Chapter 25: Moving Day

4 weeks later

Saturday.

8 am.

Today is the day.

Moving day.

I am up early. Far earlier than on a regular Saturday but today is an important day. Santana is moving in today - this weekend. But mostly today. Or at least that's the goal. To move the majority of her things today and if we can't get everything moved then to be all moved by tomorrow.

I would prefer it if we just moved everything today no matter how long it might take us. That way we don't have to worry about doing anything tomorrow. Just move everything today. I mean, how much stuff could a twenty-three year old have?

I guess I shouldn't have asked that question.

"How many boxes are in here?" I ask as I step into Santana's room.

She spins around at the sound of my voice and smiles once she sees me. She shrugs and moves across the room, closing the distance between us. I hold out my arms in anticipation and without fail she falls into them, wrapping her arms around my waist. I kiss her on the cheek and then on the lips.

After a few seconds of sweet little pecks I lean back a little so she can't reach my lips even if she tried. "You didn't answer my question." I nod behind her at what must be thirty boxes of Santana's belongings.

"I don't know, maybe thirty-two." She smirks up at me.

"So. Thirty-two?" Santana nods. "You're a goof."

"But I'm your goof, right?"

"Right." I lean back down and kiss her again. "So, other than these thirty-two boxes, what else do we have to move?"

"Just that chair in the corner and my dresser. I figured I didn't need my bed." Santana wiggles her eyebrows at me.

I roll my own. "I don't know where we're gonna put all this stuff. I think we're gonna need a bigger apartment."

"Nah, it's mostly clothes and stuff that I can put in the closet or dresser."

"Right. That's assuming I let you." I tease her.

"Hey!" She smacks me playfully on the ass.

"None of that now." I release her from my hold. "We have work to do."

"I wasn't- I-" She sputters awkwardly.

I can't help but laugh. "Let's go adorable. I only have Mike's truck for the day."

It took six trips and a lot of hard work but we managed to move all of Santana's belongings, except for her dresser, by late afternoon.

I carry the last box up the stairs and into the apartment. I set it on the floor behind the couch with some of the others- the ones that wouldn't fit in the bedroom. That's where my next destination is.

I step into the bedroom to see Santana unpack a box of what looks like mostly clothes. "Hey." I get her attention. "You wanna go grab something to eat before we go back to your parents place."

"Sure." She throws a tight, dark blue dress that she had in her hands on the bed. "I'm starving."

"Me too." I hold my hand out for her to take. She intertwines our fingers together so we can walk together.

It's been a long day. We skipped lunch just to keep moving stuff. I'm glad that we have mostly all of it done. There is only one thing left. Santana called her dad and asked him if he could help us move her dresser. He said of course but that we would have to wait until after his shift or until tomorrow. I didn't want to do it tomorrow so we have to go back to her parent's house and meet him when he gets done with his shift at six.

"What do you want?" I ask as we hop into the car.

"Umm, something bad, messy, dirty, greasy. Something that will satisfy my craving."

"So, sex or burgers?" I ask and bite my lip.

She rolls the back of her head against the headrest and turns toward me. "God, I love you. But, burgers, please." She gives me a lopsided grin. "Please." She practically begs. "I need to fuel my body so I can have enough energy to last the rest of the day and into the night. Especially, if we plan on doing both."

"Both?"

"Burgers and sex. But burgers first, then sex, but in between we need a little help from my dad." She grins that devilish grin of hers that I can't resist.

I let her words catch up to me. "You just made that sound so bad and now I'm picturing sex with your dad standing in our bedroom, watching." I cringe at the very thought.

"Ewwww. Britt." Santana shakes her head back and forth really fast. "That's gross."

"I know. Sorry. I couldn't help it though. You were talking about sex and then your dad and I just connected the two."

"Britt, just stop. You're making it worse. Just stop, please. Let's go get some burgers and fries. Oh, maybe milk shakes to top it off."

"That sounds like a great plan. It will definitely get my mind off your dad." I beam.

"Britt." Santana whines.

"Sorry." I start the car and drive to the nearest burger joint that isn't the bar that my family owns.

I trace my fingers lightly over the soft skin of Santana's back. It's early. Far too early to be awake on a Sunday but I can't help it. I'm awake and have been for over an hour. I don't want to wake Santana though. She is so beautiful when she is asleep. Not that she isn't beautiful when she is awake because she is but she is even more beautiful now. Laying on her stomach, her arms folded up under the pillow, her head facing me, she's the most beautiful.

All I keep thinking about is that this morning is the first morning of the rest of my life that I will wake up to this beautiful woman. Everyday. For the rest of my life. It's the most wonderful thought and it's an even better feeling.

I don't want to wake her but at the same time I do. It's torture. But, I'll settle for anything right now. That's why I am whispering my fingers along her back hoping it will wake her but maybe not.

She shifts and I pull my hand away from her skin.

"B?" She croaks, her voice full of sleep.

"I'm right here." I whisper. She scoots closer to me and then turns on her side and wrapping an arm over my waist. I take the opportunity to slip a thigh between hers and I return my hand to her back and hold her close to my body. "Go back to sleep." I whisper in her ear. She hums and nuzzles her face into the crook of my neck. I rest my chin on the top of her head and close my eyes and try to fall back to sleep.

A couple hours and a hot breakfast later we are sitting on the bedroom floor surrounded by boxes.

"I don't know if we can get all of this done today and still make dinner." I comment looking at all the boxes that surround us.

"Well, we are gonna do our best. I have to get all this stuff unpacked right away or I won't do it. My first year of college I didn't unpack my stuff the first day or first couple of days. I basically wore five shirts and two pairs of jeans until I went home for Thanksgiving. I never knew where anything was. If I needed a new notebook I went to the store and bought one even though I knew I had about ten of them in the bottom of a box in the closet. So, yeah, we are getting this done today." Santana says and pulls open another box of clothes.

"Well, good thing your dad helped with the dresser last night then."

"Yeah, good thing."

"I think he was surprised at how many boxes could fit in this room." I joke. The look on Mr. Lopez face when he saw the bedroom was priceless.

"I know he wasn't happy that he had to move four of them before we could get the dresser in the bedroom door. I shouldn't have set them in front of the door." She stands up with a handful of shirts and goes over to the dresser.

"But, San, he loves you. I'm sure he would do anything for you."

"I know he would. And I know he loves me. But I'm sure he was tired after work and didn't need to be moving boxes to get the dresser in." She huffs.

"Hey." I get up and walk over to stand behind her. I wrap my arms around her from behind and rest my chin on her shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You're a great person. And I'm sure your dad didn't mind too much. Try not to think about it." I encourage.

"I know. And I'm working on it. I'm working on all of my issues and apparently that is one of them."

"It is. You should be more carefree, less stressed, and you should love life."

"I do. Love life. And I am definitely less stressed with you around." She tells me as she spins around in my arms.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I love the life I have now. I love my job. I love doing something that I love and getting paid to do it. I love my new friends from work. I love my family and their support through all these changes in my life. And I love my new living arrangements." Santana slides her hands into the back pockets of my jeans as she speaks.

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Is that it?"

She smirks and shakes her head. "Nope. There is one more thing that I love."

"And what's that?" I play along.

"There is this girl. You might know her. She has blonde hair and the most amazing blue eyes. She is the sweetest, most generous person I know. She is charming and hella sexy. She makes me feel special every single day and she takes better care of me than I thought was possible. I love her more than anything."

Santana leans up on her toes.

"I love you too." I say before we kiss.

Things get heated fast. I feel like a can't breathe and if we are going to be getting anything done today we can't be messing around.

"Maybe we should get back to work." I suggest.

Santana takes a half-step back and rests her forehead against my collarbone. "Yeah, ok, you're right."

"I can't do this. I can't do this. Fuck. Shit. Damn."

I hear yelled from the kitchen along with the sounds of the smoke alarm. I'm getting dressed for when everyone comes over. My family, Santana's family, Sugar, and one of Santana's new co-workers are all coming over for dinner. We are having a celebratory dinner/moving in party thing. I throw my shirt on over my head and hurry out of the bedroom into a very smoky kitchen.

"Fucking chicken." Santana yells.

"Hey, what happened?" I rush into the kitchen to get a better look of the damage.

"The chicken started on fire or burnt or something." Santana slams the dish with the chicken in it on the countertop. "I don't know but I do know that this is inedible." She motions to the pot with an oven-mitted hand.

I step up to the counter and examine the chicken. "Yeah, probably shouldn't eat that." I joke.

Santana doesn't think it's funny. She is standing there with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"Ok, ok, we'll figure something out." I amend.

"In twenty minutes Brittany. Cuz that's how long we have until people start showing up." She takes her oven mitts off and throws them on the counter. "We have twenty fucking minutes to making dinner." She yells.

I take a step backwards, away from her. "Why are you yelling at me?"

Santana's eyes go wide. "Shit." She mumbles and ducks her head. "Britt, I'm sorry." She takes a few steps towards me but doesn't look up at me. "I didn't mean to yell at you. You didn't do anything. It was the frickin chicken. I just got frustrated and then angry. I didn't mean to yell. I'm sorry." She finally makes eye contact with me when she says her final 'I'm sorry'.

I use my finger to motion her to close the distance between us. "It's okay." I say as soon as she is right in front of me.

"No, it's-"

"Yes." I put my finger on her lips to silence her. "Just listen. We will get take out. Nobody will care that it wasn't you or I that cooked. I know how you think, remember? I know that's what you are worried about, that and yelling at me. But, it's all okay. So dinner doesn't happen right away. It's fine. I'm sure nobody will mind if it's a few minutes later than what we told them. Relax."

She lets out a long sigh. I grab onto her upper arm and tug so that she falls into my body. "It'll be okay." I say at the same time that there is a knock on our door.

Santana looks up at me with those wide, scared, anxious eyes. I kiss her on the forehead and go and get the door.

"Alright." I stand up from the table with my glass of water in hand. "I want to thank everyone for coming tonight. My parents, San's parents, my sister, Sugar, yes even you Tina, Santana's newest friend and co-worker. I want to thank you all for celebrating with us. This is an important time for Santana and I. It is both exciting and scary. It is a time in our lives where just about anything is possible. Cuz I love this woman and she loves me and at the end of the day that's all that really matters. Thank you for sharing that with us."

I clink my glass with Santana's and then take a drink. "That was beautiful Brittany." My mom sniffles.

"Stop crying mom." I say and sit down.

Santana immediately takes my hand. I look over to her and she is smiling with tears in her eyes too. "It was beautiful." She whispers as best as she can while trying not to cry.

"Thanks." I squeeze her hand and then pull it to my lips and kiss the back of it. It feels like all the attention in the room is focused on me. But I expected as much. This is a celebration about Santana and I coming together after all.

"So, Santana, did you get everything unpacked." Mr. Lopez breaks the somewhat awkward silence. And I, for one, am grateful for it.

Santana just shakes her head. I speak up for her instead. "We almost got everything unpacked but there are a handful of boxes left. Santana wanted to get ready and start dinner so we quit unpacking and worked on that. Somewhat unsuccessfully, as you all know." I chuckle.

"Yes, the great dinner debacle." Christi pipes up.

"Christi." My mom silences her. "Don't add insult to injury."

"No one got injured." Christi counters.

"Not the point." My mom says back.

"Well, Santana, I can help you with that chicken the next time you want to make it. Tips, suggestions, I could even come over and be your assistant if you want." Maribel adds.

"Sure, mom. It looked like an easy dish to make in the cook book. I just don't know what happened."

"Probably something little. Beginner's mistake. We all make them. No biggie." Santana's mom shrugs and then takes a drink of her wine.

"This is very good wine, Susan. Where did you get it?" The older Lopez woman asks.

"Oh, at the bar. We have a small selection of wines in the basement. It is very good. A good year." Susan says and sips her own glass.

"That it is." Maribel giggles and takes another drink.

I lean to my left and whisper in Santana's ear. "Is your mom drunk?"

She nods. "Yep."

Sugar elbows me in the opposite side and leans over. I think she is going to says something to me but instead addresses Santana. "So, Santana, did you guys christen your new apartment yet?"

"Sugar." I nearly shout. I feel everyone at the table turn to look at me. "Sorry. Carry on."

"What?" Sugar asks in a low voice.

"Cut it out." I tell her. This is not appropriate dinner conversation.

"Not until I get an answer. Santana?" She nods at my girlfriend trying to get her to answer.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Santana says from my left.

Sugar leans further over me and grins at Santana. I just want to smack that look off her face. "You do too, you sneaky devil. So, is that a yes?"

"Sugar, first of all, this apartment isn't new, therefore, it can't be christened. I lived here before Santana moved in and, second, it's none of your business." I whisper-growl. I really don't want to discuss this, especially with mine and Santana's parents sitting on the opposite side of the table.

"Jeez, Britt, take a chill pill." She huffs, annoyed that I am trying to spoil her fun. "But, I'm still waiting for an answer. Santana?" For Santana's part she doesn't say a word and for that I am grateful. I push Sugar out of my lap and back into her own chair. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

"It's not a yes." I tell her.

"But you didn't deny it. Did you?" Sugar argues.

"Just drop it, Sugar."

"Ugh, fine." She groans and folds her arms over her chest like a spoiled child who didn't get what she wanted.

"Thank you for coming, Tina. It was very nice to finally meet you. Santana has spoken kindly of you." I say to the Asian woman as we approach the door. I pull the door open for her.

"Yeah, thanks for coming." Santana parrots. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"I had a good time, thanks for inviting me." Tina says with a smile.

"Our pleasure." I say and lean in for a hug. She seems hesitant at first but after a wrap my arms around her shoulders she reciprocates and hugs her arms around me too. "Drive safe." I say as she exit's the apartment.

"She's nice." I tell Santana and she nods.

All the parents hoard towards the door as soon as Tina leaves. Sugar had to leave early and now it's like a mass exodus. Once one leaves, they all leave.

"Bye, Britt." Christi mumbles and walks out the open door without another word.

"Bye, Christi, thanks for coming and your welcome." I shake my head. Teenagers.

"Brittany, leave your sister alone. She probably didn't want to hang out with a bunch of adults on a Sunday night. I don't blame her." My mom says as she hugs me. "Have fun." She winks. "And call me if you need anything."

"It's like I just moved here." I throw my hands up in the air. "I've lived here for two years."

"Bye, Britt. Bye, Santana." My dad says. "I'll go start the car."

"I'll be down in a minute hun. I just want to have a word with Santana." My mom informs my dad.

"Oh god." I groan. My mom goes over to Santana who is standing a few feet away from me. She leans towards her and whispers, something that I can't hear, in her right ear. I can only imagine what she is saying. Knowing her probably something embarrassing.

"Okay." Santana nods. My mom wraps her arms around Santana and pulls her into a hug. I can see the surprise on Santana's face. I smile at her and she smile a little back.

"Gotta go, bye girls." My mom says and is gone.

"Dad, where's mom?" Santana asks her dad who is standing awkwardly a few feet away from us.

"She said she had to use the restroom before we left."

"Oh. Okay." Santana nods.

"You girls threw a very lovely dinner party this evening, even with the little dinner mishap. It was very nice. And it was nice to get to know your parents a little Brittany. They are very warm and friendly. I hope we can have many more dinner parties in the future."

"I'm ready to go dear." Santana's mom says loudly as she exit's the bathroom.

"She's a little drunk. I better get her home." Mr. Lopez chuckles. "You girls have a good rest of your night." He pats Santana on the shoulder and nods to me as he passes by, towards the door.

"Santana, dear, you know I love you but you are a terrible cook. I will need to teach you a thing or two so you don't poison or kill poor Brittany here with you're cooking." Maribel says through a slight slur.

Santana flushes under her mother's scrutiny. "Gee, thanks mom." She mumbles.

"Don't mention it." Maribel says with a smile.

I have to hold back the laugh that wants to escape my mouth. "It was a pleasure having you both here tonight. Thank you for coming." I says to Santana's parents.

"Oh, Brittany, you are so glorious." She pats me on the cheek. "Your apartment is lovely, small, but lovely."

"Thanks." I mumble. Was that a compliment?

"You are very welcome." The older Lopez woman falls forward into me and wraps her arms around me. "Take care of my daughter." She whispers to me.

"I will." I promise.

Maribel takes a step back and points a finger at Santana. "And you- behave."

Santana rolls her eyes but nods. "Yes, mom."

"Let's go, Maribel." Doctor Lopez interrupts the interaction. He steps over to his wife and wraps an arm around her. "See you later girls." He says and pulls the woman out the door.

"Finally." Santana mumbles as she shuts the door behind her mom and dad. I chuckle at her and head for the bedroom.

I pull my shirt over my head and throw it at the hamper in the corner of the room. My bra comes off next. I grab my sleep tank top and pull it on. I here a huff behind me and turn to see Santana walking in the room.

"Hey, dinner went well, didn't it?"

"Mmm." Santana shrugs. "I don't know. It was okay, I guess."

"I think it was a success." I tell her. I think it was for many reasons.

"And I beg to differ." She groans.

"Okay, grumpy." I tease.

Santana's not having it. She rolls her eyes at me and climbs into bed, under the blankets.

"Well, I think it was nice for our parents to meet and get to know each other a little. It's the first of many gatherings between our families. And I think it went well. It's the first step and it was a success."

"You're probably right." Santana grumbles. I take my pants off and climb into bed too. "I like the idea that it is the first interaction between them with many more to come. It just reinforces the fact in my mind that we are together and that gives me a sense of calm. Even though the night didn't go the way I hoped it would- with me burning dinner and all."

I shut off the lamp on the bedside table. The room falls into darkest and I scoot up next to Santana. I roam around for her hand and when I find it I pull it into my lap.

"Dinner was fine, San. Everyone understood and were fine with take out." I move around so that I can lay on my side. "I'm glad that our moms got along even if they needed a little help from the wine."

Santana laughs at that. "My mom was probably nervous. Hence all the wine she drank."

"There was no need to be nervous. Hopefully, next time she feels like she doesn't need to drink."

"Yeah, hopefully." Santana mumbles.

I know her and talking about drinking don't go together too well so I shut up about it. "Are you tired?" I ask. I know she is. She's always grumpy when she's tired.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Let's go to sleep. No hanky-panky like last night."

"Hanky-panky, Britt?" She questions and I can hear the amusement and confusion in her voice. Okay, maybe not confusion. I definitely know that she knows what I'm talking about.

"Yeah. No hanky-panky for you, Ms. Lopez."

She giggles. "Goodnight, Britt-Britt." She rolls over onto her side with her back to me.

"Hey, no goodnight kiss?" I'm slightly offended and slightly disappointed that I didn't get my goodnight kiss. "Is it because I said hanky-panky?"

"Yes." She giggles. "Well-" She moves to lay on her back again. "-I just- it's not but I don't really like the phrase hanky-panky. I could never go without a goodnight kiss so don't worry your pretty little face."

I smile and lean over her to kiss her goodnight. It's quick and sweet like a perfect goodnight kiss should be. With some affection but not sloppy or heated. Just perfect. "Thank you." I say when I lean back away from her.

"For what?" She asks.

"For just being you. And for letting me love you. And for loving me." I explain as simply as I can.

"Don't thank me, Britt." She pats me on the cheek gently. "It's impossible not to love you."

"I love you Santana. Goodnight." I tell her feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I will never get tired of telling her I love her.

"Goodnight Brittany." She says and rearranges herself again so that her back is pressed to my front and I can spoon her properly. "I love you." She whispers and I can tell she is already falling asleep. I kiss her on the shoulder and close my eyes.

It's still early for me so I probably won't fall asleep for awhile. But I don't mind laying here with Santana asleep in my arms. There's no where else I'd rather be.

THE END

That concludes this story. I have started another one. If you want to check it out go to my page or look it up. It's called Summer Fling, Don't Mean A Thing