Santana had been perfectly content and asleep. Snuggled down underneath the multiple blankets on the bed, her head barely visible from the outside, she couldn't have been more comfortable and cozy. She had been so deep in her sleep that she hadn't heard the footsteps creeping down the hall and into her room. She hadn't even heard the floorboard that always creaked, right by her side of the bed.
"Mama?" If there was anything that would always wake up Santana, it was that. Her head popped out from under the covers and she opened her eyes slowly, looking out into the darkness to see a face right at level with hers.
"Blanca?" Her throat was dry and her voice came out in a rough whisper, and she rubbed at her eyes before glancing at the clock on the nightstand. It said that it was just past three in the morning, and she held in a groan as she reached out and smoothed down her daughter's hair. "What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Can't sleep." Santana glanced over at the sleeping figure beside her, making sure she didn't disturb her as she slid out from under the covers and got to her feet. Her daughter's hand slipped into hers and the pair of them padded down the hall from the bedroom.
"Go sit in the big chair, alright? I'll be right there." She squeezed her hand lightly before pulling it away and going into the kitchen. Warm milk with honey was usually a surefire way to get her to fall asleep, and she managed to get it heated up in the microwave without letting it beep once. The last thing she wanted to do was wake up Brittany.
When she went back out to the living room, Blanca was curled up in the chair. Santana had to stop for a moment, taking her in. She was so little and cute and really was the spitting image of her wife, except for her eyes. Despite Santana's half asleep attempts a few minutes prior, the little girl's hair was sticking up all over the place as she sat up to look at her mom.
"Alright, sugar, why don't you tell me what's keeping you awake," Santana said as she settled into the chair with her. Blanca crawled into her lap and took the mug, taking a sip of it and then hesitating, chewing on her lip.
"Is Santa Claus real?" Oh. Of all the things Santana was expecting to hear that was keeping her daughter from sleeping, that wasn't even on the list. Even still, that was a difficult question to answer. "Some kids at school said he wasn't."
"Well," she started slowly, running her fingers through the silky blonde hair, working out the tangles. "What do you think?" She never wanted to be the person to crush anyone's belief in something so magical like that. Not after so many years of helping enforce it.
"You believe in Santa Claus," Blanca said, looking up at her. "And Mommy believes in Santa Claus. So that has to mean he's real, right?" She took a long drink of the milk, her eyes fixed on Santana.
"The thing about Santa," she said, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, "is that he is magic. And just like not everyone believes in magic, not everyone believes in him. So that just makes there be extra magic for the people who do believe." Blanca just sat curled up against her, sipping at her milk until it was gone. Santana could tell that she was thinking about it so she just kept running her fingers through her hair, waiting for her to say something.
"So you, me, and Mommy get extra magic and the mean kids at school don't get any?" At Santana's nod, she yawned. "That makes sense." It was all Santana could do not to let out a sigh of relief. Brittany believed in and loved Santa so much, it would have crushed her to find out he wasn't real. There was no reason for that, not ever.
"Let's get you to bed, okay?" Blanca nodded and slipped her arms around her neck. After setting the empty mug off to the side, Santana rose to her feet, holding her daughter's small frame in close. Taking her back to her room, she tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead lightly before going back to her own bed. Brittany stirred when she shifted the blankets, and rolled over against her. Thankfully she didn't wake up all the way, just enough to mumble against Santana's shoulder and snuggle in close.
It might have seemed like something silly to an outsider, but keeping Brittany's belief in Santa Claus was important. She was the single most sweet and magical person Santana knew, and she never wanted anything to change that. It was completely harmless for her to believe in Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. If Blanca wanted to believe in them too, that would be fine by her. It just meant that Santana got to sneak around and plant presents under a tree, baskets and eggs hidden somewhere, and money under her daughter's pillow. And if nothing else, the looks on the faces of the two most important people in her life when the magic lived on for one more day, those made it worth it.