After Santana helped her father pick out the perfect necklace- a simple silver chain holding a round, silver stud with a single off-centered diamond in the upper righthand corner- the two headed back for a surprise Antony had set up. Normally Santana wasn't fond of surprises, but she wasn't to gloomy about the free massage and facial. Apparently, it was a Christmas gift from her lovely mother who wished she could be with her daughter. Wait until she heard Santana went away for a month and came back with a girlfriend.
By the Santana's relaxation was over, she was too late to get quality Brittany time in. The Pierce family had decided to have a family dinner together before Christmas festivities kicked into high gear. Santana had tried to find Quinn, but she'd caught sight of Sam and the blonde at dinner and decided to leave them be before they saw her. She felt partially responsible for stealing Sam's alone time with his last blonde, so she wasn't about to do it again. Especially after Sam had been so great about her and Brittany. So instead, the brunette spent the night finishing up Brittany's gift and writing a little, all the while blasting the Music Choice's Holiday channel, though she'd never admit that. She ordered room service since Antony took Christine out for a nice date and Santana's lonely night passed quickly. Before she knew it, she woke up and it was Christmas Eve.
"Santana!" the banging startled her out of her not-so-deep sleep. The girl jolted awake and slowly adjusted to the light streaming in through her window. She made her way to the door, Brittany's voice not once faltering.
"Merry Christmas Eve!" A cheery Brittany greeted. She was wearing black leggings, a red sweater and an adorable Santa hat.
"Merry Christmas Eve," Santana giggled back as she accepted the girl's tight hug. As soon as she pulled away, Brittany tugged an identical Santa hat over Santana's wavy hair.
"Hey," Santana tried to deflect it. It wasn't as adorable on her. Brittany pouted, though, and Santana gave in. Brittany straightened it out and smiled.
"Santana Clause," she joked. Santana rolled her eyes but couldn't fight her smile. Brittany was fucking adorable.
"How 'bout some morning cuddles?" Santana smiled.
"No time," Brittany smiled. "It's Christmas Eve! We've got things to do! Get changed!" Santana feigned an annoyed groan as she headed inside.
"Do I have time to shower?"
"Quickly," Brittany nodded.
"Wanna join me?" Santana flirted. Brittany's face reddened immediately but she resisted the urge.
"Santana," she said slowly.
"Okay, okay, next time," Santana smiled and quickly headed into the shower.
As Santana disappeared, Brittany turned on the TV, only to find Music Choice Holiday as the last station Santana had been watching.
"San!" Brittany sang out as the classic "Do They Know It's Christmas?" played through the room.
"Yeah?" Santana shouted back loud enough for Brittany to hear. Luckily, the water pressure wasn't strong enough to drown out her voice.
"Have you been listening to Christmas music on your own?" Brittany smiled. The way she said it was more of a statement than a question. She already knew the answer and Santana could tell. Even amongst all the hot water hitting her back Santana's cheeks felt the hottest. She pretended she couldn't hear the girl, but it didn't really matter, since she knew she'd already been caught.
A few minutes later Santana sauntered into the room wrapped in nothing but a tiny white towel. Brittany practically choked. Santana smirk back at her. Brittany was laying flat on her back on Santana's bed and before she could fully sit up, Santana was lowering her body onto the girl. She kept her towel around her as Brittany started stammering.
"We-we've gotta m-meet everyone d-downstairs." She tried her best to keep her eyes focused on Santana's, but even that was turning her on too much. She couldn't get carried away, she told her parents she'd only be a few minutes.
"I'm sure we have a minute to spare," Santana said smoothly as she let her lips fall gently against Brittany's neck.
"S-san," Brittany meant to scold the girl, but it came out more like a moan. Santana dropped her towel and lifted off of Brittany.
"You're right," she shrugged as she slowly peeled her body off from Brittany's, the blonde's eyes falling right down her body. "I'd better get changed." Brittany's jaw dropped. Not just a little, either. It dropped in full cartoon-character form. She tried to reach out for Santana to pull her back down onto her, to kiss her, to touch her, but her muscles were locked. She couldn't breath or move. Santana waited to smirk until she was facing away from Brittany. She was sure the girl's eyes had already made it down to her ass. She went into her drawers and slipped on black underwear and a black bra. She hopped into black leggings and an oversized light cream colored sweater.
"D-don't forget your hat," Brittany said, her voice a little hoarse.
"Do I have to?" Santana complained. She knew, though, she had to. Brittany just gave her a look and Santana put the hat on over her damp hair. Brittany's body was finally cooperating enough to let her stand up, so the girl made her way over to Santana. She wrapped her arms around Santana's neck and leaned in close.
"You don't know how hard it is to not jump you right now," she whispered.
"Nothing's stopping you," Santana husked back.
"Except for our families waiting in the lobby," Brittany reminded the girl.
"Ugh, fine," Santana groaned.
"I promise," Brittany said softly. "We'll get time. I still gotta repay you for, you know," Brittany's tongue ran across her lips as her eyebrows inched up suggestively. Santana's stomach twisted at the thought. "Let's go," Brittany smiled into Santana's lips. She kissed her softly. Santana was still a little stunned by the girl's hint at going down on her and found it hard to move her lips too much.
"Get ready for a traditional Pierce family Christmas," Brittany grinned. She grabbed Santana's hand tightly and pulled her forward, preparing to introduce the girl to all the magic Christmas had to offer.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"About time!" Mr. Pierce joked as he stood up from the lobby's sofa. Lincoln was just returning with his mother, a tray of hot chocolates in hand, so Brittany knew she hadn't actually taken too long. Still, she felt the need to add, "Sorry, Santana needed a quick shower."
"Of course, of course, no problem," Robert quickly stammered. He didn't want Santana to think she had held them up.
"Here 'ntana," Lincoln mumbled as he handed her the first hot chocolate. They were in black to-go cups.
"Thanks buddy," she smiled. Her smile seemed to have a similar affect on the boy as it did Brittany and his cheeks turned rosy immediately. He turned away quickly and handed Brittany her cocoa and Mrs. Pierce greeted Santana with a surprisingly warm hug.
"I'm so glad you could join us!" She said.
"Oh," Santana barely breathed, clearly taken aback by the women's soft gesture. "Thank you so much for having me. And my Dad," she smiled.
"Our pleasure!" She smiled back.
"Speaking of," Mr. Pierce cut in. "Antony and Christine are waiting on us now."
Mr. and Mrs. Pierce took off down the hallway and Lincoln followed closely behind. Before Santana could look up at Brittany, the girl's hand was dragging across Santana's fingers. She could feel how hesitant Brittany was even before looking into her eyes. When Brittany finally looked up, Santana smiled and let her fingers slip in between Brittany's. She surprised herself everyday.
They walked hand-in-hand behind Brittany's family, tingles running up and down their arms.
"Uh, where are we going?" Santana's eyebrows creased together when she watched the Pierce's turn into what she was sure was the Lobby's restaurant's kitchen.
"The kitchen," Brittany said back simply, like it wasn't even the tiniest bit strange.
"We're just gonna walk into the restaurant's kitchen?"
"Mhm," Brittany said cheerfully, clearly not picking up on Santana's bewilderment. Santana stayed quiet and followed Brittany's hand as they entered the kitchen. Everything with Brittany was an adventure, why should today be any different? The entire place was made of steel as far as Santana could see. They turned the corner and she was shocked to see only her father and Christine standing there. Where were all the workers?
Antony had his arms around Christine's waist and they were facing the opposite way, the woman's hands in a big silver bowl.
"Gag," Santana said under her breath.
"Hey," Brittany nudged her with a giggle. "They're cute."
"No," Santana shook her head. "We're cute. They're old." Brittany just laughed and pulled Santana into the other end of the kitchen. Her parents had set up a few different stations. This way, Brittany and Santana, Antony and Christine, and Lincoln and them could all have their own space.
"What kind do you want to make?" Brittany smiled as she handed Santana a white apron. Santana stared down at the thing.
"What kind of what?"
"Cookies, silly! What else would we be making on Christmas?"
"I don't know, food?" Santana shrugged.
"Wow," Brittany giggled. "You really are a Christmas noob!" Santana rolled her eyes and Brittany tied her apron around her neck and waist. Brittany took a quick look around the room.
"Well, it looks like your Dad's already making chocolate chip. Hey Mom," Brittany called. "What kind are you making?"
"Sugar!" Lincoln screamed before his Mother could properly answer.
"I guess sugar," Mrs. Pierce giggled.
"Okay," Brittany laughed. "So then what do you wanna make?" She asked Santana.
"What else is there?" She asked.
"Are you serious?" Brittany's eyes widened slightly. Then she chuckled a little. "Santana there are thousands of kinds of cookies out there. What, have you never had anything besides chocolate chip?"
"Of course I have," she shrugged. "I just don't make them." Brittany smiled and ignored her.
"So what kind do you wanna make?"
"I don't know, what's your favorite?" Santana asked.
"Well what's yours?"
"I like all cookies," Santana admitted. "What's the most fun to make?"
"Oh, snickerdoodles can be fun!"
"Snicker-what?"
"Snickerdoodle," Brittany laughed. She was sure then she'd never met anyone as cute as Santana. "You know, it's the cinnamon-sugar kind."
"Oh," Santana said in recognition. "I love those!"
"Good!" Brittany grinned, her tongue momentarily popping through her teeth and grabbing all of Santana's attention. Brittany noticed Santana's eyes locked on her mouth and quickly tucked her lips in with a slight giggle. "We can use the sugar cookie dough," She quickly added, changing the subject. "Hold on." She headed over to her Mom. Santana watched the blonde float away and have a quick conversation before returning with their ingredients bowl.
"Look what I got," she smiled, her eyebrows flicking up and down.
"Wasn't that theirs?" Santana asked.
"Yeah, they said they'd just make another one. I just asked what I was supposed to put in our bowl, and I knew they'd wanna make sure I didn't mess it up. Snickerdoodles are my Mom's favorite," Brittany smiled. Genius, Santana thought. No one would ever think that Brittany was capable of manipulating anyone, and maybe this was in the most innocent way possible, but still, she'd gone over there with the intention of getting their bowl and she'd done just that.
"Here," Brittany said, handing Santana the hand blender.
"What's this?" Santana asked instinctually. She knew it was a blender.
"It's not mixed yet," she nodded down to the bowl. Santana nodded and stuck the whisk into the batter. She pressed down on the button and yelped. A split second later and she heard Brittany squeal behind her. Santana's thumb immediately released off of the button, but it was too late- the batter had already splattered everywhere. She turned to face Brittany who's eyes we squeezed shut tightly. On top of her eyelids was a few drops of the batter. Santana giggled as she leaned in and softly wiped it away with her thumb.
"Sorry," she whispered. Brittany's body reacted to Santana's breath on her skin. She hadn't realized how close the girl had gotten to her.
"It's okay," Brittany breathed, her eyes flitting open. She smiled when she saw the yellow gook on Santana's cheek topped by flour. She giggled when Santana stared at her more seriously. "You've still got stuff on your..." She pointed to the girl's cheek. Santana brought her hand to her face and wiped her skin but she didn't completely clear it.
"Here," Brittany whispered quickly, momentarily not caring about their parents in the room. It was just a kiss on the cheek, she shrugged as she leaned into the girls skin. Her lips parted slightly as she kissed around the spot. She sucked it up and pulled away before it turned into exactly what she wanted it to turn into.
"Thanks," Santana smiled, her cheeks heating up.
"Let's try this again," Brittany giggled as she picked up the blender again.
"You have the cutest fucking giggle," Santana blurted out. Her heart stopped for a quick second when she realized what she'd said. She'd said it before she was even aware she was thinking it.
"Thanks," Brittany blushed as she bit down on her bottom lip. "Here," she said, handing the blender back to Santana. She kept her hands on top of Santana's and helped her keep her grip on the machine. "You've got to make sure it's all the way in the mix before you use it," she explained. Santana nodded. She normally would have felt a little dumb for not knowing that but Brittany's body pressed up against her side was making it hard for her to feel anything but turned on. Brittany's strong hands both piled on top of Santana's as she helped the girl start blending the batter.
"I love cookie dough," Brittany told the girl as they stirred the automatic whisk around in the bowl.
"It's my favorite," Santana agreed.
"So you've never made cookies but you've eaten cookie dough?" Brittany asked.
"I can watch people make cookies," Santana told her.
Once the batter had turned to dough, Brittany stepped aside for a minute and came back with a smaller glass bowl. Santana watched as she poured a mix of cinnamon and sugar into the bowl and shook it around.
"Roll these into balls," she told Santana as she passed her the dough. Santana took some of it into her hands and began rolling tiny pieces.
"Like this?" She asked once she had a ball made. Brittany nodded. "So you guys do this every Christmas?"
"Mhm," Brittany nodded, simultaneously reaching into the dough to grab a piece. "Cookies for Santa," she shrugged.
"You actually leave cookies out for him?" Santana wasn't meaning to be rude or anything, she was just genuinely surprised. She didn't know people actually did that over the age of four.
"You're supposed to," Brittany answered seriously.
"So what else do you do on Christmas," Santana asked, wanting to know more about the holiday she'd missed out on the past fourteen years.
"Roll that in here," Brittany said as she slid the cinnamon-sugar mix towards Santana. The girl nodded and rolled the tiny dough ball in the mix. She followed Brittany's lead and placed the finished dough on the baking sheet. "Well," Brittany continued. "We've got to get the tree and decorate it."
"You get a tree here? In the room? The resort lets you?"
"Sure," she smiled. "My parents love it here, but I don't think they'd agree to come over Christmas unless all of our traditions worked out. They wouldn't wanna ruin Christmas or any of that for Lincoln or me. The staffs extra accommodating around the holidays," she explained. "Like this kitchen," she pointed around herself. "I don't think they'd let us rent this out for baking cookies in June." Santana continued rolling the dough in her hands, all the while watching Brittany's hands do the same. "So we go out together and we cut down a tree and-"
"You guys chop it down?" Santana's eyes widened.
"Yeah," Brittany smiled. "Why drive out to buy one when we can walk right out there and just get one," she shrugged. "Then," she continued, "we decorate it. We don't get to bring all the ornaments every year, you know, because we can't fit them all on our flight. So before we leave, we go through all the boxes and pick out the ones we want for this year."
"How do you pick?" Santana asked. Brittany was glowing. She loved that Santana cared enough to ask even the simplest questions. No one had ever paid her this much genuine attention.
"My parents pick from memories, you know, who they're from, when they got them, memories that came with them."
"Well what about you?" Santana asked, caring more about the blonde then her parents. She'd never met someone so selfless.
"Honestly?" she smiled. "I usually just pick the prettiest ones."
"You're so cute," Santana giggled under her breath. She found whenever she was around Brittany, her thoughts just spewed out before she could filter them. It was refreshing.
Before Santana could look up, Brittany's lips were against hers. Santana's heart stopped dead from the surprise until she finally relaxed back into the girl. Brittany pulled away, her eyes locked into Santana's.
"You make me so happy," she breathed. Before Santana could answer, Brittany was sheepishly changing the subject. "And then," she quickly added, "we have a cookie fest and watch the Grinch!" The excitement in her voice was almost too much for Santana to handle. Santana was smiling as wide as she possibly could.
"The cartoon one?" Santana asked. She remembered watching it as a child once.
"No, the one with Jim Carrey."
"Never seen it," Santana shrugged as she continued rolling the dough. Brittany practically dropped all the bowl of cinnamon-sugar she was holding. She wasn't as much surprised as she was excited to share her favorite movie with her girlfriend.
"You're in for a treat," Brittany smiled as calmly as she could manage.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"This ones from my Godfather," Brittany held up the beautiful silver snowflake. "He gets me one every year. This is my absolute favorite, though," she shrugged. Brittany stood on her tippy-toes as she hung the ornament on their brand new, fresh green Douglas Fir.
Santana was still amazed at the setup. The Pierces had rented out the top floor penthouse for the next three days to properly celebrate Christmas. There were tons of rooms, bedrooms, a kitchen, a dinning room, a living room, a jacuzzi. The tree, which Mr. Pierce had so impressively chopped down and carried back (with some help from Antony), fit perfectly in the corner of the living room. There were a few sofas surrounding the fireplace which had a flat screen TV hanging above it. On top of it all, the entire place had been decked out with Christmas lights, per the Pierce's request. They really were like royalty in this place.
"What about this one," Santana asked as she picked up a round red ornament with White Christmas written in a child's handwriting in white marker.
"Oh," Brittany smiled, taking the ornament into her hands. "My kindergarden teacher wanted us to write what we wanted for Christmas on the ornaments." Santana smiled.
"And you didn't want some new American Girl Doll or something?" She asked. Brittany just shrugged.
"I just remember all winter my mom kept saying all she wanted was a white Christmas. I didn't even know what that was," she let out a soft laugh. "But I knew she really wanted it, so that was my wish."
Without thinking about her Dad who was hanging up ornaments right next to her, Santana leaned in a gave Brittany a soft kiss. Brittany's stomach fluttered as Santana pulled away with a soft smile.
"You're the sweetest," was all Santana said. Even four year old Brittany amazed her.
"Here," Brittany smiled bashfully as handed Santana another ornament to hang up. Santana smiled as she held a tiny hanging frame with a picture of Lincoln and Brittany on Santa's lap.
"Cute," she laughed, hanging it on the nearest branch.
"Hey girls," Mr. Lopez interrupted their giggles.
"Hm?" Santana said without looking up.
"I have something for you," he said softly. Santana's eyes widened, suddenly paranoid about what he could have, and she shot him a warning look.
"No," he mouthed to her with a laugh. "It's okay." He took a few steps closer as Brittany looked up at him genuinely.
"Brittany," he started with a smile. "I can't thank you enough for keeping this one out of trouble these past few weeks," he laughed. Santana playfully shoved him. She was already blushing hard, she knew he was about to get sentimental. "But seriously, thanks for making my girl so happy. I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather have be with her. And Santana," he grinned at his daughter who was trying hard to shoot him daggers for embarrassing her, but she couldn't deny how sweet he was being. "Thanks for staying out of trouble," he laughed again. "You've been so mature this whole time and I've loved watching you enjoy yourself," he smiled. She knew what he meant by mature- not fucking with Brittany's heart like she had with every other girl in the past. And "enjoy yourself" was referring to how in love she'd been acting.
"Thanks," Santana managed.
"So, I wanted to get you two something to remember this sweet little time of, you know-" he stopped himself from saying when you first fell in love and instead said "when you first met. And with all these Christmas celebrations going on I thought this was most fitting." He handed the girls a tiny box and Santana slowly peeled away the paper. Out slide a beautiful, flat, silver ornament hanging from a hook. In the center was inscribed
Santana and Brittany's First Christmas
Blue Creek Lodge '12
It was all traced by a light heart.
"Dad," Santana breathed. Before she could look up, though, Brittany had her arms around Antony's neck.
"Thank you so much," she whispered.
"Thank you," he breathed back. "For making her so happy," he added too softly for Santana to hear. As soon as their embrace ended, Santana fell into his arms.
"I love you," was all she cold say. She felt like crying. She'd never felt so happy as she had this entire trip and he was the one that had made it happen. Suddenly, her parents divorce seemed like the best thing that had ever happened to her.
"Love you too, mija," he grinned. He quickly stepped aside to give the girls a moment he knew was coming.
"He's amazing," Brittany said softly. Santana handed the ornament to Brittany.
"No," Brittany shook her head. "We put it on together." Santana smiled as she grabbed the other half of the ornament in her hand. They reached up slowly, together, and placed the ornament on the middle of the full tree. Before they let go, Brittany looked over to Santana.
"This one's my new favorite," she told her. "I'll bring it every year," she promised. Both girls knew that there was more to that promise than just the ornament. The meaning that came with it, Brittany wanted to last forever. Their lips were like magnets, slowly attracting to the others, the closer they got, the harder it would be to pull away. Once they were locked, it seemed nearly impossible to let go. Santana finally pulled away, her eyes fighting back tears.
"Are you okay?" Brittany whispered, her heart racing.
"I-" Santana started, knowing exactly what she wanted to say and knowing it was completely the wrong time to say it.
"Ow!" Lincoln's screech pulled them out of their moment, the tiny boy gripping his head after crashing into the corner table.
"I'm more than okay," Santana finally answered Brittany.
"Good," she smiled.
Just then, someone knocked on the door and Mr. Pierce announced that dinner had arrived. In came tons of trays, some with filet and mashed potatoes, some with mixed vegetables, and some with the cookies the family had made today.
"Grab a spot!" Mr. Pierce called out. Brittany ripped Santana's hand and sprinted across the room onto the two person couch just left of the TV. Lincoln grabbed the middle one and Mr. Pierce helped the staffer bring over dinner plates to the girl's and his son. Soon enough, the entire group was seated across from the TV with dinner plates on trays. Mr. Pierce switched on the TV and smiled at everyone.
"And now, thanks to The Great Pierce Family Tradition, I proudly present, How The Grinch Stole Christmas!" Everyone, especially Brittany and Lincoln, clapped for the opening.
The first twenty minutes passed before they'd finished their meals. Mr. Pierce quietly took away all of their plates and brought out cookies and a pre-made tray of milk.
"Thanks," Santana smiled as he handed her a tiny plate of cookies. He placed two glasses on the tray and moved on to the others.
"Come here," Brittany nodded. She reached out her hands and Santana handed her the tiny plate. Then Brittany spread her arm open and Santana took the hint to cuddle into the girl. She was immediately relieved by her warmth. Every time they touched it felt like she had never realized how cold she had been. Brittany reached to the side and grabbed a blanket as she haphazardly threw the blanket over themselves. Santana adjusted it as she let her head fall further into Brittany's chest.
Brittany watched as Santana giggled at Jim Carrey trying on different, hilarious outfits. She loved that the girl was enjoying herself.
"This is nice," Brittany said, but Santana could tell she was looking for an answer. Some sort of confirmation.
"This is perfect," she breathed as she looked up at the blonde. She leaned up an inch or so to connect their lips and just as they met, the room filled with a few "aws" and "ohs!" Santana quickly pulled away, her face deep red. Brittany giggled sheepishly as she looked down at her lap.
"Shut up," Santana said jokingly through her laughter. The entire room was laughing, everyone cuddled up to someone, enjoying warm cookies and a Christmas movie.
This is what it felt like, Santana thought. Family.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Hey guys! Sorry it took some time here. The ending chapters are harder to write because there's a lot to tie in!
Also, I know the ornament says 2012 but it isn't 2013 in the story yet because new years eve hasn't happened so bare with me! Thanks! xx