Title: Who I Am InsideRating: PGFandom: GleeWords: 579Characters: Kurt, Finn, Mercedes, Quinn one-sided Kurt/Finn, implied Finn/Quinn, Finn/Rachel, Kurt/Mercedes/Quinn friendship.Summary: A missing moment from Journey to Regionals, in which Kurt bears his heart.
Notes: This was supposed to be a drabble on how Mulan was Kurt's Disney princess (please, try to argue that with me). I imagine that might still happen later, but here's this for now.
He waits until the last possible moment on the last day of school to face his fears.
Somewhere deep inside he thinks he already knows what's going to come of this, but if he doesn't try he'll never be sure. So he fixes his hat and struts out of the choir room, heading towards the locker rooms instead of the parking lot. A familiar brunette giant is cleaning out his cupboard, tossing things in randomly, pausing on certain items. Kurt watches him, as he carelessly tossing things, until he lingers on a picture of a familiar blond. His fingertips glide over the picture slowly, hesitantly, before he lets it fall into the trash.
He deliberates for a moment and then clears his throat, startling the gangly jock in front of him. "Hi." To him even this word sound full of nervous, unfulfilled wishes.
Finn turns to look at him for a moment, and then turns back to his locker, "You didn't have to wait for me, dude. Puck's gonna give me a ride home, he said he needed to set things straight with Santana." Kurt isn't sure what this means, but he's guessing it has something to do with the love-struck looks Puck was shooting Quinn during that last number.
"It's not about the ride, Finn," He reaches out, hand shaking, and touches his shoulder. "It's about…" He turns around, staring at the baby-faced boy intently. Kurt can't help himself, "I love you."
Immediately Finn's face turns panicked and he can see him struggling to make words. "It's okay, I know. You don't love me." Now he frowns looking at the ground. "I just…I do and I needed to tell you. To…I needed to live with my head somewhere besides the clouds, you know?" Finn nods slowly, as if he's not exactly sure what to say. "I'll find someone, I'll find somebody great. Someone better than you, or anyone else in this hell hole." He turns and practices his catwalk in the direction of the door.
A voice stops him on, "I do love you, like a brother or something, but…you're awesome Kurt." He thinks he might fall onto the floor and bang his fists against the linoleum, but instead he stands rod-straight and tries to breathe. "And you're right, I'm sure somebody's gonna love you like you deserve. And it gonna be amazing when it happens," He can hear the goofy grin in Finn's voice and he closes his eyes, and concentrates on the in and out. "Trust me."
"Thank you." He pushed the door open and then slams it closed again, leaning against it for support. He tries to think of anything else. Defying Gravity, moisturizer from Sephora, watching the Sound of Music in his pajamas, but all he can think, all he can feel, is his heart beat beat beating in his chest.
Suddenly there's an arm around his shoulders, and another one around his waist. "Hey White bread," Mercedes smiles at him. "We've got something that is going to make your year."
The blond on his right grins a little too evilly, "My mom gave me her credit card to buy a new post-maternity wardrobe."
"Complete with Chastity belt."
Quinn gives the girl a playful shove, "We thought you might want to help coordinate." Kurt sinks his head into his best friends shoulder and gives the other girl a little squeeze as well.
The truth is, people probably already love him a little better than he deserves.