Summary: When Santana gets the flu, it's up to Brittany to play nurse and make sure she gets better. A sick Santana is a force to be reckoned with but the last thing the blonde girl expects is for her best friend to start confessing her secret love for her in her feverish state. Season 1 Era Brittana
A/N: A ficlet based on this prompt from tumblr: "Brittany takes care of Santana while she's sick." Thanks to frankenfinn for the prompt and for all your encouragement!
Also posted on AO3
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything associated with Glee. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no profit is being made.
"Santana? What's up with you? You're acting weird," Quinn narrowed her eyes at the Latina suspiciously, looking up from her magazine. Santana didn't respond to her and sat quietly in the corner of the hazel-eyed blonde's bedroom, her arms crossed over her chest. "Your face looks strange. Ew, don't tell me you're sick. We can't afford to be getting sick right now."
Kelsey, an icy platinum blonde and Chelsea, a skinny brunette with a long face who were also cheerleaders on their team began to snicker at Santana meanly while Quinn looked on scornfully. The two girls were much closer to Quinn than they were to Santana and Brittany. Brittany watched her with a worried expression, placing a hand on Santana's shoulder but the darker girl didn't look up at her.
It made Brittany sad to see how anxious and upset Santana looked for the rest of their time at Quinn's house as the Queen B and her two friends sneered at the black-haired girl before she made an excuse for why she needed to leave early, not even asking Brittany to come with her.
Santana and Quinn were normally competitive to the point of it being uncomfortable for Brittany to watch sometimes but this time the darker girl didn't rise to the bait. It was weird that Santana hadn't even answered the girls back in a sassy tone as she usually would when Quinn challenged her, her coffee brown eyes duller than normal, and hadn't even grabbed Brittany's hand to lead her away. Brittany could understand why Santana didn't want to admit what was bothering her in front of those girls as they would only laugh at her. Those girls just didn't care about what happened to Santana but Brittany did.
The day before was Sunday and Santana had been so quiet, unlike her usual playful and fiery self. Brittany hadn't heard from Santana since the night before or that morning even after calling her, which was odd. The girl hadn't climbed through her bedroom window like a cat as she expected her to late that night to cuddle or even sent a text to say she was on her way to pick Brittany up for school. Brittany just knew something was wrong when minutes ticked by and Santana didn't respond to her text. Brittany began to worry about what had happened to her.
She was already ready for school by seven-thirty so she slipped on her pink and black backpack that matched Santana's red and black one, biking over to Santana's house which was just a little further down the block. She noticed Santana's messy car parked in the driveway, filled with an assortment of fast food wrappers, mismatched old socks, and even bras and panties from both her and Brittany that were haphazardly scattered all over the backseat.
She rang the doorbell, waiting patiently at the porch of the massive, mansion-like hacienda style house Santana lived in with just her mom, ever since her father moved out a few years back.
"Brittany?" Maribel Lopez looked at her in surprise and curiosity, not used to seeing Brittany come to their house at such an early hour unless it was during summer vacation.
"Hi Mrs. Lopez. Is Santana home?"
"Yes, she's in her room getting ready. I'm surprised she didn't leave to pick you up for school yet. Maybe you should go check on her. Santana! Brittany's here to see you!"
They heard no movement or sound from the basement bedroom so Brittany just shrugged, going to look for her friend. She didn't bother to knock on Santana's door as both of them were accustomed to just barging in on each other because of how comfortable they were with each other's presence.
Brittany gasped when she eventually walked into her bedroom, seeing Santana just lying flat out on her stomach sideways on her bed, the front half of her hanging off of it. When Santana rolled over to look at Brittany, there were very prominent dark circles around her dull-looking, red-rimmed eyes.
Her hair was messy and tangled. She was wearing no makeup at all, dressed in just an old, faded black t-shirt and drawstring pajama shorts. She looked adorable, Brittany thought but clearly she was completely out of it. It looked like a hurricane had swept through her room with pillows and sheets thrown messily all over and for once it wasn't because Brittany had slept over.
"Santana, are you okay?"
"Britt? I'm fine..." She croaked. Her voice was so raspy that Brittany could barely understand her. Her face was paler than normal too. "Sorry I didn't text. I'll take you to school now."
Brittany was about to argue that it was completely okay if Santana didn't drive her to school but the black-haired girl just got up suddenly, clumsily moving around the room and grabbing clothes out of her drawer. She froze then got this funny look on her face and quickly grabbed the nearest tissue she could find, sneezing into it dramatically. Brittany sighed, going up to her and rubbing her shoulders gently as Santana turned away from her, sneezing again loudly. The blonde had never seen the darker girl like this before and it surprised her.
"You don't look so good... I don't know if you should go to school today..."
Santana waved her off, plastering a weak smile on her face that Brittany could tell was forced.
"No, no I'm fine...I never get sick. I just overslept..." In the middle of her sentence, Santana froze and her hand covered her stomach. Her face contorted weirdly. "Um, I'll be right back."
She moved fast, nearly tripping over her shoes and clothes that covered the floor then shutting the door behind her and Brittany heard the bathroom door slam. She sighed, picking up some of the many clothes on the ground and throwing them into Santana's laundry hamper before Maribel noticed them and scolded the darker girl. She made up Santana's bed while she was at it, making it look nicer for Santana to lie in. By the time Brittany was done, the room looked a million times better even though it was so dark as always.
When Santana returned she was huddled over but still wasn't saying anything to Brittany about whatever was wrong with her. Brittany put a hand on Santana's shoulder again, noticing the way she was still grimacing and much quieter than usual.
"Britt, you cleaned my room for me? You're so... thank you." Santana looked at her gratefully with tearful eyes.
"Shh, lay down." Brittany just whispered with a soft smile, helping Santana get onto the black sheets. She placed a hand on Santana's forehead and bit her lip worriedly, feeling how hot the darker girl was.
Maribel shouted from upstairs, telling the girls she was leaving for work and they heard the slam of the front door closing, followed by her car driving off.
"It's okay if you're sick."
Santana just grunted. It was the first time Brittany had ever been around Santana when she wasn't feeling well because Santana usually liked to be alone when she was sick and she could tell how much the girl hated being so weak. She knew Santana wasn't going to admit how sick she felt so the blonde was gonna have to just say it.
"Your tummy hurts, right?"
Santana practically curled up in a ball on the bed, not denying it. Brittany sat beside her and slung an arm around her, rubbing her lower back gently. Santana eventually leaned closer to her, accepting the comfort. Brittany could feel Santana shivering against her violently, her skin sweaty and she placed her palm against Santana's forehead again. Santana groaned, shrinking into herself even more.
"Okay maybe I am sick. I never get sick. It's probably that stupid flu that's been going around. I'm sorry... this is so embarrassing. I shouldn't give you anymore of my germs, Brittany. You don't have to stay with me and I don't want to make you any later for school today."
Brittany shook her head, putting a finger to Santana's lips and the girl looked at her wide-eyed.
"I already got all your germs probably, so it doesn't matter. I want to stay with you and help you."
"Really?" Santana was shocked as she thought Brittany would have been grossed out or wouldn't want to deal with her. Her nose twitched and she sneezed loudly into a tissue, groaning as her head spun. "My head's killing me, my stomach hurts, I've got the chills... even my bones hurt... Britt, are you sure? Just to warn you, I'm kind of... a lot when I'm sick and I know I look like complete trash right now."
"Of course I'll stay with you," Brittany just smiled, nodding and continuing to rub her back as Santana whimpered into a pillow. Santana grimaced, regretting all of the talking she had been doing as her throat and head were throbbing even more. She shuddered but didn't protest when Brittany rubbed her stomach very gently over her shirt. "I want to take care of you."
Santana sighed in relief and closed her eyes, beyond grateful for Brittany's company though she didn't understand why the girl was so kind to her. She had felt so lonely and awful the night before without Brittany. She felt a rush of emotion at the thought of the blonde being the only one who would never abandon her.
"I'm really fine... it's nothing, I just..." Santana paused mid-sentence, her face turning a shade of green and Brittany snapped into action quickly, passing her the garbage can beside her bed. She groaned as her stomach heaved and Brittany winced, pulling her black hair back.
"Oh, Honey... " The blonde sighed. Santana looked up at her embarrassed with tears in her eyes and Brittany stroked her head. "It's alright, San. It's just me."
Santana was not only the most demanding person in the world when she was sick, as Brittany soon discovered but also was the worst at handling it. Part of it was because Santana wasn't accustomed to being sick. Every two seconds she was whining about what was wrong with her, tossing and turning to try to find comfort on the bed and she'd beg for Brittany to bring her things like glasses of water, or tissues, or cough drops.
At one point, she threw her pillow across the room in a show of anger at the universe. After the fourth time Santana had unleashed a series of curses about her current state of health, Brittany thought of an idea.
"I think you should take a shower. You'll feel better."
"I can't... can't you see I'm sick!?" Santana choked out as she succumbed to a fresh wave of tears.
Brittany just sighed again in a long-suffering way, not bothered by Santana's drama and eventually Santana allowed Brittany to help her walk to the bathroom without further argument. Santana stumbled a few times, grabbing onto Brittany for support. The darker girl was so weak that Brittany even had to help her take her clothes off and get into the shower. She helped Santana brush her teeth while she was at it.
It wasn't one of their usual passionate moments in the shower together at all but Brittany thought it was sweet how meek and shy Santana was acting. She realized that the girl was fully dependent on Brittany at this point. Brittany liked being the one to take care of Santana.
She knew she was the only one Santana would ever allow to see her in this state and it made her heart beat a little faster. Afterwards, Brittany helped Santana into an oversized, loose shirt that went down to her thighs and nothing else, leading her over to her bed. She curled up behind Santana, spooning her and wrapping her arms around her from behind.
Santana was somewhat humiliated at Brittany seeing her in this state but on the other hand, she was really enjoying all of the attention she was getting from the blonde girl. Sometimes she would exaggerate her symptoms and moan a little more pathetically than she needed to because that would make Brittany hug her or fawn over her. Brittany's always cool skin felt so soft and comforting against hers. There was something about the girl's delicate, clean scent that soothed Santana. Part of her wouldn't even mind being sick more often if it meant always having Brittany playing nurse for her.
At one point, Brittany looked at her phone, giggling at what some boy texted her and Santana frowned, dramatically throwing herself off the bed and pretending she was too weak to get up so Brittany rushed to help her. She smirked when Brittany didn't pay attention to her phone again as she cuddled Santana instead.
What Santana didn't like was taking her medicine.
"I brought you your medicine."
Brittany returned from the adjoining bathroom with a little plastic cap filled halfway with a red liquid. Santana made a face but Brittany just smiled at her sweetly.
"Ew, no. I'm not taking that!"
"Please take it. It'll make you feel better." Brittany was pouting at her cutely so Santana reluctantly gulped down the syrup, practically gagging on it before she laid her head back on the pillow.
"This is the worst. Why did I have to get sick?!" Santana demanded to no one in particular, ending up having a coughing fit. She had been moaning and grumbling for the last hour as Brittany patiently rubbed her back or stroked her hair. "Brittany, I think I'm dying. It hurts!"
"Where hurts?"
"My stomach, my head, my throat - everything!"
Santana began to cry dramatically and Brittany felt terrible for her. She hugged Santana closely, allowing the darker girl to burrow into the crook of her neck and not caring about the tear stains soaking her shirt as Santana sobbed.
"Oh, San. I'm so sorry, Honey. I know, I know."
Brittany leaned over and pressed her lips to Santana's forehead for a long moment, frowning when she felt how high her temperature still was.
"W-what are you doing?"
Sure, she had been having sex with Brittany randomly since the start of the year and that wasn't something she wanted to think about too deeply because of what it might mean but Brittany was acting so affectionately... it felt like the line between friends with benefits and dating was becoming a little blurred.
"I was just taking your temperature. That's how my Mom always does it."
"Oh..."
She didn't know what to say to that. Her heart was beating so fast. Brittany disappeared from the room for a while to go upstairs and Santana didn't understand why her heart was still racing, butterflies in her stomach as she thought about the girl. Maybe the sickness was just making her more emotional than normal and giving her this weird feeling about Brittany. That had to be it.
When Brittany eventually returned, she was holding a bowl of something on a tray.
"Is that... you made me chicken noodle soup?"
Santana was beyond touched as Brittany helped her sit up and tried to feed her the soup with a spoon. Santana screwed up her face. She didn't want to eat at all and she didn't want anyone to know she had let someone feed her.
"Please, just eat a tiny bit. For me. It'll make you feel better."
Santana eventually relented, drinking the tiniest amount of soup before collapsing again on the bed and closing her eyes. She had no appetite at all and even the smell of food was off-putting. Everything tasted weird. Still, she couldn't deny that the warm liquid did make her feel a little better and the best part of it was Brittany caring for her. Brittany got up again and Santana grabbed her shirt sleeve, tugging it.
"Please, don't go, Britt Britt."
"But I just..."
"Please, just a little more."
Santana knew she was acting like a complete baby about everything that day but screw it, she thought. She felt like crap and she needed her Britt Britt. It wasn't like anyone else was around to hear their conversation or see how clingy Santana was being. She'd die of embarrassment if anyone else knew about this. She pouted, reaching for Brittany. The blonde giggled, kissing her on the cheek.
Brittany smiled at Santana practically begging her in that whiny voice to cuddle with her and using that nickname for her. Santana was incredibly cute even when she was so attention-seeking and demanding. She could never say no, as she got lost in the abyss of those almost black eyes that were currently so soft and vulnerable. Santana looked so small in that moment. She smiled, allowing Santana to pull her into her arms again, this time lying on their sides and facing each other. Their toes touched and Santana squirmed at how cold Brittany's feet felt against hers.
Santana was so weak as the hours wore on and in her delirious state she curled into Brittany, losing her inhibitions. She blinked, drifting in and out of wakefulness and barely remembered where she was. All she felt was this intense heat and she heard waves crashing.
She felt like she and Brittany were on some tropical beach together on a blistering summer day like they had been on the beach vacation Brittany went with the Lopez family on last summer, both wearing tiny bikinis. Their bodies were pressed together tightly.
One second Brittany was holding her hand and she liked the feeling of that, then she practically threw Brittany down into the sand, landing on top of her and kissing her passionately without a care in the world about what anyone who saw them thought. Then in the blink of an eye, Santana was in some kind of sexy sailor outfit and Brittany was a mermaid. She made a very pretty mermaid.
"Mmm... Brittany. No we can't... not in the sand like this...okay, maybe. I like your seashell bra."
Brittany heard Santana moaning and blushed, especially when the Latina kept cuddling closer against her as tightly as humanly possible, sniffing her neck. She had let Santana sleep for a few hours, grateful when the girl had finally dozed off but it concerned her how warm her skin felt against hers.
"Santana?"
Santana just kept mumbling about something related to seashell bras and Brittany being a mermaid. It sounded nice and part of her wanted to learn more about what Santana was seeing but Brittany realized that the girl's fever was so high she was hallucinating. She needed to help her.
"Santana, Honey, I think you're dreaming."
The Latina finally woke up, blinking at her in confusion with a flushed face and dazed eyes. Brittany stroked her hair back out of her eyes, the corners of her lips tilting upward. This day wasn't so bad after all. She loved being this held close to Santana with the girl's arms wrapped around her. She got up, much to Santana's protests and brought the sick girl some tablets to take. Santana took them, this time without a struggle in her delirious state but whined pathetically until Brittany eventually smiled and got back under the covers to cuddle with her.
"Do you want to sleep some more?"
"Mm, yeah. With you," Santana mumbled into her neck in a sleepy, raspy voice. "You're the best."
"No you are." Brittany hummed in answer with a gentle smile even as she felt a warmth rise to her own cheeks at the way Santana was gazing at her like she was some kind of angel. Santana started to sob again, which made her concerned and then she looked up at her, all emotional again.
"Britt… I… I love you."
Brittany blinked, stunned at the girl's confession. The blonde never thought she'd hear those words from her even though she had always longed to. She felt that familiar pang in her chest and rush of affection she always felt around Santana grow but she reminded herself that what Santana was saying now didn't mean anything. It was just her delirium making her lose her inhibitions and say silly things. She decided to play along with Santana. She was like a child in this state and didn't know what she was saying.
"Aw, I love you too…"
Santana let out a frustrated groan and looked up at Brittany imploringly, her brows knit together as she seemed to be begging her to understand something.
"No.. not like that!"
"Like what? Santana, I... I don't want to take advantage of you when you're like this..."
"No! You don't get it," Santana leaned up and pressed her lips to Brittany's softly then more forcefully. Brittany gasped, not expecting it but not pulling away. "I want you."
Brittany closed her eyes and accepted the kiss, feeling a sense of giddiness as Santana pressed her heated lips against hers, lying on top of her. It wasn't the first time they had kissed, not by a long shot but this time felt like the most meaningful. Those butterflies she always felt when Santana kissed her were multiplying at a rapid pace.
It felt like forever when Brittany eventually pulled away with a shy, playful smile, knowing that Santana would be too weak to handle anymore exertion. Santana was breathless but tried to follow Brittany's lips, even in her weakened state, pouting when Brittany pushed her back by the shoulders, encouraging her to lie down again and sleep.
"Get some sleep, Honey." Brittany hummed, kissing the back of her head. Santana was still feverish and restless.
"Do you think I'm going to die?"
Brittany shook her head and giggled at the way Santana asked that question with complete seriousness.
"No. I think you'll be feeling way better soon even though it sucks now."
"Brittany... the other day when we... you know... and I said it meant nothing..."
"Yeah?" Brittany winced, thinking back to the painful memory of Santana once again pulling away from her after she had kissed her so heatedly when they were lying in Brittany's bed together after school. What she had with Santana was so forbidden, so secretive but Brittany had always longed for something she knew Santana wouldn't let them have together.
"I lied."
Santana was looking up at her with wide, innocent and honest eyes, without a trace of anything but honesty in her voice. Brittany's heart skipped a beat, wondering if her ears were deceiving her.
She wanted to ask Santana what she meant, wanted so desperately to know how the girl really felt but when she turned around again, Santana's eyes were closed and she was snoring softly, drooling a little on her pillow. Even with the drool, she still was an adorable sight. Brittany smiled and lay down beside her again.
The next day, Maribel looked at Santana suspiciously when Whitney Pierce called to say Brittany was home sick with the exact same flu.
"We all know what happened here!" Whitney announced loudly into the phone in her usual brash way with a big laugh while Brittany cringed. "Sounds like a kissing disease to me."