Fic: In Another Life
Kurt stared after Artie, hand tightening around his cape as he watched the jock move down the hallway.
That was...weird. Normally, while Artie was too small to do much bullying himself, he definitely had never defended anybody and that was the first time in a long time that somebody had actually stood up for him in front of the other jocks.
But then, Artie was being weird in general, especially with asking Kurt about somebody named 'Blaine.'
Kurt didn't know anybody named Blaine, so he shrugged it off and kept walking, eyes darting around until he reached his locker and undid the combination with shaking hands.
He finally got it undone, scanning the hall for Puck or Ryder or anybody that could come to harass him, and just as he was putting his books away he heard a slam next to him and jumped, wincing, waiting for the inevitable shove or slushie to the face.
"Hey, dude."
"Finn," he breathed a sigh of relief, unable to keep the joy off of his face when he smiled up at the taller boy. "Why are you..."
"Everybody's in class," Finn shrugged. "And I wanted to make sure you were okay. They shoved you pretty hard," Finn pointed out, and Kurt shrugged. Yes, Finn tried to be the one to 'bully' him more often than not, but Finn's touch was welcomed, as soft as he could make it and with as many caresses and blocks as he could do without it looking suspicious.
The other guys just thought he had it out for Kurt personally, and Kurt was happy to let them think that.
"I'm fine," he promised, ducking his head and grabbing his books before spinning around. "Late again, but what else is new?"
"C'mon, I'll walk you," Finn spun around, heading down the hall as Kurt trailed after him, and when they got to his class the other boy put a comforting hand on his shoulder before letting him go.
Kurt watched him with a tiny smile on his face, glad for one happy thing in this God-forsaken life of his.
~~~
He didn't recall exactly when it had started.
School had always been Hell for him, enough that he'd needed to be home-schooled for a bit, but once his dad had his heart-attack he just couldn't keep up with that anymore and Kurt had to go back.
He thought it was after that, probably, when he was at his lowest, that Finn started...being nice to him.
He'd told him it was because he knew what it was like to lose and parent and couldn't imagine losing another, and as time had gone on they'd hung out outside of school, at Finn's house or his own, and they'd discovered that they got along incredibly well.
After Quinn's death Finn had closed himself off, sobbing because he'd always blamed himself for a part of it, for not being a good enough boyfriend, and Kurt had tried desperately to work him through that and somewhere along the line what they'd done for each other, their deep friendship and trust, had turned into something...more.
He wouldn't let Finn admit it at school, because he didn't want the other boy to go through what he did all the time, even though as time went on he became more and more convinced that one day Finn would just snap and kiss him in the middle of the hallway (not that Kurt would complain, really), but that would put an even bigger target on his back as well and he just...didn't think he could deal with that.
He realized he'd been daydreaming the class away and tuned in just as the bell rang, and he quickly scooped up his books and left the room, heading for his vehicle and silently blessing the fact that his father worked late today.
He knew Finn was coming over.
He just knew it.
~~~
"I wish you'd let me tell them," Finn's hands smoothed down his back, rough fingers from the drumming he did (Finn might claim to hate music but Kurt knows that he doesn't, that he can play drums and guitar and has a decent voice even though it's horribly untrained). They were naked in Kurt's bed, Kurt pillowed on top of him and nodding absently as he let the other boy's hands sooth the stress of the day from his weary muscles. "I can take it, Kurt. They're not my real friends anyway if they can't accept..."
"No," Kurt said instantly, looking up at Finn and shaking his head. "No, you...you can't. It's only a few more months until we graduate," he added, swallowing, "and then...then we can be whoever we want to be. But don't...don't make it any harder on yourself. Right now? You're the only thing keeping me from getting hurt a lot of the time, and if you...if you admitted that we...you wouldn't be able to do that," he tried to put himself into it, anything to convince Finn to keep his mouth shut, and the other boy finally let out a long-suffering sigh and nodded.
"You're right. I don't ever wanna make it harder on you, so...I won't," he promised, nuzzling against Kurt's hair for a minute and Kurt sighed and kissed his shoulder in thanks.
"Besides, this? This makes me happy. This makes everything worth it," Kurt reached for Finn's strong hand and tangled their fingers together, hearing the taller boy chuckle softly.
"I'm glad. It...it does for me, too," he promised, bending his head to kiss Kurt, and Kurt melted into it.
Finn's kisses were always so sweet, so consuming, and he moaned softly into Finn's mouth before settling down again and snuggling in as close as he could.
They still had a couple of hours before his dad got back, so they may as well make the most of them.
"Knowing you love me makes it all worth it," Kurt mumbled, and he heard Finn sigh, a little sadly, before the other boy kissed his forehead.
"I do, Kurt. I really, really do."
Kurt fell asleep with a smile on his face.
That was...weird. Normally, while Artie was too small to do much bullying himself, he definitely had never defended anybody and that was the first time in a long time that somebody had actually stood up for him in front of the other jocks.
But then, Artie was being weird in general, especially with asking Kurt about somebody named 'Blaine.'
Kurt didn't know anybody named Blaine, so he shrugged it off and kept walking, eyes darting around until he reached his locker and undid the combination with shaking hands.
He finally got it undone, scanning the hall for Puck or Ryder or anybody that could come to harass him, and just as he was putting his books away he heard a slam next to him and jumped, wincing, waiting for the inevitable shove or slushie to the face.
"Hey, dude."
"Finn," he breathed a sigh of relief, unable to keep the joy off of his face when he smiled up at the taller boy. "Why are you..."
"Everybody's in class," Finn shrugged. "And I wanted to make sure you were okay. They shoved you pretty hard," Finn pointed out, and Kurt shrugged. Yes, Finn tried to be the one to 'bully' him more often than not, but Finn's touch was welcomed, as soft as he could make it and with as many caresses and blocks as he could do without it looking suspicious.
The other guys just thought he had it out for Kurt personally, and Kurt was happy to let them think that.
"I'm fine," he promised, ducking his head and grabbing his books before spinning around. "Late again, but what else is new?"
"C'mon, I'll walk you," Finn spun around, heading down the hall as Kurt trailed after him, and when they got to his class the other boy put a comforting hand on his shoulder before letting him go.
Kurt watched him with a tiny smile on his face, glad for one happy thing in this God-forsaken life of his.
~~~
He didn't recall exactly when it had started.
School had always been Hell for him, enough that he'd needed to be home-schooled for a bit, but once his dad had his heart-attack he just couldn't keep up with that anymore and Kurt had to go back.
He thought it was after that, probably, when he was at his lowest, that Finn started...being nice to him.
He'd told him it was because he knew what it was like to lose and parent and couldn't imagine losing another, and as time had gone on they'd hung out outside of school, at Finn's house or his own, and they'd discovered that they got along incredibly well.
After Quinn's death Finn had closed himself off, sobbing because he'd always blamed himself for a part of it, for not being a good enough boyfriend, and Kurt had tried desperately to work him through that and somewhere along the line what they'd done for each other, their deep friendship and trust, had turned into something...more.
He wouldn't let Finn admit it at school, because he didn't want the other boy to go through what he did all the time, even though as time went on he became more and more convinced that one day Finn would just snap and kiss him in the middle of the hallway (not that Kurt would complain, really), but that would put an even bigger target on his back as well and he just...didn't think he could deal with that.
He realized he'd been daydreaming the class away and tuned in just as the bell rang, and he quickly scooped up his books and left the room, heading for his vehicle and silently blessing the fact that his father worked late today.
He knew Finn was coming over.
He just knew it.
~~~
"I wish you'd let me tell them," Finn's hands smoothed down his back, rough fingers from the drumming he did (Finn might claim to hate music but Kurt knows that he doesn't, that he can play drums and guitar and has a decent voice even though it's horribly untrained). They were naked in Kurt's bed, Kurt pillowed on top of him and nodding absently as he let the other boy's hands sooth the stress of the day from his weary muscles. "I can take it, Kurt. They're not my real friends anyway if they can't accept..."
"No," Kurt said instantly, looking up at Finn and shaking his head. "No, you...you can't. It's only a few more months until we graduate," he added, swallowing, "and then...then we can be whoever we want to be. But don't...don't make it any harder on yourself. Right now? You're the only thing keeping me from getting hurt a lot of the time, and if you...if you admitted that we...you wouldn't be able to do that," he tried to put himself into it, anything to convince Finn to keep his mouth shut, and the other boy finally let out a long-suffering sigh and nodded.
"You're right. I don't ever wanna make it harder on you, so...I won't," he promised, nuzzling against Kurt's hair for a minute and Kurt sighed and kissed his shoulder in thanks.
"Besides, this? This makes me happy. This makes everything worth it," Kurt reached for Finn's strong hand and tangled their fingers together, hearing the taller boy chuckle softly.
"I'm glad. It...it does for me, too," he promised, bending his head to kiss Kurt, and Kurt melted into it.
Finn's kisses were always so sweet, so consuming, and he moaned softly into Finn's mouth before settling down again and snuggling in as close as he could.
They still had a couple of hours before his dad got back, so they may as well make the most of them.
"Knowing you love me makes it all worth it," Kurt mumbled, and he heard Finn sigh, a little sadly, before the other boy kissed his forehead.
"I do, Kurt. I really, really do."
Kurt fell asleep with a smile on his face.