Title: Better Late Than Never, Chapter Two
Ship/Character: Finn, Brittany (appearances and mentions of various characters and pairings)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,393
A/N: Slight AU future fic with few spoilers. / Also available at FF.net here.
“Uncle Finn!” Caroline exclaimed when he walked into the dance studio later that day to pick her up, running toward him before leaping up and grabbing onto his waist. “Miss Brittany said I was one of the best in her class.” She grinned up at him and he couldn’t help but smile back as she jumped back to the floor and grabbed his hand. Then he was looking around for Brittany and Caroline pulled him over to where she was standing.
“I did say that.” Brittany laughed softly and patted the girl’s head before looking up at him. “Hi, Finn. She told me she was really excited for you to come pick her up. Do you do that a lot?” She tilted her head and Finn nodded his slowly, suddenly unable to talk.
He heard Caroline giggle and he looked down in time to see her letting go of his hand and walking over to her bag. Looking back at Brittany, he brought a hand up to the back of his neck and he nervously rubbed at it. Why was he nervous?
“Um, yeah, pretty much whenever Rach or Puck can’t do it. Sometimes Caroline asks me, though, and I can’t really say no to that.” He let out a laugh when Brittany did and they both looked at the brunette girl packing up her things and looking at them.
“She’s so cute,” Brittany said as she looked back at him and he turned his attention back to the blonde woman in front of him. “You should come more. I think she really enjoys it. I saw the way she got up and ran over to you even though I was still talking.”
Finn opened his mouth to apologize for distracting the class and she shrugged, placing a hand on his arm before looking over his shoulder as the door opened. “It’s fine, Finn. I was glad to see you again, too.“ She smiled softly and then let go of his arm. “I should go say bye to everyone else. I hope I get to see you again soon.”
“Yeah. I’ll bring Caroline again especially with Rachel pregnant. She’s a lot busier now.” Before he could say anything else, even if he had no idea what it would even be, Brittany nodded and smiled, walking around him to greet some parents. He stood there for a moment before walking over to Caroline, letting the girl climb onto his back before they left the studio with a smile and wave to Brittany on their way out.
=/=
Something about seeing Brittany again caused him to toss and turn a lot that night. He wasn’t sure if seeing her reminded him of Lima or if it was something completely different. All he knew was that he didn’t sleep much, which never really happened because he could sleep for 12 hours straight, and ended up awake in the middle of the night watching dance competition shows. None of the dancers were Brittany, though, not even close.
He stared at his alarm clock from 6:45 to 7 o’clock the next morning, waiting for Rachel to call and ask if he would take Caroline to dance class again. At 7:10 he picked up the phone and checked the dial tone before quickly putting it back on the receiver. The phone worked.
After forcing himself to get out of bed and take a shower 30 minutes later, he realized that all night he had been thinking of Brittany. It was weird and completely confusing, but it felt good to have something in his head that wasn’t about how much of a loser he felt like he was in New York.
=/=
The rest of the week went by pretty normally, at least what normal was for him now. He went on a few job interviews, felt good about half of them, lost out on all of them, and started all over again. It sucked, but he still had these thoughts about Brittany in his head that made everything feel better. He saw her smile or heard her laugh and it just helped him through what had been pretty depressing in the past few months.
At the start of the next week, with several job interviews scheduled, he waited again for Rachel to call him on Monday morning. But she didn’t and so he went on with his usual day.
It wasn’t hard until Wednesday when he picked up his own phone at 7:30 and called Rachel himself.
“Hey,” he started as soon as she answered the phone, sitting at his kitchen table and taking a deep breath. “Do you need me to take or pick Caroline up today? I thought maybe I could help you out or something, if you need it.”
He waited a few moments until Rachel finally said, “Sure. How about you pick her up and then bring her home by 3?”
“Got it. I’ll get her home by 3 and make sure she doesn’t eat too much ice cream this time.” He chuckled and grinned when Rachel went off on a rant about dairy and her baby girl’s vocal cords.
=/=
“Finn? What are you doing here?” Brittany asked him as he walked into the dance studio, purposefully a few minutes after classes were over. He looked around and he felt panic rush through him when he didn’t see Caroline before he looked at Brittany.
“Where is she?” The blonde was shaking her head quickly and walking over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Puck picked her up like 10 minutes ago.”
Finn let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal before opening his eyes and looking at Brittany. He had kind of just accused her of letting Caroline go with someone she wasn’t supposed to, hadn’t he? Looking at her, he bit his lip before releasing it and saying, “Sorry. Of course you’d only let her go with Puck or Rach or me. I thought I was supposed to get her today. I talked to Rachel this morning and everything.”
“It’s okay, Finn. I have had a problem a couple of times forgetting faces, but I’ve never actually let any kid leave with a stranger.” Brittany smiled softly and walked over to a bench against the wall and began putting on her tennis shoes.
Finn followed after her and sat down.
“Puck didn’t say anything about you coming to get her today, so I guess he didn’t know or Rachel forgot or something. She’s safe, though.”
He nodded and smiled over at her, relaxing against the wall of mirrors and stretching his legs out in front of him. “So, how do you like New York?”
“I love it. I think I could do this in Lima and be closer to my parents and sister, but New York has been really great. And it’s not really that far from Ohio, you know? I can take vacations.”
“I get that,” Finn replied, nodding and thinking about his mom and Burt being in Lima. Kurt was in New York a lot of the time, sometimes other places, but other than Rachel and Puck and Caroline, his family was still back home.
They were silent for a few minutes as she stood up stepped into a skirt to cover up the bottom part of her leotard and a t-shirt. He looked away while she did that, but the walls were made of mostly mirrors and it was kind of hard not to watch just a little bit. He was acting like a sixteen year old again.
“Do you want to get a coffee?” He asked suddenly, standing and looking at her when she was finished dressing. “If you drink coffee.” Since he hadn’t been sleeping too much, he definitely needed it a few times a day, but he wasn’t sure if Brittany did. She was already kind of… awake all the time.
“There’s a place I love on the corner. Do you want to go there?”
“I’m up for anything,” he said, smiling at her and opening the door as they walked out. She locked the studio door and then wrapped her arm around his and he found himself smiling again. He’d been doing that a lot lately.
Ship/Character: Finn, Brittany (appearances and mentions of various characters and pairings)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,393
A/N: Slight AU future fic with few spoilers. / Also available at FF.net here.
“Uncle Finn!” Caroline exclaimed when he walked into the dance studio later that day to pick her up, running toward him before leaping up and grabbing onto his waist. “Miss Brittany said I was one of the best in her class.” She grinned up at him and he couldn’t help but smile back as she jumped back to the floor and grabbed his hand. Then he was looking around for Brittany and Caroline pulled him over to where she was standing.
“I did say that.” Brittany laughed softly and patted the girl’s head before looking up at him. “Hi, Finn. She told me she was really excited for you to come pick her up. Do you do that a lot?” She tilted her head and Finn nodded his slowly, suddenly unable to talk.
He heard Caroline giggle and he looked down in time to see her letting go of his hand and walking over to her bag. Looking back at Brittany, he brought a hand up to the back of his neck and he nervously rubbed at it. Why was he nervous?
“Um, yeah, pretty much whenever Rach or Puck can’t do it. Sometimes Caroline asks me, though, and I can’t really say no to that.” He let out a laugh when Brittany did and they both looked at the brunette girl packing up her things and looking at them.
“She’s so cute,” Brittany said as she looked back at him and he turned his attention back to the blonde woman in front of him. “You should come more. I think she really enjoys it. I saw the way she got up and ran over to you even though I was still talking.”
Finn opened his mouth to apologize for distracting the class and she shrugged, placing a hand on his arm before looking over his shoulder as the door opened. “It’s fine, Finn. I was glad to see you again, too.“ She smiled softly and then let go of his arm. “I should go say bye to everyone else. I hope I get to see you again soon.”
“Yeah. I’ll bring Caroline again especially with Rachel pregnant. She’s a lot busier now.” Before he could say anything else, even if he had no idea what it would even be, Brittany nodded and smiled, walking around him to greet some parents. He stood there for a moment before walking over to Caroline, letting the girl climb onto his back before they left the studio with a smile and wave to Brittany on their way out.
Something about seeing Brittany again caused him to toss and turn a lot that night. He wasn’t sure if seeing her reminded him of Lima or if it was something completely different. All he knew was that he didn’t sleep much, which never really happened because he could sleep for 12 hours straight, and ended up awake in the middle of the night watching dance competition shows. None of the dancers were Brittany, though, not even close.
He stared at his alarm clock from 6:45 to 7 o’clock the next morning, waiting for Rachel to call and ask if he would take Caroline to dance class again. At 7:10 he picked up the phone and checked the dial tone before quickly putting it back on the receiver. The phone worked.
After forcing himself to get out of bed and take a shower 30 minutes later, he realized that all night he had been thinking of Brittany. It was weird and completely confusing, but it felt good to have something in his head that wasn’t about how much of a loser he felt like he was in New York.
The rest of the week went by pretty normally, at least what normal was for him now. He went on a few job interviews, felt good about half of them, lost out on all of them, and started all over again. It sucked, but he still had these thoughts about Brittany in his head that made everything feel better. He saw her smile or heard her laugh and it just helped him through what had been pretty depressing in the past few months.
At the start of the next week, with several job interviews scheduled, he waited again for Rachel to call him on Monday morning. But she didn’t and so he went on with his usual day.
It wasn’t hard until Wednesday when he picked up his own phone at 7:30 and called Rachel himself.
“Hey,” he started as soon as she answered the phone, sitting at his kitchen table and taking a deep breath. “Do you need me to take or pick Caroline up today? I thought maybe I could help you out or something, if you need it.”
He waited a few moments until Rachel finally said, “Sure. How about you pick her up and then bring her home by 3?”
“Got it. I’ll get her home by 3 and make sure she doesn’t eat too much ice cream this time.” He chuckled and grinned when Rachel went off on a rant about dairy and her baby girl’s vocal cords.
“Finn? What are you doing here?” Brittany asked him as he walked into the dance studio, purposefully a few minutes after classes were over. He looked around and he felt panic rush through him when he didn’t see Caroline before he looked at Brittany.
“Where is she?” The blonde was shaking her head quickly and walking over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Puck picked her up like 10 minutes ago.”
Finn let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal before opening his eyes and looking at Brittany. He had kind of just accused her of letting Caroline go with someone she wasn’t supposed to, hadn’t he? Looking at her, he bit his lip before releasing it and saying, “Sorry. Of course you’d only let her go with Puck or Rach or me. I thought I was supposed to get her today. I talked to Rachel this morning and everything.”
“It’s okay, Finn. I have had a problem a couple of times forgetting faces, but I’ve never actually let any kid leave with a stranger.” Brittany smiled softly and walked over to a bench against the wall and began putting on her tennis shoes.
Finn followed after her and sat down.
“Puck didn’t say anything about you coming to get her today, so I guess he didn’t know or Rachel forgot or something. She’s safe, though.”
He nodded and smiled over at her, relaxing against the wall of mirrors and stretching his legs out in front of him. “So, how do you like New York?”
“I love it. I think I could do this in Lima and be closer to my parents and sister, but New York has been really great. And it’s not really that far from Ohio, you know? I can take vacations.”
“I get that,” Finn replied, nodding and thinking about his mom and Burt being in Lima. Kurt was in New York a lot of the time, sometimes other places, but other than Rachel and Puck and Caroline, his family was still back home.
They were silent for a few minutes as she stood up stepped into a skirt to cover up the bottom part of her leotard and a t-shirt. He looked away while she did that, but the walls were made of mostly mirrors and it was kind of hard not to watch just a little bit. He was acting like a sixteen year old again.
“Do you want to get a coffee?” He asked suddenly, standing and looking at her when she was finished dressing. “If you drink coffee.” Since he hadn’t been sleeping too much, he definitely needed it a few times a day, but he wasn’t sure if Brittany did. She was already kind of… awake all the time.
“There’s a place I love on the corner. Do you want to go there?”
“I’m up for anything,” he said, smiling at her and opening the door as they walked out. She locked the studio door and then wrapped her arm around his and he found himself smiling again. He’d been doing that a lot lately.