Christmas was that time of year to spend with your family and loved ones. But not for Santana, who had volunteered her spare time at the Lima mall. Dressed in her green and red uniform, Santana was taking on the role of an elf, also known as one of Santa's helpers.
Her father was always busy around this time, weather it was for working down at the hospital or sitting around in bars hitting on girls that could be Santana's older sister.
She stood by the entrance to Santa, who was sitting on a big red throne, waiting to have kids come and sit on his lap asking for what they wanted. Her cheeks were hurting from all the smiling she was doing. It was near closing time when a little boy ran up to her.
"Is Santa still here? Did he leave to the North Pole yet?" He asked all too fast. Santana almost didn't understand him. She keeled down to his level and smiled.
"Well, he's almost ready to leave." She started watching the boy's smile fade. It took everything in her not to hug the random child in front of her.
"But if you hurry, I'm sure you'll catch him." Santana smiled at the boy, his face lit up showing his toothless grin. No one knew, but Santana had a major soft spot for kids.
"Thank you!" he said before running past her.
A few seconds later Finn ran up to her out of breath, "Hey, have you seen a little boy, brown hair, big blue eyes, and missing his two front teeth run past here?" He asked. Santana stood from her position with an eyebrow raised.
"Finn?" She questioned. "Who- San?" Finn leaned forward trying to get a look at the girl.
"In the flesh," She smiled. "What's with the cute kid? I know he isn't yours." She smirked.
"My little cousin, he wanted to see Santa. Did he run back there?" He asked ignoring her comment and looking over her shoulder.
"Right before you did," she smiled again. Finn sighed in relief, "Thank God" he paused.
"What are you doing here? As an elf?" He asked taking in the oddly flattering green and red uniform Santana was wearing.
"Volunteering." She mumbled.
"You volunteer?" Finn smirked, teasing her.
"Shut up." Santana laughed. "I like kids okay, and my dad is busy during Christmas." She explained. Finn's little cousin ran up to him jumping up and down.
"Finn! I saw him! I saw Santa! He's just like you said! With the beard and everything!" The little boy said excitedly.
"See, told you Hunter. Did you tell him what you wanted?" He asked looking down at him smiling. Santana couldn't help but smile at the two boys while she took off her elf hat. She shook her head, her hair falling and framing her face.
"What are you planning on doing now?" Finn asked breaking the silence.
"Probably going home and watching Christmas special or something." Finn bit his lip and looked down at Hunter before meeting Santana's eyes.
"Wanna go ice skating with us?" He asked, hoping she'd say yes. Santana looked at him, fully ready to decline his offer.
"You should! It'll be fun! We'll get egg nog and watch Finn fall." Hunter said, he then walked closer to Santana and waved for her to bend down to his level. As she did so, he cupped her ear.
"He's not good with his feet." He whispered into Santana's ear causing her to laugh.
"That's it. I'm going. I can't miss a chance to watch Finn fall flat on his as- I mean butt." She smiled watching her language.
"C'mon lets go," Hunter said pulling on Santana's hand.
"Not so fast kiddo, I gotta change first. I'll be back in five minutes." Letting go of his hand and disappearing into the back locker room.
Taking off her uniform and hanging it back on the hanger, Santana slipped on her jeans and then her boots. Picking up her shirts, re-layering her body to keep her warm. Putting on her coat, she fixed her hair and then closed her locker, leaving the room. She walked out to meet Finn and his cousin again. Finn smiled at her and took Hunter's small hand in his to keep him from running away. Walking on Hunter's other side, he grabbed her hand. She smiled as the three of them walked out of the mall.
Going through the doors, the hard winter cold hit their faces. The skating rink wasn't too far, the three of them walked through the snow. Carolers walked past them singing merrily. Reaching the rink, Hunter let go of their hands and ran inside the building.
"Hunter!" Finn called after him before sighing. Santana smiled and shook her head.
"Is he always this spazzy?" She questioned with a smile. Finn nodded.
"Yeah, he gets excited a lot." He smiled. The two teenagers walked after Hunter standing behind him. Finn paid for the three of them.
"A size 8 for him. 14 for me and-" Finn trailed off looking down at Santana.
"6." She smiled. The guy behind the counter gathered the three sizes and set them on the counter before Finn. Passing the ice skates to Santana, they made their way to a small bench and started taking off their shoes.
Santana finished first, watching Hunter mess with his ice skates. He huffed in frustration when he couldn't untie the laces of the skates.
Walking over, she bent at his feet and took the laces out of his hands. He sat and watched her, as she un-tangled them and tie them in a tight knot for him. He looked up her and smiled.
"Finn! I'm ready to skate!" He said excitedly. Finn stood up and took Hunter's hand as the two started walking over to the rink. Santana followed close behind them, watching the interaction with a smile on her face.
Finn looked around behind him after he and Hunter had been skating a while, his eyes searched through all the people skating. When he couldn't find the brunette, he was bit scared that she ditched them.
"Looking for me?" She asked tapping Finn's shoulder. He turned his head in the other direction and smiled.
"Yeah, I was. Where'd you go?" he questioned. "I was beginning to think you ditched Hunter and I." Finn added with a smirk.
"Ditch you two? Nah, besides. Hunter is a cutie." Santana joked smiling down at the little boy. Finn laughed and shook his head.
After spending more time on the ice, and watching Finn fall over himself in ice skates, the three of them went out to eat. Sitting in a booth in Breadstix, Hunter sat coloring on the kids menu's while Finn and Santana scanned the menu for what they wanted.
"I want chicken nuggets and fries!" Hunter said excitedly. Finn nodded, taking note of his cousins order while he scanned the menu to find something to satisfy his hunger. After Finn mentally decided on ordering a simple burger and fries he looked at Santana over his menu.
"Know what you want?" He asked her, setting his menu down and resting his chin in one of his hands.
"Huh?" She asked looking up at him. "Oh. I was thinking of ribs or something." She said causally smiling at Finn. She then set her menu down and looked at him.
"So what are you plans for the rest of this jolly Christmas Eve?" Santana asked. Finn stared at her for a second, he'd never thought he'd hear the word 'jolly' come out of Santana's mouth. Hunter looked up from his coloring and shook his head at the two teenagers.
"Taking Hunter home, and watching Christmas movies." Finn spoke taking a drink of his water that was set on the table.
"Alone?" Santana asked with a quirked eyebrow. Finn nodded, setting the glass back down in front of him. "Well that sucks." Santana mumbled looking around. Her face turned into slight annoyance while she watched the other people around her formed into couples.
Silence fell over the three of them. Santana kept people watching, fully aware that Finn was watching her. She smirked to herself while she shook her head and turned to look at Hunter who was still engrossed with coloring.
"Are you guys ready to order?" The waitress said walking by, her eyes instantly falling on Finn. Santana rolled her eyes, at the girls obvious attraction to the boy across from her. Finn looked up at the girl for a second before he gave her an order.
"Chicken nuggets and fries for him, a burger for me and-" He trailed off looking at Santana.
"Salad I'm guessing?" The waitress assumed looking down at Santana with a quirked eyebrow. Santana just smiled and shook her head.
"I was thinking ribs actually," She said with evident attitude behind her words. The waitress blushed slightly before taking the order down.
"Your food will be ready shortly." She said before walking away. Santana scoffed and shook her head.
"The girls here are something else. Can't wait to get out of this town." She muttered under her breath playing with her hands under the table.
"Yeah?" Finn questioned, interested the any conversation that could happen between the two of them. "Any idea what you wanna do when you leave?" He asked. Santana just shrugged her shoulders.
"I was thinking about going into law." She said looking at him. His surprised expression made her laugh. "What?"
"Law? Wow. Just never saw you as a law girl." Finn said still surprised.
"Just because I was a Cheerio doesn't mean I'm not smart." Finn saw a hint of hurt on her face, he knew she was trying hard to hide it.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. I've just never seen you go for it. That's all. Like Rachel goes for being on Broadway or whatever. But we don't hang out so I don't know much about you." Finn explained out of breath looking down at his cousin. Who seemed to be in his own little world.
Santana nodded and looked away again, any want to have a conversation with Finn vanished. She just wanted to eat and go home. Maybe sleep or read a book or something.
After the long silence, their food arrived. Santana's stomach made noises while the plate was placed in front of her. Being the person she was, she started eating. Not caring about the stares of Finn and his little cousin. When she looked up, the two of them were looking at her with wide eyes.
"What?" She asked wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I've never seen a girl eat like that. It's kind of hot." Finn said still staring at her. Santana laughed and wiped her mouth a second time.
"Santana Lopez doesn't play with food." She smiled, referring to herself in third person. The three of them continued to eat, the silence between Finn and Santana had gone away. They sat and watched Hunter finish his food and talked. About school, Glee, and finding a one way ticket out of Lima.
Finn took out his wallet and placed the money on the table, before he helped Hunter out of the booth. Santana stood up and put her coat back on before they walked out.
"Do I have to go home now?" Hunter said pouting while he looked up at Finn. His older cousin nodded his head and took his hand.
"Sorry kiddo, your mom wants you home." Finn said shrugging while they walked out of Breadstix. "Do you need a ride home?" Finn asked looking at Santana.
"Oh. Uh, yeah." She said looking at him smiling softly. The silence returned while they got to Finn's car. Helping Hunter in the back seat, Santana buckled his seat belt and opened the door to the passenger seat.
"I'll take him home first then drop you off." He stated looking over at her before he looked back at his cousin who was already drifting off to sleep.
Stopping at Hunter's house, Finn put the car in park before getting out and going around to the side Hunter was on. Opening the door and picking up the small boy in his arms.
Santana watched with a smile on her face while Finn brought Hunter up to the front door. His rang the doorbell and a women who looked like a mixture between his mother and Hunter opened the door. She stood on her tippy-toes to give Finn a kiss on the cheek and took the boy from his arms. Finn walked back over to his car, and sat in the front seat. He looked at Santana and smiled. He started the car again, fully intended on taking Santana home but an idea popped in his head.
"Do you wanna come over and watch a movie with me?" He asked with his hands on the stirring wheel. He looked over at the brunette and waited an answer. Santana couldn't help but smile before she nodded her head.
"Sure. Why not? I already spent most of the day with you." She smirked while she leaned back in the seat.
"Awesome." Was all he said before he drove to his house in comfortable silence with a smile on his face.
When Finn pulled up to his house, Santana felt nervous. She never been inside a boy's house for anything that didn't involve sex. She bit her lip and got out of the car walking up to the front door with Finn.
He un-locked the door and stepped inside, letting Santana go in after him before he closed the door behind her. Surprising her by taking her coat from her, he hung it on the coat rack next to his door before he slid off his shoes and walking over to the couch. He looked back at Santana who was looking around before he patted the space next to him. Santana smiled, rolled her eyes, and took off her boots before walking over to the couch and taking the spot next to him.
"I'm sure there's a lot of stuff on." Finn said pulling up the TV guide and passed it to Santana. "You can pick what you want to watch." He added getting up from the couch. "Want water or anything?" He asked again looking back at her.
"I'm fine." Santana said shaking her head while she flipped through the TV guide looking for a movie for them to watch.
Finn nodded in response before he walked into the kitchen. Taking a water bottle out of his fridge and grabbed a bag of popcorn from the cupboard. Ripping off the plastic, Finn opened up the bag and set it in the microwave.
After pressing start, Finn got a bowl and waited for the popcorn to finish. When the microwave beeped, he opened the door and took the hot bag in his hands and opened it carefully.
Pouring the popcorn in the bowl, he threw the bag in the trash, he grabbed the water bottle before walking back to the couch taking his previous spot next to Santana. He handed her the bowl and crossed his legs on the coffee table.
"What are we watching? He asked taking a hand full of popcorn and stuffing it in his mouth.
"How The Grinch Stole Christmas. It's my favorite." She smiled crossing her legs and taking some popcorn for herself. Finn stretched and tried to make it seems his arm casually laid around Santana's shoulders. Laughing Santana kept her eyes on the TV while the movie started.
Half way through the movie Santana fell asleep, when she woke up she wasn't on Finn's couch. She was on a bed, which she assumed to be Finn's. When she tried to move she felt her an arm around her body.
Looking over she saw Finn sleeping with drool on face. Santana laughed and used her thumb to wipe it away. Looking up at his ceiling, Santana smiled. At peace with how she felt. She was happy, she felt warm and safe. A feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.
Locating her phone on his night stand, Santana picked it up and texted her father. Surprisingly, he was home and on his way to pick her up for their traditional Christmas Eve dinner together. Santana poked the body next to her with her index finger.
"Hey Hudson," She whispered, continuing to poke him. Finn's body stirred, the arm that held Santana close to him released her while he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Hey," he said softly before yawning. "What time is it?" He asked looking around for his clock.
"It's almost eight now, my dads coming to get me." She said running her fingers through her hair.
"Oh." Was all Finn could say, obvious sadness in his voice.
"You spent the whole day with me." Santana laughed. "I have to go home sometime." She added standing up. "Walk me out?" she asked with a smile.
Smiling back at her, Finn got up from his bed and walked with Santana downstairs. He watched as the small girl put on her boots and coat again. Opening the door, Finn's body shivered at the cold. Waving at her father, Santana turned to Finn and smiled back up at him.
"Thanks for today, I had fun." She smiled. Santana bit her bottom lip before she stood on her tippy-toes and gave Finn a kiss.
"Heh, wow." Finn breathed with a smirk on his face.
"Merry Christmas Finn." She said before turning and walking to her dads car.