A/N: just a little one-shot I wrote while getting inspired listening to Taylor Swift. It's kind of corny in my opinion but ah well. Don't worry still working on TBTC. Hoping to help rise Rogan shippers from their sleep. Please leave me a comment even if it's just to gush about Rogan :).
We Never Go Out Of Style
As Rory sat in the contemporary styled waiting room, on the cushy leather sofa with a cup of half-drunk coffee placed on the table in front of her and her handbag, that included her tape recorder and notepad, she hoped that she wasn't too underdressed in her grey slacks, pink peter pan collared blouse overlaid with a cream cable knit sweater and black flats. When she had been assigned the interview with the CEO of the new media giant Ace Media, Rory had to admit that she hadn't been expecting to be surrounded by such extravagance. Across the room there was a large flat screen TV playing CNN and in the corner there was several snack machines. Across the waiting room there were several more sofas and cushy armchairs, all facing the floor to ceiling window that exposed a wonderful view of New York City and the empire state building in the distance.
She checked herself over and told herself that she was fine. It wasn't as if she was working here or had turned up in Levis and a plaid shirt. Her hair was impeccable as always tied back into a high but tidy ponytail with her bangs pushed to one side. She checked her wrist watch (a diamond encrusted Dolce and Gabbana design gifted to her as a 25th birthday present from her grandparents) and realised that she had been waiting for at least half an hour now and she hadn't been overly early for this interview. They must be running late Rory thought and mentally rolled her eyes. One of the least fun parts of being a reporter was having to wait for her interviewee to decide to turn up, no matter what the arranged time was and it wasn't like she could complain unless she wanted an awkward interview.
Her cell phone beeped, interrupting her thoughts and she pulled her I-phone out of her bag. It was from her mother, Lorelai. Of course it was. She immediately smiled when she saw the contents of the message.
Michel is filing a complaint for harassment, apparently the new waiter copped a feel on his way pass even though I'm fairly sure it was an accidental grab to save himself from falling flat on the floor. To top it off, I can't even have my precious coffee. It's just sitting there in the jar taunting me, saying Gilmore, I'm right here and you can't have me, ha! I hope your morning is going better than mine, sweetie.
She felt a rush of sympathy for her mother. She was in the late stages of pregnancy with her little sister and her husband, Luke, was resolute that she should keep the coffee drinking to a minimum or preferably not at all. No matter how bad Rory's day was going at least she could always count on her reliable cup of coffee to be there for her at the end of it all. Now her mother still had another few months to wait before she could even think about taking a sip of the glorious nectar that was the caffeinated beverage. Seeing that it didn't seem that anyone was going to call her in for her interview anytime soon, she typed back a response.
Poor you, are you having to play Judge Judy between Michel and that unsuspecting waiter? I'm sorry that the coffee is taunting you, I'm pretty sure that's just the hallucination stage of suffering from withdrawal symptons having gone without it for so long. At least you will have another genius daughter to raise when all is said and done and you get to show her all of the classics and teach her the best way to avoid getting suckered into social commitments she does not want.
She slipped her phone into her bag and took another glance out of the window at New York. This city had been her home for the past four years since Obama's campaign trail ended. She had been offered a job as a reporter for the New York Daily news and had been loving every minute of it since she had started. Work had always been an effective way to keep her too busy to think about boyfriends or men in general and prevented her from slipping into loneliness, no matter how her heart still hurt slightly when she remembered what she could have had but didn't. It was her own choice and she had made it. She would not take that back, not when she had achieved her childhood dreams.
"Excuse me, Miss Gilmore?"
A thirty something year old woman with dark brown hair in a light blue skirt suit stood in front of her with an expectant look on her face. Rory assumed and hoped that this was the person that was supposed to lead her to her interviewee. "I'm Christina Bilson, if you would like to come this way, my boss is ready for you now". Rory mentally sighed in relief, she really didn't want to be stuck waiting for the rest of the afternoon when she hadn't even eaten lunch yet and her stomach was grumbling at her in anger. She ignored her hunger pains, threw her cold left over coffee into a bin on her way pass and followed the assistant (she assumed it was an assistant) down the sleek black hallway to a large door on the end.
"Mr Huntzberger will see you now", Christina told her and tapped on the door.
Rory's heart pulsated at the name. Surely this wasn't…"come in!" a familiar voice called out and she felt her stomach perform somersaults in response. Her forehead creased but before she could do anything (like run away in the opposite direction), Christina walked her into the room and she found herself looking at the same brown eyes and chiselled features that had broken her heart five years ago. He immediately looked her over when she stepped in and a slow smile appeared on his face that made her nervous.
"You can go now Christina. Miss Gilmore, take a seat".
Rory's eyebrows twitched at his use of 'Miss Gilmore' but she remained silent as she took the seat opposite him across his desk. Christina immediately left, closing the door firmly behind her, giving them maximum privacy, a thought that both excited and terrified her. She reminded herself that she was here for work, she needed to remain professional no matter if she had a romantic history with the subject of her article. "Rory Gilmore. It's been a while".
"Yes it has", she coolly agreed. "If I had known that you were who I was supposed to be interviewing, I may not have agreed to do this assignment".
"Which is why I requested your boss leave my name out of it", Logan had the gall to smirk and Rory's blue eyes flashed with surprise.
"You requested me to do this interview. Why?"
"Because I know you and I trust you. You're also one of the few that aren't under my father's thumb". Logan's expression darkened at the mention of his dad. "And I was curious what it would be like to see you again".
Rory scoffed and couldn't keep the slight edge out of her voice when she said, "Really because the last time I checked you were the one walking away from me at my graduation".
"I know I was an ass".
She blinked in surprise. "Oh...I wasn't expecting that".
"It's been five years, Ace. I've had a lot of time to think things over and cool down", Logan told her and her mind began to spin as she realised that he had named his media company Ace Media. Was that deliberate? Or did he just happen to like the word Ace? She forced herself to regain her professional composure and pulled her tape recorder and notepad out of her bag.
"So I guess we should start the interview then. That's why I'm here", she reminded him pointedly and he raised a brow at her but didn't argue. "So what inspired you to start Ace Media? And did you expect it to become such a huge success?"
"Well I was inspired to break free from my father's business and build my own success elsewhere. I was also inspired by a beautiful brunette who never stopped working for her own goals even when an idiot boyfriend tried to hold her back and didn't support her even though he said he would", Logan answered her truthfully and she felt herself swallow at the reply. How was she supposed to keep this professional if he wasn't even going to try? "And the name Ace Media came from the girl who got me here".
"Logan-"
"Rory I know this isn't professional but I mean every word of it and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I tried to hold you back when you did nothing but push me do better, make something of myself away from my family. I want you to know that you did inspire me. Every single day while you were out on Obama's campaign, I read all of your articles and I knew you'd made the right decision. I'm sorry for letting things end between us the way that I did".
Rory reached over and shut off her tape recorder. Clearly she could not use any of this for her actual article. "Logan, I never wanted us to end. I just wanted to achieve the dreams I've had since I was a little girl before settling down with you. I could not be your wife when I was travelling all over as a reporter and there was no guarantee I'd find a job wherever you were. I never wanted to be that girl who picked everything up and moved for a guy. I never wanted you to pick everything up and leave for me either, we'd only end up resenting each other. I just needed time to find myself, Logan and establish myself as a reporter. None of this meant that I did not love you enough or love you as much as you loved me. I loved you so much Logan and it killed me watching you walk away that day".
Logan listened to her words and when she was finished, got up and knelt down on the floor in front of her. "Rory, is there someone special in your life right now? Tell me and I will leave you alone, I promise".
"There has been no one else since you, Logan. I've been focused on my work", Rory admitted sadly, her ice blue eyes connecting with his warm brown ones.
"If I said I still loved you, what would you say to that, Ace?"
"I would say I could have become a man murdering serial killer in the time we've been apart for all you know" she quipped.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure you're a regular Glenn Close", he chuckled before his smile faded. "I'm being serious now, Rory. I want to be with you again, I've missed you. You can't say you've not missed me", he added cockily.
"I have missed you, Logan but I'm not sure I can do this again. You know what Einstein said about insanity being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Logan, what if we do this again and it ends badly or worse than last time? I'm not sure that I can go through losing you again".
"Rory, I think at this point we don't have anything left to lose. We've both grown up over the past five years and had time to do our own thing. Don't you think we owe it to ourselves to see if we can make this work now that we're done growing?"
"You make us sound like vegetables" Rory retorted.
"Then call me a potato because I don't want to let you go again, Rory. I was stupid for letting the best thing to ever happen to me go so easily just because of my pride. I love you, Rory".
"So what do we do? Date again? What is it that you want from me, Logan?"
"I still want to marry you but I can understand if you need time so I'd happily settle for dating", Logan told her and cupped her face in his hand. She was silent for a while as she thought about it before finally making a decision.
"I'll make you a deal, Huntzberger. I'll agree to date you and if all goes well, I'll marry you. But only if we can finish this interview".
Logan smirked, his eyes lighting up. "There's the Rory I know. Of course I'll give you your interview, it's why you came all the way here after all".
Rory rolled her eyes but left Logan's office an hour later with a smile on her face and slightly more dishevelled then when she walked into the building.
She sent her mother a text later that day, unable to keep the news from her since she was about to spill over with happiness. Her mother seemed a little unsure of her decision judging by her words in her message.
I'm happy your happy, kid but are you sure this is such a good idea? You two have been on and off more times than pantsuits have been in and out of fashion and you've been out of style for five years now, honey. Are you sure that this look is going to work for you again?
Rory immediately responded with: Mom, Logan and I are not clothes and you and Luke took forever to get your acts together. And I have a feeling this time we're going to last.
So to answer you, I'm sure.
