just before feeling a body wedging itself between her and the back of the couch.

"San?" Brittany groggily asked as she tried to turn her head to see who it was. Sure enough, there was her girlfriend laying right behind her.

"I don't know. Were you expecting someone else?"

"Hurry, Lord Tubbington. Go tell my other girlfriend that she needs to leave before San sees her," the blonde mumbled to the cat lying on the carpet below, nudging him softly with her hand.

"Oh, well I guess you won't be needing any sweet lady kisses from me if you got a little something-something on the side then," Santana teased back, pretending to start getting back up in the process.

"No," Brittany grumbled as she quickly flipped over so she could wrap an arm around the brunette's waist and force her back down, "You're going to stay right here. You know you're my one and only unicorn."

"So, what's the other girl? A rhino?" After receiving a puzzled look from Brittany, she added, "I know, I know. Bad joke. Sorry, it was a really long drive and that was the first thing I could think of that had a horn coming out of its head. I mean, I'm a unicorn. You're a narwhal. We kind of have a trend going, don't you think?"

"Actually, the narwhal's horn is a tooth."

"Really? Hm, I guess that's what I get for dating a genius, huh?" she joked as she leaned down to press a quick peck to the tip of her girlfriend's nose. "I missed you, Baby. Hope it wasn't too boring without me around."

"Move in with me," Brittany suddenly blurted out, causing Santana to scrunch her eyes up in confusion.

"What?"

"This week without you has given me a lot of time to think, and all I could think about was how empty this place felt while you were gone. To be completely honest, none of it feels right without you here."

Taking a moment to think the offer over, Santana suddenly allowed a wide grin to pull at her lips as she replied, "Well, I guess that it's good that I'm finally home then."

Brittany just looked up at her in awe, asking a hopeful, "Really?"

"Really, really, Babe. Looks like I'm here to stay."

Author's Note:

And that's the end of the first chapter to the Paperwoman sequel-of-sorts! I really hope you enjoyed reading it. Anyways, I have several other chapters lined up, but I can't promise how soon or often they will be posted. Either way, I'm excited to finally be back writing for this verse!

Until next time!