SUMMARY: Finn discovers Karofsky's secret while Kurt is at Dalton. Takes place after Episode 211: The Sue Sylvester Shuffle.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee, nor do I own any of the characters or anything else that has to do with Glee. That is all owned by Ryan Murphy and Fox. I make no money from this whatsoever. There is absolutely no copyright infringement intended. Thank you.

NOTES: OK, so this is my very first Glee fanfiction and whilst I am super stoked about it, I'm also very nervous. I couldn't get this one exactly how I wanted it, but I've had that problem with some of my others before, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised with the amount of love I ended up receiving. Anyway, major Klaine shipper here, as well as brotherly Furt. Here is my first Furt story. I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think.

The Secret to End All

Finn: "Hey."

Karofsky: "Hey. Congrats on the MVP."

Finn: "Ah, thanks. It was a team effort. So, listen, uh. There's no way the Glee club's going to let you join permanently until you clean things up with Kurt. So, I was thinking maybe we could go together to Dalton and apologize to him-"

Karofsky: "Who said I wanted to join the glee club permanently?"

Finn: "I just thought after this week and, and the way we won the game and the way you came out to dance-"

Karofsky: "What do you think? We all dance around together and win a football game and everything's going to change. Glee Club's going to be cool and we're all going to sing hippy peace songs every morning?"

Finn: "Maybe. I don't know. It's a start-"

Karofsky: "No! Dude, it's a finish! Ok, this is high school. People's memories for good stuff last about as long as their Facebook status."

Finn: "We've got a chance to really change things here."

Karofsky: "I just won the conference championship. I'm on top. Why would I want to change things?"

Quinn showing up right after to talk to Finn had been enough to delay his thoughts, but once he got over the fact that Quinn was super hot again, his thoughts quickly jumped back on to the conversation he had had with his fellow jock. That conversation had been the beginning of it all. There was something different in that one conversation, or perhaps even the look in Karofsky's eyes, and Finn couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but he knew it was there. Something that was just out of reach: A small something. Perhaps just one tiny piece of information he was just not getting. So, Finn decided to keep an eye on Dave Karofsky.

What he came to find out hadn't been what he was expecting. At the beginning of his super secret spying mission, for that is what he decided to call it, he wasn't sure what he was looking for so he had thought of asking for some help from his fellow glee dudes to help back him up, but then decided against it. If he was to discover something that was super important and they were in on it too, it probably wouldn't end well.

So, it took a while, but Finn was careful with his search. Anytime Karofsky came around, Finn would keep one eye on him just to see what he was up to and what he saw was damn confusing. Around the other jocks at the lunch table, he would leer at the Cheerio's and talk smack with his best bud Azimio. During times in the locker room, he would stare at his locker or the floor and change just as swiftly as the rest of them. Walking alone down the hallway, he would look at his books, but then his eyes would drift over to Sam's ass as he was drinking water from the water fount-Wait, what?

After that little show, Finn kept a closer eye on Karofsky, just watching his every move and waiting for something to slip; any little thing that would be the answer to everything. And he found it. Yes, Karofsky was sitting at lunch leering at the Cheerio's, but he was leering at the male Cheerio's. He wasn't looking at anyone in the changing room because he didn't want to be called out. He looked at Sam's ass as he drunk water from the water fountain because, well, he…holy hell.

As soon as Finn parked his clunker of a vehicle, he jumped out of it and raced toward the double doors of Dalton Academy. As soon as he was inside, he realized that he had no earthly clue where he was meant to go. He walked down the hall, leading to a set of stairs. He walked down them, looking left and right when he reached the bottom, quite unsure as to where to go from there. Choosing the right, Finn continued to basically explore, looking for where the Warbler's might be. It was after school and if Finn had the date right, they should be practicing at that moment.

It didn't take much longer for him to find a hallway which lead to a dead end, but he heard what sounded like singing and laughter coming from that general direction. Picking up his pace, Finn began to walk briskly to the double doors at the end of the hall.

Once he reached them, Finn shoved the doors open to what he now knew were the senior commons where the Warbler's practiced. The doors banged against the walls, immediately getting the attention of all the Warblers. As leader, Wes turned from his position at the head table and looked at the stranger who looked slightly familiar.

"May we help you?"

"I'm looking for my little brother, Kurt?"

"Finn?" Kurt had been sitting on the edge of the window sill, looking into the cold, winter air. Now his attention was on his goofball of an awkward brother.

"He's gay." Finn didn't know how else to say it. He just knew he had to say it and he had to say it quick. It was like the secret to end all secrets at the moment and it had been crushing his insides.

Kurt looked confused.

"Who's gay?"

Finn took a deep breath and stated quite simply, "Karofsky."

One of Kurt's eyebrows shot up at Finn's remark, but surprise didn't show which surprised Finn because he was pretty sure his little brother hadn't known this fact.

"…You don't seem surprised," Finn said hesitantly.

"That's because I'm not." Kurt took a deep breath and uttered confidently, "I knew."

The Warbler's were looking on, wondering what was going on. They didn't know who Karofsky was. Blaine, on the other hand, stood off to the side with his arms crossed, ready to jump in at a moment's notice if he needed to defend Kurt.

"What do you mean, you knew?"

"Just that, Finn. I know Karofsky's gay, which leads me to wonder how you discovered it?"

Finn's eyes squinted in confusion from the fact that Kurt knew. Why hadn't he told him? Why hadn't he told the whole school, for that matter? He could have held this over Karofsky's head. Hell, he could have gotten out of that stupid death threa—Wait. The death threat. Kurt knew Karofsky was gay. That must have been why Karofsky threatened him with death. If he told anyone…but then again, how did Kurt know? How did he find out? Finn ignored the question Kurt asked and answered it with his own question.

"…Why did you leave so suddenly?"

"What?"

"You said Karofsky threatened to kill you. Is that really why you left?"

Kurt looked taken aback by the question, before he whispered out a soft "yes."

Finn's stance changed. He stood taller and held his head higher before claiming "You're lying. There's something else too. How did you know he was gay, Kurt? And don't give me any of that gaydar stuff."

Kurt sighed in defeat, glancing at the floor and saying "He…Well, he forced himse-He kissed me."

The room was silent. You could have heard a pin drop. The Warblers looked to Kurt in horrified confusion, still unsure as to what exactly was going on. Kurt looked up at his brother, who looked back at him with his mouth set and his fists clenched.

"He's dead." Finn turned and began storming down the hall. Kurt had a moment to think that Rachel Berry would be proud before he had taken in what his brother had said and went after him in a rush.

"Finn!" But Finn continued to walk briskly down the hall. "Wait! STOP!"

Finn halted and turned around. He saw Kurt walk slowly towards him to catch up. The Warblers were standing in the doorway, not even trying to be subtle that they were eavesdropping. Finn looked back at his brother.

"Tell me what I should do."

That stopped Kurt in his tracks.

"…What?"

"What do I do? How do I fix this?"

Kurt's face showed complete confusion. "What do you mean, 'fix this'? There's nothing for you to fix! He's gay, Finn! Get over it!"

"I can't believe you're being so nice to him right now! The dude throws you in dumpsters, throws slushies in your face, throws you against lockers SO hard that you even have the locker vents and combination locks bruised and embedded into your skin-"

Kurt opened his mouth to interrupt, but Finn stopped him. "And don't try to deny it. We're brothers! I've seen it."

Finn continued as if he hadn't interrupted himself. "And then he goes and sexually harasses you and you're still keeping the dude's secret?"

"It sounds really differently when you put it like that…" Kurt trailed off.

"You're a saint, Kurt. Karofsky should be down on bended knee worshipping the ground you walk on, but he doesn't because he's a scared, self-hating gay and he thinks because he's so big he can go around bullying and harassing my baby brother? I don't think so."

With that, Finn turned, ready to make his grand exit, when he felt a small hand on his shoulder.

Kurt held him back gently as he asked "And what exactly is it that you're going to do about it, Finn?"

Finn turned back around with rage in his eyes. What the hell did Kurt think he was going to do?

"I'm going to kick his ass. I'm going to tell New Directions and then Puck, Sam, Mike and even Artie are going to help me kick his ass."

"No, you're not," Kurt said it so simply, like his words were truth and if Finn didn't follow them, he'd be in a world of pain.

"What do you mean, no I'm not?"

"I mean just that. No, you are not going to go find him and beat him up." Kurt took a deep breath and stepped back from his brother so that there was more space between them and he could look at Finn's face a lot easier.

"What do you think that would do Finn? How would that help at all? It wouldn't help me. It certainly wouldn't help him. And as sweet as it is that you want to defend my honor," Kurt shook his head while saying that, not believing what he just said "none of this would help the situation."

"Well, something needs to be done. I don't know what, but something has to be done."

"I know."

"Why haven't you told his secret?"

"That's something that you, as a heterosexual male, have no understanding of. You have no understanding of what it means to come out and you never will."

"But, look at you! I mean, you're…what's the word? Fabulous! You're fabulous, Kurt!" Kurt laughed softly and Finn was happy to make his brother laugh at least a little bit. "He's just jealous because he can't be as fabulous as you. If he came out, he'd probably feel a lot better. Look at you, you know? Like I said, you're fabulous and you're doing fabulously."

"God, Finn." Kurt laughed in a non-laughing manner and took a step back from his brother. Spread his arms wide, he said, "Look around you. You think this is me doing fabulously? This is me dealing! This is me running away."

Finn looked at his little brother for the first real time and took in all that he saw. Kurt looked conformed. Kurt wasn't meant to look conformed.

Kurt continued, letting his arms drop down to his sides. "I love Dalton. Don't get me wrong. It's a little like heaven on earth, if I'm going to be honest; the awesome singing, the no-bullying policy,…the cute boys." Kurt and Finn smiled at each other a little awkwardly.

"But it's not me. Everyone knows this place isn't me. It's just not for me and I will never fit in here."

"Then why don't you tell-"

"No, Finn!" Kurt was a little angry, but Finn just didn't understand, so he decided to explain it to him better.

"Finn, you say I'm fabulous, but the reason for it is that I have a LOT of support. I know that no matter what, my father will always be there for me. He will always love me. Even when the perfect straight son he's always wanted comes barreling through the door, kicking his muddy, disgusting sneakers off right beside his work boots, plopping down on the sofa right beside him, eating the same junk food and complaining and yelling at the same football game, he will always love me."

Kurt took a deep breath and Finn's mouth was a little open. He had no idea Kurt still felt that way.

"Dude-"

"Wait. Let me finish…and don't call me dude." Finn smiled at that. "So, I have my father. I have Mercedes, who would seriously cut someone if they even thought about hurting me. I have the rest of New Directions; Sam went against my bully for me. Puck probably would have too if his return to Juvenile Hall hadn't been such a threat. I have Carole now, as well and I'd like to think I even have you too."

"Of course you do! I'm here, aren't I?"

"You are, but Finn? Listen carefully to what I'm going to say next." Kurt walked closer to Finn, placing his hands on his brother's upper arms and holding him there. Looking into his eyes, Kurt asked "Who does Karofsky have?"

Kurt paused a moment to let that sink in. He waited for Finn's expression to focus before continuing.

"Right now, who does Karofsky have? He has his best friend, Azimio. He has the rest of the football team, who isn't in Glee. He has his parents. Apart from that? He doesn't have much else. Now if one were to think of this as a math equation, he kind of has the same amount of people there for him as I do for me, but Finn," Kurt paused and took another deep breath. "Will they really be there for him? Do you think Azimio is going to stand by him when he tells him he likes boys more than he does girls? Do you think the football team isn't going to bully him until he quits because they don't want him looking at them in the locker room? Do you think his parents are going to be supportive?"

Finn opened his mouth then, ready to answer when Kurt interrupted him again.

"They might be supportive, yes, but they might not be. Not all parents are as awesome as dad." Finn smiled dopily. He loved it when Kurt would say "dad." Not "my dad." Just "dad." It made him know that he was a part of the family now too.

"So, Finn, right now there are two things you could do. You could be just as big of a bully as Karofsky. You could tell his secret and you could beat him up because of what he did to me, but then you'd be no better than him. In fact, you'd be exactly like him; bullying a person because you're scared. People bully others when they don't understand them because they're scared, Finn."

Kurt was still looking in his brother's eyes. Finn was listening to everything he had to say.

"Or you could be a man. You could hold his secret inside you and not tell it to anyone else and you could be there for him."

Finn nodded in thought.

"But Finn, if you do this, you can't let on that you know his secret. He'll just act out like the scared animal that he is. You have to be there for him. Just seek him out, watch him, make sure he's not having a bad time of it, you know? I'm not there anymore, so I can't do this. For all we know, he could be contemplating suicide."

Finn huffed a laugh between his lips, unsure if his brother was joking or not. Seeing the serious expression on his face, Finn lifted a hand to his forehead and rubbed it, saying "Cheesus, Kurt."

"Hey, it's a thought. Just watch him cautiously and if he seems to be having a bad day, try to talk to him about it. And if he says he doesn't want your help or is being completely stubborn about it, just let him know you're there if he ever wants to talk."

Finn nodded, showing Kurt he understood, that he was choosing the second option and Kurt finally took a step back, letting his hands drop from his brother's upper arms. They looked at each other in silence for a moment before Finn just had to ask, "Have you ever…?" 'Thought about killing yourself' was left unsaid. Saying it would make it real.

Kurt understood immediately though and shook his head, answering "Not seriously. The thought has crossed my mind a few times in the past, but I've never sat down and seriously done some thinking on those thoughts, you know?" Kurt looked up at Finn's horrified face and said "No, of course you don't-"

Kurt was cut off when his overgrown puppy of a brother bent down and smothered him in the biggest hug he had ever experienced. His feet left the ground.

"Gah! Finn! Put me down!"

But Finn didn't let go. If anything, he pulled Kurt closer and whispered in his ear "If you ever feel anything like that, you come and talk to me, ok? I may not know what you're going through, but I'm your big brother now and I will always be there to protect you, even if it's protection from yourself."

Finn finally put Kurt's feet back on the ground, turning away slightly to give his brother a moment to wipe the moisture from his eyes, before turning back to see him looking up at him, smiling softly.

"That whole being a man thing?" Finn nodded in confusion. "Well, you've got it down."

Finn smiled again before pulling Kurt into a hug again. Albeit a much gentler hug, but a hug nonetheless. He even leaned down and kissed Kurt on his hair before swaying from side to side a little bit and letting him go.

Kurt took a deep breath after pulling away. "So, what are you doing tonight?"

Finn was stumped.

"Um, I had no plans besides rallying up the guys, finding Karofsky and beating him up. Why? What did you have in mind?"

Kurt turned to look back at the doorway where the Warblers were still standing. When they saw Kurt turn around to look at them though, they started to disperse. They weren't needed.

"Esteemed Council!" Kurt called out. Wes, Thad and David turned back around to look at their friend. "I know tonight is Warbler's Fun night and all that jazz, but could Finn stay too? I know he's competition and everything, but he's my brother and I can assure you, he plays video games as well as the rest of you, if not better."

"Is that a challenge?" asked Wes.

"I do believe that sounded like a challenge," answered David.

"It did indeed," replied Thad.

Wes nodded his head in a form of stiff consent. "Very well. We accept your brother joining in on our competition tonight, but as of tomorrow at noon, he goes back to being our enemy."

With that, the council turned back to their practice room and entered, leaving the two boys alone.

"Come on, big brother," stated Kurt, taking Finn's wrist in his hand and pulling him in the direction of the senior commons. "We've got some Warbler tail's to kick."