It was past midnight when someone knocked Finn's apartment door. He sighed and put his book down. He picked up a forgotten glass of something from earlier in the evening. There was a bright red lipstick print on the glass and drained it on the way to the door. Vodka. He frowned; he'd never been a fan of straight vodka. Whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again. He rolled his eyes, hoping it wasn't the girl who left the lipstick on the glass. She had been quite boring and way too pushy. Not a good idea to bring her home. He unlocked the door slowly and opened the door, an excuse on the tip of his tongue.

"Rory?" He raised his eyebrows, a smile creeping onto his lips. "It's late."

"Did I wake you?"

"Oh, kitten, you of all people should know I'm a creature of the night." He smirked. "Are you okay?"

Rory didn't say anything, just pushed past him and walked to the kitchen. She paused for a minute, looking around before rummaging around in the pantry. Finn closed the door before following her and leaning against the counter.

"You know that's not where the coffee is, kitten. It's in—"

"the freezer, yes, I know." Rory finished. "But believe it or not that's not what I'm looking for." She emerged a second later, a bottle of tequila in her hand. Finn raised his eyebrows.

"And why are you looking for that?" he asked. "Not that I'm complaining, I do love Rory Gilmore on tequila…" he winked. "But running into my apartment at three in the morning to drink it is cause for concern." He took a few steps toward her. Rory didn't say anything as she jumped on the counter, twisting off the cap, letting it fall to the floor. She took a long drink. She held onto the bottle as she looked at him. He stared back and her cheeks turned pink. He smiled and closed the distance between them. She bit her lip and her cheeks turned from pink to red as he leaned in closer to her. He could smell the alcohol on her breath. Rory set the bottle behind her before wrapping her arms around Finn's neck and crashing her lips on his. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer and started tearing his thin shirt. She successfully tore half of it when Finn pulled away. Rory narrowed her eyes at him.

"Did…did I do something?"

"Other than tear an old shirt?" Finn gave her a small smile. "No, kitten, you're perfect, you're always perfect."

"Then what—?"

"Love, something's bothering you and as much as I love this, I would love to know what I'm being used as a distraction for."

Rory frowned. "You're not being used as a distraction." She said, trying to pull him back to her. Finn kissed her quickly, not allowing her to deepen the kiss.

"Then why are you here at two in the morning, drinking tequila and kissing me as if your life depends on it?" Finn ran his hands through her hair. Rory avoided his eyes as she rested her arms on his shoulders. She tried to kiss him again but Finn moved out of her reach. Rory hung her head. "No. Tell me what's wrong."

"Would 'I miss you' be a good enough answer for you?"

"Normally. But not right now." He tipped her chin up so she had to look at him. "What's wrong, kitten?" he paused. "This—" he gestured between the two of them. "hasn't happened in a while."

"I know." she smiled a little. "Don't you like it?"

"I do, love. You know that." Finn assured her. "But I want to make sure you're okay, yeah?"

"I'm okay." Rory said. "I just want you right now." She lightly pressed her lips to his neck. "And I love you so much."

Finn's heart raced as it normally did when those three words were directed at him. He tightened his grip on her hips and Rory turned pink again.

"And I love you, kitten." He said softly. "Please talk to me."

Rory didn't say anything before she reached up to kiss him again. Finn didn't push her away this time and allowed her to deepen the kiss. He tangled his fingers in her hair as she wrapped her legs around him. He moaned in her mouth.

"Rory—"

"Shh." She pulled his torn shirt off over his head and pulled him closer to her. Finn bit her lip and Rory lightly scratched at his back. His grip on her hips tightened before he pulled away.

"Not here." He took the bottle from her hands and set it on the counter before picking her up and carrying her to his room. He gently set her on his bed before pulling her shorts off. He kissed his way up her legs. He looked up at her. Her eyes were closed and lips parted, slightly curved up at the sides. He smiled and nibbled a little her hip and she shivered, threading her fingers through his hair. He laughed and continued kissing his way up her body.

"No, Finn…" She whispered. Finn smirked and shook his head.

"Patience, kitten." He murmured against her skin. She groaned and he looked up at her. She tilted her head, biting her lip.

"Okay." He kissed across her collarbone before making his way over to her neck. She sighed happily and looked at him before he kissed her lips. "I love you." she said quietly, playing with his hair. Finn smiled.

"I know." he slipped her shirt over her head. "Now, quiet." He kissed her gently and he felt her smile against his mouth.

Then they both froze as Rory's phone started to ring in her shorts on the floor at the foot of the bed. Her eyes widened and she shook her head. Finn raised his eyebrows. "Love?"

"Don't." she pleaded. He pushed up off of her and grabbed the phone out of her shorts and frowned when he saw Logan's name flashing across the screen. He showed it to her.

"Rory…"

The phone stopped ringing for a minute before ringing again and Rory took a deep breath before taking it. She declined the call.

"What happened?"

The phone started ringing again and she dropped it like it burned her. She looked at Finn with wide eyes.

"He's going to keep calling. You know he is." He said flatly. Rory slowly nodded. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

She buried the phone under the pillow and ran a hand through her hair. "I.. I was staying at his apartment tonight." She whispered, looking at her hands. "He got in late, and he was drunk. We got in a fight." The phone started ringing again, but it was muffled and she glared at it. "It was bad, we were screaming at each other—bringing up things from the past—but it ended with him walking out again." She sighed. "I went back to bed, but I couldn't sleep and all I could think about was you." she looked up at him, ignoring her ringing phone. "All I could think about was that I wanted to be here, with you, in your arms, and I couldn't stay in that apartment for another second."

Finn pulled her into his arms. "Oh, kitten."

Rory sighed as the phone rang again. She pulled away from Finn and snatched the phone from under the pillow. She flipped it open angrily. "What?" she snapped. Her eyebrows knitted together as she pulled Finn's furry blanket that he kept just for her from the basket on the floor and wrapped around herself. "No." she growled. She leaned against Finn. "No, Logan. You don't need to know where I am." Finn felt her tense up. "Why? Because you came home at two in the morning smelling like a fucking distillery, cheap perfume, and smoke." She paused, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself. "No. You lost that right when you walked out." Finn saw Rory's hands curl into fists as she looked around Finn's room and her eyes scanned the room until they landed on a pack of Marlboros sitting on his nightstand. She reached over for it and Finn grabbed it, lighting a cigarette for her. She took a long drag, rolling her eyes before exhaling. "Logan—" Finn reached for the phone.

"May I?" he mouthed. Rory shrugged and handed it over, puffing on her cigarette. Finn plucked it out of her hand and as soon as he pressed it to his ear, he heard Logan yelling. "Logan?" he said calmly.

"Finn?"

"One and only. Are—"

"Why are you with Rory at four in the morning?" he snapped. Finn pulled Rory closer and she blew a long puff of smoke out. "Is she at your apartment? I'm coming over."

"No, you're not." Finn said forcefully. "Give her time to calm down, breathe, then I'll take her home when she's ready."

"My girlfriend is not spending the night with you." Logan was starting to yell again.

"Calm down, Logan." Finn said. "She'll have the bed and I'm sleeping on the couch." Rory raised her eyebrows. He shook his head.

"I'm coming over."

"Not if you want to keep your girlfriend." Rory frowned at him, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Are you trying to take my girlfriend?" Finn hesitated. If he was honest with himself, he wanted Rory all to himself. He was tired of sharing. He didn't like hearing Logan talk about her like she was an object, something to be owned. But Logan was too angry and a little too drunk to notice his hesitation.

"You're drunk." Finn said instead and he watched Rory wrap the blanket tighter around herself before getting up out of bed. She put her cigarette butt out in the ashtray on the nightstand before walking out of the room. She leaned against the doorway for a second, waiting for him to notice her.

"I'm fine." Logan said through gritted teeth. Rory pointed to the kitchen and Finn nodded. She padded away. He lit a cigarette for himself, turning his focus back to Logan.

"You can talk to her tomorrow when you're sober and when she's ready to." Finn said calmly. "I swear to god if you come over tonight, Logan, I won't hesitate to punch you. Leave her alone." He took a long drag off of his cigarette.

"Don't tell me—" Wasn't there a bottle of scotch or whiskey or something around here? Coming up dry, Finn began to smoke his cigarette faster.

"Logan." Finn said forcefully through a cloud of smoke. "What the fuck were you doing?"

"Went out for drinks after work."

"Bullshit." He leaned over the bed and saw Rory drinking from the bottle of tequila she left on the counter and looking around in the nearly empty fridge. He lowered his voice. "Who were you with this time?"

Logan didn't say anything, but Finn heard the click of a lighter. He put out his butt in his ashtray, growing tired of this conversation. It wasn't going anywhere and would be anytime soon.

"You're turning into your father." he said quietly before hanging up on Logan's angry protests and walking to the kitchen. "I haven't had much time to go grocery shopping." He said, lightly touching the small of her back. Rory jumped.

"I've noticed." She laughed, taking another drink of tequila. The bottle was almost empty. Finn frowned. "I think there's a pizza place still open."

"It's almost five, kitten."

"I know. Twenty-four hour pizza places are a thing, you know." she smiled at him. "Do you have my phone?" he handed it to her and she started scrolling through the contacts.

"Do you have it saved?"

"Maybe."

"Oh my god."

"They know my order, too."

"That doesn't surprise me at all."

She took another drink as she dialed the number. "Hi, it's Rory. Yup. The usual. Actually, no. It's… no, not Logan's, either. The other one. Mhm, that's the one." she laughed. "I know, unfortunately, it's been a while. Okay, see you soon, Lily."

"They know my address?" Finn laughed.

"We used to order pizza a lot." She said simply before kissing his cheek. "What'd Logan say to you?"

"Doesn't matter, kitten." He said quietly before taking the bottle from her hands. "You've had enough of this, though, haven't you?"

"I thought you liked me on tequila?" she protested, reaching for it.

"Oh, I do." He smirked. "But I will not allow you to drink when you're upset." He pulled her close to him. "It's a bad habit and I don't want you to fall into it. And… you've almost finished the bottle." He frowned. "I'm sorry, my love."

"It's not your fault." Rory said quietly.

"You don't deserve to be treated like that." Finn kissed her forehead.

"Well…" Rory sighed.

"Don't, kitten, not now, it's okay." Finn ran his fingers through her hair. "Another night."

There was a light knock on the door and Rory jumped up. "No, no, kitten, you're not exactly dressed to be answering the door..."

"Lily has seen me in less." She laughed. Finn raised an eyebrow. "She's come at the most inopportune moments." She explained on the way to the door. Finn frowned. "At least I have this nice soft furry blanket this time." She stuck her tongue out as she threw the door open. "I think this is a record, my dear."

"You're wearing more clothes than the last time I saw you." Finn heard a soft voice from the hall.

"Last time you caught me when I had just got out of the shower and was in the middle of dressing." Rory laughed, taking three pizza boxes from the girl. She motioned for Finn. He came and took the boxes from her and caught a glimpse of a short girl with long pastel purple hair. "But it's a while since I've seen you!"

"I know, I know." Lily sighed. "Last time your ordered, I was out on a delivery and—"

"Johnny came." Rory finished. "It was a little awkward. I answered the door in a towel, I thought the poor boy was going to faint."

"Yeah, I heard." Lily laughed. "You almost gave him a heart attack!"

"We need to catch up, Lil." Rory smiled. "Drinks this weekend?"

"Sounds amazing." Lily agreed. "I need to get out. It's just been school, work, sleep, repeat."

"I'll call you later." Rory reached out to give Lily a hug before shutting the door. She turned to face Finn, who was already eating his first slice. "Aw, you didn't wait for me?"

"I forgot how good their pizza was." He smiled, holding one out for her. She took it gratefully and took a big bite, smiling at him.

"It is pretty good." She agreed. Finn watched her as she ate. Her blue eyes were too bright and her cheeks were splotchy. She looked a lot skinner than the last time he'd seen her. Her ribs were almost visible. He took the last drink of tequila and dropped it in the trashcan next to them. Rory looked up at him with her eyebrows raised. He smiled at her before picking up another slice and took a bite before chewing slowly. She turned away after eating her third slice and opening the freezer. "I'm making coffee. Want any?"

"Coffee sounds wonderful." He watched her move around the kitchen. Her blanket was hanging off of her shoulders and her tangled hair fell down her back. He finished his slice before speaking again. "Love?"

"I know, you like it strong, but not Rory strong." She laughed, not turning to look at him.

"No, kitten, make it Rory strong." He smiled. "Even though it's deadly strong."

"You weren't complaining last time you had a hangover."

"That's because I thought I was going to die." Finn defended. "And your coffee is darker than the depths of hell…"

"Admit it, you like it." She said, pushing the start button. "But you've never had Lorelai strong coffee."

"Oh dear." Finn shivered. "I didn't know anyone could make coffee stronger than yours."

"Where do you think I learned it from?" Rory laughed. "I'll bring you some next time I go to Stars Hollow." She paused. "Or I can take you with me?"

Finn's heart started racing. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"What about Logan?"

"Oh, you know my mom doesn't like him." Rory shrugged. "But she'll love you."

"How do you know?" Finn asked, leaning forward. Rory laughed, turning around to get mugs from the cabinet. The apartment had a strange mixed smell of pizza and coffee.

"You're hot, exotic, and have a sexy accent." She smirked, pouring coffee into their favorite mugs. She added creamer to Finn's and a spoonful of sugar to hers before walking back to the bar. "What's not to love?"

"I mean… you're not wrong." Finn laughed, taking a drink of his coffee. He narrowed his eyes playfully over the top of his mug. "Aw.. no whiskey?"

"Only creamer today." She smiled. She set her mug down. "Are you going to tell me what Logan said?"

"He's just pissed that you're over here." Finn sighed. "He wanted to come over, but I talked him from that. He was drunk."

"Not surprising." She muttered.

"Speaking of surprising…" he looked at her. "I haven't seen you smoke in a while."

"I know." Rory shrugged. "Bad night." She looked at him. "Until I saw you. You make everything better."