Finn wasn’t sure what time it was. Or what day for that matter. He pulled Kurt’s duvet further over him and curled into his pillow, letting his eyes slam shut again.

“Finn?” His mom called up the stairs. “Come downstairs please.”

He pulled the duvet over his head, letting out a choking sob. He knew what would happen if Kurt was here.

“Finn?” His mom called up the stairs. “Come downstairs please.”

“No!” Finn yelled back. “I’m with Kurt.”

Kurt grinned at him. “Come on monkey, let’s go downstairs.”

“Noooo!” Finn whined, grabbing hold of Kurt’s waist and pushing him down onto the bed. “Stay and talk to me!”

Kurt giggled and tickled Finn’s waist turning him over onto the duvet.

“You’re the worst. Come on, let’s go before mom takes away your dessert. Again.”

“I didn’t even want it last time.” Finn pouted, sliding off of the bed to stand up and pull Kurt’s arms up.

“Everyone wants ice cream, don’t lie to me, I see right through it.” He ruffled Finn’s hair, and FInn wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist and held him close.

“I’m glad you came home, Kurt.” Finn admitted.

“I told you I’d win.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, now come on, before I lose my ice cream because of you.”

His mom was in the doorway, Finn barely heard her come up the stairs. She looked down sympathetically at him.

“Come on, monkey.” She said, and he quickly pushed the duvet off of him and away, before sitting up and urgently giving his mom his worst glare.

“Don’t call me that.” He snapped, his puffy red eyes still letting a few tears fall.

She brushed her dress down and moved to sit on the side of the bed.

“I miss him too,” She admitted softly, lying back against the pillows next to her son.

“I know.” Finn said. He felt bad, he was being selfish but he just loved Kurt so much.

“But he died for something good,”

“He died for a boy.” Finn glared. “He told me I was his best friend.”

“You are his best friend, Finn. He loved Blaine so much though, and when it came to that situation, he wanted Blaine to have died for something good too. His family is safe now.”

“I just miss him.” Finn said, pushing his head back under the duvet cover.

“I know you do. I do too.”

“He did well, didn’t he?” Finn asked.

“He did perfectly. He still loves you, so much.”

“I know.”

And he did know. Sometimes Finn could feel Kurt around him, could feel his presence. When Finn went to training school, because all children in District 1 were forced to until they were 16, he could feel Kurt pushing him to go harder or faster. Telling him that he’d be able to do it, supporting him when he fell.

Everyone seemed to tread carefully around him, no one made fun of him at school anymore and if anyone dropped a comment, Kurt’s friends were always there for him. Finn had never been popular, never had any friends other than Kurt. He missed it. All he needed was his big brother. That was the one thought which rolled over in his mind every night when he fell asleep in Kurt’s bed. He never slept on Kurt’s side, which was something that Kurt always yelled at him for, he slept on the free side and let himself cuddle Kurt’s pillow as if it were him. As if Kurt’s arms were going to wind around him stomach and hold him close when he cried. But he wouldn’t. Because the reason Finn still cried was because Kurt was never going to hold him again.

Every night before he slept, Finn would recite his day to Kurt. He’d talk about school, and training and girls. When he fell for a girl called Alexa, he rushed home and climbed into Kurt’s bed, gushing about her until the realisation that Kurt wasn’t there took over his thoughts, and he sobbed himself to sleep again. It was a pain that would never go away. It felt like someone had a knife in his stomach and twisted it every time that Finn found a way of smiling through his day instead of breaking down. He needed Kurt. He needed him more than anything.

When it came to his school sports tournament, he had signed up for running. It was the one thing he wasn’t that bad at, and he knew that with Kurt’s support, he’d be able to do it. But when he was getting ready he expected to be able to feel Kurt around him, or hear his voice in his head to tell him to tie his laces tighter. But there was nothing. It was a surreal emptiness that he hadn’t felt before. He cried out, screaming, before he knew what he was doing. ‘Kurt?!’ he yelled over and over. ‘Kurt, I need you! Please, where are you? Please!’

When the teacher had come in to see what the yelling was about, they found Finn curled over the toilet, throwing up into it through his sobs and small whimpers of his dead brother’s name. Finn was excused from school for two weeks, told to take a break and mourn the death.

He never did.

-

On the fourth day of being home, Quinn braved visiting the Andersons. When she knocked on their door, Blaine’s father answered, a small smile of recognition on his face as he let her in.

“Sorry to bother you, Mr Anderson.” She said softly, carrying a large bowl into their kitchen. “I bought you some food.” She placed it onto the table, but neither Blaine’s mother nor father opened it. His mother embraced Quinn in a hug.

“Thank you, Quinn. Congratulations.”

Quinn just nodded, taking a seat at their table with them.

“I wanted to ask you a question,” Quinn started, looking at Blaine’s father. “And I know I may be overstepping, so please don’t feel pressured to answer.”

He just smiled and nodded at her.

“Did you want me to take the ring from Kurt?”

Blaine’s father thought for a moment. “Blaine was the most passionate person I have ever known. He understood love, even at such a young age. When he met Kurt, I think he finally understood the concept and feeling of love even more so than he already did. He gave Kurt the ring as a symbol of that, and I would never be able to deny him that.”

Quinn let a tear fall from her eye. “He really was the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” She admitted.

Blaine’s mother pressed her napkin to her face, drying her tears.

“I’m glad he found Kurt.” His father declared.

“So you liked Kurt?” Quinn asked, curious.

“Didn’t you?”

“I did. He was...different. He cared.”

“I knew his mother when we were younger.” Blaine’s mother spoke. “We were best friends. It was only fate that Blaine and Kurt seemed to like each other.”

“Did Blaine know?” Quinn asked.

“No. We never really spoke about her, it didn’t seem important. I wish that he did though, that’s my one regret.”

“Don’t live in regrets,” Blaine’s father added. “Our son died for love, and in my opinion there’s nothing stronger to die for.”