Author Note: I am so sorry this has taken so long. I struggled getting the ending where I wanted it. I'm still not fully satisfied, but... I hope you all enjoy it.

All characters belong to Gilmore Girls.

Logan flips aimlessly through the paper, scanning headlines, retaining nothing. He stops reading to practice what he needs to say to Rory.

I've missed hanging out with you the last week...

I don't like the thought of you out with other guys...

Explain to me what commitment means to you...

No. None of this is right.

I've got to relax and give her enough time to get home.

Shit. What if she doesn't come home? What if she's holed up in Marty's dorm room for days figuring out that he was actually the one she wanted all along?

No. It's not too late. I can fix this. She called me dozens of times last week. She definitely still likes me.

Or she was calling to end things because she's getting back together with her freakishly tall ex-boyfriend.

He audibly sighs before returning to skim the business section, snapping to attention when he sees his father's name in a headline. He's already announcing intentions to bring me to the board? Can I not even finish college before he starts this shit?

A knock pulls him from his reading. Dropping the paper and turning down the music, he is surprised, but pleased, to find Rory at the door, looking exhausted.

"Well this is a surprise."

"Can I come in?" she asks timidly.

"Yeah, sure. You wanna sit down?"

"Nope," she counters. "Got to stay vertical."

"What?"

Has she been horizontal, like, all night? Where was she?

He eyes her suspiciously. "You have like an octagon imprint on your face."

"I can't do this anymore, Logan."

Wait… "Do what?"

"This casual dating thing. I don't like it. It's not who I am," she explains. "And I don't wanna make it who I am."

"Whoa, hold on. Where's this coming from?" he asks, before turning the music completely off. Please clarify so I know I haven't completely blown this.

"It's coming from me. The ravishing creature standing in front of you."

Okay, so at least it's not coming from Robert…

"We talked about this," he begins.

"I know."

"I didn't make you do this."

"I know. I'm not accusing you of anything. This isn't your fault."

She's not accusing…?

What is going on? I cannot read her at all right now. Is she ending this?

"I don't understand. I thought everything was going so well," Logan says. I was ready to tell you that I'm all in.

"What are you talking about? I haven't heard from you in a week!"

Actually, almost two…

I'm such an idiot.

"I was busy. I had some friends in town." He begins with his usual excuses, falling back into a bad habit.

"You know what? It doesn't matter. You're not my boyfriend. You don't owe me any explanations. I just don't want to be one of the many anymore."

"Oh, Rory. Come on."

You're not-

Lanny opens his bedroom door, pokes his head out, and says "Hey Logan. Cassandra's on the phone."

Are you kidding me? He could not have worse timing.

"Take a message."

"She's got a great accent," Lanny says.

Yeah, well North Carolina is very exotic.

"Where's she from?"

"Lanny, message!"

"Fine, relax man. Geez," Lanny says, backing into his room and closing the door.

"Go call Cassandra back. We're done here," Rory says.

"How are we done here?" We're definitely not done. I have a whole speech planned. Well, vaguely planned.

"I said everything I have to say," she says with a shrug.

"Which is what?"

"I'm a girlfriend girl, Logan. I have boyfriends. Not escorts."

"Ah." I'm going to have to amend this speech. This vague speech.

He begins pacing, trying to sort his thoughts.

"I thought I could be different, but I can't," she continues. "I'm sorry. Maybe we can go back to just being friends again."

Friends?

"Or maybe we can just become boyfriend and girlfriend, right?" he asks.

"What?"

Forget the speech. I'm just going to have to go for it. Ask her to be my girlfriend.

"I get it. I get what you're doing," he says, unable to keep the nervousness from creeping into his voice.

Rory protests. "I'm not doing anything."

"Hey, if that's what you want, then just come out and say it, okay? But you coming in here and issuing an ultimatum?"

I actually need you to say it clearly so I don't look like an idiot if you've gotten back together with the Jolly Green Giant.

"I am not issuing an ultimatum," she says.

"That's not what I heard."

"I said 'Let's be friends.'"

Well then… that's not what I'm trying to hear.

"That's not what you meant," Logan says.

I think you mean you want me to commit to you. Please tell me you want me to commit. Because I will.

"Oh, I need a taco," she whines.

He eyes her intently, but she is not giving him anything. I'm just going to have to risk it.

"Alright. Fine. I'll do it," he says, approaching her.

"You'll do what?"

"I'll be your boyfriend," Logan says.

Her eyes turn incredulous. "You can't be my boyfriend."

"Why not?"

"Because you told me that you can't be my boyfriend."

Please don't hold me to the ridiculous things I said a few weeks ago. I was a moron.

"If I say I can, then I can," Logan says

"You have a hundred girls on speed dial, you keep a second bathrobe in your closet for overnight guests," she taunts him.

"That's all beside the point. You came in here to say you were unhappy with the situation, right?"

"Right."

"I've rectified the situation. Problem solved," he says.

"No, problem not solved."

He takes her hands. "Hey, if I say I can do this, I can do this."

His eyes plead with hers, and just when he thinks he has her, the door knocks again. He opens the door, and Lisa just walks right in.

"Hey, Logan. I thought maybe I could get you to buy me some lunch."

"Geez." Apparently, there can be worse timing.

"I'm sorry. Could you excuse us for just a second?" Rory asks Lisa. "We're almost done here."

"Sure. I'll just wait out here," she says, stepping back out into the hallway.

Logan quickly closes the door, turning to Rory with a sheepish expression.

"So, the Swedish flight attendant should be here any minute."

"I swear this situation has never happened before in my life."

I mean… the first time I'm trying to tell a girl I don't want any other girls, the other girls won't go away.

"Logan…"

"Rory. Do you really wanna stop seeing me?" Please tell me it's not too late.

"No, but I can't-"

"Cause I don't want to stop seeing you."

"Okay, but-"

"So just accept what I'm saying. I like trying new things. It's new. It's different, but I can do it."

I can do it.

"Are you sure?"

He tries to convince her the best way he knows how. He pulls her into a passionate kiss. She responds to him for a moment before pulling back.

"I know you can do that, but…"

He cuts her off with another kiss, feeling the tension leave his body.

Rory looks up at him, her blue eyes nervous. "I really wanna believe you," she whispers.

"Then believe me. We're starting fresh right now, new beginning. So… you wanna go grab some lunch. We'll hammer out the details."

"I should probably change first," she says.

"Go home and change. I'll pick you up in half an hour." His relief is palpable.

"Okay."

Her smile is infectious, and he smiles back as he leans in for another kiss. "See how good this is going so far? I think I'm gonna be an excellent boyfriend."

"I agree. Now you wanna go tell her or should I?" she asks, gesturing to the door.

"Oh, crap. I'll be right back."

He slips out the door quickly to find Lisa still waiting patiently.

"You ready to go?" she asks with a grin.

"Uh, no. The thing is…" He pauses for a moment. These are not feelings he has ever expressed, and he's unsure of the words. "So Rory, um… the girl inside. She's my girlfriend now so I'm not going to be taking you to lunch. Or really anywhere anymore."

His awkward diction leaves Lisa confused for a moment. "You. Logan Huntzberger. You have a girlfriend?"

"Yes. I… have a girlfriend."

"Since when?"

He smiles. "Since about three minutes ago."

"Hmm. Okay, I guess I'll take off then," she says. "Keep my number. For when you're single again."

He watches her saunter off, slightly annoyed at her insinuation, before heading back to his dorm.

He finds Rory on the couch reading his discarded paper intently.

She looks up with a smirk. "How awkward was that?"

"Pretty awkward," he says sitting beside her and pulling her close.

"Logan, I want to make sure this is what you want to do. I was not giving you an ultimatum. I promise."

Pressing soft kisses to her lips and jawline, he whispers. "I believe you. But I don't want to be one of your many either."

"You know there aren't many."

Seeing you with Robert about killed me.

"I know there's more than me," he says. "And that's too many."

She pulls away to watch him closely. "You're sure?"

He nods in earnest. "And… by the way, that bathrobe? I got it for you. After spring break. It was fine to be non-stop naked when we were alone, but I figured we shouldn't be so cavalier if Lanny could be here at any moment."

"Really?" she asks with a big smile.

"Um-hmm. Tags are still on it. Do you want me to show you?"

"No. I believe you. I'm going to run home and shower. I'll text you when I'm ready." She kisses him one last time before slipping out the door.

Logan pulls up in front of the soul food restaurant Rory had requested. "You're sure this is what you want to feed your hangover?"

"I normally want Mexican, but I'm suddenly craving carbs."

"Do you think mashed potatoes will get that tile imprint off your face?" He laughs as he gets out of the car. "Or do you think that's there for good?"

"So you've never passed out next to the toilet?"

"Touché."

Once they sit down at the table, Logan asks, "So where were you last night that you got so tanked?"

"I actually went to Stars Hollow for Founders' Day. Miss Patty's punch is lethal, and I definitely overserved myself."

"Any reason? You don't normally drink like that," Logan says.

"This is probably the stuff we should talk about before you decide if you want to do this," she says.

"I promise I want to do this. Lay it on me."

"I got really drunk because... I was upset that you were ignoring me, and I… I guess I was jealous at the thought of you with another girl instead of me. I know that's not how I told you I would be, but-"

"I didn't mean to ignore you, I just… I took some bad advice, and I thought I needed some space from you. I went to Vegas," he admits.

"What? You've been in Vegas this whole time?"

"Not the whole time. We were just spending so much time together. I was starting to ditch my friends, and I thought I needed to take a step back."

"If that's how you feel, then-"

Logan is adamant. "It's not how I feel. I want to be with you. I just have to figure out how this works."

Rory smiles. "I'm no expert, but I have been in a relationship before, so maybe I can help."

"Hit me with your knowledge, Ace!"

"So obviously, no more girls."

"I actually figured that one out on my own," he smirks. "Not a problem."

"And, also… I need to have some clue where you are. I don't intend on being with you every second of every day, but if you're going to Vegas, at least drop me a text so I'm not calling you over and over wondering why you aren't answering your phone."

"That… also make sense," Logan says.

"And probably most important… we should just be honest with each other. If you think we're spending too much time together and Finn misses you, just tell me that. I have my own friends, and the paper, and you know… stuff to do. Being my boyfriend doesn't mean that you aren't going to have your own life. I don't have to be your only priority. I just can't be your last. Does that feel like something you can do?"

That feels perfect.

He nods as the smile creeps up his face. "I'm going to be so good at this. There will never be a boyfriend as good as me. I'm going to shock you, Ace."

She laughs. "Only your ego could find a way to turn this into a competition."

Logan helps Rory out of his car, taking her by the hand, and leading her through the quad toward his dorm.

"Hey, it looks like the octagons are off your face!" he says.

"Tea sweetened with two pounds of sugar must have done it."

"And how's that headache of yours?"

"Starting to subside a little. The mashed potato, mac and cheese, biscuit gravy plate combo really helped a lot," she quips.

"I have to say… half the fun of being with you is the horrified look on the waiters' faces."

"Please. I'm an amateur compared to my mother," Rory says.

"So what do you think? You up for a movie?" I just want to keep this day going…

"Oh, yeah. Something really bad," she agrees.

"Absolutely. Let's check the paper and see if Rob Schneider's still employable."

Opening his door, he says "I think I have a paper over here."

"Well. Look how long you make a girl wait for you!"

Logan looks up to see his sister sitting on the couch.

"Honor!"

"You think you're worth it?" Honor asks cheekily.

"What are you doing here?" Logan asks, making his way to her.

"Apparently, begging for some affection." She wraps Logan up in a tight embrace. "It is so good to see you."

"You too," he agrees.

"Listen, Logan. Maybe I should go," Rory says quietly.

"What?"

Shit. She thinks Honor is another one of those girls.

"Oh, sorry. God! Rory, this is my sister, Honor. Honor, Rory Gilmore."

"Sister? Really? Oh, well it's nice to meet you." The relief on Rory's face is evident.

"It's nice to meet you too," Honor says.

"Hey, you're sister's here. Cool," Rory says.

He grins at Rory before asking Honor "So what's the occasion?"

"Well, I had to see you. And since you never check your email, I had to drag myself down and beg Lanny to let me in so I could show you this!" She holds up her left hand, bouncing on her toes.

"Holy…"

"It happened last night," she explains.

"Josh finally gave in, huh?" Logan teases her.

"Oh, stop it. He's lucky I ever looked at him in the first place."

"Well congratulations."

"Listen, I need a favor," she says sternly, pulling him down to the couch with her. "I'm going to tell them tomorrow night at dinner, and I need you there for support."

"Come on." She can't seriously expect me to go home.

"Hey. I backed you up when you wanted to take a year off of school and sail around the world. I wired you the money when you sunk the yacht. I helped pay off the Indonesian coast guard." She looks at him sternly, and he has to admit she's right.

"Okay, okay. I give. I'll be there." She's lucky I love her so much.

"Oh thank you. I love you, I love you, I love you! Okay, now I can breathe and focus on you," she says quickly pivoting to face Rory. "Hi."

"Hi." Rory says cheerily.

"I'm sorry. I'm totally blanking. Your name is…?"

"Rory. Rory Gilmore."

"Yeah, Rory's my… girlfriend." He cuts his eyes quick to gauge Honor's reaction before widening them to Rory.

The words are foreign, but not unpleasant.

"You okay over there? You need a little water or… a time machine?" Rory asks.

She's so cute.

"I'm sorry. Did you say 'girlfriend'?" Honor asks, incredulous.

"Yes."

"It's new," Rory fills in.

"Oh my God," Honor giggles. "I've never heard him call anyone his girlfriend before. Well, Alyssa Milano, but he was ten, and in a weird "Who's the boss?" phase."

Don't bring up Alyssa Milano. That is sacred.

"Oh, wow. Time flies when you're getting pushed out the door," he says, standing up from the couch.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Honor turns to Rory. "You must come to dinner too."

"Oh. Um-"

"No, really. Come. Please come. It'll make it more festive and distracting," Honor pleads.

"We'll see," Rory says.

"Okay fine. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow night. Please don't be late."

"I promise," he says, hugging her tight.

"Bye Rory!"

"Bye."

Logan sits back down beside Rory. "And that is my sister."

"I like her."

"Yeah, she's cool."

"Listen. You do not have to take me to dinner tomorrow. It's a family thing. I totally understand."

My parents are a nightmare. I probably shouldn't subject her to that. But it would be more fun if she were there.

"No, you should come."

"Logan…"

"Hey, boyfriends bring their girlfriends to their family's houses for dinner. It's natural."

"How would you know?" she asks.

"I saw it on "Who's the boss?" Now let's find that paper," he says. "Okay, we got Amityville Horror, Sin City, Fever Pitch… No Rob Schneider, but Jimmy Fallon's from SNL, and I'm sure he can't act either. What do you think, Ace?"

"Maybe we could skip the movie," she says.

"And what would you rather do instead?" he asks.

She takes him by the hand and leads him to his bedroom. "Show me this bathrobe."

Thirty hours later, Logan pulls his Porsche into the student parking lot. The half hour car ride home from Hartford had been awkward, and even now, with the car stopped and the silence heavy, he doesn't know what to say.

How do you come back from your grandfather calling her unfit to her face? Or your mother trying to set you up with someone else in front of her?

I mean… there are literally no words.

He can feel Rory's eyes on him as he opens her door and helps her out of the car, but the embarrassment and anger are dueling for control of his body, and he just can't return her gaze.

After every girl at Yale showing up yesterday and now my lunatic family… There's no way she sticks this out. I should tell her that I know my parents suck, and that I don't care what they think. At all. That- fuck, Paris is home.

I just can't deal with her tonight.

"So, okay if I drop you here?" he asks, defeated.

"Drop me here?"

"Lights are on. Paris is home. I've had about all the crazy I can take for one evening."

"Okay, sure." Her voice is small, and he hates that he has reduced her to this. But she presses on. "You know we don't have to go in. We can get something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Okay."

"I just wanna walk a little. Clear my head."

It's a total copout, but he knows if he doesn't get away from her, he is likely to make this situation worse.

I can't be trusted not to totally fuck up here.

"Okay," she says, nodding in understanding.

She's too good for me anyway.

Stealing a kiss, he says, "I'll call you later," before pivoting to leave.

"Tomorrow?" he hears her call out.

"Uh, yeah. Tomorrow."

By tomorrow you will have talked yourself out of wanting to have anything to do with me.

How did it get to this point?

Six months ago, I jumped off a scaffold with a girl I thought was pretty, and now my parents don't think she's suitable for me to marry. Nobody is talking about marriage. I could only admit she was my girlfriend yesterday!

And so what if I did want to marry someone like her. Or her.

I was an idiot for thinking I could do this. Who cares how much I like her? Grandpa is right. They're just going to choose someone for me anyway and force me down the aisle. It'll probably be a part of some business merger, and my bride will be the daughter of the rival family. Like The Godfather.

This will be better for Rory too. She's an amazing writer, and to have your boyfriend's family disrespect you like that would be detrimental to anyone's psyche. This way she can find someone else. Someone better. Someone whose family isn't so malicious and awful.

His phone rings, interrupting his thoughts. Seeing the caller ID, he angrily snaps his phone open.

"What the hell, Honor?"

"I'm sorry-"

"How could you just sit there and let them say those things to us? To Rory?"

"I know. I know-"

"I did my part. I took up for Josh, and he didn't even need it. Apparently Josh is just fine. It's Rory who's too smart, too ambitious. God! It's not the 1800's. It's 2005. Do they not understand that women work now? Look at you. You have a degree and a fucking job. Why am I supposed to marry an idiot?"

"Logan, I am so, so sorry. Obviously, it never occurred to me that Grandpa would say those things. And Mom. Lord, she was terrible. Talking about Ashley Fallon. You must let me apologize to Rory. Can I talk to her?"

"She's… I dropped her off at her dorm. It was awkward, and I didn't know what to say."

"Oh, my little brother. I know that you have no experience in this area, but you have to go back to her. She must feel horrendous right now, and she needs you to be supportive of her."

"Don't you think she's better off without any of this?"

"How are you this clueless? Go to her. Right now. Beg forgiveness. And when you get a chance, let me apologize too."

Logan hangs up his phone, turns around and heads straight back to his girl. She's right. Tell her I'm sorry, that I acted like an idiot, and ask her to forgive me.

He knocks impatiently at her door, Paris be damned.

She opens the door, confusion setting in when she sees it's him. "Hey… You okay?"

"I'm sorry," he blurts out.

"For what?"

"For just taking off like that. I just…" Be honest. "This was a very intense evening for me."

"I'm sure."

"But taking off like that… I was overreacting, and that's just stupid, so… forgive me?"

She smiles. "There's nothing to forgive."

"Come on. Grab your coat. I'll take you to get something to eat."

"Okay, I'll be right back," she says, turning and running back to her room.

He takes a deep breath, relieved that she isn't upset with him. He feels a smile breaking out over his face when Paris exits her room and stops in front of the door.

"Huntzberger. I understand you're the whale. On behalf of all women at Yale, I have to say…while I still don't really like you at all, I appreciate what you've done here."

What in God's name is she even talking about?

Rory skips toward him pulling her coat on. "Let's go."

He takes her hand, but his awkward feelings don't go away as quickly as he hoped. They walk across campus to a twenty-four hour diner in almost complete silence.

Is there anything I can say that will actually make this better?

Rory peers at him over her menu. "Logan, I want to make sure that this is what you want."

"It is."

"Because I don't want to change you."

"Ace… I want to change. I've already changed. You know that I don't believe any of those things my mother said, right?"

She nods.

"I love how passionate you are about the paper. I mean… I first realized how attracted I was to you when you were investigating me!"

Rory blushes and smiles.

"And whoever I…" marry. "Whoever I date can absolutely work. That's just incredibly stupid."

"Logan, I know."

"I'm going to make some mistakes here. We both know I will. But I'm trying, and I do want to be with you. Can you be patient with me?" he asks.

Her smile takes over her face. "Of course. I'm so happy you're saying that. My mom said… You know what? It's not important."

"No, tell me what she said," he demands.

"She thinks that maybe you aren't the right guy for me if I'm having to change you so much. And that you're only agreeing to the monogamy to not lose me."

Ouch.

"I guess you should tell her that I came home from Vegas early and knocked on your door Saturday night so that I could tell you I wanted to do this for real."

"What?" she exclaims, eyebrows raised. "You were going to ask me for commitment?"

"Yeah. You weren't there, and I thought maybe you were out on a date. That maybe I had waited too long to figure this out." He takes a deep breath, unsure if this admission was the right thing to say. "So when you came over just wanting to be friends... You really weren't giving me an ultimatum. I already knew what I wanted. Tell your mom that!"

Their server approaches, and he smiles at the sheer volume of food that is soon to arrive at their table. But watching her, he realizes he has one more question.

"Did you mean that yesterday? You were really going to try and just be friends with me?"

Rory sighs. "Probably not. It would have been impossible to get over you if we were still hanging out all the time."

"Oh. So you were just going to get over me?" he teases.

"Well I never said it would be easy!"

It would be damn near impossible.

"I don't like the idea of you being over me. Actually," he says with a smirk. "I like it much better when you're under me."

He watches the blush creep up her neck.

He can't help but tease her again. "Maybe don't tell your mom I said that part."

A/N: And that's it for this one!