"You're so warm…don't move."
Rachel smiled to herself softly, but didn't even consider not heeding her girlfriend's murmur. There was no denying her what she wanted when she her body was relaxed half over top of her own, heavy and comforting in its weight, her voice fuzzy and slightly slurred with her sleepiness. When her girlfriend was too tired to even mock her clothing, or to point out the irony of Rachel being the one who's body temperature was warmer in the moment, when she usually complained about her cold hands and feet and nose, she knew that she should simply accept and take advantage of her cuddliness rather than draw attention to it.
Her warmth was, of course, due to the fact that she was wearing footie pajamas, the very same that Santana usually did not fail to smirk and roll her eyes at, these particular ones festively clad with holly sprigs and with attached jingle bells at the toes, in keeping with the upcoming holiday season. Santana, in contrast, was wearing only tiny boi shorts and a snug t-shirt, without socks, and Rachel shuddered slightly, feeling her cold feet even through her own pajamas. She had lost count of how many times she had sought to helpfully inform Santana that she would be warmer in the New York City bitter winters would she simply dress appropriately for them, whether or not she considered appropriate wear to be "dorky," but every time Santana simply gave her an impish grin as she replied.
"I got you to keep me warm, what else do I need?"
And Rachel couldn't deny that it was nice to be wanted in this way. Still, it didn't keep her from worrying about Santana catching a serious illness or getting frostbite one day because of her insistence on fashion.
To try to further warm her, she rubbed her hand over Santana's back and arms, trying to create friction to heat up her skin, and when Santana groaned softly, burrowing her cold nose into the crook of Rachel's neck, Rachel gave a faint shiver, but smiled, turning her head to kiss the top of Santana's. She could see the faint glow of colored lights from the Christmas lights wound around their headboard reflected off the other girl's face, and she wrapped her arm around her more securely, allowing for Santana, for once, to be the one held. Looking down at her, a bit awkwardly from their current positioning, Rachel's free arm slowly stroked through her hair, and she thought to herself with intense feeling and love how very proud she was of Santana, of how very far she had come in the past year and a half- and how proud she was of herself as well.
Santana had, despite her mental and physical health problems in their last couple of years of high school, finished at the top of the class, right up there with Quinn and Rachel herself, although not quite as high as either of them- due not to ability, Rachel was sure, but slightly less effort and tendency to let herself more often become distracted, both by lesser will and by her more serious health concerns. Rachel had, through sustained effort and focus, and a lifetime of preparation, managed to secure her placement in her musical theater college of choice, and Santana had, after endless debate and self-doubt, applied and been accepted into a smaller but well-respected liberal arts university also in New York City. Although she still was unsure of what she wanted to be, she had access to participating in any of the arts she might choose and perfecting her skills, and she also had access to becoming a lawyer or "something with kids, maybe," two choices she was also considering. Rachel was not worried that she would eventually be able to choose. After all, they were barely nineteen, and Santana had so many talents that Rachel could certainly see how it might be difficult for herself to limit herself to only extensively pursuing one.
Still looking down at her, Rachel ran a hand gently over Santana's back and then down her side, tracing the curve of her hip and the inward slant of her waist. When Santana stirred slightly, starting to lift her head, Rachel hummed to her softly, guiding it back down, and resumed stroking her, leaning her head downward to whisper in her ear.
"Shhh, you can sleep, sweetie. You're just so beautiful…and I'm so proud of you."
And she was. Santana had been maintaining her weight, pretty consistently, with only one slip since her major scare in senior year. When she and Rachel had first started school in the city, between the stress of the move, her anxiety over her new adulthood and responsibilities, and her adjustment to school and her new schedule, Santana had started to avoid meals again and to lose weight, dipping below the level that she, her mother, and her doctors had agreed upon as healthy for her. But this time, when Rachel confronted her, as soon as she had begun to notice, Santana had not only admitted but agreed that she was struggling- and she had without anyone twisting her arm sought out help again. She had clung to Rachel for support, trusting her girlfriend to tell her whether what she was intending to eat was a normal meal or not, and she had swallowed her pride to begin to see the counselor at school, who had then referred her to a therapist in the city to see regularly. She was still seeing the woman and calling her mother regularly, sometimes every day, on a particularly stressful week, and her weight was currently stable and had been for some time.
Now it was soon to be Christmas, their first Christmas together as adults, away from their families and their usual traditional roles. Of course, they would soon be traveling home together to celebrate with them, but it was the first year that they would be guests rather than center and a part of all holiday celebrations from the end of Thanksgiving well into the new year, and until that time came, Rachel savored every moment she still had alone with her. She could not imagine being more proud of her or more in love with her, finding her more beautiful than she had this year- or even in this moment.
As she continued to gently run her fingers through Santana's hair, she heard the other girl begin to stir, yawning into her neck. When Santana spoke, her voice was even more sleepy and run together than it had been before, and Rachel suppressed a smile, straining to hear her.
"Rachel…?"
"Yes, baby? What is it?" Rachel whispered back to her, and she heard Santana yawn loudly again- but this time, she could hear that part of the sleepiness was put on.
"Rachel…what did you get me for Christmas….?"
Rachel laughed, shaking her head, even as she scolded Santana, giving her a little nudge reprovingly.
"Oh no, Santana, your sleepy voice isn't going to trick me into slipping up just because you know I find it adorable. I will not be telling you one little hint about what you're getting for Christmas. You will simply have to wait and see for yourself."
"Damn it," Santana muttered, her voice louder and much more coherent and alert now, and Rachel laughed, squeezing her shoulder affectionately.
"I won't tell you what I got you for Christmas…but you can have me for now," she dropped her voice into a whisper, pressing a kiss into the crook of her shoulder and thrilling when Santana shuddered with pleasure.
Cuddling her close, she lifted Santana's chin gently to meet her lips in a kiss, opening her legs for the other girl to fit more easily in between them as she more fully lay across her. When the jingle bells on her toes chimed, Santana broke out snickering, but this was quickly cut off by Rachel's lips, and she didn't seem to mind at all.