Title: Better Late Than Never, Chapter Four
Ship/Character: Finn, Brittany (appearances and mentions of various characters and pairings)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,333
A/N: Slight AU future fic with few spoilers. / Also available at FF.net here.
Waking up the next morning was easier than usual because he knew that he wasn't going to some job interview in a shirt that suffocated him. He was going to Brittany's apartment and that was totally a better idea.
On the way to her apartment, Finn found himself even more excited than he’d expected. Not only was he hopefully going to have a job soon, but it was going to be awesome to hang out with Brittany again. They’d never really done much of it in high school outside of groups and glee club. Talking to her at the coffee shop, though, had been awesome and made him feel like he wasn’t a complete failure. Sure, Rachel and Puck didn’t seem to think it either, but they were practically part of his family. They kind of had to pretend everything was okay and he was smart enough to see that. Brittany, though, she didn’t have to think his life was decent. That was just what she thought and that made him feel really good. Her optimism was just contagious.
He didn’t know how long they were going to be talking about job stuff, but he did know that donuts were kind of a thing that people ate during business meetings. So when he spotted a bakery a block away from Brittany’s apartment, he stopped and picked up some for them. Maybe it was a little weird, but he hoped that she understood why he did it. Plus, he liked the ones filled with custard and hadn’t eaten anything yet, so he couldn’t walk by the place without going in and getting one.
When he got to her apartment, he smiled as he knocked on the door and waited for her to open it.
He heard the locks being unlocked on the other side and then she was opening the door with a huge smile on her face. “Hi! Come in,” she said as she opened the door a little wider and motioned him in. Her eyes fell on the box in his hands before she looked back at his face “Is that a box of donuts?”
Finn could have sworn that her blue eyes lit up even brighter than usual at that and he felt so awesome for getting the idea. He knew that donuts were a good idea for job stuff.
“Yeah, I thought it’d be, like, business-like or something if we had donuts while we talked.” He shrugged a shoulder and started to look around the small apartment while she shut the door. “This is a really nice place, Britt.”
“Thanks.” Brittany walked over to him and held her hands out for the box so he handed it over to her and watched as she walked into the attached kitchen. It took him a moment before he followed her in.
Turning around and looking at him, she smiled. “Do you want something to drink? Milk? Water? I would say beer, but that sounds kind of weird with donuts and it’s early. I don’t need you drinking on the job hunt.” Brittany giggled before grabbing two glasses.
Finn was a little caught up in looking at the things she had on her refrigerator before smiling at her comment. “Water sounds good. I’ll leave the drinking until later.”
Once Brittany had filled two glasses of water, she put them on the small table then grabbed two dessert plates and napkins. “Sit,” she said and pulled out her own chair before sitting down.
Finn did the same and that was when he noticed all of the things that were on the table. Her laptop was on the other end by a folded newspaper and a notebook with a few different colored pens on top of it. She had really set all of that up just to help him. He smiled slightly and took a donut out of the box once she did before he looked back over at her.
“I really appreciate this, Britt.” They hadn’t even started and he was already wondering if there was some way he would be able to repay her. Even if it didn’t work out and he didn’t get a job anytime soon. No one had ever done anything like this for him, not since he was a teenager in need of a job for a girl he thought was having his baby. Shaking his head of the thought, he asked, “So, what’s your idea?”
Lifting the donut to his mouth, he took a big bite and looked at her expectantly.
“Finn, get ready for the best idea ever.” Brittany’s eyes widened and she nodded enthusiastically before exclaiming, “Drum teacher!”
“Whoa,” Finn said lowly as he realized a few things all at once. One, Brittany was really excited and it was adorable the way her eyes sparkled and her voice was a little higher. Two, she seemed to know what sort of thing he’d really like to do. Three, and this was the biggest one, he hadn’t even thought of that. For so long, he had just felt like a loser and a failure for not having a job. He wasn’t even sure when he’d stopped thinking about what he actually wanted to do.
Brittany was looking at him expectantly and when he didn’t say anything else, her expression turned from excited to worried. “Is that a bad idea?” She asked after a moment, catching her lower lip between her teeth and frowning at him. “I just thought that since you always knew, like, every song on your drums in glee that you’d like to teach other people how to play.”
Finn shook his head quickly. He hated that he had made her feel like her idea wasn’t good because it was awesome.
“No, Britt, that’s the best idea I’ve ever heard. I like it a lot. I was just thinking about how awesome it is.”
Brittany smiled at him again before reaching for her laptop and pulling it over between them. Moving her chair a little closer to him, she turned the computer so they could both see it. “We’re going to make a list of places around here that teach music. Maybe some of them will need a drum teacher.”
Finn smiled to himself as they started to find schools and music centers in the area, him in charge of writing down their information, both pretty quiet while they were busy. Once they had about ten places picked out, he had to ask her how she knew so much about job hunting.
“I’m a dance teacher, Finn,” she said with a smile over at him. “This is exactly what I did and someone had to help me. I’m doing the same. I’m being like a job search teacher.”
“You’re the best teacher I’ve ever had.”
Brittany giggled, causing him to smile widely before she was moving to put their plates away in the sink. “I’m happy I could help. I hope that it really does work, Finn. You were always the best drummer we had in glee, even better than that guy who was actually in the band, and I could always tell you liked it. It’s like a gift. I can tell when people really love what they’re doing, like I love dancing.”
As he stood from the table, he smiled and nodded. “I do really love it. I’ve never really taught anyone how to play, but I think I’d really like to. That was something I hadn’t even thought of.”
Brittany stepped over to him. “What if I’m your first student? I’ve never been able to play an instrument, but I did kind of try to play the drums for the Fondue for Two opening song. I didn’t know what was I doing, though, but it’d be cool to learn how to play some songs. Do you still have drums?”
“Yeah, I have a set in my apartment. Sometimes they get in the way, but I can’t get rid of them.” He shrugged. It would have been too hard to get rid of them. He had tried once when he needed some money for bills, but they were his prized possession. He couldn’t play them too much because of his neighbors complaining when he got caught up and played for hours into the night, but he was not going to let this opportunity pass him by. They could both learn from it. “I’ll totally teach you.”
He was caught by surprise when Brittany hugged him, way too fast for him to hug her back, but he was excited, too. Her idea had been the best one for him and hopefully he was going to find a job because of it.
“I’m so excited!” She squealed as she pulled back before handing him the notebook with all the information. “I want you to go to all of these places and tell them that you’re interested. Someone is going to have the perfect place for you, I just know it.” With her smiling up at him, Finn was feeling more confident by the second.
“That sounds really awesome, Britt. I can’t wait for a job and to teach you.”
“I can’t wait either. It was always kind of hot that you knew all the songs.” She shrugged and then walked over to the couch as if she hadn’t even said that. But that was kind of Brittany, wasn’t it? He liked that. She wasn’t as serious as everyone else and he liked being around her.
Moving to the couch, he sat down next to her and put the notebook on the coffee table before focusing on the television. It had been a while since he’d watched television or hung out with someone who wasn’t Puck, Rachel, or Caroline, which was probably weird to other people since he was an adult, and it was cool that they could just sit there without even talking. He wondered what it would have been like if they’d hung out in high school, but he knew they had both had a lot of drama going on then with relationships. They probably wouldn’t have even been able to hang out during all of that. He knew that his time was full of football and girls and glee club, way too busy with all that craziness to even be able to focus on friendships.
“I’m glad you’re in New York,” he said suddenly, looking over at her and smiling crookedly. Brittany turned her head and smiled happily.
“I’m glad, too. I’m glad you’re still here. If you’d left, we wouldn’t be able to hang out and that would really suck.”
Finn nodded and they both went back to watching television. It really would have sucked because this was awesome already. He felt more mature just hanging out with her, his entire attitude about the city and jobs had changed because of her, and he wasn’t sure if there was anyone in Lima that would have been able to do that. Looking over at her, he smiled to himself. Yeah, things were totally going to get better and he was going to have to repay Brittany one day.
They were going to be really good friends.
=/=
Finn was half asleep later that night when his phone dinged, signaling that a text message had just been sent. Rolling over, he grabbed it and opened up the message.
Hey. It’s me. It’s Brittany S. Pierce. Is this Finn?
With a small chuckle, he sat up and typed up a response. She was pretty cute. He’d given her his number, but she still asked if it was him on the other end, and the way she introduced herself was in a way no one else ever did. .
Hey, Britt. Yeah, it’s me. What’s up?
I just wanted to tell you good luck.
Thanks. I’m gonna need it.
Finn smiled as he settled into his pillows and waited for her next reply, smiling even more when it came through.
Good luck times the biggest number ever.
Before he could send another text to her, his phone sounded again and he unlocked it to look at the text waiting for him.
I think that’s infinity. I saw it once on a necklace. It looks like an 8, but it’s not. Guess it means forever, so good luck times forever.
That’s a lot of luck, Britt. Sure I deserve that much?
Totally! But I don’t think you’ll actually need that much. You’re awesome. I never told you in high school, but I thought it was cool that you could play. How’d you learn?
The fact that she acknowledged that she hadn’t told him in high school caused another smile to form on his lips. And she wanted to know more about his favorite thing in the world, so that was cool.
I learned when I was little. I guess I was about 7 or something.
That’s really young. I started dancing when I was like 2 or 3. I don’t even remember the first time, but I remember that it’s something I’ve always done.
So you’re one of those people who started dancing almost as soon as they could walk, huh?
Yep! That’s probably why I’m really awesome at it, but sometimes I run into things when I’m just walking.
Laughing loudly, Finn could almost see her face in his head. He imagined she had a really adorable expression on her face right then.
And I just can’t dance or walk. My legs are too long. I’m like a giant.
You just have to learn how to move your hips more, but tall can be hot. Anyway, it’s getting late and I have a class in the morning. And you have a job to go find. Good luck times infinity. Night, Finn.
Finn knew that the smile on his face was completely permanent now as he messaged her one last time before putting his phone away and closed his eyes again, falling asleep easily.
Thanks times infinity, Britt. Good night.
Ship/Character: Finn, Brittany (appearances and mentions of various characters and pairings)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,333
A/N: Slight AU future fic with few spoilers. / Also available at FF.net here.
Waking up the next morning was easier than usual because he knew that he wasn't going to some job interview in a shirt that suffocated him. He was going to Brittany's apartment and that was totally a better idea.
On the way to her apartment, Finn found himself even more excited than he’d expected. Not only was he hopefully going to have a job soon, but it was going to be awesome to hang out with Brittany again. They’d never really done much of it in high school outside of groups and glee club. Talking to her at the coffee shop, though, had been awesome and made him feel like he wasn’t a complete failure. Sure, Rachel and Puck didn’t seem to think it either, but they were practically part of his family. They kind of had to pretend everything was okay and he was smart enough to see that. Brittany, though, she didn’t have to think his life was decent. That was just what she thought and that made him feel really good. Her optimism was just contagious.
He didn’t know how long they were going to be talking about job stuff, but he did know that donuts were kind of a thing that people ate during business meetings. So when he spotted a bakery a block away from Brittany’s apartment, he stopped and picked up some for them. Maybe it was a little weird, but he hoped that she understood why he did it. Plus, he liked the ones filled with custard and hadn’t eaten anything yet, so he couldn’t walk by the place without going in and getting one.
When he got to her apartment, he smiled as he knocked on the door and waited for her to open it.
He heard the locks being unlocked on the other side and then she was opening the door with a huge smile on her face. “Hi! Come in,” she said as she opened the door a little wider and motioned him in. Her eyes fell on the box in his hands before she looked back at his face “Is that a box of donuts?”
Finn could have sworn that her blue eyes lit up even brighter than usual at that and he felt so awesome for getting the idea. He knew that donuts were a good idea for job stuff.
“Yeah, I thought it’d be, like, business-like or something if we had donuts while we talked.” He shrugged a shoulder and started to look around the small apartment while she shut the door. “This is a really nice place, Britt.”
“Thanks.” Brittany walked over to him and held her hands out for the box so he handed it over to her and watched as she walked into the attached kitchen. It took him a moment before he followed her in.
Turning around and looking at him, she smiled. “Do you want something to drink? Milk? Water? I would say beer, but that sounds kind of weird with donuts and it’s early. I don’t need you drinking on the job hunt.” Brittany giggled before grabbing two glasses.
Finn was a little caught up in looking at the things she had on her refrigerator before smiling at her comment. “Water sounds good. I’ll leave the drinking until later.”
Once Brittany had filled two glasses of water, she put them on the small table then grabbed two dessert plates and napkins. “Sit,” she said and pulled out her own chair before sitting down.
Finn did the same and that was when he noticed all of the things that were on the table. Her laptop was on the other end by a folded newspaper and a notebook with a few different colored pens on top of it. She had really set all of that up just to help him. He smiled slightly and took a donut out of the box once she did before he looked back over at her.
“I really appreciate this, Britt.” They hadn’t even started and he was already wondering if there was some way he would be able to repay her. Even if it didn’t work out and he didn’t get a job anytime soon. No one had ever done anything like this for him, not since he was a teenager in need of a job for a girl he thought was having his baby. Shaking his head of the thought, he asked, “So, what’s your idea?”
Lifting the donut to his mouth, he took a big bite and looked at her expectantly.
“Finn, get ready for the best idea ever.” Brittany’s eyes widened and she nodded enthusiastically before exclaiming, “Drum teacher!”
“Whoa,” Finn said lowly as he realized a few things all at once. One, Brittany was really excited and it was adorable the way her eyes sparkled and her voice was a little higher. Two, she seemed to know what sort of thing he’d really like to do. Three, and this was the biggest one, he hadn’t even thought of that. For so long, he had just felt like a loser and a failure for not having a job. He wasn’t even sure when he’d stopped thinking about what he actually wanted to do.
Brittany was looking at him expectantly and when he didn’t say anything else, her expression turned from excited to worried. “Is that a bad idea?” She asked after a moment, catching her lower lip between her teeth and frowning at him. “I just thought that since you always knew, like, every song on your drums in glee that you’d like to teach other people how to play.”
Finn shook his head quickly. He hated that he had made her feel like her idea wasn’t good because it was awesome.
“No, Britt, that’s the best idea I’ve ever heard. I like it a lot. I was just thinking about how awesome it is.”
Brittany smiled at him again before reaching for her laptop and pulling it over between them. Moving her chair a little closer to him, she turned the computer so they could both see it. “We’re going to make a list of places around here that teach music. Maybe some of them will need a drum teacher.”
Finn smiled to himself as they started to find schools and music centers in the area, him in charge of writing down their information, both pretty quiet while they were busy. Once they had about ten places picked out, he had to ask her how she knew so much about job hunting.
“I’m a dance teacher, Finn,” she said with a smile over at him. “This is exactly what I did and someone had to help me. I’m doing the same. I’m being like a job search teacher.”
“You’re the best teacher I’ve ever had.”
Brittany giggled, causing him to smile widely before she was moving to put their plates away in the sink. “I’m happy I could help. I hope that it really does work, Finn. You were always the best drummer we had in glee, even better than that guy who was actually in the band, and I could always tell you liked it. It’s like a gift. I can tell when people really love what they’re doing, like I love dancing.”
As he stood from the table, he smiled and nodded. “I do really love it. I’ve never really taught anyone how to play, but I think I’d really like to. That was something I hadn’t even thought of.”
Brittany stepped over to him. “What if I’m your first student? I’ve never been able to play an instrument, but I did kind of try to play the drums for the Fondue for Two opening song. I didn’t know what was I doing, though, but it’d be cool to learn how to play some songs. Do you still have drums?”
“Yeah, I have a set in my apartment. Sometimes they get in the way, but I can’t get rid of them.” He shrugged. It would have been too hard to get rid of them. He had tried once when he needed some money for bills, but they were his prized possession. He couldn’t play them too much because of his neighbors complaining when he got caught up and played for hours into the night, but he was not going to let this opportunity pass him by. They could both learn from it. “I’ll totally teach you.”
He was caught by surprise when Brittany hugged him, way too fast for him to hug her back, but he was excited, too. Her idea had been the best one for him and hopefully he was going to find a job because of it.
“I’m so excited!” She squealed as she pulled back before handing him the notebook with all the information. “I want you to go to all of these places and tell them that you’re interested. Someone is going to have the perfect place for you, I just know it.” With her smiling up at him, Finn was feeling more confident by the second.
“That sounds really awesome, Britt. I can’t wait for a job and to teach you.”
“I can’t wait either. It was always kind of hot that you knew all the songs.” She shrugged and then walked over to the couch as if she hadn’t even said that. But that was kind of Brittany, wasn’t it? He liked that. She wasn’t as serious as everyone else and he liked being around her.
Moving to the couch, he sat down next to her and put the notebook on the coffee table before focusing on the television. It had been a while since he’d watched television or hung out with someone who wasn’t Puck, Rachel, or Caroline, which was probably weird to other people since he was an adult, and it was cool that they could just sit there without even talking. He wondered what it would have been like if they’d hung out in high school, but he knew they had both had a lot of drama going on then with relationships. They probably wouldn’t have even been able to hang out during all of that. He knew that his time was full of football and girls and glee club, way too busy with all that craziness to even be able to focus on friendships.
“I’m glad you’re in New York,” he said suddenly, looking over at her and smiling crookedly. Brittany turned her head and smiled happily.
“I’m glad, too. I’m glad you’re still here. If you’d left, we wouldn’t be able to hang out and that would really suck.”
Finn nodded and they both went back to watching television. It really would have sucked because this was awesome already. He felt more mature just hanging out with her, his entire attitude about the city and jobs had changed because of her, and he wasn’t sure if there was anyone in Lima that would have been able to do that. Looking over at her, he smiled to himself. Yeah, things were totally going to get better and he was going to have to repay Brittany one day.
They were going to be really good friends.
Finn was half asleep later that night when his phone dinged, signaling that a text message had just been sent. Rolling over, he grabbed it and opened up the message.
Hey. It’s me. It’s Brittany S. Pierce. Is this Finn?
With a small chuckle, he sat up and typed up a response. She was pretty cute. He’d given her his number, but she still asked if it was him on the other end, and the way she introduced herself was in a way no one else ever did. .
Hey, Britt. Yeah, it’s me. What’s up?
I just wanted to tell you good luck.
Thanks. I’m gonna need it.
Finn smiled as he settled into his pillows and waited for her next reply, smiling even more when it came through.
Good luck times the biggest number ever.
Before he could send another text to her, his phone sounded again and he unlocked it to look at the text waiting for him.
I think that’s infinity. I saw it once on a necklace. It looks like an 8, but it’s not. Guess it means forever, so good luck times forever.
That’s a lot of luck, Britt. Sure I deserve that much?
Totally! But I don’t think you’ll actually need that much. You’re awesome. I never told you in high school, but I thought it was cool that you could play. How’d you learn?
The fact that she acknowledged that she hadn’t told him in high school caused another smile to form on his lips. And she wanted to know more about his favorite thing in the world, so that was cool.
I learned when I was little. I guess I was about 7 or something.
That’s really young. I started dancing when I was like 2 or 3. I don’t even remember the first time, but I remember that it’s something I’ve always done.
So you’re one of those people who started dancing almost as soon as they could walk, huh?
Yep! That’s probably why I’m really awesome at it, but sometimes I run into things when I’m just walking.
Laughing loudly, Finn could almost see her face in his head. He imagined she had a really adorable expression on her face right then.
And I just can’t dance or walk. My legs are too long. I’m like a giant.
You just have to learn how to move your hips more, but tall can be hot. Anyway, it’s getting late and I have a class in the morning. And you have a job to go find. Good luck times infinity. Night, Finn.
Finn knew that the smile on his face was completely permanent now as he messaged her one last time before putting his phone away and closed his eyes again, falling asleep easily.
Thanks times infinity, Britt. Good night.
