AN: Thanks for all the reviews! Today is a bit of a filler... but it was needed.
Celeste was giving Rory a bit of an in-home spa day, which after the morning Rory just had she definitely needed. Celeste was no hairdresser, but she could braid like nobody's business, and surely the two of them could manage with some essential treatments on their own.
Logan's disclosure had left Rory a little shaken up, but not particularly stressed - she'd been through worse, after all this was just a small fright compared to the Costa Rica incident. But she was convinced Logan should report it. There he didn't agree - he didn't want stuff like that associated with his name, unless particularly necessary, somehow feeling like the police too would blame the victim for their own stupidity. He also felt like he didn't want the police to waste their resources on looking for things that he had no trouble replacing while there were much worse things going on in the city. Instead, he'd simply excused himself to go unpack some of the boxes that were now stacked up in the guest rooms - after all - getting settled was indeed priority, and even Rory couldn't really disagree with that. So they agreed to disagree for the time being. They were going to be fine, but that didn't mean they couldn't continue to dispute over the topic in the near future.
"Are you okay with the Logan stuff?" Celeste asked Rory, as she was just painting her toenails a shade of antique pink, planning to add a few fun white polka-dots later. They'd avoided the topic for a good bit, Celeste having helped Rory play with Finny for a while, talked about Stars Hollow, Finny and Evie and what to make for dinner, but they'd both known that sooner or later they'd come to it.
"Okay is putting it generously," she replied. "I do understand, in a way it makes me ache inside to think he did this for me - thinking that he was doing me a favor by hiding it, you know, but still he should've told me. I just keep thinking what else could possibly happen that he might want to hide from me. A business scandal? Bankruptcy? When something happens to a family member? Blackmail? I mean this is what marriage is supposed to be - you share the good and the bad, right?" Rory blurted, clearly needing to vent.
"I agree," Celeste said, letting her talk.
"I feel bad for him, really," she then changed her tone. "It must've been tough for him to hold that to himself all this time," Rory noted. "Feeling like he was endangering me somehow if he didn't… God, I've been so wrapped up in my own mind here, stuck in my bed, I don't think I've given nearly enough thought to what he's been going through. All this moving, he's been taking care of me and worrying about the babies… it must be a lot for him too," she added.
"And it could well be that he'll get the majority of the load once they are born too, just like it happened with us. I mean I don't want to think negatively here - but just that it's possible," Celeste said realistically. She was never really one to sugar coat it, and Rory already knew this - but it was a valid point in this situation.
"I'm just the vessel here, aren't I? I have no control over what's happening," Rory replied, throwing her arms in the air.
"Kind of...," she agreed, bitter-sweetly.
"So what I really should tell him is go out and blow off some steam, shouldn't I? I mean, when else is he going to be able to do that?" Rory realized. This did seem kind of perfect. Celeste was around, and maybe going out with Finn would in fact help. Do what they used to do - it usually seemed to help him.
"Well I'm not sure if I'd want him at Life and Death Brigade level drunk at the stage you are at, but… I can't really disagree," Celeste replied, continuing to paint Rory's toenails.
Rory shrugged, the idea still swirling around in her head.
Finn was sitting in his living room, playing Firewatch on his Nintendo. There was an extent to which the pool and the sun had an appeal to him too, retreating by the afternoon into the perfectly air conditioned living quarters to kill his time. He loved the type of games that had a sense of style - artistic, and excellent graphics helped, hence he sometimes could spend hours on it, sometimes playing with whomever though the internet. He sometimes pondered whether that was something normal for him to be doing at age 36. But it was not like he had anyone to nag him about it.
Unlike most of his friends his relationship with his parents was really good - perhaps the distance had actually helped, when he'd wanted to continue his studies in the States. He too had had a predestined life by his family, but it wasn't as brutal as with Logan - he knew where he was going to work and in general with what, but when it came to choosing the actual assignment - he had his share of freedom. He was, however, beginning to be a little sick of explaining to his mother why he was still doing things like this - partying and playing games, why he wasn't settling down and having kids. His mother always meant well, and if he had been back home - she'd surely intervened by now, but from the distance - she just used the method of comparing his life to that of any one of his brothers and sisters. But he knew how to zone out while not being impolite. Perhaps he had middle-child syndrome?
Finn had no trouble meeting women, he'd date them - but somewhere along those lines he usually lost interest. He was at an age where women his age were desperate to have kids, and the career-woman type wasn't his type either - he liked his schedules loose (and his women looser - as he used to say), and he preferred if they too had a similar lifestyle - not having to do 18-hour workdays. So while finding someone to hang out with was never an issue - finding someone who wanted him for more than the prospect of kids and the wealthy lifestyle, was.
He'd heard what Logan had said - and rationally thinking he had no objections. He had no intentions of resolving his lack of companionship by beginning to look at girls under the legal age. But what he hadn't expected was the ease in which Gigi had begun texting with him. First of all he'd never really known anyone who liked texting as much as she did - but it wasn't just random stuff, it was literally topics that he too found interesting - photography, the city, water sports, travel, even general observations on people, psychology and so on. The girl had layers.
He'd thought long and hard if and to what extent he should be interacting with her in the first place - he didn't want to upset Rory or Logan. But he could sense that behind those texts really was just a girl who was lonely, and he could certainly relate. For example Gigi had shared with him that her friend Amelia really didn't show all that much interest in hanging out with her these days, almost doing it out of obligation or something - they'd been really good friends but now with her having her own new friends, she was feeling left out. And he genuinely felt bad for her - being in a new strange city with no parents, just heavily preoccupied sister and brother-in-law - that was not an easy place to be. And the school year was more than a month away. And he knew how challenging that could be first hand - the first half of his freshman year, before he'd met Logan and Colin, he'd been in a very similar position. So to him - it felt a little cruel just to ignore her messages either. But he did watch a little more closely what he said, on several occasions biting his tongue at his usual choice of words that almost wanted to flood out of him.
The next message he received, however, was not from Gigi.
"Finn, please tell me you don't have plans for tonight and you can take Logan out. He really needs this." Rory said.
Rory continued with a few suggestions about what he could do with him, not that he needed her guidance - please! But the prospect was good - it had been a while. Hence he picked up his phone and made a few calls.
Jess wasn't the biggest fan of Celeste's suggestion to 'talk' to Logan - guys didn't talk like that. They approached the issue if needed, explained their emotions as minimally as possible, they would look for a fix, and went on with their lives. And Jess was pretty sure Logan would feel the same. Besides, while they were friends, they weren't really that kind of go-to friends to whom either would pour their heart out to.
Jess had a near full day planned as it was, letting Celeste have a day just to hang out with Rory, while he went back to their own townhouse to give it a once over and make sure they had everything before handing over their keys and see April. He had a few more things to do at Truncheon, signing his own book contract among others. He'd also been to Truncheon's staff meeting, which had felt odd as he now was no longer in charge. But Jenn seemed to be doing okay and for him there was infinitely less pressure - so far he had no regrets.
Jess had returned from his errands and was now walking up the stairs to their small apartment at Rory and Logan's.
"Hey," Logan said, catching a glimpse of Jess, heading up, while he was unpacking some kids furniture he was going to set up in the playroom. Finny was beginning to be old enough that just toys weren't going to cut it. There was a play kitchen, a table and three chairs, some child-height bookshelves and toy chests, all needing to be assembled and positioned somewhere in the playroom that was supposed to double as the TV room some day. If he were to be honest - this was overcompensating in advance for the lack of attention Finny was probably going to get as the babies came. He knew, it wasn't the right way to do it, but he didn't know how he would manage balancing the three kids either.
"Hey," Jess replied and slowed his pace, glancing at the room full of boxes. "You need help with some of that? I'm pretty handy with the screwdriver these days," he added, noting what he was doing. It felt like the least he could do - after all they were getting to stay there for free as much as they liked, Celeste's plans with the chief's house having not reached him yet.
"Would you mind?" he asked, a little hesitantly, unsure if Jess was just being polite or not.
"What else am I going to do?" he shrugged. Celeste was still with Rory and he'd purposefully left his laptop at home. Stars Hollow being home now - that still sounded unbelievable to him.
They guys each took an item of furniture and got to work. Logan had put on some background music, New Pornographers and of the likes, and if did a fairly good job at making the situation seem less awkward.
"Celeste told you what happened, right?" Logan said at some point, having gotten the play kitchen set up.
"You think?" Jess smirked back at him.
"I figured," he sighed.
"For what it's worth, it's happened to me a few times when I was in my 20s. And yeah, you get past it, but it still sucks," Jess said, without embellishments. There - he'd done what Celeste had asked of him, but from there on he really didn't know what more he was supposed to do.
"Yeah," he exhaled, not really knowing what to say, and continued to unpack another piece of furniture. It did help a little - knowing someone else had gone through it, but it did't really change much for him.
It was then Logan got a message on his phone, and began to read it. What followed was a burst of laughter, which felt quite refreshing actually.
"What?" Jess inquired curiously, almost on instinct. It wasn't really his business, but a reaction like that was bound to raise questions.
"Well apparently Rory thinks I need to go out and blow off some steam. So me and my buddy Finn are heading out, apparently my objections will not be heard," Logan said. He wanted to object, not really liking either the prospect of leaving Rory's side for very long or going out to the city with the anxiety he felt. But he got it - it was an opportunity for him to just go and relax, probably the last chance for a while, and Rory clearly hoped that by doing that, with someone who always made him feel good while being in a low point, would in fact be good for him. And he knew that he would feel much better about going out now, with Celeste around, than when she wasn't. "Do you want to join us?" he asked. It came naturally, not out of politeness or anything, but still it left Jess pondering for a moment if it really was his place to accept that invitation
"Alright, why not," Jess replied, knowing that he'd probably hold off drinking too much after having a few drinks too many the night before. But Celeste was clearly enjoying spending time with Rory for a change, and it was not like he had much else planned.
The baseball bat crashed into an old monitor, probably from the 1990s, shattering its chassis, it's screen being long gone by now. It took Logan a few strong pulls to get the bat out of there, having lodged it tightly between the shattered plastic and metal.
Logan wore a helmet, safety goggles and a dark blue protective suit, and it was certainly vital with the strength he slammed into a pile of dinner plates next, several shards being thrown in every direction. Realizing the bat wasn't the best for this job, he switched it out for a sledge hammer.
"That's it", he exclaimed appreciating the sound the crashing beer bottles made next.
He'd probably been there for nearly half an hour, and his forehead certainly showed it, sweat dripping down his face. This was better than exercise.
Jess and Finn watched the guy through a two-way mirror, it almost felt like spying. They'd both had their opportunity to try to do the same, the anger room next door being vacant as well, but somehow neither had really felt like it. But clearly - Rory had been very right about knowing what Logan needed.
"So how's Celeste these days? Haven't seen her in a while," Finn inquired in passing, feeling like he needed a drink to ease the awkward small-talk. He hadn't really expected Logan to invite anyone along, but since he did - he wanted to make an effort at least. But he was significantly better at socializing once he'd had a few drinks, unless of course it was a woman he was talking to.
"She's good, a bit bitter sweet about the move, I guess," he replied. Jess really knew very little about Finn - essentially that he was one of Logan's long time buddies from Yale, and Rory liked him - he just had to take her word for it frankly as all he saw at that moment was a slick Aussie with a thick wallet. Besides, even when it came to Logan sometimes, rarely but still, the "blonde dick at Yale" reference lingered in his mind. He knew he was different, but that sort of entitlement that he'd seen in Logan all those years ago, he saw a little of in Finn too. But he tried to raise above it and ensure himself that he really didn't know Finn that well.
"Mind if I pick your brain about something?" Finn suddenly asked, realizing that this might be his chance to get someone's unbiased opinion on something he'd been pondering about.
Jess shugged, "Sure."
"You know Rory's sister, right?" he began.
"Yeah, a little," Jess inquired.
"Logan sort of cautioned me about her. She's definitely a little too confident for her own good, flirty, you know. And I know she's 16 - and believe me I am not thinking of her in 'that way'," Finn felt the need to explain, Jess' eyebrows raising curiously to hear where this was going. "But she's definitely turning to me for attention, messaging me essentially - mostly harmless stuff. It just seems to me like she needs to talk to someone," he added, before getting to his question - "How weird is that that I engage with her like that?"
"Well… I have a sister that's 13, so it's a little odd, perhaps. I'd be concerned if someone my age was chatting with her," Jess explained. "But if it's just talking, on occasion, I don't really see the harm. As long as she knows that it's just that, you know - boundaries," Jess added wisely.
Logan smashed a few more keyboards, and finally picked up a chair and threw it into a corner, breaking at least two of its legs. Then a beeping alarm went off in the room along with a red alarm light, announcing to Logan his time was up.
"I guess you're right," Finn sighed, realizing that he perhaps needed to address the topic with Gigi himself - make things crystal clear. "Alright, enough heart and heart," he smirked theatrically and rose from his seat, "I'll call the driver so we can go grab something to drink after this," he added, pulling out his phone.
"Huh!" Logan exhaled as he emerged from the room, pulling off the helmet and goggles. He looked tired, but notably more relaxed already.
"Better?" Jess asked.
Logan chuckled at him - clearly it had helped. He didn't say anything, just headed off towards the shower.
An hour and a half later they were two drinks in at an Irish pub in Chelsea, Finn had taken them too - apparently he knew a guy, like he always did. The place was definitely not one of the typical upscale pubs, but it was noisy and quite busy for a Thursday evening. But as the drinks did their trick, their voices became louder too, apparently their teenage stunts providing a topic enough.
"Another scotch, love," Finn called out to the waitress from the distance, gesturing at his empty glass.
"Well that certainly is a fine looking Sheila, that one," Finn commented on the tall blonde waitress clearly intentionally showing off her rack for better tips, which was certainly working, as he sat back down.
Jess and Logan glanced briefly at each other and then at the woman in question, as if checking if the other one would be keeping an eye on the other.
"She's alright," Logan commented.
Jess simply shrugged.
"Oh, come on, you guys are no fun," Finn complained. "Is this what it's like - women tie you down and you stop appreciating the natural beauty…" he trailed off.
"I'd hardly call those natural," Jess added with a smirk.
"Hey, can you blame us for high standards?" Logan added, jokingly. "Besides doesn't that leave you with the buffet?" he added with a chuckle.
"And on that note," Finn said, raising and trailing after a petite red-hair that just passed them.
Jess and Logan ordered another round of drinks as well, both of them struggling a little to keep the conversation flowing, as Finn had stayed talking to the red hair for a while.
"Listen, man," Logan began,"I don't think I ever apologized for the way I behaved the last time you and I sat at a bar like this. It's ancient history, but for what it's worth - I'm sorry, I was a jerk, but that's not an excuse. Definitely not one of my finest moments," he added, somehow the setting having reminded him of that night.
"Like you said, ancient history," Jess replied.
Logan took another sip.
"But I do have to say, you've shown your better side since then," Jess then said, making Logan chuckle.