fic: What's the Answer To..., for race122ve
title: What's the Answer To...
author: mewtara
characters: Finn/Brittany
rating: PG
length: ≈3800
timeline: mid season 1
summary: Finn and Brittany bond over cheating off each other's tests.
notes: Sorry for being late! Sorry for straying from the prompt. I hope you like it anyway. // Written for the Glee Rare Pairings.
--
"Hey Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think this is working. I think we should break up." Brittany says seriously, avoiding eye-contact and staring at the ceiling instead.
"W-what...?"
"I can't cheat off your tests anymore. I'm sorry." She turns to look at him, genuine concern on her face. She doesn't know how to break this to him gently.
Finn stares at her for a moment before bursting out into a throaty chuckle. He playfully slugs Brittany against her shoulder, happy she wasn't referring to the other thing. "Yeah... I don't think that will be a problem at all," he murmurs, leaning in to kiss her. The blonde smiles and meets him halfway.
---
It all started in History class. It was a test day. There was a question about European folklore. It was the only one Brittany had answered. The rest of her questions were left blank. Since the answers refused to come the traditional way - via brain - Brittany had opted for a staring competition with her paper. The loser had to fill in the blanks. Brittany was very good at these types of games, so she was counting on winning. Beside her was Santana, who was caught in her own game: How fast can you write before the paper catches fire or how hard can you grip your pencil before it snaps. The only indication Santana was aware of anything around her was the way her paper kept discreetly sliding closer towards Brittany, making it easier for the blonde to copy her answers. But Brittany couldn't afford to look away. Not now.
Poke.
Brittany squeaks. The teacher glances up from the piles of paperwork on his desk and clears his throat. Loudly. Santana blinks for the first time in three minutes. Brittany's eyes are still firmly in place, between questions three and four.
Another poke.
This time Brittany doesn't react, but she seriously considers reporting the mosquito that's trying to sabotage her efforts. She feels a third poke, this time accompanied by a low whisper. "Hey Brittany."
A talking mosquito?
The blonde turns around, ready to confront... the pencil Finn was holding out against Brittany's back.
Oh.
"Hi." He smiles in greeting. Brittany returns it. "Do you know the answer to eleven?" Brittany turns around and glances down at her test before looking back.
"It's unicorn."
Finn frowns and looks down at his test. He was skeptical, but he filled in the answer anyway and hoped for the best.
Finn isn't sloppy though. Before the end of the test, he double-checks his answers. "Are you sure?"
"Positive." Brittany nods.
"Thanks." Finn flashes her a crooked smile. "You're welcome," the blonde whispers and goes back to her test, copying the remaining answers from Santana, who is drawing circles over her test, trying not to look finished.
---
The answer was correct. The question had been about mythological creatures.
Brittany doesn't really know a lot of the things she's required to know. Nordic and southic mythology... What's the difference? Mythological or methodical? Hmm. But she does know about unicorns. And cats. And ducks. And dancing. And melted cheese. And her computer password.
Finn gave himself a celebratory high five, literally, and a whole afternoon of playing Plants vs. Zombies.
---
The second time happened a week later during Geography class. Brittany and Finn were seated together, taking a make-up test.
Finn straightens out in his seat, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. He discreetly elbows Brittany, signaling for assistance. Brittany not-so-discreetly and without warning slams her hand against Finn's test and pulls it to her side of the desk. "You answered the one about states, right?"
Finn doesn't get a chance to respond or tell Brittany she should probably be whispering, because the teacher just turned away from the blackboard and is looking in their direction. He quickly tries snatching back the test from Brittany. Somehow, he manages to take hers instead.
But it's too late. The teacher is already walking towards them with a less-than-pleased expression. This is it, Finn thinks to himself. Mom warned him about these things.
I don't remember writing Finn Hudson on my test, Brittany thinks to herself. Her mom warned her about certain things, too. As well as every teacher at McKinley that received an unsigned test from Brittany. Somehow she always forgets to answer the easiest question ("Your name: ____________"). Smurfy's Law, that's what it is.
The teacher is almost there. Getting closer and closer... And then she stops.
At Santana's desk.
She swiftly reaches under it and pulls out a book. "This should be on your desk. And opened on today's lesson." The teacher gives her a look. Santana returns it, arms crossed and bitchface on. "What are you trying to imply?" she responds coldly.
It escalates into an argument in which the teacher is trying to send Santana to the principal's office - unsuccessfully so - while Santana protests about the heavy accusation that she would ever in her life try to assist one Finn Hudson. It serves as an excellent distraction and opportunity for the Brittany/Finn duo to commence their master plan. They quickly get down to business.
Finn knows question number six, but doesn't know number five. Brittany knows number five, but doesn't know numbers six and nine. Because they switched tests, they can easily fill out the questions the other one doesn't know. Brittany is sure she answered number thirteen, but she forgot which one of the multiple-choice answers she circled at random, so she briefly glances at the test on Finn's side and checks 'B'. Unaware, Finn gets to that question, recognizes Brittany answered it wrong and corrects it to 'C'. (Eventually, after the test, both will find out the answer was in fact: A.)
With that done, next stop is the blank map. Finn's an expert in blank maps. After years of practice, he perfected the art of drawing large, messy dots that sometimes take up the area of a whole state. Make it messy enough and you're bound to mark some of the right places. It's a trick that always works. Once, he even used a thick marker. They give the best results. He didn't anticipate being asked by the teacher why would he write a test with a marker to begin with, but he managed to get out of that one too: "Oh. My dog ate my pencil... and then died." It was entirely improvised and Finn doesn't even have a dog, but it worked.
Turns out the teacher was a big dog lover.
They are almost done. And so is Santana. She's at the part where she starts threatening points of authority - aka, teachers - with higher points of authority - aka, her cheerleading coach. Because Sue Sylvester wouldn't like to hear how one of her Cheerios got detention. This is usually where all discussion ends.
Brittany and Finn swap back their tests and fill out any remaining gaps. They go on to double-check everything... Well, Finn does. Brittany is drawing a kitten beside her name. That's when Finn notices Brittany had drawn a dog beside his. He smiles, finding it very cute, but if they are to be sly about the whole spontaneous cheating thing, the dog has to go. Weapon of choice - Sharp Pencil - switched with other weapon of choice - Eraser. Commence erasing.
Brittany glared at him for the rest of the class.
---
"Daaamn. We're good." Finn high-fives Brittany as they both leave the classroom with their tests in their hands, faces beaming with pride for their hard-earned C and D.
"I didn't think you'd know stuff, Finn" Brittany comments. "But you know stuff. And we make a pretty good duet. Like Tom and Jerry. But for like, tests."
Finn nods in agreement.
They continue the rest of their walk in silence, all smiles and happiness. Next stop is Glee Club.
---
Finn sings two songs in Glee Club. The first one is an overdue solo he's been preparing for weeks. The song has a difficult pitch and should have probably gone to Kurt. Not to mention the very misleading title that initially made him choose it ("I Don't Feel Like Dancing"). For a song about not wanting to dance, there's sure a lot of dancing going on. But he manages to power through it, despite the group's silent cringing, and still have enough energy for a soulful, slow-tempo duet about unfulfilled love. He sings it with Rachel Berry, who keeps giving him meaningful looks and interesting facial expressions all through the performance.
"Okay guys. That's a wrap," Mr. Schue announces to the group. "Same time tomorrow."
People are getting up from their seats and starting to leave the choir room, but some linger in casual conversation. Finn approaches Brittany.
"Hey, do you wanna get a drink or something?"
Brittany gaves him a questioning look, but smiles nonetheless. "You mean like a date?"
"No!" Finn is quick to correct, but the idea lingers a second longer than anticipated. "I just thought we could go and celebrate. Or something. With all the test success and all."
"I can't. I've got Cheerios practice."
"But... It's raining. It's why we don't have football practice today and I thought-"
"Beat it, Gingerbread Giant." Santana pops up from behind Finn and pushes him aside so she can take her place beside Brittany. "You and your team of crumbled cookies might melt and turn all gooey in the rain, but as Coach Sylvester said, a little bit of trickling water and general dampness doesn't stop the Cheerios from having national award-winning practice."
"Hi Santana," Finn manages, throwing her a tired look and ignoring anything offensive she might have just said.
"Ok. Are we going?" Brittany looks at Santana, who... suddenly loses some of her self-assuredness.
"Actually, practice got cancelled." Finn opens his mouth to say something, but Santana is giving him the death glare again and Brittany is discreetly shaking her head no. Finn decides to sit this one out.
"But you know what, I'm going anyway, because I've gots to go and kiss some Sylvester ass for that newly opened captaincy." Brittany gives her a reassuring smile and links their pinkies. Santana can't help but smile back. "So if you really have no other place to be than with this Frankenteen..." Santana shrugs, throwing Finn one final eye-dagger before leaving. The blonde waves at her briefly before turning her attention back to Finn, who is relieved to see the she-devil gone.
He tries again. "So, about that drink..."
"I'd love to," Brittany beams at him, snatching her backpack from the floor and linking their arms. Finn grins as they leave the choir room together.
---
They go to Breadstix, because of course they do. They order slushies. They have an awkward conversation about it. Finn never quite had a one-on-one conversation with Brittany. It became obvious once they were already sitting at their table, drinks in hands. So after the clacking of plastic cups and repeating of congratulations for their recent academic success, there was a sudden lack of topics.
"They call it a slushie facial," Finn says into his drink, trying to strike up conversation. "I didn't know how much it hurt until I got slushied myself, you know?"
Brittany stops mid slurp. "You slushied yourself?" Suddenly she's eyeing her drink with suspicion, as if it could spring into her face at any moment. "I never got slushied. At least not with a slushie."
Finn nods, not knowing how to respond to that. Not really knowing what she meant, either.
Awkward silence.
"But how bad could slushies be?" Brittany breaks the silence. "They at least don't melt your face off. Unlike that toxic wiggly goo."
"Toxic wiggly goo?"
"You know... The one they sell in the little radioactive canisters that says 'warning' on them? I don't know why they sell that stuff to little kids anyway." She frowns and and pauses for a moment to contemplate it. "If it's toxic."
Finn raises an eyebrow with sudden realization. "Oh, you mean the little..." He gestures with his hands, though it doesn't really explain what he's trying to say.
"Yeah!" Brittany confirms enthusiastically anyway.
"I know what you mean! Me and Puck used to throw that at each other when we were playing zombie apocalypse games." He grins at the memory. "Good times."
Brittany gasps with delight. "I totally have a zombie apocalypse survival kit ready. You never know. So, on a scale of 1 to alive, how effective would you say it is against zombies?"
"Well, we were 10 at the time..."
"10. Got it." Brittany nods seriously. "I should check the expriation date, too."
Finn laughs, not bothering to correct her about anything. It's kind of charming, actually. Her thought process. His eyes drift back to his drink and he gets an idea. He takes the lid off his cup, looking inside. "You know, if you squint your eyes, it almost looks like minced brains."
"No it doesn't," Brittany comments. "I mean... It's not minced. It's just frozen. Frozen brains."
---
"You know Ben 10...? That kid that can turn into mosters and stuff?"
"Of course. My sister watches it all the time." Brittany pauses and leans across the table, knocking over her empty slushie cup and motioning with her finger for Finn to come closer. Finn hunches forward slightly, looking into Brittany's intense blue eyes. "But I was the original fan," Brittany whispers, as if she's sharing a big secret.
Finn laughs, letting out the breath he wasn't aware he was holding and sitting back into his seat. He shifts his own empty slushie cup from one side of the table to the other. He can still feel Brittany's gaze on him, looking with curious, innocent eyes, following his movements. He kind of likes the way it feels.
He glances at his watch and shit. He promised mom he'd be home by seven. Right now it's half past eight. And they've been here since... when? Finn doesn't know.
What he does know is that he's glad he invited Brittany out for drinks the second time. And the third. And the fourth. The fifth had been Brittany's initiative and after that, it became an unspoken agreement to go to Breadstix whenever they had some test to deal with that day.
The whole test cheating had also become a thing. Not one Finn is too proud of, but Brittany's easy-going, guilt-free attitude towards it and the fact their collaborative efforts did make their grades better was enough for Finn to not worry about it too much. They were a pretty good combo, Brittany and him.
As for the conversations... What started off more awkward than the time Coach Tanaka spoke about lice-contaminated locker rooms turned into a geek-out about cartoons, funny cat videos and interestingly, sports. Brittany somehow knew all the football lingo and managed to keep up with Finn's talks about the hardships of being a quarterback of a losing team.
As a matter of fact, Brittany wasn't even that stupid. The more time passed, the more difficult it became for Finn to recognize where did that ill rumor come from anyway. Sure, she had her quirks and sometimes Finn didn't really know what she was talking about, but he had that with Rachel too. And nobody said she's stupid.
But there was one more thing.
Every now and then, there would be a brief silence where neither of them would talk. They would exchange looks, a vague sense of anticipation hanging in the air. That's when Brittany would casually run her hand down Finn's arm or kiss him on the cheek or smile with one of her enigmatic smiles - which is different from the usual sunshine and rainbows variety that you see at school. Finn hasn't quite figured out what it all means yet, but he's grown fond of the time they spend together and of Brittany herself.
---
"Oh boy. This is the big one, Brittany."
"What are you talking about? It's just a bug."
"What?"
"You said it was a bee moth." Brittany looks up from her book. "We'll just spray it with perfume and it'll die."
"Behemoth. Those are big and scary... Kind of like this math problem I'm working on now." Finn frowns.
"Well... In that case, we'll just need a bigger spray."
"Brittany, stop. This is serious."
Brittany closes her book and looks at Finn, waiting.
"What?"
"You told me to stop." Brittany answers matter-of-factly. "Look, it's just another test."
"It's not just another test. It's a math test."
Yes.
They've gone through History. They've gone through Geometry. Biology. Psychology. They even managed to pass Chemistry. But Algebra? That means taking their cheating skills to a whole new level. It means crossing enemy lines and consulting with someone who actually knows the subject matter. What little studying they did at the library simply wasn't enough this time. They've gotten good at their forte, but math requires precise technique.
Brittany calls Finn over the weekend. The phone buzzes a couple of times before Finn picks up.
"Hey Finn?"
"Do you want to come over to my place?"
"To practice."
"Well, Santana and me do it on the bed usually."
"We'd do it on the table but it's not big enough for the both of us."
"What?"
"I'm talking about studying."
"What did you think I was talking about?"
"Also, there will be another guy with us. That's good at math or something. Dad calls him a tutor."
"Okay! I'm so excited! See you."
Finn hangs up. Brittany closes her phone and happily skips downstairs for a pancake breakfast.
On the other end, Finn is laying on his bed and thinking. What did he think she meant? And why did he think it? Well, sure. You can never be too certain when it comes to Santana. But he didn't think they actually sleep together. That's just some weird rumor he heard from Mercedes.
---
"Okay, so let's try this one more time."
A collective sigh fills the room. The tutor shakes his head. "Just one more. You can do it!"
He came on enthusiastic at first, but after spending hours trying to explain calculation concepts to these two, his energy levels are almost depleted. Finn was full of fervor and willingness to learn, but easily got discouraged once the numbers wouldn't add up. He also had difficulty keeping up with the explanations.
The girl, on the other hand, wouldn't stop treating math as a collection of numbers that should be interpreted as stories. At first he thought she was trolling him. Then he thought she was simply moronic. But once he managed to steer her away from the talking animals - with a little assistance from Finn - she began solving some of the problems. Some of the problems even Finn couldn't.
"Okay, I think we're done," the tutor announces to an exhausted Finn and Brittany, who breathe out a relieved sigh.
"Given the short notice, I couldn't do better than this." Finn and Brittany are already packing their pencils and notebooks. "But I'll leave you with some problems you can solve over the evening."
"Oh no."
"More math?"
"No, no. Look. They're easy. I've already shown you how to solve them. You just need to use the formula we derived and it should give the right results."
He leaves.
"If it's that easy why do we have to do it?" Finn decides this is a good time flop onto Brittany's bed. So far they've been working on the desk, which was in fact big enough for two people and a tutor.
Finn feels his eyes closing and he happily gives into that feeling.
"Hey." Brittany comes to sit beside him. "No sleeping."
"Just five minutes."
"Did you know that when you're sleeping, time goes by faster. Five minutes turns into five hours."
"You'll wake me up," Finn mumbles. He's exhausted. All those numbers wear out a person. He'll address those problems in a second. But laying on the bed right now... He smiles at how comfortable it feels.
"Okay," Brittany agrees reluctantly.
"..."
A finger pokes Finn's nose. "Wake up!"
Finn scrunches his nose. "It hasn't even been thirty seconds!"
"It was in cat time."
Finn laughs. He's learned to indulge Brittany's little theories by now. "Well, I'm not a cat and you're gonna have to try harder than that." He shifts a bit, gripping the pillow more tightly.
"Come onnnn." Brittany drawls. "We have to study!" She bounces. Finn feels it.
"Okay. Go start us off. Take the paper, choose a number and try to solve it. I'll get up and check it when you're done."
There's silence in the room. Brittany stopped bouncing. Finn smiles to himself knowingly.
"Maybe not," Brittany manages.
Except she actually does get off the bed and walks over to the table, taking the paper the tutor left and studying it. Finn is surprised and is mentally preparing himself for the ugly possibility of leaving the bed, but he hears Brittany drop the paper on the table and shuffle back.
The blonde takes off her shoes, climbs over the bed - over Finn - and settles next to him without a word.
Finn's eyes are sill closed, but he can feel her breath on his cheek. She was that close. True. It's not a very big bed. A stray leg is draped over his ass. Courtesy of Brittany.
They lay like that for a couple of minutes, motionless. Finn opens his eyes and is met with deep blues. Their noses are perhaps an inch's distance from bumping. Brittany is looking at him, a lazy smile playing on her lips. "Hi."
"Hey," Finn answers softly. "What happened to the sheet?"
"Charity ate it."
They both giggle, feeling each other's breath on their faces. Then silence. One of those moments. Brittany is slowly running her leg down his. Finn lets out a sigh at the sensation. It feels good. It feels comfortable. She's smiling. So is he. He feels like... kissing her. An idea he's certainly considered before, but never somehow had the opportunity. He tries his luck. He leans in, eyes closing as lips brush against lips in the lightest of touches.
He leans back a bit, opening his eyes, searching for Brittany's reaction. Brittany is giggling softly and lifting her hand to the side of his neck. She slowly trails it to the nape, applying gentle pressure and bringing them in for another, much longer kiss.
They don't leave the bed until morning.
---
"How did we fail? I don't get it," Finn sighs, rolling over to his stomach.
They're in Brittany's bed, naked. Finn is part thinking about their first defeat ever since Tom and Jerry joined forces into a test-fighting duo and part thinking about the last hour. He grins at the second thought and turns to Brittany, removing a strand on gold hair on her face and kissing her on the cheek.
Brittany is staring at the ceiling, eyebrows knit together in thought.
"Hey Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you didn't know the answer was 'unicorn'."
fin
author: mewtara
characters: Finn/Brittany
rating: PG
length: ≈3800
timeline: mid season 1
summary: Finn and Brittany bond over cheating off each other's tests.
notes: Sorry for being late! Sorry for straying from the prompt. I hope you like it anyway. // Written for the Glee Rare Pairings.
--
"Hey Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think this is working. I think we should break up." Brittany says seriously, avoiding eye-contact and staring at the ceiling instead.
"W-what...?"
"I can't cheat off your tests anymore. I'm sorry." She turns to look at him, genuine concern on her face. She doesn't know how to break this to him gently.
Finn stares at her for a moment before bursting out into a throaty chuckle. He playfully slugs Brittany against her shoulder, happy she wasn't referring to the other thing. "Yeah... I don't think that will be a problem at all," he murmurs, leaning in to kiss her. The blonde smiles and meets him halfway.
---
It all started in History class. It was a test day. There was a question about European folklore. It was the only one Brittany had answered. The rest of her questions were left blank. Since the answers refused to come the traditional way - via brain - Brittany had opted for a staring competition with her paper. The loser had to fill in the blanks. Brittany was very good at these types of games, so she was counting on winning. Beside her was Santana, who was caught in her own game: How fast can you write before the paper catches fire or how hard can you grip your pencil before it snaps. The only indication Santana was aware of anything around her was the way her paper kept discreetly sliding closer towards Brittany, making it easier for the blonde to copy her answers. But Brittany couldn't afford to look away. Not now.
Poke.
Brittany squeaks. The teacher glances up from the piles of paperwork on his desk and clears his throat. Loudly. Santana blinks for the first time in three minutes. Brittany's eyes are still firmly in place, between questions three and four.
Another poke.
This time Brittany doesn't react, but she seriously considers reporting the mosquito that's trying to sabotage her efforts. She feels a third poke, this time accompanied by a low whisper. "Hey Brittany."
A talking mosquito?
The blonde turns around, ready to confront... the pencil Finn was holding out against Brittany's back.
Oh.
"Hi." He smiles in greeting. Brittany returns it. "Do you know the answer to eleven?" Brittany turns around and glances down at her test before looking back.
"It's unicorn."
Finn frowns and looks down at his test. He was skeptical, but he filled in the answer anyway and hoped for the best.
Finn isn't sloppy though. Before the end of the test, he double-checks his answers. "Are you sure?"
"Positive." Brittany nods.
"Thanks." Finn flashes her a crooked smile. "You're welcome," the blonde whispers and goes back to her test, copying the remaining answers from Santana, who is drawing circles over her test, trying not to look finished.
---
The answer was correct. The question had been about mythological creatures.
Brittany doesn't really know a lot of the things she's required to know. Nordic and southic mythology... What's the difference? Mythological or methodical? Hmm. But she does know about unicorns. And cats. And ducks. And dancing. And melted cheese. And her computer password.
Finn gave himself a celebratory high five, literally, and a whole afternoon of playing Plants vs. Zombies.
---
The second time happened a week later during Geography class. Brittany and Finn were seated together, taking a make-up test.
Finn straightens out in his seat, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. He discreetly elbows Brittany, signaling for assistance. Brittany not-so-discreetly and without warning slams her hand against Finn's test and pulls it to her side of the desk. "You answered the one about states, right?"
Finn doesn't get a chance to respond or tell Brittany she should probably be whispering, because the teacher just turned away from the blackboard and is looking in their direction. He quickly tries snatching back the test from Brittany. Somehow, he manages to take hers instead.
But it's too late. The teacher is already walking towards them with a less-than-pleased expression. This is it, Finn thinks to himself. Mom warned him about these things.
I don't remember writing Finn Hudson on my test, Brittany thinks to herself. Her mom warned her about certain things, too. As well as every teacher at McKinley that received an unsigned test from Brittany. Somehow she always forgets to answer the easiest question ("Your name: ____________"). Smurfy's Law, that's what it is.
The teacher is almost there. Getting closer and closer... And then she stops.
At Santana's desk.
She swiftly reaches under it and pulls out a book. "This should be on your desk. And opened on today's lesson." The teacher gives her a look. Santana returns it, arms crossed and bitchface on. "What are you trying to imply?" she responds coldly.
It escalates into an argument in which the teacher is trying to send Santana to the principal's office - unsuccessfully so - while Santana protests about the heavy accusation that she would ever in her life try to assist one Finn Hudson. It serves as an excellent distraction and opportunity for the Brittany/Finn duo to commence their master plan. They quickly get down to business.
Finn knows question number six, but doesn't know number five. Brittany knows number five, but doesn't know numbers six and nine. Because they switched tests, they can easily fill out the questions the other one doesn't know. Brittany is sure she answered number thirteen, but she forgot which one of the multiple-choice answers she circled at random, so she briefly glances at the test on Finn's side and checks 'B'. Unaware, Finn gets to that question, recognizes Brittany answered it wrong and corrects it to 'C'. (Eventually, after the test, both will find out the answer was in fact: A.)
With that done, next stop is the blank map. Finn's an expert in blank maps. After years of practice, he perfected the art of drawing large, messy dots that sometimes take up the area of a whole state. Make it messy enough and you're bound to mark some of the right places. It's a trick that always works. Once, he even used a thick marker. They give the best results. He didn't anticipate being asked by the teacher why would he write a test with a marker to begin with, but he managed to get out of that one too: "Oh. My dog ate my pencil... and then died." It was entirely improvised and Finn doesn't even have a dog, but it worked.
Turns out the teacher was a big dog lover.
They are almost done. And so is Santana. She's at the part where she starts threatening points of authority - aka, teachers - with higher points of authority - aka, her cheerleading coach. Because Sue Sylvester wouldn't like to hear how one of her Cheerios got detention. This is usually where all discussion ends.
Brittany and Finn swap back their tests and fill out any remaining gaps. They go on to double-check everything... Well, Finn does. Brittany is drawing a kitten beside her name. That's when Finn notices Brittany had drawn a dog beside his. He smiles, finding it very cute, but if they are to be sly about the whole spontaneous cheating thing, the dog has to go. Weapon of choice - Sharp Pencil - switched with other weapon of choice - Eraser. Commence erasing.
Brittany glared at him for the rest of the class.
---
"Daaamn. We're good." Finn high-fives Brittany as they both leave the classroom with their tests in their hands, faces beaming with pride for their hard-earned C and D.
"I didn't think you'd know stuff, Finn" Brittany comments. "But you know stuff. And we make a pretty good duet. Like Tom and Jerry. But for like, tests."
Finn nods in agreement.
They continue the rest of their walk in silence, all smiles and happiness. Next stop is Glee Club.
---
Finn sings two songs in Glee Club. The first one is an overdue solo he's been preparing for weeks. The song has a difficult pitch and should have probably gone to Kurt. Not to mention the very misleading title that initially made him choose it ("I Don't Feel Like Dancing"). For a song about not wanting to dance, there's sure a lot of dancing going on. But he manages to power through it, despite the group's silent cringing, and still have enough energy for a soulful, slow-tempo duet about unfulfilled love. He sings it with Rachel Berry, who keeps giving him meaningful looks and interesting facial expressions all through the performance.
"Okay guys. That's a wrap," Mr. Schue announces to the group. "Same time tomorrow."
People are getting up from their seats and starting to leave the choir room, but some linger in casual conversation. Finn approaches Brittany.
"Hey, do you wanna get a drink or something?"
Brittany gaves him a questioning look, but smiles nonetheless. "You mean like a date?"
"No!" Finn is quick to correct, but the idea lingers a second longer than anticipated. "I just thought we could go and celebrate. Or something. With all the test success and all."
"I can't. I've got Cheerios practice."
"But... It's raining. It's why we don't have football practice today and I thought-"
"Beat it, Gingerbread Giant." Santana pops up from behind Finn and pushes him aside so she can take her place beside Brittany. "You and your team of crumbled cookies might melt and turn all gooey in the rain, but as Coach Sylvester said, a little bit of trickling water and general dampness doesn't stop the Cheerios from having national award-winning practice."
"Hi Santana," Finn manages, throwing her a tired look and ignoring anything offensive she might have just said.
"Ok. Are we going?" Brittany looks at Santana, who... suddenly loses some of her self-assuredness.
"Actually, practice got cancelled." Finn opens his mouth to say something, but Santana is giving him the death glare again and Brittany is discreetly shaking her head no. Finn decides to sit this one out.
"But you know what, I'm going anyway, because I've gots to go and kiss some Sylvester ass for that newly opened captaincy." Brittany gives her a reassuring smile and links their pinkies. Santana can't help but smile back. "So if you really have no other place to be than with this Frankenteen..." Santana shrugs, throwing Finn one final eye-dagger before leaving. The blonde waves at her briefly before turning her attention back to Finn, who is relieved to see the she-devil gone.
He tries again. "So, about that drink..."
"I'd love to," Brittany beams at him, snatching her backpack from the floor and linking their arms. Finn grins as they leave the choir room together.
---
They go to Breadstix, because of course they do. They order slushies. They have an awkward conversation about it. Finn never quite had a one-on-one conversation with Brittany. It became obvious once they were already sitting at their table, drinks in hands. So after the clacking of plastic cups and repeating of congratulations for their recent academic success, there was a sudden lack of topics.
"They call it a slushie facial," Finn says into his drink, trying to strike up conversation. "I didn't know how much it hurt until I got slushied myself, you know?"
Brittany stops mid slurp. "You slushied yourself?" Suddenly she's eyeing her drink with suspicion, as if it could spring into her face at any moment. "I never got slushied. At least not with a slushie."
Finn nods, not knowing how to respond to that. Not really knowing what she meant, either.
Awkward silence.
"But how bad could slushies be?" Brittany breaks the silence. "They at least don't melt your face off. Unlike that toxic wiggly goo."
"Toxic wiggly goo?"
"You know... The one they sell in the little radioactive canisters that says 'warning' on them? I don't know why they sell that stuff to little kids anyway." She frowns and and pauses for a moment to contemplate it. "If it's toxic."
Finn raises an eyebrow with sudden realization. "Oh, you mean the little..." He gestures with his hands, though it doesn't really explain what he's trying to say.
"Yeah!" Brittany confirms enthusiastically anyway.
"I know what you mean! Me and Puck used to throw that at each other when we were playing zombie apocalypse games." He grins at the memory. "Good times."
Brittany gasps with delight. "I totally have a zombie apocalypse survival kit ready. You never know. So, on a scale of 1 to alive, how effective would you say it is against zombies?"
"Well, we were 10 at the time..."
"10. Got it." Brittany nods seriously. "I should check the expriation date, too."
Finn laughs, not bothering to correct her about anything. It's kind of charming, actually. Her thought process. His eyes drift back to his drink and he gets an idea. He takes the lid off his cup, looking inside. "You know, if you squint your eyes, it almost looks like minced brains."
"No it doesn't," Brittany comments. "I mean... It's not minced. It's just frozen. Frozen brains."
---
"You know Ben 10...? That kid that can turn into mosters and stuff?"
"Of course. My sister watches it all the time." Brittany pauses and leans across the table, knocking over her empty slushie cup and motioning with her finger for Finn to come closer. Finn hunches forward slightly, looking into Brittany's intense blue eyes. "But I was the original fan," Brittany whispers, as if she's sharing a big secret.
Finn laughs, letting out the breath he wasn't aware he was holding and sitting back into his seat. He shifts his own empty slushie cup from one side of the table to the other. He can still feel Brittany's gaze on him, looking with curious, innocent eyes, following his movements. He kind of likes the way it feels.
He glances at his watch and shit. He promised mom he'd be home by seven. Right now it's half past eight. And they've been here since... when? Finn doesn't know.
What he does know is that he's glad he invited Brittany out for drinks the second time. And the third. And the fourth. The fifth had been Brittany's initiative and after that, it became an unspoken agreement to go to Breadstix whenever they had some test to deal with that day.
The whole test cheating had also become a thing. Not one Finn is too proud of, but Brittany's easy-going, guilt-free attitude towards it and the fact their collaborative efforts did make their grades better was enough for Finn to not worry about it too much. They were a pretty good combo, Brittany and him.
As for the conversations... What started off more awkward than the time Coach Tanaka spoke about lice-contaminated locker rooms turned into a geek-out about cartoons, funny cat videos and interestingly, sports. Brittany somehow knew all the football lingo and managed to keep up with Finn's talks about the hardships of being a quarterback of a losing team.
As a matter of fact, Brittany wasn't even that stupid. The more time passed, the more difficult it became for Finn to recognize where did that ill rumor come from anyway. Sure, she had her quirks and sometimes Finn didn't really know what she was talking about, but he had that with Rachel too. And nobody said she's stupid.
But there was one more thing.
Every now and then, there would be a brief silence where neither of them would talk. They would exchange looks, a vague sense of anticipation hanging in the air. That's when Brittany would casually run her hand down Finn's arm or kiss him on the cheek or smile with one of her enigmatic smiles - which is different from the usual sunshine and rainbows variety that you see at school. Finn hasn't quite figured out what it all means yet, but he's grown fond of the time they spend together and of Brittany herself.
---
"Oh boy. This is the big one, Brittany."
"What are you talking about? It's just a bug."
"What?"
"You said it was a bee moth." Brittany looks up from her book. "We'll just spray it with perfume and it'll die."
"Behemoth. Those are big and scary... Kind of like this math problem I'm working on now." Finn frowns.
"Well... In that case, we'll just need a bigger spray."
"Brittany, stop. This is serious."
Brittany closes her book and looks at Finn, waiting.
"What?"
"You told me to stop." Brittany answers matter-of-factly. "Look, it's just another test."
"It's not just another test. It's a math test."
Yes.
They've gone through History. They've gone through Geometry. Biology. Psychology. They even managed to pass Chemistry. But Algebra? That means taking their cheating skills to a whole new level. It means crossing enemy lines and consulting with someone who actually knows the subject matter. What little studying they did at the library simply wasn't enough this time. They've gotten good at their forte, but math requires precise technique.
Brittany calls Finn over the weekend. The phone buzzes a couple of times before Finn picks up.
"Hey Finn?"
"Do you want to come over to my place?"
"To practice."
"Well, Santana and me do it on the bed usually."
"We'd do it on the table but it's not big enough for the both of us."
"What?"
"I'm talking about studying."
"What did you think I was talking about?"
"Also, there will be another guy with us. That's good at math or something. Dad calls him a tutor."
"Okay! I'm so excited! See you."
Finn hangs up. Brittany closes her phone and happily skips downstairs for a pancake breakfast.
On the other end, Finn is laying on his bed and thinking. What did he think she meant? And why did he think it? Well, sure. You can never be too certain when it comes to Santana. But he didn't think they actually sleep together. That's just some weird rumor he heard from Mercedes.
---
"Okay, so let's try this one more time."
A collective sigh fills the room. The tutor shakes his head. "Just one more. You can do it!"
He came on enthusiastic at first, but after spending hours trying to explain calculation concepts to these two, his energy levels are almost depleted. Finn was full of fervor and willingness to learn, but easily got discouraged once the numbers wouldn't add up. He also had difficulty keeping up with the explanations.
The girl, on the other hand, wouldn't stop treating math as a collection of numbers that should be interpreted as stories. At first he thought she was trolling him. Then he thought she was simply moronic. But once he managed to steer her away from the talking animals - with a little assistance from Finn - she began solving some of the problems. Some of the problems even Finn couldn't.
"Okay, I think we're done," the tutor announces to an exhausted Finn and Brittany, who breathe out a relieved sigh.
"Given the short notice, I couldn't do better than this." Finn and Brittany are already packing their pencils and notebooks. "But I'll leave you with some problems you can solve over the evening."
"Oh no."
"More math?"
"No, no. Look. They're easy. I've already shown you how to solve them. You just need to use the formula we derived and it should give the right results."
He leaves.
"If it's that easy why do we have to do it?" Finn decides this is a good time flop onto Brittany's bed. So far they've been working on the desk, which was in fact big enough for two people and a tutor.
Finn feels his eyes closing and he happily gives into that feeling.
"Hey." Brittany comes to sit beside him. "No sleeping."
"Just five minutes."
"Did you know that when you're sleeping, time goes by faster. Five minutes turns into five hours."
"You'll wake me up," Finn mumbles. He's exhausted. All those numbers wear out a person. He'll address those problems in a second. But laying on the bed right now... He smiles at how comfortable it feels.
"Okay," Brittany agrees reluctantly.
"..."
A finger pokes Finn's nose. "Wake up!"
Finn scrunches his nose. "It hasn't even been thirty seconds!"
"It was in cat time."
Finn laughs. He's learned to indulge Brittany's little theories by now. "Well, I'm not a cat and you're gonna have to try harder than that." He shifts a bit, gripping the pillow more tightly.
"Come onnnn." Brittany drawls. "We have to study!" She bounces. Finn feels it.
"Okay. Go start us off. Take the paper, choose a number and try to solve it. I'll get up and check it when you're done."
There's silence in the room. Brittany stopped bouncing. Finn smiles to himself knowingly.
"Maybe not," Brittany manages.
Except she actually does get off the bed and walks over to the table, taking the paper the tutor left and studying it. Finn is surprised and is mentally preparing himself for the ugly possibility of leaving the bed, but he hears Brittany drop the paper on the table and shuffle back.
The blonde takes off her shoes, climbs over the bed - over Finn - and settles next to him without a word.
Finn's eyes are sill closed, but he can feel her breath on his cheek. She was that close. True. It's not a very big bed. A stray leg is draped over his ass. Courtesy of Brittany.
They lay like that for a couple of minutes, motionless. Finn opens his eyes and is met with deep blues. Their noses are perhaps an inch's distance from bumping. Brittany is looking at him, a lazy smile playing on her lips. "Hi."
"Hey," Finn answers softly. "What happened to the sheet?"
"Charity ate it."
They both giggle, feeling each other's breath on their faces. Then silence. One of those moments. Brittany is slowly running her leg down his. Finn lets out a sigh at the sensation. It feels good. It feels comfortable. She's smiling. So is he. He feels like... kissing her. An idea he's certainly considered before, but never somehow had the opportunity. He tries his luck. He leans in, eyes closing as lips brush against lips in the lightest of touches.
He leans back a bit, opening his eyes, searching for Brittany's reaction. Brittany is giggling softly and lifting her hand to the side of his neck. She slowly trails it to the nape, applying gentle pressure and bringing them in for another, much longer kiss.
They don't leave the bed until morning.
---
"How did we fail? I don't get it," Finn sighs, rolling over to his stomach.
They're in Brittany's bed, naked. Finn is part thinking about their first defeat ever since Tom and Jerry joined forces into a test-fighting duo and part thinking about the last hour. He grins at the second thought and turns to Brittany, removing a strand on gold hair on her face and kissing her on the cheek.
Brittany is staring at the ceiling, eyebrows knit together in thought.
"Hey Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you didn't know the answer was 'unicorn'."
fin