FIC: The Smell of a Family 1/1
Title: The Smell of a Family
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Kurt, Finn, Burt
Spoilers: Season two
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1631
Summary: Burt and Kurt invite Finn for some bonding time at the garage. Too bad the smell of gas and the garage make Finn sick. Written for the Glee Fluff Meme but it's not that fluffy.
Finn didn’t know if he should feel excited or nervous. Both Burt and Kurt had asked him if he wanted to join them at the garage and Finn really wanted to spend more time with his stepfather and stepbrother. For them to invite him along meant a lot to Finn and Kurt kept talking about all the things he was going to teach him while Burt just smiled. Finn really didn’t want to disappoint either of them but just sitting in the car while someone pumped gas gave him a headache and usually made him sick to his stomach. His mom tried to fill up when he wasn’t in the car and she didn’t make him fill it up if he borrowed her car. If his mom knew he was planning on going with them, she’d make him stay him.
He’d learned the hard way not to ever borrow Kurt’s Navigator because Kurt insisted that Finn replace every drop of gas he used while driving his car. The damn Navigator’s tank took forever to fill and he’d been so sick to his stomach afterward that he hadn’t been able to eat supper. That had been the one and only time he’d borrowed Kurt’s car.
Most of the time it wasn’t too bad. If Burt or Kurt came home smelling too strongly of garage scent he had to leave the room until they’d had a chance to shower. He was a little surprised his mom never mentioned it to Burt, especially considering his step-dad’s job, but Burt had never brought it up with him. Either he didn’t know or he was waiting for Finn to confess.
He couldn’t let Burt and Kurt find out. Next to family and friends, the garage was the most important thing to both of them so he knew it was a big deal for them to invite him along with them. Finn really didn’t want to embarrass them in front of the other guys at the garage. He could do it. He’d just duck outside for some fresh air a lot and he’d bring a bottle of Tylenol with him, just in case.
“You ready to go Kid?” Burt asked as he walked into the kitchen. Finn hadn’t eaten breakfast; he knew he’d probably just throw it up. “You eat something?”
“Not hungry yet,” Finn yawned. He wasn’t used to being up so early on a Saturday.
“You really should eat something,” Burt told him. Finn watched as his step-dad put two Kurt-approved bagels into the toaster and hoped the second one was for Kurt. “Here you go,” Burt placed a plate in front of him then popped a third bagel into the toaster, that one obviously for Kurt.
With Burt watching him so carefully, Finn had to eat. Burt had been getting on Kurt for not eating enough lately and apparently he was going to be watching both of them. So Finn ate the bagel as slowly as he could in hopes Burt would leave the room and he could toss the rest in the garbage but his step-dad stayed in the kitchen with him.
Kurt bounced into the kitchen, there was no other way to describe it. Finn had never seen Kurt look so awake this early in the morning without some sort of caffeine in him but when Finn questioned him, Kurt just said he was happy. It was his first weekend helping at the garage since he transferred to Dalton. Finn knew it wasn’t easy for his step-brother to cram all his bonding into two days and it was another reason he couldn’t say no to them.
Finn was quiet on the drive over to the garage, listening to Burt and Kurt talk about things he didn’t understand. He didn’t mind and it took the focus off of him and his growing anxiety. The closer they got to the garage, the heavier that bagel in his stomach felt.
“You haven’t been here before, have you?” Kurt turned around to look at him as Burt pulled into his parking spot.
“No.”
Even though their parents had been dating for over a year, Finn had somehow managed to avoid going to the garage. His mom or Kurt would drop off food to Burt but never Finn.
“I’ll have to start off by giving you a tour then,” Kurt declared with a grin.
Finn just nodded and followed the Hummels into the garage. The smell immediately assaulted his senses and he let his instincts take over, which wasn’t the best idea since his instincts were screaming not to breathe. He did his best to breathe as little as possible but that was making him dizzy.
Kurt was talking and his hands were flying all over the place, pointing out things and Finn knew he should be listening. He was trying, he was, but his head was already pounding and it was taking all his concentration not to throw up on Kurt’s shoes. They might look like plain black sneakers but Finn knew they were probably ridiculously expensive and from some designer he couldn’t pronounce. He wasn’t going to throw up on them.
“Finn, are you okay?” Kurt was suddenly frowning at him. Was there a question he was supposed to have answered? “You look really pale.”
“I’m okay,” he lied. Maybe he should have stayed home but that meant being home all day alone since his mom had to work and Burt and Kurt would be at the garage. That would have been less time to spend with his step-brother before Kurt had to leave for Dalton tomorrow. “What were you saying?”
“That we’re going to start you off with something easy,” Kurt replied and led him closer to a car. The smell got worse the closer they got and Finn felt his eyes water. “I’m going to…” the rest of what Kurt said was cut off as Finn’s vision grew black.
*****
Finn opened his eyes and immediately knew something was wrong. He was flat on his back on something way too hard to be his bed or the couch and Kurt was looking down at him with a scared look on his face. Oh right, the garage, the smell. He was going to be sick.
Kurt seemed to understand what he needed because suddenly a trashcan was by his side and Finn emptied his stomach. A hand pressed against his forehead, Kurt’s he assumed, but he knew he didn’t have a fever. He just had to get away from the smell.
“Finn, just breathe,” Kurt was telling him. Finn wanted to glare and tell him breathing was the problem but when he opened his mouth he started to gag. “I don’t know. He just fainted.”
Finn was wondering who Kurt was talking to but then Burt appeared in his line of sight. He was being lifted slowly to his feet and he let his step-dad and step-brother guide him away from the smell. They ended up in Burt’s office with the door closed and, even though there was still that smell, it wasn’t as strong. The small window behind Burt’s desk was open and Finn found the fresh air was helping to clear his head.
“Here, drink this slowly,” a paper cup of water was pressed into his hand and Finn took a sip. “You should have told me you weren’t feeling well. We could have waited until next weekend to teach you the basics.”
“Wanted to come,” Finn said. He could tell them the truth, he should tell them the truth, but he didn’t.
“Let’s get you home,” Burt patted him on the back. Finn really didn’t want to go back out through the garage, back through the smell, but he didn’t have a choice. There was no other way out. And going home to the nice, comfortable couch in the living room sounded like a great idea.
Finn focused on following his family through the garage, not looking around at the other men. He didn’t want to see if they were laughing at him for passing out.
On the ride home Kurt sat in the back with him and started fussing over him. Finn let him. He knew better than to protest when Kurt was in his caretaker mode. They would get home, he’d lie down on the couch, and Kurt would take car of him while Burt sat in his chair secretly watching them and pretending to read the newspaper.
It didn’t take them long to get home and for Finn to get settled on the couch. Kurt gave him some Tylenol and strict instructions to stay on the couch. If he needed anything then he was to ask Kurt for it and Kurt would get it for him, but only if it was something Kurt thought he needed. In other words he would not be going upstairs to bring down Finn’s x-box.
His mom would be home for lunch soon and she wouldn’t be too happy that he went to the garage. She would probably get that look on her face, the one that somehow made him feel like a little boy and a man at the same time. He had no clue how she did that; maybe it was a mom thing.
“You should take a nap,” Kurt’s tone told him it wasn’t a suggestion.
“Okay,” Finn agreed as a blanket was placed over him. Kurt was going to make a great parent one day.
He wanted to tell them the truth about why he passed out. The truth was going to come out eventually anyway and it couldn’t be any more embarrassing than passing out in the middle of the garage. But Kurt said to sleep and that seemed like a good idea to Finn at the moment.