Glee Miranda

In no way do I own any part of glee. If I did, Miranda would be on the show.

Miranda

Chapter 1

David

David Karofsky loves his cousin. She's smaller than him, even though they're both five, and even though she's bossy she's still sweet and shy about it, promising to sneak him piece of her 'special stash' of chocolate if he'll eat the mushy green stuff his Momma had put on his plate. So long as he promised to brush his teeth afterword.

"Dat way when you go do da dennis you won' have any cavidies and you'll get a sdicker."

He also thought it was adorable that she couldn't pronounce the letter T because she was missing her front teeth. He loved the fact that she took care of Michael, her brother, like his Momma took care of him. He wished sometimes that he had a big sister who'd take care of him like that so his Momma wouldn't have to work so hard, or a little sibling to protect. When he told his Momma that, she'd looked sad and said that he would have to look after Miranda and Michael then, because she couldn't give him any siblings. Something about being sick not long after David was born. David had hugged his Momma and told her that he would take care of them and to cheer up because he still loved her. In secret he told his Daddy never to bring up the subject of more children to Momma- it made her sad, and David didn't like seeing her sad. His Daddy had promised that he wouldn't.

When it got to be bedtime, the adults said they could sleep in the same room because her parents were taking the guest room and her little brother was staying in with them. There wasn't room for four of them in the bed. So once Miranda was dressed for bed and they'd both brushed their teeth, he'd held his blankets back so she could crawl in first, closer to the wall. They both curl up, back to back against each other in the small twin sized bed, and fell asleep.

Yes, he decided, he loved his cousin. He tried to tell his Momma that he was going to marry her one day, but his Momma had said that it wasn't allowed because he was related to Miranda. He also heard her mutter something about a Kentucky, but he didn't understand what that meant.

* * *

><p>"David, sweetie." His mother's voice in tentative, unsure, and he sighs.<p>

"Yeah, Mom." She pushes open the door to his almost too clean room- too clean for a boy of 13, anyway- and hesitates.

"Have- have you heard from Miranda recently?" He looked up from his math homework. The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could go play football or video games with his friends.

"Not since her visit two weeks ago. I've been grounded from the computer, remember? Why?" His mother shifted looking uncomfortable.

"Aunt Kara and Uncle Scott haven't seen her in a few days." He raised his eyebrows. As he'd gotten older, he'd found a lot of respect for Miranda, but had nearly none for her parents. They were never around and she'd basically had to raise herself and her brother alone. The fact that they hadn't seen her for a few days was nothing new. "Michael won't tell them where she is, and while he doesn't seem too worried, he did admit that he hasn't seen her either." David felt his heart stop. Miranda lived for Michael, she'd never abandon him. Suddenly he was up and rushing past his Mom towards the phone. He dialed Miranda's house number. Michael answered.

"Karofsky resi-"

"Michael, where is she." There was silence for a few seconds.

"She couldn't take it anymore, David. She couldn't take _them_ anymore. They fought. She left. I don't know where she is, but she left me a note." There was a tight laugh on the line. "Told me to eat some vegetables, brush my teeth, and wear clean underwear."

* * *

><p>The call had come in the middle of the day. It rang several times and his mother hadn't picked it up, so he dragged himself up to the phone. He'd been up late, playing video games with Hudson, Puckerman, and Amizio, and was a little groggy when he answered.<p>

"Mmf. Karofsky residence."

Um. Hi. Is- uh- is David available?" He recognized the weird Hummel kid easily enough. The voice was male, but still so freaking _girly_. It was unnatural. He let out a sigh. He hoped that the nutcase wasn't about to prove the entire towns suspicions correct by trying to ask him out or something.

"Speaking." Hurry it up, Hummel.

"Do- um- do you know a girl named Miranda?" He's out the door still tugging on his shoes and not even bothering to hang up the phone or tell his slumbering friends where he's going. He knows where Hummel's house is well enough, having been forced by his mother to go to the boys birthday party a few years back. The theme had surprisingly been cars, and all the boys in his class were invited. David later found out he had a separate party for the girls. The theme had been runway. Something about dressing up and pretending to be models. The girls had seemed to like it.

David skid to a stop in front of the Hummel house and knocked hurriedly on the front door. A bulky looking guy in a flannel shirt and a ball cap that he recognized as Hummel's Dad answered the door. David looked up at him, out of breath, and forced out his question.

"Where is she?" He was shown inside, past a living room and kitchen to a basement. He realized easily enough that it was probably Hummel's room- the house wasn't that big, and didn't seem to have that many rooms upstairs. Hummel was sitting in the middle of his bed, Miranda sitting sideways in his lap and leaning against his chest, her shoulder tucked under his armpit and her head against his shoulder while his arms were wrapped around her, one hand absently playing with the long dark brown waves of her hair. Both had been staring blankly ahead, but when David and Hummel's Dad entered the basement, two sets of eyes- one scared hazel, one solemn blue- snapped to their figures. No body moved. And then Miranda's hand twitched. She pulled away from Hummel and he let her go, several of his joints popping as he stretched lightly. Then she was standing in front of David and they were all on edge. She stared into his eyes and he could see terror hidden in hers. Terror of what he didn't know, but he wanted to tell her that whatever it was it would never get her again because he was here and he would protect her. And then she was hugging him. No, not hugging him- _clinging_ to him. She was clutching him to her like his was her lifeline, as though she was trying to embed herself into his person so that they would never be apart again. She started shaking and David wrapped his arms around her. Then the dam broke and she was sobbing- horrible, heart wrenching sobs that made him want to lock her in a tower and make sure that nothing would ever hurt her again if only it meant that she wouldn't cry like this again. He saw Hummel approach over her shoulder and watched as he pat her gently on the back before running his hand through her hair, gently. Then he took his dad's arm and dragged him upstairs, leaving David to take care of his cousin as she broke down in his arms.

* * *

><p>Miranda had adjusted fairly well. David had brought her home and his parents had gasped and cried over her while David's friends had stood back looking thoroughly confused. He'd asked them to go home and told them that he'd explain when he could.<p>

Her parents had refused to take her back, stating that she'd put them through a horrible trauma and they couldn't bear to see her. David couldn't remember a time when his Mom said anything bad about _anybody_, let alone family, and to this day he could never bring himself to repeat some of the things he'd heard her scream over the phone at her brother and sister-in-law. After that, the only contact his family had with his aunt and uncle was via lawyers and Michael. Miranda's parents had gladly given custody of their eldest daughter over to Paul and Valerie, but fought to keep their son. Somehow they won and seemed happy that they were keeping their little boy away from the 'disastrous and corrupting influence' of his sister. If they had been better parents they would have noticed that both Michael and Miranda had Skype accounts and were keeping in touch that way.

Much to David's chagrin, she remained friends with Hummel, and was often at the boy's home or learning from his dad in the garage the Hummel's ran. She somehow ended up being friends with Puckerman, and ended up being quite possibly the only girl he was acquainted with that he didn't sleep with. She took up volunteering at the nearest animal shelter, and met some guy named Blaine who was having problems. Supposedly she helped him out, and they were pretty good friends.

It was Miranda he first came out to, and it was her who stood by his side when he made stupid moves in regard to how he felt about a blue eyed countertenor geek, even though said geek was one of her best friends. When he'd brought that up to her, she explained that Hummel was her friend, but David was blood- and while she didn't agree with what he was doing, Hummel had people to support him and help him through this, and she was all David had. He later found out that she'd told Hummel as much, and, to his surprise, Hummel had apparently agreed. She was the one who stood next to him, Kurt Hummel and his boyfriend on his other side, when he'd come out to his family and closest friends. And when he'd decided to join New Directions in his senior year, she'd auditioned with him, singing for the first time since before she'd disappeared as their voices joined for a duet version of Kenny Chesney's "Some People Change."

* * *

><p>"Oi, Karofsky!" David and Miranda both looked up at the bulky football player standing in his way. David raised his eyebrows at the boy. "It true you've become a fairy?" David rolled his eyes.<p>

"Yes," he sighed, annoyed already, "I'm gay. Why?" Suddenly, he was pushed to the side, and when he looked back up, it was to see the football player's fist had connected with Miranda's stomach, causing her to bend forward slightly. She looked up at the larger male with a cold glint in her eyes. David felt a small pang of sympathy for the guy, remembering from years of play/fighting with her that she was a scrap fighter, small and fast, and that she didn't fight fair- she fought to win. Add in the years of self-defense and martial arts classes she'd managed to talk her parents into letting her take, and things didn't look good for the jock.

She wrapped both hands around his wrist, twisting around and slamming her back into his chest and bent forward, jutting her but into his hips and pulling his arm over her shoulder. It had the desired effect and the jock landed roughly on his back, coughing slightly as the air was forced from his lungs and Miranda landed just as roughly on his chest. David watched in shock as she drew her fist back, face screwed up in a fury he'd never seen on her before. He was struck in that moment with a surge of love for the smaller girl and knew he would always do anything for her, just as she would do anything for him. In the next second her fist was descending, landing hard on her attackers face. There was a small snapping sound and a gush of blood and David knew that his nose was broken even before the jock howled in agony and clutched his face. Suddenly Kurt was there, pulling Miranda off the injured kid while Puck helped David from his spot on the floor where Miranda had pushed him.

She somehow managed to get off scott free- probably something to do with the fact that it was her first offense, never mind that it was _technically_ self-defense. No one dared say anything to David about his sexuality after that, and he had to admit that it was hilarious that the masses were not afraid of him, the bulky former football player who used to bully them, but his cousin, who was easily half his size and was more painfully shy than Tina Cohen-Chang.

And again he knew that he loved her, just as much as he had when they were five.


End file.
