Reunions

Previously in More than just a footnote: Two worlds collided in the midst of the New Directions grieving for Finn and now Santana and Toni are back in Lima for the weekend.

Blaine opened his door and was shocked to see who was standing in front of it, 'Toni, what are you doing here?'

'My sister says you're being an idiot and your boyfriend told me you hadn't moved so I thought I'd stop by,' she smiled at him as if this was all perfectly routine. He put a hand on his curls and stood with his mouth open as he stared at her in shock. 'Were you going to invite me in?' she teased him.

'Oh yeah, come in, sorry I was just kind of surprised to see you.'

'I noticed. Your boyfriend gave me your address and phone number and you're trying to tell me he didn't mention I might stop by?' she asked, walking in and closing the door behind her. She kicked her shoes off at the door, it might have been a couple of years but she still remembered the Anderson house rules.

'Yes, but I didn't think you actually would,' Blaine admitted.

'Oh Blaine,' she raised her eyebrows in exasperation, 'I missed you and your stupidity.' She finally hugged him and although he tensed up in surprise for a second he did hug her back warmly.

'I missed you too,' he said quietly, 'I'm sorry Toni.'

She released him and turned to walk in to the kitchen, 'Whatever for?' she asked, leaning back on the counter.

When Blaine looked at her he realized just how much he had missed her, how much he regretted that they'd fallen out of touch and how glad he was that she was standing in his kitchen as comfortable and relaxed as ever, making it feel like it could have been only yesterday when she was last there. 'For running away and for getting umm distracted,' he blushed slightly.

'We went over this a lot of times when you first went to Dalton, they put you in hospital, that's not running away Blaine, that's valuing yourself,' she said, looking him in the eye to try and convince him that it was true, 'and about the distraction, I've met him, and I'm a lesbian and I can see how he would be distracting.' She smiled at him, even though he still didn't look entirely convinced. 'Besides,' she pointed out, 'it's not like I was making tons of effort to keep in touch either.' There was a pause; neither of them seemed to want to break the silence, like it was too precious to simply be here again, like a wrong word could break it all. 'Do you still keep coffee in the same place?' Toni asked as if small talk might make it all better.

'Yes, but you, you don't even like coffee?' Blaine said awkwardly, giving her a confused look.

'But you do, and you keep drinks I like with it,' she said walking over to the cupboard.

'Why are you making coffee?'

'Because I'm done listening to you apologize for things that are done, I appreciate that you're sorry you weren't around, thank you,' she turned to look at him with the coffee and hot chocolate in her hands, 'you can get the milk,' she told him bossily. 'I am also sorry that my life took over,' she put the coffee into the machine and added water before turning it on.

'Thank you,' Blaine said, putting the milk down next to Toni.

'That's ok,' she smiled, 'We'll need mugs,' she reminded the shocked younger guy.

He smiled at her back, she really hadn't changed, well the important parts, maybe he hadn't changed so much either and maybe they could be friends again, if they ever really stopped. He walked over and took out two mugs and brought them back to his friend, as he put them down he leant his head against her shoulder and whispered, 'I really missed you.'

'So you said, I missed you too,' she ruffled his hair and then started to make her hot chocolate.

'I'll do that,' he said taking the spoon from her.

They both took their drinks into the large luxurious sitting room, 'Where are your parents?'

'Away all weekend, I would have gone upstairs if they weren't, it's not like they got on well with you.'

She smiled, 'Oh yes, because it was clearly me being such a terrible lesbian influence on you that made you gay.'

'Perhaps if you'd been a better girlfriend to me everything would have been different,' Blaine's voice dripped with sarcasm.

'I happen to think I was a wonderful girlfriend, and since we're on the topic, I believe I am missing some vital information about your boyfriend?'

'We weren't really on the topic were we?' he disputed.

'Close enough, now details, otherwise I will have to ask him, we are having coffee on Tuesday, he's very nice, much nicer than you,' she looked triumphant.

'Hey!' he pretended to look hurt, 'I can't believe you met him, you two are going to conspire against me from New York and I'm going to be stuck here, unable to do a thing.'
'You better believe it Anderson, so tell me what happened, I heard you met him on a staircase?'

'Where did you hear that?'

'Quinn told me,' she replied shortly and sipped her hot chocolate, as if it should be obvious.

Blaine sighed, 'Well I just happened to be singing Teenage Dream that day, and he was just incredible, you know, you've met him, I couldn't help singing it to him.'

'That sort of thing only happens on television Blaine,' Toni pointed out.

'Do you want to hear about my boyfriend or not?' he demanded.

'Yes, and stop acting like you're not desperate to tell me, you never were good at pretending to me,' she said.

'Stop interrupting then,' he countered.

Toni nodded at him and raised her hands in surrender, and Blaine told her the whole story, from the serenade to Kurt's transfer to Dalton, he even slipped in the incident at the Gap, 'You did what?' she said in shock.

'So it wasn't really my finest moment, I was, oh I don't know what I was.'

'You were an idiot, it's a common problem for you, keep going please.'

He talked about Rachel's party, which Toni felt really cemented her idiot theory, and Blackbird and their first kiss and Kurt's return to McKinley, the first time he told him he loved him, right up to his own transfer to McKinley. Then he told her all about Kurt's senior year at McKinley, about NYADA and West Side Story, he even started to tell her about their first time, but she interrupted him, 'Thank you Blaine, I think we can continue past that part.'

'But it was so perfect,' he protested.

'And I'm very happy for you, now carry on.'

So he did, he told her every detail of the ups and downs of the year and then he came to the summer and he guiltily realised how much he had enjoyed the headline being changed when Toni walked into his hallway, 'Umm, do you, did Quinn or someone tell you about the summer?' he asked.

'Yes, Quinn told me, how are you doing?'

He shrugged, 'I think New York is good for Kurt, he's building a life, even though it's hard.'

'That wasn't what I asked Blaine, you knew him too.'

'I'm alright, I miss him, but it's mostly Kurt, all summer I felt so useless.' She slipped an arm around him, that was a feeling she could relate to, 'And now?'

'I miss Kurt and it doesn't compare and I am selfish and I shouldn't feel like this, but it's horrible,' he admitted.

'He misses you too, and I know a year seems such a long time, but you will make it.' She squeezed him, 'And you're allowed to feel whatever you feel.' Blaine relaxed, he loved that about Toni, she was incredible and non-judgmental, he guessed it helped that she had never known Finn but he couldn't imagine being this honest with anyone else.

'Thank you,' he said leaning into her for a moment, 'Now then, what about you? What's up with Mel suddenly appearing at McKinley?' he asked.

'We moved and she never really liked Westerville,' she said.

'Who would?' Blaine asked.

'True, can't say it was ever my favourite place in the world, but anyway you haven't really missed much in my life, no knights in shining Armani for me I'm afraid.'

'As if Toni White, you went out with Val Hamilton,' he pointed out.

'Well she was hardly a princess, in Armani or otherwise,' she told him, 'Wait, how did you know about Val?'

'Jeff told me, the other day, I mentioned Kurt had met you and he asked if you were still together,' he said all innocence.

'You gayboys are all such gossips,' she told him.

'What?' he looked hurt and threw a cushion at her, which was pretty ineffective since they were sitting next to each other, 'You and Quinn talked about me and Kurt!'

'Hmm, I was distracting her from asking me about Westerville,' she told him.

'Oh, you didn't tell her anything did you? I mean Santana knows but Rachel and Quinn, well I never told anyone except Kurt and Santana and Brittany this summer and Kurt told Mercedes, but-' the words all came out in a rush.

'Relax, I didn't tell her anything, Santana told me they didn't know.'

'Thanks,' he said, 'I just, I guess I wanted to move on, especially at McKinley.'

'I get it, it's fine, but don't any of them even know how old you are?' Blaine had transferred part way through his sophomore year to Dalton but he had missed so much school after Sadie Hawkins and even before he was hardly concentrating or even going to class thanks to the bullying. So Dalton made him transfer into freshman year instead because it was only a few months and it was supposed to help him get used to the level required at Dalton and how the school worked. To be fair it seemed like it did since a couple of short months into his sophomore year Blaine was full of confidence and already lead soloist of the Warblers.

'Well, it never really came up,' he muttered, 'Do we have to talk about this?'

'No, of course not,' she said, it only seemed fair as he had, knowingly or not, let her get away with not talking about Melanie.

'Weren't you telling me about Val anyway?' he asked teasingly.

'There really isn't much to tell, I met her through some guys at school, it was fun, but it wasn't some forever epic romance, we broke up, she went to college, I stayed for a year and worked and then went to NYU to do music and sociology because I am what my mother calls indecisive.'

'You are indecisive,' Blaine told her, 'But you'll be good at that.'

'Thanks,' she smiled at him. She looked at him and she knew, just knew that they were going to get their friendship back, she couldn't explain exactly where that assurance came from but the certainty filled her. When so much seemed uncertain and changing it seemed all of a sudden so important to have found a way to get back to something good with Blaine.

Brittany and Santana sat at opposite ends of the bed from each other, their legs lying across each other under the covers, 'I missed that,' Santana said smiling, 'Mostly I just missed you though, I wish I was a better girlfriend to you.'

'You're the best girlfriend,' Brittany told her.

'No, I can't come back and see you like I want to, I can't call you like I want to, I'm spending time with so many people that aren't you.'

'Of course you are, we knew that was going to happen,' Brittany said.

'But I want to be better,' Santana complained.

'You came to visit me, I'm coming to see you in three weeks, we skype plenty, what's there to worry about?'

'I feel like I'm changing,' Santana said.

'I feel like that's natural and I still love you, but if you want to break up with me just say it,' Brittany sighed.

'No, no of course not, it's just I made friends with this girl, Toni,' Santana said.

'You told me about her, you said she's Quinn's roommate and she used to date Blaine, her sister is at our school, she doesn't talk, but Blaine keeps trying to make her.'

Santana laughed at Britt's as always accurate summing up of the situation, she always seemed to understand where people were coming from before they knew themselves, 'She's a lesbian.'

'I know,' Brittany said, 'Blaine would hardly date a straight girl would he?'

'Well, aren't you, I don't know, jealous?' Santana asked.

'No, you haven't been cheating on me with her,' Brittany said.

'We watched a film together the other day and we've been marathoning this series she got me into and we study for sociology sometimes.' Santana said quietly.

'And you haven't been telling me about this because?' Brittany asked.

'Well, I've never, you know, done stuff like that before,' her girlfriend muttered.

'What studying?' Brittany asked, 'None of that matters, she's your friend, you can talk about her with me, I talk about my friends with you.'

'Alright,' Santana swallowed, 'I was stupid to think you'd mind, I'm sorry.'

'No it's cute,' Britt laughed, 'But I don't, you can have friends without it causing a problem in our relationship, I'm not giving up on us that easily, and I really hope you're not.' She said it so that it didn't sound like a question, but part of her meant it as one so she was relieved when Santana answered.

'No, of course not, I love you, we decided to stay together.' She leaned forward and kissed her passionately.

'You're late,' Toni said, tapping her wrist as she opened the door to Santana.

'Sorry, we had a lot to talk about,' she laughed.

'Good, you look happier,' Toni smiled, 'Mom, Mel, Santana's here so we're going, I'll text you when we get back,' she called.

'Aren't you even going to introduce me,' her Mom laughed coming into the hall from the kitchen.

'Mom this is Santana, Santana this is my Mom, my sister is probably painting something, and we have class tomorrow so we really have to go,' she said, all in one breath.

Her Mom laughed and kissed her goodbye, told Santana it was nice to meet her and went back to the kitchen.

Once they were driving down the street, Toni asked, 'So everything is ok, with Brittany I mean, you sounded weird when we were talking about her the other day?'

'Yeah everything is fine, I was being stupid, I missed her and I was living a life without her and it was weird and I,' she paused, 'I thought she might be jealous of you.'

'Of what?' Toni laughed.

'I don't know, because you're a lesbian I guess, I didn't even realise that's what I thought until today,' she blushed.

'Santana, everything I've been doing with you I do with Quinn, and any of my other friends, except you know study for that class we have together because it would be silly if I did that with them.'

'You watch the L word with Quinn?' Santana asked.

'One time, she came back to our room and I had it on, I think she liked it.'

Santana smiled, and then wanting to change the subject she asked, 'Is your sister ok?'

'No, but maybe she will be, we talked to our Mom and I talked to Blaine and he might start engaging his brain and being actually useful.'

'He has one of those?' Santana asked.

'He hides it well, but he uses it occasionally,' they both laughed, 'It was really great to see him actually, I'm really glad I met you guys.'

'I'm really glad I met you too,' Santana smiled.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy these two reunions and diving a bit more into the backstory that I have created for Blaine and Toni, personally they make me laugh together.