THIS IS DEDICATED TO MY WIFEY, EGYOUPPT. LOVE YOU, BB.
And to all my other Finchel Gutter Gals, thanks for sticking with me.
.xo.
Finn winced slightly as he rubbed his right shoulder. They'd had a four alarm fire in a duplex on Hooper Street. His company had been the first on scene and they had to get the door open and fast; children had been trapped inside. So Finn had taken all of his considerable body weight and muscle and thrown himself into the door.
It opened after a few attempts and they had gotten the children out but he was paying for it now.
He was pretty sure Rachel wouldn't appreciate the giant bruise that was blossoming over his shoulder and down onto his bicep.
And of course it happened during his last shift before he could go home to her. He'd been on 48 hours and as soon as five o'clock came around he would be able to go home to his girlfriend and give her the best early Christmas/Hanukkah gift ever.
He knew it would be a bitch getting home tonight; it always was. Plus they lived almost directly under the Williamsburg Bridge, so he basically had to pass the complex to get to it.
But tonight, it would be worth it. He knew in his bones that this would be one of the best and most important nights of his life.
He winced again as he pulled his FDNY t-shirt back over his head and then bent down to re-tie his sneakers. He sincerely hoped the alarm didn't go off again tonight. He had plans and there was no way things would work out properly if the alarm went off ten minutes before he was meant to go home.
Which it usually did.
But not tonight, he prayed as he made his way down the stairs and into the rec room. Please not tonight.
-x-
Rachel stepped out onto the street from the Delancey Street subway and immediately tightened her coat around herself. It wasn't winter yet but the cold had descended upon Manhattan in the middle of November and had settled in for the long haul.
She adjusted her satchel against her side and tugged her hat down lower over her ears. It was quite a trek from Delancey to their apartment but she wasn't about to blow her hard-earned Christmas money on a cab to take her six and a half blocks.
Even if they were city blocks and the wind chill put the temperature right around 34 degrees.
She exhaled loudly, grumbling silently that she could see her breath and it was only December 4th. She glanced around as she quickly walked down the streets, a smile crossing her face when she caught sight of a few windows with waiting menorahs and some with already lit Christmas lights up.
She made a mental note to take Finn to the store this weekend so he could pick which lights he wanted for the apartment this year.
She hated taking late classes in the wintertime. It usually meant that she would be walking home in the dark. Luckily she had a can of mace (a gift from Finn) and her trusty rape whistle.
Sometimes, after a particularly stressful day, she wished someone would try something.
She glanced quickly at her watch and saw that it was closing in on 6:30. Finn should be home by now, she thought with a smile. He always texted her if there was a fire that was going to cause him to be late. Looked like tonight was going to be her lucky night.
She would be lying if she said that she was thrilled that Finn had become a firefighter. It was dangerous and she was always on edge. Most of the time she wished he would go for his EMT training just so he would be a little further out of harm's way.
But she completely supported him in his decision. When they'd gotten to New York shortly after graduating, she decided immediately that they both needed a job while she was in school. He had considered applying for the spring semester at CUNY but as soon as he saw a fire truck race down Canal Street he was hooked.
He'd immediately found a way to apply to the Academy, took the required tests and he was in.
There were many times when she wanted to talk him out of it. They may not have been there in 2001 but she remembered feeling frightened for the families of the firemen and women of the FDNY.
But she never once asked him not to do it. He left his home for her. He followed her to New York so she could live her dream and she was not about to try to keep him from accomplishing the dream he didn't know he had until he heard that siren and saw those lights.
She couldn't deny that she was excited for him when he graduated from the Academy. And she was less frightened for him when she learned he'd been assigned to Engine Company 216 in Brooklyn. Since formation in 1872 there had only been one fire-related death among the firemen. She slept a little easier at night knowing that.
The most frightening day of their life together came when it was least expected. He had texted her at 4:30 and told her that it all looked calm and the second shift had shown up early so he would be heading out in minutes.
And when she got home he wasn't there. She tried to call and text him but he didn't answer. She called the station and got no answer. She called Lucy Miller, wife of one of the other guys, and got no answer. She'd paced the small living room in their small apartment for at least ten minutes before turning on the television.
There was a five alarm fire in Crown Heights and all available units were sent over.
There were two casualties and six injuries.
And Finn was there.
She stared, unblinking, at the television as the reporter stated where the firefighters had been taken and that the Commissioner would address the city once it was done.
Rachel knew, in that moment, that she had to get to that hospital. Finn wasn't dead, she was certain she would have been able to feel it if he was, but she knew, she knew that he was injured.
And she had been right. A wooden beam had fallen from the rafters and landed on Finn and two others in his department. It had knocked the wind out of him and caused him to suffer a broken wrist and a cracked rib.
That was the closest she had ever come to begging him to quit. But when he opened his eyes and let his crooked smile cross his face, his hand reaching for hers, she knew she would never ask him to give it up.
She was certain he wouldn't be able to anyway.
Ducking her head against the bitter wind caused by the cars and trucks on the bridge, she continued on her long trek home.
-x-
Finn arrived home around six o'clock with a huge grin on his face.
He knew she had class until five and was hoping, for once, that the trains were running a bit slow. He hated that she had to walk home in the dark but tonight he was going to totally make it worth it to her.
He put the ingredients for the tofu stir-fry on the island in the kitchen (they would cook together later) before picking up his discarded FDNY duffle and pulling out a few boxes of Christmas lights.
Rachel had already pulled the menorah out of the spare bedroom and had it set in the window, no candles lit because Hanukkah didn't start for another two days. He was actually pretty glad that he didn't have to hunt through her boxes of useless things from Ohio in order to find it.
He strung the lights up carefully using screws that were already affixed in the top corners of the living room. He wound them up the lamps and over the banisters to create the maximum light available. He then moved all of the furniture out of the way and laid down a picnic blanket and some throw pillows.
He put his hands on his hips and surveyed his work before finally letting a satisfied smile cross his lips. Out of instinct he moved to the window to look out and saw Rachel in her bright red coat approaching the building.
He took a deep breath and moved to the refrigerator, opening it and removing a bowl of chilled strawberries. He placed them in the middle of the blanket and then moved back into the kitchen to pour two glasses of Rachel's favorite white wine.
He quickly unplugged all of the regular lights and made sure the Christmas lights would go on when she flipped the switch.
Satisfied with his work, he toed off his shoes and tossed them into their bedroom. He shut off the lights and made his way to lean against the island, a glass of wine in each hand.
As he heard her turn the key in the lock, his stomach flipped, his heart began racing and he silently whispered to himself, Now or never, Hudson.
-x-
Rachel opened the door and was shocked that the apartment was pitch black. Where was Finn? She furrowed her brow slightly and reached for the light switch.
The normal lights didn't come on, however, but the apartment was bathed in the multicolored Christmas lights. Her eyes perused the room slowly before landing on Finn, who was leaning against the island that separated the kitchen and the living room.
She smiled slightly as she stepped all the way into the room and shut the door behind her. Eyes never leaving Finn's, she put down her school bag and took off her hat and coat. "What's all this?" she asked softly.
Finn shrugged (hiding the wince) and made his way towards her. He handed her a glass of wine and automatically ran his free hand over her hair to the back of her neck. "Nothing," he said softly with a gentle smile. "I just missed you is all," he added before dipping his head down so their lips could meet in a slow, sweet kiss.
"I missed you too," she told him in a murmur against his lips.
They kissed slowly for a few moment before he pulled back, dipping back in a few times for tiny, barely-there kisses, before reaching down to take her hand and pull her over to the blanket. "How was class? Did the professor give you any trouble about next week?"
"It's not uncommon for there to be Jewish students at NYU, Finn," she told him with a smile. "He's given us next week off as a review for finals."
"Good," Finn nodded as he helped her sit down on the blanket before joining her. "I'm glad we have a whole weekend together."
"Me too," she smiled. "Did you find out if Dodson could switch so you could be here for the first night of Hanukkah?"
He frowned deeply and shook his head. "Big D was fine with it but Cappy said we couldn't switch. But I got my schedule," he added at her frown, "and I'll be home for nights three, four, seven and eight."
"Better than nothing," she smiled regretfully.
"Listen," he told her as he put down his wine glass and then took hers from her hand, "I know it sucks right now. But it's only my second full year at the station. One day I'll be able to take the whole eight days off to be with you. And our children," he added softly as he gently took her hand, his rough, calloused fingers toying with her smooth, tiny ones.
"I can't wait," she told him breathlessly before leaning towards him and pressing her lips against his.
Finn quickly assessed the situation. He knew where Rachel wanted to take this, right now, and he knew that was where they would be headed soon anyway. He needed to slow things down. He didn't want to do this when they were in the middle of sex. He knew she wouldn't believe his sincerity.
So he forced himself to pull away. He thought he was going to die at the little whine that she let escape.
"Finn?" she asked as she scooted closer to him. "I haven't seen you in two days. Why is it that every time we kiss you break it up when I know you want me just as much as I want you?"
"God, Rachel, of course I do," he told her seriously as he leaned in to press a quick kiss to her lips. "I just … there's something I want to talk to you about first. And I know if we keep kissing it'll get tabled and heaven only knows when we'll get back to it."
"I say we table it and after," she emphasized with a slide in his direction, "I'll remind you that there was something you wanted to talk about."
"Rach, babe, please," he groaned. "Just … just give me five minutes. And if I haven't gotten my point across in five minutes then I probably never will and we can get right to the fun part."
She squinted her eyes at him, slightly unbelieving, but then nodded.
"Fine. But in five minutes the clothes come off, conversation over or not. Deal?"
"Deal," he agreed with a smile. Then he stood and reached for her hand. "Dance with me?"
She laughed slightly and shook her head but stood up. "Of course."
He leaned over to his right and hit the play button on his iPod dock. Smooth sounds of country music started up and Finn ignored the arched brow his girlfriend was giving him.
Dierks Bentley's My Last Name started to play but Finn was sure Rachel had never heard it before. He cradled her to his body, swaying softly to the music, sometimes whispering the words, sometimes humming, sometimes simply holding her silently.
His heart rate sped up as his part come on. He took a deep breath and backed away from her slightly before singing, "So darlin' if you're wonderin' why I've got you here tonight; I wanna be your husband, I want you to be my wife; I ain't got much to give you but what I've got means everything; It's my last name …" Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out the ring box and opened it then slid to one knee. "Rachel Berry, I love you. Please marry me and say you'll be mine for the rest of forever."
A tear slowly slid down her cheek as she nodded quickly. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes! Of course!" she cried out.
Finn let out a somewhat embarrassing whoop of joy before sliding the ring onto her finger and popping up to wrap his arms around her. "Thank you. I love you. Thank you," he repeated as he peppered kisses over her cheeks and jaw and nose and lips.
"Finn?" she giggled as she pulled away and glanced down to the beautifully understated diamond on her finger.
"Yeah?" he asked with a wide grin, arms still wrapped around her.
Her bright eyes grew dark with desire and she huskily whispered, "Your five minutes are up."
Finn's grin turned wicked as he lifted her into his arms. "You know, I think you're right. Let's move this to the bedroom."
"No," she told him as she slowly shook her head. "Here. Under the Christmas lights. Right where you asked me."
His eyes locked with hers and he nodded just as slowly. "Absolutely."
He slowly, carefully, lowered her to the blanket and pressed his body to hers. His fingers ran gently over her body, only occasionally slipping under the hem of her shirt or ghosting over the button of her jeans.
Rachel, however, high on love and her engagement, was not willing for this to be super slow and drawn out. She wanted him. Now. And she would have him.
"Finn? I love you and I love that you want this to be tender and loving. I really do. But please, babe, please just make love to me."
He nodded shortly and lifted himself to his knees, his fingers grasping the bottom of her argyle sweater. She lifted herself slightly so that he was able to pull it over her head. He didn't let her lay back down, however, until he removed her bra as well.
It still surprised him, sometimes, that looking at her body never got old. They'd been together since high school and still, every time they were intimate she took his breath away. "God, you're beautiful," he whispered reverently before leaning down to press his lips against her collarbone.
"Not so fast," she giggled. "Off with it," she told him before quickly tugging his FDNY t-shirt over his head.
Unfortunately he was unable to stop himself from crying out as the pain that shot through his right shoulder.
"Finn?" she asked fearfully with wide eyes. "What is it?"
"Nothing, baby," he reassured her. "I was just a human battering ram at work today. It's just a bruise. I'll heal."
He expected her to call the whole thing off. Well, the sex part, at least. She was always too nervous to have sex with him after he was injured at work.
Apparently, she had a different solution.
"I suppose that means you won't be able to hold yourself above me for any length of time," she said seriously. Just as he was about to protest she smirked. "Looks like I get to be on top tonight," she informed him before wrapping her legs around his waist and, using the element of surprise, flipped their positions so she was straddling him.
Finn had absolutely no problem with his fiancé's line of thinking.
He skimmed his hands slowly up and down her bare sides, once in a while bringing them over to cup her breasts as she slowly rubbed herself against his straining hardness.
"What do you say we get rid of these jeans?" she asked him with a sultry look before unfastening the button and sliding down the zipper. "Lift," she whispered as she leaned down to press an open-mouthed kiss to the skin just below his jaw. He did as he was told and she had to restrain herself from praising him for it.
"Yours now," he gasped out as he felt the chilled air of the apartment hit his shins after he kicked off his jeans.
She smiled and sat up, slowly unbuttoning her jeans and sliding the zipper down. She stood to pull them off, leaving her underpants in place, and then toed off her socks. With a wicked grin, she moved down to his feet and slowly pulled his own socks off.
His eyes shut and his head rolled back when he felt the fist press of her lips against one of his kneecaps. He forced himself to only groan slightly when she repeated the action with his other.
She slowly made her way up his body, her lips and tongue peppering tiny, barely-there kisses up his thighs then to his hips and up his abdomen to his chest.
He opened his eyes when he didn't feel the next anticipated kiss. As soon as his gaze met hers she lowered her lips again and took one nipple into her mouth.
He couldn't stifle his groan this time if someone had been holding a gun to his head.
"God, Rach. Please," he begged. He had no idea what he was begging for but he knew he needed it now. He needed more. More of her lips, more of her skin. Just more of her. When he felt her move to his other nipple he groaned in both pleasure and frustration. He was pretty certain she had said she didn't want it slow and teasing right now.
As if she heard his thoughts, she slowly disengaged from his nipple and kissed and licked her way down his torso again. She pressed a kiss to the area just below his bellybutton before slowly skimming her hands down his sides and curling her fingers around the elastic of his boxer shorts. She looked up to meet his eyes with a smile before slowly sliding them down his legs and off.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and met his gaze and then took him into her hand. She slowly (Too slowly! his mind screamed) slid her hand up and down his shaft before leaning down a pressing a kiss to the tip. She let her lips linger there for a moment before she opened her mouth and took him inside.
He lasted all of ten second before he blurted, "Rachel, babe. Stop. You gotta stop. I won't last if you keep going like that."
She slowly pulled off, her tongue teasing his tip for a brief second, before sliding back up his body and pressing a hot kiss to his lips. "I love that you still can't control yourself around me," she moaned as she ground her hips into his pelvis.
Finn nodded in agreement before smoothing his hands down her sides and running them slowly under her underpants and over her rear. "Baby, it's time. Please. I need you," he moaned helplessly, his fingers grasping her flesh to try to get her to stop her movements.
Without waiting for an answer he pushed her underpants down her legs and nearly died when she wiggled to get them off. She was going to be the death of him yet.
When she was completely naked, she once again straddled his hips. She reached between then and gently grasped his shaft, positioning herself directly above him.
"Rach," he moaned out, his hands gripping her hips to stop her.
"Just tonight," she whispered as she leaned down to press a kiss against his lips. "It's not the right time and I really just want to feel you inside me. Just you. Just tonight. Please," she practically begged.
He knew he should protest. Neither of them were ready to be parents. He rationalized that she knew her body better than anyone and, to be honest, he liked the idea of nothing being between them tonight.
He nodded his ascent and she smiled briefly before repositioning herself. She slowly lowered herself onto him and he let out a loud groan that mixed with hers as she bottomed out.
Then the torture started new. She agonizingly slowly lifted herself and lowered herself, his hands gripping her hips like a lifeline. She repeated the action once, twice, three times, before he decided he could deal with the shoulder pain if they could only pick up the pace. Without any warning, he swiftly rolled them over, his forearms supporting his weight on top of her.
With a wicked grin, he shifted his weight (causing them both to moan loudly) and slid his fingertips down her right leg. He grasped the skin of her thigh firmly and tugged up, pulling her leg higher on his hip and changing the angle.
The cry she let out only made him grin harder. "Keep that there," he told her before sliding his hands up her sides and down her arms to bring them around his neck. "I would hold on if I were you."
She moaned again before digging her fingers into the back of his neck.
He tried to torture her a bit now, slowly pushing in and pulling out, but his need quickly overtook his desire and his hips began to thrust in earnest.
He couldn't decide where he wanted to focus so his eyes roamed her body as far as they could. He took in the sight of her closed eyes and parted lips, the sheen of sweat forming on her brow and then he let his eyes focus on two of his favorite parts of her.
Slowly, without breaking rhythm, he leaned down to pull a stiff nipple into his mouth. It was difficult, to be sure, to do this without messing up his thrusts, but he'd learned because …
"Finn!" she cried wantonly, her head thrust back and eyes clamped shut.
… Rachel really liked it when he sucked on her breasts while he was inside her.
He wanted to make this last all night but he was a realist (or so Rachel told him) and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. He slowly pulled away from her nipple, taking a moment to lavish the same attention on her other one, before dragging his bottom lip over her heated skin, eyes focused on her face. He kissed her then, hotly, wetly, and with as much passion as he had the energy for. His thrusts were becoming erratic and he was sure he had only minutes, if that long, left before he couldn't stop himself.
"I love you," he groaned out as his lips attached to a sensitive spot below her jaw and his right hand slowly slid down her body. Swiftly, honestly not caring that he didn't drag this moment out longer, he pressed his thumb to her swollen clit and she cried out louder than he'd heard in a long time.
Her walls clamped around him and her body shuttered almost violently, his name shouted breathlessly as if it was being pulled from her throat.
Yeah, not much chance of him holding it in after that.
He shouted his released into her parted lips. He thrust into her few more time, his rhythm slowing until his hips eventually came to a stop.
He slid down slightly and rested his sweaty brown against her equally as sweaty breast, both of them breathing hard. His eyes shut as his fingers skimmed slowly, gently, over the heated skin on her sides.
Rachel brought her hands up (using great effort) and gently carded her fingers through Finn's hair. A smile crossed her lips as her eyes focused on the Christmas lights that cast a beautiful multicolored spectrum across their small living room.
"I love you," she whispered softly to him as her fingers gently ran over the bruise on his shoulder.
Finn's only response was a loud snore.