Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I will probably have some filler/ fluffy chapters because I want some time to pass but I don't want to rush this story.

Logan had slipped out of bed earlier than he should have but he had to get everything ready. Why he thought he could leave Colin and Finn to do anything is beyond him. So, he left the apartment for a short while, bringing in an assortment of pastries and preparing a pot of coffee that Rory could wake up to before he slipped out again. New York was bitterly cold this morning, and he would have preferred to go back into the warm building, back into the even warmer bed, and fall asleep for the next few hours but that wasn't an option right now. Right now, he had to prepare to give his girl the night of her life. Then after the preparations were set, he had to head to the office to look over some numbers he had asked his secretary for, putting a plan in motion that had popped into his head just the day before that he hoped would combine something great for Rory, and profits for his company.

Up in that same apartment that Logan was dreaming about, Rory woke up to an empty bed which would have made her heart ache if she hadn't made her way into the kitchen to see all that he had left for her. She just figured he had to work this morning, or maybe after last night he had to take a breather. That thought sounded better and better to her as well, so she made her way to the closet and decided to get dressed and take a walk around the city she called home for so many years. Wasted years, she thought. Sure, she had a job she loved, truth be told she missed the Times, but she wasted that time without him and without this life that they've built in a year. A life she didn't even know she could ever have again.

She wandered back to her old apartment a few hours later, as she made her way though the home she noticed that there was a box sitting on the bed. As she opened up the box she noticed a black masquerade mask that looked like it had been made with lace and nothing else, until you picked it up and noticed the weight it had to it. Underneath the mask was a note "Wouldn't want you to interfere with the integrity of the event, would we Ace?" Under the note was a black dress, that had sheer long sleeves and made it look like the dress had cut outs all throughout her torso. The rest of the dress matched the same lace look that her mask held. Looking at the clock, she had a feeling that the "event" would be in a few hours so she decided to get ready at a more leisurely pace than she normally would.

Logan walked in 4 hours later to the sounds of Sonic Youth blaring throughout the surround system. He remembered how happy they had been that day, how in sync they were and the next day things had blown up in their face. Tonight, though would be perfect, it would be a perfect mix of their college days with a hint more of sophistication. Walking into the master bedroom he saw she was still getting ready at her vanity while wearing only undergarments before putting on the dress she had for the evening, he leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek and quietly whispered "You're making it very hard for me to want to leave tonight Ace." But just as quickly as he had said that, he disappeared into the closet to get ready for the evening himself. Twenty minutes later they both met out in the living room, both wearing the masks that had been bought for the evening.

Rory looked him over, dragging her eyes over the man that somehow was her husband and appreciating the view very much. How that man could work a small amount of stubble and a smirk was nothing short of amazing but throw on a suit and he would put an Armani model to shame.

"I have an eye for suit sizes as well." Logan winks at her as he notices her staring, actually more like gawking but he decides not to call her out on that.

"I'm sorry, it's just damn my husband is hot. I mean that ass, and just wow." Well, that response wasn't expected.

"Excuse me! I feel taken advantage of right now, I am an innocent young man and you are trying to corrupt me."

"Oh, I'll show you corruption Mr. Huntzberger. But that will have to wait until later, aren't we running late for a ball?"

"Calm down Cinderella, there's no ball."

"Then why am I wearing a mask, and a dress?"

"I just thought it would be fun." Logan shrugged trying to hide his mischievous smirk, before turning to lead them out to the streets of New York and into a waiting car. As the car door opened there was a cacophony of sound.

"How can the three of you make more noise than a stadium of full of U2 fans? I mean honestly, it's three of you people and my ear drums are blown."

"Based on that grin on Logan's face that's not the only thing that's been—"

"Finn so help me god if you finish that damn sentence."

"We just decided that we were excited to see you, and, in that dress, we were even more excited."

"FINN!" Rory yelled at him while everyone else in the limo just had a child like grin on their faces. "So where are we headed?"

"Well! We're all masked up, we all look fantastic, so obviously we're going to hit the town!"

And from there the night was on. There was no shortage of champagne flowing in the back of the limo and Rory had never felt freer than she had this evening. She was with 3 people who made her let her down, who showed her that it was okay to not be perfect and she wasn't about to let that go, the pressures of what ever else was going on could wait until tomorrow. With that in mind she poured her second glass of champagne down her throat as they stopped at their first destination.

The first stop was a bar at the Plaza where they sat around and discussed memories from Yale and the boys filled Rory in on things she had missed in the "dark years." The more the discussion of their time apart was brought up the more Rory snuggled into Logan. It wasn't until Finn had noticed a group off in one of the ballrooms that Rory noticed she was perched atop Logan's lap and had her head resting on his shoulder.

"Look at that lovely wedding over there!"

"Finn, while you may have the same hair color, you are not Vince Vaughn, we are not going over there."

"Just for a moment, love, please?"

She tried to say no but before she could Finn was off and so was Colin. As she reached where they were, everyone had discarded their masks to try to blend in with the beautiful wedding reception that was taking place.

She hurried to grab Finn as she heard him say "Hello, have I met you before?" to a beautiful woman who looked a little bit more than annoyed.

"I'm so sorry, we haven't fully mastered societal norms with him yet." Rory quickly said while trying to drag Finn away, just in time to see Colin making his way over to another poor unsuspecting group of ladies. She looked over to Logan with a pleaded look in her eyes and he took over for Finn while he saw Rory whisper in Colin's ear and he quickly decided to leave the wedding as well. As they all poured themselves back into the limo they decided to try a different club for the rest of the evening. This time though, they wanted to leave their masks on.

As they pulled up to a store front Finn dragged them to the back of the building, down a staircase and through a maze of hallways that Rory was not so sure she could make it out of there sober, which she was pretty far from. Finally, they reached a club that was unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was as if she was transported back into a 1920's speakeasy. There were girls in flapper dresses, the boys were in suspenders and white shirts. The alcohol was being served only if you knew the code word. It was magical, and it amazed her that after all these years these boys could still surprise her with spots like this. They spent the evening dancing, drinking, until her and Logan were found in a back corner where Rory was thoroughly making sure Logan was corrupted. It was then that everyone decided to call it a night, Rory and Logan for very different reasons than Colin and Finn.

RLRLRL

Back at their place Rory intertwined Logan's hand with hers as she laid across his chest. There was the feeling that she had the morning in London, before the weight of the job and the weight of, well everything else took its toll. There was that feeling of weightlessness, and happiness. She had always had it with Logan, even in their darker days, he always knew exactly how to calm her, even when he was riling her up. As she looked at what he had prepared for her, for them, and the world that was surrounding them she realized she hadn't voiced her feelings about all of it as much as she should have.

"Have I ever told you how thankful I am that you scheduled this trip? It was amazing. It was exactly what I needed, and I feel like I can finally breathe again. Thank you so much for always knowing exactly what I need to help relax and unwind."

"Ace, we have a lot on our plates, we have to be able to communicate and you have to be able to talk to me. I didn't think I needed this break as much as you did, but it turns out after being here, that I did. I do have to ask though, are you seriously thinking about writing this book?"

"I really think I am, it just seems to come at the right time and I think it would be good for me to do."

"I think so too. And it has been on my mind, and when I was sitting in the New York office and I realized that HPG doesn't have an in-house publishing house. We do a lot with newspaper, magazines, obviously on-line as well, but printed books we haven't really worked on."

"I know, I figured I'd just find a different publisher, I have a few in mind."

"Well, I was thinking of finding a publishing company and bringing them into the HPG fold, but who were you thinking of because I can see if I can work out a deal with him. It would be nice to have it all under one umbrella, plus then I can make sure my girl is being treated well."

"Um, honestly? I was thinking about Truncheon Books. They used to be a little publishing house in Philly but they've been churning out a lot of great books and have really made a name for themselves."

"Oh yeah! They were one of the ones I looked at, I was going to offer one of the guys my office in New York if anyone of them were willing to move out here."

"Logan, one of those guys is Jess, remember him? The guy from the pub?"

"Rory, did you honestly think that would bother me? I don't know if you realized this, but I won you a while ago." That smirk was rearing its ugly head again.

"Ha. Ha. Oh, that ego, it's just so irresistible. I just wanted to make sure you had all the facts before I brought my book to them, or before you decided to make them an offer they couldn't refuse."

"That was a terrible impression Ace, honestly."

"It's not my fault! I'm tired."

"Oh no, your exhaustion is all my doing, I'm well aware."

"Changing the subject, do you really think you're going to do this?"

"Well, I need to look at their numbers versus some other companies but if it's a worthwhile investment, why not? I mean, you'd be working with someone you already know and feel comfortable with. I'd have someone in my office here so that way the whole division is fully brought into the company and it's not just some little satellite company we have off to the side. It would be a whole new idea for HPG. Logically, it just makes sense. This book, and this idea could bring a whole new level of revenue to our company than I could have ever thought possible."

"Well, we make quite a little power couple don't we Huntzberger?"

"Like you wouldn't believe Ace."

AN: There will be no love triangle, there will be no Jess pining, I'm a ride or die Rory and Logan I just liked how he had helped her with the book idea in the revival and decided to bring that up here.