First Bite

Tender Through the Night

When they got upstairs, Santana lay Brittany on the bed with utmost care. Caring for her fragile human girlfriend - she loved that word now- helped allay some of her anxiety over the stain in the backseat of the car. She proceeded to straddle Brittany as she lay on her stomach, kneading over Brittany's skin where she knew the muscles were, cherishing every bit of precious flesh. As she worshipped Brittany's body, Brittany smiled, intrigued by Santana's lavishing attention on her.

"Is it weird?" she asked.

"Is what weird?"

"Being with a human."

Santana gave Brittany a pitiful, loving look, trying to tell Brittany not to be so self-conscious of her mortality. "Never," Santana said. "It's wonderful."

Brittany smiled, closing her eyes as Santana drew her strong hands over Brittany's shoulders, working through her muscles, rendering her even more relaxed than her typical post-orgasm haze.

Santana had come to adore Brittany's mortality. She loved everything about the fact that Brittany was human: her pulse, her warmth, her fragility, and her suppleness. And although it pained her to see Brittany with any kind of injury - especially if she had inflicted it - she loved being able to heal Brittany. She felt special and important and gentler than she thought herself capable of. Santana realized she had never told Brittany any of that.

"I love that you're human," she murmured.

Brittany gave her a hesitant smile, quiet for a moment before she said, "You never wish I was a vampire?"

Santana's hands stopped abruptly. Why would Brittany even think of something like that? Vampires were harsh and vicious and cold.

"Never," Santana said with absolute certainty. She had honestly never thought about what their relationship would be like if Brittany weren't human. Even though Brittany's mortality posed challenges and caused Santana anxiety for Brittany's safety, Santana wouldn't entertain the idea of any other situation.

"I think about it," Brittany admitted.

Santana felt herself shiver. "No, Britt," she said, her words low and cold. "Don't think about that."

Brittany said nothing, but Santana could see by the way her eyes moved around that she was thinking.

"You're perfect the way you are," Santana said, trying to distract Brittany from whatever she was thinking.

"Don't you mean I'm delicious the way I am?" Brittany said with a playful smile, trying to lighten the mood and soothe Santana.

Santana gave her a forced smile. "Well, yeah. But that's not the only thing I like about you being human."

Brittany rolled onto her back and smiled up at Santana. "Yeah?"

Santana gave her a solemn nod. "I love how you're so warm and soft. And how you sleep so sweetly and breathe onto my shoulder as you do. I love watching you eat... And sometimes I have dreams about how beautiful you look in the sun. Your hair shining and your skin glowing, your freckles showing in the bright light..."

Santana didn't realize until she spoke of it how sad she was that she would never see that part of Brittany's beauty. "I bet you're even more radiant," she breathed.

Brittany gave her a sad smile. "Santana..." she murmured, as though apologizing for the fact that Santana could never see her in the sun.

Santana shook her head, leaning down to kiss Brittany, keeping her from saying anything negative about being human. Santana loved being with her as a human, and didn't want anything to change.