Check your pulse it's proof that you're not listening to
The call your life's been issuing you
The rhythm of a line of idle days
Scared of a world outside you should go explore
Pull all the shades and wander the great indoors

Modest was the best way to describe the house that sat on the corner of Lilac Drive. It was nothing more than a small gray house. There were five steps up to the front porch that held a small patio table just to the right of the front door. If you opened the front door you were greeted by the sound of your shoes on the hardwood floor that spanned through the entire house, including the kitchen which was small to say the least and barely had room for the tiny round dining table. Past the kitchen there was a fairly new sectional sofa that took up almost the entire living room leaving just enough space for a coffee table, that more often than not served as a dining table, and the space preserving flat screen mounted to the wall.
Down the hallway was a bathroom that had been completely renovated in order to add a shower without having to remove the claw foot tub that the real estate agent had insisted was huge selling point for the home. Past the bathroom you could keep going and walk straight into his bedroom. But if you decided to walk upstairs you were met by what really sold the house. Upstairs was a small loft style bedroom that was converted into an office of sorts. In the morning it got the first beams of sunlight through the single window placed in the center of the wall that overlooked his front yard. In front of that window sat a ratty old leather chair and that was his favorite spot in the house.

Sure the wallpaper was dated and starting to peel in spots. There were places on the walls were the paint was starting to chip and fade. All in all the house wasn't much. But it was his. And when Finn Hudson thought about it that house was the only thing he'd ever really been able to call his own. He was 28 year old and the only thing he knew truly belonged to him was that house. It was something he was reminded of every morning when he walked upstairs to sit in his father's old chair and have his morning coffee. On a normal morning he'd sit and drink his coffee as he looked out the window to watch the neighborhood kids get on the school bus. He'd wave to their parents and wait for the bus to leave before he left the room to get ready for work. He would go to work, and then he would come home and sit in that chair again to unwind. He had a routine one that didn't really vary from day to day, unless it was the weekend. Saturday's depending on the season after his coffee he would mow the lawn with the racketed old push mower in the garage, or remove the snow from his walkway and porch. His life was routine but routine meant stable and stable meant he never really had to worry about any surprises or deal with any change. He just wanted today to be a normal morning. But as the green SUV pulled into his driveway he was reminded that this was no normal morning.

"Finn! Finn!" He rubbed his temples as he heard her voice call his name. There was no need for him to call back at her, she knew where he was because it was the same place he was every morning.

"Finn!" His head snapped in the direction of the stairs as the three year old boy broke free from his mother's hand and charged towards him jumping into his lap and almost spilling coffee everywhere.

"What's up Jace?" He asked the child as he playfully ruffled his hair. "Hey Alison." He greeted before he sipped down the rest of his coffee and placed the cup on the windowsill.

Jace looked back at him and made as face as he tried to smooth out his hair, "Don't mess up my hair, mom will get mad cus we gotta go get on the plane so I can be a…" The boy paused and pressed his lips together as he squished up his face giving them impression that he was thinking hard. "Momma, what do I gotta be again?"

"A ring bearer Jace."

"That's it I gotta go be a ring bear."

Finn chuckled and ruffled the boys hair again, "I don't think you're going to go be a circus animal buddy. But hey if you are you shouldn't be a bear you should be something cool like a tiger."

"Oh mom can I be a tiger instead of a ring bear?"

The woman laughed and looked between her son and the man whose lap he was sitting in, "No you can't be a tiger, and being in a wedding is nothing like being in a circus."

"If you say so."

"Shut it Finn," she said in a playfully sharp manner as she pointed at his clothes and placed a hand on her hip. "I cannot believe you're not dressed. I said we'd be here by eight and if we miss the flight, we're going to miss the rehearsal dinner and then we will never hear the end of it."

"Ugh," he groaned and leaned his head back against the chair shaking it slightly. "I really don't want…"

"You really don't want to go, blah, blah, blah. I've been hearing that from you for months. However, my son is a ring bearer and if you miss your brother's wedding you mother and KURT will both have my head on a platter because for some reason you're my responsibility. Besides when was the last time you saw Kurt without him having to come to Ohio? Hell Finn, when was the last time you left Ohio? Or this house for that matter? I used to get it the whole hermit crab thing, and for a while I even thought it was kinda cute you were like that guy in all the Nicholas Sparks novels that just stayed holed up in his house alone and depressed until bam something spectacular and life changing happened to make you start living again but now… You're just kind of depressing." Alison tilted her head and shrugged at him softly, "I just worry about you sometimes."

Finn blew out a breath as he picked Jace up from his lap and put him on the ground before he stood up, "There's no reason to be worried about me. I'm fine. And I do leave the house, all the time. In fact I leave the house every day."

"Yes to go to work. Or the occasional Bengals or Reds game with Steve. Or the once in a blue moon that Puck friend of yours blows through town. But when was the last time you actually lived Finn?"

His eyes cut at her and he swallowed hard this was not the right approach to actually motivate him to leave the house. And it certainly wasn't a topic they needed to get into right then or ever as far as Finn was concerned. "Look I just don't like weddings. The last wedding I went to was my own and we know how that turned out." He sarcastically spit out a bit too harsh.

"The divorce was five years ago, really you have to stop using that as an excuse for everything at some point in your life."

"You really aren't winning any points with me right now," He remarked as he leaned down to quickly kiss her cheek. "But you are right my mother will kill me if I don't show up and my God I can hear Kurt on the phone now. So against my gut, which says has a really weird feeling about all of this, I'm going to go get dressed and maybe then you'll get off my back?"

"Tell me you're already packed too and I'll get off your back."

"Sure if that's what you want to hear I'm already packed." He shrugged and brushed passed her headed down the stairs.

"Finn Hudson!" Alison yelled as she grabbed a pillow off the futon in the office and chucked it in his direction, "I cannot believe you. Pack and pack quickly! We have twenty minutes before we need to leave this house and I am going with or without you and YOU can explain to YOUR mother and YOUR brother why you are still in Cincinnati and not Connecticut!"

Finn was already in his bedroom changing by the time Alison yelled out the word Connecticut. He couldn't explain why he was so hesitant about going to Kurt's wedding. He'd had months to prepare himself for it. And even though he still had a bad taste in his mouth over his own failed marriage, he still believed in marriage and fully believed that Kurt and Charlie were a couple that was going to make it. But he'd also thought the same thing when he'd gotten married or he wouldn't have done it. Yet he knew his own reservations about marriage weren't what were causing the knot in his gut over it all. He just had this feeling like something was going to happen, and he couldn't tell if the feeling leaned towards something good or something bad. It was just unsettling. But he'd promised Kurt long ago that he had his back, and that they were brothers. So he zipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulder as he made his way out of his bedroom despite his gut and his better judgment, which told him to stay in his house and stick to his daily routine.

A/N: So this isn't going where you're thinking it is I can tell you that right now. This is the short little start off chapter for a story that's been rolling around in my head for a while undergoing changes before it ever made it to story form. But I think I've got it all outlined in my head now and I'm excited to start putting the wheels in motion. Future chapters should be longer and I may end up changing the rating with future chapters. Hope you enjoy and stick with me. FYI the lyrics at the beginning, title and initial idea inspiration all come from the song Great Indoors by John Mayer.