Kurt POV

"Finn? Finn? Finn Hudson?" I walked through the house, looking for my missing boyfriend. "Cowboy, where are you?"

I've lived in this house for my entire life, so you would think he would be easy to find. Especially since he doesn't have a room of his own to hole up in and lock the door. But I kept coming up empty.

Before he and Carole moved in with us, I hadn't fully appreciated how much time Finn needs to himself. School is hard for him, even with the progress he's been making. Expectations for him run the gamut from teachers wanting straight A work to teachers who basically pat him on the head and tell him he's sweet but stupid. He doesn't understand a lot the material, and usually ends up giving up about noon.

As much as he adores the club, Glee stresses him out in a different way. Mr. Shue loves him, but his expectations for Finn can be extremely high, sometimes unrealistically so. He expects Finn to lead the group, but doesn't always give him the appropriate tools or guidance to do so.

On days when we have Glee practice, Finn might be performing in one way or another for close to 9 hours without a break or chance to center himself. True, he had been under just as much pressure in football, but that was offset by the amount of physical activity that helped him blow of steam and regain some focus.

"Scooby Dooby-Doo, where are you?" Sometimes that would get his attention, but there was still no reply. It's not so much that he deliberately ignores me as he either has his iPod on or is totally focused on what he's doing, and blocking out the outside world.

Even when he comes home, he really doesn't have a chance to relax. I've offered my room for him to unwind in, and Dad's offered his office, but Finn's not stupid. He knows that neither one of those places are his, and he doesn't particularly like hanging out in either place. He'll do it, but it's obvious that he would rather be somewhere else. As much as I hate to admit it, getting this addition up soon is the best thing that could happen to this family.

"Finn Hudson, where are you today?" I muttered the last part, since there was no chance of him hearing me. You wouldn't think a 6'3 klutz could hide himself anywhere in an average sized house, but Finn can be surprisingly sly.

I finally found him by resorting to looking under and behind our furniture. He was behind the futon in Dad's office, and he was asleep on top of his social studies homework. My heart melted, just like it always did when he did something cute.

Then the worry set in. There were plenty of times that I came home from Cheerios practice and immediately fell asleep from pure exhaustion. Sometimes I even had to have Finn drive us home so I could doze off in the car. But Finn usually goes to bed earlier and sleeps more heavily then I do, and he's not given to needing naps. I reached out and rested my hand of his forehead, checking for a fever. Nothing.

"Finn? Wake up, Cowboy." I rubbed his shoulder to try and wake him up. "Come on now."

His eyelids fluttered open, and he gave me a blank stare. "Kurt? What are you doing here?"

Did I mention that he's not exactly easy to wake up? He'll get up for the alarm, but it's like dealing with a zombie until he can get some coffee or a shower. So his confusion was pretty normal. "I live here and so do you. Come on, stand up."

He rubbed at his eyes, looking around the room like he was trying to figure out where he was. Even after a week, Finn doesn't really recognize this as his home. "Oh." He yawned hugely.

"Good job already starting on your homework. Was it really that boring that you had to fall asleep during it?" I kept rubbing his shoulder, so he would know that it was all in good fun.

He grinned, but he still looked kind of tired. "I can't really sleep on that couch. It's too small and I rolled off of it last night and I banged my arm on the coffee table." He held it up to show me, and I could see a dark bruise on the side.

"Ouch." I took his arm and kissed the bruise to make it feel better. "I promise, I'm still working on Dad to get you downstairs and in a real bed."

He heaved a deep sigh. "Your Dad isn't the one you need to convince. It's Mom that's the problem, and you're never going to convince her of anything. Trust me, I've tried." Then a hopeful smiled dawned across his face. "I think I banged my dick, too. Maybe you could kiss that better?"

"Nice try. How about we work on some homework instead?" Not that I was adverse to a little fellatio, but if I gave in this early, I knew that there wouldn't be any homework done, period.

"Kurt, you're killing me." But he picked his book up anyway and followed me downstairs.

My bed is a full, so there's plenty of room for both of us to spread our homework out, especially if we snuggle close. "What do you want to start with?"

"Math." His lip curled as he spoke. No matter how hard we try, Finn's math isn't improving much. He still transposes numbers, which throws off the entire problem. At least with reading, he's learned to use other clues to at least get some idea of what the word should be. With math, a mistake at any step in the process messes up everything.

It does help him to talk his way through it, though, so I could keep an eye on each step. It was slow, but at least he was getting most of the problems. If I could just get him through algebra, he would be fine. "Good job."

By the time we worked our way through the first 10 problems, he was starting to get frustrated and irritable. "Can I have a break?"

There was no point in making this a power struggle, so I nodded. "Sure. You work on something else while I do my math."

Even if we weren't actually talking to each other, having Finn there was a comfort. He was soft and calm as he worked on what appeared to be some sort of map. I worked my way through my own Trig problems.

Carole was making dinner tonight, so we were able to both finish our homework without interruptions, and get in a good make-out session. Much to Finn's chagrin, I wasn't able to kiss his second boo-boo, nor was I able to do anything about the unfortunate swelling that had developed in the same spot. "Sorry, Cowboy."

He pulled his shirt down over it and gave me a dirty look. "You know it could get gangrene and fall off due to lack of blood flow."

I laughed and kissed the corner of his mouth. "That would be a tragedy. If you're that worried, though, you could always ask your mother to take a look at it. Nurses know quite a bit about preventing gangrene."

His look of utter horror made me laugh again. "Dude! You don't just talk about a guy's Mom seeing his junk. That's not cool."

I kept a close eye on Finn during dinner, watching the way he interacted with both Dad and Carole. I used to watch Finn all the time, back before he was mine. I had to do it in a sneaky way, so that he wouldn't notice the creepy gay kid who had a monster crush on him. Since we had gotten together, I didn't do that much any more, because I didn't have to. I can look at Finn any time I want to, and it's totally fine.

Somehow, though, the very fact that I could do it had ended up with it meaning I usually didn't. I couldn't remember the last time I had looked at Finn and really seen him, but I did know that he had looked far different then then he did now. Finn's always been such a cheerful guy who never seems to get down about anything. His face is an open book.

It wasn't open now. His eyes moved between our parents, slightly narrowed. I knew that every word being said was now locked into his brain to be picked over later at his convenience.

Once his initial tantrum was over, Finn had said very little about moving in with Dad and I. He had tried to get out of it, and he had lost, so he was just going to give up and accept that this was his life now.

But he didn't have to like it. His anger, which usually flared like burning magnesium, had settled into a slow simmer. The coldness, a desire to hurt some or all of us the way he was hurting showed there, too, underneath a deep layer of sadness. He didn't want to be mean, or cruel, or unhappy. He just wanted someone to listen to him.

More then all that, though, I saw how tired he really was. His skin is darker then mine, so he doesn't show the shadows under his eyes as much as I do, but they were there if you looked. He had been listless for the past few days, even though he was always up for sex.

I wanted him to feel like I listened to him and was on his side, so I cleared my throat. "Finn can't keep sleeping on the couch."

Everyone looked at me in surprise, even Finn. I tried to clarify. "He's too big to fit on the couch and he's not sleeping. How do you expect him to succeed in school if he's not getting at least 9 hours a night? We have to think of another solution."

I hate making waves, but the hopeful smile that dawned on Finn's face made it worth it. Finally, someone was sticking up for him. Seeing that expression made me realize how much I had been missing it.

Dad cleared his throat. "Kurt, we've already discussed this. As soon as I can get started, we're going to put an addition up with a bedroom for Finn. The couch isn't a permanent solution."

"It isn't a solution, period. This isn't fair to Finn to not have any space of his own. He fell off the couch last night and banged his arm. Show them, Finn."

He immediately grew shy, picking at his sleeve before raising it. "I roll off almost every night, but this is the first time I've hit anything."

Without the mood lighting of my bedroom, the mark looked even more ghastly. Both of our parents exclaimed over it, and fussed, which gave me hope. Dad nodded at him. "Well, Kurt's right. We can't leave you on the couch if you're going to get hurt."

Bow-chicka-bow-bow. He'll be in our bed by 11 tonight. Galinda was all but dancing with glee.

"How about we get an air mattress? We can get a full or queen size so you have more room, even if you fall off, it's not that far to the floor." He seemed pleased with that suggestion.

Finn's face fell. An air mattress solved the immediate problem, though it was a band-aid over a gaping bullet hole. It didn't solve the larger problem. "But I still don't have a room or a place for my stuff."

"You will. As soon as thing settle down at the garage a little, we'll get started on the addition. We'll start looking at some plans this week, I promise. It will be a great bonding experience."

"But I need some space." It was a feeble attempt at defending himself, but I didn't expect much more. Finn will never defend himself against Dad, or any other man. There's a reason for that, I'm sure, but he doesn't like to talk about it.

"You'll have plenty of space once we get it up. We'll soundproof and everything so you can play your drums without driving Kurt crazy. Can you put up with the couch for one more night?"

"Can't I sleep downstairs in Kurt's room for tonight? Or in a hotel? That would be cool, since I've only slept in a hotel a few times. Maybe we could even go to one with a pool. It will be like a vacation. Oh, you and Mom could come to. Or you could drop us off and stay home and do whatever weird stuff you two when Kurt and I aren't around. Or-"

"Finn, focus." Carole interrupted him before he could get too far off track. Dinnertime was usually about when his medication started wearing off, and his focus tended to wander. "You know full well why I don't want you sleeping in Kurt's room. It's not appropriate. Would you have expected to be allowed to share a room with Quinn or Rachel?"

"I guess not. But I'm not going to get Kurt pregnant, either. What about if I promised not to do anything with him, and it would only be tonight?"

"The answer is no, and it will always be no. You can manage one more night."

"Fine." He dished himself some casserole. "One more night."

Finn doesn't like to stand up for himself against Dad, but he usually will fight harder against Carole. Especially now that the two of them are in a serious power struggle. He gave both of them a level glare. "Since I got no sleep last night, I'm going to bed early tonight. I need everyone out of my new bedroom by 9."

Touché, Finn Hudson. If he had to suffer, so would everyone else. I could tell that neither Dad nor Carole was pleased about it, but they couldn't say much. I might have been able to talk him down, but I secretly wanted to cheer him on.

True to his word, Finn and I had time to finish our homework and watch a rerun of the Simpsons before he started getting ready for bed. Teeth brushed, clothes laid out, backpack and lunch packed for tomorrow. Right at 9, he got his pillow, comforter and blankie out of the hall closet and kicked us out of the room. Good for him for sticking to his guns.

I would have guessed that that was Finn's good idea for the day, but sometimes he can surprise you. Close to midnight, I was woken up by him crawling into my bed. I jolted. "What are you doing here?"

"Being cute and spontaneous. And horny. Let's do it right here." He somehow found my lips and gave me a kiss.

There was never a time when Finn didn't want to do sexual things. Even at midnight, he was forever hopeful. "I thought you promised our parents that you wouldn't do anything with me."

"No I didn't. I told them that I wouldn't do anything to you if they let me sleep down here tonight. They didn't let me, so I had to sneak. They didn't let me have my side of the promise, so I don't have to give them theirs. That's good logic, right?" Even though I couldn't see him, I just knew that he was smiling.

"It is good logic, but it's not going to happen. I'm exhausted and so are you. But why don't you stay and cuddle for a while? I'm usually the first one up, so we'll sneak you back upstairs before they notice you're gone." I held up the comforter, and he crawled underneath.

Finn might want sex 24/7, but he's also very respectful of me and my boundaries. If I said no sex, he wouldn't push the matter. He did have to run his hand over my body and give me a quick grope, but he always did that. It's like he thinks I may either lose a part or grow a new one when he isn't watching. It seemed to be more a reassurance thing then a sexual one, so I let it go.

I had only slept with Finn a handful of times like this, but we found the right positions instantly. I rested my head on Finn's chest, and his legs tangled up with mine. We were taking a huge risk in doing this. Yes, I got up early, but there was always the chance that Dad or Carole might get up in the middle of the night and come downstairs to find Finn missing.

But it was beyond worth it. Finn's hand rested on my back, pulling me as close as possible. It was easy to doze off listening to the beat of his heart.

The next morning, he rose without complaint and race up the stairs to get back on the couch. Believe it or not, we had actually managed to pull it off.

Today was Thursday, which was a day when I wouldn't see Finn until it was time to go home. We share a lunch period, but he had mandatory tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This being McKinley High, though, tutoring basically consisted of throwing him in a room with a bunch of other low achievers and watching them to make sure they did their homework. Basically, it was a holding pen for the jocks so they could maintain the required average to play sports. As long as they turned something in, they would be ok.

But it wasn't what Finn needed. He does his homework willingly and has people at home to prompt (and sometimes force) him when he doesn't feel like it. What he needs is someone to sit down with him one on one and make sure that he understands what he's doing instead of just letting him muddle through on his own.

But that wasn't cost effective. Finn had a formal diagnosis of ADD and dyslexia, but the paperwork for the school hadn't gone through yet. Without that paperwork, they weren't legally required to provide him with services. So they didn't. Coach Tanaka was technically bending the rules to get even this meager help.

We all hated it. But if we refused this help for Finn, then I was sure that Figgins would deny him the more focused help that he actually needed. This way we would have proof that the minor help wasn't enough.

I worried, though. Now that Finn was off the football team, he had lost whatever small amount of protection he had had. He won't say that the other football players (read Karofsky) are picking on him, but I know that they are. And if I had had any doubt, I overheard Puck telling someone Mercedes that Finn had suddenly become a favorite target.

Even when we don't see each other all day, Finn still tries to do something nice for me. Today it was a note shoved in my locker, with a heart and what might have been some sort of ninja (or possibly a cat) drawn next to it. It wasn't signed; he would be a fool to do so. One day we would be able to be together in public, but until then, we shouldn't take any risks.

As always, he was waiting for me by my locker, trying to look casual. Like anyone was going to believe he had just ended up there. McKinley High is a small and incredibly gossipy school. Everyone knew that we were living together now, so he had his built in excuse for why he was standing there. Old habits die hard, I guess.

He didn't wrap his arm around me, like he might have done to Rachel or Quinn, but he did stick close and chatter away about what he was up to. Nothing of any great importance, but these were the moments I loved the best with Finn. There was no pressure, no outside forces trying to get in. Just me and him, talking about our days.

I like the naked moments best with Finn. Just sayin'.

Ok, I liked those moments, too. "Do you want to drive?" I always asked, even though we both knew that the answer was always no. He's terrified of having an accident and damaging it. Even though I keep promising him that I wouldn't be upset, he wasn't going to take the chance.

As soon as we were in the car, he started rummaging through his backpack, looking for something to show me. "Kurt, look!"

'It' was his English homework. There was a big 83 in red on top. It was a low B, but just a few weeks ago his average had been a low C or high D. Based on the academic testing we were currently slogging through, Finn read on a fourth grade level. His progress was nothing short of astounding. The blow jobs I offered him for good grades didn't hurt, either. "Great job, Finn! That's awesome."

He visibly puffed up, then deflated. "Math didn't go so hot, though. I just suck at it."

"Did you fail the test?"

"No, but pretty close. I'm going to flunk out of math class. I guess I better brush up on my calculator skills and hope I get a job where I don't touch money." His was trying to sound upbeat, but I heard the tears threatening. The stresses of the past week were seriously getting to him.

"Don't worry about it. Just keep trying and we'll figure something out. It will be easier once you get your IEP."

He yipped like a chihuahua, which was his usual response to that word. Even though it was pronounced eye-ee-pee, like that letters, he insisted on calling it an ipe, just so he could make that noise.

The IEP was what we were all holding out for. Once he had that, the school was legally required to do whatever it took to get Finn up to speed. The way things were moving, though, he would be getting fitted for a graduation gown before that happened.

It was a rare day that I didn't have Cheerios practice after school, so I had today planned to the minute. Lady Gaga's outfits did not create themselves. There were dozens of choices, each more outrageous then the last, but I had managed to narrow it down to two. The light blue dress was classic and would set off my eyes perfectly, while I loved Finn in red. Plus, it was the outfit he would probably find the least objectionable. It even had a superhero mask. There wasn't much about it for Finn not to like.

I know my own measurements by heart, but I had to get Finn's before I could go fabric shopping. I've gotten them before, but measuring him for jeans that actually fit isn't the same as measuring him for a dress.

Tip time. I wouldn't call it a dress in front of Finn. There are some cans of worms that you just don't want to open.

Good idea. I seized my tape measure and a small notebook and headed for Finn's bedroom, formerly known as our living room. A little extra coaxing from Dad had earned Finn his X-box back, and he liked to unwind in front of it for an hour or so after school.

Sure enough, he was sprawled out on his stomach, blissfully playing some bloody war game with headphones on. I patted his back to let him know that I was there, and ran my tape measure up his leg. He whipped around to look at me. "What are you doing?"

"Measuring your inseam." I jotted the number in my notebook.

"Why?"

"First of all, knowing your measurements is important for clothes shopping if you ever want to move beyond American Eagle and their…offerings. Second, I'm going shopping for our Glee outfits, and I want to make sure I get the appropriate amount of material. Lady Gaga's fashion empire wasn't built in a day."

He winced and paused the game. I tensed, since that was never a good sign. "Yeah…..about the Lady Gaga thing…" He trailed off and looked guilty.

Deep breaths, don't panic. Maybe he wasn't about to say what I thought he was about to say. "What about the Lady Gaga thing, Finn?" Even though I was trying to keep calm, I heard the veiled threat in my voice.

"I….I'm not doing Lady Gaga and neither are any of the other guys. We're doing something else instead."

"And when were you planning on telling me this?"

"Today. I wasn't sure yesterday, and I didn't want to get you all upset for nothing. Are you mad?" He didn't sound like he had any hope that I wasn't.

"Of course I'm not mad, Finn. Why would I be mad? I mean, all my boyfriend, that I love more then anyone else in the world, is just hiding secrets from me for no reason at all. Tell me, Finn, why would that upset me or make me angry in the slightest?" Anger always made me sarcastic.

Sarcasm had the unfortunate effect of making Finn's temper flare. "Maybe I do have a reason. Why don't you ask before you jump all over me?"

"Fine. What's the reason?" I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm waiting."

"None of the guys want to do Gaga, how about that? You and the girls get to make all the decisions and you push us around. You and Rachel get all excited about some dumb shit, and you don't even ask the rest of us." His voice rose, though not quite to a yell.

"In case you haven't noticed, Finn, the 'girls' of whom you speak so disparagingly make up half of the club. If you're counting me in with them, and I would hope that that was just as slip of the tongue, we make more then half. Majority rules." My own voice jumped as well.

"Not in Glee club! Everyone's supposed to have a chance to say and do what they want. But you two wouldn't let anyone else talk today. You just decided we were doing Gaga because stupid Vocal Adrenaline is. Guess what? They're going to be better at it then us. They have more people, and more money, and they can put on a big show like she does. We're better when we do our thing instead of just copy catting theirs."

He must have felt strongly about it, because he didn't stutter or lose his words. At any other time, I would have been proud of the way he kept his head and didn't kick anything. But now it just irritated me. This had nothing to do with Gaga, Rachel and I, or Vocal Adrenaline. Finn just had his panties in a bunch over the move, and he was taking it out on me and the Glee club. The rest of the boys didn't care what we sang, I was sure of it.

Really? Have you asked them? Because I don't recall any of them having a single complimentary thing to say about our newest assignment.

Well, no I hadn't asked them anything. But they were boys. Planning and making choices weren't exactly their strong suit. And if no one had said anything nice, no one had complained, either.

They did to Finn. He's just as much a club leader as Rachel is, and he's doing his best to take their opinions into account. You don't like it when you get ignored, and neither do they.

That was a point I hadn't considered, but my temper was flaring too hot to think it over. "If that's an issue, it should be brought up to the entire club. You don't go sneaking around behind our backs."

"I was going to do that tomorrow. We haven't had a practice since I talked to them." His arms crossed as well, making us mirror images of each other.

I pulled out my last weapon. "Mr. Shuester isn't going to let you change the music halfway into the assignment." I hated the smugness I heard in my voice, but I couldn't keep it out, either.

"He already did." Finn cocked his hip and glared at me. "He liked the idea of an alternate assignment."

In other words, he had talked to everyone before he talked to me. Puck, Matt, Mike, Artie, Mr. Shue. He was my boyfriend, and I was the last to know. Which meant I was also excluded from whatever he was planning.

It hurt. The other boys in Glee are good about at least offering to include me in with them, even if I usually turned them down in favor of the girls. But this was out and out betrayal, telling me that I wasn't boy enough for them.

I think you're being a little oversensitive here. Finn didn't ask you to perform whatever fools errand he's about to do with him because you were so happy to be doing Lady Gaga. Come on, you would have bitched him out before he had all the words out of his mouth.

That was true, but I would have at least liked to be asked. I swallowed hard and forced back the tears. I wasn't going to give him the pleasure of seeing me cry. "Why didn't you just tell me in the beginning? I thought we could talk about everything."

"We can. But I want to do something different then you do. Why should everyone have to do what you want?"

"I never said that everyone had to do what I wanted! I'm not mad because you wanted to do something different. I'm mad because you talked to all the rest of the boys about it and you didn't talk to me. I don't like being the last person to know about things."

He scowled. "Well now I guess you know how it feels, don't you."

Yep, this was still about the move. I guess I should have had some more sympathy, but I just didn't. "It's not my fault that no one told you that you were moving in with us! Bitch at you mother, not me."

"I'm pissed with her, too, don't worry." We faced off, neither one of us willing to be the one to back down.

Abruptly, he deflated. "Aren't you even going to ask me what our other assignment is? I thought of a good one."

This was a golden opportunity for me to build a bridge and stop this fight. It was also a perfect chance to hurt Finn the same way he had hurt me. Unfortunately, I didn't choose the mature option. "Why should I care? You just do whatever you want. I'm sure it will be absolutely darling." I spit the words in as condescending a voice as I could manage.

"Get out of my room." His voice could have frozen fire. "I don't want to talk to you any more."

Shut up and leave. This had already gone too far.

Of course, I didn't listen to that very sound advice. "This isn't your room. It's my living room and I have every right to be here."

He threw up his hands. "Fine. I'm out of here. He turned and stormed out of the room, kicking over the end table.

"Screw you, too!" I marched off to the basement so I could sulk myself. Why did Finn have to be such a jerk?

I don't think that Finn's the only jerk in the house. Calm down and then go back up there and talk to him. After all, you do love him.

Of course I loved him. And now that I was out of the heat of the moment, I felt terrible about my behavior. Yes, Finn had been wrong, but there hadn't been any real maliciousness behind it, just a little thoughtlessness. I had been the one who escalated things to being hateful.

Since I figured that Finn would need a few minutes to cool down himself, I took a quick shower to calm my nerves, and rubbed on some of the lotion I knew that Finn liked. Scent is closely linked to emotion, and a pleasant one never hurt.

But when I got back upstairs, Finn was nowhere to be found. I checked all the rooms in the house, including Dad and Carole's, but I had managed to lose him yet again. I called his cell phone, but it cut off after two rings. Two rings meant that I had deliberately been put on ignore. Fine I could take a hint.

Since one of us was still going to go as Lady Gaga, in a costume that was going to require at least a week to put together, I left a note telling Carole and Dad that I was going to the store and that I would be back for dinner. I must have still been feeling a bit spiteful, because I made sure to add on that I had no idea where Finn was or when he would be back.

When I got home, Carole was already shredding lettuce for a salad. "Hi, Kurt, how did shopping go?"

"It went well. I was able to get everything I needed for my costume." I pulled out my phone to show her a picture. "This is the look I'm going for."

"Oh, that looks like a lot of fun. You boys are both so creative today."

"So you talked to Finn today? I kind of lost track of him after school." I tried to sound disinterested, but failed miserably.

"He went over to Puck's to work on their costume ideas. Are you going to be helping him as well?"

I didn't want to admit that I had zero idea what Finn was doing for his costume. "I don't know. He hasn't asked me, yet."

Probably because he's not speaking to you.

Probably. "Did he say if he'd be home for dinner?"

"Yes. I don't allow him to stay out on school nights. Especially at Puck's house."

That was interesting. Dad liked to have me home, but he had never pushed the issue. As long as I called, I could stay as late at Mercedes' house as I wanted to, even overnight. I seldom did, but the option was always there. Would Carole expect me to stay home now, too? Were Dad's rules still more important then hers, now that we lived together? It was a disturbing thought. I was doing just fine on my own and didn't need some stranger bossing me around. "Oh, do you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine. Go ahead and get started on your outfit." She gave me a quick hug, one I couldn't help but lean into.

Even though I have an interest, I've only made a few outfits for myself. It's difficult without a mannequin, or at least another person to tell me what didn't look right. If I was going to dress as Lady Gaga, I would make her proud.

I was so involved in sketching out the pattern and trying to make the changes that would allow it to fit a man's form rather then a woman's, that I missed the door opening and the soft footsteps creeping downwards. It wasn't until Finn spoke that I even realized he was there. "That looks really good. Like something a professional would make."

Pissed off I might be, but I recognized an olive branch when one was held out. "Thank you." I closed the notebook and sat back. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah." He was tentative now, unsure of what to say or do next.

"Come on. I'm not going to bite you." I patted the bed to encourage him to come over.

He sat. "I'm sorry I yelled at you and ran off. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away that I didn't want to do Lady Gaga with you. I was a jerk."

His apology made it much easier for me to give my own. "I'm sorry, too." I reached out for his hand, and was gratified when he took it and squeezed. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry over this. It's just a song."

Is it really? This is more then a song, and we both know it. This is about exclusion, and communication, and having different expectations. This is not, and has never been, about a song.

Of course it was about a song. Finn's a simple creature, and this was nothing but a minor spat. Finn gave me a strained smile. "Yeah, it's just a song. We'll sing it and it will all be over. Then we'll pick a new one."

If it really wasn't that big of a deal, why couldn't he just perform with us? We had done plenty of songs that I didn't like, and I just sucked it up and did it anyway. But I wasn't going to bring that up. Doing so was only going to cause another argument. I stroked his face and he leaned in. He squeezed my fingers again. "Are you still mad at me? Are we good?"

A little. "We're good. Now tell me what you and the other boys are doing for you're alternate assignment."

His smile appeared like magic. "We're doing KISS! That's super, super, theatrical, right?"

Really? None of the boys want to do Lady Gaga because it's too gay for them, but they'll cover a group that wears more make-up per show then Gaga uses in an entire tour?

"KISS is certainly theatrical. Can I assume it's going to be 'Rock and Roll All Night?"

"Uh-huh. Puck wants to have pyrotechnics and everything." He bounced with excitement.

I couldn't think of many things more terrifying then Noah Puckerman having full access to fire. If McKinley High was still standing by the time this performance was over, we would all be lucky.

But I didn't say that. One of Finn's more charming traits is the childlike pleasure that he takes in things, and I was loathe to burst his bubble. "You're going to need some help with your outfit and make-up. I would be pleased to offer my services."

He grinned and leaned over to give me a kiss. "That would be awesome! You're good at, like, everything, and I know it'll be great."

I crawled up into his lap so he could hold me. He kissed the top of my head. "So, I guess that was our first fight, huh?"

I hadn't thought about it, but he was right. "I guess so. You're the one with relationship experience. Was this a bad fight as far as boyfriend spats go?"

"Ummm…not really, I guess. You didn't throw anything at me, which is was Rachel always did, and you didn't call me an idiot, which was what Quinn did, so I guess it wasn't that bad. I still did my stupid storming out and yelling thing, though."

"Sometimes leaving the situation is the wiser course of action." The kicking things over part I could do without, but now didn't seem like the right time to bring that up.

Also, I was seriously pissed off (though not surprised) that Rachel had actually thrown something at Finn. He didn't mention that she had actually hit him with whatever it was, but she could have. He would have never gotten away with doing the same to her. I also found his calm acceptance of her actions disturbing. Rachel didn't have the right to treat him like crap because she had a vagina. No one did.

I pushed away from his body so I could look him in the eyes. "So, what do you say you and I pull up some KISS pictures on my laptop and we take this tour to the bathroom? I have some black eyeliner pencil that we could use to map you out for you big performance."

His face lit up, and I felt the last of my tension from the fight drain away. See, we were fine. Every couple fights, and we had resolved it peacefully, and in just a few hours. We were good.

Um, you do realize that you've resolved exactly nothing, right? You're doing one group; he's doing another, which is exactly how it was before you ever fought. You're still excluded from the boys group, Finn still has no privacy or place to sleep, and the pressure of your glorious new family unit is still building. You didn't even tell him that it hurts your feelings when he doesn't acknowledge you as one of the guys. God only knows what secrets he's keeping from you. This is not a good thing, and I think, deep down, you know it.

Shut up, Galinda.