Title: Name That Tune

Started: 3/24/11 3:11 a.m.

Finished: 3/26/11 8:22 p.m.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its respective characters.

Finn threw his bag carelessly on the couch, completely abandoning his Science assignment for the next week. There was no way he could focus anyway; he was too stoked about Regionals and the kickass song they wrote in Glee club. Maybe if he had time before dinner he could squeeze in some practice.

Excited, he ran to the kitchen. He hadn't noticed Burt's car, or his mother's in the driveway. That usually meant they left some prepped meal in the fridge with heating instructions. Maybe a crock pot of chili or a casserole dish of lasagna. Unfortunately when Finn opened the fridge there was no prepped meal. Not a crock pot or casserole dish in sight. There wasn't even a Tupperware container full of leftovers.

The tall boy let the door swing shut and he looked at the island in the center of the kitchen. No food, but there was a twenty dollar bill paper-clipped to a note.

"Finn & Kurt. Burt's older brother broke his leg, so we're going with him to the hospital. We're not sure how long we'll be, but we didn't want to call you during school. In case we're held over here's a 20 for some McDonalds. Love, Mom."

Finn frowned in disappointment. Despite his excitement to start practicing, his stomach growled in protest at the absence of decent food, and he couldn't go and get it without knowing what Kurt wanted. The front door swung shut with an easy bang, causing Finn to jump. He hadn't even realized it was opened. The bang was followed by a melodic hum, which he instantly recognized as Kurt's voice. He smiled at the sound in relief. Maybe his stepbrother would be willing to fly for their dinner.

The younger teen entered the kitchen on a twirl, his large craft box in one hand and that designer messenger bag in the other. He was vocalizing some unknown tune and his face was lit in a wide smile. The smile only faltered a little when he noticed his stepbrother watching him. "Oh! Hi Finn," he said amiably, setting his box on the counter while he hung up his bag on the back of a chair.

"Hey dude," Finn said, equally pleasant. "How was Dalton today?"

There was a slight twitch in Kurt's smile before he looked up at the wall. Except he didn't seem to be looking directly at the wall…more like…beyond it. "Quite fantastic, thank you," he said breathlessly, his cheeks turning pink.

"Um…good," Finn supplied hesitantly. His stepbrother did seem pretty chipper. It wasn't like Kurt never came home happy, but when he left that morning there was a slight sadness in his eyes from the loss of his pet bird the previous day. Finn was suddenly curious as to what made him do such a one-eighty. "D-did you finish Palarotti's casket?"

The blue-eyed boy turned to him sternly. "Pavarotti. And no, I didn't. I was almost done decorating it when I was…" The smile reappeared. "Interrupted. But I had a good reason, and I know that Pavarotti wouldn't have minded, given the circumstances."

"What were the circumstances?" Finn spoke slowly, something he tended to do when he didn't understand what was happening.

Kurt's smile widened and he sauntered into the kitchen. "Dad and Carole aren't home. Did they leave anything to eat?"

"Uh…" Thrown off by the change in topic, the older teen held up the note in answer.

As his stepbrother read it his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Ugh! McDonald's? No no no, I'll whip us up something."

"But…I was kinda jonesing for an Angus burger."

The horrified look shot his way made it seem like he'd suggested a visit to Mrs. Lovett's for dinner.

"Or not."

Kurt rolled his eyes at the taller boy and went to the fridge. "Why don't you head upstairs? I'll try not to take too long."

He smiled. "Okay. Thanks dude," he said, and turned to climb the stairs.

Finn started going over the dance steps in his mind, and was halfway to his bed when he remembered that he left his music sheets in his book bag.

He growled at himself and started back down the stairs, and he frowned when he heard the melodic sounds coming from the kitchen.

"La-laa-la-laaa…La-laa-la-laaa," Kurt sang while he rummaged through the cupboards, a navy apron adorning his waist as he twirled about the room.

Finn's confusion only increased at the display. It wasn't unusual to hear Kurt singing a random tune, but he never looked that happy while doing it. Once more he rarely scatted out a melody; there were almost always lyrics to whatever he was singing.

He pursed his lips as he approached the kitchen. Well, at least he's smiling. Whatever went on today made him feel better somehow.

Kurt noticed his stepbrother as he made his way back to the kitchen, so he reduced the singing to a hum. Finn paused as the song continued. There was something…familiar about it. It sounded like something out of a Disney movie, and given the way the countertenor was prancing through the kitchen he wouldn't be surprised. It was like someone had replaced his stepbrother with Snow White.

He just noticed the blue eyes staring back at him in concern. "Finn? What's up?"

The older teen cleared his throat. "T-that song's kind of familiar. Anything I know?"

"Oh I doubt it. But don't worry, it's nothing on our set list," Kurt reassured with a cryptic smile.

Finn smirked a little. Through some unspoken arrangement they had decided not to discuss anything involving their respective Glee club's until Regionals were over. They just agreed with wish each other luck when the time came.

"Well then...I'm just glad that you're so happy."

The paler teen's expression melted into tenderness, and before he knew what was happening Kurt had enveloped the taller boy in a tight hug.

"Thank you Finn," he whispered. "I really really want to tell you about my day, but I'm so afraid that the second I say it out loud I'll wake up and realize the whole thing was a dream. So…can I just bask in my euphoria on my own for a little while?"

He looked down at his stepbrother in surprise, and tentatively returned the hug. "Sure, Kurt. Definitely."

(Finn's Room)

Finn anxiously punched through the recent call list on his phone, trying to find Rachel's name. He was hunched against the closed door of his room, and he could still hear Kurt singing that weird song. Even when he was on New Directions he'd never seen Kurt so happy before. And even though he planned to respect his stepbrother's request for privacy, his curiosity about that nameless song had peaked. It was like the name was at the tip of his tongue, gnawing ferociously at his memory.

He grinned in triumph when he saw Rachel's smiling face next to her name and pressed the touch-screen on his phone.

Normally Rachel would pick up right away, barely giving the phone enough time to get through one ring. His brows knitted in surprise when the phone rang at least five times before he heard Rachel's greeting.

"Hello?"

He frowned in concern at her voice. It was unusually husky and quiet, like she'd been crying.

"Uh Rachel? Are you okay?"

There was a hasty intake of breath on the other end before she continued. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you. I was just writing a new song for Regionals…I believe I've finally managed to tap into that real pain you were telling me about. It just needs a strong finish."

Finn slowly rose to a stand, his concern increasing at her vulnerable tone. "Is there…anything I can do?"

He heard her clear her throat, along with a strange shuffling sound. "No, no, nothing. Would you please tell me what you called for; I don't want to disrupt my inspiration."

"Um," he took a moment to remember why he called, thrown off by the tight knot growing in his chest at the thought of Rachel in pain. "Yeah, uh…Kurt came home today and he seemed really happy, and he won't tell me why yet. I'm-I'm fine with that for now, but he's in the kitchen and he keeps singing this weird song that I know I've heard somewhere before, and I just can't place where. And you guys have really similar tastes in music, so I thought—"

"Say no more," she said in a get-down-to-business voice he was more familiar with. "Hold up the phone somewhere close that he won't notice, and allow me one minute."

"Thanks!" He smiled and hastily opened his door, but immediately remembered himself and started a slow tip-toe down the stairs. He quietly crept to the kitchen, hunched low so his stepbrother wouldn't notice his 6'4" frame. Kurt was still singing that damn song, his voice getting substantially higher, along with Finn's frustration.

He did as Rachel instructed, setting the phone down in the doorway and backing up so he wouldn't be seen. After about a minute he grabbed his phone and stealthily rushed back to his room. Once the door was shut he held the phone to his ear anxiously. "So?"

"That was ridiculously easy Finn. You could have taken the phone back after ten seconds," she said haughtily.

"Well what is it," he demanded.

"It's A Lovely Night from the underrated gem Cinderella," she said informatively.

Finn grinned in satisfaction. "I knew it was a Disney movie!"

Rachel laughed a little. "Not that Cinderella. The Rodger's and Hammerstein stage musical. We…watched it together on—"

"On your birthday…last year…," he finished slowly, realization setting in. He'd surprised Rachel with an impromptu marathon over at her house. For seven hours straight they sat through five different musicals, both of them beaming the entire time. Sometimes Finn would sing along, or he'd just listen to Rachel's random trivia about each one. They closed their little marathon with Cinderella, and Finn could still remember the bashfully content expression on Rachel's face as she sang along to A Lovely Night. Before it started she informed him that it was a song reflecting on Cinderella's joyous time at the ball, and how even though she had to go back to being a servant to her wicked stepsisters and stepmother, the memories of her amazing night with her prince would be enough to keep her happy forever.

The heavy silence over the phone was interrupted as something occurred to him. "But…wait a minute, why is Kurt singing that?"

"Well…obviously something great happened to him today," she replied quietly, her thoughts clearly still on that wonderful day before they—she—screwed everything up. "I'm sure when he's ready to talk about it, he will. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get back to my songwriting."

Finn frowned, sensing the return of the saddened voice she had when they first started talking. "Will you be okay?"

"…Yes. In fact I…think I've figured out my big finish. See you at school."

After an awkward goodbye, the tall boy walked over to his computer, typing the title of the song into Google. He couldn't quite remember the lyrics. His eyes narrowed warily at the first few lines, then widened to the size of saucers when he reached the end.

(Downstairs)

Kurt's brows furrowed as he heard a strange yell from Finn's room. It wasn't very loud, and the older boy didn't come rushing down the stairs, so he shrugged it off.

He adjusted the misplaced salad fork at Finn's place, then smiled in approval at the spread he'd laid out on the table. His cheeks twitched in protest, and he reached up to gently massage them. He hadn't been able to wipe the silly grin off his face ever since—

Since Blaine kissed me! Twice! And the second kiss almost turned into a make out!

He giggled and bounced on his toes, still overwhelmed with giddy disbelief. But he quickly composed himself, drawing a slow breath and spreading his hands soothingly as he let it out. Dinner was ready, and it was time to tell Finn about the kiss. Blaine was on thin ice with Kurt's dad, but maybe if he could recruit his stepbrother to their side it would be easier to smooth things over with Burt. It would just require a slow, logical explanation to Finn, along with some gentle prodding and hand-holding. …Plus a little bribery in the form of culinary excellence never hurt.

He turned, just about to call Frankenteen down for dinner when he bumped into a solid chest. He rubbed his nose and looked up at the older teen, his eyes widening. The confused but smiling teddy bear features his older brother had left with were replaced with something more…menacing.

"Finn? What's the matter?"

A wrinkled paper was shoved into the pale boy's face, and he took it in confusion. The ink was still wet, and the paper was a little warm, indicating it had just come from the printer. His eyes widened as he read the lyrics he'd been singing to himself all afternoon.

A Lovely Night, a lovely night; a finer night you know you'll never see

You meet your prince, a charming prince; As charming as a Prince will ever be

The stars in a hazy heaven…trem-ble above you

While he is whisp'ring: "Darling, I love you"

You say goodbye, away you fly; but on your lips you'll keep a kiss

All your life you'll dream of this

Lovely…lovely night…

Kurt nervously glanced up at Finn.

"What did he do to my stepbrother," the taller boy asked in a dangerously steady voice.

Kurt gulped and smiled in embarrassment. So much for hand-holding.

FIN

Partly inspired by my own reaction to the kiss. I had watched O.S. at a friend's house and on the drive home I put the window down and yelled 'Klaine's canon bitches!' at the top of my lungs. Spend the rest of the night grinning and singing to myself. Oh the stares I got…but anyway! I assume Finn's mind would go to something deeper in the gutter after reading those lyrics, so I wrote his response accordingly. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please feel free to fave/review. Feedback is the topping on a pizza.