Title: Truth Can't Hide

Author: Bladed Darkness

Category: Glee

Summary: Whenever Santana gets mad or frustrated she always takes it out on Rachel. After Santana and Quinn have the fight in the hallway Santana takes what's left of her anger out on Rachel. Rachel feels like she deserves it, after what she did to Sunshine (Rachel always think she deserves it, from years of slushies and verbal abuse). Brittany is the one that finds out when she notices some bruises on Rachel's wrists and when Rachel yelps in pain when she gets a Brittany hug, she pulls Rachel's shirt up to see fresh bruises on her stomach. Prompt at the Glee Feme Meme. Title comes from the song Truth Can't Hide by Karen Therese off her album, Warrior of the Heart.

Pairing: Hints of Brittana and Finchel, possible Pezberry and/or Pieberry (Brittberry).

Length: 1000+

Rating: PG-13, possible NC-17

There are a lot of things that Brittany doesn't know. She doesn't know the actual square root of four, or the real cause behind heart attacks. She has trouble remembering her middle name on occasion, and doesn't understand why keeping a bird in her locker at school is a bad idea.

What Brittany does know is the human body and how it reacts to expressions of passion. Dancing, cheering, sex; all of them influence the body in ways that Brittany recognizes and revels. Brittany immerses herself in the feelings those activities create.

Brittany also knows affection. She knows that a hug or a kiss can brighten anyone's day, and is happy to see just how much a kiss can lighten her best friend's mood. Something as little as a quick peck on the lips when the Latina picks her up in the morning for school can erase Santana's scowl. It's an effortless act and Brittany doesn't mind; she finds it cute that her friend can be so easily pacified with the mere touch of her lips on the blonde's. It's like Santana loses all the tension she carries around, practically melts into a relaxed, carefree, loving version of herself, the one content to link pinkies with the taller girl instead of throwing verbals barbs at her peers.

It's hard for Santana, Brittany has long since realized. The Latina girl has an attitude so large and fierce and just passionate that Brittany sometimes thinks her body isn't quite enough to contain it. Santana isn't tall like Brittany but she's not short like Rachel either. She's compact and solid muscle, with a build resembling that of a mountain lion more than Brittany's cheetah. Quinn is a jaguar or leopard in Brittany's mind, slinking in the shadows until she is ready to pounce, fully content to let her prey fear the predators that are more obvious, like Santana.

Santana needs that release. It's only around Brittany that Santana trusts herself to not be hurt, and to let go of all her pent-up frustrations. To put them aside, if only for a little while, because she knows that Brittany will never betray her. The brunette cheerleader never once lashes out at her friend, because Brittany has never once made her feel weak. With her, Santana becomes a rock, and Brittany clings to her, because Santana protects her innocence (and it's not so much her physical innocence, because even Brittany is not sure when that was lost or tainted or given with adoration).

Rachel was the hardest for Brittany to describe, all legs underneath that petite, small build, with a knack for listening into things that Rachel shouldn't be able to if she didn't have hearing like one of those servals, all large ears and unique fur patterns. And her fashion sense is definitely one of a kind. Brittany thinks this suits Rachel perfectly, her vast vocal range similar to all the noises a serval makes as well. Plus, for as loud as Rachel can be, she's unusually timid and hesitant around people when she's not performing.

It makes Brittany sad that Rachel is acting twenty-four seven, that she can't even feel comfortable enough most of the time to let her real self through, to pull down the facade and melt into the more mellow person she really is, even in glee club. She thinks that Rachel and Santana are alike in that regard, wearing masks around everyone for their own protection. Except Rachel doesn't have a Brittany to help her relax, to give her a time when she doesn't have to hide who she really is so that her spirit doesn't become broken and disjointed.

So when Brittany notices that Rachel's dancing during their newest number at practice is a bit more stiff than usual, she doesn't hesitate to wrap the girl in a one-armed hug, one of Brittany's most casual forms of affection. When the short singer's body seems to become even more taut and doesn't relax at all like Brittany expected it to, her brow creases in confusion and she pouts. It doesn't help that when she glances over to Santana for an explanation, the cheerleader is glaring at them with her arms crossed from across the room.

Brittany's surprised. She knows that Santana easily becomes jealous, but she didn't think her best friend would ever be envious of Rachel. There's not even the potential for anything happening there; as far as Brittany knows (and this is one of the things she's pretty sure she does know), Rachel isn't interested in girls. And even if she was, Rachel is dating Finn, which, yeah, Brittany is still finding that coupling 'gross', but she respects it. Well, in a 'I haven't made a move on Rachel before so I won't now' kinda way.

It's not that Rachel is uncomfortable with physical affection, because Brittany has hugged her before during practice and the singer has never had this reaction. Plus the brunette doesn't seem to tense when Finn or anyone else touches her in a friendly way. Except for when it's Quinn, but Brittany's pretty sure that's just because Rachel can never be sure if the touch will be a kind one or if Quinn is about to manhandle her in some way.

So Brittany starts paying closer attention to Rachel. It irritates Santana because Brittany hasn't been showing her the same dedication the Latina has come to expect and begrudgingly appreciate, and it brings out Finn's possessive side because he is so sure, Brittany secretly thinks, that she is trying to take from Rachel what Santana took from Finn – what Finn willingly gave her best friend. He probably wouldn't admit it, but Brittany believes that's the conclusion he's come to when she starts going out of her way to initiate physical contact with the tiny brunette, in an attempt to ease this new found skittishness.

Plus it's a nice distraction from the drama regarding Quinn's return to the Cheerios. She's only been back on the team for a couple of days, but tensions are already high between her two friends as they try to claim the head spot. Brittany's hoping one of them doesn't do something to tear their already fragile friendship apart, but the fact that both of them seem to be scrambling for dirt on the other to squeal to Coach Sylvester isn't exactly raising her hopes. Well, Santana is looking; Quinn seems pretty nonchalant about the whole thing, but she's definitely egging the feisty cheerleader on in her search with a few well-placed taunts. Brittany figures it's because Quinn has nothing left to hide after last year.

Brittany doesn't know a lot of things. But when she hugs the short singer in glee club at just the same moment that she's reaching forward to grab some sheet music and sees the bruises on her wrists previously hidden by her sweater, Brittany knows something's wrong with Rachel.