Later on in life Finn realises that, really, he hadn't understood Kurt and, maybe, that's why things had been so hard. (Finn POV, Blaine/Kurt)
Author's Notes: This was written around 2x10, so it's not canon-compliant with anything after that point!
Later on in life Finn realises that, really, he hadn't understood Kurt and, maybe, that's why things had been so hard. It wasn't that he and Kurt hadn't tried (Kurt had tried too hard and Finn had tried just enough to be satisfied, enough to feel like he had been a good brother) but it was because it had been too much for a teenager to get his head around: it was new, and Finn had been a teenager in Lima, Ohio. Everything around him said he wasn't supposed to get it, that he was supposed to think wrong rather than right.
He was glad he had grown up.
But the understanding came through little windows into Kurt's life, the changes he went through. Little moments that made him pause and go 'oh', that made him realise that the life Kurt was living as was difficult as it was beautiful. He was glad that he was allowed to see these things.
He remembers one time when he'd been asked to go and see if Blaine was going to be staying for dinner and, when he reached the door, he found it open. He peered in, a little nervous (because he didn't want to see his brother's dick, really, or his brother's boyfriend's and you never know) but what he saw stunned him.
They weren't, like, making out, or trying to secretly (because that's totally what he did with Rachel whenever they were alone). They were just sitting there together, Kurt's hand entwined with Blaine's, his head on his shoulder. Blaine turned his head and whispered something and Kurt laughed, properly laughed, and he lit up. Finn had never seen Kurt that happy, not even back in that awkward stage where just saying 'hey' to him had made him look like a bright Christmas tree.
Finn didn't even ask. He just told Carole that Blaine would be staying.
Blaine came over on Christmas eve the year after they'd met (the year he'd sing to Kurt in GAP, the year they'd admitted to themselves that it was okay) and he was perfect. He danced around Carole, helping here and there, setting the table, making her laugh, and Finn watched and though huh. Blaine wasn't like Kurt; he was like every other boy (and he'd be ashamed to say it now, but then he had thought ‘like a normal‘ boy and that wasn't cool) and they‘d talked about sports and he‘d nodded along when Burt explained something about cars. That all changed when Kurt came down from his room and smiled at him.
The guy seemed to glow with happiness, a smile crossing his lips that reminded Finn of the way Burt looked at his mom. He walked over to Kurt and just touched their hands together, gently, before looking around. It made Finn sad, then, that they were scared to kiss each other hello or hug or do all that kind of stuff - because they liked each other, right? Even if it was weird. Blaine let his hand drop and he and Kurt moved into the kitchen to do something - some kind of pie that Kurt had promised to make - and Finn just thought.
If he wasn't allowed to hold Rachel's hand when he wanted, or kiss her or something, he'd be really sad. He thought it was kind of nice that they were always looking at each other and smiling, letting their hands touch while passing bowls and spoons and ingredients.
But the scenes had touched him somewhat, back when he was a child still growing into a man, and it stuck with him through blowouts with Rachel, finals, Nationals - all the way to when Burt had another heart attack when Kurt was at college.
He remembers his brother sitting in the waiting room, phone in hand, looking at it anxiously as though it had all the answers. Like it was a miracle; but no tears. He didn't cry and he didn't let himself become a broken mess like Finn had been for the first few hours. He was tense, like string - like if someone pushed a little more he would snap. He'd never seen Kurt like that, not really, and he remembered high school with a sad sort of frown. It had been like that in high school, but with more fear and more push.
But then Blaine ran into the room and Kurt transformed. The tension left his shoulders a little and he rose, he didn't even hesitate, throwing himself into his boyfriend's arms. The string snapped and he broke, sobbing into Blaine's arms and saying a babble of words - Finn was sure he heard 'dad' and 'heart' and 'orphan' and it stung him. But, at the same time, he felt something inside of him change a little, like the flick of a button.
This was love.
He'd never sat down and thought about what being gay meant because being gay meant you were different and different was bad if you wanted to live in Lima. Boys, he knew from growing up with jocks and football, were supposed to like girls, they were supposed to date cheerleaders if they could and they were supposed to be cool. They weren't supposed to like other boys, or Lady Gaga, or musicals - they were supposed to like football and get married and have babies. That's what the world had told Finn. But - but why was Kurt so different?
Finn could see with his own eyes that Kurt was desperately and hopelessly in love with Blaine and it was beautiful. It didn't matter that they were both boys - men, now, both men - and it didn't matter that the Ohio nurse frowned a little as Blaine pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's lips. What mattered was that Kurt was so in love that he could break down and admit his pain, that he was so in love that he had become strong.
"That was kind of cool," Finn said, grinning at the blushing face of his brother and the proud face of his new brother-in-law. "I mean, it was totally sad at the time, but it was really romantic too, you know?"
Their wedding had been the most beautiful ceremony a person could imagine, and because Burt hadn't been well enough to walk Kurt down the aisle (Kurt had groused over it, but he really, really wanted it) Finn had taken his place, and Finn had wanted to say some words - so he did. He told the story of how awesome he thought Blaine and Kurt were, and how he thought they were really inspirational. He talked about the few moments he recognised and he hesitated for a second, embarrassed, before he finished. The people sitting at tables in front of him shone and nodded.
When Finn raised his glass they followed his lead.
"To Kurt and Blaine."