AN: I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's got Paris which is always fun and it has JackFinn AND Rogan content.
FYI, I usually try really hard to avoid anachronisms and keep my content and references appropriate to the year the story is taking place but there was no way for me to find out which exhibits were in the Museum of Sex in 2009, so they get to explore the exhibits that are there today. Enjoy.
"Parallel parking and I do not go together," Lorelai grumbled as she turned off the ignition.
"Yeah, I gathered that from the six tries it took you to get into this parking space." Rory unbuckled her seat belt, climbing out of the Jeep and onto the sidewalk.
"And we're still four blocks from the apartment," Lorelai pointed out as she made her way around to the back of the vehicle and opened the trunk.
"That's not that far."
"Easy for you to say, you're still young and sprightly, unlike your decrepit, old mother."
"You're 40," Rory reminded her, retrieving the first of the two rolling suitcases out of the back of the Jeep. She also had a Vera Bradley duffle bag and two totes. Fortunately, all of the shared items—kitchenware, furniture, electronics—had remained at Paris' apartment, so Rory mostly just had to deal with schlepping back clothes and toiletries, and a few other personal items.
"Excuse me, young lady! What did I tell you about using the 'F' word?" Rory rolled her eyes at her mother's melodramatics, although she knew it wasn't really the parking she was complaining about—or her age. "Do you know you need to move your car every night for street cleaning?" Lorelai added.
"Well then, it's a good thing I don't have a car." Rory replied as they each grabbed a suitcase and started rolling it down the street.
"Right, which means you have to take the subway which is five blocks away and full of all sorts of creep-os."
"Mom," Rory sighed, "we both know this isn't about the subway. I've been taking the subway for years."
She stopped a few seconds later when she realized her mother was no longer right beside her. She turned around to see Lorelai standing a few feet behind with a concerned look on her face.
"It's not safe here, Rory." Her eyes darted around the street.
Rory sighed. She knew her mother was struggling with Rory's decision to move back to the city; understandably so. But what other options did she have?
"It's as safe here as it is anywhere else." She didn't want to admit to Lorelai that it wasn't safe anywhere, though it would be a fairly accurate statement. She didn't need her mother to be any more worried than she already was. She suspected Lorelai would probably never stop worrying about her ever again. Not that Rory thought she ever had—she supposed motherhood was an eternal state of never-ending concern. But ever since Rory had confided about her relationship with Mitchum and the dark turn in had taken, Lorelai had been extra clingy and overprotective. And so, Rory had chosen to downplay the true state of things; especially after the freak out that had occurred in the wake of Logan's visit to the house to ask her about the article last month. It felt wrong in some ways, considering that they had finally started to repair their relationship, but in other ways, it felt not so wrong. They'd grown apart in the past two years and while she would never stop needing her mother, she'd also come to realize that Lorelai was her mother, and not her best friend. She wouldn't go back to lying and hiding major life events from her, but she also realized sometimes it was healthier not to confide everything.
"You have distance in Stars Hollow," Lorelai reminded her as they started walking again. "And townsfolk like Babette who notice everything and can spot an outsider from 1000 feet away. If he shows up there, you'll know about it. In the city, he could be anywhere. He could be hiding in plain sight. Hell, he could be having you followed."
Rory's hackles immediately went up, as her eyes scanned the street around her, taking note of the people walking by, the patrons sitting in the window of the coffee shop across the way, the motorists driving down the street. If only her mother knew just how accurate that last statement was.
"I haven't even heard from him in weeks; he's moved on," Rory pointed out, trying to convince herself as much as her mother. She wasn't being followed. She would have caught on by now. Besides, Mitchum was more interested in Logan and the investigation. Logan wasn't just taking the heat off of Jackson, he was taking it off of her.
"It's too soon to know that for sure," Lorelai argued. "I just don't understand why you can't stay home for a while."
"I have a job here."
"You barely need to go into the office." But she wanted to go in. Maybe she shouldn't, but she did.
"It's good for me to get back into a routine of going to work every day. And being at the office around other reporters helps inspire me and give me ideas." And Logan was there, though she figured that probably would not be the most persuasive argument for her mother.
They'd made it to the apartment building, stopping to stare at the three steps that led up to the entrance. There were also the three flights of stairs up to the fourth floor. "See, I told you moving back here was a bad idea," Lorelai gloated.
"We should have made Luke come with us," Rory huffed.
"You could not pay Luke to step foot inside the New York City limits."
"Not even for me?" Rory pouted.
"Sorry, Kid, there are limits to what even those fluttery lashes of yours can do."
She grimaced uncomfortably. "Well, I guess we better just get on with it then." She pressed the retractable handle of the suitcase down and picked it up so she could carry it inside.
They were both panting by the time they got to the landing of the fourth floor.
"If I have a heart attack, it's your fault," Lorelai huffed, bending over at the waist to try to catch her breath.
"We might be recuperating in the CICU together," Rory replied, clutching her chest. Rory took a moment to recover before resuming her march towards the apartment door. As she made her way to apartment 4C, she was suddenly blinded by an exceptionally bright light that beamed throughout the once dimly lit hallway. "Ahh," she threw her arm up to her face to guard her eyes against the sudden onslaught of photons. "What the hell?"
The door banged open and Rory head Paris' voice. "Why they hell are you dillydallying in the hallway? Get your ass in here!" Paris grabbed the suitcase from her and pulled it into the apartment and Rory followed. "Lorelai, you too. Now!" she scolded Rory's lagging mother.
Once everyone was inside, Paris shut the apartment door, turning her attention to a myriad of new locks. She secured the two that had always been there before sliding two new bolts into place and placing the chains. "Always keep these locked when you're in here," Paris ordered as she turned around to face them.
"Umm okay, but then…how will the other one of us get in?" Rory pointed out.
"When you set off the motion detector light outside it will ring in here." Paris pointed towards a little speaker mounted on the wall. "I'll know to come and let you in."
"What if you're in the shower or something?"
"That's what robes were invented for."
"Oooookay," Rory replied hesitantly.
"Now, I had the windows bolted shut, so don't go trying to open them. The stupid super refused to change them to bulletproof glass, so…"
"I'm sorry, did you say bulletproof?" Rory glanced at her mother who was nodding at Paris with a look of assured approval. Rory rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm not saying he'd actually try to shoot you through the windows, but he could break the glass and get in."
"Mitchum is not going to break in here through the windows," Rory argued.
"No, of course not," Paris scoffed. "He might mess up his fancy suits. But he could hire someone to break in through the windows for him…you know, to send you a threatening message or rough you up a little bit."
"Oh my God." Rory rubbed at her face wearily. Paris was being insanely over the top. On the other hand, she couldn't help the fear that creeped up inside her at the thought.
"Anyway, I thought of boarding them up, but it's wintertime as it is and so we're all already Vitamin D deficient."
"This is all very thoughtful of you Paris," Lorelai put in with a shit-eating grin on her face.
"Are there any other changes around here I need to know about?" Rory asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. There were probably security cameras in the bathroom for all she knew.
"I signed you up for my Krav Maga classes. They're Tuesday at 7."
"What? Paris, no. I'm not taking Krav Maga."
"It's self-defense, Rory. You need to learn how to defend yourself. Did you ever even consider that knowing an elbow strike or two could have saved you a lot of pain and suffering that night? Not to mention that it would have saved me from having to explain to my resident why I walked out in the middle of a shift on one of the busiest ER nights of the year," she huffed.
Rory groaned. She never understood how Paris could be so sweet and caring in the most selfish and cloying way possible, but somehow, she never failed to make Rory want to hug her and hit her at the same time. Then again, that's what made her Paris, and though she would never admit it, Rory wouldn't trade her best friend in for anything.
"You're joking, right?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Finn asked, his eyebrows raised slightly, the corners of his lips just hinting at a smile, the slightest of twinkles in his dark blue irises.
"You always look like you're joking," Jackson pointed out. "You are incapable of taking anything seriously."
Finn narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "Oh come now, there are some things I take very seriously."
Jackson felt his body tingle the way it always did when Finn used his sexy voice. He hated the way he was incapable of resisting the man. "Okay, first of all, there is no way I am 'cumming now,'" he protested, looking up at the stone façade of the building in front of them; the windows adorned with colorful lettering and artsy pinup photos, the handles on each of the double doors meeting to form a large 'x,' and the words 'Museum of Sex' spelled out across the top of the threshold. "No matter what's inside that museum. We can save that for the privacy of the bedroom."
"Such a prude," Finn chuckled. "I have my work cut out for me with you, young apprentice." Finn grinned teasingly taking his index finger and tapping Jackson on the nose.
"I'm sorry, but did you just boop me?" he asked, completely flabbergasted.
"So what if I did?"
"I'm not a dog," Jackson admonished. "And I'm not a prude, or some sexual neophyte who needs to be schooled. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've proven my sexual expertise to be more than satisfactory judging by the feedback you've given me in the bedroom."
Finn nodded in recognition of said facts. "That is correct," he agreed. "You're a true lady on the streets and a freak in the bed. Still, you're so cute when you get all flustered."
Jackson felt the heat rise to his cheeks. How could he be so annoyed and so giddy at the same damn time?
"Come on." Finn grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the entrance and over to the counter where he paid for them to enter. Jackson resisted the urge to object…he'd tried it before and if never went over well. At least this time it was just a 17-dollar museum ticket and not a three-hundred-dollar bottle of wine or a five-hundred-dollar ticket to see "In the Heights" on Broadway—followed by a meet and greet with Lin-Manuel Miranda himself. Maybe having a sugar daddy wasn't so bad.
There was an exhibit of two skeletons doing it doggy style in the front window of the museum. Or maybe it was anal—it was hard to say for sure considering the lack of actual flesh. Otherwise, the entryway was subjectively rather bland with plain black floors and white walls adored with photography. Of course, closer examination of the photos on the wall made it clear that this was no ordinary museum. A little way down the hall was the first exhibition hall.
"So, I guess we get to learn about the actual birds and the bees," Jackson pointed out as they entered 'The Sex Lives of Animals' exhibit. The life size model of three deer engaging in a ménage à trois was a bit much for his tastes, but there was also some actual educational information, as well as a feel-good story about a pair of penguins raising a baby chick. They continued to make their way around the museum, examining displays of ancient dildos and nineteenth century porn which was surprisingly homoerotic for the times.
Jackson found himself examining the pages of an old hand-illustrated sex manual when he felt Finn come up behind him, wrapping his arms around him and resting his head on his shoulder. "Now that I wouldn't mind trying," Finn whispered huskily into his ear. Jackson took a moment to evaluate the image of the lovers tangled into a rather…acrobatic stance, before turning around to face his own lover.
"Well then," he smiled up at the man whose arms were still around him, "looks like we're on the same page about tonight's activities."
"Sometimes you do surprise me," Finn chuckled. "Let's go upstairs." He nodded towards a set of steps with a brightly colored sign that said 'Funland.'
"What's upstairs?" Jackson asked.
"Upstairs is Funland," Finn informed him, his voice once again getting that low, sexy rasp. "It's where the fun happens."
Jackson rolled his eyes and let out a breathy almost laugh. "Well then, let's go upstairs and have some fun."
In Funland, they were greeted by a kinesthetic exploration of the 'bacchanalian' roots of the Carnival, or so the explanation at the entrance elucidated. The entire floor was full of bright colors and bold patterns; jaunty calliope music played in the background.
They started at the RuPaul fortune telling booth. Jackson took the ticket spit out by the machine and read it. "I see a whole new world of romantic and sexual possibilities on your horizon. I'm talking universe-aligning-level possibilities. Do yourself a favor and brush up on your moves—you don't want to be caught unprepared!"
"'Universe aligning,' she says." Finn wiggled his eyebrows. "Clearly the Queen is onto something."
"On my horizon," Jackson pointed out. "A new world of possibilities. That implies this is someone I haven't met yet, so clearly, I'm going to tire of you soon and move on to bigger and better things."
"Hey! I take offense to that," Finn objected. "Better, maybe, but I dare you to find someone bigger than me." It was true that Finn was quite well endowed, but he was hardly Ron Jeremy, which was fine because Ron Jeremy was a disgusting specimen of a human being. Anyway, Jackson had no complaints about any part of Finn's physicality, and despite his teasing (and some nonphysical concerns about the nature of whatever it was they had going on), he had a feeling he wouldn't be moving on from Finn any time soon—at least not by his choice.
"You realize in order to for me to complete said dare, I would need to actively go out and evaluate other guys dicks, right?" he pointed out. Jackson paused, biting his lip nervously before adding the next part. "I mean, unless that's okay with you, I mean, we never…"
Finn grabbed Jackson's hand, tugging it so that Jackson stumbled into his body. "Don't even think about it," he warned.
Jackson felt his heart flutter excitedly. "Alright then," he said, his eyes drifting away shyly. "Umm, where to next? Because I know you can appreciate a nice rack, but personally, I would like to veto the bouncy house of boobs."
Finn laughed, letting go of Jackson's wrist. "Well, far be it from me to override your veto."
They finished exploring; playing several erotically themed carnival games, riding the mechanical bull, and scoring high marks for passion at the museum's biometric kissing booth. They ended their journey by climbing their way up the Grope Mountain climbing wall which took them to the top of the Tunnel of Love slide, which they rode down to the museum's bar, The Lollipop Lounge.
Jackson climbed off the slide and turned around to watch Finn emerge from between the giant legs of a statue of the backside of a woman, painted like one of those black and white hypnosis optical illusions. He scrunched up his face in disgust. "That is the closest I ever want to come to a vagina," he informed Finn.
"Have you ever actually been near one?" Finn inquired. "Because they can be quite fun."
Jackson doubled down on his disgusted face. "There was one time, back in high school, I try not to think about it."
They made their way to the bar and ordered drinks, taking them to sit at a table. "So," Finn pointed out, eyebrows raised. "I take it someone had fun today?"
Jackson smiled and shook his head defeatedly. "Fine, yes. I had fun," he admitted "But next time, I'm planning us a nice, normal date."
"Normal? Like, what? Bowling or something?" Finn crinkled his nose skeptically. The man clearly had an allergy to all things ordinary.
"I don't know," Jackson shrugged his shoulders. "Like, The Winter Village at Bryant Park. You know, ice skating, hot chocolate…they even have a curling court."
"Curling?" Finn repeated. "Do you have much experience with curling?"
"I might have…done some curling back in the day," he reluctantly admitted.
"Oh really? Nice to know. Have you been hiding anything else from me other than the fact that you're apparently Canadian and a dork?"
Jackson took a sip of his beer. "I've never tried to hide either of those facts," he informed him simply. He was the skinny, gay kid who wrote for the school paper and played Seymour in his high school production of Little Shop of Horrors. Anyone who looked at him could see his was a dork.
"Wait, I didn't know you were Canadian."
"Dual citizen," Jackson admitted. "My mother was Canadian, moved to New York in her twenties to start acting. We still have a lot of family there, so we visit a lot."
"Where's your father from?" he asked.
Jackson's eyes narrowed dangerously. "We don't talk about him." He hadn't spoken to his father in over a decade. And a simple Google search could tell Finn whatever he needed to know. It's not like the whole embezzling scandal hadn't been all over the news at the time.
Finn looked at him appraisingly. "Well," he said, sounding oddly upbeat for the turn their conversation had just taken. "Daddy issues…that's something you and Logan have in common."
"What does Logan have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, I'm just saying, maybe you and he have more in common that you thought."
"Right," Jackson rolled his eyes. "We're practically twins. What's your point?"
"My point is that it would be nice if you didn't hate him."
"Who said I hated him?" Now it was Finn's turn to roll his eyes. "What? I don't."
"You don't like him," Finn argued.
"I barely know him." The truth was, Finn was right, he didn't particularly like Logan. He knew there was no good reason not to like him. He had given Jackson the opportunity of a lifetime. He was putting himself in the crosshairs of his very powerful and angry father to do what he thought was right…and to protect Jackson and the investigation. But Logan was also privileged and spoiled. He had everything…he was good looking, cis, white, straight, rich. And he had an entire journalism empire at his fingertips. Jackson would have killed for the opportunities Logan had been born into. And Logan had thrown it all away…for a girl. And okay, Jackson knew it wasn't just for a girl. He knew that Logan walking away was actually an admirable thing. He was willing to fight for what he believed in, no matter how great the personal cost; he had put his morals and his journalistic integrity above his privilege. And if Jackson was being completely truthful with himself, maybe that made him dislike the guy even more because as much as he wanted to believe that if he'd been in Logan's shoes, he'd have been able to do the same, he honestly wasn't so sure.
"Well, then," Finn replied, "Maybe it's time you got to know him…and my other friends too."
"What are you talking about?"
"You should come out with us next weekend."
"You want me to hang out with you and your friends?" Jackson repeated.
"Is that weird?"
"Only because they're not supposed to know we're dating." And because his friends were, well, Logan and other people like Logan. They were the cool kids people like Jackson never got to hang out with; the ones he'd convinced himself he never wanted to hang out with.
"They know we're supposed to look like we're dating," Finn shrugged. "And what better way to sell that then you hanging out with me and my friends?"
Jackson bit his lip, trying to find some way out of this, but he was coming up blank. "Fine," he finally huffed.
"Great," Finn smiled. "Now let's finish these drinks so we can go back to my place and put what we learned here today into action."
Logan took a second to glance around the hallway and make sure no one was around before slipping into the empty office he and Rory had claimed as their own. They'd met there a couple more times since Rory had started work two weeks earlier. She was there already, sitting cross legged on a blue Sherpa throw blanket that she had brought with her the last time, then hidden in the closet so they wouldn't have to keep sitting on the cold, hard linoleum floor. She had her laptop, but it was sitting beside her with the top closed as she perused a magazine. Her hair was up in a messy bun with a loose lock that kept slipping down over her eyes until she'd blow it away with a puff of air from her lips.
He hated the way just the sight of her could still affect him so much.
"Hey," he finally said, letting the door click shut behind him. She looked up at him, startled.
"Oh," she clutched the magazine to her chest. "I didn't hear you come in."
"Yeah, you were pretty enthralled in your celebrity gossip there," he teased.
"Did you know Finn and Jackson were dating?" she asked, holding up the copy of US Weekly for him to see.
Logan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well it's…"
"I mean, I didn't even know Finn was gay. He's always hitting on women."
"He's, bi, or…pansexual, I think he calls it. The point it, he'll sleep with anybody."
Rory shrugged. "Well, I guess that explains why Jackson is taking meetings in Finn's apartment."
"Actually, it's sort of a cover."
"What is?"
"Finn and Jackson. They're pretending to date to help us get information back and forth without raising suspicions," he explained as he took a seat next to her.
Rory looked at him, her brows arched skeptically for a moment, before her expression morphed into one of almost condescending sympathy. "I hate to break it to you," she said, patting him on the knee and handing over the magazine, "But there is nothing pretend about that smooch." She jabbed her finger into the image of Finn and Jackson standing on the sidewalk in Times Square with their lips locked together. "Those boys are in luuuurve."
"Finn doesn't do love. Besides, we discussed it and I made it very clear that he was not to go there." Finn loved to make trouble, but he knew better than to mess with this thing they were doing here.
Rory laughed. "It's cute that you think you can dictate who Finn dates."
"I'm not dictating, I'm…" he let out a huff of air, raking his fingers through his locks. "Finn likes to play stupid, but he's not. He knows how important this is, he wouldn't do anything to mess it up."
Rory's face turned melancholic. "Sometimes you're willing to do really stupid things when your heart gets involved."
If there was anyone who knew about the bad life choices one could make over a love interest, it was her. Then again, apparently, he was no stranger to the phenomenon either. He was sitting here with her, after all.
He set the magazine aside. He'd deal with Finn later. "I have some news."
"Good news?" she asked.
"It's…promising," he informed her cautiously.
"Promising is good. It's better than crappy which is how pretty much everything else has been going the past few months." He supposed that was an admirable attempt at optimism. He smiled reassuringly at her.
"Jackson has two women on the record about how Peterson harassed them and coerced them into sex. He also has a witness who saw him take another woman up to a hotel room and then he saw that same woman leave the hotel crying about an hour later. We were able to use that to get security footage from the hotel which shows them standing outside the room with her clearly uncomfortable and trying to figure out how to get out of it. We've IDed the woman but she's not willing to go on record. Still, we can describe the tape without implicating her."
"That's good, what about…?" she trailed off without saying his name. It was a name they both avoided these days…at least around each other.
"We've made some progress," he confessed, "but not enough. There are a few other young staffers he's dated throughout the years, but they all claim it was completely consensual. And it never amounted to much…a few dates at most. And they say he never hit them. My mother is no help, though Jackson is trying to track down a nurse who may have treated her at home after a particularly bad beating. There is one woman we found…she says they were in an actual relationship back in the late 90's. They were together for almost three years. She won't go on record though; she's too scared." He diverted his eyes away, twiddling his fingers in his lap. "I don't want to pressure you," he finally said, "but I think it would help a lot if she knew there was someone else willing to speak up."
Rory sighed, bringing her thumb up to her mouth to gnaw at her fingernail. "I don't know, Logan," she said hesitantly. "I want to say yes, I really do but…I'm just not there yet. I mean, things are just starting to remotely resemble normal again. I don't know if I can risk derailing all this progress."
"I get that," he nodded understandingly, but inside, he felt his heart fall a little. "Just, let me know if you change your mind."
"I will."
An uncomfortable silence settled over them, both of them letting their eyes drift around the room, looking anywhere but at each other.
"So," Rory broke the silence, picking up the magazine and flicking the pages in a nervous gesture. "Do you really believe Finn and Jackson aren't sleeping together? Because that kiss…"
Logan shook his head in exasperation. He knew she was probably right. It was just one more thing that could go wrong and blow this all to hell. And yet, he couldn't help but laugh. "I'm kidding myself, aren't I?" he admitted.
"Maybe just a little," she winked. "I miss Finn," she added wistfully after a moment. "And even Colin. And I don't even see Steph as much as I'd like to these days."
"You should come out with us." The invitation was out of his mouth before he could think better of it.
"Is that…" Rory squinted her eyes pensively, "Is that a good idea? Us being seen in public together?"
Logan shrugged. "You could meet up with Steph, act like it's just the two of you going out. We'll have a VIP room, so once you get there no one has to see us hanging out together."
"It's risky," she said.
"What isn't these days?" He knew it was stupid but he was so damn tired of covering all of his steps and watching everything he did. What was the worst that could happen? Mitchum's spy put them together in the same club on the same night? It didn't mean anything. And if it pissed Mitchum off, well then, maybe it would take even more pressure off Jackson.
Rory contemplated it for a minute before eventually nodding her head. "Yeah, okay," she agreed with a timid smile. "I'll call Steph."
"Great," he said, standing up and preparing to get back to work. "I'll see you Friday night."
AN: So, since many of you say you don't review because you don't know what to say, here are a few suggestions...
What do you think os Paris' over the top security measures. Will they be needed? And how will Rory's first Krav Maga class go? Are we loving JackFinn yet? Was Finn out of line taking him to the museum of sex, or was it a perfect date locale? Also, they basically agreed to be exclusive which is huge for Finn, so how do we feel about that? And what do you think about Jackson's thoughts on Logan? And how will he get along with the rest of the crew? Will anyone ever catch Rory and Logan in their secret room? And what will happen when Jackson sees Rory is joining their little outing too-will he be pissed? Will Mitchum put them all together? Will alcohol lead to any exceptionally bad decisions by any of out characters? Let me know what you think about these things and the rest of the chapter in a review!
Also, make sure you check out my other fic, Missing Pages. It's rated M so if it's not on your alerts, you might have missed the update I posted over the weekend. So make sure you either add it to you alert list or include M rated fics when you're browsing the "Just in" page.