"Wakey wakey Kurt," Finn sang, jostling the edge of Kurt's mattress to rouse him. "Come on," he added, when Kurt simply flopped over, burying his face further into his pillow. "We've got places to be lil bro. Wake up."

"No more therapy," Kurt grumbled, his voice raspy.

"To therapy today," Finn confirmed, dropping down onto the bed heavily, causing Kurt to crack an eye to glare blearily at him.

"Sleepy," he grumbled, before closing his eye again.

"Hey, none of that," Finn protested, and reach over to take the pillow away from him, causing Kurt to groan and kick at him in retaliation.

"Go away," he grumbled, rolling over away from him.

"You've been asleep for nearly ten hours. We gotta leave soon, come on."

"Got nowhere to be," came Kurt's slightly muffled response.

"Got somewhere to be," Finn contradicted.

Kurt made a disgruntled sound, and rolled over, glaring at him openly now, something Finn found hilarious given the state of his hair.

"Aww, don't look like that dude," he teased. "Today's a fun day."

Kurt didn't respond. Instead he muttered something under his breath that Finn couldn't quite hear before he shuffled toward the end of the bed. Finn grinned triumphantly when he stood and went into his bathroom, certain he would remain up now. He checked the time on his watch. It was a little after nine now; they had about fifty minutes left before they absolutely had to be out of the house.

A few minutes later, Kurt, considerably more awake, came back into his room, eyeing him curiously. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice a lot closer to its usual tone.

"We've been cooped up here a lot lately," Finn explained, as he finished adjusting the sheets on Kurt's bed. "I think cabin fever is setting in. I figure we could disappear for the day."

Kurt's curious expression shifted to caution. "I don't know Finn," he hedged, "I don't think I want to."

"We're not staying in Lima," Finn reassured him, interjecting a hint of cajoling into his voice. "Think about it Kurt, you, me, an epic Hudmel trip out to discover the world. Wind in our hair, all the right tunes…it'll be great!"

"What movie did you watch?" Kurt retorted, brows furrowing, even as his left hand wrapped around his torso.

"That's not important," Finn responded. "You're in, right?"

Kurt hesitated, his gaze shifting to the window. "You definitely have something planned?" he finally asked.

"Well just the get out of Lima part right now," he replied honestly, "but it sounds good doesn't it Kurt? No therapy, no school work, no lying about the house. I already filled up the Nav's tank and prepped the radio. All that's missing is you and me. What do you say, huh?"

Kurt's mouth twisted as he considered it. Finn knew that he was asking a lot out of him, but he was also certain that this was exactly what Kurt, hell, what they both needed right now. They would be better off for it, he just knew it.

"We can come back right?" he inquired and internally, Finn cheered. He had him.

"As soon as you want to," he promised, "no questions asked."

"Okay," Kurt said finally. "Now get out. I have to dress."

"Okay," Finn agreed jovially, standing up. "I'll get you an apple for now okay? Yell if you need me."

"I will," Kurt replied, a bit more subdued now. Finn gently clasped him on his shoulder as he passed, before leaving him to it.

"I'm ready," Kurt said, walking into the kitchen, nearly twenty minutes later.

"Good, I have your-" Finn's words stopped abruptly as he turned, taking in his brother's appearance. Was that really...? "You're wearing jeans," he said, a bit dumbly.

Kurt shrugged, and Finn was well aware that he was affecting a casual tone when he said, "Is it that shocking?"

"No," Finn responded, striving for normalcy. He wasn't sure if he could make a big deal out of it; their trip could potentially end before it had a chance to truly begin if he did so. "I suppose that means my sweats are safe again?" he joked instead.

"Not a chance," Kurt retorted, his cheeks colouring, "that took an effort and a half. Tie my laces please?"

"Sure thing," Finn responded, coming over. He handed Kurt a plate of apple slices before stooping, and deftly righting the mess of an effort Kurt had made. He made a mental note to see if Velcro shoes came in adult sizes as he straightened.

"I dug around in the attic last night," he said, glancing up at him, "found my old sling." He jerked his head toward the counter, and looking in that direction, Kurt saw it. It was a plain blue, and, if it wasn't for the fact that the cream straps were discoloured with age, Kurt would not have guessed that it was several years old.

"Oh?"

"Figured it would make things easier?" Finn explained hesitantly. He had assumed that Kurt wouldn't want extra attention drawn to him if he needed to manually manipulate his limb. "I mean, no one is going to look twice at a teenager with an arm in a sling right?"

"Right," Kurt agreed, although his voice didn't seem quite certain. "You've thought of everything, haven't you?"

"Hopefully," Finn agreed. "Now eat up," he bid, "and we'll get going."

"How much further?" Kurt asked, irritation lacing his tone. "Why are we doing this?"

"We're about ten minutes from Cridersville," Finn responded patiently, ignoring the fact that this was the third time Kurt had asked that in the last few minutes. "We'll eat first thing, okay?"

"There's nothing of worth there," Kurt pointed out, ignoring his words. "I've been here before."

"I'm sure the good folks of Cridersville say the same thing about Lima," Finn shot back.

"Lima's a town at least. We're going to a village, Finn. Is your idea of fun a village?"

Finn snickered; he couldn't resist it. This trip was already proving to be a success for the mere fact that Kurt was being so snippy. That was normal Kurt behaviour and that was exactly what Finn wanted to see.

"I'm not eating here," Kurt added, not at all realising how amusing his brother was finding his complaining. "We don't know the quirks of the restaurants here."

"Quirks?"

"You know, like never eating the breadsticks."

Finn chuckled at that. "We're eating there," Finn said as they finally entered the village's zone, lifting a hand off the wheel to point at a nearby golden 'M'.

"That's even worse," he groused. "I refuse."

"I can hear your stomach Kurt," Finn replied mildly.

"Pre-mature indigestion."

Finn laughed outright at that. "You'll love it," he finally said as he pulled into the small car park.

"I won't."

"Mmhmm."

Still jovial, Finn switched off the engine, releasing first his and then his brother's seat belt, Kurt's scowl only increasing his merriment. "Let's go lil bro," he bid.

"We drove one town over for Mc Donald's?" Kurt asked skeptically as, reluctantly, he exited the vehicle. "I know you love food, but seriously, this is your idea of fun? We could have gotten this in Lima"

"Such a complainer you are today," he teased as they reached the restaurant's doors and he held one open for him. "This McDonald's doesn't have people who know us," he said, shooting Kurt a pointed look.

A look of clarity crossed his face. "Oh," he said simply, and walked into the restaurant, shrugging off his coat as he did. The restaurant was largely empty; there were only two families there, both with young children who, for now at least, were quiet as they munched on fries and chicken strips.

Finn gently shoved Kurt in the direction of one of the free booths near a window. "Go on, I'll order."

"I want a salad," Kurt declared, looking back at him.

"My treat, my choice," Finn declared, heading for the cashier. As he waited, he pulled out his phone. Nope, no calls or messages. He supposed that his mother hadn't gotten home as yet.

Ten minutes later, Finn found himself on the end of a disbelieving stare. "You cannot be serious," Kurt hissed as he took in the two laden trays in his hands. "That's enough for an army."

"Kurt meet army," he quipped, as he set down a tray and patted his stomach.

Setting down the other, he slipped into the booth across from him, nudging a tray closer to his side. "Everything's chicken for you," he explained, "You have a chicken sandwich, large fries, some nuggets and a Mc Flurry. Oh...and orange juice...to, you know, be healthy."

"I wanted a salad," Kurt grumbled.

"Fries are made from potatoes, and potatoes are vegetables," Finn declared proudly, before snagging a fry and chewing on it with relish. Hot, salty deliciousness, oh how he missed it.

Kurt hesitated for a bit longer, and just when Finn was ready to prod at him, tentatively reached out and took a long fry, nibbling at it.

"When's the last time you've had this?" he couldn't help but ask.

"It's been years," Kurt replied, reaching for a next one. "It's not healthy."

And yet Finn was pretty certain that there was a spark of pleasure in Kurt's eyes as he stuffed the fry into his mouth. "It's not like I eat it daily."

Kurt didn't bother to respond, and Finn politely didn't tease him when he snagged a few more and started eating them with a bit more speed.

"Why did you want to come here?" Kurt asked eventually, as he alternated among the fries, nuggets and sandwich. Finn was more of a one item at a time sort of eater, but he could acknowledge the reasoning to Kurt's strategy.

He took a large sip from his coke before responding. "It's a tradition."

"Tradition?" Kurt asked curiously.

Finn ate a bit more before he explained, a sentimental look rooting itself on his face. "Yeah, started back in elementary I think," Finn answered, "or at least that's the first time I can remember. I had had a horrible day. Baseball wasn't really my sport but I didn't really know that back then. I cost my team the win and I was heartbroken by it. I remember just sitting there on the bench after the game was done, wallowing in pity. Mom was there. I don't even know how she managed that because she worked so many shifts back then, but there was she was all of a sudden, smiling and telling me it wasn't the end of the world.

"She carried me to McDonalds and ordered two Happy meals and we just sat in there, sort of like this really and ate our meals. Then she pulled out our toys and we played with them until I was laughing again. Everything seemed fine all of a sudden. It stuck after that. Anytime one of us was having a horrible day, we'd go to McDonalds. Of course now I can get it myself now and a Happy meal is nothing more than an appetizer but yeah, it helps me feel better."

Kurt looked at him for a moment, before a soft smile worked its way onto his face. "That sounds adorable Finn," he admitted.

Finn nodded. "It was nice. I mean mom didn't have a lot of extra money, so it was a cheap way for us to just hang out together, and talk, you know? I didn't understand half of what she was saying sometimes, but it didn't matter. We were together, and the food was good, and I got a toy out of the deal."

Kurt chuckled at that. "Thanks for sharing this with me then," he told him softly.

"It's no problem," Finn replied sincerely and went back to his own food.

"I'm sorry I freaked out yesterday," Kurt said after most of their food had been consumed.

"It's cool dude," Finn said immediately. "I know you didn't mean it."

"I just don't want to be a burden to anyone," Kurt continued, playing around with half a nugget. "I see how much trouble I'm causing."

"It's not trouble Kurt," Finn told him firmly.

"You have to spend so much time with me now," Kurt continued, as if he had not spoken. "You didn't sign up for that. I don't want to keep you back."

"Hey," Finn said, causing Kurt to look up at him, "listen to me Kurt. No one is forcing me to do anything, not our parents, not you. Everything I do is because I want to, okay?"

"Yeah but…"

"But what?" Finn pressed, when Kurt drifted off in favour of biting at his lip. "And stop that," he added.

Kurt released his nip, but refused to meet Finn's gaze when he spoke next. "We…we never really did stuff together before. I don't want you to feel like you have to do things with me now. I don't want your pity…it's good enough that you saved me…I'm okay with just that."

Finn sat back, a wave of sadness washing through him at the tentativeness to Kurt's words. He knew that Kurt did not mean what he was saying, knew that him being around so much now was something that his younger brother was deeply grateful now. And yet, Finn could not fault him for what he was saying. Indeed, he was a bit surprised that it had not come up before now.

"I know that I didn't pay you that much attention before," Finn admitted, framing his words carefully. "Even when you tried to get us to do stuff together, I would blow you off a lot. That was because I was being stupid Kurt. That was before when I was silly enough to think that being popular mattered more than us being family, being brothers. That changed the moment I saw what they were doing for you. Maybe if I'd done more from the start to help you it would never have happened."

"Finn-"

"Let me finish," he bid. "I'm not doing anything for you out of pity Kurt; please do not see it that way. I don't know how to explain it without sounding weird, but, something changed for me in that moment. I got my priorities in order, and you're one of those priorities."

Kurt swallowed, and, when he briefly met his gaze, Finn saw the faint sheen of tears in Kurt's eyes. "I just always wanted you to be my friend," he said softly.

Finn smiled, and reached across the table to flick at his nose, drawing a bit of a laugh from him. "Well I'm more than that now," he replied. "I'm your brother now Kurt, and nothing is ever going to change that."