Chapter Text
The first thing Finn notices is that his mom brought Audrey with her to the airport. Well, technically that’s the second thing, since first he has to notice his mom is standing there, but the most important thing is that she brought Aud with her.
“Audie-Aud!” Finn calls out, sprinting across the airport. He skids to a stop right in front of Carole and Audrey, who is dressed in the puffy pink snowsuit again, though she’s grown enough in the month since Thanksgiving that it’s starting to look like a tight fit. “How’s the best baby in the whole wide world?”
“Hello to you too, Finn,” Carole says, sounding amused. “I wasn’t sure where your bags would come out,” she adds, gesturing to the baggage carousels. Audrey just waves her arms stiffly in the air and drools a little bit.
“I already got my bags,” Finn says, turning to show off the duffel over his shoulder. “And, sorry. Hey, Mom.”
“Aren’t you going to need more than that, Finn?” Carole asks, looking surprised. “I know you had a few gifts shipped home, but.” She stops and shakes her head. “Well. How were your finals, sweetie?”
“I think I did pretty good on them,” Finn says, trying to figure out how to extricate Audrey from the front carrier Carole has her crammed into. It’s different from the carrier at Thanksgiving, maybe to fit the snowsuit. “How do I get her out of this?”
“Oh, just this snap here,” Carole says, putting one hand across Audrey’s chest. “And then here, and there, and.” Carole undoes at least four different things before Audrey’s free enough for Carole to hand her to Finn.
“You’re free, little starfish!” Finn announces, hoisting Audrey up in the air slightly before pulling her against his chest. “Quick, let’s run away before Mom can steal you back!”
“Oh, Finn!” Carole laughs. “And I’m glad to hear you did well on your finals. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble keeping your eligibility, then, right?”
Finn’s face falls a little and he gives his mom a weird look. “Yeah, I wasn’t really worried about that, so. Yeah, it should be fine.”
“Oh, well, good.” Carole starts to walk towards the exit. “Burt’s going to rent a car on Monday morning so you three boys can share it, but since I was picking you up today and he’ll pick Kurt and Noah up tomorrow, it just didn’t make sense to pay the weekend rates.”
“Not like I’ve got any place to be,” Finn says. “I’m just going to sit around and play with Audie-Aud until her other brothers get here, aren’t I Aud? We’re gonna play!”
“I think you’ll be doing most of the work,” Carole says cheerfully, unlocking the car once they reach it. “So how was the end of the semester, other than finals? Met any other nice girls, since you and Theresa didn’t work out? Any more new friends?”
“Yeah, you know, I go out when I can,” Finn says, keeping his face turned towards Audrey. “I went to this big Hanukkah dinner thing with my friend Jill, so that was kind of cool. Sometimes me and Trish get a coffee or something after Singers rehearsal.” All of which is true, since they’re all girls and are friends, and they’re even mostly nice.
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Carole says. “Do you want to sit up here or in the back with Audrey?”
“If you don’t mind too much, I’ll sit back here with Aud. That way we can catch up on stuff.”
“Of course not. Just make sure and take off her snowsuit before you buckle her in.” Carole shakes her head. “But it’s just so cute!”
“This is getting to be, you know, our thing,” Noah says to Kurt as they each grab their carry-ons and start to get off the plane.
“Our thing?” Kurt asks, a bit puzzled. He stifles a laugh at the looks a few passengers give them at their carry-ons. Kurt has his laptop bag and an actual carry-on, while Noah has his backpack and his guitar. He wants to stop and explain that it’s just the hazards of traveling with a musician, but decides it’s easier not to.
“LaGuardia to Port Columbus. Port Columbus to LaGuardia,” Noah explains. “I mean, just this year we’ll have made the flight seven times. Plus two last year.”
“Oh, that’s true.” Kurt smiles slightly and they grab the large suitcase off the baggage carousel before heading upstairs to meet Burt. “I don’t know why, but I kept thinking it wouldn’t be too crowded here. And it’s not, compared to LaGuardia, but it’s still two days before Christmas.”
Noah shrugs.
“Boys! Boys!” Burt’s voice cuts through the noise of the crowd. “Over here!”
Kurt still doesn’t see Burt, but they follow the sound of Burt’s voice through the crowd until a large clump of people suddenly moves and he’s just a few feet in front of them. “Dad!” Kurt says, stepping forward and giving him a quick hug. “I don’t know how you managed to spot us in the crowd.”
“You kinda stand out,” Burt says. “Also, your voice carries.”
“Oh, well.” Kurt shrugs. “I suppose so. But here we are! And we’ve got all our luggage, so.”
“Presents and everything,” Noah agrees.
“That’s great. Do you boys want to stop and get something to eat before we hit the road?” Burt asks, holding his hand out for Kurt’s bag.
“Maybe before we leave Columbus behind?” Noah suggests as Kurt hands over the large suitcase.
“That’s a good idea,” Kurt says. “Maybe over near Dublin.”
“Just let me know where. No hurry to get anywhere, right?” Burt says.
“I suppose not,” Kurt says slowly, exchanging a look with Noah, who grins a little behind Burt’s back. No hurry, except that they haven’t seen Finn in a month.