Santana's Elf
A/N: Hey everyone! I've been promising a Christmas fic, and since today is my birthday, I can't think of a better gift to give you guys for all your support than a new Brittana fic. Please enjoy!
Chapter 1
"Oh, hell no! Ain't nobody got time for that nonsense!"
Santana was sure that she had said that to her mother when she broached the subject of the damn Elf on the Shelf the day before, but her mother was her mother and did what she wanted. She sighed and had to bite back a series of curse words that threatened to spill from her lips as her mother held out a white box with red and orange lettering.
"Mama, I told you no yesterday."
Maribel wasn't discouraged by her rejection and pushed the box into Santana's hands. "I know what you said Mija, but I'm the mother and abuela here, so I get the majority rule."
"But they aren't even my kids!" Santana huffed refusing to even look down at the box. She wanted to throw it out the window. "Give it to Miguel; they're his kids."
"They have one and they just love it. It's their first year to truly understand what the elf is all about and the kids think that you have an elf that stays at your house too, so I got one for you. I went to a lot of trouble to get this. I was at the mall and every store I went to was sold out, but someone told me to check with Santa's village. I stood in line for almost thirty minutes just to see Santa and ask him for one. Apparently, it's a whole big show for the kids, because the elf comes from Santa, so I couldn't just buy one from his helpers. They wouldn't make an exception. I actually had to sit on a stool beside Santa and tell him who it was for and why you wanted an elf; so I sat there and told Santa all about you while everyone listened. For a moment, I thought I went through all that trouble for nothing and that he didn't have any left because he looked through his bag for a while, but then he finally gave me one and he whispered to one of the helpers nearby to not charge me for it either. Before I left, he made me promise to tell you to take good care of her. It was all quite silly and I was a little embarrassed, but I promised him, and I never break my promises, so you better take care of this elf."
Santana shook her head because that was the most ridiculous story she had ever heard. She almost pitied her mother for having to go through that, but then she remembered the box in her hands that she had explicitly said that she didn't want, and she thought she deserved everything she got.
"But I don't want it!" Santana huffed again. Despite the fact that she wasn't a fan of the Elf on the Shelf idea, she had no reason to have one. She was twenty-eight years old, unmarried, and had no children. "I don't even like the idea of it. It's creepy as hell that we're teaching kids that it's okay for someone to watch every move that they make, and don't even get me started on the fact that you have to create all these ridiculous and messy situations every night. I have better things to do with my time."
"Santana." Maribel rolled her eyes. "Don't get dramatic; it's a simple toy, not a voyeur, and it's a cute idea. The twins love it, and they love you. You know you're their favorite aunt and I know how much you love them too. I don't think it's too much to ask you to indulge them for two weeks. They only have a few years before they're too big for this sort of thing."
Santana sighed because she knew that it was only a matter of time before her mother pulled that card; and it worked. Every. Single. Time. She loved her niece and nephew as if they were her own. She would do anything for those kids. They lived halfway across the country and she was only able to see them a few times a year, so when she was with them, she spoiled them rotten.
"Ugh, fine! For them." Santana grumbled and set the box on the coffee table. Maribel smirked triumphantly because she knew before she even went to get the elf that she would do it. "I'll set it up tonight, that way it's ready for tomorrow, and I promise to take good care of it."
"Perfect!" Maribel chirped. "Well now that that's settled, I'm off."
"You're leaving already?" Santana asked surprised. He mother never stayed for just five minutes. It was always, always a minimum of an hour visit when she stopped by to see her.
"Your father and I are meeting up with some friends for dinner, so I have to go get ready. We'll be by tomorrow around noon. I'll bring lunch with us."
"Okay." Santana said and walked her mother to the door.
Maribel kissed Santana on her cheek and then she rubbed the small smudge of lip-gloss off her cheek. "You're a great auntie Santana. When you find that special lady and start a family, I know you'll make a great mother."
Santana couldn't help but to smile and nod. Kids were not in the forefront of her mind, but she did want them eventually, and she wanted to be a good parent, so hearing her mother tell her she thought she would be was comforting.
"Love you, Mija, and thanks."
"Love you too, Mama." Santana said with a smile and kissed her mother on her cheek as well.
"I'll call you tomorrow."
"Alright. Drive safe." Santana said and watched her mother get into her car before she closed the door and went back into her office to finish the work she had been doing before her mother stopped by.
-()-()-()-()-
A few hours later, Santana finally came out of her office. She was hungry, so she went into the kitchen and made herself a sandwich and a glass of wine, before taking it into the living room so she could eat it in front of the T.V. That's when she saw the white box again. She rolled her eyes as she sat her plate and glass on the coffee table and pushed the box off to the side.
After an hour of watching a trashy reality show, she flipped through the channels until she came across a Christmas movie that she loved from her childhood. She sat back and watched the movie, smiling and laughing until the credits started to roll and she turned her attention from the T.V. to the box sitting on the table.
She sighed and reluctantly sat up, reaching for the box and bringing it into her lap. She looked over the front of the box and in the top right corner, she saw a small green triangle that said, "I'm a girl," with a picture of a blue-eyed, brunette elf, but she already knew that it was a girl because her mother had told her that.
"Alright, let's see what this nonsense is all about." She said and opened the box, seeing a book on the left and an elf sitting on a shelf on the right.
As Santana looked at the elf, she raised an eyebrow because there was something different about it. It looked different from the one on the front of the box and the ones that she had seen before. Several things were different in fact. Its facial features didn't look as cartoon-y; it had a few freckles peppering her peachy cheeks, long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a cute green and red dress, instead of short brunette hair, a red onesie jumpsuit, and no freckles. She didn't claim to know much about the Elf on the Shelf, but she had friends with kids, so she knew what they looked like, and she knew enough to know that they only came in four styles…boy and girl with either dark skin or light skin, and they all had brunette hair.
Santana took the plastic covering away and picked up the elf to get a closer look at it. "No wonder he gave it to her for free." She thought assuming the mall Santa had given her mother a defective elf…but the more she looked at the elf, the more she found herself thinking that it was less a defect, and more an improvement. "Maybe it's a new model." She said with a shrug.
She gently laid the elf on the couch beside her and picked up the book to read the story. She figured before her niece and nephew arrived, she had better know something about it.
Once she finished reading the book, she set it back in the box and picked up the elf. The book said that she had to give her a name so she could receive her 'Christmas magic'. "So what's your name?" Santana said and she almost rolled her eyes at herself for actually talking to the elf.
She ran through a long list of names, but none of them seemed right. She glanced up at the T.V. and the first name she saw in the rolling credits was 'Brittany'. She liked the name and after looking at the elf for a few moments, she thought it was a good fit. She smiled at having come up with a name, but then she realized the effort that she put into naming a stuffed elf and she huffed at her silliness. She stood up and went over to the Christmas tree to take off a candy cane, and then she went over to the fireplace, setting the elf on the mantle and sliding the candy cane under her arms.
"There you go Brittany. The kids will love you." Santana said and patted her on the head with her finger.
She went over to the coffee table and picked up the white box, taking it into the hall closet to put it away so the kids wouldn't see it. She stopped by the bathroom to relieve her bladder and then she went back into the living room where she saw a tall woman with her back to her, admiring the Christmas tree. It nearly gave her a heart attack as she jumped and scrambled to pick up anything that could be used as a weapon.
"Who the hell are you and why are you in my house?" Santana yelled holding a large umbrella out in front her. She was so scared and surprised by the intruder that she was practically shaking.
The woman turned around and she smiled brightly. "Silly, you should know my name. You gave it to me." She chirped and moved closer to Santana, but when Santana only raised her eyebrows, she added, "I'm Brittany!"
Santana took a better look at the women and she noticed that she had sparkly blue eyes, beautiful long blond hair, pale freckles across her cheeks, and a green and red dress. Santana started to feel lightheaded. She looked to the mantel and there was no stuffed toy there anymore, and it didn't appear to be in the immediate vicinity either.
"W-what?" She stuttered and tightened her grip on the umbrella. "This can't be happening."
"Of course it is Santana." Brittany giggled.
Santana shook her head, still in disbelief. She just stared at Brittany smiling at her and the more she looked at her, the more she started to believe that she was not a threat to her, so she calmed down a little bit.
"I'm hallucinating." She muttered and lowered the umbrella. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "How much did I have to drink?" She thought. She was sure she only had one glass of white wine, but now she thought that she had drank way more than that and she was drunk.
"You're kinda funny." Brittany said bouncing on her toes. "This is my first time away from the North Pole and I can't believe that Santa sent me to stay with someone as awesome as you for Christmas. I like you so much already…and you're so beautiful."
Santana looked up at Brittany and she didn't know what part of that statement to tackle first. "Um…thanks?"
"Do you have any food? I'm starving."
"Uhh, yeah." Santana said slowly. "I have food."
Brittany giggled. "Great, let's go eat." She said and took Santana by the hand.
Santana nearly jumped when she felt Brittany's soft hand wrap around hers. "She feels real." She thought as she stared at Brittany again before she broke out of her stupor and led Brittany into the kitchen.
"Umm…what do you want?" Santana asked, because she didn't know what elves ate.
"Do you have any cookies and milk?" Brittany asked.
Santana raised her eyebrows and she let out a little laugh, because while she should have expected that from Santa's elf, it surprised her. "I have chocolate chip cookies."
"Yay! I love chocolate chip. They aren't as good as rainbow cookies, but they're still good."
"Okay." Santana said and motioned for Brittany to sit at the small table.
Brittany sat down and rested her elbow on the table as she set her chin in the palm of her hand. She eagerly watched Santana move around the kitchen muttering to herself. When Santana set a plate of cookies in front of her and a tall glass of milk, she giggled and stood up, wrapping Santana in her arms for a tight hug.
"Thank you!" Brittany cheered.
Santana had been taken by surprise by the embrace, but after a few moments, she tentatively wrapped her arms around Brittany and hugged her back. "You're welcome." She said softly.
Brittany flashed Santana a bright smile when she pulled back from the hug and sat down to eat her cookies. Santana sat in the chair beside her and she just watched her eat as she tried to work out everything in head.
"You make really good cookies." Brittany said after she finished her first cookie.
"I didn't make them; they're Keebler." Santana said with a smirk. She was sure the reference would go over Brittany's head, but then Brittany's eyes widened.
"You can get elf cookies here too?" Brittany asked so earnestly that it made Santana's face fall in surprise.
"Wait…the Keebler Elves are real?" Santana asked.
Brittany nodded. "They're in a different clan than us in the North Pole, but we're kinda like cousins." She said and then took a bite from her cookie.
Santana just closed her eyes and shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I need to sober up." She said and rubbed her face with her hands.
"What does 'sober up' mean?" Brittany asked, cocking her head to the side.
Santana sighed and slid her hands down and away from her face. "Basically it means I need to stop seeing and hearing things that aren't real."
"What are you seeing that's not real?" Brittany asked, and again, she was so earnest in her question that Santana was dumbfounded by it.
"You!" Santana yelped. "You. Aren't. Real. I must have had some bad wine, or I've completely lost my mind and drank way more than I thought I had."
"But I am real." Brittany said setting down her cookie, taking Santana's hand into her own, and pressing it against her heart. "See? I'm real."
Santana just sat there for almost a minute feeling Brittany's heartbeat. She was so confused. Brittany was right there in front of her. She could see her, talk to her, and touch her. She seemed pretty real to her, but she was claiming to be a real Christmas elf that used to be a toy that Santa sent to stay with her. That deviation from reality was what Santana was having trouble with.
"Fine." Santana said, finally pulling her hand away from Brittany and looking at her pointedly. "If you're real, then you won't mind answering some questions."
"Nope." Brittany said. "Ask me anything."
"Okay…" Santana said trying to figure out which of the pressing questions she had floating round her head was one she wanted answered first. "So let's assume you're an elf, a real Christmas elf, then how did you get here?"
"In the box that Santa gave you." Brittany said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"I know that!" Santana snapped and it startled Brittany, causing her to whimper and jump from the unexpected outburst. Santana saw the way that she had frightened Brittany and the sad look on her face tugged at her heart, making her feel bad. "I'm sorry." She said and her tone was much quieter and gentler this time. "What I meant was that I know I got a toy elf in a box, but now I'm looking at you and you look like a real person, not a toy."
Brittany giggled. "That's just the part of the Christmas magic. I can transform into a toy or into my regular self whenever I want."
"But I touched you, how come you didn't lose your magic?" Santana asked.
She read the book; it said if the elf was touched after she got her magic, she would lose it and not be able to return to the North Pole to report her findings to Santa. It never mentioned her being able to turn into a person, but she assumed that if the magic was gone, the transformations would stop as well and she would revert to a toy again.
"I won't lose my magic just because I was touched. I always have it. That's just a little white lie that Santa came up with to tell kids so they don't try to play with us. Just think of the injuries that could cause. It could be disastrous." Brittany said and she had a serious look on her face as she imagined what could come from a situation like that.
"But no one that I've ever heard of has had their toy elves come to life."
"That's part of the magic again. I'm not really a toy, I'm a person, but the scout elves are supposed to look like toys while we're away from the North Pole, especially if we're around kids, because Santa says that it helps their imaginations develop."
"Then why didn't you stay a toy? Why did you show yourself to me?
"Because I wanted to meet you."
"Why? What makes me so special that you would break the rules?"
Brittany reached her hand across to take Santana's. "I could get into a little trouble for showing myself to you, but I did it because you have a big generous heart that you try to hide from the world, and even though you pretend to be skeptical, you truly want to believe in people. You want to see their magic and you want them to see yours. Some people may think you're a bad person at first glance, but you're not. You're one of the best, and if people only took the time to see your magic, they'd know it right away. I did. As soon as your mom gave me to you, I was learning your magic. You didn't want an elf, but I heard you give in because it was for your niece and nephew. I watched you read the book and spend time giving me a proper name, even if you thought I was just a toy and it was ridiculous. You love your niece and nephew and you want them to have everything their little hearts' desire. You put them first when you didn't have to. I thought that someone like you must be a true sweetheart and I really wanted to meet you. I was hoping that we could be friends."
Santana swallowed hard and felt her cheeks heat up. She really was starting to believe that she wasn't drunk and that maybe Brittany was real. She said a lot of things about her that were true, and touched on some of her insecurities; and while she was more than a little creeped out that someone had been observing her without her knowing it, she was also flattered that Brittany saw something special in her that she would risk breaking the rules and getting into trouble just so she could meet her.
"I guess we could be friends." Santana said softly. As freaked out as she had been over Brittany's presence at first, it didn't take long for her to start to like her. "I feel bad that you're going to get into trouble over me though."
"Aww, it won't be too bad." Brittany said waving her hand. "I'll probably just have to muck the reindeer stables for a while. It'll be totally worth it to spend time with you for the next two weeks."
"Why only two weeks?"
"Once Christmas is over I have to go back home to the North Pole to help get ready for next Christmas."
Santana scrunched her eyebrows together. "I'm confused. I've seen my friend's elf outside of Christmas time. She showed it to me in July. If you go back to the North Pole, how come her elf was still in the box?"
"Christmas magic." Brittany said simply. "As soon as our family starts to look for us, we're notified, and it doesn't matter what we're doing we have to go back to keep up the illusion that we're just a toy."
"And you can do that that quickly?"
"Yep."
"How?"
"Christmas magic." Brittany said again as if that was the answer to everything. "How else do you think that Santa can get around the world in just one night?"
Santana just stared at Brittany. Everything she had just heard seemed out of the realm of reality, and it sounded like something a crazy or drunk person would say, but she could tell that Brittany was being sincere with her. She didn't look drunk, and beside her extreme exuberance, she didn't seem like a crazy person either. She was starting to believe that all of this was 100% true.
"So Santa is a real person and he was in the mall today?"
"Mm-hmm." Brittany mumbled. She had just taken a bite of another cookie.
"And you're really an elf?"
"Yep." Brittany said proudly.
"But you're so tall. I thought you guys were short."
"That's just a myth." Brittany said with a shrug. "Some elves are tall and some are short. We come in all sizes."
"What about your ears? Are they pointy?" Santana asked with a chuckle, mostly as a joke, but when Britany giggled and pushed her hair behind her ear and Santana saw the distinct point at the top of her ear, her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. "Oh damn!" She gasped and leaned closer to get a better look. "Can I touch them?" She asked before she had the time to think that it might be a little inappropriate to ask that, but Brittany did seem to mind.
"Sure." She said with a warm smile.
Santana tentatively reached her hand out. When she was a mere inch away from Brittany's ear, she stopped, second-guessing her decision to touch it, just in case it was a trap, but that only lasted a moment. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her and she had to know if those points were real. She moved her hand forward and gently ran the tip of her finger across the shell of Brittany's ear.
Brittany giggled because it tickled, and Santana's eyes widened again because it felt like a real ear, just pointy. She ran her finger across her ear a few more times.
"Can I tug it?" Santana asked just to make sure it wasn't some elaborate stage makeup.
Brittany couldn't help but to chuckle at Santana. "Sure."
Santana just nodded and pinched her ear between her forefinger and thumb and tugged on the top a few times. "Oh my god, these are real! You're a real elf." Santana chirped and rubbed her finger over her ear a few more times before she pulled back and looked Brittany up and down.
"I told you I was real." Brittany said smugly.
"I know; I was wrong." Santana said and she didn't like to say that often. "I just wasn't expecting an elf to look like you do. I was expecting some tiny mythical creature that didn't look at all like a human."
Brittany shrugged. "That's just folklore that got twisted over the centuries by some mean people. We're just people. We just happen to have pointy ears and magic powers."
"Centuries?" Santana thought which brought another question to mind. "How old are you?"
"I'm ninety eight years old." Brittany said and Santana's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
"Ninety-eight?" Santana yelped. "You don't look that old. What is the average lifespan for elves?"
"About three hundred years." Brittany said. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-eight." Santana said and she felt like a baby compared to Brittany.
"We're both a third of the way through our lifespans." Brittany noted.
"So if you were a human, we'd be close in age?"
Brittany thought about it for a second. "I think that's a pretty good comparison."
"Can I ask you one more question and then I promise to stop interrogating you?" Santana said.
"I don't mind you asking me questions." Brittany said with a smile. "I like that you're curious about me. I'm curious about you too. I wanna know everything about you."
Santana felt her cheeks heat up. "That might be a lot to learn in two weeks." She said in a soft voice.
"I think I'm up for the challenge of becoming the world's foremost expert on Santana Lopez. I mean, she's only the sweetest person ever. Why wouldn't I want to know everything about her?" Brittany said with a cheeky smile and wink.
Santana giggled nervously and her cheeks burned even hotter. She hoped that it wasn't as visible as it felt. "I, uh-yeah." She said stumbling through her response. "I'd like to get to know more about you too." She was very curious about Brittany.
Brittany just chuckled at Santana's flustered state. "So what did you want to ask me?"
Santana cleared her throat trying to shake herself out of her stupor. "You said that I gave you your name, but how can that be if you're ninety-eight? You had to have a name in the North Pole."
"I did have another name, but Brittany is my name now. After years of training, we're paired with our new family, and when they give us a name, it's like a badge of honor for scout elves, so we adopt it as our new names."
"But what if I gave you a name you didn't like?"
Brittany shook her head because that question was irrelevant to her. "I like Brittany." She said lacing her fingers with Santana's. "I like it a lot."
Santana felt a tingle form in her hand, and she wasn't sure if she felt the tingle because she liked Brittany holding her hand, or if it was Brittany's Christmas magic. "I'm glad you like it." She said shyly.
Brittany just smiled at her as she stared at her. Santana stared back at her for a few moments, but when she felt the tingles spread from her hand up her arm, and Brittany's gaze started to feel too heavy, she had to break eye contact and she pulled her hand back, scratching the back of her neck.
"So…what do you wanna do for your first night away from the North Pole?" Santana asked breaking the silence that fell between them. She wasn't sure what kind of rite of passage elves had when they hit big milestones, but she didn't want Brittany to miss out.
"I'm fine with whatever. I just wanna be with you." Brittany practically cooed.
That made Santana's cheeks burn again, and she found herself wanting to just be with Brittany too. "Do you have to go back to the North Pole tonight to report to Santa?"
Brittany shook her head. "I only have to do that with kids."
"So how does a movie and hot chocolate sound? We can talk some more too."
"I think that sounds perfect." Brittany said bouncing a little in her seat.
She was looking forward to it. She loved movies and she lived for hot chocolate as it was her favorite drink, but the best part about Santana's suggestion was that they were going to continue their conversation. She just couldn't get enough of Santana.
-()-()-()-()-
A/N: I hope you all liked the start of this little story. Thank you for reading and if you get a chance, please let me know your thoughts. I appreciate and love feedback!
This fic is going to be four chapters long, plus an epilogue. The first four chapters are written and beta-ed, but I still need to write the epilogue. I plan to update this fic every day, the only exception being if I can't get the epilogue finished and beta-ed by Christmas day. If so, you might have to wait a day or two for it, but I'm going to do everything I can to have it finished by Friday.
My beta naynay1963 deserves so much thanks for finding time to beta. She's been great and part of this fic came from a prompt she sent me. I just combined our ideas and this fic is the final product.
And if you're looking for more Christmas Brittana fics, I have two one-shots from previous years if you're interested: I'll Be Home for Christmas…Maybe and The Sweetest Moment
Disclaimer: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.