A/N: This is a Brittana AU set in the Smallville universe that I've been working on for a while. It's set in the same universe as my other story "I'll Keep You By My Side (With My Superhuman Might)" so if you'd like more context you can check that out. Frankenfinn's "Red Fire" on AO3 is based in a similar universe.
So according to the Smallville wiki:
"Red Kryptonite brings out the rebellious and immoral personality of Kryptonians and rids them of their inhibitions. The effects of Red Kryptonite are likened to that of being under the influence of too much alcohol or narcotics, without the loss of physical capability."
I'm bending the rules a little on how this kryptonite works. So during the meteorite crash, Santana gets infected with the red kryptonite and it causes a mutation which leads to her developing fire powers. Whenever she's exposed to red kryptonite again, it makes her powers much stronger and has all of the same effects on her as a human that it would have on Kryptonians.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Smallville or anything associated with them. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no profit is being made.
All she remembers is explosive anger. It's the emotion that takes over the entire Lopez household and reaches a boiling point inside of little Santana. To their neighbours, they're a picture perfect family, always decked out in the finest, most expensive clothes and appearing at church every Sunday or parties held by the richest local WASP families in the community. Behind closed doors, everything is volatile. Santana's Papi and Mami are fighting again, as they always do, while her uncles and aunts are joining in with vicious words.
Anger is how everything starts. Their voices get louder, reaching a deafening pitch. All of the appliances in the house are running on full blast, her mother trying to busy herself with cooking an elaborate meal in the kitchen in the middle of the shouting match. Santana is five and she covers her ears with a grimace, frowning when Abuela gives her another disapproving glance as she storms away and shouts that she hates her family.
"Santana! Behave yourself right now!" Abuela's furious tone sets Santana off even more when she grabs the little girl by the arm forcefully as she scolds her.
"No! Leave me alone, you old hag!"
Sometimes Santana likes her Abuela but right now she glares at her, annoyed at the judgmental look on the old woman's face and she hates her. She's annoyed by the way she can never do anything right for her grandmother. Abuela gasps, appalled and slaps her on the same arm. It's her left arm and Santana thinks about how Abuela never liked how Santana has only ever been able to do things with her left hand. She always mumbles things about "The Devil" whenever she notices Santana using that hand and encourages her to try with her right. Her Mami gets angry at Abuela for saying such things.
"You little viper! What has happened to you, Child!?"
Santana runs away with an angry scream before Abuela can hit her again. Mami and Papi would be furious with Santana if they found out how rude she was but luckily they're too busy fighting each other. She goes into her room and hides under her bed, curling into a ball. The house remains loud and then it's as if something snaps. Everything explodes.
There's heat, then the smell of smoke reaches her nostrils as she crawls out from under the bed and tries to get out of her room. The door jams and she can't escape so she starts to panic. No one seems to hear her when she screams for help. Sweat begins to pour down her small face and Santana can't breathe. Shouting turns into fearful screams down below. There's another explosion, a ball of fire hits her and it's a complete blur as she flails her arms uselessly. She feels suffocated and the room around her eventually fades to black.
When she wakes up on a stretcher and wondering if she's really alive, she's surrounded by firefighters and there's the sound of Mami weeping nearby. The pain is excruciating.
The firefighters struggle to put out the flames that are still engulfing the Lopez mansion, pieces of shiny rock fragments scattered all around the garden by the basement window. There's a shower of more of those red crystals all over the Lopez complex and sharp pieces of them are wedged into her skin.
"Meteor rock" was what Papi would call it later when Santana found a piece while they made their way through the wreckage of the house days later and had shown him, her eyes lit up in fascination.
That blood red crystal is glowing now, almost tauntingly at her from every angle, like red eyes, unaffected by the flames and she irrationally hates it. It terrifies her. She swears the rock is somehow feeding those flames, making them more intense and the fire itself turns an unnatural shade of maroon like the colour of the rock but no one other than her seems to notice. There's no time to think because people are screaming and it's not just her house that's on fire but many in the same street.
The doctors say Santana has second and third degree burns all over her body when she gets to the overcrowded hospital. There'll be craters and scars all over her forever, they say. Yet something inexplicable happens, the burns disappear just hours later to the amazement of everyone. No one can explain it. Santana's skin is even smoother and more even than it was before. It looks polished.
Santana doesn't feel a thing, relieved that the pain is finally gone. No one in the family talks about how odd it is that Santana healed so quickly. She thinks about the meteor rock and wonders if somehow that ruby-red stone that she was surrounded with had somehow protected her. Maribel Lopez moves herself and her daughter to a new house in Smallville once the divorce is finalized and Santana breathes a sigh of relief that the arguments between her parents are done after Papi is no longer around.
"Carlos has been getting straight As. He's already at the top of his class," Tia Carmen, the older sister of Santana's mother, boasts with that smug smirk she always wears as she parades her immaculately dressed children around after church when they get back to Maribel's house. "Of course, he's also so very athletic and so popular at his age."
"Yes, yes, Carmen. Congratulations," Maribel replies in a slightly bored drawl. "I do wish Santana would study harder and try to apply herself. I can't get that child to behave. She has such a hot temper."
Santana has heard these talks a million times before from her grandmother, aunts and uncles. According to her family, nothing she can do measures up. Whatever she does will never be as impressive as what her cousins do. So Santana doesn't see any point in trying too hard.
"Don't worry, Dear. Not everyone can be brilliant. I'm sure your Santana will find… something she can do."
Santana hides under the table, listening to her mother talk to her aunts. She scowls and the anger wells up in her until it has nowhere else to go. She runs out from under the tablecloth and it's as if the flames just burst out of her, engulfing the furniture and the carpet.
"Santana! What did you do?!" Abuela demands, rounding on her and grabbing her by the sleeve. "I know you had something to do with this. You… you found my box of matches!"
"I didn't do it!" Santana argues back loudly in her high-pitched little voice.
Maribel rushes for the fire extinguisher, trying to get everything under control and her relatives all turn to glare at Santana while she shrugs, shaking her head before storming away.
It's tough being different. She's already different because she likes girls the way she's supposed to like boys and now there's this… this weird fire thing she has. Her mother doesn't know for sure what's wrong but after one too many accidental fires at Christmas parties and birthdays, she tells her she needs to control herself. The family thinks this is a phase, a ploy for her to get attention. Though it says a lot that the only time they give her any attention is when she accidentally torches yet another thing. They tell her that if she keeps it up, she'll be arrested for arson and ask her where she's hiding the matches.
"Don't think I will be the one bailing you out, Santana. You make your bed, you lie in it." Abuela reminds her for the five hundredth time while the child rolls her eyes.
She's insecure about a lot of things, mainly her parents' divorce that she's sure she caused and knowing that she's a weirdo with freak powers.
She makes her first and only real friend soon.
Being a human flamethrower isn't easy but Brittany S. Pierce is the most beautiful thing ever in existence. She makes all of the torment worth it. The other kids are wary of her edginess, seeming to sense her anger and all stay away from her. Brittany doesn't get scared of her at all.
"Hi, I'm Brittany." A six year-old, freckled blonde with a pretty, rosy flush to her cheeks smiles sweetly. Santana attempts to growl and bare her teeth on instinct, fearful of other people but all that comes out is something like a nervous whimper. That never happened to her before with another kid.
She tries to scowl to make up for the pathetic sound. Brittany's smile doesn't go away and Santana is somewhat annoyed but flustered about how Brittany doesn't shrink away from her in fear like the other students do whenever she threatens them. She tries a scarier approach. Brittany is too pretty so she can't have her around.
"I'm Santana Lopez and you better stay away!"
Brittany just tilts her head to the side and stares at her blankly, then she smiles. Her smile is so cute that Santana forgets everything she is about to say.
"You're really funny. I like your black hair and your red shirt."
No one has ever complimented Santana on anything before at school and it makes her lose her cool for a moment, her heart beating a little faster. Brittany just smiles even wider and hugs her when Santana attempts to look scary. Santana doesn't push her away. She has never let anyone hug her like this before.
She completely melts and hates the fact that she likes Brittany's hug so much. Santana has seen blue eyes before but never the warm, playful ones Brittany has that are upturned and cat-like and seem to be able to see right through her. Her entire body feels hot, as if there's liquid fire running through her veins and she feels like she can do anything with Brittany at her side.
They're best friends after that, just like that after one comment by Brittany. She takes the blonde's hand and holds it tightly, leading her over to the playground. They're closer than best friends, really. She walks around the school aimlessly, feeling lost whenever Brittany is sick and home from school. Santana starts to imagine them as grown ups, still doing everything together.
Then quickly the image morphs into just the two of them, living together. It's as if they're married to each other. Just them and their love for each other, as it should be. It's a silly image, she thinks and tries to bury it deep, to pretend she doesn't desperately want that life with Brittany.
"I really wanna kiss you right now." The blonde girl comments casually out of nowhere, laying on Santana's bed sideways and hanging upside down off of it as they do homework together. Sparks fly from Santana and she nearly explodes, in the literal sense of the word but she exercises every bit of self-control she has to avoid torching Brittany's bedroom.
Kissing Brittany is all Santana can think about for the rest of the night and the next week yet Brittany is so casual about it as if she hasn't just caused Santana to practically spontaneously combust as soon as she uttered the words.
One day, a group of cheerleaders are bullying Brittany, calling her names like "Stupid" and "Weird." Santana sees the tears welling up in the blonde's soft blue eyes along with the way her chin crumples and her lower lip wobbles. She goes ballistic, marching up to the group of them as Brittany starts to cry openly, covering her face with her hands.
"How dare you treat her like that!" She roars, shoving one of the girls so hard she slams into a wall and turning to face the others furiously.
"You have a problem with that, Santana?" Chelsea drawls. "Brittany's the dumbest girl in the entire school and I guess you must be too if you're defending her."
She creates the tiniest flame on the tip of her finger and flicks it onto its intended target. Of course, she's discreet and no one sees her. Predictably, the group of girls begin to scream as the ends of Chelsea's long, dishwater blonde hair are now on fire.
When the girls run away after the flames have been outed, Santana gets down onto her knees, pulling Brittany into her arms as she nuzzles into the crook of the darker-skinned girl's neck as if seeking her protection.
The thing about Brittany is that she thinks on another wavelength and lives in another world. A beautiful world, Santana thinks. Fairies and mermaids and every other kind of creature exist in Brittany's world and Santana is amazed by that. At the same time, not everyone thinks as innocently as the blonde and she has to protect her from the cruel world they live in.
"Britt, where are you going?"
She finds the blonde heading in the wrong direction with her head in the clouds and puts her arm around her shoulders protectively, pulling her in close and steering her gently back towards their math class.
"Oh sorry. I was thinking about cats and I guess I got lost," Brittany sighs in relief, resting her head against Santana's shoulder. "Good thing I have you."
Santana isn't expecting it, accidentally setting fire to the wall nearby as flames blast out of her hands when the blonde leans in to brush her soft lips against hers for just a few seconds.
In her effort to not burn Brittany, she uses every cell in her body to concentrate on burning the wall instead. She holds Brittany close, taking her to safety as the fire begins to spread and her eyes dart around, making sure that no one else saw what just happened. It's a good thing the hallways were almost completely empty and Brittany was in front of her, blocking her body from view. It's at that moment that she realizes how deep her feelings are.
They don't talk about what the kiss meant but it's as if everything has suddenly changed, every touch and conversation between them charged with tension. Santana is lucky enough that the school doesn't link her to the fire this time even though she has been in the same place as two incidents now.
She can never tell Brittany how much she likes her or about her powers.
Smallville is a weird little hick town known for nothing except its endless fields of corn and that weird meteorite shower from way back when she was a kid that no one ever wants to talk about. Someone like herself will never fit in here.
She holds Brittany's hand a lot when they're alone, feeling a little tingle everytime their eyes meet, heat rising up her throat and flames threatening to spill out of her mouth. Puberty sucks but at least she gets taller, finally growing into her body more and her voice matures, becoming lower and raspier. The dreams she has about kissing and touching Brittany leave her feeling embarrassed when she wakes up constantly with that familiar dull pressure between her legs that never completely goes away whenever she thinks about the girl.
For a while, she thinks she has the flames under control, then a humiliating incident happens when they're fourteen, sleeping over at the Fabray house for Quinn's birthday party. Her strict, religious parents don't let any boys attend, so it's just Brittany, Santana, Quinn, and six other girls in sleeping bags lined up along the living room floor.
Santana is always the last one to fall asleep at sleepovers and the first one to play pranks on everyone else, so she's sure this one will be a breeze after the girls have finished gossiping and playing truth or dare then watching movies until the early hours of the morning. All she remembers is falling asleep and somehow cuddling close to Brittany even though Santana was the one who warned her that they can't touch each other so much in public anymore because well… people would talk.
"Santana, what on Earth are you doing?"
Quinn's distinctive nasally, breathy voice is breaking into her dream world annoyingly, so jarring against the sensual and exciting mood of the dream. She wants Quinn to shut up so she can focus on Brittany.
"Uh Brittany… oh Brittany… "
"She's moaning… ew," Quinn scoffs and snickers as the girls aside from Brittany giggle and whisper about wet dreams. "She's moaning about Brittany?"
In her dream, Brittany is pressed up against her. Intense heat flushes through her. The heat is pleasant at first, settling low in her core as they kiss. Then it intensifies, becoming a searing, overwhelming wave that burns through everything else. She needs something, needs more but can't figure out what that would be. Heat bursts out of her. She clenches her legs together.
She wakes up to the sounds of screaming and is disoriented for a moment, registering the way her pajama shorts are sticking to her between her legs. She realizes with embarrassment that she's grinding up against Brittany's thigh with a tight grip on the fabric of the girl's pink pajama top and her other hand on the girl's chest.
Brittany is watching her intently but not pushing her away and aside from the look of surprise on her face, doesn't seem bothered. Before she can allow the humiliation to take hold of her, she realizes why everyone is screaming and there's something way more alarming to think about. The entire room has erupted into tall flames.
Santana shoots up in a panic, grabbing her things. She has even burnt straight through the sleeping bag.
"C'mon, Santana." Brittany is the only one who stays behind to make sure she's okay.
Santana's need to protect her overrides her embarrassment at the situation and she grabs the girl's hand, sprinting out of the room to take her to safety. At least the sudden fire had distracted everyone from Santana's mortifying wet dream. Brittany doesn't ask her about it and Santana is terrified to bring it up. Santana notices with a blush that the fire has burnt through Brittany's pajamas as well, her bra now visible. Unlike Santana, Brittany wears actual bras with wires already and can fill them out easily.
"Santana?" Brittany smirks and Santana looks away, realizing how long she has been staring at the blonde's breasts.
"I'm sorry."
Santana is on the verge of tears as she hears Quinn, Judy Fabray and the other girls shouting about the fire that sparked out of nowhere, a firetruck soon pulling up outside the Fabrays' mansion. She isn't quite sure what she's apologizing for - the fire that no one would know she caused or her humiliating dream but she knows she's to blame for everything just like she always is. Brittany chews on her bottom lip when she sees how upset Santana is and wraps her arms around her.
The darker girl wonders what she did to deserve Brittany's acceptance and even though she has never told the girl about her powers, it somehow oddly feels like the blonde knows. There's no way Brittany could know but the thought is comforting anyway.
Santana closes her eyes and relishes the contact. Being in Brittany's arms is always the most comforting feeling in the world and the feeling of the girl's soft hands stroking her back drowns out her worries while her tears soak into the pink material of her pajama top.
"It's alright, San. You don't have to be sorry."
Brittany's fifteen and flirting openly with some boy in their class - a muscular footballer with messy black hair, a mean look on his face and a square jaw who Santana instantly and irrationally hates. He's the same guy who has been constantly leering at the tall blonde girl everywhere she goes and now he's really chatting her up, trying to lay on the dudebro charm.
Santana overheard him talking to some guys in their class earlier about how much he wanted to get Brittany in the backseat of his car. He's touching Brittany's cheek and shoulder, edging closer, like if she belongs to him. Santana squares her shoulders and pops her neck as she sits down beside Brittany, glaring murderously at the jock. She absolutely seethes, wondering what Brittany sees in this loser. What's so great about him?
"Excuse me? What the hell do you want?" She demands and before she realizes she's doing it, her hand goes down to grab Brittany's thigh in a possessive gesture. Brittany looks at her curiously with a startled expression at the darker girl's territorial behaviour but a small smile comes to her lips and she doesn't reject her touch.
"Brittany and I were just talking. That's allowed, isn't it?"
"Fuck off and leave her alone." Santana mumbles in annoyance.
"Why? What can you do about it?" He retorts. Santana seethes and clenches her fists, feeling a vein in her neck throb as her whole body tenses up. He stands up and hulks over them like a barbarian and all Santana can think about is how ugly the dude is.
"Santana…" She hears Brittany's soft voice, encouraging her to calm down but she's lost in her emotions.
The jock grabs Brittany's waist, pulling her in close and kisses her to wolf whistles and cheers from his friends as the blonde girl makes a noise of surprise. Everyone in the class turns around to see what's going on.
Santana's jealousy flares red hot, reaching a fever pitch at this and then she really does flare up in every way, fire shooting out of her hand in a stream and torching the guy's desk as he hastily jumps away with a frightened yell.
As the rest of the students run for cover, minus Santana while Brittany hides her face, the Latina sees something she never expected. It's that gigantic, fat-faced idiot Finn and he's putting out the flames by himself with no fire extinguisher in sight… literally extinguishing the flames just by breathing on them.
She blinks, wondering if she's going delusional. Then she remembers her own weirdo abilities that shouldn't be possible and she's not sure why she's surprised that someone else is a freak too.
She looks around and no one else seems to notice what Finn is doing so discreetly. He looks up with a sheepish expression when he sees her staring at him blowing out the fire. She smirks to herself. He clearly doesn't want anyone to know his secret and now she has something over him.
Santana goes to the empty field near her house where she always goes with Brittany to blow off some steam after school. Except this time she's alone and she's doing so quite literally, using some rocks by the stream for target practice as she lets out a barrage of flames with angry yells. She just can't face her best friend right now, not after Brittany saw her reaction to the footballer and may have caught on to the fact that she's a human blowtorch.
She nearly jumps out of her skin when Finn Kent appears out of nowhere and freezes the fire she accidentally causes on the trees nearby with his breath as she shouts in surprise.
"Jesus fucking Christ! Fucking fuck! How long have you been standing there like a creep, Kent?" She snarls, clutching her chest. Her heart beats fast at the realization that someone may have seen her use her powers… but at least she also knows his secret.
Truth be told, Santana has never been able to stand the baby-faced loser who somehow has risen way above her in the popularity rankings at the high-school and that screechy-voiced Rachel Luthor, his girlfriend, is equally annoying. He's the very last person she wants to see right now.
"Whoa whoa, I come here in peace. Look, I've been here long enough to see you create fire and I know you saw me today in class after you torched the place."
"I don't know what you're fucking talking about. Are you crazy?" She hisses as violently as she can, sneering. "What, you gonna accuse me of being some serial arsonist? I know everyone thinks I'm some delinquent but how the fuck could I have caused that fire?"
"Santana, I know you have powers just like I do. I also know that you probably don't want the whole world knowing. So let's make a deal - I promise to never ever say a word about what I saw if you do the same for me."
Santana pretends to ignore him, staring in amazement as the Kent kid suddenly appears in a flash at the other side of the field. No one could move that fast. Her eyes widen even more when he catches a massive tree that she accidentally hit with a fire blaze in her distracted state and throws it forty feet away casually as if he's tossing a football. No one would ever believe her if she told them.
She growls in frustration despite herself. Of course Kent would end up with super strength and speed while all she can do is barbecue chicken at this rate. The perfect family, the popularity, the oh so sickeningly perfect relationship with Little Miss Hobbit? What doesn't Golden Boy Kent have?
"What the fuck, Kent? Are you on something?"
"Hey, I'm not judging you for it but what happened today in class could have hurt a lot of people if I hadn't been there. I'm guessing you probably didn't mean it but you should get training to control your powers. For your sake and for everyone else's… if you want, my dad and I could help you…he's also like us. We accept people like you who are… different like us."
The last thing she wants is to have to hang out with this loser and become even more of a freak. She doesn't need their help with anything.
"I don't need your charity, Superbitch," Santana huffs, fixing a scowl on her face as he eventually backs away from her. "I don't know what delusions you're on about powers and shit but you better leave me alone. You saw nothing, you hear me?"
She doesn't need any help from those self-righteous Kent Farm losers. She can figure out what to do on her own.
So maybe figuring out how to control said powers isn't the easiest thing in the world…
To say puberty hits her like a lightning bolt in a summer storm would be an understatement.
Other people just get a few spots on their face, their first period and embarrassing voice cracks… but Santana… oh God, she just has to blast fire everywhere and anywhere. Which isn't the easiest thing to control, far less hide. Her powers are going haywire like never before.
Santana cringes, snickering with Quinn and some other Cheerios who are sitting behind her close to the back of the biology lab, while Mrs. Hagberg explains the details of human reproduction in an awkward drawl. Finn Kent has fallen asleep on his desk, snoring lightly in the row beside them and some of the jocks are flicking pieces of paper at his head.
The chair is empty beside Santana and the black-haired girl glares at an acne-covered JBI who wants to take the seat but quickly changes his mind, darting away from her. She makes sure everyone knows that seat isn't for them - it's only meant for one girl.
Brittany seems to be late to class, although that isn't exactly unusual for the girl. Usually Santana is by her side, making sure the air-headed girl doesn't get lost but Brittany stayed behind at gym class that day, running through some drills with Coach Sylvester. Mrs. Hagberg hears the jeering and glares at the group of popular teens sharply.
"Alright, Class, settle down please and pay attention to the video."
The teens groan, looking at each other awkwardly as the dated sex ed video begins to play, showing a bunch of animals mating. Santana narrows her eyes, a grimace on her face as the narrator begins talking about everything in great detail.
"Ugh. This looks like it was made fifty years ago," Quinn groans, rolling her eyes at the cringe-worthy educational documentary with the cheesiest acting imaginable while Puck and the other boys begin making moaning sounds and laugh the entire time. "You boys are so immature. I'm really expected to bring new life into the world with you?"
Santana, Puck and Quinn snicker at Finn who has his jaw dropped open, frozen as he stares at the screen in confusion, as if he has never heard about the basics of sex before at seventeen.
Santana is completely distracted as Brittany walks into the room at that exact moment when Mrs. Hagberg has her back turned away. The blonde is wearing the shortest pair of jean shorts imaginable and all Santana can focus on is her thick, curvy thighs and so very long legs.
Her long hair is flowing freely, tousled and the white gym shirt she is wearing is so completely soaked through that practically nothing is left to the imagination. Santana's eyes are laser-focused on the curves of Brittany's breasts.
It seems like the boys in their class are all staring in the same direction, beginning to hiss and cat call while the other girls whisper in disapproval to each other as Brittany walks confidently like a model towards her seat beside Santana, giving her a cute little wave that seems almost flirtatious.
Santana can't focus on anything, lost in a trance as her gaze trails over Brittany's ass when the girl bends over to tie her shoe laces. She begins to feel like she's overheating, sweat dripping down her skin and panting as she squirms in her seat, tension coiling in her body. Quinn on the other hand shakes her head when she sees Brittany, letting out a sound of exasperation as she has never been too amused by the ditzy blonde's antics.
"It's so hot… " Quinn complains to the boys beside her and Santana glances toward them, noticing how all of the students are visibly sweating, droplets tricking down their faces. "Did the AC break? It's steaming in here."
Santana can barely hear what the cheerleader is saying as her attention is on a certain other girl. She bites hard on her lip, realizing that Brittany isn't wearing a bra and she can see her hardened, pink nipples straight through the flimsy shirt. The heat is taking over her and her core is throbbing almost painfully as she begins to have the most indecent thoughts about her tall best friend. She thinks about what it would be like to peel that white shirt off of Brittany, squeeze her breast and kiss her nipple until the blonde girl whines for more.
"Santana, are you okay?" Quinn asks in her prissy tone, noticing the sweat on the girl's flushed face and the way her hands are gripping the desk so hard as she squirms in her chair.
Brittany smiles at Santana with a little giggle and heat flashes intensely. Her mind drifts back to Brittany's body, to the sight of her the other day in the showers at school, her full, pale body on display as Santana stood beside her, struggling to look away. Santana feels it then, an uncontrollable heat bursts out of her powerfully at the same time she thinks about Brittany's thighs, scorching almost everything around her, including her own desk, the projector at the front of the class and the floor. The class starts screaming, running out of the room as Mrs. Hagberg panics.
Santana gets called into the principal's office yet again, her reputation for being a problem child growing. Of course, no one can prove she did anything but the suspicion is growing. She ignores Finn Kent shaking his head at her as she walks past him with a furious scowl set on her face after school.
They're in senior year now. Brittany's face is pale, almost to the point of looking a little blue when she arrives at her bedroom door and Santana instantly knows what's wrong when the girl walks into her room, somewhat bent over slightly with a hand clutching her lower stomach. The blonde barely says a word, whimpering to herself.
"Period. Really hurts." She mumbles, collapsing onto the black silk sheets of Santana's bed and lying on her stomach as she sobs into Santana's pillow. Santana knows what to do and goes looking for the pills she keeps in her adjoining bathroom under the sink, handing them to Brittany with a glass of water.
She rushes upstairs to the kitchen to get Brittany a cup of tea, making sure no one sees her when she gets the idea of using her powers to heat the kettle up and speed things along a lot. Thankfully her mother is away on some business trip as she usually is so Santana has the house to herself. Brittany thanks her for the medicine, still managing a soft, sweet smile when Santana sets the tea down for her.
Santana helps Brittany take off her pink blouse and jeans so that she can slip into one of Santana's oversized white t-shirts that goes down to just barely cover her pale thighs. Brittany doesn't bother wearing pants and neither of them mind that. Santana just has to concentrate on not staring at her legs.
"Can we watch TV?" Brittany asks in a sleepy, weak voice. "It kind of helps… distract me from the pain."
"Sure, Beautiful." Santana replies instantly, the term of affection slipping off of her tongue easily before she can help it. At times like these she'll do anything to make Brittany feel better. She plays The Lion King for Brittany, knowing how much of a comfort movie that is for the girl even though they've both seen it a million times before. She gently rubs Brittany's back as the girl looks up at her in gratitude. Santana would be embarrassed if anyone else from her class knew what she was watching but she secretly loves watching any movie with Brittany. She pulls the sheets up around the blonde girl.
The pills aren't helping that much this time and Santana sighs as Brittany limps into the bathroom again, closing the door with an uncomfortable look on her face. She says she feels a little better after having a hot shower but she still looks visibly pale and sick, her skin feeling clammy. She can tell Brittany feels cold now again, pulling the sheets and comforter over her in her desperation for warmth and curling into a ball.
"This is worse than ever before. I even threw up." Brittany sobs at her admission, sucking in a breath. It's true that Santana has never seen her in such pain before to the point of crying. She winces as she feels deep sympathy for her, stroking the girl's forehead softly.
"Can I?" Santana asks, getting into the bed with her. She's just wearing a tank top and tiny drawstring shorts herself. Brittany is shivering but sighs happily, nodding when Santana wraps her arms around her waist from behind, resting her head on the taller girl's shoulder.
"Of course. I love it when we cuddle."
"I bought you some chocolate cake and there's cookies n' cream ice cream for later." Santana tells her, smiling when she sees Brittany's eyes brighten at the thought of it.
Santana kisses her on the cheek, her smile dropping when Brittany whimpers again, holding her stomach and shifting against Santana's frame uncomfortably due to her cramps. The blonde tries lying in different positions but nothing seems to help her feel better. Santana hates how useless she feels when Brittany groans and tears slide down her cheeks from her pain. Eventually the blonde curls into her, seeking comfort.
"I love how warm you always are," Brittany sighs, snuggling closer and pulling Santana's arm around her. "Your body's always so hot."
A thought occurs to Santana about what she can do to help as she feels Brittany tremble against her again involuntarily. She knows her basement room must be really cold to others, especially Brittany who gets cold so easily, even if it never felt that way for herself. She furrows her brow, concentrating on controlling her powers then gives off a warmth that she knows will feel good as she holds Brittany close to her.
"Oh… you feel really good right now," Brittany shifts back against her frame, snuggling in closer. Santana does her best to control the heat. If Brittany thinks there's something weird about the fact that her friend is almost boiling hot against her, the blonde says nothing. Santana murmurs softly to her, humming a song Brittany likes under her breath. "You always feel good but it's like you're exactly what I need right now."
She presses up against Brittany's back and ass, knowing it will help even if it makes her own senses go into overdrive, especially when Brittany moans quietly against her pillow. She hisses when Brittany practically grinds her ass back into her and reaches behind to put her hands on her hips and pull her closer. Brittany stretches out fully against her, running her hands all over Santana's skin.
Controlling her hormones at this point is the most difficult thing she has ever had to do. Brittany rolls around to face her after a few minutes and sighs in relief as Santana presses her chest and abdomen against hers, knowing the warmth is radiating from her skin to help Brittany. She runs precisely heated hands all down her back, rubbing it soothingly as the taller girl lies on top of her.
"Is that good?" She asks quietly. She tries not to think of how sexual everything about this feels.
"Lower… please. So warm. The pain's almost gone, you're making me feel so much better."
Santana does what she's told and massages Brittany's lower back softly, pressing a little harder when Brittany begs for it. She'll do anything to help Brittany feel better.
"Lower. Please."
"Britt, you want me to… ?"
Her eyes snap open because Brittany is looking at her desperately with a little blush on her cheeks, a shy tone to her voice and she grabs one of Santana's hands, placing it on her ass. She moans again when Santana actually rubs her ass this time, massaging the flesh.
"Please, please… more."
"More?"
Brittany begs her, soft blue eyes focused on hers and before she can think twice about it, Santana slips her hands under the blonde's panties, rubbing her bare ass firmly. Brittany lets out what can only be described as a whiny moan. Santana throbs. The darker girl is painfully aware of the way their hips are pressed up to each other so tightly and how aroused she currently is, knowing that she's dripping. She grinds her hips up against Brittany's involuntarily, not realizing she's doing it.
"Kiss me… please."
Santana is so shocked she is frozen still but eventually complies with the girl's request because she can't resist the temptation. It's their second ever kiss, since that day in the hallway. Their lips meet and Santana is completely overwhelmed by it. Brittany's lips are soft and sweet. A sizzle. There's a little electric spark Santana has never felt before.
"Oh…mm ow."
She jerks back, covering her mouth in shame and Brittany touches her fingertips to her lips curiously. She giggles but winces slightly.
"It was like a little flame touched my lips. My lips are a little burnt but that's okay."
"Sorry… I don't know how… " Santana hides her face, burying herself under the covers in shame. She kind of wants to run away, and smoke actually comes out of her ears which makes her more embarrassed.
"Did you feel hot?" Brittany asks. "Like fireworks?"
Santana nods and Brittany looks very happy and pleased with herself about that. Then she touches Santana's ears, tracing the shells of them.
"Me too. I can tell you do because there's steam coming out of your ears…"
"Huh? How could there be… What are you talking about, Britt?"
Santana decides to play dumb even though she's panicking internally. She covers them and dips her head awkwardly, unsure of how she can explain her way out of this one. To her relief, Brittany just giggles and her lips ghost against her ear as she giggles softly, nipping it.
"Kiss me again."
She crashes her lips against perfect pink ones, making sure to nibble on Brittany's lower lip in a way she knows the girl will feel the next day.
Santana thinks of the other thing they can do to help her with the pain and that one actually makes all the blood in her body rush to her face, along with the area between her legs. She uses all of her self-control not to burn Brittany's lips and this time it works because the girl just smiles against her mouth, continuing to slide her lips against hers softly in a much more intimate kiss than their first one, deepening it.
Santana rolls on top of her, her mind swimming as they continue to kiss open-mouthed. It's difficult to focus on anything other than her tongue in Brittany's mouth. Brittany pulls away eventually, breathless and Santana can't stop looking at her kiss swollen lips, proud of how wrecked Brittany looks as her eyes have turned a darker shade of ocean blue and her hair is messy.
"Are you okay?" Santana asks, noticing the way the girl's blonde brows draw together.
"It's fine… you were perfect. It's just…" She holds her stomach with a grimace on her face, curling into herself on the bed and Santana quickly gets the picture.
She lays beside her again, making herself into a human heating pad for the girl. She strokes just under the girl's shirt, all along her belly with heated hands as Brittany makes appreciative little noises and looks back at her gratefully. Brittany doesn't protest, squirming when she touches a little lower, stroking the skin just around then below her belly button and between her hip bones. Santana tenses up and Brittany looks up at her in confusion when she stops.
"Is this okay?" She rasps.
Brittany just nods and pulls Santana's heated hand between her thighs, resting it over her cute pink underwear. Santana sucks in a breath as the girl looks at her shyly, biting her lip and squirms. Without really thinking about what she's doing next, she rubs Brittany just over the front of her panties instinctively, making sure not to be too rough and she can tell it feels good for her because of how Brittany arches her back, practically purring as she nuzzles into the crook of Santana's neck.
In the back of her mind, Santana wonders whether this is a good idea but she just can't bring herself to stop. She keeps slowly rubbing just on that one spot and Brittany grabs her hand to keep it in place when she's about to pull it away. It all feels so hot and heavy, Brittany whimpering and sighing into the pillow she's clutching tightly, the darker girl sweeping her blonde hair off of her face gently and kissing her neck until Santana feels the girl jerk, trembling in her arms and she lets out a high-pitched cry of Santana's name. Brittany's cheeks are flushed and she has never been prettier.
Santana feels the heat rush up her neck at the thought of what just happened and then before she knows it she's suddenly on the brink of the edge herself, grinding against Brittany's ass as her own climax hits her hard. Then she too is shivering and jerking against Brittany's body, hiding her face in the back of the girl's neck. She realizes belatedly that she's still squeezing the sheet tightly in her fist and has burnt a hand-shaped hole straight through it. Thankfully Brittany hasn't noticed and she lets out a sigh of relief, as if she's feeling better after what they just did, so Santana feels better about it.
They don't talk about it but Brittany stays in her bed for the rest of the night when she finally feels better after some cookies and ice cream, locked away tightly in the warmth of Santana's arms. Brittany tries to bring up what they did together the next day but Santana runs away and cries to herself, her fears becoming too much for her to handle.