Never again (Quinntana)

Chapter 25 - Bad dreams

Before we start, I just typed in "Bad dreams" on the Internet to look for a beautiful picture, and I stumbled upon this gem of a song. Feel free to listen to it while reading. Enjoy!

Santana stood up as well. "Brittany is right, dad. You don't have to drive her. But she can't go home alone. So- maybe she can stay the night?"

Santana didn't know where that had come from. Spending the night with Brittany would mean probably more intimacy than she felt ready for. But the words were out of her mouth now, and there was no taking them back.

"Great idea, honey! I'll put the extra mattress in your room, and prepare the sheets." Maria smiled and climbed up the stairs, to Santana's room.

Brittany felt the need to apologize. "I'm sorry for forcing you to do this. I should have planned better." She looked down in defeat, and was caught by surprise when Santana's dad spoke up.

"Don't apologize, Brittany. We were all really happy to meet you. This dinner was a wonderful one. And Santana is glad to have you over. Otherwise, she wouldn't have offered you to sleep here." He grinned. "She may not show it, but you really mean a lot to her."

Brittany glanced up at him, a surpised look on her face.

"I mean it." he said.

With one last soothing smile at Brittany, he began collecting the plates from the table. "You can go ahead. Santana's room is upstairs."

Brittany helped nonetheless. She gathered the remaining dishes and brought them to the kitchen. Santana's dad thanked her and assured her she could not do anything more to help.

 "There's no space for two in this kitchen," he'd claimed. Brittany was pretty sure it had been an excuse to prevent her from helping.

A few minutes later, Santana and Brittany lay side by side, Santana in her bed and Brittany on a mattress on the floor.

"Goodnight, Santana", said Brittany.

"Goodnight, Brittany." The faintest smile could be heard in Santana's voice. She was glad to have somebody beside her.

The mere thought of Brittany's presence soothed her enough to allow her to fall asleep.

Not enough, however, to hold the nightmares at bay.

Brittany woke up in the middle of the night to a heartwrenching cry.

"Noo! No- Lucy- please! please don't leave! Please..." Santana was gripping her sheets, and her face was contorted in an expression of undescribable angst.

Brittany got up on impulse, kneeling at the side of Santana's bed. Light as a feather, she carressed her cheek to wake her up, while reaching for her hand. "San", she soothed. "San- It's okay, I'm here. Nobody's leaving. I'm here."

Santana calmed down at once when she felt a hand in hers, and mumbled in a half-daze. "Lucy- Luce-"

As she opened her eyes, realizing she was most likely having a dream, unwilling tears made their way down her cheeks.

Only then did she notice Brittany's wide, kind eyes looking at her. The blonde's right hand was still rubbing Santana's cheek soothingly, her left hand interlocked with the raven haired girl's right one.

Startled, Santana sat up, letting go of Brittany's hand like she'd been burnt. Brittany jumped back guiltily, abruptly realizing what she had been doing.

"Brittany?" wondered Santana. "Brittany, was that you?"

Brittany nodded, the gesture barely visible in the dark room. Tears were streaming on her cheeks as well now, fear gripping her stomach. She will never talk to me again. She's mad. She's so mad- She hates proximity. She hates intimacy. What was I thinking? She'll hate me. She'll hate me.

Santana frowned. Were those- tears? Brittany never cried. She did not cry when she was bullied, did not cry when she hurt herself during training, did not cry when her parents left for weeks on business trips, without a warning.

"Brittany." Santana disentangled herself from the mess of her sheets, and threw her legs across her bed. She stood up and carefully walked towards Brittany, trying to bridge the space between them. Brittany whimpered, crawling back against the wall.

Santana stopped dead in her tracks. She crouched, lowering herself to Brittany's level, and called her name once again.

"Brittany-" That single word held all the gentleness one could muster. It was wrapped in understanding and genuine care, so much so that Brittany perked up.

"I'm sorry, Santana. I'm so sorry- I shouldn't have touched you, I just-" Brittany was interrupted by a heartbreaking sob escaping her throat.

"I couldn't see you in pain", she whispered. "I couldn't. I understand if you never want to talk to me again." Her eyes were back on the floor, her arms hugging her knees close to her chest in an attempt to lessen the pain.

"No- Brittany- Brit. Look at me." Santana's tone wasn't angry, or resentful, like Brittany would have expected. "Brittany, I'm glad you did what you did. I've never-" Santana broke off, an edge to her voice. I've never needed someone more, she had planned on saying.

She settled on something safer. "Sometimes- sometimes I hate being alone," she whispered.

Carefully, Santana slid forward, wrapping her arms around Brittany. "Thank you," she breathed. "Thank you, Brittany."

Brittany snuggled into Santana's arms, pressing her body against her best friend's chest. Gradually, her heartbeat settled to the rythm of Santana's. And before they knew it, the two girls had fallen asleep.

A.N.

Hello! Hope you're all well :)

Thank you for reading, and special thanks to those who vote or comment every time. I heart you <3

Seems to me that Santana is falling into Brittany's arms ^^

What do you think?

P.S. This chapter is dedicated to @bexana ! Thank you for commenting on my last chapter :)