May, many years later

Santana subconsciously shifted as the morning's sunrays snuck in through the blinds and warmed her body. She turned and snuggled into her blanket, trying to find that perfect position again. Then, she yawned and wiped hastily at the tears that followed. Her eyes opened slowly to the sun rising, blinking a few times to adjust to the brightness.

"Good morning, gorgeous."

Santana smiled lazily. "Morning," she croaked back as she turned to the waking body next to her. She stared dreamily into those half-asleep ocean blue eyes, and she reached her hand out to run her fingers through that irresistible head of dark brown hair.

He truly was a handsome man.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Santana nodded.

"Good," he said, rubbing her cheek lovingly with his calloused thumb.

Santana placed her palm over the hand on her cheek, and, suddenly, her hand felt so small.

"Alright," he said, slipping his hand out of hers. "I'm going to get up now."

Santana groaned. "Are you sure you don't want to just cuddle in bed?" She blinked at him with her best puppy dog eyes.

He chuckled as he tossed the blanket off his body. "You're adorable, Santana, but even that's not going work." With that, he rolled out of bed and left the room.

"I love you!" he called back.

"Love you, too," Santana sighed. She turned back to the window and pulled her blanket up higher. Watching the sun rise always made her heart swell. It was heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and it made her feel young again as she remembered the all-nighters she used to pull.

One stood out against all the rest. And there would always be a place in her heart for that very special person she shared that particular sunrise with—a person who taught her to believe and to trust, to love and to live. The only reason Santana could fall in love at all was she.

And, as Santana watched the sun melt into the sky, she knew Brittany was somewhere out there watching, too.

"Santana?"

"Hmm?"

He handed her a mug of coffee. "You zoned out for a second there."

"Oh." After taking a sip of the coffee, she frowned. Something was missing, but it would do. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"You know…things." She glanced up at him with a small reassuring smile. This was the man she loved now.

And no one ever forgets his or her first love, right?

Santana jolted up as she heard her bus approaching. She rubbed at her eyes confusedly and checked her watch. She had only dozed off for fifteen minutes.

It felt like a lifetime.

o o o

Santana knocked urgently at the door. "Brittany!" she called.

"Wait!" a muffled voice called back, followed by sounds of thumping on the stairs. In a moment, the door was pulled open, and Brittany stood there, flushed from practically jumping down the stairs but still bright and happy as she always was.

Santana bit her lip and gazed at Brittany with gentle eyes. Then she pulled Brittany's face to hers and pressed their lips together.

Brittany squeaked in surprise but quickly closed her eyes and kissed Santana back just as passionately as Santana was kissing her.

Finally, Santana pulled away.

"Santana," Brittany whispered, her eyes wide, "everyone can see us here."

Santana only smiled. "Isn't that what you want?"

"Well...yes. But is that what you want?"

Santana twisted nervously on her feet as she fiddled with Brittany's Cheerios uniform. "I just want…to be with you."

Brittany tilted her head slowly and smiled.

"I want to be with you," Santana said again, "whether that's in your room, at your porch, at school…" She held both of Brittany's hands in hers. "I want to be with you at every moment in every place."

"Sanny…"

"I love you, Brittany."

"I love you, too, Santana." A single teardrop rolled down Brittany's face.

Santana laughed softly. "Don't cry, silly," she told her, wiping the teardrop away with her thumb.

"San?"

"Yeah?"

Brittany hesitated. Then she asked, "Why now?"

"I had a dream. We were in love. And then I lost you." Santana kissed her again. "I never want to lose you ever again—in this universe, in dream universe, I don't care. I just don't ever want to feel like a part of me is missing."

Brittany grinned, confused but happy. "We're meant for each other, Sanny. I'm sure no matter what universe we're in, we'll be together forever."

Santana nodded, laughing through her tears. Brittany was always the smart one.

May, many more years later

"I always knew we'd find each other again," Brittany said.

Santana gripped onto Brittany's hand even tighter. "I know," she whispered. She looked into Brittany's sparkling, blue eyes. Those never changed, no matter how many years had gone by. As for the rest of her face, Brittany now had the kindest wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, the softest cheeks no longer pulled tight with youth, and the lightest hair that had come with age. Santana brushed the back of her hand across Brittany's cheek. She thought Brittany was never more beautiful.

"Will we never be apart again?" Brittany asked.

"Never."

"How do you know?"

Santana looked up into the sky, thinking. "I just do."

Brittany cocked her head. "Huh."

"Besides," Santana added, poking Brittany's ribs playfully, "I'm the only one left who still wants you, now that you're all old and wrinkly."

Brittany scrunched her nose. "Hey! You're old and wrinkly, too."

Santana stopped laughing and nodded. Looking into Brittany's eyes, she said, "We grew old together, Brittany."

Brittany took a deep breath and exhaled. She stared into Santana's soft eyes, letting out the quietest chuckle. "We did, didn't we?"

Santana stared off dreamily into the horizon as she felt Brittany's thumb rub at her hand reassuringly.

"Can you feel it?" Brittany asked.

"What?"

"Spring's coming to an end."

Santana nodded, relishing the last blasts of spring air as the soft rumbling of their bus neared them. Standing up, Santana said, "Our bus is here." She extended her free hand to Brittany.

Brittany clasped it gladly and let Santana pull her up.

With their pinkies linked, they boarded the bus.

o o o

And onto the next stop, the next season, the next lifetime, and wherever life took them they went.

Author's Note: That's it, guys. Thanks for reading. I hope you had fun. I did. :)

P.S. If you were slightly confused by the ending, here is an explanation. For those of you who got it, just skip this part.

Santana wakes up next to that guy many years after the night of the proposal. I'm not really sure how or why Brittany and Santana gets separated, but, a long time has passed, so, you know, things happen.

The italicized part is another universe. I tried to create an otherworldly atmosphere for the whole story (for example, Santana says it's like they've met in another life), so the italicized part is back to Brittany and Santana in the Glee universe (in high school in Lima, Ohio). I tried to hint at that with Brittany's Cheerios uniform, but maybe it was unclear. Anyway, Santana (Glee version) wakes up from a dream (which is the story you've been reading) at the bus stop, so she goes to Brittany's house and tells her she had a dream in which they lost each other, etc. They then end up together in the Glee universe.

At the very end, you find out that the other universe isn't just a dream. It exists as well. So the ending scene is back to the universe the story started with but it's many, many years in the future again.

I hope that clears things up for some of you. Thanks again! :)