Finding Home

Chapter 31

A/N: I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of my readers, and especially to the amazing Ashley Wheeler, who has become my muse, my editor, and a great friend.  If you're not already reading The Legend - A Gilmore Girls Fan Fiction, you should be!  It's an amazing Finn Fic that she writes.

Late Thursday morning, all of Rory's worldly belongings were packed and loaded in her now-full SUV and she and Finn were sitting in Luke's enjoying lunch with her mom before they left for the drive to New York.

"I'm going to miss you so much, kiddo," Lorelai lamented to Rory as they ate their lunch.

"I'm going to miss you too, Mom, but I'll be a lot closer than I've been since graduation," Rory reminded her.

"And you're welcome to visit us anytime, Lorelai.  We have a guest room that you can stay in whenever you come to the City," Finn chimed in.

"You're going to regret telling me I'm welcome anytime, Aussie," Lorelai warned with a sly smile.

"I don't think that's possible, but you go ahead and try to wear out your welcome," Finn chuckled.

"You know," Rory began hesitantly, "I need to go shopping for some new clothes for the office this weekend.  You could come up on Saturday and we could go shopping and spend the day together."  In truth, it had been Finn's idea for Rory to invite her mom to come shopping with her.

"Really?!" Lorelai squealed in excitement. 

"Really!" Rory chuckled.

"I'll be there, mini-me!" Lorelai told her daughter as she bounced in her seat happily.

With the mood lightened, they finished their lunches and Rory and Finn bid Lorelai and Luke goodbye with a promise to call as soon as they arrived in New York and promises to get together soon.  Rory took in the town around her before getting into her SUV and realized that she really wasn't home here anymore.  It would always be her childhood home, and she had even still considered it home when she was on the campaign trail, but her home was in New York with Finn now.  She smiled at the man in the driver's seat and laced their fingers together.

"You ready to go, kitten?" Finn asked her after he had buckled his seatbelt and started the engine.

"Let's go home, Finn," she replied happily.

"I like the sound of that, Ror," Finn beamed, and he shifted the SUV into drive and headed toward New York.  The drive home was easy, having left at a perfect time to avoid the worst of traffic, and Finn and Rory talked about what they needed to do in order to get her settled into their apartment and ready for work on Monday.  Rory was beside herself with excitement over starting her new job and couldn't wait for her first day in her first steady job with her first office.  Sure, she'd had her job on the campaign trail, but that was always a job with a definite end-date coming at her, so it didn't feel as real to her.

They pulled up to Finn's apartment, parking her SUV in the spot Finn had reserved for her in the parking garage, and Finn quickly went inside to borrow the building's moving dolly to bring Rory's boxes in.  As they approached the door for the first time, Finn stopped Rory abruptly and picked her up bridal style.  He kicked open the door as she giggled at him.

"I thought this was what the groom did on the wedding night?" she laughed.

"Well, it seemed appropriate for tonight as well.  You'll have to work with me here, Gilmore.  I'm but a man who is madly in love with the most amazing woman in the world who hasn't yet figured out that she's far too good for me."

"You...are...perfect...for...me," she said, kissing a different spot on his cheeks, forehead, nose, and lips between words.

"And you are perfect for me as well.  Welcome home, Ror," Finn told her as he kissed her deeply and then sat her back on her feet inside the apartment.

"I'm so glad to be home with you, Finn," Rory whispered, overwhelmed with happiness.  When she'd moved in with Logan it had really been out of desperation and necessity, but she and Finn had made a voluntary decision to merge their lives and share a home.

Exhausted after moving everything in, they both plopped down unceremoniously on the couch and ordered Chinese food for dinner.  After regaining some energy from their dinner, they worked together to unpack Rory's clothes and toiletries and rearranging their bedroom to suit them both before getting ready for bed.

Finn brushed his teeth as Rory washed her face and brushed her teeth, and once they were finished he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

"It's our first night in our bed, love," Finn whispered as he kissed her neck.

"We've slept in this bed before, Finn," Rory asked, obviously not picking up on what he was saying.

"Not when it was our bed, though.  Then you were staying with me.  Now this is our home that we share."

"Mmm...I like the sound of that.  Say it again, baby."

"Our home," Finn muttered as he continued his trail of kisses further down her neck to her collarbone. 

"You know, I think I might have just enough energy left to christen the bed for the first time since it became ours," Rory moaned as she melted into his kisses and touch.

"I can't think of a better way to celebrate," Finn replied as he hovered over her.  They took their time, making love in their bed, in their home, until they were both happily spent and lay tangled together.