Disclaimer: I don't own Glee
…
Chapter Four
Chicken
…
Stage 42
Holocaust
8 Months into ERA
Finn fucked up. He really fucked up.
There were no other words to explain the damage he'd done other than he freaking fucked up. He could remember that day clearly. So clearly it was tattooed to his brain for the rest of his life and would remind him what an asshole he'd been.
A lot of things had been building up to it. Quinn's pregnancy, the increasing dangers of ERA, Rachel trying to get in his pants. Kurt trying to get in his pants. The awareness that every day he could die. Hell, they almost lost Brittany back on stage twenty nine!
Not to mention, his best friend – the guy he'd been friends with practically since birth had slept with his girlfriend. A little over eight months ago. As in, Finn was not the father to their unborn child.
And. Fuck. Life just sucked!
He flipped out, understandably. Puck had joined them three months ago after hopscotching around other guilds. It was how he'd been surviving, though he got his ass handed to him when he made the poor choice of joining a guild full of Spoilers. Finn found him half dead and made him join New Directions for his own safety and things had been going well since then. Except Quinn snapped more, and everything he did to comfort her was never enough.
On top of the embarrassment of having his girlfriend belittle him in front of his comrades, it was humiliating to learn that they all knew the truth behind her pregnancy and hadn't said a word. He had to learn it from Rachel, the only other person who was last find out, and only because everyone kept it from her as much as from him since they knew she was going to blab to him about it. Which she did.
He was torn between wanting to break something or crawl into a hole and never come out. First thing he did though, was sock Puck in the eye and then some until someone had to pull them apart. It didn't make him feel any better that Puck didn't fight back, nor the pained look in his eyes that screamed guilt and pity. Finn didn't want to be pitied. He hated all this pity crap. Hated it when everyone else started looking at him that way, as if he were too pathetic to do anything else but scream and cry and kick things.
So he left.
He left and…he was once again aimlessly wandering around for something to do.
Rachel followed him a couple of times. Tried to get him back, but he couldn't do it. Not with everyone falling silent whenever he walked in a room. He was miserable, and right then he didn't care if he died in a stupid virtual reality game, he just wanted to stop hurting.
Then Kurt ran into him a few times as well, just as quiet and sympathetic as all the others. It pissed Finn off that the other boy knew the truth too. He wasn't even a part of New Directions and he still knew. Hadn't said anything. It was too cruel. Made him so angry.
And he started shouting and crying, his hands itching to break something, mostly himself because damnit he really was going to take care of that kid! He was so prepared to be the best father in the world! Make up for the dad he lost when he was a baby. He was ready!
Why was this happening to him!?
Why did he have to get the short end of the stick? Quinn was his. Puck was supposed to be his best friend! How could they do this to him!?
Kurt tried to calm him. Tried to hug him, and get him to stop shaking, but he couldn't. He was too angry and he rounded on to the solo player. He needed to feel better about himself so he spouted off so many awful things. Told him he knew about his stupid crush. The way Kurt looked at him when he thought he wasn't looking. Called him…called him so many terrible names and how he could never feel the same way because it was…
He wasn't sure what he said after, but he could remember the tears in Kurt's eyes. The same anger and sorrow he'd been feeling reflected in the smaller boy. He thought he was past this. Past hurting him because there were bigger things to worry about. He could feel himself deflate in shame, too speechless to even squeeze out an apology.
In the end Kurt's anger won out, and Finn was left sitting on the ground with his eye throbbing in pain. If it had been reality, he doubted such a punch would have the kind of strength it had in ERA. All the same it hurt.
He felt like the worst human being on the planet.
Finn was about ready to jump off a building when he bumped into Tina on stage forty-two. He wasn't sure how, but he managed to push through two stages by friending other guilds and joining boss fights. To his guilt, it was his sparring with Kurt that kept him alive. Once he got in forty-two he barely had time to take in his surroundings before the Nazi's captured him and threw him in one of their prison camps. Just his luck, he ended up in Auschwitz.
There were a few other players imprisoned, and he learned the challenge of this was to escape under the disguise as a Nazi official, then continue to another town in order to find refuge and take on Hitler. He was in the middle of winning the clothes needed to escape through mini games when he came across Tina. She was already in her well earned Nazi uniform, and Did Not look impressed with his prison attire.
"You look like shit," was the first thing she said, a leather gloved hand to her hip and an eyebrow arched. If Finn had any of that anger left he would have glared at her, but he was too miserable so he just shrugged. The Asian girl sighed and dropped the act, awkwardly giving him a hug that he hadn't expected given his recent behavior. He hugged back anyway. Hugs were something he'd been needing for a long time
"Where've you been?" Tina asked when they pulled back, her normally cold eyes warm and worried. She never looked at him like this when Finn was in New Directions. She was too shy to look anyone in the eye in the real world, but in ERA she gave off the air of a badass ice queen. Not as cool and detached as Quinn, but enough to get people to see that she was someone not to be messed with. She was particularly cold to Finn because of his treatment of Kurt at McKinley.
He'd been expecting another fist to the face once Tina found out what he did to him.
"Around," he answered her, looking away, pretending to look interested in other prisoner players walking around. "How is…how's everybody?" He bit his tongue. He really wanted to know how Quinn was doing, but was too afraid to ask.
"We scraped past forty one, no casualties. Everyone else is already at the next town. I noticed you just got here and figured I'd pay you a visit," she shrugged, "Quinn's…well. She's doing okay. Much better now that the truth's out." She softened as Finn's shoulders sagged, "everyone misses you. Kurt hasn't come by as much either."
"I uh…" he shut his mouth grimly. "How is he?"
"Same," she said simply, the gold and silver metals on her cap glinting as she nodded. "We've been sparring. He says he's in stage forty six, but we all know he's – "
"Stage fifty one, yeah," he mumbled, not as embarrassed as he once thought he would be at knowing this. His habit of checking up on Kurt had transformed again into checking his other statuses once he got his hands on a pocket watch. Right now he was at level 78 with his cooking and hunting skills maxed out. Last he checked he was on stage thirty helping out a guild called the Warblers. He'd been hanging around them quite often. More than New Directions.
Tina shook her head, the disappointment clear in her eyes. "Finn, you really fucked up."
He didn't need to be reminded.
Crap. Did Kurt tell her?
"I saw it happen," she answered the panic in his face. "Didn't tell anyone, he didn't either." She crossed her arms, the uniform was tight fitting and pushed her bust up, especially with the boost from her arms, yet Finn couldn't find himself to be distracted. "You two need to talk."
He almost scoffed at the suggestion. Of course they needed to talk. He owed Kurt an apology and maybe of month of slavery. Shit, he was even thinking of running to him in a dress and grovel at his feet for forgiveness!
But he couldn't. He was too scared and ashamed to face him again.
Tina let out a puff of air, blowing at a curl of hair that escaped her cap and drifted in her eyesight. "I've been wanting to apologize. To you. About the baby thing," she said uncomfortably. "We all knew, but we didn't want to hurt you, and we know we hurt you more for not saying anything. So… Sorry. I'm sorry."
Finn nodded, staring at the rock and dirt at their feet. Her boots stood far apart and ready for a fight. He remembered how tiny she used to be at school. All dressed in black and with this look on her face as if she were caught between wanting to be invisible and wanting someone to notice her. He was glad she was this tough person in ERA, otherwise she would have been dead months ago.
It reminded him how much more of a gamer she was compared to him.
Just like Kurt was a better fighter than him.
"We want you to come back," she spoke up again, her voice soft and sincere. "You're not Kurt, no one's like Kurt, you need a guild to get through this game. Friending other guilds is not going to help you through much. Look what almost happened to Puck." She winced regrettably at mentioning the other boy, and Finn's face darkened. "Okay forget Puck. But this place is running with Spoilers. If a boss doesn't kill you a Spoiler will, and then what? What about your mother?"
Finn bit his lip. A day never went by without thinking of his mother. He was forgetting how she looked like now. Her boisterous laugh a tiny echo in his head. He needed her badly since learning the truth behind Quinn's pregnancy.
He blinked several times. He couldn't think of Quinn. Thinking of her made him cry and he was tired of crying. Tired of hurting.
"I can't go back," he said heavily, "I can't…I can't see her I'll just get angry again and…I can't…"
"Baby steps," Tina suggested, "I apologized and now I feel a little better about myself. Now you need to find Kurt and do the same…" she paused thoughtfully, "soon as we find him."
"He's in thirty," Finn answered thoughtlessly, "helping out the Warblers." Tina shut her mouth, surprised and he flushed. "What?"
"Nothing," she was trying to hide a smile, but failed spectacularly. "Thirty huh?"
"Well…yeah," he crossed his arms too, fighting off a pout and not getting the teasing note in her voice. "But what if he doesn't want to see me? He hasn't made any effort to find me, so why should I?"
"Why the hell would he want to go looking for the guy he'd been crushing on forever just to hear him call him a fag again?" Tina said slowly, her brows raised.
Finn flushed, his defense crashing for the shame that returned in full force. "I…good point…"
"Maybe he'll understand," she said hopefully, sympathetic again, "he caught you at a bad place and you had a foot in mouth moment. You always do."
"Still…"
"Okay you were an asshole, nobody's perfect," she rolled her eyes, "Point is, you admit it and now you're going to make things right like the good little boy scout you are." She walked past him and waved at him to follow. He reluctantly trailed after her to the public portal where few players were coming in and out. It was a cabin at the far corner of the camp, and was indicated as a portal by the bright green door that stood out against the brown and gray of stage forty two's atmosphere.
Finn watched Tina as they entered the cabin and stood on the platform that took up the center of the wide room. "Why are you doing this for me?" he asked wonderingly, "I kind of thought you hated me."
"I do," she nodded dismissively, "sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
She gave him a sideways glance and grinned, "if it's a choice between you or Quinn, I think everyone would choose you…well, except for Mercedes. 'Cause, you know, you fucked up with Kurt, and she's gotten close to Quinn." She shook her head, casually slipping her hands in her pockets, and staring ahead distantly. "More importantly, we need to stick together. I never got as far in the beta test as Kurt, but things are only going to get harder and stuff like stress and betrayals are going to happen. It will pull us apart and in the end that's what's going to kill us." She looked up at him, the height difference so big that she really had to crane her neck. She looked like a child next to her and it almost horrified Finn how fragile she really was.
Almost.
She was still a badass.
"I don't want to die here, Finn," she said with a quiet hardness that showed how strong yet vulnerable she was right now, "but if we do, I'd rather it not be alone somewhere because I was too humiliated to face my friends again. New Directions is our family now. Family sticks together."
The screen of the portal popped up in front of them with a holographic keyboard to input their destination, Tina patched in the number and took Finn's hand.
"How do you know Kurt so well?" he asked curiously as the platform glowed. "He never explained it to me, and…" well, she never told him either because they rarely ever talked unless it dealt with insults or battle strategies.
Tina shrugged tightly. "He uh…helped me out of a scratch in the beta test."
Finn raised an eyebrow, the portal commenced countdown to stage thirty, "what kind of scratch?"
She smiled sheepishly. "I poked a sleeping dragon in the eye. Literally."
His eyes popped open at the mention of dragon. Some of the mystical stages he'd been to had them, and they were not very friendly creatures. Their main role in each stage was to guard a special item like armor or magical swords. He never braved taking them on. Not even with a guild because they were huge as a motherfucker and faster than he could think. A total of fifty people died trying to get whatever item they were after. It was becoming a general consensus to all players to just leave the dragons alone. Whatever item they were guarding, it just wasn't worth it.
And Tina poked one of them in the fucking eye!
"Leaving Stage 42 Holocaust." The portal announced in a computerized feminine voice.
Finn stole a glance at Tina, trying to gauge whether what she said was a lie or not.
"You're nuts," he said flatly. Tina bowed her head in acknowledgement.
…
Burt Hummel was a very kind man, Carole concluded. Ever since Finn saved Kurt from dying, they had been meeting up more and more around the hospital. Waiting by their son's side was getting painful, and watching over the video recordings of their progress was frying their nerves so they chose to take breaks and eat at the cafeteria to get their minds off the slim chances their children had in coming out of the game alive.
Hospital food was not the most delicious thing in the world, so they made a habit of bringing their own food. Carole had noticed an unhealthy amount of grease in Burt's meals and insisted he check his pressure out of motherly worry.
They found out he was in danger of getting a heart attack.
It helped keep her mind off Finn's fate by making healthier meals for Burt. He was reluctant, and despite his gruff persona and truck driver attire, he was gentleman enough to not reject her food.
It had been a long time since Carole had to cook for another man. There was Finn, but he was her son, it was only natural. Burt was…
Different.
"Looks like our kids haven't made up yet," he grunted, eating his last forkful of salad. Beside him, Carole nodded, staring at her half eaten lunch. They had been together when they saw the obvious blow up that was occurring between Finn and Kurt. They couldn't hear what the fight was about, but they could see the boys were both upset, and her son had another typical foot in mouth moment by saying something that drove the other boy away.
She felt the need to apologize for her son's actions.
"What do you think it was about?" Burt asked lightly. Staring at his empty tupperware. Carole shrugged and shook her head. "That girlfriend of Finn's. She's really showing now, so he's obviously stressed about the pregnancy. And then he fought with his other friend, Puck? Was it?"
"Yes," she nodded, recalling at recording too, "I asked the doctors to take a blood test on Quinn's baby once it's born, I have a feeling the fight was about that. He seemed angry at her too…" Very angry. And hurt. "But Finn's not always like this," she was quick to say. "He's normally a really gentle boy. He would never – "
"I know," Burt nodded soberly. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, "You know, when Kurt was just a toddler we asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he said," he cracked a grin, "he wanted a decent pair of heels." Carole blinked, then smiled fondly, a giggle escaping her. "That's when I knew he was…well…gay," he shrugged. "He hasn't come out to me yet. I'm waiting for him to feel ready. I used to be one of those kids…" he eyes darkened, haunted and regretful, "I'd pick on others who were different. Do stupid things…I'm not that person anymore. But when I found out Kurt was the same as those kids I'd push around…it got me." He fell silent, taking a moment to collect himself. "But he was my son, and I loved him too much to feel any hate for him." Carole listened intently, imagining the shock Burt felt when he first discovered Kurt was never the son he pictured him to be. "I thought…maybe in this new generation people were aware and smart enough to accept him. That he wouldn't have to deal with all that crap about fearing for his life just because of who he was…"
Carole bit the inside of her cheek. She wondered how things would have turn out of Finn were in Kurt's shoes. He was so tall and muscular that she knew he could handle himself in a fight. But he had always been sensitive to words, and that alone would have crushed him. According to Burt's anecdotes of his own son, Kurt was the opposite.
Even still. Words had a bite to them that fists could never drive deep enough.
"Is that why he started playing ERA?" she asked quietly. "To get away for a few hours?"
Burt nodded stiffly, his baseball cap hiding his eyes.
Carole clasped her hands over her lap. "I'm sorry."
…
Stage 30
Edo
They found themselves standing in a small shack that was spacious and geometrical with rectangular floor matting and a single portrait of a cherry blossom tree. In front of them was a sliding door that lead to the porch of a beautiful yard that housed a pond, friendly little creatures, and a landscape of a village with curled roofs and blue skies. Out of default, the stage changed the player's attire to fit with the atmosphere. Now in thick layers of fabrics and protective plates, Finn and Tina were samurai.
Originally, since her fighting stats weren't quite up to par at the time like Finn's, Tina had been given the role geisha which incensed her into taking up as many challenges as possible to take the samurai mantle instead. Santana hadn't missed a single chance in teasing her about that, what with Tina being so tough and all. Then after Tina became a samurai, she started calling her Mulan with as much snark as possible.
"Okay, stage thirty," Tina said, stepping out of the platform and out of the shack, a hand resting over the two katana tied to the hip which she earned in a challenge that ultimately changed her role. "Now where to?"
Finn pulled out his pocket watch and flicked around the holographic map for Kurt's location. Tina watched with interest as he breezily brushed past dots of other players. For the briefest second he thought he saw Kurt's name right by Nagasaki, but it vanished before he could be entirely sure. Scowling, he turned the map at a different angle and searched again, even putting Kurt's name in the search engine.
Nothing popped up.
'Maybe he went somewhere else,' he thought as he switched his map to all stages and searched again. Nothing popped up, so he went to the easier – and probably more invasive – route. He pulled up Kurt's profile and went to his stats.
The picture was there, along with a green dot to inform him that he was still active. But the rest of his information was blank.
"He blocked me," he murmured in surprise. He turned to Tina, still baffled, and she shook her head in disappointment.
"Great," she crossed her arms sullenly. "He's being a chicken." And after a beat. "You got a pocket watch? Really?"
"What?" he shut the device and pocketed it. "It's been really useful."
"How much more stalkerish can you be?" she shook her head again, the bob on her head swaying slightly, "that's so creepy…"
"What!?" he flushed. "Stalking…what the hell makes you think I'm being a stalker?"
"'Kurt's on stage thirty,'" she smacked her hands together and raised her voice to a childish pitch. She looked very silly doing it in the solemn samurai attire. "'Helping out the Warblers!' You do realize that's the main reason Quinn was pissed at you, right?" She corrected herself right after, "aside from being psycho preggers."
He felt his face burn, the mention of Quinn's name doing nothing to quell his embarrassment. "I've just been keeping an eye on him, I was worried after we fought so I…was making sure he didn't do anything stupid."
Tina gave him the dullest look to end all dull looks. "Uh-huh, then how do you explain all those other times you've been checking up on him."
"He's a solo player," was the prompt answer that didn't convince her at all. "I was worried all right? I've been worried ever since the glitch. And that time he almost died at Salem." He was still wondering who those attackers were, actually.
"Pocket watches have been banned since two months ago, Finn," Tina said seriously, "there've been cases of owners using them to find targets. Half of them are sicko's obsessed with whoever it is they're hooked on. You've heard of Sebastian Smythe right?"
Finn didn't reply. Everyone knew about Sebastian Smythe. He was a previous member of the Saint's Eve guild, and an insatiable flirt who unwittingly got a stalker because of it. The guy used a pocket watch to observe his stats for weeks before pinning him alone in a secluded alley back at stage twenty six. He cornered him and raped him on the spot. The scandal would have gone unnoticed if Blaine Anderson hadn't found him and brought to attention the dangers of pocket watches. They were especially dangerous because privacy stats and locations were not in the player's power to control.
People began to forbid the use of the device, and only allowed players to have them after the addition of 'blocking' was included. Pocket watches were viewed as a dangerous item and players often looked down on those who owned them. The main owners were Spoilers, so that was also a telltale sign to keep away from players who had pocket watches.
"I never saw you looking up Puck's name when you joined New Directions," Tina said quietly. "What's the big deal about Kurt?"
The platform behind him lit up, indicating the arrival of other players. Not wanting to be overheard, or judged, Finn walked away from the shack to a quiet road that would lead into a modest village. Tina followed quickly by his side.
"When I first got in ERA I met Kurt, but he was a girl and he called himself Penny," he explained, the image of the beautiful girl surfacing in his head. "We got along really well and I thought if I wasn't with Quinn, she would totally be an awesome girlfriend. Well…he. I didn't know she was a he until the whole Paradise thing."
"You have a crush on Kurt?" Tina raised an eyebrow, lips curling in amusement.
"No!" he exclaimed a little too loudly, "It was just…when I found out it was Kurt I realized how…how he'd rather be a different person than himself and how crappy it was of me the way I treated him at school. As Penny he was really cool – "
"And cute."
"And cute – stop that!" he flushed. Tina smirked. "Anyway, I felt bad. So when I found out he was a good fighter, I thought he and I could form a guild and get the game over with. I got worried when he said he was soloing it out so I started…checking up on him. You know, make sure he's okay?"
"You have a crush on him," she deadpanned.
"No I don't!" he threw his hands up.
"Don't deny it."
"I'm not gay!"
"Stalker!" she sang with a grin.
He glared at her, but she didn't let up so he slumped his shoulders and gave up on her. "I'm not a stalker," he couldn't help grumbling.
The continued walking in silence. The village they entered was alive with players and simulations shopping and dining. A few kids who made it this far were scampering around with paper kites and handmade toys. It always depressed Finn to see children in the game. The higher the stage, the less there were.
"You know it's okay right?" Tina finally spoke up as they entered the market area. It was bustling with noise and Finn almost didn't hear her. He turned to her curiously, and she had this sad look in her eyes, completely foreign to the Tina he knew in ERA, but a nostalgic echo of the quiet girl he'd pass by at McKinley. "It's okay to like Kurt."
"I'm not – "
"Do you think anyone here cares about who's gay or not?"
He fell silent. He hadn't really put much thought into it until Kurt came to him that day to get him back to New Directions. That had all basically been a knee jerk reaction from the homophobic monster swimming inside him.
Almost as if to prove Tina's point he spotted two male players standing by a vegetable booth, hand in hand and very comfortably close. The same behavior had increased the higher the stages got because by that time players just didn't give a shit anymore. They wanted to go home, and if they weren't going to make it, they weren't going to die without being honest with themselves. Ignorance was thinning out the more time passed.
"Do you think Kurt's respected because he's a gay solo player?" Tina asked, making Finn feel like crap again. "No. He's respected because he's the strongest most selfless player in ERA." She threw him a pitying smile, "I'm not accusing you of being gay. Kurt's awesome. Having a crush on him is…well, it's expected. Even from you."
…
A week had passed ever since they arrived at Edo. They had gone from Nagasaki all the way to Osaka without any clue to where Kurt had gone and a growing irritation of portals and the nausea that came with constantly using them to hop a few miles. The only indication they had that he was still in stage thirty was his status on the public profiles. Beyond that, they had no idea where exactly he was, and Edo was a huge stage to look through.
Right now Finn and Tina were staying at an inn, trying to hash out a plan. They removed the plates and a few layers from their uniforms, tired of lugging them around, especially in the privacy of their room. A map was laid out between them on the table with several X's dotting almost half of Japan.
"Maybe we're missing him every time we move to the next town," Finn murmured, frowning over the X's. In front of him Tina put her hands on her hips, grumbling to herself. "What?"
"I said if he weren't such a little bitch we'd have found him by now and we'd be preparing to move on to forty three," she pouted. "You know he's avoiding us right? Or really, you."
"What was your first clue?" he scowled, earning an unimpressed look from the Asian girl. "Maybe we should give up, he's not going to talk to me. There's a better chance he'll talk to you if you ditch me and look for him yourself."
"The whole point of this was for –"
"Me to talk to Kurt," he finished for her tiredly, having heard this many times before ever since they teamed up, "yeah, we're making good headway there." That earned him a glare and he sighed. "I'm giving up for the day." He stretched his back and stared morosely at the map for a few more seconds before turning away. "Gonna get a bite, I'm hungry."
Behind him Tina huffed in defeat, the little beep signaling the map being put away. "Can we make a pit stop? I've been meaning to go shopping."
He watched her leave their room with a face. What was with girls and shopping?
Then again. Seeing as it was Tina, it was probably for a shiny new sword, and who could say no to that?
Still, he was hungry, so he reluctantly followed.
Osaka was a city that occupied some pretty brash simulations. It made him think of how he imagined people from the Bronx sounded like. That, and they were big on food, which was awesome for him because duh food! He hadn't really been to this part of Edo when he'd been here previously. He was more preoccupied with taking care of Quinn and trying not to get attacked by hideously deformed monsters that were rightfully titled demons.
With his stomach growling as they left the inn into the busy streets of shops and restaurants, Finn contemplated what to get for dinner. He was craving something meaty and crispy, but part of him was also hankering for that udon soup he had the other day. The first time he went out to eat he expected Tina to know everything on the menu, which only got him a nasty look and a snappish reminder that she wasn't Japanese she was fucking Korean. And then of course she ordered something for him that was super spicy and made him shut up about her ethnicity.
But they weren't going to eat now, they were going to shop. Finn cast forlorn glances at the restaurants they passed by, wondering if he'd be able to order something decent on his own if he ditched Tina. It wasn't like she knew much about the menu either. She knew sushi, but ancient Japanese dishes wasn't in her list of 'things I know'. And now he could really go for some udon. One with lots of pork.
They stopped in front of a jewelry stop and he couldn't help gaping at her. "Really!?"
"It's only for a minute," she brushed him off and entered the small establishment. Trudging behind her, he looked over the display cases of protective items that were way out of his price range. Most were pretty decent looking. Necklaces with simple stones that weren't gaudy or ugly. He could actually see himself wearing some of this stuff. Most were head pieces for women anyway, so there wasn't much to look at either.
Tina made a beeline for the shopkeeper, a very bored player who was sifting through his menu, and very much not Japanese.
Scratching his red hair, the young man spared at look at his customer, "'Sup."
Finn went back to his listless wandering of the shop as Tina engaged the ginger man in quiet conversation. He noticed some hair pieces for men and had no regrets in having a full head of hair. Being in Edo gave you the option in changing your hairstyle in order to really feel like you belong in the period, but Finn had seen some of the simulations. There was no way having half his head shaved could be flattering on him. That, and the rest of it grown out to be pulled up in a bun. He liked his hair just the way it was thank you very much.
Artie, on the other hand, had no problems with changing his hair for the era. He would have looked weird if he wasn't so into the role as daimyo. Santana called him an idiot in many different variations, but he didn't give too shits which was cool because someone other than Brittany had to be at least a little carefree.
Thinking of Artie made Finn think of New Directions, and New Directions made him think of Quinn and Puck. Then he got mad and sad all over again, but not as bad as before which was a relief because it was exhausting to feel that gut wrenching pain all the time.
"Thank you!"
He looked up in surprise. Tina was in the middle of slipping an item card into her menu. That had gone faster than he thought.
"Let's go," she waved over at him, apparently finished with whatever shopping she'd been meaning to do.
"Wait, so it's not useful at all?" the redheaded shopkeeper asked curiously, "like at all?"
"Nope, it's useless," she shrugged, already leaving with Finn tagging along behind her, "thanks again!"
"What was that about?" Finn asked when they were back in the street again. Tina seemed particularly proud of herself right now.
"I've been collecting this crystal," she pulled up her menu and pulled up her list of items where there were several pieces of red crystal in different shapes and sizes. It wasn't uncommon for crystals to be littered throughout the stages. Jewelry makers would collect them and make their own protective items. Finn recalled Tina tinkering in the craft. "There's nothing special about them, they're just pretty rocks. I'm collecting them for a little project."
"They look like weird puzzle pieces," and they did. The bigger pieces had weird curves that seemed part of a bigger figure. "So what's the project?"
Tina was about to answer, but froze suddenly, staring at something in front of her with shock. Finn looked up and stopped short.
Kurt was standing right there in his way more tastefully put together samurai outfit. His plates weren't on, and the white robes were loosely tucked under black billowing pants. It reminded Finn sharply of all those martial arts movies that starred Jet Li. Blaine Anderson was behind him, triangular brows raised with interest. Finn had this strange and nasty desire to wring the younger man's neck.
"Kurt!" Tina was the first to react, running up to him and throwing his arms around him. He hugged back hesitantly, still thrown off by their presence. He made eye contact with Finn, but quickly darted away.
Finn hung back awkwardly, not sure at all what to say. Blaine sidled away from the pair and approached him cautiously.
"Um. Blaine Anderson," he held out his hand, and Finn took it stiffly.
"Finn," he greeted back, eyeing the short boy before he could stop himself. "Warblers. Right?"
Blaine blinked, bemused, and Finn bit his tongue. There shouldn't be any reason for him to know who he was. He dropped his hand and tried not to look so embarrassed. Maybe Tina was right about whole stalking thing. If Blaine found him creepy, he didn't show it because he smiled good-naturedly and looked back at their two friends.
"So, am I to assume you're the Finn Hudson Kurt's been babbling about?"
"What?" he nearly snapped his neck whipping back to Blaine.
The raven haired boy grinned. It was that same weird grin Tina gave him whenever she brought up his supposed and totally not true crush on Kurt. He'd grown used to tuning her out when this happened. After a week of getting to know her, he came to see that she was a huge romantic. She paired anyone she deemed good looking together. She could talk a mile a minute just as bad as Mercedes.
It was incredibly disturbing that now this guy was giving him that creepy look too.
"I don't like him that way," he blurted out just as Blaine was opening his mouth.
"Okay," he was baffled again, then shook his head and laughed. "That wasn't what I was going to say though."
"Oh," he flushed and turned away, kicking himself for his stupid mouth. "Sorry. What were you going to say?"
"I heard about your fallout with New Directions," he said, sympathy in his deep brown eyes. Finn felt his face darken, already predicting the streams of 'I'm sorry' and 'it'll get better with time'. He was surprised once more when instead Blaine said. "Kurt was wondering if there'd be a place for you in the Warblers."
It took him a few minutes to comprehend, and even then he was still lost. "I…he…what?"
Blaine laughed again. Finn looked at back at Kurt, but he was busy talking rapidly with Tina. Smiling, and…laughing, and…Finn expected him to still be upset over their fight, but none of that showed. He looked perfectly fine.
"While we welcome players into our guild I have a feeling you're more attached to New Directions, and joining another guild would only make you feel more miserable." Blaine said, regaining his attention. "So before you make your decision I'd advise you talk to your guild and see if you can fix whatever went wrong. Maybe there's still a chance to make amends."
Amends?
Quinn lied to him.
They all lied to him.
Except Rachel, but she was shit at keeping secrets. Especially if telling them ruled in her favor.
At least Tina apologized, and she helped him find Kurt so they could talk and…Crap, now that he found him he didn't know what to say or where to start. He wasn't even sure he'd be able to get a word out before Kurt would nail him in the other eye. He was growing scared of the stupid stuff that would come out of his mouth every time he opened it. What if he said something offensive like always? He didn't want to get punched again…
"You could start with 'I'm sorry'," Blaine said helpfully, his smile just this side of too kind. Finn had no time to prepare himself because the next second, the Warbler dove into Tina and Kurt's conversation and whisked her away for some 'much needed shopping' even though he never met the girl before, and therefore wouldn't know her temper.
Nevertheless, they left Kurt and Finn alone to stand awkwardly in the streets of Edo Osaka looking anywhere but each other and feeling very self-conscious of their breathing.
So with nothing else but Blaine's advice goading him, Finn cleared his thought. "I'm sorry." He mumbled. Shuffling his feet like a little child. "About saying all that…stuff. I didn't mean them, and…it was stupid of me and I'll never do it again." Kurt didn't say anything, and Finn was seriously considering groveling at his feet because he really, really hated when people were mad at him. It sucked epically that it was Kurt who was upset with him when he'd been cool with him this whole time and hadn't invaded his personal space like Rachel had, or made any assumptions that he had a chance with him, and taught him how to fight properly whenever he visited like the awesome older brother everyone thought he was.
Tina was so wrong in her theory that he had a crush on Kurt. He admired him, and feared for him. Wasn't that enough to keep an eye on him or feel absolutely craptastically awful after their blow up?
"I'm sorry," he repeated, the words tearing out of him like a smelly old band aid.
"Me too," Kurt finally spoke up, face perfectly still and hiding whatever emotion he was feeling at the moment. "About Drizzle." The corners of Finn's lips tugged at the mention of his supposed child's name. Everyone had teased him about it, but Kurt found it a cute nickname once the baby would be born. "Wanna spar?"
It had been a long time since he heard those words and it shocked him how much he missed them. Hoping Kurt wouldn't change his mind, Finn nodded eagerly and followed him out of the busy streets, their companionship not quite fully restored, but inching back to how things used to be.
Baby steps.