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Finn didn’t know what he was expecting really. It had happened to all of them (except Brittany and Blaine for some reason), so why was Rory to be any exception? The hockey team had made it clear that they already had something against the foreign exchange student despite him having done nothing wrong whatsoever.
It seemed that they had discovered how to make new flavors because Finn definitely didn’t remember the school selling green slushies before, but the mullet brigade had some anyway. When Finn found Rory, he was covered in bits of green tinted ice. As Finn offered Rory a hand, he couldn’t help but think that at least his already green clothes wouldn’t get stained.
“Thank you, Finn Hudson,” said Rory once he was standing, chunks of slushie falling off him. He gave Finn a small smile and added, “Not a very original color, eh?”
Finn chuckled softly, his hand reaching out to brush some slushie off Rory’s shoulder before he suggested, “I doubt anything the hockey team does is very original. How about we go get you cleaned up before history?”
Rory nodded, and Finn took him by the elbow as he led him to the nearest men’s restroom. Luckily it was almost time for the next class, so the restroom was mostly empty and they didn’t have to worry about any snide comments from members of the hockey team or anyone else for that matter.
“I’m sorry about this,” began Finn as he gathered a bunch of paper towels and got them wet so as to get rid of the sticky residue left from the slushie, “It’s something of a glee club initiation I guess.”
With a shrug, Rory just smiled wider and replied cheerfully, “That just means I’m being accepted though, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it does.” Finn was glad Rory wasn’t taking it too badly, given everything the guy had been through already, he had every right really. Hardly anyone had treated him well since he had arrived outside of the glee club, so Finn wouldn’t have been surprised if Rory had some hard feelings towards some of their peers. Mostly though he just seemed to be disappointed that making friends wasn’t as easy as he had thought it’d be.
“That’s all I ever wanted, Finn--to be accepted here. I can thank you for that.”
His hand halfway to Rory’s hair to dislodge a chunk of slushie residing there, Finn wasn’t sure what to say to that, or if he should say anything in response at all. He hadn’t really thought about the fact that Rory might be grateful for Finn getting him to join glee (most people seemed to resent joining at one point or anything, Finn knew he had), but Rory didn’t. It didn’t matter to him that he’d just gotten slushied because to him it meant he was actually a part of something.
“I’m the one who’s supposed to be frozen, Finn, not you.”
Finn’s whole body jerked to attention, and he made eye contact with Rory, who was grinning at him as if he was a dog who’d just done a cute trick. The urge to defend himself rose up in the back of Finn’s mind, but instead he just pouted a little and ruffled Rory’s hair, taking care of the ice that was there.
“Just not used to people thanking me, I guess.” It was true enough. Though in retrospect Finn also messed up a lot, so he was more likely to be apologizing for something than getting thanked.
That seemed to genuinely confuse Rory, his face scrunching up as if the very notion was absurd. “That’s silly. You’re always doing good things.”
A little sigh escaped Finn as he brushed a little more slushie off Rory’s front before reaching over and grabbing some more paper towels, “Good intent is not the same as good things, but thanks for thinking so highly of me, Rory.”
When he turned back, Finn managed to wipe off a bit more slushie with the paper towels before Rory’s hand reached for his cheek, the light touch making Finn jump a little before he met Rory’s green eyes once again. “Intent goes a long way, Finn Hudson.”
Suddenly Finn’s face heated up as if Rory had just uttered the filthiest thing possible because there was definitely an underlying meaning to what he’d just said--even Finn had picked up on it--and Finn wasn’t sure if he liked what he heard or not. He wasn’t dating Rachel; they were on a “break” as Rachel put it. She had to focus on the play, and apparently Finn distracted her far too much. And Rory made him feel like he actually made a difference, so instead of saying anything he just closed his eyes and leaned ever so slightly into Rory’s touch. Not a yes, and not a no.
At first he didn’t do anything at the touch of Rory’s lips, it was a foreign concept really, kissing another guy, but then Rory pulled away after not getting a reaction, obviously embarrassed. “I-I’m sorry, Finn. I know you have a girlfriend, but I just had to--”
Surprising himself, Finn leaned down and kissed Rory. It was different from Rachel. Rachel’s lips were soft, and sometimes Finn felt like he was going to hurt her. Rory was different. Rory was pushing back with just as much force as Finn, hands coming up to wrap around Finn’s neck as if begging for more.
They parted after a moment, locking eyes and panting softly. Neither of them spoke a word, like they were attempting to figure out the situation telepathically. Finn had liked it--wanted to do it again even--but he wasn’t sure what Rory wanted out of this, and the last thing on Finn’s agenda was hurting Rory.
“Rachel and I aren’t together right now.”
“So...what does this make us?” Rory’s voice was soft, and almost scared. Finn had to stop himself from just pulling Rory into a tight hug.
Resting his forehead on Rory’s, Finn let out a deep breath and murmured, “I think we should finish cleaning you up and get to class. We can talk about whatever we are now, later. Have you been to Breadstix yet?”
Rory’s eyes sparkled with hope, and Finn prayed he wasn’t going to have to squash that hope later because he honestly didn’t want to. “Are you asking me on a date, Finn Hudson?”
He pressed a kiss to Rory’s lips again before replying, “I think I am, Rory Flanagan. Now come on; we’re already late for class.”
A few more kisses were stolen as they worked together to get the remnants of the slushie off Rory, but before long they were finally heading out of the bathroom. However, not before Finn discovered that the slushie had been green apple flavored, and not before Rory slipped a coy hand underneath Finn’s shirt to find out that his nipples were maybe kind of really sensitive.
It took a conscious effort not to grab Rory’s hand as they walked side by side to their classroom, but Finn had a feeling that he might in the car on the way to Breadstix.