Home was something Finn didn't even know he was looking for. It wasn't something he had realized was missing in his life. When he thought about the past in those moments before sleep overcame him, when he remembered his life before Glee and Burt and most importantly Kurt, it was with a weird sense of sadness. How could he have done all the bullying and teasing that he inflicted on others?
Rachel would bring it all up sometimes, when they were fighting or she was in a particularly bad mood. Finn had no excuses for his past behavior, and would rather focus on the present and future. Kurt was more like that, and during one particularly vicious fight Finn had made the mistake of yelling "Why can't you be more like Kurt!" and the statement almost ended their relationship.
But Kurt never mentioned how many times Finn had fucked up, and for that Finn was thankful. He had undoubtedly been cruel to Kurt but that was before they were brothers, before they were friends. They had moved on, put the past in the past, and actually knew the other.
The first time it happened, Kurt was sitting on the floor attempting to do his calculus homework and Finn was trying to find something good on TV. Kurt hummed quietly under his breath, and all of a sudden Finn felt it. Or at least, he took notice of the feeling that seemed to completely knock all other thoughts out of his head. He was comfortable, content, all those feelings everyone always said home would feel like.
It was a weird sensation; one he didn't think would be so strong. All of a sudden, he just knew that this was where he was supposed to be in that exact moment. He glanced around warily, caught off guard. Sure, the new house was great, but he didn't think he loved it enough for something like this to happen.
The second time it happened, Kurt was in the middle of talking about their upcoming family vacation after school before Glee started. "I already vetoed scuba diving, I don't think my dad should be doing that and honestly I don't think you should be either-"
"I could scuba dive," Finn grumbled, and Kurt rolled his eyes at him while he continued to look at the hotels website.
"You could, but then you'd forget some essential piece of information and I don't think I can save you from the middle of the ocean," Kurt replied, grimacing up at Finn. Finn felt it again, sweeping over him-calm, ease, and once more like this was where he was supposed to be. He pushed it to the back of his mind, ignoring the startling thought that this time he was nowhere near his house, ignoring the one common factor.
When the third time cropped up, Kurt wasn't even physically around. Rachel was babbling on-Finn wasn't sure about what, he had tuned out about ten minutes previously-but the sound of Kurt's name called his attention.
"Wait, what?" Finn asked, much more attentive now.
"I was just saying that Kurt should have a solo at sectionals this year. After mine, of course. Or maybe we'll do a duet-I think I would be satisfied with doing that. I don't think the rest of the club will let us do one, not after National's-" she crinkled her nose, and Finn nodded, trying to figure out why he had such a longing for Kurt to be around all of a sudden. It was almost like he was homesick, and that confused him more than anything.
The fourth time Burt was asking Finn about football. "It's really too bad Kurt didn't want to join back up," Burt said, examining the all too healthy chip Kurt had taken to purchasing for him.
"Tell me about it, we need a decent kicker," Finn replied, waving at Kurt as he walked by the living room and headed towards the kitchen, a confused look across his face as he waved back.
By the fifth time though, Finn could no longer ignore the overwhelming feeling. Kurt was singing around the house, nonsense mostly as he cooked dinner for the two of them-their parents had gone off to Indianapolis for the weekend and Carole made Finn promise not to burn the house down. Finn wasn't even in the same room as him, but he couldn't deny that it anymore. It wasn't the house, or his voice, or even how he looked. It was everything about him and more. It was Kurt. Kurt, who had for the most part always accepted Finn as he was, opening up to him and allowing Finn to open up to someone with little to no judgment. It was Kurt who made this feeling of home and warmth crash over him, whether he was there or not.
It should have been unsettling, and it was a little bit. Finn had always figured home had to be a place, an actual house that you lived in.
Never, in a thousand years, did Finn think his definition of home would reside in Kurt Hummel.
