28
Finn didn't know what he'd expected once Kurt was home—a return to normalcy? As foolish as he knew it was to expect things to get better quickly, he had hoped to see more glimmers of the "old Kurt"—the one who had perfected the defiant sneer and could make fun of a garish cast.
But as soon as they traveled over the threshold of the house, Kurt fell eerily silent. As Burt went around, explaining how almost everything had been made temporarily wheelchair accessible, Finn watched his stepbrother, who didn't even seem to be paying attention to the tutorial. His eyes were blank and he was staring into the distance.
Eventually, Burt realized this himself and awkwardly let the one-sided conversation halt, pushing his son into the living room and showing him the pull-out couch, all ready for his occupation since the basement stairs would be too difficult to manage.
Kurt made no protest—he didn't do much of anything, instead pressing his lips together and tracing his fingers down the bandages on his arm. Burt's face was pained; he shot Finn a look and ushered Carole into the master bedroom, shutting the door.
Finn swung his arms back and forth.
"So…" he said awkwardly. Kurt didn't take the bait, and the taller teen scratched his neck awkwardly. "I'll sign your cast now, if that's okay?"
Kurt shrugged, still focused on his forearm.
Finn shuffled past him to the kitchen and came back with a fat black permanent marker. He crouched in front of his stepbrother and tilted his head in thought, before reaching forward and carefully scrawling out a message.
"There. You wanna know what it says?"
Kurt shrugged again and Finn sighed, recapping the marker and settling onto the ground, looking up at the smaller boy. Kurt didn't meet his eyes.
"What happened?" Finn asked, frowning. "You seemed better at the hospital, and now…this." When Kurt didn't move, he continued, "We're all here for you. You know we care about you and want to help. Right?"
Another shrug.
:
Finn was not looking forward to returning to school. He knew the story would have gotten out at this point—there would be whispers and looks and maybe even questions. He got a queasy stomach just thinking about it, but at least the other glee kids would be right there with him.
Understandably, Kurt's date of return to McKinley remained undetermined. When Finn bade his brother goodbye, Kurt was lying on the couch, staring blankly at a morning talk show. He didn't return the farewell.
:
As it turned out, Finn's school day was brief.
After third period, he was in the hall with Puck and Sam when he heard Azimio talking loudly to some of the other jocks a few lockers away.
"And I bet the faggot liked it, too. Probably got a kick out of it. Right, Hudson?" he called loudly, eyes glimmering as he looked over at Finn. "You fags like it that way, don't you?"
Puck and Sam lunged forward, but they were too late. Finn had already charged and tackled Azimio to the ground, and was punching every inch of him he could reach.
Mr. Schue and Coach Bieste pulled them off each other moments later, but not before Azimio was sporting a broken nose and Finn had received a black eye.
Even given the situation, Will couldn't keep Finn out of trouble. He and Azimio were both suspended.
:
"You shouldn't have done that, Finn," Carole sighed as she drove her son home an hour later.
Finn was rather pleased with himself.
"He's a jerk, Mom. He deserved it!"
"I'm sure he did, sweetie. But you didn't really prove anything, did you? That boy isn't going to change just because you punched him."
"I proved I'll stand up for Kurt, no matter what," Finn said firmly. "Anyway, Mr. Schue managed to get Figgins to allow me to make up the work I miss, and we'll just have glee outside school."
"Oh, honey…" Carole sighed, but there was a proud smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"So what's my punishment?" Finn asked as they stepped into the house.
"You stay home with Kurt," Burt replied, appearing in the doorway. He wasn't even trying to hide his pride.
"Cool," Finn said, trotting past his parents into the den. Kurt was watching Law and Order and eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup. He glanced over at his stepbrother.
"Heard you tackled Azimio," he said softly.
"Dude, you should have seen the look on his face!" Finn laughed, flopping into an armchair. "He didn't know what hit him!"
"Boys, I'm heading back to work," Carole said, entering the room. She leaned down and kissed Finn on the forehead. "Put some ice on that bruise."
"See you later," Finn said cheerfully as his mother kissed Kurt on the top of the head.
"Bye," Kurt whispered, his eyes on the blanket draped over his legs.
Burt lumbered in moments later, jingling the keys in his hand.
"Hey, if it's okay with you two, I'm gonna run down to the shop really fast, make sure they're doing okay without me."
"We're fine," Finn said, glancing sideways at his stepbrother. Well, I am.
Burt turned to his son. "Kurt?"
Kurt shrugged. "Okay."
"I'll be back in an hour or two. I have my phone; call for anything, okay?"
"Yeah," Kurt murmured.
Burt hesitated; then he shot Finn a look that clearly said 'Watch out for him.' Finn nodded, Burt nodded, and then the two teenagers were alone.
For several minutes, they sat in silence, attention fixed on the television. Then Kurt shifted gingerly and plucked at his T-shirt, the same one he'd been wearing yesterday.
"Can you do me a favor?" he asked tentatively.
"Sure," Finn said automatically, sitting up.
"I really need a shower. Could you just carry me down to the bathroom?"
"What about the bandages? And the stitches in your arm?"
Kurt shrugged. "They're waterproof."
Finn was hesitant, but the pleading look Kurt was giving him was too much, so he nodded and stood up, bending over the couch and lifting his brother with one arm under his knees and the other supporting his back. Kurt winced but didn't protest as Finn carried him carefully down the stairs and into the basement bathroom.
"Dude, you weigh nothing! You need to eat more!"
Kurt eyed the shower skeptically. "I think I can get it from here, if you just put me in the tub."
Finn carefully set his brother down; Kurt sat awkwardly and frowned.
"Everything okay? Are you sure about this?" Finn asked anxiously. "Maybe we should wait…"
"It's fine, Finn. I'll just take a quick bath. Get me a bag to cover the cast and you can go. I'll call you if I need help."
:
A half hour later, Finn was pacing outside the closed bathroom door. He knew it took Kurt a long time to shower, but this was pushing it, even for him.
"Kurt?" he called, knocking on the door.
No response. Finn's insides clenched.
"Kurt?" He waited. "Okay, I'm coming in!"
He opened the door. The water was still running, but the shower curtain was shut and Finn couldn't see well through the steam filling the small room.
"Kurt?"
There was still no answer and Finn stepped forward and took hold of the curtain, preparing himself for the sight of his naked stepbrother. He pulled the curtain aside.
"Oh, my God."
