When Rachel had told Finn her plan – buy a new Christmas tree for Glee club – he was initially inclined to agree. That was, until he remembered that she'd cheated on him recently, and he was still angry at her for that.

That was when he told her that yes, there should be a new tree, but no, they weren't going to get one together. He, as the team captain who actually celebrated Christmas, would buy a tree by himself. He was perfectly capable of doing that. And that was exactly what was going to happen, as far as Finn was concerned.

He hadn't counted on the fact that the new house his new family had just moved into didn't have a Christmas tree yet either. When his parents heard that he was going to buy a tree the next day, they told him to bring two trees instead of one. In an afterthought, Burt added that Finn should bring Kurt along to help carry the trees. Finn didn't know if Kurt was going to be that big of a help – he didn't think his stepbrother was all that strong, and Kurt was probably going to be complaining about getting his clothes dirty the entire time.

Still, it was better than going with Rachel and inevitably having to sing some or other sappy song with her. Finn might be slow at times, but after dating Rachel for several months, even he knew that she would grab every opportunity presented to her to sing, wherever she was.

"It's probably their way of getting us to bond," Kurt told him while they drove to one of the Christmas tree stands in Lima (yes, there were a couple of them).

"Yeah, but – dude, can you even help me carry a tree? They're pretty heavy."

Kurt pursed his lips before speaking. "Don't call me 'dude', Finn. And yes, I am very capable of helping you carrying a Christmas tree. I always accompanied my dad when he wanted to buy one and I've helped carrying them ever since he let me. Plus, I'm wearing some of my old clothes now."

Finn didn't see the difference between Kurt's current outfit and the things he normally wore, but he decided that it was for the best to not mention that. Kurt might be the one driving, but that didn't mean that he couldn't inflict some serious pain on Finn.

In the end, he settled for a, "Okay. Cool." They spent the remainder of the drive in silence.

Once Kurt parked the car, Finn jumped out enthusiastically. Rolling his eyes (which Finn pretended not to notice), Kurt followed him.

"Are there people singing?" Finn asked curiously. He could swear –

"Probably not," Kurt cut Finn's thoughts short. "It must be a CD or something. You know, the stuff they always play at these places around this time of the year."

But it wasn't – when they reached the stand, there was a group of around fifteen boys in matching coats and scarves singing Christmas carols.

Finn was about to proudly tell Kurt that he had been right, when Kurt muttered, "What – what are they doing here in Lima?"

"You know them?" Finn asked obliviously, looking from Kurt to the group of boys and back.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "They're the Warblers, Finn."

Oh. "They sound pretty good," he observed.

"Rachel's going to kill you when she finds out," Kurt agreed. "For not allowing her to come."

"Let's not tell her then."

"They are good, though. Who'd have thought that a cappella Christmas songs would sound good?"

"Not me," Finn said.

"Rhetorical question, Finn."

"Oh." Not that he knew what that meant, but he'd heard Kurt use the term before, and he knew by now that he was better off not saying anything else.

After another minute of standing there and listening to one of their rival show choirs sing a Christmas song, Kurt said, "Come on. Let's find ourselves a tree."

"Two trees," Finn corrected him.

Kurt didn't even bother answering.

Together, they started walking past the various trees, looking closely as they went. Most of the trees didn't make it through their elaborate check-list, but there were some that both Finn and Kurt approved of. Still, they wanted to see all the trees to make sure they could really bring the best trees back home.

When they passed the group of singing and harmonising boys, they heard the seller of the trees tell them that he would give them a tree for free when they were done. Finn almost felt jealous – he was sure that Dalton probably had about a hundred trees everywhere in the school, while the McKinley budget couldn't even pay for more than a few trees.

Kurt, however, didn't seem to be having the same sort of thoughts. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he told the group (and the seller).

The group of boys looked at them in wonder. "Why not?" one of the background singers asked.

"Receiving payment in any way revokes the amateur status of your Glee club," Kurt said swiftly. "You'll no longer be allowed to compete."

As he walked on, searching for another nice tree or two, the boys stared after him, seeming baffled. Finn shrugged apologetically at them, as if saying, 'What can you do about it?' and then sped up to catch up with his stepbrother.

"Why did you warn them?" he asked Kurt. "They're the competition!"

"They've never done anything to us," Kurt replied, inspecting a nearby tree. "If they were from Vocal Adrenaline, I would've encouraged them to take as many trees as possible and then personally rat them out." He seemed to think for a moment, before saying, "Or I'd just mention it when Rachel was around, and let her rat them out. But they seem like decent guys."

That was true; apart from tying with New Directions at Sectionals, the Warblers hadn't really done anything wrong just yet – 'yet' being the keyword.

When they finally found the two, in their opinions, most perfect trees at the stand, Finn walked off to find the owner. When he returned, owner in tow, it appeared that Kurt had been ambushed by the Warblers.

Or, well, one of them. A short, curly haired one. The guy who'd sung lead during Sectionals.

" – just looked it up," he was saying, a smile plastered to his face. As Finn looked closer, he noticed that Kurt looked pretty amused as well. "And as it turns out, you were right. But if you don't mind me asking – how did you know? And how did you know that we're a Glee club?"

Kurt shrugged. "We had a similar situation last year," he explained. "Only it involved mattresses, instead of Christmas trees. And it wasn't just singing – it was a full-blown commercial. Not that that matters so much. Why are you in Lima anyway?"

"The owner is an uncle of one of the other guys," the Warbler replied. "He grew a bit sick of listening to the same songs in the same compositions all the time, so he asked us for some relief."

"So this was the one you wanted?" the owner asked Finn, effectively interrupting the little chit-chat Kurt had going on with the other boy.

"Uh – yeah," Finn replied, not daring to look in Kurt's direction. "This one – and another one over there."

"Two Christmas trees?" the Warbler asked, sounding amused. Then again, he'd sounded amused for the largest part of the conversation (as far as Finn was aware). And – now he was stealthily looking Kurt up and down as the slightly taller boy answered the question.

"One for our Glee club, one for at home," Kurt replied. "Finn here is my stepbrother, so…"

Realisation seemed to dawn on the Warbler's face. "You're in New Directions?" he asked. "That explains a lot."

"Yes, we are," Finn replied proudly before Kurt could even think of a reply. "And we just saw you perform."

"We're just carolling," the boy replied, keeping his eyes glued to Kurt. "Are you going to be carolling somewhere?"

"Like we'd tell you," Finn huffed, by now growing a bit suspicious of this boy's more than obvious attention for Kurt. Not to mention his failing attempts at spying on the competition.

"Finn, please," his stepbrother said, sounding exasperated. Turning back to the other – still nameless, Finn suddenly realised – boy, he responded, "We tried carolling at school. That didn't go over well. They don't like us very much there."

"Let's go, Kurt," Finn told him. "We're going to be late!"

"Nobody ever told us when we had to be back home," Kurt countered.

"It's a school night!" Finn cried out, waving his arms around.

"You never cared about that before," Kurt retorted, rolling his eyes. "Besides, it's only – it's only eight, Finn."

Finn knew the look that was on the Warbler's face right now – there was amusement, mixed with the same look some of his (and Kurt's) friends gave others when they were checking them out. Oh – shit. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

"I already told the owner which trees we wanted. It would be rude not to follow him and buy them and leave." He tried, but failed, to get Kurt to move.

"Listen – Finn, was it?" the short boy addressed him. "Could you – give us a moment, please?"

Finn crossed his arms. "Kurt and I are brothers now. We have a great, healthy, brotherly relationship and we have no secrets for each other." Lie. Big, fat, lie. "Anything you tell him, he'll tell me later anyway, so you might as well say what you want to say with me here."

The boy gave him a weird look before turning back to Kurt, who looked ready to murder someone – Finn, probably. "Your stepbrother creeps me out a bit," the Warbler told Kurt.

"He tends to have that effect on people, yes," Kurt replied, glaring at Finn. "But just ignore him. It's what I always do."

"Right," the Warbler said with a nod. Finn assumed that he had introduced himself to Kurt – he was a prep school boy and he seemed too polite not to – but Finn still wasn't clued in. "Anyway, what I wanted to ask – are you doing something this weekend?"

Kurt's eyebrows rose to an unimaginable level, and in any other situation, Finn would've thought this hilarious. Now, however, there were more serious matters at hand. Like this guy – who was their competition, hello – potentially hitting on Kurt. Did they even know if he was gay? And even if he was – that didn't make it okay.

"No, not that I know of," Kurt replied with a smile, and Finn wanted to smack his stepbrother for flirting right back. "Why?"

The other boy reddened at the question, which made him seem slightly less dangerous to Finn. Maybe he was being sincere, and not just trying to break their group apart. "I was – uh… wondering if…" he trailed off, smiling apologetically at Kurt, who, for some reason, smiled back.

"How about we grab some coffee this weekend?" Kurt proposed, and Finn didn't think he'd ever seen a guy look as grateful as the Warbler did in his entire life.

"That would be amazing," the boy answered. "I mean – yeah, I'd like that."

Kurt continued to look amused and didn't say anything for a while, which gave Finn the opportunity to ask, "But Kurt, what about Sam?"

This seemed to alarm the Warbler, but Kurt just gave Finn an incredulous look. "Sam? As in, Quinn's boyfriend?" he asked, and the Warbler seemed to let out a breath in relief. "What about him?"

"Ah – no, never mind," Finn muttered. "I really think we should go, though. The owner's starting to look a bit impatient."

"Wait!" the Warbler cried out. "Kurt – do you think – I mean, could I have – I mean…"

"My number?" Kurt guessed happily. "Sure, give me your phone."

"I'll call you then," the other boy told him. "Or maybe I'll text you."

"Either's fine with me," Kurt said as he gave the boy his phone back. "I'll see you later. Good luck carolling."

"Thanks!" the boy shouted in response before disappearing in between some of the trees.

After that, Finn and Kurt approached the owner of the stand and paid for the trees, which he had already moved towards the cash register for them. Together, the two stepbrothers placed the trees in the back of the car. Kurt never complained about his clothes once, though Finn wasn't sure if that was because he was wearing old clothes, or because he was going out with some guy he barely even knew. Which reminded him –

"Are you sure you should do this?" he urgently asked Kurt as they sat down in the car. "I mean, you don't even know him, and what if this is another Jesse situation? Imagine what Rachel – "

"Relax, Finn, we're only going out for coffee," Kurt quickly told him. "Besides, we've seen more of them than the other way around so far, and as opposed to Blaine, I'm not the lead singer of our club. So if anyone ought to worry, it should be the Warblers – not you guys."

"Blaine?" Finn asked, frowning. "You're going out with a guy named Blaine?"

Kurt scoffed. "What's wrong with Blaine?"

"I don't know," Finn replied, shrugging. "It just – sounds a bit odd. A typical… prep boy name."

"I assure you, Finn, it'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"Is he even gay?" Finn asked. If the looks this Blaine had been giving Kurt were any indication, it was very likely that he was gay, but one could never be too sure.

"Yes, he is," Kurt confirmed. "His team mates - who sort of just left again after asking me if I was - told me before you came – and wouldn't leave us alone."

"And what will your dad say?" Finn asked, ignoring what Kurt said. If anyone could put a stop to this, it was Burt.

"He'll just have to be happy for me," Kurt said, seeming a bit uncertain as well as to whether or not Burt would allow Kurt to go out with this guy. "I'm seventeen, Finn. He can't protect me forever." Shaking his head, Kurt muttered, "We'll see about what dad says when we get home. Can't you just be happy for me for once, Finn? I understand that you have the girls lined up for you, but this is the first time a guy showed any interest in me. And he seemed like a nice guy – why shouldn't I go out with him? Why can't I take a chance for once?"

"I'll try to help you convince Burt," Finn promised. Maybe Kurt was right, and he definitely deserved a shot at happiness for once. The least Finn could do was lend him a hand. "But," he continued, "if this Blaine does anything to hurt you, me and the guys will make him pay. And I'm sure your dad will want to help."

"Perfect," Kurt mumbled to himself, "now is the time he chooses to become an overprotective brother." Finn just grinned back happily, glad that his stepbrother had at least gotten that message.