Santana had tried to refuse spending Christmas Eve night with the Pierces. She hadn’t wanted to intrude on their family time and she’d told them that, swearing up and down that she’d be okay at home. Her father was at a conference - did he even know it was Christmas? She wasn’t sure - so she’d be alone, but she told Brittany over and over again that it was her family, not their family, and that she had to spend time with them without Santana there. It was the adult Pierces that scolded her for thinking such a thing and insisted that she spend the night, and so that was how she’d ended up waking up with Brittany on Christmas morning with a fat cat at her feet, a fresh layer of snow on the ground, and her body warm against her girlfriend’s. It was an amazing feeling, waking up with her Christmas morning, and it felt… For just a moment, as the sun streaked through the frosted window and painted a still-sleeping Brittany’s head with a golden halo, it felt like she figured it would for the rest of her life. So she’d leaned in, leaned up, and pressed a soft morning kiss to sweet pink lips, gently urging the other girl awake. “Feliz navidad, mi amor,” she’d breathed when she’d felt the blonde stir, her own mouth bowing up into a gentle smile. “Merry Christmas.”
The morning had been a blur of tinsel, camera flashes, and squealing delight- mostly from Sophie, but Brittany was guilty of it too. Even Santana was given a good number of gifts from the Pierces, as if they had taken her on as their third child for the holidays. It didn’t matter that her family could afford gifts- they had known she wouldn’t get any and the fact they’d been kind enough to make up for it made Santana feel this tightness in her chest that only intensified each time Mr. Pierce said, “Santana,” in his booming, cheerful voice and handed her a wrapped package with her name written across the tag in the ‘to’ column, Santa’s in the ‘From’. It was towards the end, when the floor was littered with shredded wrapping paper (her abuela had always carefully removed, folded, and packed each piece) and Charity was chasing a loose bow, that Brittany had started to hand her the first of the wrapped packages she’d purchased herself for Santana. It wasn’t weird for them to get gifts from one another - they’d done it every year since they were four - but this year… This was their first Christmas as a couple. So Santana gave her head a quick shake and leaned in to whisper against Brittany’s ear, “Later.” And Brittany had only nodded.
After the Big Pierce Breakfast Extravaganza, Brittany asked if it was later yet. Santana had smiled, shaking her head with a quiet, “Not yet.”
After Christmas dinner at Brittany’s grandparents’ house - Grammy and Pa - when the Pierces and Santana returned to their house, she asked again. And again, “Not yet,” was the reply. She laughed at Brittany’s pout and pulled her up the stairs, giving her light kiss after light kiss until the expression melted into a giggling smile.
They played with Sophie and her new toys, though Santana would never mention at school that she’d sat on the floor of the little girl’s room playing Barbies. And she was even further from admitting that she and Brittany had their Barbies sneak secret kisses behind Ken’s back when the smaller Pierce wasn’t looking, giggling together as they did so. When Mrs. Pierce warned them that it was bath time for her, Brittany and Santana washed, brushed, and braided her hair before tucking her into bed, reading a chapter of Harry Potter out loud to her until lights out. Santana told Brittany, “Not yet,” before the blonde could even ask.
They said goodnight to the Pierces and settled into Brittany’s bed, curled together and kissing lightly beneath the mistletoe they’d taped to the ceiling above her bed. And when the clock clicked over to 11:45, Santana jumped out of the bed and pulled Brittany with her towards the door. “Now,” she whispered, pressing a finger to her lips as they crept through the hall and back out to the sparkling light of the Christmas tree. It dimly lit the living room and made it glow with this kind of… aura of tranquility. She liked the Christmas tree best at night when it was just the two of them. “Britt,” she whispered, bending to pluck her gift from beneath the branches. She set it in Brittany’s palm, watched nervously as she tore into the paper and opened the deep purple velvet box to the silver ring within. “This is the second ring I’ve ever gotten you,” she said nervously, rocking a bit on her heels. “The first was a ring pop in second grade.” She smiled faintly, teeth digging into her lip. “And in a few years, when we’re ready, I’ll buy you two other really important rings. I, uh… I got this one for you…” She stared at the floor now, fingers twisting in front of her as they did when she was nervous. Shit, this was hard. It was so big and she didn’t want to mess it up. “It’s… It’s a promise ring, Britt. A promise to you to, um… To kind of show you that you’re, like… You’re it, for me, you know?” Dark eyes flickered up briefly to meet blue, then felt to her toes again. When she spoke, her voice was a strangled whisper. “I wanted to give you something. Something so that people would know you’re taken, that I love you.”
