Part One
Finn had been living with Kurt for almost six months now. After the biggest-and final-blow out of his and Rachel's nearly 9 year on-again/off-again relationship, she sent him on his way. He hadn't managed to make a whole lot of friends in the last couple years, New York was still vaguely terrifying to him with its giant buildings and pushy sidewalks, everyone looking pissed off as they practically ran to their next destination. He had stuck to Rachel, and ultimately her theater friends, and Kurt when he could, though Kurt was usually busy with some new boyfriend or spending 12 hours a day working as a slave at some new up-and-coming designers' office.
So when Rachel said "we're done," for the last time and pushed him out the door, one duffle bag full of his stuff and not entirely sure if he'd ever see the rest of it again, he was at a loss for where to go.
Then Kurt came to his rescue. "You're lucky my roommate just decided to get married and leave me all alone," Kurt smirked, opening up a reasonably decent sized bedroom to him.
The rest, as they say, was history.
"I promise I'll behave," Finn whined. It was Friday night, yet again, and Finn was tired of Kurt ditching him for snooty work parties or dates with guys who never seemed to stick around in the morning, despite the fact that Finn knew they spent the night. The wall separating Finn and Kurt's bedroom was thin, and Kurt wasn't exactly the quiet type, which meant Finn was getting more information of Kurt's sex life than was needed. His was sparse, what with the whole Rachel situation having ripped his soul in pieces. But that was back in February, and now it was September, and he was doing just fine thank you.
"Finn, you'll knock something over and completely destroy any reputation I've built up over there," Kurt replied lazily as he checked his hair for approximately the twentieth time.
"I won't! I promise!" Finn begged, and he might have swayed Kurt if he hadn't tripped on his way across the apartment, pulling a lamp from the table with him as he crashed.
"I think my case has just been proven. I'll be home later." Finn scowled, rubbing his knee as Kurt left, the door swinging closed behind him with a slam.
Finn really needed to find something to do.
"Hey handsome," Kurt called out as he stumbled into the apartment later that night. Finn chuckled as he turned off his x-box, walking over to help make sure Kurt didn't trip in his more-expensive-than-3-months-rent suit.
"Good party?" He asked, putting Kurt on the sofa, watching fondly as Kurt immediately collapsed and stretched himself out. Finn was reminded of something Rachel had once said, how Kurt was like a kitten, and he smirked at the truth in the statement.
"No it sucked. Scott was too busy sucking face with Alicia to even notice my existence and then Steve had the audacity to think I was hitting on him when I asked him about the new Alexander McQueen line."
"Clearly a faux pas," Finn chuckled, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and handing it to Kurt.
"Maybe you should come to the next party," Kurt mused as he stared transfixed on the water bottle. "It'll be more fun with you."
"And you've already slept your way through the office," Finn said quietly, realizing he probably sounded jealous. Kurt didn't seem to have heard him at all.
"Halloween!" He shouted after a couple minutes, causing Finn to jump.
"It's September 16th, you have some time before Halloween."
"No, silly, we're having a Halloween party. You can come to that!" Finn grinned, wheels churning.
"Do I get to dress up?"
"Only if I approve of the costume," Kurt answered, bossy even in his drunken state.
"Deal," Finn offered his hand, and Kurt kissed it before falling off the couch, the two of them bursting into hysterical laughter that seemed to go on forever.
Finn spent the next month running ideas by Kurt who, in turn, shot down every single one of them.
"Why not?" Finn whined one Saturday morning.
"Cowboys and Indians? First off, its offensive, second off, I said we're not dressing up together."
"At least I didn't say Peter Pan and Tinkerbell," Finn shot back, ducking as Kurt threw his fork in Finn's direction.
"I said no tandem outfits!"
Finn wasn't sure why he wanted to dress up with Kurt so bad. Maybe he wanted to feel like part of a couple, or so Kurt couldn't really ignore him once they were at this party. He had already tried denying that he ever invited Finn, but caved when Finn pouted and whined for three days straight. Finn just wanted to feel attachedto someone. To Kurt, more specifically, though he was still trying to figure out if he wanted to deny that anymore or not.
He had fully moved on from Rachel, of that he was sure. He had even started dating a blonde named Lindsey, but she wasn't really doing anything for him. She was sweet and humble, funny and smart, but she wasn't anything he really liked. He had only asked her out because Kurt told him it was time to break out of his bubble, and Finn made sure to pay Kurt back for all the times he had to listen to Kurt, making sure Lindsey knew it was good-better, really-to be as loud as she could, that Finn didn't plan on holding back. He only felt slightly bad when he saw the dark circles under Kurt's eyes, the familiar look of shame that meant Kurt spent most of the night hard, desperate to think of anything else besides the noises coming from the room next to his, not to just give in and jerk off before finally succumbing to the need that seemed to course through his entire body. Finn knew the look well, used to wear it often. He had stopped wondering what it meant awhile ago.
Still, he dated Lindsey and took her to nice places, listened to her stories from college, listened about her mom and best friends, offered stories of his own past, then took her home and fucked her til she screamed. It didn't make him any happier, in fact it seemed to leave him emptier than before. But it was what was expected.
And when it was the thought that Kurt was more than likely fucking himself, feet away in his own bed, that made Finn come, he knew it was time to give up pretending.
He didn't want Lindsey and all her kindness.
He wanted Kurt, in all his snarky, demanding, loud splendor.
"You look completely ridiculous. Who even are you?" Kurt asked, looking Finn up and down.
"I'm Steve!" Finn scoffed, as if it was obvious. Kurt just raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for the rest of the explanation. "You know, Steve, from Blue's Clues, with his handy dandy notebook?"
"You're dressing up as a character from a children's show?" Kurt said warily, and Finn nodded, proud of himself after Kurt vetoed his idea that they go as Dr. Frankenstein and his monster yesterday afternoon, the idea coming to him as he flipped through channels during breakfast.
"Yes. At least I'm in the spirit, you're not even dressing up," Finn mocked, looking pointedly at the suit Kurt was wearing.
"I don't wear this to work," Kurt retorted.
"Why do you have an umbrella? It's not even raining."
"It's part of my costume Finn!"
"A disgruntled New Yorker in the rain?"
"No! God, I'm Don Lockwood. Singin' In The Rain. I've made you watch it a half a dozen times," Kurt explained, but Finn just stared at him blankly before linking arms with him and pulling him towards the door.
"This better be a good party," he said, ignoring the look of shock on Kurt's face as he took his hand, smiling to himself as they stepped out to the windy streets outside.
"I'm sure it'll be one to remember," Kurt replied, his voice almost in awe. Finn just smiled, heading towards the subway. He was sure Kurt would be right.
"So, Finn, what do you do?" some leggy blonde was asking him, and he just shrugged.
"Just business. Nothing exciting or anything. Never really figured out what my dream was, ya know?" he responded, sipping his beer. "Not like Kurt here, who gets to live his dream every day," he grinned, pulling Kurt away from someone and dragging him into his conversation with the girl, Candy or Caroline or something. The girl raised her eyebrow, looking back and forth between the two boys.
"Oh, I didn't realize-Kurt never told us he had a boyfriend," she stuttered out, looking slightly embarrassed. Kurt turned a deep shade of crimson, glaring at Finn. Finn, for his part, ignored him.
"He's not my boyfriend," Kurt answered, but Finn just chuckled, completely unfazed.
"We're just roommates," Finn clarified, not feeling the need to explain the pseudo-brother thing. It usually just confused people, and Kurt was still glaring at him like he was 30 seconds away from stabbing him. "Excuse us," he told the blonde, and she nodded, walking away as Finn turned to Kurt. "Why are you mad?"
"Because, I am trying to make a good impression here, and I can't have certain people think I'm…otherwise taken, not when-"
"Cut the shit, whose pants are you trying to get into?" Finn asked, slightly irritated as he surveyed the room. Kurt seemed speechless, but regained his composure after a moment, he always did.
"William's," he sighed, looking wistfully at a small guy across the room. Finn could see how he was Kurt's type-he was tall, with broad shoulders and dark hair-curly like Blaine's had been, and Finn could tell from across the room that he had a big personality. As much as Kurt liked being the center of attention, he was drawn to those with personalities as large as his, someone who could keep up with him.
"Looks like a tool," was what Finn said instead, but Kurt just sighed next to him.
"I'm going to talk to him," Kurt decided aloud, nodding his head in affirmation, and Finn just watched as he walked across the room, a big smile on his face as he sidled up to William. Finn deposited his beer on a table somewhere, watching the two interact from across the room. Finn might not have read people well, but he could read that they were clearly into each other. He shook his head, trying to walk away, trying to let Kurt have his happiness.
But why should Kurt go home with another guy that wasn't going to stick around? Finn would be there in the morning, and not just because he lived there. He wanted to wake up with Kurt, to have Kurt throw him out of bed for being obnoxious, to have Kurt make him breakfast while he showered and got ready for work.
These were the thoughts that pushed him forward, that lead him to slipping an arm around Kurt's waist as he was in the middle of saying something about an old movie Finn had never paid attention to, William's eyes watching as Finn tightened his grip, leaning into Kurt more.
"I'm sorry, but you are?" he asked, looking up at Finn as if trying to size up the competition.
"Finn, Finn Hudson. Surely Kurt's told you about me," Finn said, his tone forcibly breezy.
"Um, no, not really," William answered honestly, his tone suggesting that he wasn't important enough to warrant being talked about as he glanced at Kurt now, an eyebrow raised. Finn looked at Kurt now too, expecting to see the face of pure anger in his direction, but he just kind of seemed-surprised. Maybe a twinge of annoyance underneath, but it was mostly surprise and confusion.
"Well, now you have," Finn answered, but his eyes didn't leave Kurt's. He was trying to convey all the things he wasn't sure he could say out loud, but it didn't seem to be working.
"Well, if you don't mind-" William tried to interrupt, but Finn ignored him, aware that he was about to take a giant leap and potentially ruin everything he had just figured out he had.
"Actually, if you don't mind," he muttered, giving in and pulling Kurt's face to his own, kissing him softly, gently sucking on his lower lip as they pulled away, promising without words that there was so much more to come.
Part Two
Finn's head was reeling. He hadn't planned on spending that evening marking every inch of Kurt's skin, tracing it with his hands, his lips, his tongue. He hadn't expected that when Kurt moaned his name, a simple low "Finn," that he'd nearly come in his pants-and why was he still wearing pants anyways? He fixed that, quickly, and his world was narrowed down to Kurt and his glorious, hot, wet mouth.
It was hours before he even gained coherent thoughts.
It was days before they actually spoke.
"You can't miss work again," Finn said quietly as he trailed fingers up and down Kurt's spine.
"I can too," Kurt purred, still half asleep in the early morning light.
"Well, I can't so I know you can't," Finn responded, kissing Kurt's ear gently as his hand rested on his hips, squeezing it gently as he saw the faint hint of a bruise forming on the clear skin, smiling when he realized that was his doing, remembering how Kurt had turned into putty when Finn grasped him tightly, the whimpers spurring Finn on more than the pleads of "Please, Finn, more."
The two grudgingly got out of the bed, Kurt swaying slightly as he made his way to the shower, Finn throwing sweat pants on as he headed towards the kitchen to make a large pot of coffee. His mind wandered as he grabbed two bagels, sticking them into the toaster while he waited for the coffee, back to the past four days. He had a vague idea that maybe Kurt had wanted him as much as Finn needed Kurt, but he had no idea it was practically explosive when they were together. He chuckled to himself, getting out the cream cheese as the bagels popped out, wondering what took him so long.
What, exactly, took him 9 years to figure out how hot Kurt was. How perfect he was for Finn. How incredible he was.
"I'm starving," Kurt groaned as he grabbed half of a bagel from where Finn was smearing cream cheese on them, stuffing it in his mouth before finding them coffee cups. Finn just watched, biting his own bagel as Kurt handed him a cup. "Shit," Kurt swore, glancing at the clock on the oven. "I am late." He stood on his toes, kissing Finn quickly before downing the rest of his coffee and scurrying out of the apartment, leaving Finn there smiling stupidly.
"We're so glad you're home," Carole squeezed Finn tightly for the third time.
"Can't breathe mom," Finn replied, Kurt snickering from beside him. They had decided to keep quiet-at least through the holidays-so that they didn't send their parents into some sort of heart attack or something.
Carole finally let go of him, ushering them into the living room so they could relax. "Is there any food?" Kurt asked, looking over at his dad.
"We figured since tomorrow's a big food day, we'd just order in something tonight. Sound good kiddo?" Burt replied, smiling at Kurt. Kurt nodded and Burt went to order them some pizza.
Finn felt a little nervous, being in their house as brothers when they were so much more than that now. It was weird, seeing evidence that they were related-even if only by marriage. The picture on the mantel showed Kurt and Finn hugging at graduation, there were photos spread about from high school-prom and Glee club events, their parents' wedding-all the way through college-college graduation, family parties and holidays. Finn felt a little squeamish at one in particular, from last Christmas. Rachel and Finn had come down for a couple weeks, Rachel to celebrate Hannakuh with her dads and Finn Christmas with Burt and his mom. Kurt had surprised them all, showing up Christmas Eve fresh off a breakup and in need of some family tradition. The picture showed Finn-so excited at having Kurt around-picking Kurt up and hugging him. Rachel was off to the side, and as he examined it now he could almost see the distance in her eyes, as if she knew even then that they had an expiration date.
Finn shook his head, clearing away the memories as he noticed Kurt looking at him warily. He smiled, reassuring him that nothing was changing, he still wanted to be with Kurt-this was just going to take some time getting used to when they came home.
He lay in his bed that night with a heavy feeling in his stomach, wishing Kurt was there so he could explain his minor freak out. In New York, even after years of living there, things didn't seem so real. They had this color of mystery and mystical sensation wrapped around every event, and it was almost like living in a fog. It wasn't overpowering, and Finn enjoyed his life in New York, but Lima made everything so much sharper.
He couldn't sleep. His mind was plagued with reminders of the past-Rachel's shirt, for instance, had been sitting in his dresser when he went to grab something to wear to bed. He had sat there for a full five minutes, smirking as he imagined her reaction to his life now. "You're dating Kurt. Kurt Hummel."
"Yes," he responded aloud to the fictional Rachel as he put the shirt in a lower drawer he never went in. Throwing it away seemed useless-it wasn't like he was bitter or angry towards her anymore. If anything, he was grateful. For one, she taught him how to handle the more demanding personality she shared with Kurt. For two, if it wasn't for her he never would have ended up in Manhattan, never wound up living with Kurt. He could have gone his entire life without ever realizing he was in love with him. And few things, he reasoned as he flipped over, trying to sleep on his other side, were as depressing as spending your life without true love.
But that didn't mean that he wasn't mildly freaked out. All these reminders of their lives from before last month were practically smothering him, reminding him that they were brothers, their parents were married, that Kurt had always been gay, that Kurt had used to have a thing for Finn-something their parents laughed about at dinner that night after a few too many glasses of wine, how they had matured so much from confused 16 year old boys to nearing 25 year old men who could co-exist peacefully.
He was about to completely give up all hope of ever sleeping, letting his thoughts take over completely when his door creaked open, a lithe figure darting across the room and under his sheets quickly. "Hi," Kurt whispered, and Finn couldn't help but swoop in for a quick kiss, relieved to see him.
"I was just thinking about you," he admitted, letting Kurt snuggle in closer.
"I couldn't sleep," Kurt said into Finn's side, his arms wrapped around Finn tightly. Finn nor Kurt were particularly big on snuggling-well, Kurt wasn't most of the time at least-but it was being home-it was fucking with them.
"Neither could I," Finn responded, lightly trailing his fingers on Kurt's arm, making him squirm a little.
"I thought I'd like coming home, thought it'd be comforting. It's not though," Kurt's voice was soft, and Finn thought his heart might have been breaking for him. "It's just-"
"Weird." Finn answered for him, and Kurt nodded, sighing as he wrapped himself tighter. It took a few minutes but eventually Kurt's breathing evened out and Finn could feel himself finally falling asleep himself.
When Finn woke up the next morning, Kurt was still asleep and curled into him. He could hear their parents downstairs, talking softly above the noise of the TV where the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was on. His mom was probably already starting on the turkey-something she had managed to perfect over the years-while Burt was helping himself to samplings of whatever was around. Kurt would make the pumpkin and apple pies whenever he woke up, and Finn would help clear the table. That was how it went down every year.
Kurt groaned next to him, rubbing his eye as he started to wake up. "Time is it?" he yawned, not quite opening his eyes yet.
"Uh, around 10," Finn answered, rolling over to look at his clock.
"Fuck," Kurt complained, sliding out of Finn's bed and leaving him behind. "I meant to wake up early and sneak back into my room."
"You don't want to be around me?" Finn asked, a little hurt.
"Of course I want to be around you, idiot, I don't want our parents to find us like this though." Finn nodded, reassured as Kurt placed a small kiss on his forehead, hand resting on his cheek. "I'll see you downstairs," he told Finn before sliding out of his bedroom, quiet as he had been the night before.
Finn lay back down, his bed suddenly feeling so much larger, so empty, and dozed back into a restless sleep.
"Morning sweetie," his mom said when he finally managed to wake up and find his way downstairs, the scent of food luring him away from his bed.
"Morning," he said, sticking a finger into the bowl of steaming mashed potatoes and ignoring Kurt's glare as he sucked it off his finger, exaggerating the movement if anything. He was positive Kurt muttered "unnecessary," and more positive that Kurt would have payback, but then his mom was talking again and he realized they weren't alone.
"I figured we'll eat around two so that we can be finished in time for you and Burt to watch the football game while Kurt and I plan our Black Friday shopping," she said, and Finn thought he saw her glance warily between him and Kurt but shrugged it off, assuming it was just because he was half asleep.
"Sounds good to me," Finn said, swiping another finger full of mashed potatoes. "I'm gonna go shower," he said, smirking as Kurt glared at him on his way out of the room. It was going to be an interesting weekend.
"So Finn, how's the job going?" Burt asked as he passed the green beans, Finn heaping a pile onto his already overflowing plate.
"It's all right. Just a job, really. I make enough money to live which is really all I need," Finn shrugged before practically devouring half his turkey in one bite.
"But you're happy, right baby?" Carole asked, his mom looking at him with concern.
He nodded, eyes flickering to Kurt for a second before a giant smile broke out on his face. "Incredibly happy," he answered, hoping he was the only one to notice the blush now crawling over Kurt's face.
"Do you guys want desert yet?" Kurt asked as he peeked his head around the doorway, an innocent expression on his face that made Finn wary that payback for all his shenanigans was soon to come.
"Not yet," Finn lied in hopes that Kurt would leave them be so he could pretend to watch the game, but Burt didn't seem to get the memo.
"We're almost at half time, so now's a great time," he said, lowering the volume on the TV as Finn begrudgingly stood up as well.
"We have cookies, pie and ice cream," Carole said as they made their way into the kitchen, already setting a plate with pie for Burt. Kurt was rummaging around in the cabinets while Finn put both pies, some cookies and a scoop of ice cream onto his plate, completely oblivious to anything that wasn't the food in front of him until he heard his mom go "Are you sure you don't want anything else? An ice cream cone isn't really festive."
Finn's head snapped up quickly, and sure enough Kurt was in the process of licking a drip of ice cream from his hand where the cone was leaking, his tongue darting quickly back in his mouth to savor the taste.
Finn was going to kill him.
"I'm good with this, thank you though," Kurt answered Carole, going back to his ice cream. Finn tried to listen to Burt's rant about the lack of defense from the Cowboys, tried to eat his pie in peace, but Kurt was just sitting there, across the table, basically fellating an ice cream cone. Finn was starting to get uncomfortably turned on, Kurt's face innocent while his eyes were evil, and Finn wasn't sure how much more he could take.
Finally Burt asked if he was ready to go back and finish the game, Finn practically jumping out of his chair and racing to the living room.
"Night boys," Burt said as he rubbed Kurt's hair, Carole giving them each a kiss.
"We'll leave at 3, so be ready," she told Kurt before following Burt up the stairs. It was only 7, but everyone was exhausted and bloated and Carole and Kurt had an early day the next morning. Finn waited approximately 30 seconds after they were upstairs before jumping on Kurt on the couch, silencing his squeal of surprise with a forceful kiss, his hips grinding into Kurt's.
"That was a dirty trick Hummel," Finn growled, his hands moving down to get Kurt's pants off quickly.
"The classics are classics for a reason" Kurt sighed as he pushed Finn's jeans down too, though at a far more leisurely pace, infuriating Finn. "Besides, it's not like you didn't deserve it."
"Why on earth are you still talking?" Finn sighed in exasperation, his hips bucking into Kurt's hand as he wrapped it around Finn's dick, giving him some of the relief and friction he had so desperately been yearning for for what felt like yearsnow. It didn't take Finn long, what with Kurt's dirty whispering's in his ear, and the fact that they could be caught at any moment looming over them. When he came, Kurt shoved his fingers in Finn's mouth to keep him quiet, and as Finn came down off his post-orgasm high he realized Kurt was still rutting against him, his hand fumbling down to give Kurt the same release he had needed.
A few hours later he realized they had fallen asleep, tangled on top of the other, and quickly shook Kurt awake so he could get ready to head out with his mom while Finn crawled into bed, wishing Kurt was beside him.
Finn went downstairs later that morning to the aroma of fresh baked frozen waffles. "Waffles?" He mumbled, eyeing a plate left at his usual spot.
"With your mom and Kurt off shopping it was the best I could do," Burt shrugged, catching Finn off guard.
"Delicious," he said through a mouth full, swallowing quickly. "Waffles are my favorite," he clarified.
"Thanks." Burt looked a little humbled, chewing his own waffle. "So, how're things on the dating front?" Burt asked after a couple silent minutes. Finn froze internally, reminding himself that Burt didn't know, couldn't know, and damn it Hudson chew your food.
"Pretty tame," he finally responded when he figured out how to breathe again. He had seen Burt in scary-over-protective mode. The few boyfriends Kurt had brought home were usually scared shitless around him, convinced that he'd beat the life out of them if he fucked over Kurt. They were probably right, but Finn never thought he'd be on this side of it, suddenly yearned to be on the laughing and mocking side of things.
"Seeing anyone?" Burt inquired, and Finn was pretty sure he was sweating now.
"Uh, no, not really. I mean I was seeing this one girl for awhile, but it didn't really work out."
"Still not over Rachel?" Burt offered as a reason, and Finn shook his head adamantly.
"No, that's not-she just wasn't right for me. Didn't want to waste our time or anything," he tried to explain. Burt nodded shortly, and Finn was pretty sure Burt could sense his fear, like a dog or something.
"Well, you'll find someone, I'm sure," Burt offered, clapping a hand on Finn's shoulder on his way to the sink. Finn nodded again, hoping this conversation was over. "I'm heading to the shop, just going to do some paper work, but I'll see you for dinner."
"I hate flying," Finn mumbled as he buckled his seat belt, Kurt already stretched out next to him, looking completely at ease.
"I'm just glad to be going back to the city," Kurt replied lazily. He hadn't slept at all on Friday, and their flight was so early in the morning on Sunday that they were both exhausted. They had spent Friday afternoon lazing around the house once Kurt and Carole got back, laden with bags, and Saturday night they all had a nice au revoir dinner, finalizing plans for Christmas.
"You never told me how shopping went," Finn said after the flight attendant went over her safety speech.
"It was fun, for the most part," Kurt shrugged, but his lips were tight and his face was closed off which Finn knew meant he was hiding something.
"For the most part?" He questioned.
"Well, no one has shopping like New York," Kurt tried to explain away, but Finn's gaze held steady until Kurt broke. "Fine. Carole started asking some...questions."
"What kind of questions?"
"If I was seeing anyone, why I wasn't dating more, what kind of guys I was interested in." Finn groaned, a hand over his face, and felt more than saw Kurt's head snap in his direction. "What?"
"Burt had a similar conversation with me Friday morning," Finn answered.
"Do you think they know?" Kurt asked quietly. The thought flitted through Finn's mind, but he shook his head.
"Nah. Burt would have tried to strangle me and he didn't seem hostile, so. I think we're safe."
"Maybe we should just tell them," Kurt said after a few quiet minutes. "Get it over with."
Finn started panicking inside, imagining how that conversation would go. He didn't really like the idea of it, but if he and Kurt were really going to be together he understood the purpose of it. "How about at Christmas?" He offered. That was a month away, he could prepare himself by then.
"Oh sure," Kurt snorted. "Merry Christmas dad! I got you another heart attack!"
"Well, maybe a little gentler than that," Finn snickered.
Kurt let out a heavy sigh, squeezing Finn's hand. "Okay. At Christmas."
Part Three
"So we're telling them," Kurt repeated for approximately the tenth time since they had landed in Ohio an hour ago.
"We're telling them," Finn responded, nodding his head in affirmation. They had come up with a whole speech, spent the past month planning exactly how everything was going to come out. But now that they were here and faced with the possibility, Finn couldn't help but want to chicken out. He didn't know how either of their parents would react, but he couldn't imagine it'd be anything good.
"Right," Kurt breathed before knocking twice and opening the front door. "We're here!" Kurt called out over the sound of Elvis crooning Christmas carols, the scent of gingerbread cookies wafting in from the kitchen.
"Yum," Finn murmured, squeezing Kurt's hand once before darting into the kitchen and grabbing a cookie as his mom came over to hug him.
"It's so good to see you again," she said, Kurt and Burt entering the kitchen as Finn tried to swallow his food.
"Delicious," he mumbled between bites of the cookie, holding one out for Kurt.
"How was the flight?" Burt asked as Kurt tentatively took a bite of his own cookie, Finn going in for a third.
"Long," Kurt answered, breaking off a small piece and humming in appreciation as he took a bite. "I don't really ever want to take such a late night flight again."
"Well, at least you guys came in before the snow storm hit us too hard," Carole said, rubbing Finn's back as he took another cookie. "I was worried it would prolong your flight and you wouldn't be here in time."
"We'd never miss Christmas Eve," Finn scoffed, patting his now full stomach. "Kurt refuses to bake me cookies, and you make the best ones anyways."
Carole let out a small laugh, Kurt looking slightly uncomfortable from his spot. "Well, I don't blame him the way you just finished half the plate," his mom said, kissing Finn's cheek before getting saran wrap to hide the rest of the cookies.
"I was hungry," Finn shrugged, fighting off a yawn.
"Why don't you kids head to bed, we can catch up in the morning," Burt suggested, noticing Finn's exhaustion.
"Don't have to tell me twice," Finn agreed, letting out a loud yawn now.
"We'll see you in the morning," Kurt told them, kissing his father's cheek before hugging Carole and following Finn up the stairs. Finn hummed quietly along to the old Sinatra song now playing from the CD player, a feeling of contentment washing over him. As terrifying as the concept of telling Burt and Carole was, it was good to be home for the holidays.
"Night," Finn said as they approached Kurt's door, leaning down to kiss him quickly before heading for his own bedroom, snapping his fingers as he went.
Finn woke up bright and early the next morning, although he was disappointed that he wasn't the first one up when he went downstairs. Kurt was already making special Christmas Eve pancakes, with red and green sprinkles, and Finn heard his stomach grumble in anticipation. "Those look delicious," he commented, looking around to see if their parents were anywhere.
"Dad's off at the office, finishing up something before he takes the next couple days off," Kurt responded to Finn's search, "and your mom is off finishing some last minute shopping."
"So we're all alone?" Finn said with a smirk, Kurt rolling his eyes as he handed Finn a plate of food.
"Just eat," Kurt responded, his voice tense and short. Finn raised an eyebrow, but grabbed the butter and syrup and sat down, waiting for Kurt to explain his sudden annoyance. When he didn't start talking, moving on instead to work on washing dishes, Finn finally asked what was wrong. "Nothing's wrong," Kurt answered automatically, but Finn knew Kurt too well-knew him better than Kurt thought, which was ridiculous because they had been in each other's lives for almost ten years.
"Dude," Finn stated, pouring more syrup over his pancakes. "I can tell something's bothering you. What is it? You can tell me. You should tell me."
"It's nothing, Finn, drop it."
"Do you not want to tell them?" Finn ventured, and when Kurt's back stiffened-only momentarily before he shook his head, Finn knew he had hit the nail on the head.
"Of course I want to tell them. It was my idea after all," Kurt lied.
"We don't have to tell them Kurt," Finn said softly, walking over and putting a hand on his back, trying to comfort him. Finn still had moments where he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, or how to act. Being a boyfriend to a girl was easy-usually he could just distract them until they weren't mad anymore. But Kurt, well Kurt was different. Finn would rather fix whatever Kurt was upset about than ignore it, would rather find out what was happening in Kurt's head than distract him.
"We do, Finn, we do. I can't just-I can't hide something like this from my dad," Kurt's voice was barely above a whisper, and had there been any other noise in the house, Finn wouldn't be able to hear him. "You're too important to me to hide."
Finn smiled, squeezing Kurt's hip and kissing the top of his head before dashing out of the room, putting on Kurt's favorite Christmas album, a giant grin on his face as he walked back into the room, singing along with Elvis. Kurt had a small smile on his face as Finn held out a hand, beckoning him to dance with him. Kurt took his hand, and Finn pulled him to the living room dramatically, singing even louder as he spun Kurt around the room. Kurt's smile grew the more ridiculous they danced, eventually bursting out in laughter as Finn tried to impersonate a particularly low note he was sure he couldn't hit. Finn chuckled too, pulling Kurt close to him and kissing him as the song ended and a new one started up, making sure to look straight in his eyes when he whispered "You're the most important thing to me, whatever you want to do, I'll do."
"Can we open our presents now?" Finn asked, Burt chuckling as Carole shook her head.
"Finn, it's 5pm."
"So?"
"On Christmas Eve."
"So?"
"So no." Finn sighed dramatically, Kurt rolling his eyes from across the room where he was arranging the presents under the tree.
"You haven't even put your presents under here," Kurt pointed out, straightening out a large box.
"I was going to bring them down tomorrow," Finn shrugged, looking out the window next to his chair. The snow had started an hour before, leaving down a thin coat that was supposed to grow to over a foot by the next morning. It seemed like all the recipe for a perfect Christmas-snow, his family, the person he was in love with, good food and good music. There was still the nagging feeling that the longer they avoided telling their parents, the worse it would be, but Finn was too content and happy to burst the bubble they all seemed to be living in.
Kurt was singing along to the radio now, Carole in the kitchen making dinner while Burt watched a football game on mute. The first couple of Christmas's as a family, they had started a tradition of driving around town to see other houses Christmas lights, listening to the Christmas program that said where Santa was at any point in time. They had been in high school when this started, and Kurt seemed to resent it, but Finn loved it. Finn loved everything about Christmas.
"We should go out driving," Finn said after a minute or two.
"It's snowing," Kurt replied warily from his spot under the tree.
"But that makes it more magical!" Finn defended.
"You do know you're 25, right?" Burt chuckled as Kurt scoffed. "If it's not too bad we'll go look at the lights later. We haven't done that in years."
"Haven't done what in years?" Carole asked as she rejoined the guys in the living room, sitting down on the couch next to Burt.
"Gone and looked at all the Christmas lights!" Finn exclaimed.
"I don't know, that seems dangerous," she said, glancing out the window near Finn.
"We'll go slow. Just a few blocks," he assured her, and Carole looked between her husband and her sons face before sighing and nodding.
"Just for a little while. We can go after dinner."
"What's for dinner?" Finn asked, rubbing his hands together.
"Chicken, since we're having a nice ham dinner tomorrow." Finn nodded appreciatively, "It should be ready in a few minutes. Did you put your presents under the tree yet Finn?" He shook his head no, at the same time Kurt answered for him.
"He's ruining the system I have going on," Kurt complained, and Finn was unsure as to why Kurt was still laying underneath the tree, but kicked him softly in the leg as he trudged up the stairs to retrieve the presents he had worked so hard at picking out. He couldn't wait for them all to open them the next day, almost as much as he couldn't wait to open his own presents. Kurt had been dropping hints that he had found the perfect present for Finn, but he had left it back in Ohio from Black Friday shopping so Finn couldn't find it. This hadn't stopped Finn from trying to locate the present, but either Kurt was a really good hider or his present really was in Ohio, because he had never found anything.
He dragged his own bag full of presents down the stairs, leaving them next to Kurt as he collapsed back onto his chair. "Can we at least open one present tonight?" he asked after a few minutes of watching Kurt assemble the presents again.
"Maybe after we look at lights," Carole hummed contently from the couch, and Finn clapped.
It was just like he was a kid again.
"Are you wearing pajamas?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow as Finn practically jumped the last three stairs.
"Of course I am! I want to be comfortable," he explained, zipping up his sweatshirt. "It's not like we're going anywhere but to the car." Kurt smirked but didn't say anything as Burt and Carole emerged from the kitchen, bundling up in preparation for their car ride.
"Ready to go?" Carole asked, squeezing Finn's hand through her mittens.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Burt answered for them all, ushering them out the door. Finn grabbed Kurt's hand without thinking, practically dragging him to the car. When they slid in, Finn first so he was behind Carole's seat and Kurt so he was behind Burt, Finn noticed a faint blush on Kurt's cheek, realizing that they were still holding hands.
"Sorry," Finn said sheepishly while their parents made their way to the car, not nearly as quickly as Finn would have liked. "I got excited."
"I figured," Kurt responded with a small smile, grabbing a blanket that he must have stashed in the car earlier in the day and wrapping up in it.
"Okay, let's head out," Burt said as him and Carole finally slid into the car, Finn all but jumping up and down in his seat, ignoring Kurt's mutter of 'You're 25 Finn, calm down.'
They drove slowly, the snow had been piling up all day and while the plows had cleared off most roads, it was still dangerous and icy. Finn sang quietly along to the music that was playing on the radio, listening vaguely to the stories from the show Burt always liked to listen to. His mom exclaimed and marveled over certain displays while Burt chuckled about electricity bills and neighbors trying to out-do each other. Kurt was humming quietly, and Finn suspected he was about to fall asleep under his blanket.
After about fifteen minutes of driving around, they came to neighborhoods Finn was all too familiar with. They passed Rachel's house-dark, as her Jewish dads didn't bother decorating their yard. A few minutes later they were in front of Puck's old house, though his mom had moved once his sister graduated high school a year or two ago, the new owners decorating simply with moving reindeer and colored lights around the porch. They passed by Mike Changs house, Mercedes house, eventually finding their way to Quinn and Santana's old neighborhood (Santana might have claimed to be Lime Heights Adjacent-wrong side of the track, but her dad was a doctor-which meant Santana lived in a pretty good area of town.). Finn loved the lights, loved how the snow seemed to shimmer in the florescent colors versus the simple white ones. He loved how people went all out for the holidays, putting outrageous decorations in their yard like they wouldn't for any other holiday.
They were passing by the house Brittany used to live in, before running off to Chicago with Santana a few years prior, when Let It Snow came on. Finn immediately remembered that it was Kurt's favorite, and went to poke him into singing it with him when he realized Kurt had fallen asleep. Finn watched him for a minute, curled up with his head tucked against the window. He smiled to himself, pulling over some of the blanket so he could grab Kurt's hand without their parents seeing, letting his own head fall on his window as he watched the snow fall outside, Dean Martin's voice soothing him into a light slumber as well.
Finn waited until he heard Burt and Carole close their door before sneaking into Kurt's room that night, hoping he'd still be awake. Their little nap earlier had gone relatively unnoticed by their parents, and now Finn was wide awake. "Kurt!" he whispered loudly, poking him in the ribs to wake him up.
"I swear to god Finn Hudson, I will murder you if you do that again," Kurt whispered back just as loudly. Finn sat there, pouting, until Kurt finally rolled over to look at him. "What do you want?"
"It's Christmas Eve," Finn stated.
"I know. I'm trying to sleep," Kurt replied, trying to roll over.
"No, Kurt, come on," Finn whined. "I didn't get to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special and I don't want to watch it by myself. I'll make you hot chocolate," he sang, hoping this would lure him out of bed. It usually did, and this year was no exception.
"Can we make sure it's the French vanilla kind?" Kurt grumbled, falling into Finn as he led them quietly back down to the living room.
"Of course," Finn promised, his hand wrapping itself around Kurt's waist as they climbed down the stairs. Finn kissed the side of Kurt's head as Kurt headed into the living room, going to turn the Christmas tree lights back on before finding the DVD he had bought for Finn six years ago-'So that you'll never have to worry about missing it on TV'. Finn walked past and headed into the kitchen, finding the French vanilla hot cocoa that Kurt hid for special occasions as he heated up some water on the stove. This was another tradition they had, started when they were in college, one that they never really acknowledged as a tradition so much as just let it happen. Even the year prior, once Rachel was asleep, Finn had snuck in to wake Kurt up and watch Charlie Brown together.
He brought two mugs into the living room, sitting next to Kurt and handing him his as Kurt started up the DVD. "Thanks," Kurt said quietly, settling in as the special started, Finn wrapping an arm around Kurt's shoulders as Kurt burrowed in to him, covering them both with a blanket.
"Wake up!" Kurt whispered, pulling the blanket Finn had been hiding under off of him. "My dad and Carole are going to be down here any second and we can't let them know we fell asleep down here!"
"We fall asleep down here every year," Finn replied groggily. "Give me the blanket, I'm sleeping."
"Finn, it's Christmas morning," Kurt sang, trying to lure him off the couch.
"Morning boys," Carole greeted as she walked past the living room, Burt heading straight for the kitchen. Finn waved his arm half-heartedly, waiting until someone put some sort of beverage in his hand. Sure enough, a warm mug of coffee was soon there, and Finn could find the energy to at least sit up. "Merry Christmas," his mom said as she sat down next to him on the couch, kissing his cheek as Burt went to sit in his chair, Kurt already positioned next to the tree to hand out presents as usual.
"Merry Christmas," Finn said as he started to wake up. "Can we open presents now?"
Burt chuckled, grabbing a box from the pile near his foot. "Let's get going!"
Soon the room was chaos-wrapping paper was everywhere, Kurt had accidentally knocked over Finn's coffee, and they were all singing along to the carols playing on the stereo. Finn had a growing pile next to him, some ringer tees from Burt and his mom, a new puffy vest from Kurt (because he had 'accidentally' thrown Finn's old one out), a George Forman grill, some other new shirts. Kurt was still chuckling at the slushie maker Finn had found for him ('But we can actually drink them instead of throwing them at each other now,' Finn had smirked at him. 'That's what you think Hudson,' Kurt had challenged back as he threw a piece of wrapping paper at him.), having already finished opening the majority of his presents. He had given Finn a look of deep admiration and happiness when he opened his big present-front row seats to the newest Broadway musical Kurt hadn't stopped talking about for weeks.
"Is that all the presents?" Carole asked as she started to collect the wrapping paper and put it into a trash bag they had been neglecting.
"Actually," Kurt said quietly, "I kind of still have one more to hand out. It's for Finn, and it's kind of a big one." Finn sat up quickly from where he had been laying down on the floor, reading the box his new grill was in. Burt and Carole glanced at each other, but Kurt was picking out an envelope that was in the tree-Finn hadn't paid too much attention to it before, they usually stuck Christmas cards in the tree if they ran out of room on other surfaces, but his hands shot out to grab it from Kurt quickly.
"What is it?" he asked, ripping open the envelope, not even glancing at Kurt as he tried to process what was in his hand. "Are these-is this-is this what I think it is?" he asked, now looking at Kurt with wide eyes. Kurt nodded, sheepishly, and Finn dropped the tickets-the Superbowl tickets that Kurt had somehow managed to get for them-and pulled Kurt to him, kissing him hard, fast, not even thinking about how Burt was behind him and how his mom was still standing in the doorway. It wasn't until they pulled apart, Kurt's eyes slightly glassy and his eyes pink, both their breathing a little heavier than normal, that Burt made some sort of coughing noise. "Shit," Finn whispered, Kurt still only an inch away from him.
"That wasn't exactly how we were going to tell them," Kurt said back, though his voice was high pitched and Finn knew both parents had heard him.
"Well," Carole said after a minute, her voice a little higher than normal, and Finn closed his eyes, resting his forehead against Kurt's as he tried to remember how to breathe. "I think I'll go start getting breakfast ready."
Part Four
Finn had expected a blowout. He had expected their parents to go on some sort of tirade and kick them out of the house, to disown them, to yell and scream and cry. He had never expected to walk into the kitchen on Christmas morning, gearing up with some sort of apology-though what he was apologizing for, he wasn't sure-and have his mom give a weary "We've known for awhile Finn."
He had stood there in stunned silence when Kurt and Burt walked in, the family congregating over cinnamon buns and orange juice while Burt and Carole explained that they had an idea something was going on, and while it was weird and they might not like it, if Kurt and Finn were happy they weren't going to stop them.
"I would, however, appreciate it if you kept your physical contact at a minimum around us," Burt had added on, and Finn nodded quickly, just glad Burt wasn't going to try and kill him.
The next week had been awkward, without a doubt. Finn and Kurt still slept in separate beds, not wanting to push their parents to some sort of early grave by scarring them too deeply-though on the morning before New Years Eve, Carole told Kurt that that was how they had found out, that she had walked into Finn's room on Thanksgiving morning to see if he wanted anything for breakfast and instead found the two of them cuddling. They had left later that day, hoping to get home before the New Years Day airport rush of all the tourists leaving the city. Carole had taken Finn aside, telling him to be careful, telling him she loved him, promised that all she ever wanted was for Finn to be happy.
"I'm incredibly happy," he had promised her, and though he noticed a tear in her eye she was smiling as she hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek before letting him return to Kurt's side.
"Fly safe," Burt said, hugging Finn shortly before patting him on his shoulder, albeit a little awkwardly. "We'll see you in a few months," he promised.
"We'll miss you," Kurt said, slightly misty eyed. He took Finn's hand, and Finn shot Kurt a loving gaze before they waved to their parents and headed behind the security gates. "You know," he said as they headed towards their gate. "We never made New Years Eve plans."
"Well, I would suggest Times Square, but you can barely move over there. Why don't we do something different-like go to the waterfront in Brooklyn. We can see the fireworks there," Finn suggested. Kurt smiled, nodding in agreement.
"Sounds like a date."
"It's fucking freezing," Kurt chittered as they got off the subway, heading towards the waterfront.
"Well it's December in New York City," Finn chuckled as he led them in the proper direction. They had spent the day relatively quietly, Finn making them grilled cheeses for lunch on his new grill while Kurt tried to make them slushies in his new contraption. They had chosen on bringing snacks with them to the waterfront instead of trying to find a restaurant that had any available room, a bottle of wine included in Kurt's picnic basket.
The steps were pretty full, but they found a spot and lay a blanket down so the stones wouldn't be as cold. Kurt immediately grabbed the glasses and opened the wine, pouring each of them one. They only had a half hour til midnight-the subways had been extremely backed up-but they didn't seem to mind. The fireworks would start soon, once the ball dropped and a new year started, and Finn was just glad to be sitting there with Kurt.
"Thanks," Finn said as Kurt handed him half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Kurt nibbling on his own between sips of wine.
"Who would have thought, nine years ago, that this is where we'd end up?" Kurt asked softly.
"I would have never believed you," Finn laughed, squeezing Kurt's knee. "But there's nowhere else I'd rather be tonight." Finn could feel the I love you threatening to fall out of his lips, something they hadn't said to each other yet, but held back. He wanted to make sure the moment was perfect, wanted Kurt to know he was saying it because he meant it, not just as a precaution against Kurt being upset.
"Neither would I," Kurt shrugged, shivering a little even though his coat.
They spent the time eating their sandwiches and joking around, Kurt feigning annoyance when Finn leaned over to plant a giant kiss on his cheek, much to the dismay of a group of teenagers a few feet from them. It felt like all too soon that someone started screaming down the countdown, and then everyone was counting down and standing up and holding onto each other.
Finn stood up and grabbed Kurt with him, pulling him close as they finished the countdown. "Happy New Year!" everyone shouted, Kurt grinning up at him as Finn pulled him in for a kiss, the "I love you" falling out of his mouth as the fireworks started across the river in Manhattan.
"I love you too," Kurt replied, not even blinking an eye as he pulled Finn's mouth back to his own.
Finn thought, briefly, that this year was somehow going to be even better than the last, shortly before his senses narrowed down into Kurt and Kurt alone.