The Growing Curve - Part 1 of 3

[jjjanimefan]

All the disclimers from the masterpost apply here as well. Enjoy!

Prologue

Leading the new generation of Glee club and directing Grease is amazing and so startlingly different from the bleak summer spent at the Hummel garage, that Finn doesn’t actually have time to mourn his break-up or his army rejection properly.

This is probably why the sadness and failure hit him like a punch in the gut after he realizes that he is much too under qualified for a teaching job, no matter how good it might have felt to finally be doing something he loves. He comes home after the competition, shuts himself in his room and refuses to come out. Eventually Kurt’s constant phone calls and Blaine’s worried visits are what make him come out again. Even years later, he’s grateful for their care, because they put him first despite the considerable emotional drama they were still experiencing as a couple.

Finn starts working at the garage again. It’s not what he had hoped for his future, but it’s something to do and the manual labor is useful, because it keeps him from thinking. The monotonous days are interrupted only by Blaine’s visits and eventually the Skype movie dates they have with Kurt, where Finn mediates and Klaine tries to slowly repair their relationship. It works and when Finn drives Blaine to the train station, acceptance letter to NYADA tucked safely into his bag, he is almost content, because he now has two brothers that are happy again.

The days grow steadily bleaker without Blaine’s presence and Finn spends more and more time behind his drums, because that is the only time where the lethargy fits of his limbs and he feels alive again.

Then one day, a bright red van rolls into the garage looking like it’s about to fall apart and with it comes a guy with a bad boy persona to rival Noah Puckerman’s. He’s listening to Iron Maiden though, so Finn supposes that he can’t really be that bad of a person.

Finn is alone in the garage, all the other mechanics off to lunch while he finishes replacing the oil in an old SUV, which is why he has to be the one to talk to the customer with bleached hair and more tattoos he had ever seen on a human in person. (Finn isn’t usually allowed to talk to the customers after an incident with break room coffee and a new summer dress that lead to them doing a full repair on a Mini Cooper for free)

Finn hands him the paperwork to fill out and watches as he writes out the required information. The customer has his knuckles tattooed, the writing on his right hand spelling out Love. As he reaches up to tuck away a blond bang, Finn sees that his other hand has Lost written on it.

“Martha here,” the blond motions to the car “is a sweetheart, but she’s got this remarkable habit of breaking down at the most inconvenient moments. She’s been making this clanging noise for a while now and there’s only so much you can fix with duct tape.”

“I’ll tell my boss and we’ll check it out. It could be a few days though, we’re pretty swamped.” Finn is familiar with the shop banter by now and there’s no reason for this stranger to be any different, no matter how interesting. He can’t help but peak at the information form after he leaves though. It says his name is Drake.

Finn is charged with bringing the van to its docking station and when he sits behind the wheel, there’s a flyer sticking out from behind it. It’s an invitation to a bar in Columbus called Dan’s, that has live music playing every Friday, mostly local bands trying for a big break. Its spur of the moment and his Friday schedule is empty (it’s been empty for a while, to be honest), so he decides to check it out.

He goes to Dan’s on Friday and listens to the bands playing. Most of them are pretty shitty, but an hour in, when he’s throwing himself around in the mosh-pit, long limbs flying, he feels happier than he’s been in almost a year. He sees Drake again, dressed in tight jeans and wielding a guitar like it’s a weapon, only occasionally stopping to scream something into a microphone. His band is good, probably the best of the night.

Finn gets home late, bruised, sweaty and beaming. Next Friday he goes again.

And again next week. He does eventually meet Drake, who shoots him a smirk and swings an arm over his shoulder, chattering on about what a good job he did on Martha the van and how she runs like a dream now. Finn bites his cheek and avoids mentioning that they don’t let him work complicated jobs like the van yet. Still, somehow it’s enough for Drake to take him under his wing. He meets Drake’s band and Drake’s friends. He learns how to speak about music with others and since it’s the one thing he’s always been comfortable with, it somehow smooths away his normal awkwardness. Finn knows that he can still be pretty dumb about things, but nobody gets to make him feel stupid again.

Eventually he’s as much of a fixture at the bar as Drake, who somehow becomes one of his best friends, possibly because of Finn’s tolerance of the chaos that surrounds Drake on a daily basis (after babygate, Sue Sylvester and his own failed relationships, Finn is almost immune to chaos).

Finn talks drums every Tuesday with an old man at the bar counter, who introduces himself as Mark and claims he used to play drums for Frank Zappa. (Finn listens to Zappa’s records the next day and blushes for about another week after his mother walks in, listens for a moment and walks right out with a teasing smirk.)

Mark introduces him to Zeke, the sound tech, who patiently explains the soundboard to him as Finn hangs on his every word. Finn tries to make himself useful, carrying amps and equipment wherever Zeke directs him. It’s mostly manual work and Finn is a strong guy, so it works out well for him to do the labor and get to learn while doing it.

One night, Drake overhears one of Finn’s conversations with Mark and pesters Finn until he agrees to come audition for his band because “Marty really sucked and they need a new drummer really badly now”. This is how Finn finds himself devoting Mondays and Wednesdays to practice with Out Platform.

They get better and better, Drake writing new songs and howling out the lyrics at every performance, shredding his guitar while Finn bashes away on his drums and thinks Yes and Finally. He rarely thinks about Rachel, his heart too lost in the beat of the drum to hurt anymore.

When Drake comes up to the band one evening, waving a piece of paper after speaking for a long while with a man in a suit, it seems like a logical next step. They start touring in a tiny van (Martha, actually) with barely enough space for their equipment and four musicians, but they have a tentative record deal after they finish and life is fantastic.

So of course it falls apart.

Turns out that Drake’s brand of chaos might be a bit too much to handle for everyone else. Everybody but Finn is almost constantly drunk or high and their performances get increasingly shitty, because Drake can’t hold a tune when he’s so wasted. Finn watches quietly, withdrawing behind his drums, stepping in when the rest of the band are about to do something stupid. Mostly though, he talks to the people they meet at the venues, the techs, the sound guys, even the managers. He soaks it up like a sponge, because despite his train wreck of a band, he feels like a glimmer of something might be emerging here, a something that he might be able to do with his life from now on.

Out Platform plays their last gig at a venue in New Jersey. Afterwards they’re quiet in the closet-like back room and all things considered, it’s a clean break.

Instead of going back to Ohio, Finn calls Kurt and Blaine and takes the train into New York City. He stays with them in their cramped studio apartment and it’s probably the happiest few months of his life, living on their little couch. They harmonize over morning coffee, sing Sinatra in the evenings after the dinners that Finn cooks (Carole’s influence is far-reaching) and randomly burst into songs and giggles while walking in Central Park.

Blaine is delighted to have another person to practice with for his (currently!) off-Broadway musical and Finn and Kurt go to the premiere and throw flowers on stage when it ends. Blaine gets embarrassed because “honestly guys it’s just a small part, really”. (He sings the hell out of that role and people are taking notice)

Kurt is just delighted that his brother is mellow enough that he can use him as a model for some of the clothing designs he comes up with. NYADA may have rejected him, but Parsons School for Design had welcomed him with open arms. He is even more delighted when he gets to take his newly dressed up step-brother to some of New York’s famous gay bars after Finn admits that he may have found himself lingering on Drake’s hands and ass a bit too often to convince himself that he was fully straight.( Those drums really do cover up an erection quite admirably. )

A few discreet hook-ups later, he’s convinced that he’s pretty much as bisexual as it gets and doesn’t worry about it anymore. With his embarrassing mailman problem fixed and a lack of frigid celibate girlfriends, he finds that sex is much more fun that he thought it could be.

If he sometimes looks too long after a tiny brunette passes by, nobody comments on it. Blaine and Kurt never mention Rachel and he doesn’t ask.

It turns out that New York’s thriving music scene has a bigger need for techs and guys that can man a soundboard for a while than Bumfuck, Ohio. Finn has no problem getting work in the various venues dotting the city. He likes the work and he’s good at it. He sets up the stages, the instruments, draws cables and carries equipment around. The other techs are good guys and he often hangs outside by the backdoor, not for the nicotine, but for the conversation. So when he gets the opportunity to follow a few local bands on tour with a group of techs he met at one of the gigs, he hugs Kurt and Blaine goodbye, packs up his bags and leaves. (He’s learned to pack lightly by then.)

He hops from tour to tour for the next two years, taking breaks only to spend some time in New York with Klaine and visiting with his mom and Burt in Ohio.

He calls in on Mercedes when he’s in L.A. and spends a memorable evening cruising the blues clubs where Mercedes performs and leaves the old men in awe when she moves on. They sing their first official duet at a small karaoke bar and promise each other that they’ll do it more often, because they sound good together. (Because Mercedes’ voice is powerful and beautiful, but it’s down to earth enough that he doesn’t feel like he’s being swept away).

When he leaves, she tells him about her record deal and how her dreams might finally be coming true. He says that he believes in her and that he expects a free copy of the album, because “tech’s aren’t really paid all that well, you know?”.

(He’s the first one she tells, right after her parents. He gloats about that to Kurt for years.)

(He never bothers to contact Puck when he’s there. He doesn’t quite know how to explain that one, except that some things hurt more in the harsher lights of not-High school)

Afterwards he goes back on the road. It isn’t a bad life and he’s kept busy between the equipment and the music. If he almost doesn’t drum at all and if the only singing he gets done is humming when he’s setting up the stage, well…life can’t be perfect.

Then he gets called by his bosses at Fueled by Ramen and is told that he’s getting his own band to look after for their first headlining tour of the USA. Apparently they’re new to the scene, their record doing incredibly well for a band that hadn’t even played a single show before being signed.

Technically it’s quite a promotion, because he gets to lead the group of techs for Panic! at the Disco as the drums and microphone tech. So he’s excited and a bit apprehensive, waiting in front of the bus to meet his new band.

Brendon Urie is running circles around his bandmates, obviously excited, despite the grueling weeks spent in the studio and an exhausting tour of Europe. He reminds Finn of a fusion between Kurt and Blaine, with his quirky fashion and penchant for bursting into song at unusual times. He blames his immediate protective feelings on that and not on the fact that Brendon has really deep dark eyes and a very pretty smile. (the girl-jeans are a bonus as well)

Brendon shakes his hand enthusiastically and it’s cold and a bit clammy, so Finn offers him his most reassuring smile in return and almost gets blinded by the answering grin.

It feels like a beginning.

*

Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Panic! is just getting started on this fame thing, after all. The whole recording process was kind of rushed and they’re barely figuring out how to exist as a band, especially after changing their bassist on such short notice.

Plus, Brendon is 19 and he’s an internationally famous rockstar. He’s got bigger things to worry about than a 23-year old tech that sets up his microphone every night. Or so Finn tells himself when he catches himself automatically smiling when he sees Brendon bouncing around the corner. He does a lot of bouncing as far as Finn can see, like a giant hyperactive ball of lead singer, constantly in awe of his shiny new life.

He bursts into song haphazardly and can seemingly play any instrument under the sun. Finn even catches himself harmonizing under his breath a few times. And Brendon on drums…well, the unfortunate postman is used after years of not being needed.

But Finn is surprisingly good at hiding what he feels by now. He’s had years of practice. So he tucks away those feelings somewhere deep inside his brain and pretends. It works well. He does his best to make the band as comfortable as possible, helping them settle into their new role. The instruments are always immaculately set, the sound fixed and the lights set exactly to Ryan’s specifications. Ryan is kind of strict about those, Finn has found. He tries not to mind too much, Kurt’s lectures on artistic vision on the forefront of his mind. He has no idea what Ryan’s talking about half the time anyway and has Spencer translate when the former is out of earshot.

Spencer is pretty awesome in general actually. Not only does he translate Ryan’s babbling with just the slightest twitch of his lips, he also plays the drums like a beast, which is in Finn’s option the highest praise available. His weird intensity just reminds Finn of Kurt, so it doesn’t really phase him much, even if it freaks out the other techs. They also talk about drums sometimes or music or how Spencer is freaking out over this band thing a little. Apparently Finn is so reassuring he can reassure anyone. Huh.

Jon Walker is awesome. This is a notion that Finn firmly believes after spending an afternoon with Jon, a camera and a few joints. He doesn’t really remember it that well afterward except that the he looks alright in photos for the first time ever.

Finn just tries to be as helpful as possible. He always stands backstage, offering encouraging smiles or cracking lame jokes when someone looks too close to puking because of the nerves or he waits sidestage, watching the set like a hawk, ready to fix anything that goes wrong. So in a few months, not only is he indispensable, he is also everybody’s friend.

He wasn’t expecting for that to include so much contact though. It seems like the band is a pretty handsy bunch once you show that you have no particular problem with it. Ryan has this strange way of invading your personal space by which he stands much too close and tends to try to manhandle you wherever he wants you to be. (Finn is usually so surprised by the manhandling attempt, that he just goes wherever he’s directed. Ryan and manhandling is not a concept he can fit together well).

Spencer emphasizes all his arguments with copious amounts of hand patting and shoulder squeezing and sometimes, when he’s out of breath after complaining about the latest management related predicament, he’ll lean his head on Finn’s shoulder, calmed and trusting.

Brendon though…Brendon is a problem. He hands out hugs like it’s his day job, to everyone that seems receptive. And Finn is definitely receptive. They’re good hugs though, full body contact, just the right amount of squeeze so you don’t feel stifled and… (at this point Finn’s brain is already going repressrepresshe’stooyoungrepress). Brendon says hello by resting his head on Finn’s shoulder and feels the need to wedge his toes under his thighs or use his lap as a pillow when Finn is hanging out on Panic’s bus. Finn just can’t find the energy to mind because Brendon is unbelievably cute doing all those things and has somehow managed to attain a mastery of puppy-dog eyes and impressive pouts that would put a 5-year-old to shame.

He doesn’t just hug with Brendon, though. They talk often; sometimes just exchanging gossip or discussing instruments (because Brendon plays drums too, okay) and sometimes serious talks about Brendon growing up in Las Vegas or some of Finn’s touring stories. It’s nice.

This is how Finn Hudson becomes the unofficial shadow of the band and apparently their official tech, because he follows them on every tour after that.

Finn Hudson’s and Panic at the Disco’s amazing and epic adventures on tour: Hummingbirds don’t cry, they just fly

Finn Hudson hummed all the time. This was a well-known fact among the techs and the bands who’d worked with him and although he got shit for it, it died out after a while when he didn’t react to the teasing beyond smiling wider and humming louder. However, although many had tried, nobody could make him actively sing something.

Adam Lazzara once spent a week following him everywhere, singing showtunes and 80s hits stealthily from behind amps and equipment, hoping Finn might forget himself and sing along. He didn’t and Adam was thankfully distracted from his mission by his bandmates, because Finn began to frantically check around every corner talking about voices in his head singing Karma Chameleon.

Still, Finn didn’t sing. He hummed while setting up the drums and murmured words under his breath when he was taping cables, sometimes tapping a beat on any available flat surface or dancing subtly, yet ineptly along.

This is how Brendon found him one day.

See Brendon was bored. Okay, sure there was press to do and then soundcheck, or maybe video games or napping or listening to music. Still, that got old way fast and Ryan was in one of his moods anyways, so things were a bit uncomfortable on the bus for everyone but Spencer, who wasn’t ever fazed by Ryan’s scowl.

Therefore Brendon decided on spending some time with his favorite tech. He set off towards the stage, as Finn always seemed to be around the instruments in some capacity, setting up or directing the others.

Despite that, he always had time for Brendon and was the one person on tour who never seemed annoyed when he got lost in his own head and started babbling on about seemingly random things like Disney and music (Brendon was aware of his filter problem okay, Spencer didn’t have to rub it in).
When this happened Finn would listen attentively while going about his business and while he obviously didn’t understand the majority of things coming out of Brendon’s mouth, he laughed and nodded at the ones he did and occasionally even injected an appropriate comment.

Finn was also the person who didn’t seem to mind indulging Brendon’s love of touching. He was always ready with a hug, which was awesome because he gave awesome hugs, his big body surrounding and towering above Brendon like a giant teddy-bear. Combined with the air of protection that Finn excluded, he made Brendon feel better even in the uncertainty of the everyday life of a rockstar.

Less safe, but no less fun, were the piggybacks Finn gave. He would often break out into a run with Brendon stuck on his back, laughing breathlessly all the way to the bus.

So really its simple logic to find Finn whenever Brendon is bored, because Finn is always happy to see him.

Finn is predictably on stage when Brendon finds him, taping some cords so Brendon doesn’t trip on them later, which he spends a moment being thankful for, because while many rock gods have managed to make falling on their butts sexy in the past, Brendon is sure that his attempt wouldn’t turn out so well.

But, hey, back to Finn. Right when he’s about to let loose a loud obnoxious greeting that never fails to make Finn smile like a loon, Brendon realizes that Finn is…humming. Loudly. And that there’s some painfully awkward hip action going on as well.

Finn is humming what sounds like Heart’s All I wanna do is make love to you and Brendon loves that song and he certainly has no qualms about singing along. Funnily enough, Finn doesn’t even seem to comprehend it at first and is in the middle of adding a low harmony to and your loving arms to hold on to when he realizes there are two voices and he turns around so fast he almost gives himself whiplash.

He looks breathless and absolutely terrified and totally unlike normal Finn Hudson, so Brendon does the only thing he can think of and belts out the rest of the song as loud as possible, bounding over to Finn and straight into a hug.

After the song, he continues like nothing happened.

“Finn Hudson! Just the man I was looking for. In your opinion, who is the best Disney sidekick, Sebastian or the Genie? Personally I’d vote for the Genie, but that’s because I love Aladdin like a lot and Jon agreed with me, but then Spencer mentioned Baloo and Jon switched too, because he might just like the Jungle book more than Aladdin which is just crazy and wrong, don’t you think so? Aladdin is definitely the greatest Disney movie of all time and the songs are really awesome and I like it when Jon sings with me and Ryan sometimes joins in except I don’t think he realizes he’s doing it until Spencer starts sniggering and Ryan stops singing and starts blushing and Jon starts laughing and man, Spencer ruins everything sometimes.”

Brendon manages to finish up that incredible monologue without taking a breath and is now sporting a truly impressive pout, aimed directly at Finn’s confused expression.

Finn spends a few moments processing this and eventually offers a “I liked Aladdin best too.”

This is apparently enough for Brendon, because he continues chattering away while Finn works on the cords and stays there until it’s time for soundcheck and the rest of the band arrives.

Brendon never mentions Finn’s weird reaction to duets in the conversation or any conversations after that. He does wonder though, what happened to make their unflappable goofy Finn Hudson look that afraid and vows to fix it when the opportunity arises.

Mostly, he tries to not dwell on how well their voices meshed together for a moment, with Finn’s low harmony a perfect counterpart to his own higher, quirkier vocal.

He tries not to think about how he wants to hear it again.

Finn Hudson’s and Panic at the Disco’s amazing and epic adventures on tour: Finny goes grrrrrrrr!

Finn always feels uncomfortable in Europe. Maybe it’s the whole air of culture and fear-my-history going on, but he knows that it never fails in making him feel like a snot-nosed brat.

Reading makes him even more uneasy than usual and it doesn’t help that things seem to be going wrong like clockwork. First the equipment gets lost on its way overseas and arrives a few hours late, so the preparations are rushed, not helped by the fact that the festival techs are apparently all assholes about helping out without being specifically ordered to.

Still, soundcheck goes fairly smoothly, but the feeling of wrongness intensifies when the first (staggeringly drunk) listeners start gathering.

The band is unaffected by the mood Finn and some of the other techs are in. In fact, Brendon seems even bouncier than usual and doesn’t even register Finn’s worried glances.

Finn settles on the edge of the stage, ready to dive in and fix whatever goes wrong, but still hoping for an easy show. Hoping in vain it turns out.

After a few moments he notices a few very drunk characters in the crowd, jeering and shouting insults and exchanges a tense look with Zack, both familiar with this sort of trouble from years of touring. He is still looking out to the crowd, which is why he is the first to register the full water bottle flying towards the stage. When it reaches Brendon a moment later, he is already halfway across the stage, catching him on the way down. The next few minutes are a blur as Finn lifts Brendon prone form in his arms and carries him off stage while Zack fusses over him.

Brendon wakes up almost immediately, disoriented, but apparently not seriously harmed.

“I’m alright, I’m fine, we have to finish the set, we have to finish, let me back on, I’m fine!” is what Brendon keeps repeating and 5 minutes later, he’s back on stage while his band hovers close by, worried.

They finish the set.

Finn doesn’t actually remember most of it afterward, because he can’t quite see through the red haze of rage that’s covering his eyes. He keeps trying to track down the guy who threw the bottle, but he’d already disappeared into the crowd.

When the band tumbles off stage, Finn signals Jack and Nick, the other two techs, to clear up the equipment and for Zack to take care of the rest of the band. Then he slings his left arm around Brendon’s waist, leading him gently through the crowd backstage. The people scramble to get out of the way of his glare, because, honestly, Finn is a big muscled dude and he looks mad enough to kill.

Finn is aware that he must look frightening, but he can’t stop, because he can’t really remember a time when he felt this protective of someone and Brendon looks smaller than usual, disoriented and leaning on him for support and every time he looks at him, a new wave of protectiveness hits.

Finally they arrive at the empty bus and Finn directs Brendon down on the front lounge couch and then pulls out some ice from the tiny freezer, wrapping it a towel to press against the bruise already forming on Brendon’s head. As an afterthought, he grabs a Capri Sun out of the fridge and directs Brendon to drink it, while pressing the ice gently against his head.

At this point Brendon is a little out of it, the pain and shock of the hit combining with the adrenaline of the show, leaving him queasy and bewildered, so he’s just aware that someone is taking care of him and that he’s safe and he surrenders to the ministrations without a fight.

Finn sits next to him and eases Brendon’s head down so it’s resting on his thigh, holding up the ice for him. With the bruise covered up and Brendon’s warm weight on his leg, some of the tension unwinds from Finn’s body, but he still glares when the door of the bus opens and it only softens when he sees that the rest of the band looks as worried as he feels. So he settles Brendon in his bunk and leaves him for his band to look after.

Before he goes, he leans down carefully, mindful of the narrow bunk, and brushes the softest of kisses against Brendon’s forehead. Then he leaves the bus, not noticing the speculative glances being thrown his way.

*

Finn is unnaturally protective of the band, especially of Brendon, for the next few days. In fact he’s downright hovering, staring down any unfortunate fan that might be getting too close. After the fifth time a tiny adolescent girl turns tail and runs immediately after she gets her CD signed when she catches the frown from the built and pissed off tech, Brendon has had enough.

He confronts Finn while he’s setting up Spencer’s drums and fiddling with the monitor.

“Finn.” Brendon’s uncharacteristically serious tone causes Finn to immediately focus his total attention on him. And then he overreacts. Predictably.

“Brendon! What happened? Is anyone hurt? God, I knew I shouldn’t have let Ryan wander off for coffee alone this morning, that girl with the unicorn T-shirt was eyeing him like a bird of prey. Has he been kidnapped? Oh no, what if she traps him in her basement and then she takes his scarf? I swear, he gets weaker without them, it’s like that Bible story Quinn made me read that she thought was romantic…”

The kicker is, Finn looks completely sincere. Brendon spends a moment wondering how anyone could tie Ryan’s life force to his scarves and how Finn apparently thinks it’s a completely valid assumption, before he remember he has a job to do.

“…Spencer can’t just be without his shoes, what if they force him to play drums and he can’t get any purchase on the ground? He could fall and…” Finn is still going; holding on to the tuner like it’s a weapon.

“Nobody is hurt.” Brendon decides to cut in.

“Oh.” Finn looks completely bewildered. “Are you sure? Because it could have happened while you were gone. Jon could be stuck somewhere because his flip-flops got wedged into a hole in the cement! What if he can’t get to the bus? What if we can’t find him?”

“You’re driving us crazy! You body checked Jack yesterday when he was handing Jon his bass!” Brendon bursts out.

“But it was slipping! It could have hit him!”

“So? It happens all the time. If anyone body slammed the floor every time I slipped and fell on my face on it, there would be…a very dented floor somewhere. Okay, bad analogy.” If possible Finn looks even more worried. In fact he looks like he he’s about to go find that pesky floor. “Look my point is, you don’t have to protect us all the time, we’re grown boys.”

Finn’s face falls and he looks down at his feet, a blush already spreading. “Oh.” Is all he says. He looks so much like a kicked puppy that Brendon wants to take everything back and cuddle him immediately, until he stops looking like that. But he’s on a mission.

“Look, I’m sorry the bottling happened. It hurt, I won’t lie. The guys told me you took good care of me out there.” At this Finn turns a darker red and even Brendon pinks a little. "These things happen, but it’s a part of this life. It’s not the first time I’ve been hurt and it’s not the last.”

“But you shouldn’t have to be!” at this Finn looks up at him and continues fervently “You’re wonderful and kind and talented! Nobody has the right to hurt you! Hell, why would they even want to?” at this his voice cracks a little, but anymore dramatic confessions are derailed by Brendon launching himself at him in a bear hug.

“I know how to take care of myself; I’ve been doing it for years. So do the others. You just have to trust us and trust Zack. We’ll be alright.” Brendon’s voice is quiet and he clutches at Finn a little tighter.

“Alright.” Says Finn after a beat of silence. “But is I ever find the bastard who hurt you, I reserve the right to punch him in the face.”

“Deal.” Brendon’s voice is still solemn, but his mouth is already twitching. “And I’ll do the same!”

They shake on it. Finn is uncomfortably aware of how Brendon’s hand feels in his, calluses against calluses. He starts blushing again. So does Brendon.

And then they’re just standing there in an uncomfortable silence. Blushing.

“Ahem. You wanted the amp here?” God bless Jack the tech.

“Right. Um, yeah, over there” Finn coughs uncomfortably. “So I’ll see you at soundcheck, right?”

“Right, definitely.”

Brendon heads off stage, almost trips over a stray amp and manages to make it safely down. When he glances back, Finn is still watching. Brendon offers him a casual wave which actually looks like a spaz attack and rushes off.

Part two