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Kurt shoulders his bag and picks up the other, glad that Carole’s still out and that for once, Burt does seem to be working late on a Tuesday again. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see them, exactly – he just doesn’t want to have to greet them immediately. As he opens the door from the garage and listens to the Nav drive away, he calls out a soft “hello”, just to see if Finn’s downstairs. When there’s no response, he stops and grabs two pops and a box of granola bars before heading up the stairs.
He leaves the larger bag in the hall, against the wall, and then knocks on Finn’s closed door. “It’s me,” he calls through the wood.
Finn unlocks the door and opens it a crack. “Prove it.”
“Do you need me to sing a few bars?” Kurt asks, smirking slightly. “Or do you prefer visual proof, darling?”
The door opens the rest of the way, and Finn’s arm shoots out, grabbing Kurt by the front of his shirt and pulling him into the room. Finn shuts and locks the door behind them with his other hand, mouth already pressing to Kurt’s. Kurt brings his hand up to curl around the base of Finn’s neck, opening his lips under Finn’s.
“Missed me?” Kurt grins as he pulls away.
“Was worried about you!” Finn says, still holding the front of Kurt’s shirt. “You’re ok, though? Both of you? Wait, where’s Puck? He’s ok, too, right?”
“We’re fine, darling,” Kurt assures him. “And he told Rina on Friday he’d stay there tonight.” He takes Finn’s hand from his shirt and pulls him towards the bed. “Here. Let me show you a few things.” He sets the pop and granola bars on Finn’s bedside table and his bag down on the bed, pulling out his iPad.
Finn nods. “But you’re both ok,” he says.
“Yes.” Kurt squeezes Finn’s hand and sits down on the bed, waiting for Finn to sit beside him before flipping open his iPad. He flips through the pictures and finds the one he wants to start with, then hands the iPad to Finn. “There’s more if you want to look through the album,” he says quietly.
“Kurt,” Finn says in a soft voice, staring at the picture. “That’s Beth?”
“That’s Beth.” Kurt leans his head over on Finn’s shoulder. “Shelby had told Puck no direct contact until he graduated from high school.”
“And now he’s graduated,” Finn says. “So… he saw her?” He slides through the next few pictures, studying them carefully.
“That’s where we went yesterday,” Kurt nods. “He was just… overwhelmed. So we stayed in Columbus last night. I didn’t think he needed to get ambushed by Rina so quickly.”
“You met her, too?” Finn sounds almost sad, but not quite; if pressed, Kurt would call it wistful.
“I did,” Kurt replies quietly. “She’s… well, you can see. She looks just like him.”
Finn nods and continues sliding through pictures until he reaches the first one of Puck and Beth together. “Yeah. Yeah, she does.”
“It’s a bit surreal. I remember we all saw her that day, and now…” Kurt shrugs. “Running around and talking.”
“Yeah,” Finn says, looking through the pictures of Puck and Beth. “I bet. He’s ok?”
“Like I said, overwhelmed. But yes, he’s okay. No Xanax even, which.” Kurt purses his lips. “That, I wasn’t sure about.”
“Well, but that’s good, right? That he didn’t need that?” Finn stops on a picture of Puck, Kurt, and Beth together, looking at it intently. “That’s good?”
“Oh, I think so, yes. But if he had, it would certainly be understandable, in my view.”
“He’s getting better,” Finn says. “That means he’s doing better, not needing to take one. Maybe he won’t really even need them at all anymore. I mean, school’s done and everybody knows about you guys, and…” he trails off, his eyes going back to the picture. “So, it went pretty good, then? Meeting her?”
Kurt nods at the first part, understanding what Finn doesn’t say. It’s more likely that whoever Puck sees in New York will slowly take him off the BuSpar, keeping the Xanax prescription for when he needs it, but yes, Kurt’s pretty sure things will be better. In New York.
“It did. I think we all had somewhat demonized Shelby as the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, but she’s very personable. She… she’s a good mother to Beth. I know that makes it easier for him.”
“Yeah,” Finn says, his voice still soft. “I guess… I guess I never really thought too much about Shelby as a person. Like you said, as the coach of Vocal Adrenaline. And sometimes Rachel talked about her.”
“Sometimes I forget, now, about her being Rachel’s biological mother,” Kurt admits. “You’d think I would remember because of the physical resemblance, but no.”
“Rachel talked about it sometimes,” Finn says, finally sliding through to the next picture. “Mostly when she was feeling sorry for herself. It’s funny, I mean. If I’d stayed with Rach…”
Kurt snorts. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Her feeling sorry for herself, that is.” Kurt stretches towards the bedside table and picks up one of pops, opening it and passing it to Finn before grabbing the second one for himself. “Granola bar, darling?”
“Hmm? Nah, I’m good.” He shakes his head. “I mean, I guess it’s probably hard for her, her mom not raising her and then adopting somebody else’s baby, but… she had two dads who love her and if Shelby had raised her, she might not have that, right? I don’t know why she’d want to change how it is.”
“My understanding, though, is that Shelby agreed to be a traditional surrogate. I’m not attempting to downplay the biological connection, but Shelby’s not her mom.” He takes a sip of his drink. “Anymore than Quinn is Beth’s, to be frank.”
“But Puck’s still Beth’s dad,” Finn says. “And he never met her before now. So I don’t know. I don’t know how family works, dude. Maybe it’s just that the people who love you enough, in the right way, are your family, and all that other stuff, the bio stuff and the legal stuff, that’s just… confusing or whatever. The people who love you enough are your real family.”
“I think that’s an excellent definition, actually,” Kurt agrees with a small smile. “Love, and sometimes time.”
“Love and time,” Finn repeats, nodding slowly. “I think, for me… the people I think about as my family, that’s what it is. Love and time.” He sets the iPad down on the bed. “I’m glad Puck got to see her. And I’m glad you got to meet her, too.”
Kurt sets his pop down on the bedside table and checks the time quickly on Finn’s clock. “It did mean a lot to him,” Kurt agrees. He slides both arms around Finn. “Love you, darling.”
“Love you, too, Kurt,” Finn says, pulling Kurt closer. “You and Puck. You’re my love and time people.”
“Yes.” Kurt closes his eyes and breathes deeply. “I promise next Tuesday’ll be more fun, though, okay?”
“There’s still a little bit of this Tuesday left,” Finn says. “There could be some fun, still. If you want.”
Kurt tilts his head up and opens his eyes, grinning. “You are a fun sort. What did you have in mind?”
“Anything that takes thirty minutes or less,” Finn says. “Like a pizza. Oh, and we should also order a pizza!”
“I agree.” Kurt picks up his phone and orders the pizza quickly, dropping the phone on the bedside table. “Now the question is, who can come first: the two of us, or the pizza?”
Finn grins. “Knowing us? Us.”