Kurt POV

"Ok, now turn around. No, put up your arms and turn. Not that high, just hold them away from your body so I can see how it looks." Finn followed my instructions as best he could, his eyes rolling. "No, take it off and let's try something else."

"What's wrong with this one? I kind of like it." He unbuttoned the top anyway, holding out his hand for the next one.

He was as hopeless at fashion as ever. "It doesn't work with your skin tone. Dior Grey works with mine, but not yours. Now, what about this one?"

"No way." He wouldn't even take it, his eyes narrow.

"Why not?" I didn't let my irritation show, but it was getting to be a close thing. We had been at the mall for three hours now, and hadn't found anything that we both agreed on. Everything I liked, Finn hated and refused to even try on, and everything he liked looked like Salvation Army rejects. After four stores worth of bickering, we had found a pile of things that we could compromise on, but they were almost all in the reject pile now. "What's wrong with it?"

"It looks like something some Persian whore would wear! If I put that on, I'm going to get my ass kicked." He was becoming restless and irritated, less willing to negotiate on anything. "We don't even know where we're going, so why do I have to be all dressed up."

Slacks and a button-up shirt were not being all dressed up! "Finn, how many times do I have to tell you that every day is an opportunity for fashion? Just try on these last couple of things, and if we don't find anything, we can go home." The dressing room was really too small for both of us, but I didn't trust Finn to do this on his own.

His muscles were tense when I ran my fingernails up and down his bare back. "Just think, if we can find something we agree on, I can practice taking it off of you later. Because, you know, we wouldn't want any hang-ups after the date."

His breathing got faster and his eyes glazed. A part of me felt bad for using sex to manipulate Finn into doing things my way, but a larger part knew that he needed a better wardrobe at all costs. Plus, I wasn't lying when I said I didn't want there to be any trouble with getting his clothes off. It would be a shame if I finally got him some nice clothing, and I had to rip it because I couldn't get if off quickly enough. "Alright, we'll try on the next few, but if we don't find it here, I need a break. I'm hungry."

Of course he was. After all, he had only eaten two huge helpings of spaghetti at home, a soft pretzel and soda when we first got here, and a slice of pizza after the third store. I was really wondering if he had a problem with his blood sugar, because if I told him no, he would become as whiney as a toddler until he did get something to eat. I mean, he is twice my size, but he eats 5 times as much. It just defies logic. "Deal."

"But not this one." He shoved the offending shirt back into my hands.

I knew how to accept defeat. "Alright, not this one." I quickly shuffled through the remaining shirts and chose the plainest one, a dark blue one with small silver buttons. "Try this."

He shrugged it on and I stepped forward to help with the buttons. He was more then capable of doing it himself, but we both pretended that he couldn't. And if I 'accidentally' scraped my fingers across his stomach, or dipped them just slightly into the waistband of his jeans, well, he was being a pretty good sport about this all, so he deserved a little treat.

At this point Finn knew exactly what to do, so I watched as he turned around, letting me check him out from all angles. This actually might work. It was a nice shirt, and the colors worked really well with his coloring. I moved my hands to his hips, tucking the shirt in. "What do you think about this one?"

He turned from side to side. "I like it. But I like it better when you're touching it."

I gave him a smile and stood up on my tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. "I like it, too. How about we get you a snack, and then look for pants."

"Snack sounds good, but I don't know about the pants. If I have to take my pants off in front of you, I will not be held responsible for my actions." Finn raised an eyebrow at me, leaving no doubt about what he meant.

Once I got started with shopping, it was next to impossible to stop me. My father had tried, Tina had tried, even Mercedes had tried without success. But all Finn had to do was say a few words and I was nodding dumbly. "Ok. But we need to stop at Bath and Body Works before we leave."

He sighed dramatically, but I was getting immune to his antics. I slid my arms around him, squeezing tightly. "Don't you want me to smell good for our date?"

"Ok." It had come to my attention that Finn would agree to just about anything as long as I was touching him. Anything except the Persian whore shirt, apparently. "But you always smell good. Like a guy smells good though, not like a chick. Why would you want to change that?"

"There's always room for improvement." Honestly, I was mostly curious about the things he liked, and asking him directly was an exercise in frustration. "Even on me."

"I don't have to get anything, do I?" He was suspicious, but already allowing me to open the fitting room door and lead him towards the main mall.

"Nope. All I need is an opinion."

Finn looked longingly at the food court as we passed it, but didn't ask for anything. Bath and Body Works was rather brightly lit, and he squinted slightly. "What exactly are we looking for?"

More products then he could probably put a name to. "I'm not sure yet. Why don't you just tell me which scents you like best?"

He started picking up bottles at random and opening them to sniff. "Ew, ew, ew, this one's ok, ew, ew, too girly, ick, don't like flowery, ew, no, not this one, Quinn used it, ew, like this one, ew, ew, ick." He handed over two bottles. "These I like."

It never failed to amaze me that Finn could shop so quickly. "Just these two?" I flipped them over to check what it was he liked. Apple and Raspberry. "You like fruit scents?"

"Well, I like vanilla too, and that light blue stuff, but Quinn always wore vanilla and the blue stuff is kind of girly. I still want you to smell like a dude. So yeah, I really like the apple one best."

I kind of liked the apple one, too. It was fresh smelling and very light. "Get the body wash, please."

"Really?" He seemed so surprised that I raised an eyebrow at him. Hadn't I just asked him what he thought? "Because no one really seems to care what I think. Everyone asks, but then they do whatever they really want."

"I'm not everyone. For one thing, I'm about a thousand times more fashionable, and for another, I actually care about your feelings. I'm not just placating you, I promise."

"What does placating mean?" He was doing that forehead wrinkle again, and if he didn't stop, I was going to kiss him right in the store.

"It means appeasing." He still looked totally blank, so I tried again. "It means giving in to you just because I don't want to argue with you, even though I have no intention of following through with it."

"Placate, huh." He nodded, and I could tell he was committing the term to memory, so he could pull it out later. Sometimes Finn could surprise you.

"Yes, placate. Now are you ready to go, or do you want to stop anywhere else?" I handed him the bag, even though it meant he had to shuffle the half dozen bags he was already carrying. He might not be saying the words, but any man who is willing to do that does it because they love the person they're with, right?

Finn insisted on getting an ice cream cone on the way out of the mall. He offered to get one for me, too, but I turned him down, citing calories and the fact that it was 40 degrees out. I had been hoping that he would finish it before we got to the car, but no such luck. "Can you avoid getting the inside of my car all sticky, or do you need to eat it outside?"

He looked at the car, then at me, clearly weighing the options. It was cold out, and I could already see him shivering a little. On the other hand, if he got even a drop of it inside my baby, I was going to go ballistic. "Maybe I should finish out here."

"Good idea." I turned the engine over and cranked the heat up. Finn was going to be freezing when he finally got in, and he would appreciate the gesture. And if he needed a little cuddling to warm him up, who was I to deny him?

You aren't being careful, Kurt. Anyone could be at this mall tonight, teachers, other students, Karofsky and his goons. It would be bad enough if you and Finn were just seen together as friends, but if you actually get caught touching? You're both dead men, maybe literally.

It was the truth, even if it hurt. On Saturday, I could have Finn exactly how I wanted him. I could hold his hand, and give him hugs and kisses, and not have to worry about who might be watching. Even though I knew it was for the best, I was getting really tired of having to keep Finn a secret.

Of course, it was impossible to be sure if he felt the same way. Despite everyone else seeming to have no trouble figuring him out, Finn was a bit of a mystery to me. Obviously, he wanted me, at least sexually, but I had to wonder if he needed me the way I needed him. Probably not. After all, he was Finn Hudson, and could have any girl that he wanted. Why in the world would he pick me?

Oh get over yourself. Does it matter why he chose you or does it just matter that he did? Honestly, Kurt, this insecurity is getting a little old. Finn wants to be with you right now, and that's what counts.

She was right. Maybe the reason Finn was so mysterious to me was that he wasn't mysterious at all. He was with me because he wanted to be, and in his mind, that was good enough. I was so used to everyone trying to manipulate the situation that I no longer recognized genuine affection.

I looked out the window, only to find that Finn had licked the ice cream up into a point, no doubt trying to get a bigger bite. I felt my eyes widen as he crammed most of the ice cream tower into his mouth, swallowing quickly. Holy shit that was hot.

In the next minute, Finn threw the door open and jumped into the car. "God damn its cold out there! We're going to have snow by next week." He looked at my wide eyes. "What?"

Had it been anyone else, I would have thought that that little display was on purpose, just to get me all hot and bothered. But this was Finn. He didn't have a deceptive bone in his body. "Uh, nothing I guess."

"Ok." He definitely knew that something was up, but he didn't want to stir things up. "So, your place or mine? My mom's at work."

I had only been to Finn's house once, and I couldn't deny that I was curious to go again. "Your place."

"Ok, you know how to get there, right?" He was already fiddling with the radio, looking for a clear station. To my surprise, he settled on a country station, staring at the speakers as if he could see the notes coming out.

"What's with the music?"

He shrugged, still staring. "I don't know. We've only done one country song in Glee, so maybe we could do another one."

That wasn't necessarily the truth, but I knew Finn well enough by now to leave it alone. He had to figure things out in his own mind before he could even hope to explain them to anyone else. "Alright." We were stopped at a red light with no one else around, so I risked leaning over to offer a kiss. He turned his head immediately, but his eyes were still distant. I could taste the ice cream on his lips, and it brought me back to my earlier thoughts.

Despite what we had talked about Monday, Finn hadn't made any further moves taking our relationship to the next level. I couldn't deny that watching him go down on that ice cream cone hadn't brought the issue to the front of my mind, though. I wondered if Finn didn't want to push because he was letting me lead, or because he thought the whole thing was kind of creepy.

Give the poor boy a break. He'd never kissed a guy before Saturday, and it's only Thursday now. I'd say he's doing pretty darn well with not freaking the fuck out. Now keep your dick in your pants or in his hands and don't push for more. You'll know when the time is right for that, and it's not tonight.

Yeah, yeah, I got it. I had to admit, though, I hadn't been expecting to get even a hand job until college, so I was a little ahead of schedule here. Thus, patience was a virtue, and I could keep my dirty thoughts about Finn and that ice cream cone to myself.

Finn took a sudden, deep, breath. "So, you were right." His tone suggested that he thought he was about to get his ass kicked.

"Finn Hudson, I'm sure I'm right about a great many things. What specifically were you referring to?" I patted his leg lightly, trying to let him know I wasn't angry.

"Rach."

Ah, the magical name that made me bristle. "What did Rachael do this time, other then commit another atrocity in the name of fashion?" I had a pretty good idea of what she had done, but I wanted to hear him say it.

"Well, when I went over to her house, she kind of came on to me." Finn flinched as he spoke.

I tamped my temper down. After all, I had known that his was going to happen. Rachael Berry was nothing if not focused, and right now, she wanted Finn. Since I wasn't allowed to let her know that I had won this time, the poor poor girl still thought that she had a chance.

Too bad, bitch, Finn is ours now! Galinda was all but dancing with glee. We get to kiss him, and we get to cuddle with him, and we get to fool around with him. We also get to love him, which is something that you will never understand. He's ours.

"I see. And how did she 'kind of' come on to you? Either she did or she didn't." I rubbed his knee affectionately, which seemed to give him courage.

"Well, she did come on to me then. She was wearing this creepy cat woman outfit, like Halle Berry in that movie, and she was pretty much all over me. I think she would have had sex with me if I would have asked."

Hee-hee. A catsuit? That sounds like something we would have come up with.

I didn't think it was as funny as she did. Actually, I couldn't help but notice how intrigued he sounded. It was a harsh reminder that no matter what I did, Finn was attracted to women, too, and that might be my downfall. "So, what did you do?" I was trying to navigate a rather tricky turn, so it didn't come out as biting as I wanted it to.

He gave me a confused look. "I told her no. Why, what should I have done?"

I had to remember that Finn knew what it felt like to be cheated on, and, as sensitive as he was, he would probably do anything to avoid making someone else feel that way. "No, you did the right thing."

We were in the driveway before he said anything else. "Then why are you doing that pissed off clenching thing with the steering wheel?"

There was no trace of humor in his voice, but he didn't really sound angry either. Just sort of tired and wary. "I'm not."

That, of course, was a lie. I practically had to pry my fingers out of their death grip on the wheel. "It's just…I don't know."

"You don't? Because I do." He was treading cautiously now, unsure.

There was a minute when I considered that hell just might have frozen over. Finn was always the last to know everything (see Drizzle: father of), so I couldn't possibly see how he could help me. "Alright, tell me why I'm clenching on the steering wheel."

"You're jealous of Rachael. You think she's got something that I don't, and that's why I'll end up with you and not her."

I hated myself for even asking this, but the words were out before I could stop them. "And does she? Have something that I don't, I mean."

I couldn't look at him when he replied, because I was trying to maneuver my way up his rather curvy driveway. Still, I didn't have to be looking to hear the grin in his voice. "Well, she has tits."

"And you like them." It was a statement, not a question.

"Well, yeah." His puzzlement suggested that this should have been a foregone conclusion.

My fingers clenched again. "I see."

Then his hand was on my side, tickling at my ribs. "Come on now, Kurt. I mean, I really, really like what we have, but I'm not a dead man. I still like girls, too. Actually, I mostly like girls, but you're something special. You're like….I don't know, something all metaphory and great."

I had to give him points for honesty. Of course Finn was still attracted to women, but did that really matter? He thought I was special enough to be with right now, even though Rachael had offered him more then I had, namely sex. "Do you want to have sex with me?" The words came out in a rush, and I wasn't sure if I wanted him to say yes or no.

"Well, yeah, eventually. But not right now. I mean, we haven't even been on a date yet, and doing it on the first date is trashy, so doing it before the first date is, like….uh….megatrashy." He looked past me and groaned. "Shit, Mom's home! Total cockblock."

The disappointment in his voice made me smile, even though I knew better then to let him see it. "I thought doing it before the first date was megatrashy."

He reached out and gently trailed his arm down my back. Despite the fact that I was supposed to be angry with him, for reasons I couldn't quite articulate, I couldn't help but respond. He gave me a lopsided smile. "Well, sex before the first date is megatrashy. But doing other things before the first date is ok, but only when it's two guys. If it's a guy and a girl, it's still bad."

Sometimes I think he just makes this stuff up as he goes along. "Oh, really?"

"Uh-huh." He looked so ridiculously pleased with himself that I had to smile. "Yep, that's how it is."

"So, what happens when two girls go out on a date?" I wasn't quite sure I wanted to hear the reply to that.

"Oh, well, when two chicks get together, they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. It's totally cool."

Ug, what was it with straight men and their obsession with lesbians? Finn had the dopiest smile I had ever seen on his face, and that included the face Puck had been making when the Jane Adams Academy showed up. "So, what you're saying it you would like me to keep my hands off of you until we have our first date tomorrow?"

He rolled his eyes. "No. I would like you to put your hands all over me, all the time, but that isn't going to happen with my mother here."

"Why not? We can be really quiet." Well, maybe Finn couldn't, but I supposed I could keep a hand over his mouth or something.

"Oh no we can't. You are seriously loud, not to mention the fact that you swear like a sailor when you come." Finn was laughing a little about it.

I did not! Swearing was low class and a filthy habit. Even though my mind was as filthy as anyone else's, I would never say those things out loud. It was just…no; there was no way I would do that.

Are you sure about that? Seems to me that your recollections of exactly what comes out of your mouth during those little biology lessons are somewhat…shall we say, flawed?

"Do I really?" He had to be kidding.

"Yeah. I didn't even think you knew half of those words, but it is so seriously hot." There was that stupid smile again, even worse then before. It was nice to think that I made Finn hotter then a pair of lesbians doing naughty things to each other.

If it had gone on any longer, I might have just jumped Finn right there and violated the sanctity of my baby, but the front door swung open and Carol appeared in the doorway. She didn't say anything directly, but her set back and crossed arms made it very clear that we were not allowed to do anything in her driveway. "Come on in boys, there's no point in sitting in the driveway and either wasting gas or freezing to death."

As I've undoubtedly said before, Finn is a total mama's boy, so he was nodding as soon as the words were out of her mouth. He did, however, give my shoulders a quick squeeze. "We wouldn't freeze to death. I'm sure we could figure out how to keep each other warm."

My jaw dropped. I wasn't surprised that Finn would say that, but I was shocked that he would say it with Carol watching us. Even if she couldn't actually hear him, she was standing right there!

Carol gave Finn a quick kiss. "Hey baby, how was your day?"

"Good. How come you're home?" He tugged my arm, pulling me inside.

She smiled. "I traded a shift with someone. Don't tell me you've been at the mall all this time."

He groaned. "Unfortunately, yes. Kurt is like a little Energizer bunny when it comes to the mall. I barely made it out without going completely insane."

Carol patted my shoulder. "You're a better man then most, Kurt. I don't even go shopping with him any more, because he whines so much about it. I just give him the money and let him go."

That went a long way towards explaining how his fashion sense could possibly be so bad. The poor boys was getting absolutely no feedback, though Carol's own fashion sense left more then a little to be desired. "Well, he needs a lot of help."

She smiled again. "I guess we all suffer for the ones we love."

"MOM!" Finn sounded beyond embarrassed. Was he embarrassed because he didn't love me at all, or just because his mother had brought up his love life at all? It was hard to tell with Finn.

"Oh, Finn." Her tone was indulgent, and I couldn't stop staring. In that moment, I wanted Finn's mom to be my mom, just so she could look at me like that. My real mom wouldn't be upset with me for wanting that, would she?

"Well, I'll leave you two boys alone, but remember, you have school tomorrow, so don't stay up to late. Also, keep your pants on." She was gone before either one of us could formulate a reply.

Finn's mouth was still hanging open when I managed to squeak out "did she just say that?"

"Yeah. I told you its creepy when she says things like that." Finn still had his arm around my shoulders, and he used that to pull me even closer. "So, you want to watch a movie or something?"

"How about homework?" I knew he wouldn't bring it up on his own, but he was doing so much better since we started working together that I felt obligated to keep going.

His nose wrinkled. "I guess. I mean, if we have to."

"We have to." I stood up so I could give him a kiss. "What do you want to start with?"

"Spanish." Finn was very definite on that. I don't think that it's because he has any real interest in the subject, but Mr. Shue is the teacher, and no one doubts how much Finn adores Mr. Shue. If he was going to put forth the effort in any class, it would be this one. "Alright, Spanish."

Even though he was out of the sling, Finn still has his hand bandaged almost to the fingertips, so I made his notes for him. Plus, the boy is adorable and quite sweet, but his handwriting is absolutely atrocious. This way things looked neat, plus I could carefully spell out the pronunciations he had trouble with. He watched over my shoulder, his hot breath hitting my neck and making me shiver.

Oh, just kiss him already! It's practically a teenage right of passage to try and fool around with the parents in the next room. Just remember, getting caught is also practically a right of passage.

In other words, it was a right of passage that I could probably do without. Had it just been Finn and I, I might have tried it. I've never been one to shy away from new things, and Finn was looking incredible in that pair of jeans. But it wasn't just about us. There was Dad and Carol to consider, too, and their relationship. If I made Carol mad enough, maybe she would break up with my father and then everyone would be unhappy. As much as I might selfishly want him to do that just so I could have him all to myself again, I knew that it wasn't in his best interest, just mine.

Still, it was a little hard to take the high moral ground when a certain someone had started to run his left hand up and down my back, the fingers curling around my ribs. If I didn't stop him now, I wouldn't be able to. "Finn, Spanish." It would have been much easier if he hadn't been trying to slip his hand up under my shirt.

"Yo quiero uno beso." Finn looked so adorably hopefully that I had to laugh. Plus, he had actually used the language, and almost correctly. Before I could reply, he gave me his best puppy dog look and sighed. "Por favor?"

Well…since he had asked so politely, I gave him a kiss on the lips. "That was very, very good. See how well you can do when you put your mind to it?"

"Uno mas?" This time I shook my head. If I started playing the 'one more kiss' game with Finn now, I would be naked before I could figure out what had happened.

Another dramatic sigh, but I could already see that gleam in his eyes. Uh-oh. He looked at his hands for a second, then glanced up. "Uno trabajo de mano, por favor?"

For a second I had no idea what he wanted. 'Mano' meant hand, and 'trabajo' meant work or job, but I was already helping him with his work and-oh! He was being all sneaky and requesting a hand job in Spanish. "You are a pervert." I tried to make my tone cold, but he was so cute that I couldn't help but smile a little.

"You like me this way." Finn scooted his chair a little closer to mine and kissed first my cheek, then right under my ear. Damn him, he knew what that did to me!

I squirmed away from him. "How long have you been waiting for an opportunity to use that one?" I knew Finn, and I knew that he hadn't come up with that one off the top of his head.

"Since last semester. I didn't think I'd get to use it on you, though." He leaned back. "It's kind of a funny world, isn't it?"

That was something we could both agree on. I fumbled to get myself back on familiar ground, just so I wouldn't have to go through the utter humiliation of Carol walking in on me being inappropriate with her son. "Are you going to let me do your hair for our date?"

"Do I have a choice?" Smart boy, he was already figuring out that I was about as stoppable as a hurricane, and it was better to just go along with me.

"Not really. I have to take care of Mercedes first, but I'll come over here and get you ready." Belatedly I realized that this was his date too, and I needed to remember how much he liked it when he was actually allowed to voice his opinion. "If that's alright with you, I mean."

"Sure." He went back to his homework, but not before giving me a pitiful look "So, no hand job, even though I totally asked in Spanish?"

"No hand job, even thought you asked in Spanish. Good try though, and good use of some vocab words." Both 'hand' and 'work' had been on our lists this year, though I'm pretty sure that Mr. Shue hadn't intended for them to be strung together that way.

"I can ask for a blow job, too." Finn gave me a hopeful look, but sighed at the look on my face. "You're kinda mean." But he was already picking up his textbook and getting back to work.

"Oh, I'm mean because I won't put out for you with your mother able to walk in on us at any moment?"

"Uh-huh. Mean." He pouted charmingly, which would have been much more effective if I didn't use the same trick, and much better then he could ever hope to.

Sitting here with Finn, it occurred to me how nice this felt. It felt normal to be here, with my shoulder almost touching his, where I could lean to the side and kiss him if I wanted to. He would no doubt be thrilled if I did, but he didn't necessarily expect it. We had grown completely comfortable with each other very quickly, and I had to wonder if all relationships were like this, or if Finn and I had something special going on.

I wanted to think that we did, but I knew that every 16 year old thinks that they have the most special, wonderful relationship in the world, each and every time they fall in love. Maybe that's all Finn would end up being to me, my first crush, my first love. Maybe I would keep in contact with him, maybe not. Maybe I would forget all about him until our high school reunion, where he would come with his pretty wife and beautiful kids and we would make awkward small talk and half hearted promises to see each other some time.

The thought made a shiver run through my body, and Finn slipped his good arm around me without looking up. "Sorry, heat sucks in here." The words were kind of mumbled, since his attention was mostly on the book, but I snuggled gratefully into his warmth.

Kurt, why did you have to worry so much about everything? Will you have Finn in 10 years? Probably not. Will you have him in 2 years, after high school? Probably not. Will you have him six months from now? Who knows? But you do have him right now, and a date with him on Saturday. How much more do you really need? One day at a time, buddy, one day at a time.

It was good advice. Finn might be one boyfriend in a line of many, but there was no way to tell that right now. Tomorrow might bring new things, but this was today. Right now, I could enjoy his warmth, and his smell, and the fact that he wanted me more than anyone else. That was something I could easily get used to.