Work Text:
After an epic night out with the Life & Death Brigade, they ended up at The King’s Head Inn in New Hampshire. And to outdo the night's over-the-top antics, they bought out the place. Logan, unsure of where he and Rory stood, offered a key to her own room. Instead, she kissed him and asked him to show her where his room was. And so, they shared one last night of pure and unadulterated bliss, an exclamation point to their relationship, a bittersweet goodbye.
***
It’s early morning and Rory is sitting at the window seat, staring out the window, looking as if she is deep in thought.
Logan rustles awake in bed, realizes he's alone, and looks for Rory.
Logan says pensively, “Hey…How long have you been sitting there?”
Rory turns around when she hears his voice, but her gaze drifts out the window again. “Just watching the sun come up.”
Logan sits up in bed, missing her warmth. “Come back to bed.” The bed feels too big, too cold and empty without her. He wants her to come back, to keep pretending just for a little bit longer that nothing’s changed.
Rory stays where she is, still watching the sun rise. “How long before you have to get back?” The words hang heavy in the air.
Logan deflects. He doesn’t want to think about saying goodbye again. “Oh, I have time.” He hopes she lets it go.
Rory presses. “How long?”
Logan doesn't give her a definite answer. “Long enough.” He knows it’s a lie.
She looks at him with a knowing smirk, the kind that says she sees right through him.
He pauses. Then caves under those piercing blue eyes, “I have a flight out at noon.”
Rory goes quiet. It looks as though gears were turning in her head. He imagines that she’s calculating the hours, minutes, seconds–the countdown. He’s always hated when he had to leave or when she had to leave, never knowing when they’d see each other again. But, this time is different.
“Don't do the math,” he pleads, wishing for time to stop, to stand still, so they can live in this moment forever.
Rory lays out the truth. “Someone needs to.” He knows the time is about to run out on their situation, their Vegas agreement. He wants to ignore their fate, rewrite their ending. Can he? Will she let him?
The bubble is bursting. Reality is coming for them.
He changes the subject to something lighter. Food always lifts her mood. “Okay, so there's this great diner down the road. Checked it out. It's not your beloved Luke's, but it's supposed to have an amazing breakfast.”
Logan gets up out of the bed, puts on his t-shirt and walks towards the window where Rory is sitting.
Rory doesn't comment on what he said, but reflects on the scenery instead. “It's really pretty here.” She seems to be committing the scene to memory. Logan wonders if she’ll replay their perfect night over and over like he will.
He looks at her, memorizing every detail of her body, wearing only that robe, the light hitting her hair. “Well, I wanted it to be special.” He doesn’t add what they both know to be true. It was a special night–a goodbye. He waited for her to say something last night when she asked if he was going to marry Odette, but she didn't.
Rory’s voice comes out small, solemn. “It was. It was a perfect night.”
Rory looks sad, distant. He can feel her pulling away. A sharp pang cuts through his chest.
Logan looks at her with pain in his eyes, “Hey, Ace?”
She turns and looks at him, her eyes far away.
He continues, “Something going on in that head of yours?” He’s afraid what her answer is going to be.
Rory looks down, fidgeting with something in her hands. She turns towards him, stands and holds out the key–the one from the Tango Club, the one to the family's house in Maine.
“Here.”
Logan shakes his head, and swipes at it, stepping back like it's burning. His heart drops.
“No, no. I told you. It's yours. Use it to write.”
Rory continues to hold out the key to him.
“I don't need it. I know where I'm going to write.”
He reluctantly takes it. This is the last tie he’d have to her and she’s giving it back. She's stuck with her decision to cut him off. She hasn't changed her mind.
“Okay.”
Logan stands there dumbfounded.
This is it.
Their last time together.
Unless something changes.
His mind flashes with what could be. She tells him he has to go home and walks past him. They go get changed for breakfast. But when she comes down the stairs, she says she called a car and she says goodbye to all of them forever. He takes a mental picture of her to always remember her by and he walks out the door, leaving his heart behind. Logan shakes his head at that thought. He's not prepared for that future yet.
He holds the key in his hand, and feels the weight of it. He is transported back to the day of Rory’s graduation where she handed him back something else: the blue velvet box that contained the engagement ring he gave her the night before. The box that contained his hopes for their future. But she said no to their future then. And she is saying no to him now. This time the key represents his hopes for her future, her dream of writing. Not their future together. He tells himself there is no future for them because she doesn't want one with him. The reaction in him is the same. Rejection. Sadness. Inadequacy. Why isn't he ever enough?
Rory holds his gaze and explains, “I love that you are encouraging me to write and that you offered me a place to use, with no strings attached. You always pushed me, challenged me, always believed in me. My biggest cheerleader. But still, I can't help feeling like a kept woman. I just can't be in that house knowing you are out there with another woman. A woman who isn’t me. You say there are no strings, but there’s always been this invisible string tying me to you.” She looks away from him and hesitates before continuing, “I know that I have no right to say anything; I turned you down all those years before. I know this is part of your dynastic plan. But since this feels like our goodbye, our last hurrah, I might as well just let it all out. I know I said I was okay with what we were, but I can't live this lie anymore. I'm not okay with it. If I can't have all of you, I'll just have to settle for nothing.” Her eyes are brimming with tears, lips quivering, her soft breaths fill the air between them.
He reflects on her words. By the look on her face, he feels that she is too. The all or nothing ultimatum of many years ago. A wound that refused to close for him. Maybe for her too.
Her honesty hits him like a punch to the gut. He had not been brave enough to say things out loud. She never said as much either. Their Vegas agreement had kept things light and fun. They hadn’t talked about their feelings like this in so long. His breath catches. His heart races. Heat creeps up his neck and into his ears.
Logan looks at her incredulously, voice rising, “If you can't have all of me? If you recall, you were the one who wanted this…this Vegas. Not me. If there’s anyone you can’t have someone, it’s me. I'm the one who can't have all of you. You made sure of it. Every time I tried to bring it up, you shut me down.” He runs a hand through his hair. “So, I have no other choice than to settle with whatever part of you that you'd give me. The dynastic plan was because you didn't want all of that with me. So, now what? What are you telling me, Ace?” His voice cracks. He looks at her with confusion.
Seeing her still quiet, her blue eyes misting over. The silence stretches between them, as his eyes silently begs her for an answer, something to give him a reason to hope. He steps closer, half a smile trembling on his lips. “So, which is it? Is this La La Land, where we sing and dance and then go our separate ways? Or West Side Story, where we fight for it, even if everyone says we’re doomed?” He half-jokes, but he’s terrified of what she's going to say, scared she’ll walk away again. He hopes that she’ll be the one to fight for them this time.
She lets out a nervous laugh, tears shining in her eyes. “Honestly? I’m tired of tragic musicals. Maybe we try something with a happy ending for once.”
Time slows down as he zeroes in on her words. His vision narrows and she’s all he sees. The pang in his chest isn’t pain this time, he feels hope.
“I was serious when I was telling you to ‘Get Ready’. Are you ready? Ready for us and a happy ending?”
She nods. It’s a small thing, but it’s everything.
He closes the distance and takes her hands in his, the key still in his hand. “Then say it,” he whispers.
“Say, what?” She looks at her feet, shifting her weight back and forth.
He kisses her hands, then lifts her chin up to him. “You know what.”
She shakes her head, tears threatening to fall. “But…I can't let you ruin your life.”
He holds her gaze, fire in his eyes. “Let me ruin my life? Let me? As if you had any control over that. Don't you understand? My life is nothing without you. I am ruining my life just fine all by myself by going along with the dynastic plan. So, just say it. Please.”
Silence fills the room. He watches her. She opens her mouth, then closes it again.
The hands on the clock are ticking in the room. Beating like their heartbeats.
…
“Rory, please.” he begs. His hands are shaking, his eyes blink back tears.
Just like when he left for London the first time, Rory could say ‘Well, I can't do that’ and let him fulfill his destiny. But, that was years ago and here they are again: Logan asking Rory to ask him to choose her, to choose a different path from the one that is forced upon him. He remembers the pain of leaving her behind, choosing obligation over love. He doesn't want to do that again. But he needs a reason. As he stares into her blue eyes, he feels the internal struggle going on in her head. Is she struggling to leave him or to reach out to him?
Finally, he sees her walls come down, a spark in her eyes. “Logan, don't marry Odette. Marry me, instead.” She keeps her eyes focused on him. And waits.
The words hit him so hard he forgets to breathe. He’s stunned into silence. He tries to speak, but his voice breaks. “I..” He swallows hard and tries to compose himself. “I never thought I’d hear those words come from you.” Tears spill from Logan’s eyes, and a sob of relief mixed with fear escapes–one that even he doesn’t know he had inside him. He never cries, but he can’t help it. His shoulders shake as he finally lets his emotions out, everything he’s bottled up for years.
”Ace. Look at me. I’m a freaking Nora Ephron movie. I should kick my ass. This is embarrassing.” This gets a laugh out of Rory. He laughs with her, through his tears.
Insecurity and doubt creep in and he needs reassurance that she’s not going to change her mind. His palms are sweaty just thinking about it.
“But, are you sure? Are you really asking me what you're asking me? Because that's all I've wanted to hear from you. I've waited so damn long to hear those words from your mouth.” He hates how desperate he sounds. He knows he’s rambling, but he can’t seem to stop.
Rory cuts in, her voice trembling, “But, I'm a mess. You don't want this mess. You could have the perfect life, perfect wife…Your dynastic plan.”
He gathers her into his arms. Then pulls back to look at her again. He smiles all the way up to his eyes. Genuine.
“Any life with you is perfect for me. Screw that plan. You’re my plan now. This…” He runs his hands up and down her arms. “This is a dream come true. Rory, I love you so much.”
She presses her forehead to his. “I love you. I always have. I never stopped,” she says quietly, like a secret between lovers.
Logan shakes his head again, still afraid and in disbelief. His voice comes out raw, desperate, “Do you? Really love me? But what about Vegas? It was your idea. I thought you didn't want this life, me, all of what I have to offer you, all that comes with it.” His pulse is pounding his ears, drowning out the silence. He braces himself, waiting for her to put the walls back up, to shut him out again.
But Rory's voice trembles, “I don't love your world. The obligations. The expectations. Not really.” She pauses, licking her lips, maintaining eye contact. “But I love you. I just want you. Whatever way I can. Society. No society. It doesn't matter anymore. Only you.” She hesitates and lets out a shaky breath. “You're not your family's expectations. And I'm not my mother's choices. We can decide what we want for ourselves. I want us. I want you.”
She remains stuck in place, as if she's frozen by her own confession, opening herself up to him in a way she hasn't dared to in years. She buries her face in his shoulder, seemingly embarrassed by her own vulnerability. Logan pulls back to look at her, studying her face, needing to see her – really see her. Rory traces his cheekbones with her fingers, like she's reassuring herself he's real, that this is real. A silent conversation passes between them, their eyes saying what their words can't. Slowly, smiles begin to appear. All at once, they grab each other tighter, with such fierceness and veracity, holding on like they'll never let go.
The morning light is now spilling into the room, casting a forgiving light on them. He feels relief at her admission. He sees hope in her eyes for the first time since their reconnection.
When they finally let go, they look into each other’s eyes, both filled with tears. Tears blur his vision – part happiness, and part the ache of almost losing each other.
Logan says, “So, are we…engaged? Like in a you, me, forever kind of way?”
Rory smiles slightly. “I’d like to be. But, we need to do some things first. There are a few things we have to untangle.”
His mouth opens, but no words come out. He just nods, silently. Odette. Paul.
The weight of her words rings true, for the both of them.
Logan pulls her in and kisses her head, holds her there for a moment, then whispers into her hair, voice thick with emotion, “Whatever it takes, Ace. I’d jump off the Cliffs of Insanity with you.”
Rory gives a throaty laugh, the tension finally lifting between them. “You jump, I jump Jack.”
They share a nostalgic look. Those words were spoken a lifetime ago, once a promise of a new adventure, but later a painful goodbye. Maybe this time those words are a promise of a new beginning.
Logan pulls away slightly just enough to cup her cheeks in his hands. “May I kiss you now?” The tears in her eyes finally fall as she nods, ‘Yes’. He searches her eyes for any signs of doubt, but all he finds is her eyes shining brightly back at him–unafraid, and finally choosing him. He dips down and kisses her slow and sure, and it's nothing like before, the years of wanting, waiting, and regret dissolving. This kiss is sealing the promise between them. She sinks into his arms, his hands tangling in her hair.
The moment is interrupted by Rory's stomach rumbling. Loudly.
They both freeze and then burst out into laughter. He smiles as he kisses her forehead. “The Gilmore stomach has spoken. It's time to feed the beast.”
Rory wipes her eyes, grinning wide, “So, breakfast with the boys?”
“Yeah. And then lunch, and dinner? For the rest of our lives?”
Rory interlaces her fingers with his and squeezes. “Yes. And, as long as there's coffee, Mother's here to stay.”
His heart skips a beat. Her words feel like a yes, a vow, a homecoming. And it takes everything in him to stop from dropping down on one knee and asking her to be his forever. But he just laughs, letting the relief wash over his face. The moment settles between them. He files it away for later – the promise, her acceptance, everything he's always wanted with her. He feels the tension in his neck and shoulders releasing as his body is now full of hope, full of her.
When he woke up, he thought it was the end. But as they get ready for breakfast, he knows –this is a new beginning.
There is a lot left to unpack, unravel, to fix, to forgive. It isn't going to be easy. But now, they’re finally in it together. For so long, he thought he'd never find the way back into her heart. He understands, now, the real key to her heart wasn't the house in Maine or anything he could offer her. It was this–choosing each other. And it was in this moment when the door finally opens.