Perceptions
Title: Perceptions
Characters: Finn, Kurt, Burt, Tina, Will, Mike
Summary: Written for a prompt on the Glee Fluff Meme: 5 times Finn surprised someone by being perceptive.
Disclaimer: Don't own any characters associated with Glee.
Rating: PG
1. Tina
Tina was having a bad day. She’d been late waking up, had to take a cold shower, and had missed breakfast on her mad dash to make the bus. To make her day even worse, Artie had made fun of her when she’d tried to complain about her day to him. And she was pretty sure she flunked her Spanish test because she couldn’t concentrate.
She was on the verge of going to the nurse with a fake illness just so she could be sent home and her awful day would end. Then Finn sat down next to her at lunch, nudging her shoulder to get her attention.
“Yes Finn?”
“Kurt’s going shopping with Mercedes after school,” he said as he stole a carrot stick off her tray. “And you’re coming home with me.”
“And why would I do that?” Tina asked, now giving Finn her full attention. She knew that Finn knew she was with Artie so why on earth was he inviting her to his house?
Finn just smiled at her. “Because you’re having a bad day and we’re going to have a Firefly marathon to make you feel better.”
“Wha..How..” Tina sputtered with wide eyes. “How did you know I love that show?”
“You were singing the theme song last week when we were waiting for Mr Shue to start practice,” Finn reminded her. “And when Rachel was annoying you a few days ago you said you could kill her with your mind. You’d make a good River.”
“Thank you,” Tina smiled back at the tall boy. He was surprising her with all that he’d noticed. “Okay, I’m in.”
“I’ll even let you watch the episode with naked Captain Mal,” he grinned wickedly at her.
2. Kurt
Kurt choked down a groan when Finn collapsed on the couch next to him. Normally he would be bouncing off the walls at having his crush so close to him but today, today he just wanted to be alone. He’d been fighting off the beginnings of a headache since Cheerios practice had ended and he’d hoped to come home and relax.
Instead he’d come home to find a note from his dad, letting him know that he and Carole had gone out on a date and that Finn had a late basketball practice. He and Finn would be on their own for supper. He’d tried to summon the energy to get up and at least take a couple Advil but once he’d sat down, he wasn’t getting back up.
“Hard practice?” Finn asked, his voice cutting into Kurt’s head.
Kurt nodded sharply, hoping Finn would get the hint but he didn’t expect that to happen. So when Finn reached behind them and closed the living room curtains, effectively blocking the sunlight, he was surprised. That was just the first surprise he got in the next few minutes.
“Need some Advil?” Finn whispered and was already getting up to retrieve some before Kurt could answer him. He came back with the medicine bottle, a bottle of Kurt’s favourite mineral water, and a plate of unsalted crackers. “My mom always gives me some crackers when I have a headache. You probably don’t feel like eating anything?”
“No,” Kurt croaked out, wincing at how his voice sounded. He sounded worse than Rachel during her laryngitis episode. “But thanks,” he managed a small smile for Finn before he downed two pills with the water.
“Lie down and try to sleep,” Finn told him, keeping his voice quiet. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Kurt nodded before getting himself comfortable on the couch. His last surprised was when Finn covered him with a blanket before going into the kitchen.
3. Will
Will was stressed. It was exam time in his Spanish class so he had students seeking his help during any spare minute he had and he had Rachel breathing down his neck about this week’s assignment being too weak. She thought none of the songs chosen would be a fit for Regionals.
Will knew she was probably right but this week he wanted his kids to have fun. They were worrying about their exams, worrying about Regionals, and dealing with personal problems. His kids needed a break and he was trying to give them one.
“Mr Shue,” Rachel was talking the second she walked into the choir room. “I need to talk to you about the assignment. I feel that a Broadway based assignment would be more beneficial…”
“Rachel,” Finn’s voice interrupted her rant and everyone in the room shot him a surprised look. He rarely interrupted Rachel, especially during one of her famous rants. “No one except you and maybe Kurt know Broadway and we don’t have time to study for a Glee assignment.”
“Fine,” Rachel huffed and looked as though she was debating storming out but ultimately decided to take a seat.
Will nodded his thanks to Finn then turned his attention to the whiteboard to write more information on this week’s assignment.
“Mr Shue?” Will was surprised to hear Finn’s voice. He’d thought all the kids had left the second he’d dismissed them.
“What can I do for you Finn?” Will hated how tired his voice sounded. He was looking forward to exams being over.
“I just,” Finn began, running his fingers through his hair and rubbing the back of his neck. Will had noticed the boy tended to do that when he was nervous. “I wanted to say thank you. I know you’re really busy and taking the time to tutor me in Spanish is really cool of you.”
Will could almost feel the tension in his body flowing out at Finn’s words. He smiled at his student and gave his shoulder a pat before sending him home. Students like Finn were the reason he enjoyed not getting to have a life at certain times of the year. They made everything worth it. He just sometimes had to be reminded of that.
4. Mike
Mike groaned and covered his head with his pillow when the screaming started. It was happening every day now. Not only that but it was over stupid little things that Mike wouldn’t have even thought to argue over with anyone.
The screaming kept going for another hour. He wanted to get out of his room, leave the house, but to do that he would have to pass by the living room. If his parents saw him they would try to draw him into their fight, get him to pick a side, and he refused to choose between them.
He’d started spending more and more time at Matt’s house and he’s pretty sure his parents never realized that some nights he didn’t bother to come home. He would have been at Matt’s house that night but Matt and his family were spending the weekend in Columbus at a wedding. So he was stuck at home with the screaming and it was only Friday.
The screaming suddenly stopped and Matt had a fleeting thought that maybe his parents had killed each other. It was gone as quickly as it came. The screaming matches never turned violent.
“Mike, Finn’s here,” his mom yelled to him.
Mike jumped off his bed and ran down the stairs. He could use Finn as an excuse to get out of the house for a few hours. Maybe he could find enough to keep him busy until his parents fell asleep.
He found Finn standing in the doorway talking to his mother. They both turned to look at him as he reached the last step.
“Honey,” his mom frowned at him and Mike braced himself for whatever might be coming. “Shouldn’t you bring a change of clothes if you’re spending the night at Finn’s house?”
Mike glanced at Finn, who just smiled at him. So Mike nodded at his mom and raced back upstairs to pack a bag then went back downstairs. His mom and Finn were in the same positions he’d left them in a minute earlier.
“Have fun Honey,” his mom told him as the boys left the house.
Mike waited until they were in a truck he knew didn’t belong to Finn so he guessed it belonged to Kurt’s dad. “Why am I spending the night?”
“Because you can’t stay at Matt’s,” Finn replied simply. “You can stay all weekend if you want. I already asked my mom, Burt, and Kurt. Kurt’s at the Glee girls sleepover tonight and my mom and Burt are going to a movie so it’ll just be us.”
“Did Matt tell you?” Mike asked. He’d never told anyone except for Matt about his parents and he knew his friend had been worried about leaving him for the weekend.
“No,” Finn said with a light laugh. “Matt would never tell anyone if you asked him not to tell. But a few years ago I had a friend and his parents were always fighting. He spent a lot of time sleeping on my couch. The things he did then, you’re doing now. So I kind of figured it out.”
Mike leaned back in his seat and tried to process what Finn had just told him. Apparently his friend noticed a lot more than anyone gave him credit for and Mike promised himself he was going to stop assuming things about Finn.
5. Burt
“Finn, I need to talk to you,” Burt said as he stood in the doorway to Finn’s room. He and Carole had agreed to put off the big move until Finn could have a room of his own, even after Finn had redeemed himself. Burt had felt guilty for the way he and Carole had handled the whole situation. They knew know that they should have talked to both boys about potentially moving in before throwing the two families together.
Burt saw the way Finn’s head jerked up and he felt that familiar guilty feeling rise again. The boy probably thought he was in trouble. He was still upset at Finn’s outburst toward his son but after talking everything over as a family, he did finally know both sides of the story. Both Finn and Kurt were better boys at sixteen than he had been at twenty.
“Is something wrong Mr Hummel?” Finn asked tentatively.
“No,” Burt was quick to reassure the teen. He wondered how long it would be before Finn felt comfortable enough to call him Burt again. “I just wanted to let you know Kurt and I are going to be working at the garage all day tomorrow. Since your mom has to work, I wanted to know if you’d like to learn more about car repair.”
Finn smiled at him but shook his head. “No thanks. The garage is something you and Kurt do together. It’s special and I don’t want to mess with that.”
“Are you sure?” Burt asked, surprised that this boy in front of him was putting thoughts into his head that he’d never considered. The garage really was the only place he and Kurt felt comfortable to talk openly. They’d had a few necessary important talks at home but they always felt awkward compared to the ones that took place in the garage.
“Yeah,” Finn answered him. “I think Kurt likes working in the garage more than he’ll ever admit and it’s because you’re there. It’s easy at the garage for both of you. It’s not like him trying to learn football for you or you sitting through Riverdance for him.”
“He told you about that?” Burt chuckled. When exactly did Finn turn into a know-it-all? “You’re a special kid Finn.”
Finn grinned at him and Burt left him to finish whatever he’d been doing before he’d interrupted. He had some thinking to do before the football game started.