Kurt POV

Finn was here. Finn was here. Finn was here. My fingers were digging so tightly into the arms of the chair that it hurt, but I couldn't stop staring at the man in front of me. If I looked away, even to blink, he might vanish. My throat had locked closed, too tight to even swallow, which was a good thing. If it hadn't, I would probably be squealing like a preteen seeing Justin Bieber.

I sat there in shock while he talked to us, rallying the troops the same way he did for the football team. Finn was here, and, for the first time, I thought we might win. His eyes dashed briefly to mine, and I smiled at him, letting him know how happy I was.

I wanted nothing more to grab him and kiss him silly, right after I made sure that this was actually what he wanted, that he hadn't been pushed into it by someone, but I had to play it cool. I waited until Finn had stood by the piano for a few minutes before I took a deep breath and blurted out "oh, my God, Finn! You are filthy and there is no way I can possibly allow you on stage in the condition. March yourself off to the men's room, I'll be there in 30 seconds."

He jumped a little, then nodded as he realized what I meant. He didn't move, though, even when I flapped my hands at him to hurry him up. "What?"

"Um, I don't really know where the men's room is."

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. "You are such a boy with no sense of direction! Come on." I put my hand to his back and gave him a push before turning back to the rest of the club. "We'll be back once I get him presentable."

Luckily, Finn was pretty filthy. There was something black on his sleeves and hands, as well as a small streak of on his left cheek. His face was kind of puffy, too, which made me guess that he had been crying and had wiped his face without thinking. Still, there was something oddly endearing about it. I grabbed my bag and followed him out.

As soon as the mens room door was closed behind us, I slammed Finn against it, desperate to see him, to run my hands over his body and know that he was really there. He was making that strange little humming noise, the one that he always made when he was happy, and I was sure that it was Finn for the first time. "Oh, God, Finn."

"Aren't you happy?" He could barely get the words out in between kisses to my face and neck His skin was soft and salty and if I died right now, it would have all been worth it in the end.

"Finn, I'm ecstatic, but how? Why? I mean, yesterday you wouldn't even talk about it, and now here you are!" It was like…I couldn't even come up with a metaphor, but it was a miracle for sure. I pointed to the sink and he started washing his hands.

"Well, you know the friend I was staying with?" At my nod, he kept going. "He said that I was being a jerk, that I couldn't just ditch you guys right before Sectionals. Total douche move and all that. He was right, but I just couldn't admit it to myself. Then I realized that I had fucked up, but I thought it was too late. Only it wasn't and I'm here now."

Whoever this friend of Finn's was, I was sending him a gift basket at the earliest possible opportunity. Then Finn wiped his hands off and put them on either side of my face. "But you know what else? I thought that I might lose you because you would be so disappointed, and I didn't want that. So I'm doing it for the team, but I'm mostly doing it for you."

His words touched something in me something that was an awful lot like…well, a bell when it started ringing. A vibration that spread through my chest and up to my finger tips, which were now resting over his. "Thank you, Finn. But I want you to be doing this for you, too, to make yourself happy. I don't want to be in a relationship where it's all about me."

Finn chuckled. "Kurt, it's always about you for me. That's just kind of how it is. But I am doing this for me. I love Glee, and I want it to keep going. That's not going to happen if I don't help now. Plus, I know what happens when Rach gets too much power, and someone needs to keep her in line." There it was, that quirky little smile.

Really, there was only one answer to that. "I love you."

"Love you, too." He released my face and spun in a quick circle. "So, how bad do I really look?"

"Well, now that you washed your hands, not too bad. You have something all black across your face, but a few swipes with a make-up removing wipe should get it."

His eyes narrowed. "Why do you have make-up removing wipes in your bag? How much make-up do you wear every day?"

I dodged the question. "Well, that depends on how big of a hickey my boyfriend decides to leave on me." That was much less humiliating then the truthful answer, which was foundation, always. Did he honestly think that my complexion was this even without a little bit of help?

Probably. This is Finn Hudson after all. I'd be surprised if he even knew what foundation was.

Well, maybe if Finn Hudson had stupid freckles that popped up every time he so much as looked at the sun, he would be more interested in foundation, too.

He has freckles.

The difference was the Finn's freckles were sexy and kissable, and mine made me look like a 10 year old.

Good point.

I covered up my conversation with Galinda by cleaning up Finn's face as best I could with a wipe and some damp paper towels. "There you go, better." You could still tell he had been crying if you looked closely enough, the only ones who would be that close would be the rest of New Directions, and I was counting on them having more tact then to bring it up. On second thought, maybe I should pull Brit aside and gently remind her what tact was.

"Do you think we can do it?" I kissed him one last time.

"We can try. Even if we can't, at least we didn't lie down and take it like a bunch of bitches." He put a hand under my chin and pulled my head up, staring into my eyes. He must have found what he was looking for, because he nodded. "So, are we going to do this thing?"

"Yes."

"Good." His hand remained on my lower back as we walked back, though he did drop it before we made it back inside the break room. Still, anyone else could have seen us, and it made my heart jump in my chest.

"What were you two doing in there?" Santana was watching me like a hawk, and I was suddenly glad that I wasn't going to have to keep Finn and I a secret for much longer.

"Trying to get all the copy machine gunk off of his face." I remained flippant, but I couldn't manage to meet her eyes. Of all the girls in this school, Santana was the only one who actually scared me.

Before she could reply, though, Matt and Mike were corralling us to get in formation. Mike lined us all up, then changed his mind and rearranged us. "It's going to have to be all about distraction. We're going to enter from the back of the auditorium, rather then the front. That let's us use Rachel's solo for walking, rather then having to get some choreography to go along with it. We already have choreography for 'Somebody to Love', so we just need to work on 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'. Matt, Santana, Britney and I can move on the one beat, and the rest of you about half a beat behind. Just watch. Finn, do you have the lead on this?"

He looked over at Puck. "You want it?"

"No, Dude, you got this. You're the one who gets off on this shit." He was saying more then that, of course, but boys aren't very good at saying that stuff out loud.

"Cool."

We went over it five times, getting better with every pass. It was still going to be rough, but we could do this. After the fifth time, Rachel nodded. "I think we have it. Now, we need to get dressed and ready. Come on guys, we have it. With my stunning solo, and 'Somebody to Love' to close out, we have this one in the bag."

Our outfits were in separate dry cleaning bags, ready to go and Tina started handing them out. Mine was last, and I was the last boy left in the room, so it shocked me to feel sharp fingers digging into my shoulder. I spun to find myself face to face with Santana. "Alright Lady Girl, what are you doing with Finn?"

I held my ground. "I was planning on going in there to help him with his tie, since he can't even tie his own shoelaces without help, but you're kind of ruining those plans."

She squeezed tighter. "Nice try, but don't lie to me, I'm better at it then you. You do realize that Finn isn't-"

"Gay?" I narrowed my eyes. "I think that that's between him and me."

"Oh, I'd believe he's gay. I've been watching him, and he doesn't even look at Britney and me anymore, not even when I leaned over in front of him and pretty much shoved my breasts in his face. He's always looking at you now. What I meant was, why are you with him?"

"Why do you care? You don't even like Finn, unless you're thinking about having sex with him."

"Why shouldn't I? It's not like you're doing it." She saw me getting ready to protest and held up a hand. "Don't even pretend, I can spot a virgin a mile away, and both of you are. Finn and I might not do much together, but he's part of this team, which means I have to look out for him. He's been through enough, Kurt. If you want him, take him, but be gentle to him. He's not that bright, but he's got a good heart."

"I am." For a second, I vacillated, then took the plunge. "As long as you feel like commenting on my love life, or lack there off, I should be able to comment on yours. You have something special in Brit, and you're throwing that away."

Her eyes narrowed in fury, but she did release me. "Worry about your own love life."

I was glad to back away and escape to the men's room. Finn was already dressed and spinning in overexcited circles, but I was able to grab the untied ends of his tie and pull him to me. He didn't kiss me, even though I knew that he wanted to. Just being able to look into his eyes and know how he felt was enough for now, though. I quickly looped the fabric around, even as he squirmed and bounced. He always got like this before an event, whether it was a football game or a Glee performance. It drove Rachel insane, but I thought it was cute. His enthusiasm was contagious, and everyone else was getting excited as well.

While we were still in there, fixing the last minute imperfections, the loudspeaker crackled. "Intermission is over, please find your seats. 10 minutes to our final performance."

Ready or not, the moment was here. Everyone looked up at the speaker, and even Finn stilled. I tried to swallow, but couldn't. Rachel appeared threw open the bathroom door. "Come on, come on!"

Finn and I were in separate lines for the entrance, and I kind of lost track of him in all the chaos. But he was here now, and knowing that was enough to give me courage. I forced my hands to unclench. I knew both songs, I knew the choreography for them, this was in the bag.

Maybe you should have let Finn take the edge off in the bathroom.

That thought made me giggle a little bit, and helped me relax enough that I could listen to Rachel's singing. As crazy as she drove me, she was doing absolutely fantastic for someone who had had zero chance to practice. I tried looking for Finn across the darkened stage, but all I could see were some shadowy figures. Then I heard our musical cue, and the curtains were parting for us.

Don't trip now. Eyes forward, shoulders back, don't look over for Finn either. Keep in step.

I took the steps carefully, afraid that I was going to be the one who fell and ruined this for everyone. Once I was on the risers, I was able to look quickly to Finn, who hadn't fallen either. He smiled quickly, then looked away, visibly gathering himself for the song.

My stomach had been churning, but it relaxed as soon as the music started. All I had to do was keep on eye on Matt, who was closest to me. Stay loose, stay calm. Win or lose, it was too late to worry about it now.

That thought unlocked something in me, and I remembered why I had joined Glee in the first place. It was because singing was fun, no other reason. Back when we started, with just the five of us I had no idea what Sectionals even was, so how had it become so important?

You want the truth, Kurt? It isn't important. Is winning going to make Karofsky quit coming after you? Is it going to make thing easier with your father and Carole? Is it going to make Finn love you more? I'm pretty sure that the answer to all of those questions is no. Also, you're a half beat behind, get synced back up.

I tore my attention away from her (and Finn's ass), and got myself back in line with everyone else. Everyone was doing surprisingly well, even Finn. God, I wanted to kiss him.

Later. Now three steps and a spin.

I followed her instructions for the rest of the number, surprised at how much of the hasty instructions I had retained. Everything was finally coming together.

Hee-hee. He said 'coming together'.

That eased the final bit of tension and I felt myself smiling. This was actually fun. Then the music changed over to 'Somebody to Love' and we all got more enthusiastic. I knew that this was Finn's favorite song and it showed with the blissful expression on his face. If the judges saw Finn the way I did, they would have no choice but to give us 1st place.

I don't think you want anyone to see Finn Hudson the way you do. You might have to bitch slap someone if they did.

True. I knew the choreography for this song well enough that I was able to split my attention between my movements and blatantly ogling Finn. Looking at him objectively, it was impossible for anyone to tell the turmoil that he, and the entire New Directions, had been through in the past two days. He looked happy and comfortable, even if he was putting his hands all over Rachel.

Well, once the two of you are out, maybe he'll put his hands all over you.

Mr. Shue would flip out at the thought. For all of his talk about 'breaking out of the box' and 'being different', he tended to play it way too safe. So what if some people wouldn't like two boys singing and dancing together? I'll bet some people would. Besides, it would do Mr. Shue good to have things shaken up a little.

You're just jealous because he gave your solo to Rachel. You know, the solo that you deliberately blew? Besides, Mr. Shue isn't your coach any more. Now get yourself through this song, then try telling the rest of the club about the two of you and go from there.

We finished to thunderous applause, and I suddenly realized that we hadn't talked about how we were going to exit. Rachel reached out and took Tina's hand, which was apparently a sign to Finn, because he stretched back and took mine, leading me so we crossed Rachel and Tina. The rest of the boys got behind me, and girls followed Rachel and Tina. Finn dropped my hand as we hit the steps, but it didn't matter. In just a few minutes I would be able to hold his hand in front of everyone.

Everyone managed to control their squeals and cheers until we were safely ensconced back in our break room. We didn't see either of the other clubs, which was probably a good thing. I didn't want Puck to get us disqualified for kicking anyone's ass.

Rachel was clapping her hands, and we all looked over at her. "Ok, guys, that was awesome! Despite a few unexpected setbacks, New Directions has managed to come out on top yet again."

"We aren't on top yet." Santana wasn't about to get too excited. "All that's happened is that we didn't end up totally humiliating ourselves in front of the entire audience. We still might lose. Actually, we'll probably still lose. Oh, and we have Finn back." She smiled at him, and he smiled back, but there was something wary about it. Smart boy, Santana was a total man-eater.

"You aren't thinking positive. We'll place first, because I've never placed less then first in anything I've ever done. Now, I'm thinking we have about an hour before the deliberations are complete, so does anyone have any suggestions for how to pass the time?"

That should have been my signal to say something about Finn and I, but I found that I couldn't do it. Finn was giving me a desperate look from across the room, but he didn't say anything either. We had agreed that we would tell everyone today, but neither of us had thought about how. Should I be the one to say something? Should he? Should I ease into it delicately, or just blurt it out? From the look on his face, Finn was as confused as I was.

You are a pussy. Him, too. Just say it!

My mouth was actually opening, when Puck cut me off. "Let's go spy outside the judge's room."

The idea was met with general agreement, and got both Finn and I off the hook, for the moment at least. I waited until most of the club had filed out and grabbed the back of his shirt. "Hey, we need to talk."

"Ok." He wasn't quite looking me in the eyes, which was never a good sign.

"Aren't you going to tell them about us?" I wasn't quite sure why it had suddenly become his duty.

Apparently neither was he. "Why do I have to do it? Why can't you tell them about us?"

It was a fair question, and he wasn't whining about it, but it still made my temper flare. I guess all of the stress of the past few days came out as I snapped. "Fine then! If you're too embarrassed to say anything, then I can just stay your dirty little secret." He started to say something, but I cut him off. "Whatever, Finn, its fine." Then I stomped out of the room, catching up to the rest of the club before he could do anything to finish the conversation.

If you don't watch yourself, he's going to finish the relationship right here. What have I told you about that temper of yours?

"Shut up you bitch." The words were ground out under my breath. Yeah, she was right, but I didn't care right now. I just wanted five minutes to steam in my own anger, before I had to turn around and apologize to Finn.

No, you want to pout. You're pouting because Finn doesn't know exactly how to come out to all of his friends, when you have no idea what to do either. You want him to read your mind, and he can't do that. Shit, the boy can barely figure out what's going on in his own mind most days.

That was all too true, and I tentatively approached Finn and reached out for his back. The muscles were tense and I lightly scraped my fingers down them. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"S'ok. We're all under too much stress." He barely even glanced over, too caught up it watching Artie press a glass to the closed door.

I could have let it go there, any maybe I should have, but I was tired of everyone making excuses for me. "No, it's not. I was out of line, and I'm sorry."

A soft smile touched his lips, one that I couldn't quite read. "Thanks." Then he nodded. "I'll tell them."

"Are you sure?" I felt relieved, then disappointed with myself that I felt that way.

"Uh-huh."

"How are you going to-"My question was cut off by Santana smacking my shoulder. "Shut up! You lovebirds can have your little spat later."

I startled, but no one paid her any attention. Santana was rude to everyone, and often said things that weren't quite true. Artie leaned even harder against the door, but he was shaking his head. Then suddenly he jerked forward. "They're getting up!"

I lost my grip on Finn as we all scattered and tried to pretend that we were doing anything but listening at the door. They filed past, and I was proud of the fact that I didn't leap at the blond bimbo that touched Finn's shoulder as she passed him. I couldn't go after her until we had that trophy in our hands. After that, all bets were off. Finn was my man and no one else was allowed to touch him.

Jealous much?

Very much. The loudspeaker crackled, calling us all back to the stage for the judging. Tina looked anxious. "Is this good or bad? I mean, they hardly talked about it. That can't be good right."

Rachel shook her head. "No, it's very good. It means that one group, naturally us, stood out so much that they had no trouble decided who should be placed first. Come on, guys, lets go." I wondered if she could hear the nerves in her voice, or if it was just me.

My fingers found Finn's for the walk back, even though I could feel Santana's eyes boring into my back. Let her stare, it was alright now. He squeezed affectionately, even though I could feel his pulse pounding through his hot skin. He was nervous, though whether it was due to me or the anticipation of a trophy was hard to guess.

We all straightened ourselves up as much as possible, ignoring Rachel making yet another speech about togetherness and effort, and took our place back on stage. I looked over the audience, noticing that our group was the only one that didn't have a coach in the front row. Ms. Pillsbury was there, but she was several rows back. The Haverbrook coach looked smug as hell (even though I kind of thought that that might be his default expression), but the Jane Adam's coach looked troubled and ashamed. Good. Her girls had been good, not as good as New Directions, but good all the same. If she hadn't cheated, there was still a chance that they could have beaten us.

The blond bimbo was giving a long speech that no one was listening to, smiling way too much. No, I took that back. That skeevy news guy, the one who was actually brave enough to hook up with Coach Sylvester, was blatantly staring at her butt. God, were all straight men like that?

Says the one who hasn't been able to tear his eyes away from Finn's ass for the past two years.

I might have gone into a long drawn-out argument with her, but the speech was finally over, and they were going to announce the winners. We all tried to keep still and look calm, even though I could tell Finn was getting ready to explode. He wasn't used to waiting for his results. Either his team won or they lost, all he had to do was look at the scoreboard and he was able to tell. This was new to him.

The Haverbrook school placed third, surprising no one. The announcer paused dramatically, making me want to strangle him, and then took a deep breath. "And out first place group, winner of this Sectional and the group that will continue on to Regionals is….McKinley High's New Directions."

Both Rachel and Mercedes started screaming. The boys were whooping it up, and Tina gave me a tight hug. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Finn reach over to give Matt a high five. They were both smiling at each other and laughing softly. Then he smiled at me and used his free hand to lightly touch my cheek, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group. Rachel looked torn, but decided that going down to the front to accept our trophy was more important then confronting Finn and I.

The thing was so large that Puck had to come down and help her with it, both of them fumbling with the awkward size. They returned triumphantly, I reached out to touch the trophy with just my fingertips. I was solid and amazing and, oh my God, this was actually happening. True, it was a non-matching, glittery monstrosity, but it was ours. We had earned it.

Then, of course, there were pictures where we were all smiling so big that it hurt, and interviews, where Rachel talked for all of us because no one but her had any idea what to say, and then standing there and nodding while strangers congratulated us. By the time it was over, I was blinking away spots from the cameras and wishing that we could just go home.

But there was one hurdle left, the biggest one of all. Finn was going to be the one telling them, but it how much did that actually matter? We would both be right there to see the reactions, good or bad.

After what seemed like forever, we were able to get off stage and back to our little room. Everyone was so busy touching the trophy and cheering that no one really noticed Finn and me. My eyes met his, and I noticed a calm in the dark depths that hadn't been there before. He had made his choice, and he was seeing it through to the end, no matter what.

Even knowing that, it still surprised me when he cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "Guys, listen up."

I took stock of the room, peeking at each face in turn. Rachel was fixated on his face, clearly having no idea what was about to happen. Puck was smirking, his arms crossed over his chest. He caught me looking and jerked his head in my direction, which I guessed was his version of a supportive gesture. Tina and Mercedes looked like they wanted to start squealing already, and Brit was smiling secretively. Santana brushed her fingers through Brit's hair, her eyes moving back and forth between Finn and me. The rest of the club looked curious, but still distracted by the glory of our trophy.

"Hey!" Finn's voice became a bark, and that got everyone's attention on him. "I have something important to tell you guys."

Now that the moment was here and everyone was actually staring at him, he kind of stalled out. His face colored and he looked down, then back up, then down again. "Uh…well…" He closed his eyes and took a deep, slow, breath before speaking in a rush. "I've been seeing Kurt for over a month now, and we're together now and….well, actually, that's it." His face was flaming red, and, judging by the heat I was feeling on my own skin, mine was in a similar state.

"You've been seeing Kurt for over a month…" Rachel apparently found the confession so shocking that she couldn't make the words make sense.

Galinda was dancing with glee at her confusion. He's ours, he's ours, he's ours! Now he's officially ours and we love him! That's right, bitch, we fought it out, and Kurt got him!

Finn nodded, still looking uncomfortable. "Yeah, I've been seeing Kurt for over a month."

"As in, you've been seeing Kurt because you're gay now, not because you two are friends." Her eyes were narrow.

"Yeah. But he's my friend, too." I'm pretty sure that he felt compelled to announce that because I had accused him of thinking of me as a piece of ass last week.

"But-" She probably would have drug this out forever if Puck hadn't spoken up.

"Berry, for God's sake. He's gay, alright? As in 'wrangling that dangle', 'tickling that pickle', takes it up the ass, gay. Kurt wins, you lose."

No one had ever complimented Puck on his eloquence, but it did get the point across. Rachel went red, then pale, and it was obviously a great effort for her to control herself. "Finn, is this really what you want?"

He nodded, even though he did have that adorably confused look on his face. "Yeah, this is what I want."

She smiled with her mouth, even though her eyes were sad. For a second I actually felt bad for her, since I knew what it was like to want Finn but not be able to have him. "Well, I'm happy for you two then. Finn, are we still friends?"

"Of course." His body relaxed slowly.

Don't believe her, Finn! You might not believe it, but she's a total manipulator. This is Rachel Berry, and she never gives anything up without a fight! Galinda was wary, and that made me wary, too.

She turned to me and, if she was devastated, she was hiding it well. "Kurt? Can we be friends?"

Even though all of my instincts were telling me to be afraid, I made myself smile. "Yes. You have to let me help you with your clothes, though."

"Deal." She stuck out a hand, and I lightly touched it with my own. Even thought I didn't trust her, there was no reason for me to be a jerk about it. There might come a time when I needed all of my friends around me, and she could use that huge mouth to scream for help if nothing else.

Rachel saying her piece seemed to be the cue for everyone else to start asking questions of both of us. The girls all clustered around me, wanting to know all the details, and how did we get together, and what did our parents say, and was Finn romantic? I answered as best I could, leaving out the sex part, and telling them that Finn could be quite romantic when the mood struck him. That was a bit of a lie, but he did try, which counted for a lot in my opinion.

The boys, on the other hand, were only interested in the sex part. They wanted to know what had happened, how Finn had figured out he was gay, and had he always been gay, even when he was dating Quinn? They wanted to know what it was like, if it was better with another guy, and, by the way, who got on top? That last one was from Puck, who was smirking harder then ever. Once he heard that, Finn flushed bright red and told them all they were a bunch of perverts and he wasn't answering any questions. Matt nodded. "That means Kurt's the one on top."

"No it doesn't!" Finn sounded horrified. "It means that I'm not discussing my sex life with you, period!"

"Why not, we talk about ours with you." Mike was being perfectly reasonable, but Finn kept shaking his head. "You know that all you're doing is making us even more curious. We're just going to bug you until you tell us the truth."

Finn laughed. "I can put up with that, as long as I don't have to tell you anything today."

"Long bus ride home, dude." Puck was still smiling, and I had a horrible image of what Finn and I were going to have to deal with for the next few hours.

Finn blanched, but a sudden idea occurred to me. "Finn and I will probably ride home with his mother, so you'll have to wait until Monday for all of that." I had never been so grateful for Carole Hudson in my entire life.

"My mom's not here." Finn was looking at me like I had sprouted a second head instead of like I had just drawn a logical conclusion based on Finn's suddenly showing up here.

"Then how did you get here?" He couldn't have possibly taken the bus, and if Carol hadn't brought him, who had?

"Uh…." He hunched down and I just knew that I wasn't going to like what he was about to say.

"Maybe he flew." Puck just didn't know when to quit. "You know, on his newly sprouted fairy wings. Ow!" The last part came as Mercedes, Quinn, and Rachel all smacked him simultaneously.

Guiltily, Finn went over to the jacket he had been wearing when he had arrived and fished out a set of keys. A very, very familiar set of keys. The keys to my baby. "Finn, those better not be what I think they are." The look on his face told me that they were. "Do you want to tell me what you were thinking?"

He gave me an extra cute smile. "That you would be so happy that I burst in here like a knight in shining armor and helped our team win that you wouldn't be mad at all. Also that you might want to give me a special 'thank you' later tonight."

He was right about all of that, but I wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily. "What if we had still lost?"

"Oh, then I would have been there to comfort you and you would have been so happy that I was there for you that you wouldn't be mad at all. Also that you would give me a special 'thank you' later tonight." He looked so puppy dog hopeful that I couldn't help but give him a hug.

"You are very sweet and the gesture is appreciated. But if there is so much as a ding anywhere on that car, there is no end to the trouble you'll be in."

"Maybe you could give him a spanking!" Brit was seemed confused at the shocked looks the rest of the club was giving her. "What? Santana and I-"

"Brit!" Santana grabbed the taller girl by the shoulders and marched her out of the room. "We'll talk about it in the bathroom."

Artie smirked. "Guess Finn's not the only one getting a spanking tonight." The rest of the boys sighed happily. Finn looked vaguely interested, but not as interested as he was in me.

Now was the time to make our less then graceful escape. "Well, I have to go make sure that Finn will still have all of his limbs by tonight. Do you want us to take the trophy, or do you think you can squeeze it on the bus?"

"Are you insane?" Rachel was clutching that thing more tightly then I held on to my imported face creams. "I'll hang on to this thing until tomorrow, when we show it to-"She visibly caught herself. "Until we show it to our parents and Coach Sylvester."

I knew that she had been getting ready to say 'Mr. Shue', and from the way he tensed up against me, so did Finn. No one wanted to say anything, though, because no one really knew what to say. At least I was sure that I didn't. "Alright then, we'll see you tomorrow!" I drug Finn's unprotesting form out of the door, ignoring the whistles and cat calls coming from the rest of the group.

He led me out of the civic center and to my car, which appeared to be unharmed. Granted, it was parked crookedly, and the far tire was at least 8 inches from the curb, but it was undented and all four tires were still inflated. Finn nudged my shoulder. "So, is it alright? You aren't going to kill me, right?"

I stretched up as high as I could and kissed him hard. "No, I'm not going to kill you, you big lug. Now get in and let's go home."

It turned out that that was easier said then done. Finn bounced around the car, humming 'Don't Stop Believing' to himself, and I tried not to laugh as I settled into the driver's seat. Finn was Finn and I really hoped that he never changed.

Kurt? I don't think that you should try and drive home, ok? I think that the pair of you have had a rotten two days, and it's not a good idea.

I wanted to ignore her, but as it turned out, she was right. I couldn't start the car, because I couldn't reach the pedals. Someone (and by someone, I meant my obscenely tall boyfriend), had pushed the seat all the way back to accommodate his overly long legs, and somehow that made it all hit home for me. Finn had driven my car for four hours, to help a team he was pissed at win a contest he didn't really care that much about. What if something had happened to him? I had never let him drive my car before and he didn't know the route. What if he had gotten killed?

With that thought, all of the nerves and fear and love and worry of the past two days overwhelmed me and I started to cry. Not just a little either, huge wracking sobs that made my entire body shake. Finn jumped and leaned over to wrap his arms around me. "What's wrong, Spider Monkey?"

I just shook my head, because I really had no idea what was wrong. One hand moved down to slide under my legs and then I was lifted over the center console and into Finn's lap. "It's alright. I promise, I'm here and it's alright."

He wasn't telling me to either knock it off or quit acting like a little girl, and, for some reason, that made me cry even harder. Finn rocked us as best he could, considering that we were crammed so closely together that my hip was jammed against the steering wheel already. I curled my fingers around his collar as my sobs slowed, then stopped. Finn stroked my back. "Better now?"

Yeah. Significantly more embarrassed, but better. I nodded against his chest, noticing that it was starting to get dark out. "Do you think you can drive us home?"

He squirmed. "Uh, that's probably not such a good idea. I get nervous enough during the day, because I was in this accident once and….you know, I don't think I want to tell you the rest of this story."

Now he told me. Had I known that, I would have been significantly more upset about him driving my baby for four hours, across two major highways and countless smaller roads. "I don't think I can either."

"Do you think we should try and get a hotel room for the night? I'm guessing we missed the bus with the rest of the guys."

"Finn, what money are we going to use for a hotel room? Not to mention the sort of places that will rent a room to a pair of 16 year old boys are the sort of places that we don't belong anywhere near. What's your second choice?" I didn't want to sleep in the back of the Navigator, but I wasn't seeing a whole lot of other options.

"What about if we called our parents and asked them to use one of their credit cards? Your name is close enough to your Dad's that we could probably get away with it."

That was actually a pretty clever idea. Except I really didn't want to call Dad, because what was I going to say to him. 'Hey Dad, guess what? We won Sectionals! Oh, and Finn showed up like a knight in shining armor and got us through it, but now I don't think I can get home, so can you rent us a room? Why Dad! Of course we won't be having sex!'

You could tell him that you're too big of a wuss to even blow Finn, so sex is totally out of the question.

Yeah, that was probably not a good idea either. I found my cell phone and dialed, not bothering to slide out of Finn's lap. His chest made a good pillow and there was one hand stroking gently through my hair, fixing the damp bangs out of my eyes. I had almost given up hope when Dad picked up. "Kurt, how did things go?"

Despite it all, I felt a surge of excitement. "We won! We have a trophy that's taller then my hips! Dad, we won!"

"That's great, kid. Are you on your way home? I thought about inviting Carole and Finn over tomorrow to celebrate, but I wanted to make sure that you won first." I was getting the impression that he didn't quite get what I was so excited about, but that he was happy because I was happy.

"Yeah, about Finn…" He was currently licking my ear, and I trailed off to give him a sharp smack. "Guess who showed up like Bruce Parker and saved the day?"

Finn snickered into my neck. "Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker, Kurt. Not Bruce Parker."

"Well, Finn is quite the superhero, now isn't he?" Dad sounded way too amused. "I guess you still have a boyfriend, then?"

"Yeah, I still have a boyfriend. Unfortunately, my lovely boyfriend stole my car out of the school parking lot to get here, and now it's dark and I'm kind of afraid to drive an unfamiliar route home and I'm not about to let him do it. Do you think you could rent us a room for the night?"

The sharp breathing on the other end of the line made me wonder if Dad was about to have a heart attack. "Or two rooms, that would be fine, too. I just don't want to be in a wreck."

He sighed. "Kurt, I don't want you to think that this is an either explicit or implicit allowance for anything that you might be planning to do with Finn, but I'll do it. This is only because I don't want either one of you hurt, and you and I will be having a serious talk when you get home, but give me a call when you find a place. And Kurt? When I say 'find a place', I mean something like the Holiday Inn or the Marriot, not the Plaza, got it? No room service either."

"Thanks, Dad." I gave Finn a thumbs up. "I'll call you in a few minutes."

"Alright, bye Kid. I call Carole and let her know what's going on."

"Thanks." I hung up and twisted to give Finn a kiss. "Good idea, he's going to get us a room."

He smiled against my lips. "So, you, me, and a hotel room. We won Sectionals; we're out to the Glee club. I think we need to do a little celebrating."

Even though I was sure I looked like absolute crap after my crying jag, I was still the thing Finn wanted most in the world. I pressed back against his chest. "Yeah, I think we have a lot to celebrate."