The Reindeer Games
Noelle was fast asleep. The room was dark, despite it being almost nine o'clock in the morning, thanks to the amazing blackout curtains covering the windows. She was wrapped in a fluffy cocoon of blankets, even though it was the middle of June. Normally she wouldn't want to be so bundled up in the summer months, but since she was in her mother's old childhood bed in the North Pole, and the temperatures were in the mid to high twenties Fahrenheit, she needed heavier blankets than she was used to. She was so cozy in her warm, dark room that she could have slept for hours… that was until Santana sat down on the bed, turned on the bedside lamp, and gently pushed her hair out of her face, giving her a light shake.
"Mija, it's time to wake up." She said softly.
Noelle mumbled something that was unintelligible and scrunched her face before trying to retreat further under the blankets.
Santana smiled. Sometimes, Noelle was so like her, it was hard to believe that she didn't give birth to her. "Okay, you can stay in bed while the rest of us go to the Reindeer Games." She said in a teasing tone and made a move to stand up from the bed.
Noelle's eyes instantly popped open and she quickly turned to look at Santana, grabbing her by the hand to keep her from leaving. Her facial expression was almost cartoonish that Santana couldn't help but to giggle.
"Mama!" Noelle yelped, sitting up. "I don't wanna stay here by myself!"
"Then you better get out of bed." Santana said and playfully tapped the end of her nose. "Nana and Papa just got back from walking Snowball and they're about to start cooking breakfast, so go take a shower and call me when you're ready for me to do your hair."
"Okay." Noelle chirped, excited not only for the food, but to finally see the games as well.
They had been in the North Pole for a little over a week already, but after the hype buzzing around the village, and her moms and grandparents' excitement for the games, she couldn't wait to see them for the first time that she could remember. Apparently she had seen them once when she was baby, but with no memory of it, she certainly didn't count that as having been present.
She flipped the blankets back, and as she stepped out of the bed, Santana gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head. She rushed out of her room towards the bathroom, wincing from the abruptness of the brightness from the twenty-four hour sun light shining though the many windows of the house.
Twenty minutes later, Noelle came into the kitchen in her jammies with her wet hair wrapped in a towel to find Whitney, Pierce, and Santana working in the kitchen. She picked up Snowball who was lounging sleepily on the floor and put him on her lap as she sat down at the table in the breakfast nook.
"Where's Mom?" She asked.
"Oh she went to the stables early this morning." Whitney said as she flipped the sausage links in the sizzling skillet. "Mike called in a panic. Apparently his assistant got sick sometime last night and can't help him today, so he needed someone to help him get Clara and Sugar Plum ready for the first event."
Noelle immediately recognized the names as Mike's reindeer. They were her favorite deer, even though she loved all the reindeer that she had met. "Aww, I want to see them too!" She pouted, sad that Brittany went to the stables without her. She took any chance she could to see the reindeer, even if it meant getting up early.
"You'll be able to see them soon." Santana assured her, and then looked at her watch. "I kind of thought Britt would be back by now though. She said she wouldn't be gone long, but she's been gone for almost four hours."
"If they didn't run into any problems with Mike's deer, maybe she decided to help some of the other teams too." Pierce suggested.
Santana nodded. "That sounds like something Britt would do."
"But she can't do that, we're rooting for Team Nutcracker!" Noelle said. "It would be cheating if she helps someone else!"
"Just because we're rooting for one team, it doesn't mean Mom can't help someone else who needs it. That's what sportsmanship is all about." Santana said. "It would only be cheating if she did something that intentionally hurt another team, and we both know that Mom wouldn't do something like that."
"I know she wouldn't, but maybe it will give the other team an advantage over Clara and Sugar Plum." Noelle reasoned.
"I doubt it. If anything it will make things fairer, don't you think?" Santana said.
Noelle mulled it over for a moment before she nodded. "I guess so, but I really hope Clara and Sugar Plum make the Christmas team."
"Me too." Santana said with a little chuckle as she rinsed off a plate. She loved Noelle's passion.
"Noelle, honey, do you want toast, English muffin, or a bagel?" Pierce asked as he looked into the pantry at their bread options.
"Muffin." Noelle said as she ran her hand up and down Snowball's back. She loved cuddling with the artic fox, and he loved anyone giving him attention, but he had a soft spot for Noelle.
"How about we go get your hair dried and brushed while Nana and Papa cook, and then you can pick out an outfit for today." Santana said wiping her wet hands on a tea towel.
"Okay!" Noelle said cradling Snowball in her arms and carrying him into her room with her.
By the time that Noelle's hair was done and she was dressed, Brittany was home. She was sitting at the table piling eggs onto a plate when her presence made Santana and Noelle stop dead in their tracks.
"Britt?!" Santana yelped in surprise. "What is going on with your hair?"
"It's pink, duh!" Brittany giggled. "Do you like it?"
"Yeah, it looks great on you…but why?" The last thing she expected was for Brittany to come home with her hair a soft, yet vibrant shade of pink.
"Clara and Sugar Plum's team color is pink. While I was on my way home, I walked through the merchandise booths and food tents that were set up for the games and I saw a tent that offered hair coloring to root on your team. I lucked out too, because when I went by it was still a little early, so the crowds hadn't arrived yet. If I had gotten there later, it might have been too busy for me to do it, and if I did, I definitely would have missed breakfast. This way I get the best of both worlds. Pink hair and breakfast." She said and then playfully took a bite out of a sausage link.
"I think it's awesome! Can I dye my hair pink too?!" Noelle asked moving closer so she could get a better look at Brittany's hair.
"No." Santana said shaking her head. "Sorry kiddo, but you're not dying your hair pink. We have to go home in a week, and it wouldn't be healthy for your hair to be dyed back to its natural color that quickly. You could have a reaction and your hair might fall out or something, which is not something I'm willing to risk, so you'd be stuck with pink hair, and I can just see us now trying to explain to everyone why we let our ten year old dye her hair pink."
Noelle rolled her eyes, thinking Santana was over exaggerating. "Because it's cool, and Mom's hair is pink, so it wouldn't be weird for my hair to be pink too."
"Your mother is an adult; she can do what she wants. You're a kid, and it might damage your hair." Santana reasoned.
"It's not dyed." Brittany cut in, because she could just see an argument coming. "Is just spray, it'll wash out the next time I wash my hair."
"See! It's only temporary!" Noelle said and then crossed her hands. "Please, Mama, Pleeeeease! It would be so much fun! You could do it too."
Santana shook her head. "First of all, you know that pink is not one of my favorite colors. I'm okay with it now, depending on what it is, but I was in a literal argument with it from age five to my late twenties. It looks great on your mother, but I have no desire to spray my hair pink."
"But it would look good on me too, and I like pink." Noelle said giving her puppy eyes. "Come on, Mama. It would be so much fun!"
Santana sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Brittany and Noelle knew how to manipulate her feelings with just a simple look. "Okay. Okay, it's just spray, so you can do it."
"Yes!" Noelle cheered and ran up to Santana, giving her a tight hug. "Thanks, Mama!"
"You're welcome." Santana said hugging her back and purposely ignoring the smug smirk that Brittany was giving her. She knew that she was a softy when it came to giving her girls what they wanted.
-()-()-()-()-
"It's so busy!" Noelle chirped as they walked through the village towards the outskirts of town to the show grounds where the Reindeer Games were always held.
"The whole village always goes to the games. It's a big deal." Whitney said.
"The biggest deal, next to Christmas Day." Pierce added. "To us elves in the North Pole it would be like if the Olympics, World Cup, Super Bowl, and World Series were one event."
"Whoa." Noelle said. She liked sports, so she easily understood that reference. "I'm so glad I'm getting to see it."
"Me too." Brittany said smiling down at Noelle. She was so glad that she was finally able to share all that her home had to offer with her daughter.
"I wanna get a cotton candy before we go in! Pink of course." Pierce chirped. "And a pink Team Nutcracker scarf and hat."
"And a flag!" Brittany said with a little bounce in her step. It had been so long since she had been able to participate that she was just bubbling over with excitement.
"Ooo, we should take a look at the coats!" Whitney said. "We should all get one, and then we can take some family pictures of us in our matching team gear."
"Awesome! Great idea, Mom!" Brittany said and playfully bumped into Noelle. "What do you think kiddo?"
"I think it's perfect." Noelle cheered. "I can't wait!"
While everyone was excitedly chattering about all the team memorabilia that they wanted to buy, Santana was cringing internally. Not that she wasn't excited for the games, but just the thought of there being pictures of her decked out, practically head to toe in pink, was making her wince on the inside. Of course, she would do it, because everyone else wanted to do it, and she didn't want to be left out of what would ultimately be a great family moment, but she just wished that the team's color wasn't pink. When she went to the games years ago, and she was rooting on Pop and Lock, their color was red, and she loved it, because she could rock red like nobody's business!
When they reached the entrance to the show grounds, Noelle gasped at the tall stands, tents, and booths that had been erected all around the grounds. "They weren't here when you brought me here a couple of days ago!" She said, her mouth hanging open slightly. When Brittany and Santana took her to where the games were being held, it was just a wide-open space on the outskirts of town. Now it looked like a stadium.
"That's because they weren't." Brittany said with an amused shrug.
"But how did they do it so quickly?" It blew Noelle's mind that all that stuff could be built in a matter of days.
"Christmas magic." Brittany answered. She loved seeing the amazement in Noelle when it came to the way things were done in the North Pole.
"Mija that is the answer to everything here." Santana said with a little chuckle. "Just get used to it. I've gotten to the point that I don't even ask anymore because I just assume the answer is 'Christmas magic'."
"It usually is." Brittany agreed.
Noelle nodded. "I wish I had Christmas magic."
"You do baby girl. Right here." Brittany said and pointed to Noelle's heart. "You may not be able to move things with a snap of your fingers like I can, but you love the spirit of Christmas, and you have a good, gentle heart. That's Christmas magic too."
Noelle blushed.
"She's right." Whitney said smiling down at her and Pierce nodded.
Noelle looked at Santana and she just smiled at her and nodded to agree with everyone.
"I guess I never thought about it like that before." Noelle said shyly.
"There's more to Christmas magic than just snapping your fingers and making things happen." Brittany said and kissed her cheek. "You'll start to figure it out the more time you spend here."
Noelle nodded.
"So, who's ready to go shopping?!" Brittany squealed clapping her hands.
"ME!" Noelle, Whitney, and Pierce cheered at the same time.
Santana just gave a weak smile and nodded.
Brittany winked at Santana and giggled as she watched her parents each take Noelle's hand and they started skipping into the show grounds toward the booths and tents.
Brittany took Santana's gloved hand into her own and led her off to the side, and out of the way of the flow of people that were going into the show grounds. She leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on her lips, and then on her forehead, before nuzzling their noses together. "I love you."
"I love you too, Britt…but what was that for?"
"Because I know you aren't excited for the four day matchy-matchy pink fest that is about to happen, but you're going to do it anyways because the rest of us want to do it."
Santana smiled and then looked down at their feet shyly before she looked up at Brittany again. "I'm that obvious, aren't I?"
Brittany grinned and nodded. "Only to me, because I know my wife. You know Mom and Dad are usually oblivious to these kinds of things, they just get an idea, and when they think it's the best thing ever, they assume everyone else thinks it is as well. And Noelle is just so excited about everything, so that's all she cares about."
"And you?" Santana asked playfully.
"Well you know I like pink, obviously." She said and swished her pink ponytail before she leaned down and kissed Santana's lips again. "But I know you don't really like pink, so thank you for playing along for the rest of us."
"I just want everyone to be happy."
"I know you do, and we are. And just so you know, when we're alone tonight, I plan to thank you properly with a nice hot bath for two and a massage." Brittany said in a suggestive tone and a smirk.
Santana's cheeks warmed up and she couldn't help but to lean in and kiss Brittany again. "Well if I had known that wearing pink would get me special treatment, I would have worn it more often."
"But then it wouldn't be as special." Brittany said and tapped Santana on the end of her nose.
"I guess so."
"But just so you know, Mom and I are probably going to take a ton of pictures, so there will be evidence."
"Ugh." Santana groaned and then she had a thought. "Yeah, but there's only so many people you can show it to, because we can't show elf pictures to people at home, so HA!"
Brittany let Santana have her moment of triumph before reached into her coat pocket and pulled something out, playfully shaking it. It only took a second for Santana to realize that it was Brittany's cellphone, with a regular human camera.
"Damn it." Santana muttered and threw her hands up in the air in resignation. "Fine, you win; take as many pictures as you want."
Brittany giggled and cupped Santana's cool and rosy cheek with her gloved hand. "Don't worry; I'm sure you're going to look amazing in pink."
"I look amazing in everything." Santana boasted with a flip of her hand.
"Yes you do." Brittany practically purred and slowly ran her hand down the front of Santana's coat to her hand before lacing their fingers together. "Though I can't wait to get back to our little apartment later to take all that pink off."
There was a pull in Santana's lower abdomen and her cheeks heated up again. She wasn't sure what had gotten into Brittany that day, because while they had a healthy sex life, especially for women in their forties, Brittany seemed more eager than usual.
"We could just skip the pink and go back to the apartment." Santana offered.
"Tempting." Brittany said and then leaned to kiss Santana's lips one more time, "but you're just going to have to wait 'til later, because I know a little girl and two elves that will be disappointed if we bailed."
Santana nodded. "Well we wouldn't want that, besides, I know how much you're looking forward to seeing the games again, and I wouldn't want you to miss out on that."
"And you too. I overheard you talking to Noelle about it before we left home."
"That's true, but mostly I just want to see her reaction. She's going to love it."
"I think that's the part that I'm looking forward to the most as well."
"Then I guess we better go find them." Santana said. "I'm sure if we leave them alone for too much longer, your parents and Noelle will have bought every little pink thing there is to buy."
Brittany laughed and nodded before she led Santana back to the pathway and they mixed in with the fray of elves heading into the show grounds. "They are dangerous when left alone to their own devices."
It took Santana and Brittany about ten minutes to find them, but when they caught up with them, Pierce was holding bags of pink colored merchandise and Whitney was helping Noelle to try on a coat.
"Moms! Look at this cool coat! It has patches on each sleeve with Clara and Sugar Plum, and it has a big patch on the back that says Team Nutcracker, look!" Noelle said turning around so they could see the rhinestone encrusted patch.
"It looks good on you baby girl." Brittany said.
"It kinda looks like a letterman jacket, except pink, and more blinged out." Santana said with an amused chuckle.
"Is this the coat that you want?" Whitney asked. "Or do you want to go back to the other booth and get the other one that you liked."
"No, I like this one better."
"Alrighty. Everyone find your size." Whitney said. "Pierce, honey come here, let me help you set everything down, you're arms are overflowing.
"We're too late. We left them alone too long!" Brittany slyly whispered to Santana as they watched Whitney and Pierce.
Santana had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She could only imagine what was in those bags. She looked over to Noelle and saw her admiring her new coat in a mirror, and the joy on her face melted all the apprehension that she had about the impending "four day matchy-matchy pink fest" as Brittany had called it. She just wanted to have a good time with her family.
So, after everyone had found and tried on their coats, Pierce paid for them, and they continued down the row of booths and tents.
After they had bought snacks to have during the event, Noelle bounced on her toes as she looked up at Brittany. "Mom, where is the hair tent? I really want pink hair like yours!"
"It's just up here." Brittany said and pointed down the row.
"Yes!" Noelle said pumping her fist.
All the adults chuckled at her enthusiasm.
Noelle chattered away about how great she thought it would be to have pink hair and when they arrived at the front of the tent, her excitement bubbled a little more.
"Okay, Mija, okay. Calm down just a minute. You're about to explode." Santana said with a little chuckle. She hadn't seen Noelle this excited in a long time. She was sure the sugar from the free samples from the candy booths wasn't helping.
They were just about to walk into the tent when Whitney stopped them. "Hold on a minute."
The uneasy tone in her voice made everyone stop. Even Noelle. They all just looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Umm…" Whitney said and then looked at Brittany and Santana and shook her head.
Brittany and Santana scrunched their eyebrows in confusion, but they were starting to feel uneasy.
"What is it Mom?" Brittany asked.
Whitney frowned and looked down at Noelle and she looked pained, almost as if what she was about to say was going to hurt her.
"Honey?" Pierce cooed, encouraging her to say what it was that she wanted to say.
She looked up at Brittany and asked, "Did you see another tent when you were here earlier that did hair?"
Brittany shook her head. "No…why?"
"Just…maybe we should wait to have Noelle's hair turned pink."
"Why?" Brittany asked nervously.
"Well, now that I see whose tent this is, I think we should either find another way to turn her hair pink, or maybe we should skip it all together."
"But Nana!" Noelle grumbled. "Mama said I could."
"Mija." Santana said sternly and gave her a look that said she had better tread carefully.
Noelle frowned and bit her lip, not daring to push Santana further.
"It's just, I've had a run in with Cybil, and I know of a few others that have as well."
"What kind of 'run in' are we talking about?" Santana asked, growing more concerned by the second. She had already changed her mind about letting Noelle get her hair done, but now she was worried about what could possibly be wrong with Brittany's hair.
"Don't get me wrong, she's a nice lady, and she has some loyal customers that just rave about her, but I think she's a little wacky, and I don't trust her when it comes to hair care."
"You think she's wacky?" Santana said. Now she was definitely not allowing this woman to touch Noelle's hair.
Whitney nodded. "I went to her for a haircut a few years ago when my regular stylist was booked. She was running behind in her appointments that day, so she used her magic to have her tools do it on their own. It was fine at first, but then things went awry and my hair looked terrible, though she kept saying it looked great and innovative. It was the worst haircut I had ever had. It was so bad, I had to go to another salon to have them try to fix it, but they had to cut my hair my above my shoulders to make it somewhat decent. Then not too long after that fiasco, Carol Hummel went to her to have her hair colored, but the color came out all wrong and even though she went to have it fixed, the color wouldn't change until the dye faded on its own. Nothing other stylists used would change it. Apparently, Cybil likes to experiment with making her own hair products, which would be fine, except that Carol had bright blue hair for almost two months. And I heard there was another woman in wrapping that had orange hair for a while too."
"Really?" Brittany said her hand went to touch her own hair. Now she was little worried. She liked the pink hair, but she had only counted on it being pink for one day, not months.
"Yes…though these stories may be flukes. She still has her salon and I see people in there all the time when I pass it, so there is a chance that this hair spray she has will work the way it is supposed to work, but it may not, and I just don't want to take the chance with Noelle's hair."
"I don't either." Santana said.
"I don't either." Brittany repeated and looked down at Noelle. "Sorry baby girl, I know you were excited, but the pink hair idea is out, at least for today."
"But I wouldn't mind having pink hair for the rest of the summer." Noelle said playfully as one last-ditch effort to convince her parents.
Santana and Brittany both just shook their heads.
"Okay." Noelle said giving up. She knew they were not going to budge.
"If you want, I'll buy you a pink wig." Pierce said pointing to a booth further up the lane that had different color wigs.
Noelle looked at them, but they reminded her of the curly-haired clown wigs that people wore at Halloween at home. She shook her head, but she also gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks Papa, but I think I'm okay. You already bought me enough pink stuff to cheer on Clara and Sugar Plum."
Brittany and Santana both felt a swell of pride that Noelle recognized how much money had already been spent on her and she didn't want to take advantage.
"I'm sorry, Noelle. I know how much you wanted this, and I wanted it for you too, but I don't want something to happen to your beautiful hair." Whitney said softly. She felt bad because she loved to spoil her granddaughter, and give her anything she wanted, but she drew the line when it came to things that could be potentially dangerous or have an adverse effect on her.
Noelle just looked at Whitney's face, and suddenly she felt bad about how she had made her look sad. "It's okay, Nana." She said and gave her a hug around the middle. "We're still going to have fun, with or without pink hair, right?"
That made Whitney smile and she gave her a tight hug in return. "We sure are! And just wait until we bust out all the goodies we bought. We are going to be the most festive fans out there!"
"Well that's probably true." Brittany said with a chuckle.
"I think we should save the rest of these booths and tents to look at tomorrow, and we should go find our seats." Whitney said and took Noelle by the hand.
"Yes, lets!" Pierce chirped.
"You guys go get in line; we'll catch up with you in a few minutes." Santana said knowing that there was going to be a long line to get into the stands.
"Okay, see ya in a minute." Whitney said as she, Noelle, and Pierce walked away.
Brittany turned to Santana. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to see how you're doing? Are you worried that your hair might be messed up?"
Brittany sighed and looked into the tent. She saw a line of people waiting for Cybil to spray their hair and she shrugged. "Maybe a little bit. They don't seem worried," She said hooking her thumb towards the people in the tent, "but Mom wouldn't have said anything unless she had a reason to, so I hope that I didn't get a bad batch of coloring, but there is nothing I can do about it now. I don't have an office job like you, so I can have pink hair for a few months and it not be a problem, but I wasn't planning on it either. I mean, it could be a fun change."
Santana nodded. "Yeah, as long as the wacky lady doesn't cause your hair to fall out and it goes back to its natural color eventually, I don't think it will be so bad. You look really good with pink hair. I like it."
"Look at you being an optimist!" Brittany joked. "I think this North Pole air is getting to you. By the way, speaking of looking good…you look so cute in your pink, blingy coat. Just wait 'til we get to the stands and they give you the pink gloves, hat, and scarf that they bought… I might just swoon when I see you in all that pink."
Santana playfully rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Brittany. "Shut up."
Brittany just giggled.
"Come on," Santana said looping her arm through Brittany's, "let's go get in line with the fam."
"Yes ma'am." Brittany said and leaned in, kissing Santana's cheek.
When they caught up with the family, they saw Noelle giving money to an elf who was selling something to people in line.
"Moms, look at this!" Noelle said excitedly and held up a pack of temporary tattoos. "They're of Clara and Sugar Plum! I wanna put them on my cheeks."
All of the color in Santana's face drained. After the possibility of the snafu with Brittany's hair, she was afraid that something could go wrong with this and she did not want reindeer tattoos on Noelle's cheeks for months. Thankfully, before she had to be the bad guy again, Brittany gently took them out of Noelle's hands.
"Let's save these for tomorrow. I think you have enough things to cheer on Sugar Plum and Clara for today."
Noelle pouted, but she didn't argue.
Santana looked at Brittany and gave her a look of relief.
Brittany leaned in and whispered, "I'm sure these are okay, I've used them before, but to make you feel better, I'll have a look at them later to make sure they are safe for her to use."
"Thank you." Santana said.
"You're welcome." Brittany said with a wink and pecked Santana's lips.
-(A few hours later)-
"And next up is Team Nutcracker!" Santa, who always acted as the games' emcee, called over the mic, causing the crowd to cheer. "Clara will go first and Sugar Plum will follow."
"Here they come!" Noelle cheered, jumping up from her seat and pointing down from the stands to the starting line, where Mike was proudly leading the deer. She had thoroughly enjoyed watching the other teams compete so far. She had cheered them on, and even gasped in awe and excitement with the crowds if the deer had performed a thrilling maneuver, but now that it was her team's turn, she was brimming over with excitement.
Clara and Sugar Plum had drawn a number that put their competition time towards the end of the pack. The first fourteen teams that had gone ahead of them had exhilarated the crowd as they competed in the agility event. It was a tight competition, as the some of the results were less than a hundredth of a point apart. Every team had pulled out the stops, using fancy moves to gain the oh-so-important style points in an effort to gain an edge.
"GO DAD! GO SUGAR PLUM! GO CLARA!" Mike and Tina's son Robby cheered next to Noelle. He too, along with his mother and younger sister, Ella, were decked out in pink to cheer on Team Nutcracker.
"GO TEAM NUTCRACKER!" Noelle and Ella yelled at the same time.
Whitney and Pierce just whooped and whistled as they waved their pink Nutcracker flags vigorously.
Tina, Santana, and Brittany looked at each other and laughed. They loved that their kids were enjoying themselves so much.
"I went with Dad yesterday to watch them practice and I think Clara and Sugar Plum are going to win this event. They were awesome!" Robby boasted.
"I hope so!" Noelle said.
"Me too!" Ella added.
"Well if they don't win, just remember that they still have a lot of room to make the Christmas team. There's still three more events and they don't even have to win all of them, their team average after all the events just need to finish in the top four." Brittany gently reminded the kids, because she didn't want them to be disappointed if Clara and Sugar Plum didn't win.
"We know!" The three kids said at the same time. "They don't have to win, but we still want them to do their best!" Noelle added.
"That's my girl!" Santana said giving her a proud wink. Noelle smiled brightly before she turned her attention back to the course.
While the kids were distracted by watching Mike and the deer, Tina leaned over to Santana and Brittany and said. "I'd like them to make the Christmas team too, but I just hope they score higher than Axel and Rose."
Those were the names of Puck's reindeer team. Mike and Puck always had a little friendly competition and wager between each other and their team of reindeer. Over the past twenty years, they had gone back and forth, on which team had the highest score after the four events, so it could go either way.
"What did they bet this time?" Santana asked. Even though it had been a few years since she had been to the games, she remembered that Mike and Puck liked to have a bet.
"One month of mucking the other's stalls." Tina said scrunching her nose.
"Yuck." Santana said and Tina nodded in agreement.
"Ooo, that's a serious bet." Brittany said. She had worked in the stables and knew from experience what that kind of bet meant. "No one wants extra mucking duties, so they both must think that their team is going have the higher score."
"Mike seemed pretty confident about the bet." Tina said. "But so did Puck when I spoke to him and Quinn at the grocery store last week, so who knows how it is going to go, but for my nose's sake, I hope Sugar Plum and Clara have the higher score."
Santana just scrunched her nose. That definitely didn't sound appealing.
"Oh man, if Puck loses, Quinn is going to be pissed." Brittany chuckled.
"Mm-hmm…but better her than me." Tina said with a sly smile.
"You have a hidden mean streak, you know that." Brittany said with amusement.
"I know, but don't tell anyone, I don't want to end up on the naughty list."
"Our lips are sealed." Santana said and Brittany made a locking motion with her fingers over her lips.
"Alrighty, it looks as if Clara is in place… we're just waiting for the signal from her handler, Mike Chang, to say that she is ready to compete." Santa's jolly voice boomed over the sound system.
The Chang, Lopez, and Pierce families cheered with the crowd, and yelled words of encouragement to Mike and the deer, even if it was doubtful that they would hear them from their place in the stands.
Mike gave Clara one more encouraging scratch under her chin and a pat on her back right flank, before he walked towards the standby area with Sugar Plum and pointed up to the starting box to let the officials know that Clara was ready to start.
Once Mike was off the course, a horn sounded and Clara ran toward the first obstacle.
The timed agility course was set up so the deer would use both ground and air maneuvers. Since the deer had the ability to fly, when they were on the ground portion of the course, they couldn't fly between the obstacles, they had to run, and they had to do proper jumps, not flying leaps. The officials kept a close watch, and made a determination whether a penalty would be given towards the deer's score for doing a flying maneuver on the ground.
Clara approached the first jump, a hurdle with three bars and easily jumped over it, adding a twist at the end, gaining a cheer from the crowd and an extra bump in her score for style.
The next set of obstacles was a run over an a-frame board and then a series of seven different sized hurdles in quick succession. Clara crossed the narrow, twenty-foot high board and then jumped each hurdle, adding a touch of flair to her jumps, again causing the crowd to cheer for her.
Once she hit the ground from the last of the seven hurdles, she ran towards the chute. Noelle held her breath and crossed her fingers as she ran into the zigzag shaped obstacle, hoping that Clara wouldn't lose time as a few other deer had.
"Come on, come on, come on!" She urged.
Brittany just smiled at Noelle and snapped a picture of her. She loved that Noelle was enjoying herself.
It seemed like a lifetime, but when Clara emerged from the end of the chute a few seconds later, it looked as if she was no worse for wear, and just as fast as she was when she entered.
Noelle jumped up and down, yelling Clara's name as she did a double twist jump over a four bar hurdle and then ran through the weave poles, darting back and forth between all fifteen of them.
"She is so good! I can't believe she didn't miss a single pole and did you see that last jump?!" Noelle said.
"I told you she was good!" Robby said and beat his hands on the rail in front of them. "Come on, Clara! You can do it!"
After clearing the weave poles, Clara seemed to speed up as she scaled the tall ramp and leapt off the end of it, sailing gracefully though the first air maneuver, a single hoop. Once clearing the hoop, she rolled inverted and dove down towards the ground, earning an excited gasp from the crowd as she pulled out of the dive and into a knife-edge turn, weaving through a set of pylons and then knife edging through a second pylon set.
"Wow! Moms, did you see that!" Noelle yelled, but never took her eyes off Clara; for fear that she would miss something.
"I saw it!" Brittany said with a laugh.
"Yes, Mija, isn't it great!" Santana cheered, her eyes never leaving Clara either. She had missed the thrill that came with the Reindeer Games. The agility course had always been her favorite because it was like a mix between a dog show and an air race. Both could be exciting to watch on their own, but mixing the two together was something spectacular to see.
"This is the best thing ever!" Noelle yelled bouncing up and down as Clara pulled out of her knife-edge turn and flew straight up, until she had more height and performed a series of aerobatic maneuvers before sailing through three hoops towards the floating weave poles.
She threaded the poles as if she was a silk scarf, and then once she had cleared them, she dived towards the ground one more time, and pulled into another knife-edge turn through the final set of pylons before doing a barrel roll across the finish line.
The whole stadium rose to their feet and cheered for Clara and her thrilling run through the agility course, but if you asked Noelle, their little group had cheered the loudest and the longest.
When Clara joined Mike and Sugar Plum in the standby area, Sugar Plum gave her a congratulatory lick on her cheek and Mike hugged her around the neck, giving her a loving and proud pat on the back.
"Wow, that was a thrilling display of agility!" Santa said over the speakers. "Let's give Clara another round of applause."
The excited crowd obliged, knowing that she had earned the praise.
As the crowd calmed down, and they waited for Clara's score to be announced, Mike took Sugar Plum to the starting line to get her set up.
"Oh my goodness, my heart is pounding." Noelle said with the brightest smile.
"Here baby girl, have a drink." Whitney said handing her a bottle of water.
"And a pink sugar cookie." Pierce added with a wink.
"Thanks." Noelle said and gratefully took both. "All the deer have been so good, but Clara was the most exciting to watch so far."
"She is one of the best." Tina said proudly.
"Yeah she was." Santana agreed with a nod.
"Wait 'til you see Sugar Plum." Robby said. "She's just as good, maybe even better because she's a little bit faster."
"Faster?" Noelle said in disbelief.
"Well not by much, but she finished the course a second and a half faster than Clara yesterday."
"But Daddy said they could beat each other." Ella added.
Tina nodded. "She's right. Mike said on any given day, Clara and Sugar Plum could out run each other, it just depends on the day. They feed off each other's energy."
"Well they're twins." Brittany said with a shrug. "That's not too surprising. Sibling pairs have always made great deer teams."
"Can we have a pet deer?" Noelle asked with a teasing smile. She already knew what the answer was, but she asked anyway.
Brittany and Santana just laughed.
"I tried that years ago. I was going to find a way to bring Pop and Lock home with me, but it didn't work. Mom wouldn't let me." Santana said and Brittany shook her head.
"You have Lord Tubbington, and we all know he's the coolest cat ever." Brittany said. "Maybe you can teach him how to do an agility course."
Santana snorted. "Yeah, that will be the day; he's too lazy."
"Hey it could happen. He just needs encouragement." Brittany said.
"Yeah, don't talk bad about him. He's really smart, he could do it!" Noelle defended.
Santana held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, you and Mom teach him to do agility, without using any Christmas magic, and I'll make his Lordship a handmade meal every day for two weeks."
"Deal!" Noelle said and held out her had to shake.
Santana reached her hand out and shook her hand. "Good luck, Mija. You're going to need it."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you would please direct your attention to the scoreboard, Clara's score will be displayed in just a moment." Santa said.
Everyone turned to see what her score would be after that thrilling run. A few seconds later, 98.4 popped up on the screen beside Clara's picture and her name, the highest individual score of the competition so far.
The Lopez, Chang, and Pierce families jumped to their feet and roared with excitement with the rest of the stadium.
"She did it!" Noelle yelled at the same time that Robby yelled, "I told you!
"I would just love to see Quinn and Puck's faces right now." Tina said smugly and Santana winked at her.
Axle and Rose had yet to run, but Clara's score was going to be a tough to beat. She had the fastest time, albeit with a small margin between her and the next fastest deer, but her style points are what helped to push her well ahead. There was almost a two point different between her and the rest of the pack. Of course, since it was a team competition, Sugar Plum's score would be combined with Clara's to determine their placement in the competition, but with Clara's stellar performance in the first event, it gave Team Nutcracker a little bit of an edge early in the competition, which always helped.
Whew! Congratulations, Clara!" Santa's voice sounded over the speakers. "I think Sugar Plum is ready to go. If she has a run like her sister's, then we're going to be in for a real treat!"
"Here we go!" Robby said leaning forward on the rail so he could focus on Sugar Plum who was standing at the starting line, staring intently at the course.
"I can't wait!" Noelle said and did the same.
With the sound of the horn, Sugar Plum took off running for the first obstacle with a fierce determination, the crowd cheering her on...
-()-()-()-()-
When they arrived home a few hours later, minus Brittany, Noelle bounced into the house, hopped up on adrenalin and sugar. "I just knew that Clara and Sugar Plum would be in first place!"
"I did too." Pierce said bouncing behind her.
"Sugar Plum was just as exciting to watch as Clara." Whitney added as they all took off their snow boots at the door.
"They're definitely going to make Santa's team this year!" Noelle said confidently.
"After today's performance, I think they have a good chance." Santana said stepping into the house and closing the door behind her. "Tina was telling me that she thinks they will place in the endurance and speed events, and maybe even take first place again, but they may have some tough competition in the strength event."
"Why?" Noelle asked. She knew that they had carried large and heavy loads before, so she couldn't understand why Clara and Sugar Plum wouldn't place in the strength event.
"Well they aren't the biggest deer in the stables. Some are a bit bigger and more muscular. That doesn't mean they aren't strong, we know they are, it just means that some of the deer are stronger than them." Santana said as she started to shed all the pink outerwear. "I mean if they were bigger, they may not be as fast and agile, right?"
"I guess."
"They can't be the best in everything, just like you can't either. Sometimes, you excel in one area, but have to work harder in another to keep up. That's just life, and it's true for humans and reindeer."
Noelle nodded as she mulled over her mother's words. "I wish we could have gone to see Clara and Sugar Plum. I wanted to give them some carrots to show them how proud of them we are." She said sitting on the couch beside Snowball and pulling the fox into her lap for a snuggle.
"I know you did, Mija, but they have to compete tomorrow and they need their rest if they are going to be able to do well. Mom and Mike will make sure they are all taken care of and comfy in their stalls at the stables, but if I know your Mom, she'll probably slip them a few extra carrots and tell them it's from you."
Noelle smiled brightly. "I hope so."
"I know she will. She has always had a soft spot for the deer." Whitney said clapping her hands together." So who wants dinner? I was thinking about making spaghetti."
"Me!" Pierce said.
"Me too!" Noelle said.
"Sure, sounds good." Santana said to be polite, even though she wasn't hungry.
After the large breakfast they had, plus hamburgers, snacks, and drinks at the stadium, she was sure that she would not be hungry until the next day. Pierce and Whitney had elf metabolisms and they burned calories a lot faster than she did, so they always had big appetites, but she wasn't even sure how Noelle was hungry, except that she might be having another growth spurt.
"I'll help you in the kitchen." Santana added.
"Thanks sweetie!" Whitney said.
"Noelle, do you want to take Snowball for a walk?" Pierce asked.
"Yes!" Noelle chirped.
"Mm-hmm, just make sure that walk doesn't go by the stables." Whitney said and gave Pierce a knowing look. "You don't want to be a distraction."
"Yes, dear." Pierce said blushing. He had been caught. When it came to spoiling Noelle, he was one of the 'worst offenders'. He just loved her and wanted to give her anything her little heart desired, just as he did when Brittany was a little girl.
"It's okay, Papa. I still want to take Snowball for a walk. We can go by the school and the workshop. I always like seeing them."
Pierce smiled at her and leaned in, whispering, "Maybe we'll stop by the bakery on the way back, and bring home dessert."
Noelle just smiled and nodded because she thought they had the best cakes and pies.
-()-()-()-()-
Later that evening, after dinner, dessert, and a movie, Santana and Brittany tucked Noelle into bed in Brittany's old bedroom, and then they excused themselves for the night to Brittany's apartment above Whitney and Pierce's home workshop.
As soon Santana closed and locked the door behind her, Brittany wrapped her arms around her and gave her a soft kiss. Santana immediately melted into Brittany's embrace, wrapping her arms around Brittany and deepening the kiss. They kissed sweetly for a few moments before Brittany pulled out of the kiss and nuzzled her nose with Santana's.
"I'm going to take a quick shower to wash the stables off of me, and then you and I have a date with a bath." Brittany whispered.
Santana smiled and nodded. "I'll pick out some wine and music."
"Perfect." Brittany cooed as she placed another soft kiss on Santana's lips before she released her from her hold and left for the shower.
Santana watched her leave the living room and then she set about opening a bottle of wine and making a playlist from music on her phone. The water from the shower was still running when Santana entered the bedroom and stripped out of her clothes. She looked in the mirror, redid her ponytail, and then wrapped it up in a bun to keep it out of the way.
When she heard the water stop, Santana went back into the living area to retrieve the tray with two glasses of white wine, the half-full bottle, and her phone.
Brittany already had the water running for the bath when Santana came into the bathroom. She set the tray on the cabinet, and when she saw Brittany, she noticed that her hair was still pink. The temporary coloring had not washed out at all.
"I guess it's a good thing we didn't let Noelle color her hair." Brittany said with a shrug. "I shampooed it three times too."
"Oh Britt…" Santana said and she reached up and touched her wet hair. It was still as vibrant pink as it had been earlier in the day. "Are you okay?"
"Mm-hmm." Brittany said nodding. "I mean, I want it to go back to normal eventually, but maybe it will be fun to have pink hair for a little while. Mix things up a bit."
"I love your blonde hair, but I think I can live with pink for a while… especially when you make it look so good."
"I do, don't I?" Brittany said in a teasing tone.
"Mm-hmm, super sexy." Santana said and leaned in, kissing Brittany.
Brittany deepened the kiss, running her hands up and down Santana's sides, purposely brushing the underside of her breasts.
They kissed until Brittany pulled away to check on the water level in the tub. Seeing that it was high enough, Brittany turned off the water and held out her hand for Santana to take.
"It smells good in here." Santana said as she stepped into the bath.
"It's the bath salts and essential oils that your mom gave me a few months ago."
"You brought them with you?" Santana asked, surprised that she thought to do that ahead of time.
Brittany shook her head. "Nope, I used my magic to get them from home."
Santana chuckled. Even after all the years they had been together, Santana could still be surprised by Brittany's magic. "I wish I could just snap my fingers and make things appear like that."
"I know, but if you could do things like that, then you wouldn't need me."
Santana leaned in and kissed Brittany's lips softly. "I need you for much more than your magic."
Brittany smiled shyly and leaned in, pecking Santana's lips one more time before stepping into the bathtub behind Santana.
Brittany sat down first and then helped Santana to sit down in front of her. Santana laid back into Brittany's hold, and she sighed contently as the feel of the combination of Brittany body on her own and the hot water engulfed her.
"This is nice." Santana sighed again and ran her fingers up and down Brittany's left thigh.
"Mm-hmm." Brittany mumbled as she peppered slow, soft kisses across Santana's shoulder.
"I forgot to turn on the music." Santana said, but her relaxed tone gave the impression that she didn't mind.
"And the wine." Brittany chuckled. The tray was still sitting on the counter.
"Oops."
"Do you want it?" Brittany whispered because with a snap of her fingers she could summon them to her.
Santana tilted her head and kissed Brittany's arm, which was the only part on Brittany she could kiss without moving too much. "Maybe in a little while." She was content just being with Brittany as they were.
"Okay." Brittany cooed and continued her line of kisses across the base of Santana's neck to her other shoulder.
A calm silence settled over them, as they just sat together in the relaxing bath, trading tender caresses and kisses. Eventually, Brittany snapped her fingers to bring over the glasses, so they could sip wine as they made small talk about whatever came to mind.
Then, when the water cooled past lukewarm, they got out of the bath and dried off.
"Now…" Brittany purred, as she gently tugged at the hair tie holding up Santana's hair in a bun, causing her beautiful brunette locks to fall over her shoulders and down her back. "I think I promised you a massage." She said and scooped Santana into her arms to carry her the short distance to the bed.
Santana giggled as she wrapped her legs around Brittany. "After I had to wear that much pink and have my picture taken several times, you own me the best massage ever."
Brittany smirked; she pressed one of her knees in the mattress and leaned down to lay Santana on the bed. She slowly trailed her hands over Santana's breasts and down her torso, "Honey, by the time I'm finished, I will have massaged, rubbed, or kissed every part of your body so good, you won't be able to think straight."
A quake trembled through Santana as Brittany's hands passed her lower abdomen, moving towards her most intimate area. She closed her eyes, expecting Brittany to touch her, but her hands stopped just shy of her center, and then she felt Brittany's lips on her own, kissing her softly. Santana returned the kiss, whimpering when she felt Brittany's breasts press into her own.
As Santana wrapped he arms around her, pulling her as close to her as she could, Brittany's heart fluttered. She loved that after almost thirteen years together; she could still make Santana crave her touch, and she too craved Santana. Their relationship wasn't without its issues, but they were happy and very much in love with each other, and thankfully, they still had the spark for each other that some couples seem to lose after so many years together.
When Brittany finally found the strength to pull out of the kiss, she nuzzled her nose with Santana's. "I love you."
"I love you too, Britt-Britt."
Brittany smiled, biting her bottom lip, before she placed three lingering kisses across Santana's cheek and sucked her right earlobe between her lips, teasing it with her tongue for a few moments before she whispered, "Roll over for me."
Santana trembled again, but did as she was told.
Brittany straddled Santana's thighs and moved Santana's hair out of the way before leaning down and placing a kiss to the back of her neck. She slid her hands down the length of Santana's back and over the swell of her ass before she trailed them back up and began to knead her deft hands into Santana's back.
Santana couldn't help the little moans that escaped from her as Brittany moved across her body, giving her a much-needed massage.
Brittany smiled as Santana practically melted under her touch. As much as Brittany would have loved to just jump right in and make love to Santana, and she more than intended to do so that night, she wanted to give her a sensual massage first, as she promised. She knew that Santana had a tendency to bottle up her stress and a massage from her could always help it disappear. Brittany loved moments like this, because it was a different kind of physical and mental intimacy between them that complemented their sexual intimacy. Sex was always better when they were both completely relaxed and open.
The room was mostly silent, with the exception of Santana's occasional whimpers or moans, but then after a few minutes, Santana interrupted the calm silence by saying, "This feels so good…I don't know what I'd do without you."
"I'm not going anywhere." Brittany cooed. "You're kind of stuck with me forever."
"Good." Santana mumbled, and then a moment later, she added, "I love you, Britt-Britt."
Brittany smiled again. She never tired of hearing those words from Santana and she knew that she would love hearing or saying them for the rest of their lives. She leaned down, placing a lingering kiss between Santana's shoulder blades, before she trailed the tip of her nose up Santana's spine, and placed another soft kiss on Santana's neck, just below Santana's ear. "I love you too, honey." She whispered. "For now and forever."
-()-()-()-()-
A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope you all enjoyed this little trip into the Elf-verse! I'm sure I surprised some of you with this new story. I haven't posted since May, with the end of 'You Live, You Learn, You Love', and I wish I could say that this story is my return to writing on a regular basis, but before I get some of your hopes up, I just wanted to let you all know that this will probably be my last story, NOT FOREVER, but for little while at least, because what little free time I have is about to disappear…as of this posting, I'm 35 weeks pregnant, and I will be having my first child sometime within the next five weeks. As you can imagine, I'm going to be busy taking care of a baby and learning how to be a mommy! I hope to return to writing as soon as I can. I love it so much, and I have so many ideas for fics for Brittana, and Wayhaught from 'Wynonna Earp', but for the foreseeable future, I expect motherhood to take all of my time and attention.
Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate all of your support for my writing. I know it's a busy time of year, but if you can find a moment, please let me know what you thought of this story in the reviews. I love to see your feedback!
I'd like to thank my beta, naynay1963, for proof reading and catching all my silly typos. This is her favorite universe that I write, and it was because of her that this story was written, so send her some love as well!
Disclaimer: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.