A/N: AU in which Kurt's mother died when he was a lot younger and Kurt and Finn's parents got together pretty early in their lives.
I do not own Glee or any of its characters.
Finn and Kurt stand close together as they take in the surroundings around them. Neither wants to be here, but they know they don't really have a choice since they ran their last babysitter off. Finn blames Kurt for his seemingly rude critique of her clothing, and Kurt blames Finn because he's the one who put her cellphone in the microwave. Deep down, they know they're both to blame, but they don't care too much because they didn't like her anyway.
"I don't want any new friends." Kurt says, crossing his arms.
"Oh, come on, Kurt. It can't be that bad. And what if you find someone like you?" Finn nudges Kurt.
"Like me?" Kurt asks, looking up at Finn. Finn cocks his head as he looks down at Kurt.
"You know, someone who likes tea parties and stuff like you."
"Think so?" Kurt asks as he looks around the room. He's never really seen any of these kids before, and he's not shy, but he's so used to it just being him and Finn. And no, Finn doesn't really like tea parties and Kurt doesn't really like to play cops and robbers, but they do it anyway because it's just them and they like making each other happy.
Kurt sighs and looks up at Finn as he says, "I guess we can try."
"Good," Finn grins and puts an arm around Kurt's shoulder. "Just stay close to me and we'll be okay."
Kurt beams and follows Finn to a group of kids nearby. Two girls, a blonde and a brunette, are sitting close together, whispering as they point at the two of them. A small brunette rushes over to them, eyes bright and a huge grin as she takes them in.
"I'm Rachel!" She squeaks and then starts pointing out everyone else in the room. Santana and Brittany are the two girls Finn had been headed towards. A small blonde and a black girl making friendship bracelets in the corner are Quinn and Mercedes. The two asian kids spinning and twirling around are Mike and Tina. And then a small group of boys sitting around a table are identified as Noah, Sam, and Dave.
Kurt wanders towards the girls making the bracelets and Rachel follows him, but not without throwing a few glances back at Finn. Finn's at a loss for what to do now that his little brother, who was hesitant to even meet anyone new, has abandoned him to make bracelets with girls.
"What's he doing?" Finn turns around to see the boy Rachel had called Noah.
"Probably gonna make bracelets." Finn shrugs.
"That's weird." Noah says as he makes a face.
"He likes doing stuff like that."
"But only girls make bracelets." Noah protests.
"Some boys do because Kurt does." Finn tells him. Noah looks over at Kurt for a moment before looking back at Finn.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm Puck."
"Finn."
When Kurt asks the girls if he can join them, they're thrilled. They scoot over to make room for him and Rachel. Kurt notices Finn talking to the boy called Noah, and he watches as Finn follows Noah over to the other two boys, Sam and Dave. The boy Rachel calls Mike goes and joins the small group, and Tina joins the girls and Kurt.
Kurt's never really spent time with any girls, but he realizes that he likes them a lot because they like the same things that he does. They like dressing up and tea parties and making jewelry and coloring princesses. Finn does that stuff with him, but he can tell that Finn only does it to make Kurt happy. As he watches Finn, he can tell that Finn is experiencing the same joy he is by meeting other kids who are interested in the same things he is.
Ms. Taylor takes them outside to play, and Kurt heads to the swings. Finn watches him for a moment, not sure what to do. Usually, when they go to the park together, they hit the swings first, play on the monkey bars, and then they play tag. Kurt looks up at Finn from the swing and gives him a confused look. Now that they're here with other kids, neither is really sure what to do.
"Do you want me to push you?" Kurt looks away from Finn and turns a little to see a bigger kid standing there. Kurt looks him over for a moment, trying to remember the name of the kid.
"Um, sure." Kurt says quietly. He turns just as Finn reaches the two of them. Finn looks at the kid – Dave! That's his name! – kind of uncertainly and then back at Kurt.
"I can push him if you don't want to." Finn tells Dave carefully.
"I want to." Dave says. Finn looks at the two of them for a moment, and Dave pulls Kurt back and gives him a small push. Brittany and Santana take the up swings next to Kurt. Finn shifts a little as he watches Kurt with Dave. Between Kurt's giggling and Dave's shy smile, Finn decides that it's okay to leave Kurt alone. He heads over to the monkey bars where Puck and Sam are holding a contest to see who can hold on longer.
"How old are you?" Kurt asks Dave.
"Five. How old are you?" Dave cocks his head, giving Kurt another light push, even though it's not really needed. He's not sure why, but Kurt is really interesting. Kurt's different. He does things that he's never seen other boys do, and he doesn't even seem to care.
"Four. Finn and I are both four."
"Are you twins?" Dave asks, not really believing it.
"No. We're step-brothers."
"What does that mean?"
"We have different mommies. His mommy married my daddy." Kurt explains. Dave nods, though he doesn't really understand. If Kurt already has one mom, why would his dad marry another mom? But then Kurt says, "My mommy died when I was littler. And Finn's daddy died when he was just a baby."
"Oh." Dave suddenly understands. Kurt needed a mom and Finn needed a dad. It seems to have worked out well because he can tell that Kurt and Finn are good friends.
"I'm glad though, 'cause Finn is my best friend." Kurt tells Dave, and Dave smiles a little.
"Z is my best friend."
"Who's Z?" Kurt asks.
"He doesn't come here. He lives next to my house." Dave explains.
"Oh. I don't have any other friends." Kurt says quietly, and Dave is a little surprised. Kurt just seems like the kind of person that would have lots of friends. And Kurt and Finn seem so different that he can't really imagine them doing much of anything together.
"I'll be your friend." Dave offers.
"Okay." Kurt beams. He giggles a little bit because he didn't think making new friends would be so easy, but so far, he's made several friends. Quinn, Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel. Well, Rachel talks more than he likes, but he can pretend to listen. He hasn't met any of the other boys yet, except Dave now. He'd spent all afternoon making bracelets with the other girls. He had asked them about Brittany and Santana, but Mercedes told him that they usually keep to themselves. Sometimes Quinn plays with them, but they don't really play with anyone else.
"Cool." Dave can't help but grin back at Kurt because that smile is just so pretty, and Dave feels good because he made Kurt smile like that.
"FREEZE TAG!" Puck yells out and suddenly all of the kids are running. Kurt slows himself and jumps off the swing, and he and Dave take off towards the jungle gym. Kurt's not sure how fast Puck is, but he's taller, so he's sure Puck could catch him if he tried.
He turns to look around and sees that Finn is frozen. He blinks. Finn is the last person he expects to be frozen. He changes direction and runs back towards Finn to unfreeze him. He grins as he hears Dave running beside him. When Dave realizes that Puck is coming for the two of them, Dave splits away from Kurt, hoping that Puck will chase after him. He's wrong, though, because Puck is still chasing after Kurt. Kurt touches Finn and unfreezes him, but Puck is right there and tags Finn again. Finn frowns and Kurt giggles as he and Puck continue to freeze and unfreeze Finn. Kurt finally runs away, leaving Finn frozen. Kurt squeals as Puck finally catches up to him and taps him on the arm. Puck throws Kurt a huge grin and takes off towards Dave.
A whistle is blown, and it's time for the kids to go back inside. Kurt pants as he makes his way over to Finn, who's standing there waiting for him. Kurt nudges Finn, and Finn just rolls his eyes. He isn't as amused by the little tug-of-war like game Puck and Kurt played.
"I tried." Kurt giggles.
"I know." Finn sighs and smiles as he puts an arm around Kurt shoulders. Dave falls into step on the other side of Kurt and Kurt just grins.
"Dave's my friend now." Kurt tells Finn. Finn looks over at Dave and stares at him for a minute and then just nods his head.
"That's cool."
Once inside, Ms. Taylor tells them that it's time for a nap. Kurt's not happy, as he's never liked taking naps. He feels like he's going to miss something in the hour or so that he's asleep. Finn loves nap time, or just sleeping in general. He always has nice dreams, and he always feels so good after sleeping. But Finn knows that Kurt's about to throw a tantrum and he shakes his head at Kurt. Kurt frowns but settles down on one of the mats laid out for the kids. Finn lays on the mat to his left and Dave lays on the one to his right. Mercedes is on the one in front of him. She makes a face at him and he giggles.
Ms. Taylor turns out the lights and turns on some slow piano music. Kurt decides that he won't sleep, he'll just lay there quietly. As long as he isn't moving around and making noise, that should be alright, shouldn't it? Within minutes, Finn is asleep. Kurt turns to his right and sees Dave staring back at him. Dave smiles at him and Kurt smiles back. He wonders if maybe Dave doesn't like nap time either. But then Dave falls asleep and Kurt is left alone. He doesn't look around to see if anyone else is still awake, but he assumes that they are because he doesn't hear any whispering. He chances a glance down towards his feet and smiles as he sees Brittany and Santana holding hands in their sleep.
It makes him wonder a little bit. He's never held hands with Finn. Unless they are crossing the street. Then Finn makes him hold his hand all the way across. Kurt stifles a giggle as he thinks of it. Even though they're around the same age, Finn is just a little older than Kurt and takes his role as the big brother pretty seriously. Kurt doesn't mind it too much. It makes him feel safe.
He looks around to see if anyone else is holding hands. He grins as he sees Mike and Tina. He thinks they're so cute together. But no one else is holding hands. He wonders if that's a friend thing. Do many friends hold hands? Or is it just boyfriend and girlfriend? But if it's just a boyfriend and girlfriend thing, then what about Santana and Brittany? What about girlfriend and girlfriend? If there's girlfriend and girlfriend, does that mean there are boyfriend and boyfriend too? Kurt closes his eyes. That's a little too confusing for his little mind. Maybe he'd just better ask Dave if he can hold his hand sometime.