Finn felt more like his old self with his leg healed and the cumbersome cast gone. His car still needed a hell of a lot of work, but he didn't mind that nearly as much, especially with Kurt still offering him rides wherever he needed to go. Finn prided himself on maintaining his cool around his stepbrother, as well as keeping his promise - which meant no fooling around despite Ryan's seductive attempts during their community service at the hospital. He and Kurt were growing closer every day, which Finn feared wouldn't be easy with both Blaine and Damien now attending McKinley and being present in glee club. It was awkward to say the least. Blaine and Damien were an item, which clearly devastated Kurt. Finn kept trying to be the best brother and friend he knew how to be, offering Kurt a shoulder to lean on.

Now they had a new assignment from Mr. Schuester - to take an 80s power ballad and give it a new twist - that only Kurt could help him with. "Any chance I can go through your CD collection again?" he asked, leaning in close.

"Of course. Maybe I should go through yours too, find something a bit different," Kurt allowed, contemplating the idea. He looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat next to him and arched one eyebrow at the sight of Damien standing there. They'd struck an uneasy balance, but it was hardly what anyone would call a friendship. Kurt mostly put up with that much because Damien and Finn had an obvious, easy connection, and he was determined not to be the reason that Finn gave up a friendship that obviously mattered to him.

"Hey, Kurt... I was asking Shu if it was okay if I went a little more pop on this one since, y'know, it's sort of supposed to be about getting out of your comfort zone and, uh..." Damien looked almost as nervous as he felt, and he threw a glance at Finn as if the other boy might be able to help somehow. "Anyway, I picked a great song, but I was wondering if maybe... you'd sing with me? You've got a great voice, and it would be perfect."

The request caught Kurt so off guard that he was flattered before he had the sense to say no. "I... of course."

Finn broke out into the goofiest grin imaginable. "Whoa, wait a minute... You two are gonna sing together? No fair! You'll blow the rest of us out of the water." The gentle teasing seemed to go over well, and Finn was pleased to see Damien making headway in mending fences with Kurt.

"What are we talking about?" Blaine asked, taking a tentative step forward. Awkward didn't even begin to describe the situation; he and Kurt hadn't spoken since the break-up, and here he stood beside his new boyfriend, feeling his heart clench over knowing how much the sight had to cause Kurt pain.

Kurt took a breath. It was still hard to see Blaine with Damien, but he'd come to accept that things were what they were. The fact that they looked so happy together actually helped in a way. He knew that Blaine was being treated well. He knew that they weren't just fuck buddies. He'd seen the way that Damien looked at the other boy and smiled shyly at him when he thought nobody else was paying attention. That had gone a long way toward soothing his ruffled feathers, and when Damien auditioned for New Directions, Kurt had even sent Mercedes in over her gentle protests to help with the teen's cover of "Moves Like Jagger." "Damien's asked me to sing with him for the assignment this week."

"I got the word from Mr. Shu that I could go a little outside what he asked for." Damien looked from Blaine back to Kurt. "I was thinking 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart'."

The suggestion surprised Kurt more than a little since it seemed so far outside of Damien's usual style, but he nodded his approval just the same. "It sounds fun."

"Yeah?" Again Damien found himself smiling, relieved at the news. "Great. Um, maybe we can meet tomorrow morning, polish it up so we can knock this out tomorrow afternoon?"

"That shouldn't be a problem. I know the song already," Kurt agreed readily enough. If he gave himself time to think about the whole thing it would feel a lot more awkward than if they did it on the fly and let it just be something fun and unusual. Still carefully looking at Damien instead of Blaine, he smiled, "Looking forward to it."

Blaine felt a palpable tug at his heart being near Kurt again. Then there was Kurt's winning smile... With only a few weeks having passed since they'd parted ways, the pain was still fresh despite his having found happiness with Damien. Whatever happened, he would always care for Kurt. "We're gonna be late if we don't get a move on," Blaine reminded Damien, swallowing down a sudden lump that had formed in his throat.

Finn, more protective of Kurt than ever, offered up a murmured, "See ya," more for Damien's benefit than Blaine's. Slowly but surely he felt that Blaine was taking over glee and that soon Mr. Shuester would be offering the former Warbler all the lead vocals. Most importantly Finn feared that Blaine would somehow win Kurt back before they ever had a chance of making a go of it. "You okay?" he asked, gently nudging his stepbrother once Damien and his boyfriend had left the room.

Kurt let out a breath, only then realizing he'd been holding it to start with, and nodded. "Yes. I am. It's still..." He shrugged and stood, forcing himself to shake off how much emotion it all dredged up. "It was nice of him to ask, though. I don't want you to feel like the two of you shouldn't be friends just because... and this might be a nice way to patch things up. Such as it is." It felt better being alone with Finn, so much more comfortable, and Kurt let himself enjoy that without analysis for a moment as they headed for his car. "Do you have physical therapy tonight, or shall we go home and see about finding you a song?"

"Home," Finn replied, his grin widening. "I've got a couple of days till my next session." Although he was limping slightly, therapy was doing him a world of good. Coach Bieste had made it clear she wasn't happy with his drinking and driving, but Finn had hope of being back on the football team before the season was over. When he and Kurt reached the parking lot, Finn paused and reached out a tentative hand to his stepbrother. "Hey, erm... Thanks for making the effort with Damien," he managed, still unsure of how far he could take his touching of Kurt. "I know it's not easy being in class with him and Blaine every day."

"It's... awkward," Kurt agreed and shrugged before climbing into the SUV and tuning the radio in to something quiet. "It's like part of me is really happy for them... honestly, and part of me is furious that it's working so well. I kind of hate that part. It seems so... cruel. After that party at Rachel's, when Blaine and Rachel went on a date, I was horrible. I said absolutely terrible things to him, things I didn't even really believe, things just... I just wanted to hurt him because my feelings were hurt. I have to keep myself from doing that now." There was no one else in the world to whom Kurt would have confessed the internal sin so openly, and as he started the car up, he tossed Finn a rueful smile. "But it's getting better. It is."

"Okay, I'm glad." Finn nodded, fastening his seat belt and easing back, "but anytime it gets too weird, you’ll tell me?" Although he and Kurt had not progressed any further along, the past two weeks had been the happiest of Finn's life. They spent almost all of their free time together hanging out like best buds with Finn making a point of never crossing the line with his stepbrother. It was tough, and his will power was in tatters, but he had made a promise to wait and that was exactly what Finn Hudson intended to do.

His gaze wandered over to Kurt, his eyes caressing the elegant hands gripping the steering wheel. "You're cool, you know that? I mean really awesome, man." Finn warmed, trying his best to express his appreciation for Kurt. "I don't know how I'd react if my ex's new boyfriend asked me to sing with him."

"I'm rather proud of myself for not slapping him," Kurt answered with a half-smile as they cruised toward home. "Honestly, though... I want things to be easier." More quietly, he confessed, "I'd like Blaine to actually speak to me again." It had been weeks since he heard his ex's voice outside of assignments or overheard snippets of conversation, and it killed him. The loss of Blaine's friendship was as painful as the loss of him as a lover.

At the same time, Kurt found himself filling that voice with something new - a closer friendship with Finn than he'd ever expected. While he still had misgivings about Finn as a boyfriend - most notably the fact that he was still rather in the closet about his developing feelings for men - Kurt loved Finn a little more every day. He was surprised first and foremost to find just how shallow his original crush had truly been. He really hadn't known Finn. The pleasant part of the surprise was that he liked the person he knew now even better than the one he'd imagined a year before. He was proud of Finn's strength, his control, the easy way he worked to try and help the people around him.

"I'm not the only one who's impressive," Kurt countered with that in mind. "You've been amazing. All of this, all of the ridiculous things you've had to listen to me going on about... and you've been nothing but kind every step of the way. Thank you."

Finn warmed further, dipping his head in a bashful gesture and returning Kurt's smile. "You know you don't have to thank me, bro," he insisted, tapping his fingers in time with the beat from Kurt's stereo. "I'm happy to listen. Hanging out with you, well..." He felt his cheeks flushing hotter. "...It's awesome. I like talking with you about... everything. You're the coolest dude I've ever known." Every word was true; Finn's pulse beat faster, which had become a regular occurrence whenever he was in Kurt's presence.

"Flatterer. Now let's see if I'm cool enough to help you find a song for the assignment." Kurt flashed Finn a warm smile and led the charge upstairs once they got inside the house. "Honestly I think I'm glad Damien asked me. Mr. Shu is apparently eager not to scare off the new kid, so I get to do something that is not only not a power ballad, it's not even from the right decade." His fingertips brushed over the spines of his cd collection, looking for just the right thing. "You probably know more power ballads than I do."

Finn sank down on the floor while he watched Kurt search through his massive CD collection. He bit back a groan as he felt a twinge in his leg, and he adjusted into a more comfortable position accordingly. "Yeah," Finn conceded, grinning as he reached for a stack of CDs and recognized most of the songs. "I kinda have a soft spot for 80s cheese." As if on purpose, he found the perfect song when he glanced at a title beneath Kurt's fingertips. He didn't let on even though he was grinning like an idiot. "You know what? I think I'm more excited to hear you sing than anything else. It's been a while..."

Kurt smiled at that. "Really? Well, I suppose we do have a bit too many people for everyone to be in the spotlight..." There was especially a glut of male talent in New Directions which sadly meant even less feature time for all of them. Kurt sat down in the plush gray chair that was pushed up to his desk. "Of course, you have an advantage. You can ask me to sing anytime you want." As far as Kurt was concerned, Finn had earned the rights to private shows whenever he cared to have one after going so far above and beyond as a friend and potential suitor over the past few weeks.

"Yeah? Well, I'd love an official Kurt Hummel serenade right about now," Finn enthused, his grin lighting up his face. When Kurt sang all was right with the world. The problem wasn't just the overabundance of new talent in glee. Finn had missed his stepbrother's beautiful voice drifting from the morning shower. Of course Kurt hadn't had much reason to sing lately with the break up and Blaine moving on with Damien, and Finn wanted to do everything in his power to heal the other teen's broken heart. "Please?" he added, leaning back against the bed and offering his full attention.

"With manners like that, how could I possibly say no?" Kurt had always been susceptible to flattery, and this was no exception. It thrilled him that Finn wanted to listen, that he sat rapt before Kurt had even begun. It took only a moment to call up the perfect song for the moment. Though he'd been engaging in a great many self indulgent listenings of sad songs and musicals from classic break up tunes to more general tragedies like Camelot, Finn deserved something more upbeat. Standing as if on the verge of launching into a formal recital, Kurt began an impromptu cover of Dido's "Thank You," meeting Finn's bright gaze as he sang.

Finn melted. There was simply no other way to describe the effect Kurt's singing had on him. The song washed over him like a warm caress, and Finn's pulse quickened as the meaning of the words struck home. He'd often thought he couldn't love Kurt anymore than he already did, but in that moment, his feelings for his stepbrother blossomed into something more powerful than he had thought possible. He bit back a whimper when Kurt finished, and Finn, his breath stolen completely away, lunged forward to wrap the other teen in an enormous bear hug. "Kurt, that was awesome," he whispered, finding it an enormous strain not to offer up a reckless kiss. Finn drew back far enough to gaze into those shimmering blue-green eyes, and without a second thought, burst out a song of his own. Finn Hudson's own rendition of The Cars' "You Might Think." He tugged Kurt around the room, dancing as he sang,

"You might think I'm crazy
to hang around with you
maybe you think I'm lucky
to have something to do
but I think that you're wild
and inside me is some child
you might think it's foolish
or maybe it's untrue
you might think I'm crazy
but all I want is you

you might think It's hysterical
but I know when you're weak
you think you're in the movies
and everything's so deep
but I think that you're wild
when you flash that fragile smile
you might think it's foolish
what you put me through
you might think I'm crazy
but all I want is you

and it's so hard to take
there's no escape without a scrape
you kept it going till the sun fell down
you kept it going

You might think I'm delirious
the way i run you down
but somewhere sometime
when you're curious
I'll be back around
and I think that you're wild
and so uniquely styled
you might think it's foolish
this chancey rendezvous
you might think I'm crazy
but all I want is you..."

"There's no 'think' about it," Kurt answered, though he couldn't help beaming at Finn just the same. His arms were looped around his stepbrother's neck, and the moment felt sweet and perfect and natural. The way it had felt with Blaine before things got so messed up. He swallowed the pang of hurt at the thought and instead kept his attention on now. "You are absolutely and utterly insane. Luckily I like that about you." He smiled and finally stepped back before the contact could become awkward instead of pleasant. "I think you are officially set for the assignment. You're the male lead for a reason."

Finn mentally swore, trying his damnedest to maintain control as every instinct of his frustrated body pleaded with him to hang onto Kurt and kiss him soundly. Tonight he was either going to have to settle for another intimate rendezvous with his hand or another cold shower. //Keep it together, Hudson.// As he'd told Kurt repeatedly, he was worth waiting for, and Finn was determined to keep being patient. Even if it was slowly but surely killing him.

"You should be getting more solos," he pointed out, once he'd regained a little of senses. Finn was desperate for a change of topic, and Kurt's singing voice was an apt one. "Seriously, dude. I don't know why Mr. Shu doesn't give you more."

"Because Rachel gets everything that would be best for me," Kurt answered with a shrug that didn't entirely manage to be nonchalant. It bothered him. He understood it, but it bothered him. It was easier for people to accept Rachel belting out a gorgeous Barbara Streisand song than it was to accept him doing the same thing. Kurt examined his fingernails as if they might be anything other than perfectly manicured and sat back in his chair. "I'm sure there will be something. If the Warblers can find space for me to share the spotlight..." If guys who had known him a few months didn't hesitate, certainly the New Directions shouldn't. Kurt shrugged again and smiled more brightly as he added, "Besides, I enjoy watching your duets... even if they are with Rachel."

"Thanks, bro." It was awkward singing with Rachel most of the time. She'd shown her interest in him again once word spread that he and Quinn were finished, but Finn's heart belonged to Kurt. He realized that the only way to prove to his stepbrother how serious he was about them being a couple was to make a confession, to tell everyone about his self discovery, to show Kurt how proud he would be if they were together. He couldn't wait. Tomorrow he would be the first to tackle Mr. Shu's assignment. His heart quickened with excitement even as he tried not to let on to Kurt what he was planning. "Listen, I'd better get started practicing," he said, anxious to perfect the song although reluctant to leave the other teen's room. "You've probably got a million things to do anyway." Finn started for the door, limping after his impulsive dancing. "I'll, erm, pop in and see you again before dinner, okay?"

"Please?" Kurt smiled at Finn as he shuffled out of the room. He swiveled around to face the computer and forced himself to focus on his English essay. For about ten minutes. Attention wandering, Kurt found himself opening Facebook, scanning through the status posts from friends and rarely-seen relatives that mostly consisted of random babbling that he couldn't have cared less about. He saw a quick update from Blaine posted earlier that day, probably while sitting in class, and felt a pang when he saw that his profile picture was now an awkwardly-angled cell shot of Blaine and Damien, the other boy's face resting on his shoulder and both of them grinning from ear to ear. //He's happy. That's the important thing.//

Now if they could just find a way to talk again. The long, strained silence had to stop. He was pretty sure he was going to lose it otherwise. When they'd broken up, he'd suddenly found himself not only without a boyfriend - a situation he'd gotten well used to handling - but without one of his best friends too. Hanging out with Finn was wonderful and had gone a long way to healing his broken heart. It had not, however, changed the fact that he missed Blaine as a friend as much as he missed him as a boyfriend. There was no one to pore over fashion magazines with or scrounge through the few thrift shops Lima offered. No one else was nearly as interested in sharing over priced cups of coffee at the Lima Bean.

Sighing with frustration, Kurt closed the window and pointedly turned his attention back to school work. There was absolutely nothing that could be accomplished by staring at Facebook and torturing himself looking at pictures of Blaine and Damien together. He'd tried that already. What they needed was common ground, and he hoped that singing a duet with Damien would be a step in the right direction.

**********

Having perfected his song of choice in a relatively short amount of time, Finn's excitement segued into another bout of sexual frustration the more he thought about Kurt. His homework done, he decided his best bet would be to take another cold shower before dinner was ready. No sooner had he finished than he heard his Mom calling him and Kurt from the stairs. Finn glanced around the bathroom, searching for a fresh change of clothes only to realize he'd left them in his room. //Way to go, Einstein!//

With only a towel wrapped around his waist, the jock stumbled down the hall and, clueless to the effect his wet and naked body might have on his stepbrother, knocked on Kurt's door and stepped inside. "Hey, I'm keeping my promise," he announced with his trademark goofy grin. "I said I'd see you again before dinner. Mom's calling."

Kurt turned with a sigh, ready to lament the fact that he'd hardly made any headway. Instead the words died on his tongue when he took in the image of Finn standing before him looking like he could be posing for a sexy calendar. "Oh," he managed in a strangled tone instead before blushing and clearing his throat. "Right. Dinner. I'll be just a second," he assured, knowing he'd need a moment to do something about the fact that his entire blood supply had just surged down below his belt.

Finn noticed Kurt's deer-caught-in-headlights expression almost at once. It took him a moment or two to realize his current state of undress was the cause, and he blushed a furious shade of pink. "Oh, erm, okay," he stammered, clutching at the towel as if it might drop away. Instead of scurrying to his own bedroom, Finn made a reckless decision and stepped further into Kurt's. "Dude, I didn't do this on purpose," he felt he needed to explain. "I took a cold shower and everything..." Finn trailed off, his body warming now more than ever.

The nervousness Kurt had been feeling vanished somewhat at the confession. "I know," he answered earnestly. The truth as that his stepbrother had been so painstakingly careful for the past few weeks that he knew it was an utterly unconscious decision to put himself so much on display. "I believe you," Kurt added firmly when he saw the fear still lingering in Finn's eyes. "Though for the record?" He allowed his shoulders to relax and reclined slightly in his chair. "As a rule, it's not a view I'd often say no to having."

Finn, afraid he might have inadvertently offended Kurt, visibly relaxed. His handsome face broke out into a boyish grin as his pulse quickened. "Really?" Another glimmer of hope. "Well, just so you know, the view's all yours and yours alone." How he managed not to lunge across the room, take Kurt in his arms, and kiss his stepbrother until they were both gasping for breath was nothing short of miraculous. He felt a sense of pride knowing that his toned body could affect Kurt in such a potent way.

"But for the moment, we both need to be decent to sit through dinner with our parents," Kurt pointed out before waving his hand dismissively. "Out. Now. Please?" It was distracting and having exactly the opposite effect from what would be helpful to stare at Finn. Unfortunately Kurt was doing a terrible job at keeping his eyes off and keeping them from wandering steadily downward from Finn's face. "No, really. Now." He was definitely going to have to file the fresh-from-the shower kink away for later examination, but just before he sat down and chatted with his father and Finn's mother was not that time.

Without even realizing his state of arousal until it was too late, Finn warmed all over as his towel began to tent out in front of him. Kurt only had himself to blame, not only for being generally irresistible, but also for his blatantly hungry stare. "Yes, sir," he murmured, backing his way slowly out of the room. Now he was acting on purpose, and Finn didn't feel the least bit guilty about enticing his beautiful stepbrother. Now that he had been given a teaser, so to speak, Finn hoped that it might go a long way toward Kurt wanting him. "See ya downstairs!"

Kurt hadn't realized he was holding his breath until the door closed again. He fell back against the chair with a sigh that melted into a groan. "Oh, god," he breathed, wondering what exactly he'd done to the Christian version of Santa Claus to earn himself such temptation. It was worse because he knew that he could act on every dirty thought that went through his mind. There was no invisible line between them anymore. The only thing standing between them was Kurt's indecision. He didn't doubt anymore that they had enough in common to actually date. The longer he spent time with Finn, the more he'd realized that each complimented what the other lacked. He and Blaine had been so close that at times they'd been of one mind. With Finn there was always a different perspective, and that was refreshing instead of being frustrating the way he'd been terrified it might be.

The real fear that lingered for Kurt was how everyone else saw things. If all of a sudden he and Finn started holding hands at practice and sitting together at lunch, what would people say? It was shallow, really, but Kurt didn't want people assuming that he'd done something to Finn or that his stepbrother had "caught the gay" from him. They might not believe that Finn Hudson, gorgeous quarterback of the football team, had come to the conclusions all on his own.

The train of thought at least had the effect of dampening Kurt's desire for the moment, and he stayed the rest by taking a few minutes to primp in the bathroom before he made his way downstairs. It was going to be a very, very long dinner.