Fic: When the Leaves Fall Down
A mini-Brittana fic! Santana and Brittany do some yard work. Santana's brothers help. Or not. Also, I know we know Santana's dad is the doctor, but in the way I worked out the Lopez family back before we knew absolutely nothing about it, Santana's mom is the busy professional, and her dad stays at home and takes care of the kids. So. That's it.
It was a bright, warm Saturday morning in October, and Santana was helping her dad rake the yard. Her younger brothers kept rolling into the piles, though, and her dad just laughed, but Santana was getting frustrated. They’d never finish at this rate. “You’re such a grouch, San!” Alex yelled, flinging a fistful of leaves at her.
She rolled her eyes and picked up her rake, but then Juan barreled at her legs, knocking her down into the biggest pile. “San!” he said, pleased, and for a moment she just lay face down in the decaying leaves.
Then her dad picked her up and set her on her feet, brushing the leaves from her dark hair. “Have some fun, Santanita,” he encouraged gently.
“I wanna go to Brittany’s,” she muttered. “You said I could go after we got the yard work done.”
“Ah,” her dad said, smiling. “Go call her and tell her to come over and help,” he suggested, and he turned, scooping his small sons up, one under each arm, as they shrieked and threw leaves up into his face.
Santana stamped into the house and practically ripped the phone off the wall, punching in Brittany’s number. Her mom answered. “Hi, Mrs. Pierce, it’s Santana. Can Brittany come over?” she asked, all in a rush.
“It’s okay with your dad?” Brittany’s mom returned, and Santana had to stifle her exasperated sigh.
It was always okay with her dad that Brittany came over. Sometimes Santana thought maybe he even liked Brittany better than her. But she managed to say, “Yes, he said I could ask her over,” dutifully, and that’s all Mrs. Pierce needed to hear.
“I’ll send her right over, Santana,” she promised, and Santana felt her lips tugging into a grin.
“Thanks!” she said cheerfully, and she said goodbye and hung up.
Back outside, she discovered her brothers had ruined all the leaf piles. It was as though they’d never raked at all, and even worse, her dad did not seem to mind and was, in fact, sitting in the middle of a pile, tossing Juan into the air and catching him again. “Saaaaaaaaaan!” her brother bellowed, surprisingly loud for a three-year-old.
“Shut up!” she yelled back, so of course he started to cry.
Her dad frowned gently in her direction before comforting his son. She sat on the front steps and watched, scowling. “Santana,” he dad called, “is Brittany coming over?”
“Yes,” she replied, sulking.
“Why won’t you play, San?” Alex asked, poking at her knee with a damp stick.
“Because you guys are annoying,” she shot back.
“Brittany likes us,” Alex said defensively.
“Brittany likes everyone,” Santana huffed.
“I know, right? Otherwise, why would she like you?” Alex taunted, and Santana tackled him flat on his back.
He started wailing, which set Juan off again, and Mr. Lopez just shook his head. “Inside, Santana,” he ordered, and she stamped into the house, throwing off her jacket and kicking off her sneakers before running up to her room, slamming the door behind her.
She sulked in silence for a few minutes, but then she heard a familiar voice outside, mixing with the yelling and giggling of her little brothers, and she crept to the window and peered outside. There was Brittany, blonde hair in messy pigtails, in dark blue jeans and an OSU sweatshirt that was too big for her, rolling around in the leaves with Juan while Alex chased their dad across the yard.
Santana sighed. Her brothers were giant pains, but Brittany did like them, and it suddenly seemed really unfair that she was the one stuck inside when she’d been trying to help their dad, and they’d just kept ruining the piles. So she went back downstairs, pulled on her sneakers and her jacket, and went outside. “San!” Brittany yelled at once, and launched herself at her friend.
“Hi!” Santana laughed, catching her.
“Santana,” her dad called in his stern voice, and she sighed and detached herself from Brittany.
“I’m sorry, Alejandro,” she said, before her dad even had to ask, and Alex just grinned and reached his hand up.
She laughed and high-fived him, and then he handed her a rake. “I’ll help now, San!” he said earnestly, and she messed up his hair.
“Okay,” she agreed, and together they raked up a rather untidy pile of leaves while Brittany kept the baby entertained and their dad raked up his own much bigger pile.
When Alex saw it, he practically started drooling, dropping his rake and running at it, but Santana caught him by the arm. “Come on, Dad just raked that!”
“But! It’s so big!” he said, turning to her with wide eyes. “You could, like…like swim in it!”
“Swim in it,” she repeated skeptically, and he nodded.
“All right, Alex, what do you think? Can we make this pile even bigger?” his dad boomed, and the little boy jumped up and ran to push his and his sister’s pile into the big one.
“Come on, come on, San. One big pile, and we can all jump in it!” he said, and Santana just frowned.
While she was watching her dad and her brother race to pile up the leaves, Brittany came and stood beside her. “You used to like jumping in the leaves,” she said quietly.
“Yeah, well. The leaves get stuck in my hair forever,” Santana muttered.
Brittany shrugged. “That’s not so bad. Look at how big that pile is! It’s probably the biggest pile ever.”
Alex turned and smiled at them, and Juan toddled over, lifting his arms up to his sister. She reluctantly picked him up. “San, San, jump in the leaves?” he asked eagerly.
“Maybe,” she said, and Brittany nudged her.
“Come on. It’ll be fun! And I’ll get all the leaves out of your hair later, I promise,” she said, and Santana rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face.
“Okay,” she murmured, and Brittany beamed.
“San, San, Saaaan!” Alex said proudly, gesturing at the pile of leaves, and she let herself grin at her brother.
“All right, you first,” she said graciously, but he shook his head.
“You!” he insisted, and he tugged Juan from her arms.
She looked at Brittany, who unhesitatingly grasped her hand. In an instant, they were tumbling through the pile of leaves, Brittany’s laughter ringing in Santana’s ears, and before she could get her bearings, her brothers had flopped practically on top of them, giggling and shouting.
Santana lay flat on her back, practically buried under the leaves, Juan scrambling all over her, Alex pushing at her side, and Brittany’s hand still wrapped tightly around her own, and she just smiled. This was even more fun than she remembered.
Finally, they untangled themselves and crawled away from the wreckage of the pile. Juan started to get cranky, so Mr. Lopez took him inside for a nap, and two of the Lopez cousins turned up, looking for Alex, so he scampered off, leaving Santana and Brittany to themselves. Santana tossed a handful of leaves at her friend, and Brittany laughed and bumped her shoulder.
“Come here, and I’ll get the leaves out of your hair, okay?” she offered, and Santana smirked, but nodded, settling herself in between Brittany’s legs.
Her friend worked methodically to pull all the bits and pieces of leaves from Santana’s messy hair, practically putting her to sleep, and if her mother hadn’t come home a few minutes later, she probably would have dropped off, leaning back comfortably against Brittany’s chest.
“Mama!” she said, scrambling to her feet. Her mother wasn’t supposed to be home until dinnertime.
“Aha, here’s my favorite daughter,” her mother greeted her, and Santana threw herself into her arms. “And my favorite almost-daughter,” she said, with a smile for Brittany, who grinned and joined the hug. “What have you two been up to?” she asked, not failing to notice the mess of leaves in the yard-and the pieces of leaves still clinging to her daughter and her best friend.
“Well. We were helping Dad rake, but… He let us jump in the pile,” Santana said sheepishly, and her mother laughed and smoothed Santana’s hair back from her forehead.
“I see,” she said fondly. “Where is your dad?”
“He took Juan inside for his nap. And Alex went to play with Marco and Jake,” she reported. “How come you’re home so early?”
“Oh, I was able to free up my schedule a little. What do you say the three of us finish the yard work for Dad?” she suggested, and Brittany and Santana, nearly always eager to help Mr. Lopez, agreed.
When he returned from settling his fussy son and found his wife and two favorite girls clearing up the yard, he couldn’t have been any happier. “Mi amor!” he yelled from the doorway, and his wife turned to him, laughing.
He ran to her, picking her up and spinning her around, while Brittany and Santana sat and laughed. “Your dad is silly,” Brittany said, but it was clear she approved of such silliness.
“He really likes my mom,” Santana returned.
“Yes. I do,” her dad agreed, and her parents laughed.
“Stand up!” Brittany suddenly ordered, and confused, Santana nonetheless got to her feet. “I bet I could pick you up and spin you around, like your dad did with your mom,” she said, surveying Santana, who was a bit shorter than her.
“Why?” Santana asked, unconsciously stepping back from her friend.
“Well,” Brittany said, beginning to look troubled. “You said he really likes her, and I really like you, so…”
Santana had to hold in her laugh; Brittany’s own special brand of logic was too much sometimes. “Well, yeah, but… I think you’ll probably drop me, or we’ll both fall down or something,” she pointed out as gently as she could.
“Oh.” Brittany’s face fell, so Santana held out her hand, pinky finger extended.
“Here. Gimme your pinky,” she instructed, and Brittany did, letting Santana hook her own around it. “There.”
“What’s that mean?” Brittany asked, studying their joined fingers.
“That I really like you,” Santana said matter-of-factly.
Brittany lifted her head up, and a smile very slowly began to brighten her face. “I really like you too,” she returned, pleased. “Even with leaves in your hair.”
It was a bright, warm Saturday morning in October, and Santana was helping her dad rake the yard. Her younger brothers kept rolling into the piles, though, and her dad just laughed, but Santana was getting frustrated. They’d never finish at this rate. “You’re such a grouch, San!” Alex yelled, flinging a fistful of leaves at her.
She rolled her eyes and picked up her rake, but then Juan barreled at her legs, knocking her down into the biggest pile. “San!” he said, pleased, and for a moment she just lay face down in the decaying leaves.
Then her dad picked her up and set her on her feet, brushing the leaves from her dark hair. “Have some fun, Santanita,” he encouraged gently.
“I wanna go to Brittany’s,” she muttered. “You said I could go after we got the yard work done.”
“Ah,” her dad said, smiling. “Go call her and tell her to come over and help,” he suggested, and he turned, scooping his small sons up, one under each arm, as they shrieked and threw leaves up into his face.
Santana stamped into the house and practically ripped the phone off the wall, punching in Brittany’s number. Her mom answered. “Hi, Mrs. Pierce, it’s Santana. Can Brittany come over?” she asked, all in a rush.
“It’s okay with your dad?” Brittany’s mom returned, and Santana had to stifle her exasperated sigh.
It was always okay with her dad that Brittany came over. Sometimes Santana thought maybe he even liked Brittany better than her. But she managed to say, “Yes, he said I could ask her over,” dutifully, and that’s all Mrs. Pierce needed to hear.
“I’ll send her right over, Santana,” she promised, and Santana felt her lips tugging into a grin.
“Thanks!” she said cheerfully, and she said goodbye and hung up.
Back outside, she discovered her brothers had ruined all the leaf piles. It was as though they’d never raked at all, and even worse, her dad did not seem to mind and was, in fact, sitting in the middle of a pile, tossing Juan into the air and catching him again. “Saaaaaaaaaan!” her brother bellowed, surprisingly loud for a three-year-old.
“Shut up!” she yelled back, so of course he started to cry.
Her dad frowned gently in her direction before comforting his son. She sat on the front steps and watched, scowling. “Santana,” he dad called, “is Brittany coming over?”
“Yes,” she replied, sulking.
“Why won’t you play, San?” Alex asked, poking at her knee with a damp stick.
“Because you guys are annoying,” she shot back.
“Brittany likes us,” Alex said defensively.
“Brittany likes everyone,” Santana huffed.
“I know, right? Otherwise, why would she like you?” Alex taunted, and Santana tackled him flat on his back.
He started wailing, which set Juan off again, and Mr. Lopez just shook his head. “Inside, Santana,” he ordered, and she stamped into the house, throwing off her jacket and kicking off her sneakers before running up to her room, slamming the door behind her.
She sulked in silence for a few minutes, but then she heard a familiar voice outside, mixing with the yelling and giggling of her little brothers, and she crept to the window and peered outside. There was Brittany, blonde hair in messy pigtails, in dark blue jeans and an OSU sweatshirt that was too big for her, rolling around in the leaves with Juan while Alex chased their dad across the yard.
Santana sighed. Her brothers were giant pains, but Brittany did like them, and it suddenly seemed really unfair that she was the one stuck inside when she’d been trying to help their dad, and they’d just kept ruining the piles. So she went back downstairs, pulled on her sneakers and her jacket, and went outside. “San!” Brittany yelled at once, and launched herself at her friend.
“Hi!” Santana laughed, catching her.
“Santana,” her dad called in his stern voice, and she sighed and detached herself from Brittany.
“I’m sorry, Alejandro,” she said, before her dad even had to ask, and Alex just grinned and reached his hand up.
She laughed and high-fived him, and then he handed her a rake. “I’ll help now, San!” he said earnestly, and she messed up his hair.
“Okay,” she agreed, and together they raked up a rather untidy pile of leaves while Brittany kept the baby entertained and their dad raked up his own much bigger pile.
When Alex saw it, he practically started drooling, dropping his rake and running at it, but Santana caught him by the arm. “Come on, Dad just raked that!”
“But! It’s so big!” he said, turning to her with wide eyes. “You could, like…like swim in it!”
“Swim in it,” she repeated skeptically, and he nodded.
“All right, Alex, what do you think? Can we make this pile even bigger?” his dad boomed, and the little boy jumped up and ran to push his and his sister’s pile into the big one.
“Come on, come on, San. One big pile, and we can all jump in it!” he said, and Santana just frowned.
While she was watching her dad and her brother race to pile up the leaves, Brittany came and stood beside her. “You used to like jumping in the leaves,” she said quietly.
“Yeah, well. The leaves get stuck in my hair forever,” Santana muttered.
Brittany shrugged. “That’s not so bad. Look at how big that pile is! It’s probably the biggest pile ever.”
Alex turned and smiled at them, and Juan toddled over, lifting his arms up to his sister. She reluctantly picked him up. “San, San, jump in the leaves?” he asked eagerly.
“Maybe,” she said, and Brittany nudged her.
“Come on. It’ll be fun! And I’ll get all the leaves out of your hair later, I promise,” she said, and Santana rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face.
“Okay,” she murmured, and Brittany beamed.
“San, San, Saaaan!” Alex said proudly, gesturing at the pile of leaves, and she let herself grin at her brother.
“All right, you first,” she said graciously, but he shook his head.
“You!” he insisted, and he tugged Juan from her arms.
She looked at Brittany, who unhesitatingly grasped her hand. In an instant, they were tumbling through the pile of leaves, Brittany’s laughter ringing in Santana’s ears, and before she could get her bearings, her brothers had flopped practically on top of them, giggling and shouting.
Santana lay flat on her back, practically buried under the leaves, Juan scrambling all over her, Alex pushing at her side, and Brittany’s hand still wrapped tightly around her own, and she just smiled. This was even more fun than she remembered.
Finally, they untangled themselves and crawled away from the wreckage of the pile. Juan started to get cranky, so Mr. Lopez took him inside for a nap, and two of the Lopez cousins turned up, looking for Alex, so he scampered off, leaving Santana and Brittany to themselves. Santana tossed a handful of leaves at her friend, and Brittany laughed and bumped her shoulder.
“Come here, and I’ll get the leaves out of your hair, okay?” she offered, and Santana smirked, but nodded, settling herself in between Brittany’s legs.
Her friend worked methodically to pull all the bits and pieces of leaves from Santana’s messy hair, practically putting her to sleep, and if her mother hadn’t come home a few minutes later, she probably would have dropped off, leaning back comfortably against Brittany’s chest.
“Mama!” she said, scrambling to her feet. Her mother wasn’t supposed to be home until dinnertime.
“Aha, here’s my favorite daughter,” her mother greeted her, and Santana threw herself into her arms. “And my favorite almost-daughter,” she said, with a smile for Brittany, who grinned and joined the hug. “What have you two been up to?” she asked, not failing to notice the mess of leaves in the yard-and the pieces of leaves still clinging to her daughter and her best friend.
“Well. We were helping Dad rake, but… He let us jump in the pile,” Santana said sheepishly, and her mother laughed and smoothed Santana’s hair back from her forehead.
“I see,” she said fondly. “Where is your dad?”
“He took Juan inside for his nap. And Alex went to play with Marco and Jake,” she reported. “How come you’re home so early?”
“Oh, I was able to free up my schedule a little. What do you say the three of us finish the yard work for Dad?” she suggested, and Brittany and Santana, nearly always eager to help Mr. Lopez, agreed.
When he returned from settling his fussy son and found his wife and two favorite girls clearing up the yard, he couldn’t have been any happier. “Mi amor!” he yelled from the doorway, and his wife turned to him, laughing.
He ran to her, picking her up and spinning her around, while Brittany and Santana sat and laughed. “Your dad is silly,” Brittany said, but it was clear she approved of such silliness.
“He really likes my mom,” Santana returned.
“Yes. I do,” her dad agreed, and her parents laughed.
“Stand up!” Brittany suddenly ordered, and confused, Santana nonetheless got to her feet. “I bet I could pick you up and spin you around, like your dad did with your mom,” she said, surveying Santana, who was a bit shorter than her.
“Why?” Santana asked, unconsciously stepping back from her friend.
“Well,” Brittany said, beginning to look troubled. “You said he really likes her, and I really like you, so…”
Santana had to hold in her laugh; Brittany’s own special brand of logic was too much sometimes. “Well, yeah, but… I think you’ll probably drop me, or we’ll both fall down or something,” she pointed out as gently as she could.
“Oh.” Brittany’s face fell, so Santana held out her hand, pinky finger extended.
“Here. Gimme your pinky,” she instructed, and Brittany did, letting Santana hook her own around it. “There.”
“What’s that mean?” Brittany asked, studying their joined fingers.
“That I really like you,” Santana said matter-of-factly.
Brittany lifted her head up, and a smile very slowly began to brighten her face. “I really like you too,” she returned, pleased. “Even with leaves in your hair.”