Hello! This is a little plot bunny that popped into my head when rewatching Season 2 of Glee for the umpteenth time. Basically it's an Anderlopez siblings AU with a side of character exploration/development that explains why Santana and Blaine are the way they are and do the things they do. It'll generally follow canon, but will probably split off late Season 2. Hope you like it!
- RytaIndomina
"You want to what?" Thomas Anderson asked his wife Pamela, looking at her incredulously. Behind him, their two sons, Blaine and Cooper, danced around the living room, singing at the top of their lungs. The two boys were six years apart, and they could not be more different.
Cooper, at 11 years old, was loud, extremely confident, and could sometimes be condescending and rude. In contrast, five year old Blaine was quiet, shy, and was always extremely polite and humble. After school, Cooper came home and talked about girls and cars, while Blaine sat at the table and drew. While Cooper romped around outside playing sports, Blaine could be found curled up on the couch with a book. The only interest the two boys shared was their love of music. In particular, they loved to sing. And as Thomas stared at Pamela in shock, that's what they were doing. The Filipina blew out an exasperated breath.
"I want to have another child. A little girl, this time. But I think it would be nice to adopt a child instead of trying to conceive one this time around." she repeated slowly.
"But- why?" Thomas was completely bewildered. Wasn't two children enough? Why did Pamela want another one?
"Thomas, I've always wanted a baby girl. And I think Blaine could use someone to help him come out of his shell a little. Cooper rarely spends time with him, and since they're six years apart, that bonding time will decrease as time goes on. By the time Blaine starts high school, Cooper will be in college. A little girl could bridge that age gap." she explained.
"Wait, so you want to adopt a girl that's older than Blaine, but younger then Cooper?" Thomas questioned, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
"Yes. But not too much older then him, because I want them to be close. Blaine's so shy, I think he'll need a strong older sister. One who'll stick up for him no matter what." Pamela clarified.
"Pam, can I have a little while to think about it? It's a big decision, and you're looking for a very specific type of girl." Thomas sighed. Pamela nodded.
"Of course you can, dear." She patted him on the shoulder and walked off into the kitchen. The Irish-German-Englishman groaned, and turned back to his two sons, who had gotten bored of singing and had gone back to their respective hobbies. He looked over at Cooper, who was playing video games. Then, he glanced over at Blaine, who was on the couch with headphones over his ears, presumably listening to music. Thomas bit his lip, thinking carefully.
Three days later, he told Pamela that he'd made up his mind.
Blaine and Cooper were getting a sister.
As they walked into the building, Pamela felt nervous but excited at the same time. Cooper and Blaine trailed behind her, both faces apprehensive. Thomas walked confidently ahead of her. Once they reached the doors of the office, they stopped and turned to their sons.
"Okay, you two stay right here. Cooper, watch Blaine." The boys nodded, and they ducked into the office, where their case worker, Amanda, was waiting for them.
"Hello, Mr. and Ms. Anderson. You'll be glad to hear that I've found a little girl that fits the personality you're looking for. She's Latina, and can speak both English and Spanish. I will warn you that she's very headstrong, mainly because of the area she originally came from." the case worker said.
"Where is that?" Thomas wondered curiously.
"Lima Heights Adjacent." Pamela blinked in surprise.
"Oh. How did she lose her parents, if I may ask?" she asked.
"She and her parents were in a car crash just as she was about to turn four. She just barely managed to crawl out of the car and run to safety before it exploded. Her memory of the incident is extremely vivid. Her grandmother has been looking after her since, but unfortunately, CPS has determined that her care will be detrimental to such an emotionally traumatized child in the long run.." Amanda replied. Pamela gasped softly.
"How is the little girl?" Thomas queried anxiously.
"She can be very standoffish and cold. We think that a result of seeing the death of her parents first hand, she decided to close herself off. The time she spent with her grandmother hardened that shell." The Andersons frowned.
"What do you mean?" they questioned together. Amanda pressed her lips together.
"Well for one, she's very good at concealing the effect that harsh words have on her. She also hasn't made any friends at school. And she has an unexpectedly sharp tongue for her age. However, that personality can change as if she's flipped a switch." she explained.
"How old is she?" Thomas wondered.
"Six." the case worker said simply.
"Only six? Oh, the poor girl! Where is she right now? Do you think we can meet her today?" Pamela exclaimed.
"She's actually sitting just outside of the office." Amanda responded. The Andersons exchanged a look.
"We didn't see her when we came in..." Thomas trailed off.
"She is very good at hiding herself when she wants to." Amanda said simply. The three adults got to their feet, and went out of the office. There, they found Cooper sitting alone, headphones covering his ears. Upon seeing them, the boy pulled off his headphones and looked up at them.
"Cooper, where's your brother?" Pamela questioned.
"Oh, he went to talk to that little girl who was sitting on the floor at the end of the hall." The adults glanced at each other. It was uncharacteristic of Blaine to initiate conversations with anybody.
"At the end of the hall, you say?" Thomas asked. Cooper nodded.
"I suppose we should go find them, then." Amanda suggested cheerily. The Andersons quickly agreed.
Blaine wasn't exactly sure why he'd decided to go and talk to the quiet girl he'd spotted down the hall. He usually didn't go and talk to anybody. But she seemed sad. And sitting with her back against the wall, with her knees curled up against her chest, she seemed really lonely too. So he told Cooper where he was going, and ambled over to the girl.
"Hello." he started simply. The girl didn't respond. Instead, she just raised her head, and looked him in the eye. Blaine swallowed nervously, feeling rather intimidated.
"My name's Blaine. Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?" he continued bravely. The girl stared at him silently for a while before shrugging and nodding her head towards the empty space next to her. He sat down carefully. Although he had a lot of questions (What was her name? Where were her parents? Did she like to read?), he didn't say anything else to her. He got the feeling that the girl wasn't naturally sociable. But he hoped that by just sitting with her, she'd feel a little less alone. A comfortable silence settled over the pair as the seconds ticked by.
After a couple of minutes, Blaine spotted his parents and his brother coming down the hall. There was another person with them, and judging by the way that the girl sat a little straighter when she saw her, she was someone the girl knew.
"There you are, Blaine! Who's your friend?" his mother asked. He simply shrugged, glancing over at the girl.
"This is the little girl I was telling you about." the stranger commented, and the girl tilted her head in confusion, studying Blaine's family carefully.
"Oh, I see. Not much of a talker then. She and Blaine share that in common." his father replied, chuckling.
"I only talk when I have something to say." the girl said suddenly. She spoke in a clear and sure tone, surprising everybody around her. The girl stood gracefully, meeting each of their eyes one by one. She looked confident, and Blaine suddenly felt the intimidated feeling from earlier return in full force. The Andersons blinked, shocked by her audacity. The woman with Blaine's parents sighed.
"Why don't you introduce yourself to the Andersons? They're the family who're interested in taking you in." she coaxed, and Santana nodded. Blaine watched in fascination as the girl's stance shifted completely, becoming more shy and reserved. She suddenly looked more like the quiet girl who he'd spotted in the first place.
"It's nice to meet you all." she said carefully. Blaine's mother smiled.
"Cooper, Blaine, this is your new sister." she announced. Blaine's eyes widened in shock, and he whipped around excitedly to face the girl again. Her earlier confidence returning, she stepped forwards with a small smirk on her face.
"My name is Santana Lopez, and I guess that you two are my hermanos from now on." she greeted, extending a hand towards him. Blaine shook it, smiling widely. He liked her already.
"I guess so." he replied.
A couple of years later, Santana had long since become part of the family. The girl had quickly adjusted to life as an Anderson, although she refused to change her name.
"I loved my birth parents a lot. And while you are my family who I love very much, I want to keep the name they gave me because I will always be their daughter as well. They had a lot of influence on me as a person, and I want to honor that." she replied when the Andersons asked for a reason. Impressed by her well-worded answer, Pamela and Thomas left the issue alone and never brought it up again. So Santana Lopez grew up within the Anderson family alongside her little brother Blaine, who she became very protective of.
"I grew up in Lima Heights Adjacent." she would say whenever someone tried to make fun of him. "Do you know where that is? It's on the wrong side of the tracks. Which means that I can and will beat you up if you so much as look at Blaine the wrong way." She could, too. Within a couple months of the adoption, Santana had asked to start kickboxing and gymnastics. She threw herself into the extracurriculars with unyielding enthusiasm, practicing for hours a day. However, whenever Blaine wanted to spend time with her, she dropped everything in a heartbeat. This loyalty to her younger brother led to a couple of incidents at school, but they were few and far between. Santana usually managed to intimidate the offenders before things got physical. Still, she hadn't really made any friends, seeming to believe that the company of Blaine was all she'd ever need.
Despite her protective instincts, nobody really knew that Santana was part of the Anderson family. She was fiercely independent; as soon as she was allowed to, she rode her bike everywhere, even to school. So people just assumed that her parents were always too busy to pick her up. She never told anybody otherwise, explaining to the Andersons that she didn't want to be like Cooper, whose legacy overshadowed Blaine in almost all of his endeavors. Cooper had gotten to a lot of things first, and Santana wanted to make sure that Blaine could build his own reputation instead of being known as "Santana Lopez's younger brother". Blaine was thankful for her consideration, and so the Andersons never protested.
To their delight, Santana also loved music, although not in quite the same way that Cooper and Blaine did. She preferred the guitar to the piano, although she'd learned to play both, in contrast to Blaine, who was completely committed to the latter. By middle school, they were very adept at singing and dancing, and enjoyed doing duets with each other. Often times, the two could also be found playing instruments together, Blaine on the piano while Santana strummed her guitar. Santana's voice suited R&B and soul songs, although she liked pop songs as well, and Blaine liked all types of music. Santana would even grudgingly sing show tunes with Blaine, although she didn't like them as much.
Everything was sailing smoothly for the Anderson family. Thomas had recently gotten a promotion at the hospital he worked at, the kids were doing well in school and enjoying their hobbies, and Cooper had just gone off to college.
And then, it wasn't.
"Everyone? I have an announcement to make." Blaine said at dinner one day, when the entire family, including Cooper, was home. He was in the seventh grade.
"Alright. Let's hear it." Thomas replied, his fork halfway to his mouth. The entire family turned their attention to Blaine, who took a deep breath.
"I'm gay." Cooper choked on a mouthful of water. Pamela froze, eyes wide. Thomas dropped his fork, which landed on his plate with a loud clang. Santana shrugged.
"Cool." she commented, and kept eating. A dark look passed over Thomas's face.
"You're what?" he growled, and Santana stopped eating, sensing that their father was not reacting well to the news.
"He said he's gay." she responded for her brother, who looked terrified. Thomas scowled. Pamela reached for her husband's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. He brushed her off.
"Why are you so calm about this, Santana? This is a sin." he questioned in a cold tone. Santana stiffened, suddenly remembering that her father had been drinking.
"I don't agree. Shouldn't you be allowed to love whoever you want? How was Blaine supposed to know you'd react this way? We've never talked about it." she defended.
"I never thought I'd have to deal with this problem." Thomas responded. Blaine couldn't even move his mouth. He watched helplessly as his sister and his father argued back and forth.
"It's not a problem!"
"Of course it's a problem! He's chosen a life of sin!"
"It's not a choice! He was born that way!"
"Are you blaming us for this?"
"It's not your fault. It's not anybody's fault. It's just the way he is, and that's that." Thomas stood up suddenly.
"I'm done talking about this." he snarled, and stormed from the room. Santana pushed her chair back and ran after him. Blaine looked over at his mother and brother, who sent him sympathetic glances.
"He'll get over it. You're perfect just the way you are, Blaine. Don't worry about it." his mother assured, but Blaine wasn't so sure. Then, the yelling started in the other room. None of them could hear what was being said, but it was loud, and it sounded angry. Suddenly, everything went quiet.
Seconds later, Santana tore out of the room and ran past them up the stairs.
"Santana, wait." Thomas yelled in a pleading tone, appearing in the doorway. But it was too late. Her bedroom door slammed shut. Curious, the entire family went up the stairs after her. As they got closer, they could hear shuttering breaths and whimpers; Santana was in tears. That meant something bad had happened, because Santana only cried when she was really hurt.
"What did you say to her?" Pamela asked flatly. Thomas looked regretful.
"Something I shouldn't have." he replied vaguely, rubbing his temples.
"What do you mean?" his mother pressed.
"I drank too much tonight, and I wasn't thinking straight. When we were arguing, I lost my temper, badly. I said a lot of harsh things with the intention of hurting her." his father sighed.
"But what did you do to make her react like that?" his mother wondered, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"I just wanted her to see things my way, so I threw the worst thing that's ever happened to her in her face." he admitted. Pamela stared at her husband in horror.
"You didn't." she whispered, glaring at him. He raised his head wearily, eyes full of remorse.
"I did." Blaine had heard enough. He knocked on the door.
"San? Are you okay?" he questioned tentatively. There was no answer. His mother dragged his father out of the hallway, muttering under her breath. Cooper looked at Blaine, and then at Santana's bedroom door. Then, he followed their parents.
"Everything's going to be okay." Blaine soothed through the door. Still, there was no reply. He sat down outside his sister's door and refused to move, continuing his vigil until the house was dark and everyone else had gone to bed. Eventually, he fell asleep.
Santana opened the door once she knew everyone had turned in for the night. She was unsurprised to find her little brother curled up on the floor outside her room. She picked him up (all of the gymnastics and kickboxing she did had given her a lot of muscle), and carried him into his room. Then, she sat down next to him, and simply kept watch. He looked so innocent; how could such a good person be accused of sinning when all he wanted to do was love? Her mind flashed back to the conversation she'd had with her father, and she shivered.
"So what if the Bible says that it's not okay? The world's changed. There's a lot of things in there that are sins that we do anyways!" she yelled.
"Are you gay too? Is that why you're so defensive?" Santana froze. Sure, she'd had small crushes, but that didn't mean...
"I bet it is. You're a lesbian, aren't you. Well, that explains a lot, doesn't it. What's your middle name again? Oh, that's right. Diabla. You say that you're born with these sins? Is that why you and your parents got into a car crash at such a young age, then? Because God was punishing you for the sin you were born with?" Immediately after the words flew out of his mouth, her father's eyes widened.
"I didn't mean that." he tried, reaching out towards her. She flinched back from his touch like a wounded animal, gazing back at her father with hurt eyes.
"You did. But it wasn't my fault. I'm n-not gay. I'm not a l-lesbian. So it wasn't my fault. It can't have been my fault. It just can't." she whispered, backing up a couple steps before sprinting out of the room.
She wasn't homophobic. She still believed Blaine liking guys was completely acceptable. But she couldn't get her father's words out of her head. Maybe she was the exception. Maybe she in particular wasn't supposed to like girls and she'd lost her birth parents as a result. She didn't want to be to blame for their deaths. But as far as she could tell, her dad felt that being gay meant that it was her fault.
"I'm not gay." she repeated to herself, but the words sounded empty and hollow. They were only just words. She had to prove them true through her actions. And the easiest way to prove that she didn't like girls was to go after boys with a passion. Maybe then, she wouldn't feel so guilty.
She sat by her brother's side through the night, all the while coming up with a plan to get her first boyfriend.
I'll be back soon with the next chapter!