Takeout at Finn's Place…

With their agreed upon meal of Chinese takeout in hand, Finn drives them back to his place. It's not that far away but it's taking a lot longer to get there due to the road conditions. The ride is mostly shared in a comfortable silence. Only soft radio sounds fill the cab of the truck while each of them seems lost in their own thoughts, reflecting on the evening's events so far.

The snow's falling pretty heavily now and he's trying to stay focused on driving while hoping the roads aren't going to get much worse. The last thing he wants is an accident to mess up their so far seemingly perfect evening together.

"I swear, back home where I'm from, this couple inches of snow is nothing to worry about, I could probably drive in it with my eyes closed. But here in the city? It seems like folks don't know WHAT to do or how to drive in the snow!"

She giggles and nods "Yeah, unfortunately that's mostly true.. We don't usually see a lot of snow all at once like this - not in the city anyway."

He glances over at her and reluctantly decides he should ask, "Rach, are you sure you still want to go to my place to eat? At the rate this snow is falling, we could be stuck in for the night."

She just smiles at him "Is there a problem with that?"

He pulls up that adorable half grin and replies "Absolutely NO problem at all.. I just wanted to be sure that would be ok with you. I could still take you home now if you want, but the roads are starting to get pretty bad and it doesn't look like it's gonna let up any time soon."

"Well, your place is closer, so there's no point in you risking the drive all the way to my place. And anyway, I trust you to be a gentleman.. Is there any reason I shouldn't?"

"Not at all! But uhh.. I thought we already discussed your odds of being bitten..," he chuckled back to her with a wink.

"Yes we did. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the rules, Sharkboy" she flirts back.

They finally arrive at his apartment and Finn leads Rachel inside. He kicks off his shoes and quickly shrugs off his jacket then plops their takeout on the kitchen counter while Rachel slips out of her coat. He takes both their coats to hang in the hall closet. She's curiously peeking around the place, noticing immediately how appropriately Finn the décor seems.

The furnishings are simple and tasteful - masculine, yet warm and comfortable. The walls are painted in muted darker shades of gray, navy and maroon, with small accents of cream and silver around the space. There's very few knick-knack type items, other than some family photos in frames, and what she thinks are some of his high school accolades on display on shelves on the wall. There's a couple of trophies from football and a shadow box containing a group photo of what looks like his team's National Show Choir win with a 1st place ribbon, a treble clef pin and what looks like signatures from all the team members on the photo. Show choir? So he was in a glee club? She makes a mental note to absolutely ask him about that! There's also a few antique musical and percussion type instruments used as décor mounted on the wall. She's actually impressed by the design and wonders if he hired a professional decorator.

Finn notices Rachel's interest in his personal items on display. "So yeah, umm.. Welcome to my humble little abode. Nothing too fancy, but it's home. Would you like the grand tour?"

"Oh yes, please!" She answers with a bright beautiful smile. Finn adores her smile and it causes him to send her a full dimpled grin in return.

"Ok, well, this is obviously the living room. Over here is the kitchen/dining area. I love to cook, so yeah, there's a lot of dishes and utensils and stuff in here."

She giggles with a surprised look on her face "Wait, you COOK too? Why are we eating takeout if you cook?" she teases.

"Well I figured I'd get a pass having just performed a show tonight…" he winks at her with a small grin "But don't worry, I plan to be cooking for you plenty - just as soon as I figure out how to feed a vegan," he chuckles.

"Well you're in luck mister. I also love to cook, and I would be very happy to share some of my recipes and maybe even offer a few lessons, free of charge of course! Or, well… maybe for the price of a kiss or two." She winks back at him, and he just shakes his head at her. "What?" she asks coyly.

"Rach, I gotta warn you, if you keep stealing my heart like this I'm not letting you leave this apartment. Like, ever."

She smirks at him with gleaming eyes. "Hmm.. Maybe I won't want to leave..? But then again, I haven't seen the rest of the place yet. I could change my mind if I find out you're hiding some crazy fetish or something, you never know, so… better finish the tour, and impress me!" she giggles.

He laughs loudly and leads her down the short hallway and just sort of generally points out the two bedrooms and the hall bathroom. "The guest room is pretty small, so it's mainly my drum set and a pull out single bed sleeper. Josh crashes in there on occasion. Not very comfortable, but it works for drunk guys." he chuckles softly. "Yeah um, my room is the one at the end of the hall there. There's an ensuite bath attached in there," he turns to the doorway opposite them "and so this one in the hall is the guest bath." He takes advantage of the tight space in the hallway to cage her in, placing his hands against the wall on either side of her head. She looks up at him while biting her bottom lip, which she now KNOWS drives him crazy. He slowly leans down to kiss her. He kisses her languidly and feels the growing arousal starting to build in his gut. Just as she starts to clutch into his shirt with her small slender fingers and begins to deepen the kiss he stops. "OH wait! I haven't shown you my favorite thing yet… follow me."

She giggles as he takes her hand and leads her back through the kitchen, past the tiny pantry and laundry area to a door. He opens it and lets her lead the way. It's actually his private access to a rooftop patio space.

"Finn… this is so wonderful," she looks around with awe "I love it! You're so lucky to have an outdoor space like this, especially in this neighborhood!"

"I know, we got so lucky to find this place. The leasing agent is my dad's friend and gave us a heads up before it was listed. The best thing is how you can see the stars on a clear night. I come out here a lot, it reminds me a little of home, being able to look up at the stars in such a brightly lit city that never sleeps." She flashes the sweetest pearly smile at him then her teeth start to chatter. "But hey.. Our dinner is getting cold and so are you standing here in this chilly doorway… c'mon back in here girl, let's eat!"

. . . . .

He turns on his iPod that's sitting in the speaker dock in the kitchen and collects up a couple of beers from the fridge. They opt to sit on the living room floor at the coffee table to be near the gas fireplace which Finn has just lit up. She's decided it's time to unzip out of those thigh high boots she's had on all night, and Finn has NO problem watching it happen, as her impossibly long sexy legs are finally revealed to him. He gulps down his beer as he watches in awe and fights the urge to run his hands on those toned thighs…

Once they're situated she kicks off the conversation.

"I really like your place Finn. It suits you. But I have to ask you about the 2012 National Show Choir award over there." She motions toward his trophy shelf and beams a smile his way, "So you were in a glee club?"

He blushes a little, but she quirks up a grin. "Yeah, glee was a big part of my high school years. Glee and sports - which is a REALLY oil and water sort of combination for teenagers, apparently."

"Oh there's a story there… I need to hear it!" she breathes a soft laugh.

"Yeah it was a BIG DEAL for me to join glee… I was the quarterback and captain of the football team for 3 years. The jocks and popular clique wasn't exactly drawn to a show choir bound club, y'know? Like it wasn't cool enough for most of them."

"You're a rebel then… a bad boy?" she flirts with a raised eyebrow.

"Haha OH yeah, that's me, real rebel…' he snorts sarcastically "Well, y'know I've always had a thing for music. Been drumming since I was a kid, so most of my life basically I've been drawn to it. It was a weird thing that led me to join glee - I didn't choose it, it sort of chose me I guess you could say."

"Ahh… I need details."

"We'll save THAT story for another day maybe," he chuckles back.

"So you were obviously a great team to win on the national level, that's really incredible Finn."

"Well we certainly didn't start out that great, it took time. I became captain of the club and my presence in the club eventually attracted a few other jocks and cheerleaders… one of which was my girlfriend at the time." He sips his beer and she sees something flash over his face at the mention of the old girlfriend.. A painful memory maybe? She decides to wait and ask about that another time. Maybe they're not at the 'past relationships' part of the getting to know you conversation yet.

"So you brought the popular kids in with the musical theater type kids and went on to win a national championship. That's an impressive story."

"Not as impressive as the bonds of friendship a lot of us formed… Kids that were 'never meant to mingle' together in the social hierarchy of high school, but we became like a little family. I still talk to a few of them at least once a week, especially Artie. He was my best bud.. we directed a play together during senior year. He was the one who really encouraged me to apply for out of state colleges and pushed me to try for NYU. I might not be here right now without him."

"I definitely want to learn more about Artie, but wait up.." she leans up on the table and looks at him with big smiling eyes "You directed a PLAY? You KNOW you have to tell me about that!"

"Uhh.. yeah it was kinda cool. We did Grease that year and it helped draw in more talent to take the place of us graduating seniors from Glee club. We were hoping to keep the legacy going that we'd started, y'know? Our glee club was brand new when I first joined, like only 6 members, and it took until my junior year before we were getting to that competition level of success. Directing the play definitely helped with recruiting new talent! And Artie was planning to go to film school so he relished the challenge. I wasn't really planning to be involved at all because I had so much else going on senior year, but he sweet talked me into it saying how great it would look on college applications. Guess he was right."

"Well I think it's pretty amazing Finn. You brought two worlds together and succeeded on a national stage. And so many diverse unexpected talents up your sleeve… It explains a lot. You really are something pretty special aren't you?" She hits him with a megawatt smile and he turns several shades of pink.

"I'm not nearly as special as you. I mean, I had a feeling about your singing abilities but MY GOD Rachel. You seriously moved me tonight on that stage… I've never felt that way just hearing anyone sing before." He takes her hand and presses it against his chest over his heart. "You hit me right here. That's where I felt it, every word."

She leans over and kisses him with the saltiness of soy sauce on her lips and he feels his heart slamming in his chest. He decides he needs to keep it cool with her, so he takes the break in the kiss to restart the conversation.

He clears his throat and turns his attention back to his General Tso's. "So. Back at the coffee shop tonight you questioned why Blaine didn't tell you certain things… but I suspect there's a lot you don't know, that your boys back there didn't tell you."

"Like…?"

"For starters? Uhh.. Like I've been trying to meet you for over a month now."

"Really? You're serious? Since when?"

"The bus, remember?" he pauses for dramatic effect "Wait - yes you do remember, 'it's all you think about'," he teases with his crooked grin.

Rachel's cheeks pink up as she throws her hands over her face and exclaims, "Ugh! I still can't believe I said that out loud," then peeks through her fingers. "I'm truly embarrassed."

Finn looks pointedly at her, reaches over and gently pulls her hands down away from her face. He softly says "Don't do that. Don't be embarrassed, and please, don't ever hide that beautiful face. Especially not from me."

She's staring deep into the amber haze of his eyes searching for answers to unasked questions. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" he asks honestly.

"You just, look at me and… "

"...and there's some weird magnetic pull." he finishes her sentence matter-of-factly.

"YES! So you felt that too?"

"I've been feeling it."

"You've been… feeling what?"

"Like.. like we're connected somehow. It sounds really crazy, I know…" he trails off.

"NO - no, not at all. It's not crazy, not to me. I feel it too… How long?"

"I told you, you're not ready."

"I'm a big girl, Sharkboy. I think I can handle it."

He lets out a long heavy sigh, "Let's start small and work our way up to it. Deal, Ms. Fruit?"

"Hmmphh okaaay.. But—"

"Nope! You already agreed. In time I'll tell you. I promise. Do you trust me?"

"For some odd reason, yeah.. I do. Completely." As she's watching his face, she knows he's being completely authentic. She doesn't think she's ever met a guy who's worn his feelings out in the open like this, so earnest, so totally honest and vulnerable.

She claps her hands together and announces with zeal, "Ok then.. Resuming the game!" He laughs heartily. "You mentioned driving in snow and seeing the stars 'back home'… Where are you from originally?" she asks.

"I moved here from my hometown of Lima, Ohio about 5 years ago. How about you?" he asks as she offers him one of her spring rolls, which he gladly accepts. Then she responds "Never heard of it, never been there."

Finn snickers, "I'd be surprised if you had, on either account. But I meant—"

"Native New Yorker - Manhattanite." she answers quickly with a mouthful of veggie lo-mein.

"That's cool. Must have been pretty exciting growing up here in the big apple. Have you always been such a talented singer?" he asks.

"Ahh, well I've been singing most of my life.. Well, that is, I've always known I had a natural born raw talent. But the real talent probably didn't kick in until around the age of 9 or 10. I had to work hard to perfect my gift.. And I do know it's a gift. I don't take it for granted."

"You definitely are gifted.. In more ways than one I suspect." His eyes are shining at her and he thinks she looks so fucking cute with soy sauce on her chin. He's not sure how much longer he can keep resisting his urges… So he keeps talking to stay distracted. "Y'know, I sing in my band, mostly backup vocals. I know I'm not the best, although lately the guys have been pushing me to do it more often, like, to take the lead vocals sometimes."

"I think that's wonderful Finn, and I agree you should sing more often - lead vocals, that is."

"Why? I mean, we have Josh.. and yeah, I could sound okay in rehearsals but then be terrible when it really matters on stage or something."

She pinches her brow and places her hand on top of his. "Hey.. are you forgetting I heard you sing tonight - in fact I sang WITH you tonight… and besides being talented myself, I'm also a professional, so I can tell you honestly… your backup vocals were fantastic. But your lead vocals on that last song especially were incredible. And your ear for harmonies is AMAZING. Just the fact that you can sing while drumming is no minor accomplishment. You're very talented, Finn. It sounds to me like maybe you just have a confidence problem on stage? But having heard you perform live in front of a packed audience, and now knowing about your national show choir talents, I can't fathom why?"

He flushes slightly at her unexpected compliments. "Well.. show choir is with a whole group, and yeah I may have soloed a song or two, but it was still in a different context. Different audience. I'm confident about my drumming ability, always have been. But singing wasn't something I ever really saw as one of my greater talents… You really think I'm that good? Like, good enough to take the lead."

"Listen Finn, I know we just officially met tonight, but I can't imagine why I should lie to you about a thing like that. Or about anything really, because I believe honesty is one of the most crucial values, along with integrity. And I can promise you, I'll be brutally honest - maybe even at times when you wish I wouldn't be." she snickers to herself and slurps up more lo mein.

He takes in a deep calming breath. He's finding it SO easy to talk to her, just to BE with her; she really does have some soothing effect on him. "You're really cool Rachel, y'know that?"

She blushes, but smiles softly. "You're turning out to be MORE than pretty special yourself, mister." she pauses a moment and swallows her food "I just still wish you'd trust me enough to say whatever you're holding back. That setlist tonight… "

"So you really enjoyed the show tonight?"

"Oh gosh yes, I absolutely did! Finn, your band is really SO incredibly amazing! …But I have to ask about that last song, MAGIC. You explained it onstage, but.. Finn, how? How could you write a song for me, you said inspired by me, when you only just met me today? And you asked me to listen to the setlist, to pay close attention.. Well I did. I heard you, every word in every song. That setlist took a little time to plan, right? So I know there's something more you're leaving out, but I don't know what it is or why… You don't trust me to understand? Do you think I'll be angry?"

Finn was kinda hoping she WOULDN'T be this clever, at least not this quick.. But she totally IS, so now what? "I guess we've kind of abandoned our game again, huh?" he grins at her without making eye contact.

"Honesty Finn. That's what I need, not games. I.. I'd like to share something personal with you, but.. Feels like you're hiding from me a little bit right now. And I.. I really like you entirely too much to begin on a rocky foundation."

"You like me too much, huh?" He smiles warmly at her, and reaches over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I.. I really really do. I can't lie about that. There's something about you that makes me want to just.. Tell you everything. You… make me feel safe. In a really unexpected way. It feels like I've known you forever already. It kind of scares me a little, because we've only just met. But I've been in a few longer term relationships, and I've NEVER felt this way before. Have you?"

Finn thinks for a moment about what she's saying. He really wasn't sure he wanted to start the whole 'past relationships' conversation with her tonight, but listening to her openly express her feelings like this, he can't deny he feels exactly the same and wants to share everything with her as well.

"For the record, I think I MORE than really like you too much already. Have I ever felt this way about anyone else? No. Not like THIS, no… Definitely haven't felt anything like this so fast before either… but there was maybe something similar. Once, a long time ago. Or at least I thought I felt that way.. Clearly she didn't feel the same though. But we were kids, it was just high school, so maybe none of that mattered anyway."

She feels like he's got a big story to tell, and she's pretty sure she briefly saw that twinge of pain or regret flash across his face again. She's also remembering Josh's whispered advice about Finn being bruised and asking her to take care of him. She wants to ask more but decides not to push too hard about it right now. "High school for me was horrible. So yeah, maybe you're right, maybe high school romances don't count… but I'd still like to know what you seem to be holding back from me. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, can it?"

He sighs and looks deep into those chocolate eyes and suddenly just knows there's nothing he can't say to her. "You're right. What's the worst that can happen." He looks at her with a slightly nervous expression. Here goes everything…

"Okay Rach. You wanted to dive into the deep end so here it is: I've been… aware of you for a very long time."

"Aware… What does that mean, 'aware of' me?"

"Well, the first time I noticed you was in the coffee shop where Blaine works. I saw the two of you talking, like friends. That was probably… like 7 months ago?"

Rachel's eyes grew wide, awestruck at this admission - but she sat quietly and let him continue.

"So after that first time, I started seeing you like, several times a month in different places. It was so crazy, like I became convinced I was only meant to see you, but not actually meet you. And before you ask… YES, that's the why and the how that Blaine and I actually became friends. I was hoping to connect with you… through him. But instead I ended up giving him drum lessons, then meeting Puck through him, and it was ultimately Puck who apparently put the stamp of approval on me meeting you. The show tonight was his idea, his way of getting us in the same place at the same time so we could meet."

She's just blinking. Blinking and thinking and staring at him with a slack jaw. And he's internally kicking himself thinking he just blew it all with this confession.

"Umm. Say something Rach? You're making me nervous…"

"Six or seven months? You've been seeing me for that long.. And I never saw you…" He feels a little more nervous now, until she adds, "...But I think I felt your presence."

Wait what? That was a totally unexpected response. That's the only thing she's focused on? "You felt my presence.. How do you mean?"

"Well, I've been telling Tina for a long time now that I felt sort of like, maybe someone was watching me… But not really in a creepy way, just in a.. In a way that I knew someone was there. I mean, I wasn't scared or anything, I just felt like I was missing something that I should have obviously noticed somehow. Of course, Tina thought I was nuts, or maybe I had a stalker and wanted to call 911 every time I mentioned it." She snorts a laugh and he cracks up with her.

"So wait, you're not like, totally freaked out by this at all? 'Cause I mean, as much as I tried not to, I sorta felt a little like a stalker sometimes. It's too easy to gawk at you from afar y'know." He's pretty surprised by how casually she's taking his admission.

"Well.. I guess I can see why you'd expect me to be at least a little apprehensive about it… but as I've said, I am nearly positive I felt your presence, even if I wasn't aware of it yet. But… why didn't you ever approach me before?"

Yeah, why didn't he? "I, Umm.. well most of the times whenever I saw you it was like, from a distance, across an intersection stuff like that. The times when I was a little closer, maybe close enough to even think about it, you looked too busy, in a hurry or on the phone, or even maybe on a date one time. That night on the bus was probably the closest proximity I'd actually been to you while you were alone, but you were on the phone. And following you off the bus just seemed really creepy, and I have this fear of pepper spray so…" he chuckles.

"Wait.. when did you see me that you thought I was on a date?"

"Ahh.. like maybe 3 or 4 months ago? I passed you on the sidewalk, near the theater where Wicked was playing. You were wearing a red coat and looked incredible that night. There was a guy walking with you, had his arm around you." And I didn't like it AT ALL.

It had to Brody, it couldn't have been anyone else. He knows Blaine and Noah now. "Wow… I ah. Um. Yeah, I think I was sort of on a date around that time, actually we went to that show, to see Wicked. This is so…"

"Totally weird, right?"

"Yeah it is.. but, well, weirder than you even know. I.. I wanted to tell you about this, but until you said everything you just said, I wasn't sure if I should mention it yet."

"What? Wait, please don't tell me you already have a boyfriend..?"

"NO NO! Nothing like.. Well, that is, I DID sort of have someone I was seeing. The guy I'm pretty sure you saw me with, his name is Brody. We were sort of seeing each other for a long time. It was, well… more than casual but not very serious. But it ended. Badly. Very, incredibly, extremely badly."

Should he mention the things Puck had already told him? "Yeah well.. Puck did say there was something you were going through, he did sort of say it was a bad break-up. But he didn't elaborate very much. So umm, badly.. how so? Was he cheating or…"

"I wish that was all of it!" She swallows hard and pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts. "OK. I feel like, … I think I can just tell you everything and it'll be alright. Okay? So I'm just going to explain things and then.. Then you'll know." Finn nods in agreement, and takes her hand in his because he feels like she's going to need that little bit of extra reassurance from him.

"Yes he sort of, well he WAS certainly cheating. But it was so much worse than that though. He actually turned out to be a male escort." Finn's eyes grew huge and his mouth dropped open, but he didn't interrupt her. "But I didn't know that part yet at the time when I broke things off with him. I suspected he was cheating, because I'd actually seen him on one of his, ahh, 'dates' or appointments or whatever, at a club. So the last time we went out to dinner I just told him I was too busy with the play I'm in, and it just wasn't good for me to be dating now. I thought I was clear and hoped maybe we could remain civil about it - I didn't even bring up the cheating thing at the time because like I said, we weren't very serious, and I just wanted peaceful distance from him. We had been friends longer than we'd been dating, if you really can even call it dating… So I just didn't want a big ugly thing. But then, after just a few days he started trying to call and text constantly and asking me out all the time and I just.. Well, it was actually the night you saw me on the bus, that was the night I finally had to put a real end to it. So I texted him and mentioned the cheating thing. And I told him to lose my number and I blocked him from my phone."

Finn's been paying close attention and can tell she's getting more tense the further she gets into the story. "Sounds like you did the right thing, blocking him. Especially if he wasn't taking NO for an answer."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too… but then. Well, I'd started to get sick with a respiratory thing - I'm highly prone to tonsillitis - so I had stayed home on voice rest and called off sick from classes for the week. And he just showed up at my door one morning unannounced and begging to talk. I figured my nasty text message maybe wasn't fair, so I'd at least let him say what he needed to say but then that would be that. But.. that's not exactly what happened."

She can feel the tears threatening to sneak out and she's fighting hard to hold them at bay. She squeezes his hand a little tighter. Finn senses her tension and offers, "Rach.. you don't have to tell me the rest now if you don't want to, I don't want you to be upset or relive something that you're not ready to talk about."

She squeezes his hand tightly and leans in to give a soft sweet kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Finn, for worrying.. But I really feel like I want to tell you this now, up front. Because this thing, it's not really over yet.. And you should probably know about it before we get any further involved."

"Okay.. I'm a little more worried now, but I'm listening. Just, take your time."

She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and explains the attack. She only left out a few of the more humiliating details, but she made it clear about the nature and intentions of his attack. As he sat listening, learning exactly what she'd been through, piecing in the missing details from what Puck had already shared, Finn was unconsciously squeezing her hand so tightly she actually yelled out "Ow!"

He quickly released her and cried back "Oh Rachel geez I'm so so sorry! I didn't mean to do that.. Are you ok?" She nods and he kisses her hand. He had to take a couple deep breaths to quell the rage he was feeling towards this Brody guy. He let out a loud sigh and then admitted to her "I uh, yeah. I just can see now why Puck was so very ANGRY when he mentioned whatever it was you were dealing with. And also it now makes total sense why both he and Blaine have been so protective of you."

"Blaine was being protective too?"

"Yeah - you have a FANTASTIC friend in him too, by the way… but Rachel, my god, I can't believe that guy did that to you. I think - no, I KNOW it's a good thing I don't know who he is. I think Puck and I have a lot in common when it comes to that shit. You just don't DO that to a woman, and the things he did.. to YOU? Yeah I kinda would love a few minutes alone in a locked room with him right about now, knowing what he did."

"No Finn.. violence is not the answer. But I appreciate how concerned you are, and that you'd be willing to defend my honor like that."

"Hell yes I would… but you also said this thing isn't over yet..? What did you mean?"

"Well.. Naturally there were police reports and charges filed. He was arrested, and there will be more legal things happening in the future, I don't know when, and I don't know if it will go to trial or not, but it might.. And I might have to testify as a witness if it does."

"Wow. So your nightmare continues. Rachel… are, are you ok? I mean, after all that he's put you through… the guys were very sure you needed lots of time, and I surely don't want to put you in any kind of uncomfortable situ–"

"Finn, I'm, I'm fine.. I mean, I did need some time to get past the worst of how I felt. But I'm better now. Much better. Geez, Noah must have said plenty to you already huh?"

"He just made it pretty clear how much you mean to him and how protective he is about you, and how very very ANGRY he was about your ex. He actually sorta threatened to chop me up into little pieces and a couple other things if I did anything to hurt you. Ever." Finn sort of chuckled weakly, but he actually thinks Puck might have been serious that night at karaoke, despite how drunk he was.

"He said that to you? Well, I'm sorry about Noah's intense caveman ways, but then again, at least this time I'm not especially surprised.. You see, Noah was the one who found me. Actually he kind of walked in on the middle of it, stopping it from getting any worse. If he hadn't shown up at my place exactly when he did.. I don't want to think what else would've happened."

Finn is rubbing circles on the back of her hand and trying to provide her some comfort. "Well for the record, I really like your cousin, and your friend Blaine. And I am really glad they're in your life to be there for you and look out for you. But also.. I just want you to know, you could add me to that list of people who would protect you and look out for you… because I'd NEVER let anything like that happen to you if I'm around."

She hugs him tightly and holds him in a long embrace. "I believe you Finn. And thank you, so much. Thank you for letting me explain this… and, and for understanding. I was afraid you might think this was too much baggage or that I'm damaged goods now."

"Are you joking? Babe, there's probably NOTHING you could tell me that would make me see you that way. I see a strong, gorgeous, talented, independent woman sitting in front of me… And you must have the confidence of a Samurai warrior to brave Broadway, so.. I actually think you're pretty damned perfect. In my eyes anyway." She giggles through tears and just looks deeply into his warm whiskey eyes, not even knowing how to respond.

The mood had gotten really heavy with that conversation, and Finn was hoping to help lighten her spirits a bit. The iPod that's been lulling softly in the background all this time is now playing Ed Sheeran's "Kiss Me". Finn stands up and pulls her up by her hands "Care to dance?" Rachel nods as he pulls her up from the floor. He slides his hands down to the sides of her waist and pulls her close as they begin to sway in time with the soft steady slow beat of the music.

Rachel places her hands on his broad chest, leans her head against his shoulder and closes her eyes. She's starting to get lost in the song when she's suddenly taken by the soft timber of Finn's voice singing in her ear.

… And your heart's against my chest
Your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes - but they don't know me yet
And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
Falling in love

As their bodies fall into a natural rhythm with the soothing soundtrack, he gently pulls her chin up toward him to see her eyes then trails his fingertips across to stroke the hollow of her cheek softly with the back of his fingers. In this singular, perfect moment Finn's heart feels full. He's wishing he can just be here, holding her in his arms like this forever. For all the time he'd spent living with only the memory and mystery and the possibility of her, this is what he'd never allowed himself to imagine; wanting this but not being able to have it was too much to bear.

Settle down with me
And I'll be your safety, You'll be my lady
I was made to keep your body warm
But I'm cold as the wind blows so hold me in your arms

My heart's against your chest
Your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
And with this feeling I'll forget.. I'm in love now

With the sensation of Finn surrounding her tiny frame and his baritenor voice soothing her, Rachel is overcome with a sense of peace she hasn't felt for a long while. Or maybe not ever, actually. Finn's warm embrace is brushing aside all those horrifying memories from a month ago. But she doesn't wanna think about that right now. She doesn't wanna think about anything right now… Except how good Finn's arms feel around her body. And how good he smells, even after performing on stage for 2 hours. And the soothing sound of his voice. And how much she really, really likes kissing him… so she heeds the song lyrics command.

Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
Falling in love

Rachel kisses Finn with such warmth and passion that Finn feels like he's floating. This girl truly is MAGIC in his mind. Neither of them can seem to get enough kisses and he's struggling against the urge to take this to the next level.. But they just met. And she's going through something. He needs to let her set the pace. But it's really starting to affect him, and he really needs a minute to compose himself because he's getting a little, ah, 'uncomfortable' in his pants.

"Rachel I'd LOVE nothing more than to do this all night, just stand here kissing you by the fire.. but I might need a break here and there because uh.." he exhales sharply "you just don't know what affect you're having on me."

She flutters her lashes at him and offers a sweet smile. She's not gonna directly let on that she totally FEELS the impact she's having on him rubbing up against her. "I may have some idea.. But you're right. I don't want to be unfair to you. And you just spent a couple hours performing and being all sweaty on stage - not that I mind your smell at all, it's um.. kind of intoxicating actually." She bites her bottom lip then smiles and he groans a little. "But if you wanted to go, freshen up, have a shower or whatever you normally would do after a show, I can just clean up this mess and relax here by the fire."

Oh man she has no idea how bad he wants to throw her over his shoulder and drag her off to the shower with him right now.. "Y-yeah, ah. I do normally come home and clean up.. But NO I don't expect you to clean this up, I'll get it."

"Don't be ridiculous, I insist… go, do your thing, and I'll just be waiting out here. Not going anywhere, I promise," she smiles reassuringly.

He slides his hands over her cheeks, weaving his fingers through her hair and cradles her head in his large hands. He kisses her deeply and passionately, then rests his forehead against hers and sighs softly. "Okay. Beer and juice and whatever you want in the fridge. iPod's on the counter, or TV remote is over on the sofa. There's a blanket over there too if you get cold. Just make yourself at home, I won't be long…." he kisses her again then says "..and by the way, that song that was just on? That's OUR song now. And we're gonna listen to it again when I get back." He pulls up a huge full dimple grin then turns for the hallway.

She smiles widely as she watches him walk down the hall toward his bedroom, with her heart thundering in her chest, the fire burning in her blood and still feeling the tingles on her lips from his kisses. "Hurry back" she whispers to herself.