Finn gripped the armrest as the plane left the ground, and he watched out the window as everything below grew smaller.
He couldn't have been happier to finally be going home. After they didn't make the Top 10 cut at Nationals, everyone knew it was because of his and Rachel's onstage kiss. No one was really speaking to them because of it. After Santana's outburst when they got back to their hotel, everyone just quietly packed their things, ate dinner in silence, and went to bed. Thankfully, all they had left was a two-hour flight back to Ohio, and they could put the whole thing behind them.
Kurt sat next to Finn, in the middle seat, and the third one was empty. His stepbrother fell asleep as soon as the plane took off, so Finn was grateful for the alone time. Everyone had either been ignoring him or going out of their way to be rude. Mr. Shue, after lecturing him and Rachel about what they had done, tried to bring the group together again, but no one wanted any part of it. Everyone was ready to go home after the competition.
Finn was just looking forward to being back home. Competition aside, New York was just too big. Lima was much more his size, at least for the time being. He knew Rachel planned on moving there as soon as they graduated.
"Sir?"
Finn jumped, and turned to the flight attendant who stood in the aisle. "Huh?"
"What would you like to drink?"
"Oh. Uh, water, please?" Finn elbowed Kurt in the ribs to get him to wake up.
"Ow," his brother moaned, hunching over forward in his seat. Finn hadn't even hit him that hard. He figured Kurt was just overreacting. "What do you want?"
"Tell her what you want to drink, dude," Finn said, gesturing to the woman.
"I'm not thirsty," Kurt mumbled. "But thank you."
The woman walked on, and Finn watched as Kurt struggled to get comfortable in his seat.
"If you want to go back to sleep, you can sit by the window," Finn offered. He hoped that would improve things between them. Kurt hadn't been thrilled when Finn decided to kiss Rachel onstage, either.
"I'm fine," Kurt murmured. He dug his blanket out from his bag and huddled under it as he laid his head on Finn's shoulder. "How much longer?"
Finn had no clue how far away they were from Lima. They had been in the air for almost an hour, but all he knew was that he was ready to be home just as much as Kurt.
"We'll be there soon," he said. Kurt whined a little, and shifted around some more. "Are you okay?"
"My stomach hurts," Kurt confessed. "I'd just like to go to sleep."
When Finn took a good look at him, he could tell just how sick his stepbrother appeared. Kurt never admitted it when he felt bad, either. So something was up. Finn was surprised he hadn't figured it out earlier, but then again, he was a little caught up in other matters.
"D-do you want me to tell Mr. Shue?" Finn stammered, unsure how to help him out. He didn't want Kurt to be sick for the whole flight. And he certainly didn't want Kurt to get him sick, either.
"I told him last night," Kurt said with a shrug. He leaned his seat back, but didn't appear to be any more comfortable. "There's not much he can do."
Finn frowned. Had he really been that clueless? Kurt was pretty good at hiding it when he was sick, but Finn was his brother, and he felt like he ought to have known.
"Mr. Shue probably has some medicine you could take," Finn went on, even though Kurt had closed his eyes. "I'll go see, if you want."
Kurt nodded after a moment of hesitation, so Finn stood. He was grateful for the chance to stretch his legs, but he truly thought Kurt looked terrible and wanted to help him out. And he felt pretty lousy for failing to notice that he was sick in the first place.
He made his way up the rows to where his teacher sat on the aisle next to two strangers.
"What's wrong, Finn?" Mr. Shue asked, looking up from his copy of Sky Mall.
"Um, it's Kurt," Finn tried to explain. "He said his stomach hurts. I guess he's felt sick since, like, yesterday, but he just now told me."
Mr. Shue sighed as he reached down to search through his bag. "He only told me after I heard him throwing up in the hotel bathroom last night. I guess I left my Tylenol in my suitcase, buddy. I'll just come check on him and see how he's doing."
Finn led him back to where they sat, and Mr. Shue took the empty aisle seat. Kurt was curled up in a ball under his blanket, looking miserable.
"Kurt," he said softly, placing his hand on Kurt's knee. Finn buckled his seatbelt and watched as Kurt opened his eyes, looking over at Finn first, and then Mr. Shue.
"Are we almost there?" Kurt asked.
Mr. Shue checked his watch and looked back at him. "About thirty more minutes. Is there anything you need? I left my medicine in my suitcase, so I can't give you anything. Do you want something to drink, though? You've been throwing up a lot."
"No," Kurt moaned. "I want to go home." Finn could hear his words catch in his throat, and his brother slowly broke down. Kurt laid his head on Finn's shoulder again, and sniffled as he tried to catch his breath and keep himself from crying. Finn put his arm around him hesitantly. He wanted to make Kurt feel better, not worse, and was afraid of making him more upset.
"Do you want to try to lie down?" Mr. Shue said patiently. "That might help your stomach."
Kurt shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, leaning closer into Finn.
"I don't want to move," he peeped. "It hurts too much."
Finn could tell Mr. Shue was growing more and more worried, but was unsure what to do. Kurt just kept crying, even though Finn tried everything he could to get him to stop.
"Our parents will be at the airport to get us," Finn reminded him, attempting to help. "They'll help you feel better."
"I think the only thing we can really do is wait until we land," Mr. Shue agreed. "I'm sorry you're so sick, buddy. I wish I had my medicine with me."
"It's okay," Kurt murmured. "Thanks anyways."
The seatbelt symbol flashed overhead, so Mr. Shue had to get up and go back to his seat, leaving Finn to handle Kurt while they landed.
"How badly does it hurt?" Finn asked, as he noticed Kurt's grip on his shirt become tighter.
"Bad," Kurt choked, taking in a pained breath. "It started right before we went onstage. I thought it was nerves, but it never went away."
Finn wished he could have been a bigger help when Kurt needed him earlier. He felt so selfish for getting caught up in the drama of the kiss that he didn't even notice his own brother was getting sicker and sicker.
"We'll be home soon," Finn promised. "My mom will probably know what's wrong. She'll fix it."
Kurt stayed quiet until they were back on the ground, but since they were in the very back, they had to wait until everyone else got off the plane first.
"I don't wanna walk," Kurt mumbled, shaking his head as Finn unbuckled both of their seatbelts. "It hurts."
Finn stood first, forcing Kurt to sit up on his own. He took both of their carry-ons, and then helped Kurt to his feet. He kept his blanket wrapped around him, and bit his lip to keep from crying.
"You can do it," Finn told him. "Our parents will be waiting for us. Come on."
Kurt held onto Finn's arm as they made their way up the aisle and out into the airport. Finn walked at Kurt's pace, as he hunched over his side.
Their parents stood out in front of the rest, and hurried to meet them then they saw what condition Kurt was in. Finn handed him off to his mom, only to see her immediately fuss over him.
"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" she asked worriedly, stroking his hair and feeling his forehead.
"My stomach hurts," Kurt whimpered, starting to cry more as they hugged each other.
"He's been sick for like, two days, but didn't say anything until we were on the plane," Finn elaborated, sticking his hands in his pockets as he looked on at them. "Mr. Shue said he was throwing up. That's all I know."
Kurt's knees started to give out, so his dad took over. "Oh, bud, you look terrible. Why didn't you say anything?"
Finn didn't want Kurt to start in on all of the drama that surrounded the trip, but thankfully he just shrugged his shoulders, not offering another word.
"Burt, he feels really hot," his mom said, keeping her hand on Kurt's back to steady him at he attempted to stand on his own. "Sweetheart, tell me exactly where it hurts."
Kurt held his hand over his right side, and Finn's heart sank a little. That was exactly where he had elbowed him earlier, on the plane. No wonder Kurt had reacted like he did.
"Come on, Finn," his mom was saying, drawing Finn back to the present.
"Are we going home?" Kurt pleaded, hanging onto his dad tighter with each step they took.
"No, honey. We're going to get you checked out in the emergency room," she said. "I can't do anything for you if we go home. You've got to see a doctor."
Finn panicked for a second. He was well aware of how much Kurt hated doctors. He was going to be a wreck, and it wouldn't be pretty.
"No," Kurt whined, protesting loud enough for the people around him to hear. He stopped walking to prove his point. "I'm okay. Take me home, Dad, I'll be okay."
"Come on, Kurt," his dad said with a sigh, tugging him along. Finn had never seen his stepbrother so worked up before, but he didn't like it. He went ahead and grabbed their suitcases and followed his parents out to the car, more worried than he would like to admit, but also determined to protect his brother, even in the worst of times.
Author's Notes:
UGH when I got this prompt I wanted to make sure I did it justice. I tried, guys. (I would be open to writing a second part if anyone wants it.)
In other news, I'm going out of town Saturday for a week, so unless you guys want a sequel to this then today is most likely my last update for a little bit! I won't be able to write at all while I'm gone, but I hope to come back to lots of yummy reviews and comments and prompts; it would make me very happy!