Learning Lessons: The Road To Faberrittana (1/?)
Chapter Title: A Surprisingly Tame Argument.
Author: Stargirl888
Word Count: About 2750
Spoilers: Season 2 Sectionals Episode
Pairing: Brittany/Rachel (non-romantic), Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Quinn
Rating: T
WARNINGS: Contains mention of a Domestic Discipline relationship
Summary: Learning Lessons Verse: When Santana and Rachel get into a spat, it’s not Santana who crosses a line.
A/N: So I both love and hate this one, but we are finally starting the slow build towards Faberrittana. I feel this installment is a little OOC, but I feel I should mention that there are some days when people just don’t feel like getting into an argument with someone and others when they are in a bratty mood and just want to argue continue to push for an argument to try get a reaction, so pls try keep that in mind while reading this
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“...but then I thought that might not be appropriate for the assignment, however it suits my voice perfectly. Maybe another Wicked number?” Rachel had been rambling incessantly for the last five minutes about her possible song choices for their glee assignment and it was chafing on Santana’s last nerve. The pair were sitting alone in the Berry’s living room doing homework - Brittany having gone to the bathroom and Quinn having popped out to pick up some take-aways for them all, and Santana was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on her AP Calculus worksheet with Rachel talking a hundred words a minute in the background. She was determined not to say anything though; not wanting to get into an argument but after breaking the third pencil nib from pressing too hard since the monologue began, she gave in.
“For the love of all that is holy, Rachel, would you please just shut up.” Rachel, who had up until this point been unaware of her friends irritation immediately took affront.
“Forgive me for asking for your advice.”
“That’s what you were doing? The five minute speech on how you could perfectly perform all these songs?”
“Well I could see how someone like you wouldn’t see the problem but one of the burdens of having such a large range in my voice - choosing a song when there are so many you can sing.” The sad fact, Santana mused, is that Rachel was being serious. Since dating Quinn Rachel had toned down the ‘divaness’ dramatically, but there were still times it made an appearance.
“Why do you always have to act so goddamn superior, like your voice makes you better than the rest of us?’” Santana demanded, her temper rising quickly but she was doing her best not to overreact.
“I’m sorry but what was it you said the other week when Brittany shouted at you in Dutch in front of the whole glee club?” Rachel asked sarcastically “Something about a pot and a kettle?”
Santana closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and mentally counting to ten.
“I’m not going to start an argument with you right now.” Santana informed her lowly, picking up a fresh pencil and turning her attention back to her books. Unfortunately for her Rachel was already mentally geared up for an argument so she wasn’t as ready to just let the matter drop.
“Care to enlighten us as to what exactly happened when you got home that afternoon?” Rachel pressed, knowing that Santana hated even mentioning when she got into trouble about something. “You were very apologetic the next day and I noticed you squirming about in your seat quite a bit.”
“Rachel.” Brittany cut in as she appeared in the doorway, holding a bag of crisps in hand. Rachel jumped in surprise, while Santana also glanced at Brittany apprehensively. Neither knew how long she had been standing there and though Santana knew she hadn’t lost her temper, she had still started the tiff.
Brittany, however, barely spared more than a glance at the latina to check she was okay and not about to blow her top before turning to glower at the small girl who had the common sense to feel worried.
“Rachel.” Brittany repeated, “I do believe I’ve warned you before about teasing my girlfriend, particularly about this issue?”
They were interrupted at the sound of the door opening as Quinn arrived back with the food.
“What’s going on?” She asked as she entered the room and took in the tense atmosphere, depositing the bags of food on the coffee table. Brittany just raised an eyebrow at Rachel, silently asking her if she’d like to be the one to tell Quinn. Rachel just looked away, deferring to the dancer.
“Rachel was teasing Santana about when she lost her temper in Glee the other week.” Brittany explained.
“Oh?” Quinn asked, raising her eyebrows at Rachel in question.
“Santana told me to shut up and stop acting superior.” Rachel argued
“That does not excuse what you said.” Brittany pointed out.
“So she can just say those things with no consequences while I get into trouble?” Rachel demanded.
“I didn’t say that.” Brittany sighed, disliking the mess the whole situation was becoming. “Look, Quinn is your girlfriend, so if you’re in trouble over this, you take it up with her. Santana is my girlfriend so if she is in trouble then that is between us. However, I would like you to know that I am irritated by the fact that I have told you in the past not to tease Santana and you still did so, particularly after she said she didn’t want to argue with you.”
“Wait, Santana said she didn’t want to argue?” Quinn questioned in surprise at this tit bit as Rachels expression changed from anger to guilt. She nodded her head silently in reply. “Well then you are definitely in trouble, for continuing the argument even after Santana tried to end it, as well as for doing something Britt specifically told you not to do.”
“I don’t have to listen to her.” Rachel muttered with a pout.
Not blinking an eye, Quinn quickly crossed the room and yanked Rachel up from her seat, delivering four stinging swats to her rear while Rachel tried to twist out of the grasp Quinn had on her upper arm.
“Now you will lose this attitude right now.” Quinn scolded, releasing her “If you take issue with something I said, you tell me properly and don’t mumble it under your breath.”
Raising her eyes to meet Quinns gaze, Rachel glared back defiantly and absently rubbed her bottom - too irritated to even be embarrassed. Making a concerted effort not to come off petulant, she repeated herself levelly.
“I said I don’t have to listen to her.”
“No, you don’t have to listen to Britt, not in the way you have to listen to me anyway,” Quinn agreed “however, I do expect you to be respectful of our friends wishes and if she tells you not to do something, particularly something you shouldn’t be doing in any case, then I expect you to do so, and you already know that.” They had had the conversation about respecting other peoples wishes before.
Rachel glowered at Quinn but said no more, knowing that she would never win this argument, and fighting further would only make things worse for her.
“Britt,” Quinn turned her attention to the other blond. “What would you think is a suitable punishment for Rachel’s behaviour today?”
“She can’t punish me!” Rachel protested immediately, while both Brittany and Santana, who was making a concerted effort to stay as uninvolved as possible, looked at Quinn in surprise. Quinn just raised an eyebrow at Rachel, in warning of her tone and Rachel took a deep breath and repeated herself in a more level tone.
“It is my prerogative e as to how you are punished, and I choose for your punishment to be whatever Britt decides.” Quinn explained her reasoning. Rachel considered that for a minute before relenting.
“Okay.” She acquiesced, actually agreeing with Quinn’s reasons.
Once it was clear Rachel wasn’t going to argue, Quinn turned her attention back to the other blond who gave Rachel an appraising look. Brittany glanced to Santana, who just shrugged in an ‘it’s up to you’ gesture, knowing it wasn’t her place to give input.
“Well I think an apology and early bedtime is in order.” Brittany decided aloud, remembering that this was what she had threatened Rachel with the last time. She didn’t want to suggest a spanking in case Quinn suggested she deliver it, which she was not comfortable with since she felt that the decision to allow someone to spank her should rest with Rachel alone.
“An early bedtime?” Rachel repeated, having honestly expected, at the very least, a spanking. Quinn also raised her eyebrows but didn’t argue - she had given Brittany the authority to punish Rachel as she saw fit, and she wouldn’t take it away again by openly disagreeing with her.
“Yes.” Brittany confirmed, pretending to be oblivious to their surprise. “So why don’t you head up stairs to get ready and someone’ll come up in half an hour to check on you.”
“It’s like five o’clock.” Rachel protested, the idea of going to bed when it was still light out just seemed a little ludicrous to her “and I haven’t had supper yet.”
“Rach, the operative word in an early bed time is early, and I guarantee that you won’t starve from missing one meal.” Brittany explained firmly. Santana felt a certain amount of comradeship with Rachel at that moment, knowing how horrible it was to lie in bed at five in the evening, unable to sleep, but not allowed to get up and occupy yourself with something; the hunger just being the cherry on top; though Britt would normally sneak in with a sandwich after a few hours. “Now come on, apologise to Santana and then up to bed with you.”
“I’m sorry Santana. It wasn’t fair of me to bring up things I knew you were uncomfortable about.” Rachel dutifully apologised when she could see Brittany was not about to back down on this.
“Thank you. I accept.” Santana replied “And I’m sorry about what I said too.”
Rachel gave her a small smile and offered a tentative hug, which Santana returned. Breaking apart, Rachel reluctantly gathered up her things before giving Quinn a peck on the lips with a murmured goodnight and heading upstairs.
“ I expect you to be in bed by the time someone comes to check on you.” Brittany called after her before looking back to the other two girls. “Q, do you mind if San and I have a moment?”
“Sure,” Quinn agreed, picking up the takeaways and taking them through to the kitchen to dish up.
“So,” Brittany sighed, rolling her shoulders to release tension that she never realised had built on her shoulders and going to pull Santana to her feet . Putting her arms around the latina’s neck she rested her forehead against Santana’s.
“I’m so proud of you right now.” Brittany murmured after a moment, causing Santana to pull away so she could meet the blonds eyes, her forehead crinkling in confusion. “You kept your temper, and tried to end the argument before escalated.”
“Yes, but I did start it.” Santana argued, not quite willing to let herself off that easily.
“You did,” Brittany agreed, “and while that was wrong, I know you San and you could have been much more hurtful than you were; which means even though you snapped at her, you were trying to contain yourself. That, and the fact you actually tried to put a stop to the argument and didn’t allow yourself to be provoked...” Brittany trailed off, pausing to give her a soft kiss “I’m so proud of you.”
Melting into the blonds embrace, Santana allowed herself a small smile at the praise.
“You know,” Santana added as they broke apart, “Rach is going to have a fit when she finds out you didn’t at the very least scold me.”
“It’s none of her business.” Brittany shrugged before telling Quinn they were done talking and she could come back in.
Tucking into their food a few minutes later, Brittany waited fourty-five minutes before raising the topic of Rachel again.
“Do you mind if I’m the one to go check on her?” Brittany asked Quinn, knowing the blond had only really asked her to decide on the punishment, not carry it out but Quinn shook her head, happy to let Brittany take the lead.
“Just call me if she give you trouble.” Quinn requested and Brittany nodded in acknowledgment, rising to her feet.
Brittany made her way upstairs, knocking gently on Rachels door before entering to find Rachel’s room in semi-darkness (the curtains didn’t fully block out the light) with the diva herself sitting on top of her bed, in pyjama’s, reading a book. Rachel glanced up at her as she entered and Brittany could tell she was testing how much she could get away with.
Holding out her hand, Brittany silently waited for the book. “Under the covers.” She ordered firmly once Rachel had handed it over. “Now, I didn’t tell you that you weren’t allowed to read so I can’t fault you for that, but from now on, it’s not allowed. You can lie here in your bed doing nothing, or go to sleep; those are your only options.”
“But that’s so boring.” Rachel whined, shimmying under the blankets and leaning against her head board.
“Which is part of the punishment.” Brittany replied succinctly. “Come now, lie down properly.”
Once Rachel’s head was on the pillow and she was laying on her side, Brittany moved around to sit behind her, reaching out to lightly stroke her hair in a way that was surprisingly comforting for the smaller girl.
“Rach, you cannot tease San about this anymore, it’s not fair on her.” Brittany murmured and Rachel allowed herself to relax, taken aback by Brittanys conversational tone. “When I physically discipline Santana for something, it’s private and only between the two of us. It’s not the same as with you and Quinn who are much more open about things.”
“You don’t hesitate to scold Santana in front of us.’ Rachel pointed out.
“I do sometimes but normally I don’t, not around you and Quinn anyway. However, the actual punishment is always in private. I’m not judging your relationship when I say this, because your relationship with Q is different, but I wouldn’t even give her warning smacks in front of you and Quinn, let alone anyone else. The fact that San agreed to even tell you about this aspect of our relationship in the first place...well, it’s not something she would have admitted to just anyone.”
So, it was official in Rachels mind that Brittany had just made her regret her behaviour far more than she ever would have with a lecture. Giving Rachels shoulder a gentle squeeze, Brittany stood up.
“B?” Rachel called quietly as the tall dancer reached the door. Knowing that if she was going to bring up the idea that had been floating about in her head since Brittany sent her upstairs then this was probably the most appropriate time to do so
“Mmm?” Brittany paused, turning to face Rachel.
“I’m sorry about my behaviour today, and I take back what I said earlier.” Brittany frowned slightly, not sure exactly what Rachel was referring to, nor why Rachel was suddenly blushing “I mean...in future, that is...if I were to disobey you...or disrespect you... I wouldn’t...I mean you could...”
“Rachel, I don’t think I’ve ever known you to get so tongue tied before.” Brittany teased gently, catching on to what the other girl was asking. “and I know what you’re suggesting, but I think you need to talk to Quinn about it first, and sleep on it . If she agrees and you still want to, then we’ll talk properly, okay?”
Rachel nodded and Brittany crossed back over to the beds side and bent down to place a kiss on her cheek and murmur goodnight before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her. Rachel knew that once she was alone she could get up and retrieve her book or laptop and keep herself occupied, but knowing that Brittany was trusting her not to do just that gave Rachel pause and so, after tossing about for a while, unused to being in bed at that hour, Rachel finally fell into a light, dozing sleep
Waking up few of hours later, Rachel found Quinn sitting on the corner of her bed watching her.
Glancing to her bedside table Rachel found her clock was blocked from view by a sandwich. Sitting up, she looked at Quinn questioningly who just shrugged “Britt sent it up.”
With her stomach letting out an embarrassingly loud growl, Rachel quickly picked up the food, causing Quinn to chuckle at her ravenous behaviour. She allowed Rachel to eat in silence before speaking again.
“B mentioned that you gave her permission to discipline you.” Rachel averted her eyes guiltily, worried Quinn would be offended; though if she was there was no trace of it in her voice. “Why?”
“It’s just, when she was sending me to bed today, it felt natural...right.” Rachel studied Quinn’s expression carefully, trying to tell what her girlfriend was feeling. Quinn kept her face a mask of indifference, although internally she actually agreed with Rachel - which was what was freaking her out. Quinn had always been the possessive sort and that she didn’t mind Brittany chastising Rachel was mind boggling to her.
“How would it work?” Quinn asked.
“Wait, you’re okay with this?”
“I’m open to the possibility, probably more than I should be but I can’t seem to find a problem with the idea; though if it does become an issue later on, I reserve the right to change my mind.”
“Fair enough.” Rachel agreed. “As for how it would work, we’d have to discuss it with her but i was thinking that things stay pretty much stay the same, except if B’s around and you’re not, or it specifically concerns her then she can decide on the consequences.”
“That could work.” Quinn agreed.
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AN2: Okay, so I’m not promising, but next instalment will probably be the one where we finally find out how Brittany and Santana’s switching relationship works, as such I’d like to know all your questions about their relationship - I’ve posted a separate entry here for you to post your thoughts and questions about the couple.
AN3: As normal I’d love for your feedback and comments!