Will was pulling out of the parking lot when Toby's ringtone sounded on his phone. He put the phone to his ear. "Can I call you back when I get home?"

"This'll just take a moment, darlin'," said Toby. He sounded sour, like he was describing a hate crime. Will paused, then pulled over to the side, turning off the car.

"Okay?"

"Will, tell me you had nothin' to do with the shit Sue Sylvester pulled on Holly's roommate."

"I —" He sighed, resting his head on his hand. "It was a bad idea."

"You think? Holly told me Shannon said you wouldn't let her sit with you at lunch. And the pizzas? What are you, fifteen?"

"This was about money, Toby," Will said. "It wasn't about popularity. This school already spends too much on their football team. Glee can't take a ten percent cut in their budget. Not that you'd know anything about that. You have enough money and kids begging to be part of Vocal Adrenaline."

"This ain't about how things are at Carmel, Will. This is about your school hiring a new PE teacher. You can't stop the school from doin' football."

"No."

"And you want your principal to go looking for a different replacement? How likely is it he's going to find a better role model for the kids than Shannon Beiste? Did you know she's national board certified? She was vice-president of her union at her last school."

"Okay, okay!" he cried. "I already said it was a bad idea."

"It was worse than that. It was mean. You ain't that person, Will."

He closed his eyes. "No. I don't want to be."

"If that's the kind of spirit you're puttin' forth for your club, you folks better get used to losin'. In the meantime, I'll be takin' the evening off. Call me when you've figured things out with Shannon."

Will let out an explosive sigh, tipping his head back to stare at the ripped ceiling of his old station wagon. If this week had been an audition, he would already have known he'd blown it. Thank god real life offers second chances — and so does Toby. Let's hope Shannon does, too.

Kurt was the one who told Finn about Sunshine being recruited by Vocal Adrenaline. He went to talk first to Tina and Mike, then tracked Rachel down.

When he confronted her about it, Rachel just quailed under Finn's disappointed glare. He didn't even feel bad about it, because she totally deserved it.

"What did they say?" she asked.

"Well, I talked 'em out of giving you a code red," he said. "They were pissed, and they had the right to be. What you did was bad, Rachel. We could have used Sunshine to beat Vocal Adrenaline, and now they're just that much stronger. Toby and that new director, they're going to crush us."

She braced herself. "Just do it already."

He paused. "What?"

"Discipline me."

Finn choked, snatching his hands away. "What?"

"We both knew it was just a matter of time." She tipped her eyes up at him. He stared down at her, at a complete loss for what to say. She was just waiting — waiting for him to take the lead. Finally, he cleared his throat.

"I think you're forgetting I'm already… taking care of three other people. You told me you weren't going to — that we couldn't do anything like that, as long as I was seeing them."

"I thought you said it wasn't like that. That it wasn't sexual."

Finn could tell she wasn't trying to seduce him, but her honest vulnerability and trust in him was having an effect. He felt a little dizzy. "It — doesn't have to be. But for me, it… it is. That's not why I do it, but… that's how it feels, afterward."

She furrowed her brow. "Do you mean that you punish them and then you want to kiss them?"

"Something like that," he said weakly.

Rachel moved into his space and kissed him passionately. He kissed her right back. It had been a long time since he'd been turned on by her, by any girl, but he could feel the way what she was saying was resonating inside. It was like the way it had been at the beginning, when he was getting to know her and finding out about all the cool things about her. She was being brave, trying something new without any assurance it would work, just because she trusted him. That was — hot.

"I did it for the team, you know," she said. "I just, I-I love everybody so much, I didn't want anyone else coming in and interfering."

He sighed. "You gotta stop saying that, Rachel. I care about you and everything, but you gotta admit the truth. You didn't do this because you love Glee Club. You did it because you love yourself more."

She was shrinking again under his accusations. "Okay! I didn't want anyone else hogging my spotlight, okay? I love it too much to let it go that easy."

"You don't have to," he said. "You get to be a star. You just can't tear people down to get there — at least not these people. This is, like, our family. We have to have their back as much as they have ours."

She looked at her feet. "Do you think that they'll ever forgive me?"

"They'll come around. I think apologizing would be a good start."

"I'm sorry," she said. He reached down and tipped her chin up. She let out a little gasp.

"I meant to them," he said, smiling, "but thank you." He thought about adding good girl, but it made him a little uncomfortable even in his thoughts. She was already looking like she might want to jump him right there in the hallway.

He kissed her once more, gently. Then she let go of his hand and stepped away.

"Where are you going?"

"The auditorium. I, um." She brushed her hair behind her ear. "I just need a little time to myself. To think about this."

Finn watched her go and thought about Puck and Blaine, how he was able to help them let go of their guilt when things had gone wrong. Rachel was more like Kurt. She held her guilt close to her chest.

He sighed. I'm not going to think about her chest.

"I'm going to convince Mr. Schue to let us do Britney Spears," Kurt announced, sitting back from his dad's computer with triumph. "Once this Facebook campaign catches on, the pressure will be immense. You'll vote for it, right, Finn?"

"Mmm." He didn't look away from the front window. After a moment, he felt Kurt's hand on his arm.

"He'll be here soon."

"I don't know how you can be so calm," Finn complained. Kurt just smiled.

"I think you taught me how to do that. Or maybe it's the flogging you gave me on Tuesday. I'm just as excited to see Blaine as you are, Finn."

"I know that. I guess I'm distracted. I'm thinking about what happened with Rachel today."

Kurt's smile gave way to giggles. They were pale by comparison to the hysterical laughter he'd produced earlier when Finn had told him what Rachel had asked for.

"I just can't stop imagining the look on her face the first time you spank her," he snickered. Finn rolled his eyes as Kurt produced an example of that face.

"Kurt, you can't be making fun of Rachel. Especially if she and I — if I'm going to —" He took a deep breath. "If I am going to discipline her, and that is a big if, you have to take it seriously. You have to take her seriously." He reached out and took Kurt's hand, interrupting his hilarity. "Kurt, I'm telling you. She doesn't need anybody else laughing at her."

"I'm not," Kurt began, still giggling, but he stopped himself and nodded. "Okay, Finn. I can do that. I think."

"Baby," Finn warned, and Kurt tamed his smile again. He made an X over his heart and nodded angelically.

"It's just that Rachel is hard to take seriously sometimes," Kurt said. "She's so melodramatic. She says things with such conviction."

Finn grinned. "Sounds like somebody else I know."

He kissed Kurt's nose, leaving him looking disgruntled and pleased at the same time. Finn was sure Kurt would have argued with him more if they hadn't heard the garage door open. At that sound, both of them leapt up, heading for the back door.

When Puck opened it, Blaine shot past him and right into Finn's arms.

"Oh," Blaine murmured, burrowing his forehead into the crook of Finn's shoulder. "I — I missed you."

"Yeah," Finn whispered back.

He kissed Blaine's head again and again while Puck stood in the door, holding the baby carrier and beaming at them. Kurt took Puck's hand and helped him bring Beth inside.

"I'm gonna take her upstairs and feed her before bed," Puck said. "I'll meet you guys in your room with the baby monitor when I'm done."

"Do you need anything, Blaine?" Kurt asked.

Blaine surfaced from Finn's embrace, then shifted over to hug Kurt. "No," Blaine said, his voice quavering. "I have everything I need."

Kurt clasped Blaine's hand in his. "Then let's go upstairs."

"You know," Blaine said, much later, after they were all comfortably prone on Kurt's king-sized bed, "there is something I want."

"Again?" Puck rumbled, making him laugh. Blaine rested a hand on Puck's thigh.

"Maybe tomorrow morning," he said. "But, no, I'm talking about making music. I miss making music with all of you. Can we do that tomorrow?"

"Absolutely," Kurt said. "Will you sing the Katy Perry song?"

"It won't sound the same without the Warblers, Kurt. We can sing other things." He looked up at Finn, sitting with his arm around him. "Do you think… maybe, we might ever sing with Carl again?"

Finn nodded thoughtfully. "He said he would like that, and I believe him. We can call him tomorrow and find out. Oh, hey, guess what? My mom said Irene's opening a new coffeehouse in Lima! Maybe we could perform there."

"The Lima Bean," Kurt said. "It's not as silly as Java the Hut, but I like it."

"That's great!" Blaine was smiling at Finn like he held all the secrets to the universe. "But you and Carl, that's still, uh, on hold?"

"I don't even know anymore." Finn didn't seem too upset by the admission, but Kurt would have attributed that to Blaine. There was definitely something magical about Blaine's presence that calmed Finn down entirely. "I think there's the possibility we can figure something out, but it would have to be in Columbus only. Or another city, maybe. If I wait until college, it'll be easier. I mean, I'll be eighteen this January, but I don't know if that even counts for anything."

They had all started to yawn. Puck headed back to check on Beth while Finn gathered Blaine up and took him next door to Finn's room.

"Just come get in bed with me after they leave for football practice tomorrow," Kurt told Blaine. "You can wake me up if you want to."

"I think I might just crawl in and go back to sleep." Blaine kissed him, long and slow, which was always hotter with Puck and Finn watching, then smiled and said, "Good night, Kurt," in his formal way.

"Night, Blaine."

As Blaine shut the door, Kurt sat down to do his moisturizing, an hour later than usual. He also sent a text to Adam. Oklahoma tonight, Missouri tomorrow. Are you looking forward to New Orleans on Sunday?

Oh, god, so much, Adam replied immediately. Though I'd rather be stopping to see you.

Soon, said Kurt. Between Florida and Washington was Adam's day off, and he was flying into the tiny Lima airport to spend the day with them. Less than two weeks now.

I can't wait, honey.

Kurt felt the tiny explosion of joy he always experienced when he remembered, as he did a few times every day, that Adam loved him. In the meantime, I'm immersed in the drama of high school again, and you're sleeping in a different hotel room every night.

Trust me, musician drama and high school drama aren't so different. Someday I'd like to find a band to play with where all the people actually like and respect one another.

Are you using the moisturizer I sent you?

And the eye makeup remover. You were right, my skin is a lot better.

Kurt smiled. I'm not going to tell you how pleased that makes me.

I won't put you in that position, Kurt. Just give Noah a kiss for me.

He hadn't set his phone down for more than five minutes before it buzzed again with a text. This time it was from Dave.

What the hell is going on with Finn and Rachel Berry?

Kurt had to mentally sit on himself to control his giggling. Finn and Noah and Blaine were just on the other side of the wall, after all. I will never expose his secrets, no matter how absurd they may be.

I never thought I would care this much about what Finn Hudson was doing with a girl. There was a pause, and then, Just tell me Blaine's OK with it.

He hasn't said anything at all about it. I don't think it would occur to him to complain about any of Finn's relationships.

If Finn starts ignoring him in favor of that — any — chick, I'm gonna kick his ass, I'm not kidding.

Kurt had to admit he liked Protector Dave a whole lot more than Hamhock Dave. I have been instructed not to laugh at her. Maybe I can modify that instruction to be "not in front of Finn." Would you judge me if I complained at you about Rachel sometimes? This is hypothetical.

Fuck knows I complain to you enough about most stuff.

I kind of like it. You give me permission to be snarky. Was this a bad day?

Not an awful one, Dave said. On the bad-day-o-meter, I'd say it was about a seven.

Any good things?

Dave didn't respond for a while. Kurt used the ebb in their conversation to finish wiping his face and setting out his clothes for tomorrow — the pink checked shirt he'd stolen from Blaine's closet with the olive scarf he'd found at the thrift store on the last shopping trip with Sarah and Frances — and checked the Britney Spears Facebook campaign page one more time before he got more words from Dave.

Only really nerdy things.

You say that like it's a problem?

Well, I don't know. You hang out with all the music kids and your boyfriends are jocks.

Dave, Kurt typed slowly, I might laugh at Rachel, but I won't laugh at you.

Sometimes it was easy to forget, in the midst of their frequent jabs and ripostes, how sensitive Dave really was. Kurt definitely didn't think of him as the boy who'd shoved him into a locker in January, not anymore.

I learned the Feynman technique for understanding a concept, Dave said. And that calculus means "small stone" because it's about understanding something by looking at little pieces of it. And I started my PSAT study group.

Kurt wasn't sure for a moment what Dave meant by the last one until Dave added, You could come, if you wanted.

You're leading a PSAT study group?

I'm kind of getting paid to do it. My tutoring organization hired me.

Ah, so it wouldn't look like I was studying with you because I thought it was fun. Kurt shook his head, smiling. Thank you, I'd love that. Maybe Finn could come too?

Do I get to publicly humiliate him every time he doesn't know a vocabulary word?

Gently, said Kurt. He would probably tolerate that, though.

Want to come to the observatory next weekend?

I can't, Kurt said. He felt a pang of real regret. Dave so seldom invited him to do anything, he hated to turn him down. It's date night. Noah and I are going dancing in Dayton.

Another Friday, no big. Study group starts Thursday at seven. The tutoring organization rents a storefront south of North and Main.

The location made Kurt's heart stand still for a moment, because that was exactly where Davis and Carl had their office. He wasn't about to mention it to Dave, but he could only hope they weren't renting in the same building. Thanks, he just said. I'll look forward to it.

Kurt turned out the light and set his phone on the nightstand. He put a hand on the wall between his room and Finn's, and smiled. It was definitely better when he knew he could just walk into the other room to kiss Blaine whenever he wanted. Knowing Blaine was tucked in between Finn and Puck was almost as good as having him in his own bed.

Will nudged Toby's leg with his shoulder. "Are you actually falling asleep while I'm doing this?"

"Mmmm." Toby lifted his head from the pillow and smiled lazily down at Will. "Maybe. But don't take it as a slight against your technique, darlin'. September just kicks my ass. I'm exhausted."

Will chuckled. He climbed up to rest beside Toby, two heads sharing the same pillow. "This isn't a retroactive punishment for my stupidness earlier this week?"

"I told you, you made up for that. Holly said Shannon was impressed by your apology." Toby intertwined their fingers, regarding them placidly. "You're good at the make-up stuff."

"It's the least I can do." He shook his head. "After the way Rachel treated Sunshine, you deserve to have her at Carmel."

"It's not about what we deserve. It's about what she deserves. She's not much of a dancer, but Dustin will absolutely put her center stage. Hell of a voice."

Will stretched full length, then relaxed, staring up at the ceiling. "All this she-said-she-said gossip, though… I'm not crazy about that. You don't have to tell me what Holly says Shannon says. She can tell me herself." He poked Toby in the ribs. "And since when are you and Holly so tight?"

Toby shrugged. "I like her. And she's got a way with her kids, I do say. Watchin' Jake Puckerman during our dance lessons, I can tell he's managing his anger better, communicating better. If she's half as good a teacher as she is a counselor, she's gonna take the high school world by storm."

"She did a great job with Finn, that's for sure. He made big strides this summer in Spanish."

"Did you know she can sing? She was telling me about her voice coaching lessons, learning how to make her voice sound the way she wanted it to sound."

Will grinned at him. "Isn't there something better to talk about when we're naked in bed than our friends and students?"

"I'm sure I can think of something," Toby drawled. He gave Will a slow kiss, watching his face. "Do you miss him?"

Will dropped his eyes. Toby knew he didn't have to clarify who he meant. Darius had been on both their minds since he left in August.

"Yeah," Will admitted. "I do. He called me after work today, just to check in. I didn't expect that."

"Yeah, he called me a couple days ago."

Will's smile was a little twisted. "Made it harder and easier at the same time."

"What, you figured we wouldn't hear from him again? Maybe if it hadn't been about feelings. I don't think feelings go away for him either."

Toby watched Will's cheeks go a little red. "Maybe now he feels like can have something to hang on to."

Toby nodded. "You okay with that?"

"Yeah, I think so? Being a — a way station for him. You know? If he's on the road and he needs someplace to visit, I don't mind that place being us."

He raised a placid eyebrow. "You just want him to suck your dick again."

Will gave his shoulder a shove. "You just want to watch."