A/N: This is a one-shot that consists of a series of snap shots throughout Brittany and Santana's relationship. Showcasing a lot of character development, specifically of Santana and the point her character is now at in the show. Please Read, Review, Enjoy! Reviews are love!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm not that cool. Glee is property of it's creators and FOX.
Age 5
The first time Santana had been the brave one in Brittany and her's friendship; they weren't even old enough to tie their own shoes.
"I don't think this is such a good idea." The little blonde girl said to her Latina friend as she twisted one of her pigtails around her pinky.
"C'mon Brittany, don't be such a baby. They won't even notice that they're gone." she snarks back as they stood outside the abandoned teacher's office.
Their pre-school teacher, Mrs. Baker, was out on maternity leave and her substitute wasn't exactly the most observant around. It was nap time and she took this time to have her nap as well. This gave Brittany and Santana time to sneak out among the sleeping kids and teacher, to go next across the hall to the main office. Inside were a huge new 64 pack of crayons and they knew they wanted them, and badly for that matter.
"What if we get caught and get in trouble? I don't like getting in trouble." Brittany trembled shaking her head, seeming as if she were on the verge of tears.
"We won't. I promise you, we won't. So are you in or are you out?" The little girl asked her friend.
Brittany swallowed a lump in her throat. "I'm in." she said quietly. A huge grin eloped across Santana's face as they opened the creaky door and made their way inside. Santana quickly grabbed the crayons from the desk and put them underneath her shirt as the two little girls ran out of the office, trying to hold back giggles.
"See was that so hard?" Santana said turning to Brittany.
Brittany shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "I guess not."
"See, maybe next time you won't be so afraid." Santana exclaimed with a mixture of mocking but yet pride in her voice. Pride towards Brittany from getting over her fears.
That was the first time in their friendship that she had been the brave one, but what she didn't know at the time, the first of many.
Age 9
The second time Santana had been the brave one, was hard because she was scared too.
It was about midnight and Brittany and Santana found themselves alone in a dark forest. The two girls had been having a sleepover at Brittany's house on a saturday night, just a month before they were scheduled to be done with school for the year. After her parents had fallen asleep, the two of them had decided that they should go wonder around the woods. Neither one of them had ever done it at night before and all they could think about was how cool it would, and how brave they would seem. That was until the batteries to their flashlights had died, leaving them completely in the dark.
"San I don't know where we are, I can't see anything! Why can't God just turn on the sun?" Brittany cried out with tears starting to roll down her cheeks.
Santana took a deep breath, ignoring her ridiculous question and just focusing on getting her to calm down.
"Calm down! Listen to me, we are going to just walk back the way we came, and eventually we will be able to see the street lights that are by your house and make our way back inside, okay?" She told her with a firm and reassuring tone in her voice. Although secretly, she was freaking out. She had never been a fan of the dark and she was just as petrified as Brittany that they would be stuck out here until morning.
Brittany nodded, sniffing back her tears. Santana gave her a little smile and grabbed her hand to help them stay together as they found their way back. They began to move quickly, in what seemed to be the right direction, when suddenly, Santana felt a pull on her arm, causing her to fall on the ground and she heard a scream. She sat up in fear.
"Brittany?" She questioned with a loud urgency in her voice. Where was her friend? What if something bad had happened to her? Why had she screamed?
"In here!" Brittany called out as Santana moved a little closer to see that she had fallen right next to a ditch in the ground. She remembered that ditch from the walk out. The one they could see to avoid because their flashlights still worked. Now Brittany was stuck in it.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she questioned quickly with concern in her voice.
"No but I'm stuck! I'm scared I don't know how to get out!" she cried.
All Santana wanted was for their parents to appear and to help them get out of this mess. They never should've snuck out to do this, it was so stupid. Now though, they were here. They were alone, and their was nothing Santana could do about it but help her friend get out of this on her own, she needed to be strong.
"Calm down, okay. You're going to be okay, I promise you're going to be okay. Here, try and take my hand." She told her as she leaned down further into the deep ditch, trying to stay above it so she wouldn't fall in too.
After a few minutes of struggle in just trying to find her hand, Brittany had it. They both took each others hands and Santana pulled as hard as she could, while Brittany tried to haul herself up by using her legs. Eventually Santana managed to pull her up. They both huffed, exhausted and tired. All Santana could do though was pull Brittany into a hug as Brittany cried and Santana tried not to.
"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. You're safe now, Brittany you're safe now." she chanted into her ear.
Soon Brittany managed to stop crying, and the two girls got themselves off the ground and eventually made their way back into Brittany's house without even waking up her parents.
That was the second time that Santana had been the brave one, and probably the hardest considering she was just as scared, if not more scared, than Brittany.
Age 13
The next time Santana had been the brave one, what they were doing, didn't even involve them being together.
"We are going to do, what tonight?" Brittany asked confused with a nervous edge to her voice.
"You heard me, tonight we are going to both lose our virginity. We are going to have sex." Santana told her.
It had been the last day of their 7th grade year. The two girls were with all their friends, all the popular kids in their grade. Dave Karofksy's father owned a huge cabin on a lake, about a half hour outside of Lima. All the kids had managed to lie to their parents; telling them they were sleeping over at a friends house, none of them knowing that they had all secretly taken a bus up to the cabin. They were now outside in the backyard, the moonlight was shining on the water as kids were being loud and rowdy. Brittany and Santana both dressed in short jean shorts and skimpy little tank tops, talking off to the side away from everyone else as Santana told her the plan.
"But, why?" Brittany asked once again being very confused. She really didn't know anything about sex. Although wasn't it supposed to be, oh what was that word? Romantic? Brittany didn't know that much about romance either, except that it was nice and sweet. Right now everyone was being really loud and beginning to smell like her Uncle Frank after a hockey game was on because of all that bad stuff they were drinking.
"Because Britt, we are getting older now. It's time for us to do this, and we always do everything together." Santana informed her with a smile taking her hand.
"So we are going to have sex, with each other?" She questioned. She was just getting even more confused. I mean Santana was really pretty and was her best friend and although she knew this was what you were supposed to do with guys, she would be okay with somehow doing it with her.
"No!" Santana shot back quickly taken a back, "Don't be crazy, of course not! We are just going to both have guys and go do it. Then inform each other but how everything went. Do you get it now?" She asked her.
Brittany slightly nodded. "I guess so, but who am I going to have sex with?"
Santana looked over her shoulder, "I know that Bobby is interested." She said, Bobby was a friend of theirs who was incredibly cute, and also moving in two weeks. "This could be like you're going away present for him." she explained.
"Well who are you going do it with?" She asked her.
"Puck, duh. Who else do you think I would do it with? So are you ready or not?" Santana questioned.
In the back of her mind she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. She knew she was pressuring her into this and that there was no chance hell that Brittany was actually ready for sex. They were best friends though. Santana cared about her with all her heart and she liked when they reached points in their lives the way they always have, together.
Brittany slowly nodded to answer Santana's question. "But wait, since I'm doing it with a boy, does that mean I'll get sprayed? Will Bobby spray me with his hose? I don't want to get wet, San." Brittany asked nervously and innocently.
Santana sighed. Brittany had a, well let's just say, special way of understanding what they had been taught in health. That was just Brittany though, she sometimes just didn't understand, but she was okay with that. It was just who she was.
"If that's how you want to put it, yes Bobby will be spraying you with his hose; but take this." she said as she pulled the extra condom she had brought specifically for Britt out of her pocket. "This way when he sprays you, you won't get wet." She said using her terminology to help her understand.
"So this is like a raincoat?" Brittany questioned trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.
"Hey Lopez, get your fine ass over here before I find someone else to bang!" Puck called from a distance, interrupting the two of them.
Frustrated and not ready to back away from her best friend quite yet she quickly turned around and yelled back. "Shut it, Puckerman! If you want to tap this you can keep it in your pants for a few more minutes!"
Puck groaned a groan basically saying that he could wait but she needed to hurry up. Santana turned back to Brittany. "Yeah Britt, it's like a raincoat. You really don't want to get wet okay? Make sure that Bobby takes the raincoat." She explained to her gently with an importance in her last thing she would ever want was for Brittany to wind up pregnant from this; especially since the whole sex thing was her idea in the first place.
"I will, I promise." Brittany said with a smile on her face holding out her pinky for a pinky promise, Santana smiled back and took her pinky, wrapping it around hers gently.
"Good, so I'll see you in a bit okay?" Brittany nodded as Santana walked off with Puck and Bobby approached Brittany and gently took her hand, leading her inside.
That was the third time Santana had to be the brave one, and the only time she felt bad about it because she knew she was putting Brittany in a corner to do something that she didn't want to do.
Age 15
The next time Santana was the brave one, she did it because she wanted what, at least at the time, she thought was best for her and Brittany.
"This coach seems mean." Brittany told Santana as they left their first Cheerios practice.
"So what? I can be mean too, what the hell does that matter?" Santana let out frustrated.
Freshman year was starting in two days and the girls had just been recruited by Coach Sylvester to join the Cheerios. This was a big deal. Everyone in town talked about the Cheerios. They were about as perfect as a cheerleading squad could get, and Santana had wanted to be on it since she was practically an embryo; now everything was perfect. She wanted the Captain's spot but Coach Sylvester had given it to this girl who was new to the district; Quinn Fabray. Sure the girl was beyond pretty, and actually really talented but she pissed Santana off, she wanted that spot. In a way though she did like this girl, she had a bitch side to her; which is something that she appreciated.
Brittany had made the squad easily because of her dance ability, but beside that she didn't seem too happy about it. She was excited about getting to dance and to be with Santana, but she wasn't excited about the pressure of being a Cheerio.
"You better get ready Britt, because you and I are going to become the top undisputed bitches of this school." Santana said while getting her 'Queen Bitch" smirk on.
Brittany than gave the same confused look that Santana had seen so many times throughout their friendship. "Wait, but were only freshman. Don't you think people will just try to tear us apart?"
"Not if we don't put up with anyone's shit." She smiled.
"Does that mean, we will have to be mean to people?"
"Maybe, but it won't be seen really as being mean. We will just be tough, and without being tough how would we last on the Cheerios right? I know you have it in you, I know you do." Santana told her, truly meaning it. If anyone could do this with her, be at the top of the high school pyramid with her, and probably the Fabray girl, it would be Brittany.
"You really think so?" Brittany asked looking at Santana like she was a lost puppy.
"I know so." She replied back, holding out her pinky for her best friend to take. Brittany took it as the two of them walked out of the school parking lot.
Brittany was still terrified of High School, Santana knew that. But she had a goal and she wouldn't rest until it was achieved. If this meant she had to put some of the fears she had aside to help Brittany, her best friend in the entire world do it with her, than she would do it. No questions asked.
That was one of the last times in their relationship that Santana had been the brave one, and up until recently, she didn't regret it.
Age 17
When they were seventeen was the year that everything changed. It was the year where Santana no longer was the brave one. Even though they were both dating other people, Brittany had been the one that they talk to an adult to figure out their feelings for each other.
When Santana finally confront Brittany about her feelings for her, she had been accepted. She knew Brittany was understanding but Brittany was brave enough to respect the relationship she still, at the moment had. Santana hadn't been brave enough to understand that. Although she never stopped trying to help Santana out. On the day they did 'Born This Way', she made her that shirt, which despite it's horribly incorrect spelling was one of the nicest things Santana had ever seen. Brittany loved her, no matter who else she loved or who she was dating, she wanted to make sure she helped Santana be herself, be happy, and most of all, be brave.
When Brittany and Artie broke up, Santana had her chance. Brittany was ready to be with her, this is what she had wanted. Yet when the day came for her to go on 'Fondue for Two' and own up to her feelings, like Brittany deserved, she backed out. She couldn't do it.
This whole time she has been using Karofsky of all people as a beard, she has been afraid to tell the truth, she couldn't be honest with her feelings in front of the whole world. Which what was really what showed how brave you were. Brittany wasn't afraid, because Brittany was proud to be who she was. No matter what.
Santana had always been the tough one, she had always been brave. Especially when it came to the relationship she had with Brittany. Now when for their own happiness, for them to be together like she wanted, she could no longer say she was the brave one.