AN: I'm back. I really wanted to get the chapter out already yesterday, but I was a little hungover to be honest hence thought I'd better let this one sit overnight so it wouldn't be something half-ass. I hope you like it.
By Thursday Charlie was beginning to feel like herself again, and Finn had played a significant part in ensuring she lacked of nothing. Being sick - whether that was just some bug one had caught - something unexpected, or something that just happened every now and again whether one wanted or not, sucked - especially when one was abroad, travelling and alone. But Charlie hadn't felt alone, she also hadn't felt like it was something she was supposed to be embarrassed about or ashamed - all thanks to Finn. She'd been off work since Monday, and already feeling rather guilty for missing her shifts that she'd promised to take. But as she wasn't supposed to be back on her schedule before Saturday, she hadn't argued much with Finn when he'd urged her not to worry about it and just enjoyed the time they had.
They were laying on a picnic blanket placed on the graas at Roma Street Parkland, enjoying the end of a very hot day - well above 95 degrees, having not really wanted to put their noses out of the apartment the entire day. The heatwave, even a bit much for the locals, had been difficult to bare, essentially surviving it thanks to moderate use of the AC and quick cool showers while they lounged around the apartment in their underwear.
The Moonlight Cinema at the Parkland showed some silly Christmas flick - Bad Santa 2 to be exact - the concept of which still seemed funny and odd to Charlie in this heat, not quite getting the Christmas feel she was used to. Neither had really paid too much attention to the movie, laying in the very back where they didn't bother others with their chatting, which didn't seem to tire.
They'd by now shared with each other most of their secrets - how Charlie's mother didn't really approve of her travelling the world alone like she did being much more or a traditionalist than her father, how she'd had a crush on a teacher in high school and how she had been in a big fight with her ex before they'd broken up, him blaming her of delaying telling him how serious her condition had been which had almost led to him putting the pre-nup they'd made into practice threatening to bankrupt her. But thankfully he hadn't after getting over his bruised ego and realizing this wouldn't look good on him either. She'd admitted to the delay, but on her defence she's just been too broken to do it at time. But then again, Finn really didn't need more convincing that the guy had been a complete jerk.
Finn, on the other hand, had told her about some of the little quirks of his family, among other things how his father had a habit of cross-dressing and how it had become public nearly 20 years ago. For him and his siblings it no longer was a big deal, but the shock of it had once been - Finn having just finished highschool at the time. It had been in the papers unfortunately, hence it was really a public secret of sorts but still a personal kind.
The five siblings had been confused more than anything at the time and surprised how calmly their mother was towards all of it. Apparently he'd been doing it for a while and his mother hadn't minded. But it was a strange mixture of confusion and disappointment the kids had felt - learning that someone they had known and trusted all their lives was not really who they'd thought him to be and had hidden a part of him for so long.
They'd all acted out in one way or another. Sylvie had gotten pregnant, not that she regretted it, but it hadn't been exactly planned. And Sean had gotten to a lot of trouble in school for having drugs in his posession, but thankfully getting kicked out had been wake up call enough for him. It had also been a reason why Finn, it being his own explanation to it, had been a little bit confused and began to doubt a lot of things he believed about himself during those following months. Finn had then just moved away to the States, and had met and become infatuated with a particularly gorgeous androgynous man, who was a l little older than he was, and for some time Finn had identified himself as pansexual. But as time passed, he'd just considered it experimentation or simply fluidity - to him the label didn't matter and it was the feminine characterstics he loved the most and really hadn't felt the same way about another guy since. It really wasn't something he'd told a lot of people, even Logan and Colin knew only hints of that, as he'd only really begun to hang out with them starting from his second year in college. He'd never hidden it either, but he usually didn't share it too prominently either as he'd simply been young. He'd worried how she'd take it - but thankfully she'd been accepting and a little curious to what the man had looked like, which he'd with some awkwardness showed her from some old photos. Finn had to admit, that this too was a quality he truly respected about her - she seemed to accept him with his faults and quirks, nail polish and all as he'd been in some college photos, just like his mother had accepted his father.
"That woman looks awfully familiar," Finn commented on the movie, casually, but couldn't quite place the face.
"So you do this every year - come here for Christmas? Have you ever tried a snowy Christmas?" Charlie inquired. Not all they spoke about was deep and secretive, their topics ranged from music and travel to lawyer jokes and even philosophies of life.
"Once, went with Logan skiing in the Alps," he shared. "But it was kind of sad - I mean even most of the staff kind of dissapeared and it felt unfair to have anyone working, even those left probably didn't celebrate Christmas to begin with," he added.
"I guess it's the people that make Christmas not the location...," Charlie pondered, having admitted to him earlier that she was kind of missing seeing her family by now.
"I hope you'll join us for Christmas next week," Finn said, after a short pause of observing the movie. He didn't like the idea of her sitting alone in her empty, characterless apartment when he was with his family, having been once again given the assignment to play Santa for the kids.
"Are you sure?" Charlie hesitated. While this wouldn't have been the first time to meet the parents, there were going to be a lot of people this time - all the siblings and partners, kids, aunts and uncles, friends of the family and so forth as Finn had described to her the other day how they usually celebrated Christmas. This year, instead of having it at their parent's house though, they were having it at Jamie's as his wife had just had another baby a few months ago, making the logistics a little easier for them.
"Bloody hell, yes," Finn exclaimed, as if it was obvious.
"It's not that I don't want to - I think they were really nice. I'm just a little worried about their questions…," Charlie said with a sad smile. While their intent was clear - they liked each other a lot - they didn't really have a lot of answers yet. The last time she'd been there had been fairly casual, and Finn's parents truly had been very nice and hadn't asked them for any lables or logistics, but now weeks later, there were bound to be some - starting with what would happen when Finn returned to New York.
Finn felt a heaviness form in his chest, it becoming more clear to him each day that the serious conversations needed to be had soon. He was still discovering this new self, truth be told. He had no idea what he was capable of. But these things clearly needed to be discussed at least. Maybe that time was now?
He stroked her waist, that his hand had been resting over, assuringly, before taking a deep breath to say what he'd been meaning to say.
"I want you in my life," Finn said, his words being a little shaky. "And I just… I don't think I have had enough time with you to answer all of those questions, thus me pestering and trying to get you to take time off from work. I'll be honest - I'm not sure if I'm quite there yet to pick up everything and move to another country and turn my life around, but I do want this to continue. I've never done it before - but I guess long distance is an option, it's just an hour and a half, right, some people have longer commutes than that," Finn explained, trying to see the silver lining, naturally knowing that actually getting on a plane would take additional time.
To Charlie it was unexpected to even hear him mention moving. Just the idea that he'd thought about it, even if he wasn't there yet, was making her stomach twist in the best way possible.
She exhaled. "And I agree - we have our lives together where we're positioned. I wouldn't have a green card or licence to practice law in the States…," Charlie discussed. "Not that you've asked me to move," she added hesitantly, realizing that he could've said the same thing just now.
Finn kissed her then, pulling her chin up to him. In part he wanted to take away the nervousness he could see developing in her again. He knew that nervousness so well already, and it was incredibly cute.
"But you said you're not really sure what you want to do yet...," Finn recalled, as the kiss broke. Secretly he had hoped that maybe she'd be willing to move, even though it was early, even though he hadn't asked. But he knew that suggesting something along the lines of him supporting her, especially this early on, would've been out of the question. And for that he really should've been more glad about per se, as most of the women he'd ever dated had been quite the opposite.
"I don't, but I don't really know what else to do either..," Charlie sighed. The year had been a great distraction and put a lot of things in perspective, but not really something she could use to look for alternative careers, unless of course she just wanted to continue with the simple jobs. But she knew that she was capable of more, wanting to use her mind again more rather than her muscles. "I don't hate it, it depends a lot on the projects I work with…," she added, feeling rather indifferent towards it at the moment.
Charlie didn't want to be the kind of girl who just picked up everything and moved for a guy, especially this early in a relationship - somehow that just reminded her a bit too much of how she'd gone along with everything her ex had wanted - where to buy a condo, where to apply for internships and so forth. There was something in her that wanted to find herself before she uprooted everything.
"Parts of my job I can do from a distance, but the quality suffers if I do it for a long time - it's about personal connections, there's little I could do from there," Finn admitted. Besides, he'd already taken the extra month off when he'd come to Australia earlier this year.
"God, do you realize what we're saying here - we've known each other for, what, a month?" Charlie exclaimed laughingly. It was really just a stress-release laughter at this point. Even if they weren't moving just now, the very fact that both had considered it and were now discussing it, was unbelievable, neither having imagined having this conversation a month ago.
Finn stroked her arm again, smiling widely, hearing the movie, playing a scene with notable profanities in the background, which didn't quite fit their moment, but life wasn't perfect like that.
"Okay, but do we agree that at the very least we could try long distance when we both go back?" Finn said. He didn't like it, but he desperately just wanted to know that there'd be 'we' once they went back - that this wasn't just going to end in two weeks' time. He had no idea if he was able to do it, for how long could they do it like that and how would all that end, but he wasn't ready to jump, despite wanting desperately for them to just stay in their little Australian bubble. For a moment he'd even considered that as their option.
"I guess," she replied, adding, "yes," more confidently. Long distance took a lot of trust, which in their case, despite knowing their most intimate secrets by now, was still only being built.
It really sounded worse that it was, considering Finn's fairly flexible schedule and no monetary contraints when it came to travel. Finn wanted to believe, that is this was real - just like Logan and Rory were very real - they could do it too. But then again, he didn't really have any personal experience to base that belief on.
"But please, can I suggest one more thing about your work?" Finn began again, already knowing how Charlie would roll her eyes at him, having attempted several times. "I want to spend this... too short of a time with you. Let's take the boat, go sail along the coast or something. I want just you, for as long as I can have you," Finn suggested, Charlie hearing the lump in his throat and seeing some glimmer in his eyes, almost like a tear forming.
She fought her lower lip protrusion, being one step away from crying. She could tell he was very serious and when putting it into the context of their conversation she was beginning to realise that relenting on it really was her proving to him that she was just as serious about them as he was.
"I'll get them someone to help out from one of our hotels or offer some deal to those who are willing to pick up your shifts. It's before Christmas, I bet there are people who are glad for the extra money," Finn said. He knew she didn't want him to throw money around, but he didn't care anymore.
"Okay," she replied, wrapping her hand around his head and kissing him, forehead resting on his.
"Okay?" he asked, as if needing a confirmation, sounding ridiculously happy.
"Okay," Charlie said, sniffling, having been unable to hold back her tears. "What are you doing to me…?" she chuckled through tears.
Logan had been supposed to arrive last night, well - even very late at night counted as last night, but due to poor visibility over the UK it didn't matter that he'd planned to fly privately along with the majority of the UK department heads that were also on their way to the gala, as all flights had been grounded. They'd all finally arrived in New York in the pitch darkness of the night, around 3 AM, then followed by some confusion with the transfers that apparently hadn't gotten the message about their changed arrival time. So they'd all just ended up getting a bunch of Ubers to get everybody to their hotels, or in Logan's case, home.
The drive across town couldn't have passed fast enough, the snowy, significantly chillier, city, lit in lonely street lights and Christmas decor, flashing past the car window. He might have been a little hungry but he didn't really care about that, it was nothing he couldn't survive and certainly not bad enough to make his trip home any longer.
As he got to their street and stepped out of the car, he glanced briefly up to check whether the lights were on anywhere - hoping it was a calm night when it came to the kids. He was thankful to the door code once again, not wanting to start digging through his luggage in search for his keys in the middle of the street this time of night, still being a little frightful since what had happened in the summer. Having hung up his coat in the foyer, and quickly washed his hands and face in the downstairs bathroom, not to wake Rory by turning on the on-suite light upstairs, he then climbed the curved staircase to the third floor as quietly as he could, the safety gate at the stairs being the trickiest do close silently.
Logan was tired, and he knew better than to spend any precisous minutes on admiring the kids this time, knowing Finny usually got up pretty early, but simply snuck into his and Rory's bedroom. He quicklyttoed off his shoes, undressed and carefully slipped under the thick down covers.
Rory hadn't really been able to sleep too deeply, secretly hoping he'd do just what he did, hence she didn't wake with a fright, when she felt his cool hand slip around her waist, making her smile through her sleepy haze. It certainly felt like him, smelled like him.
Having just barely gotten to sleep after feeding the twins herself, she simply turned around and nuzzled info his chest, just under his chin, and held him, soon enough sensing his body relax as well. He was home.
By the morning, as the sun was just slowly beginning to creep through the curtains, they were spooning, Logan's grip on her being almost fearful of losing contact. Rory smiled through her morning slumber as he kissed the back of her neck. Not a bad way to wake - she pondered. Oh she knew what he was doing - he was trying to sneak in a quickie into their morning before the day was taken from them by the kids, lunch with the Honor, Owen and Charlotte and the gala.
Logan's hands trailed down her stomach, almost as if showing his appreciation to whatever textures he felt. He really didn't mind the slightly flappy belly skin on her otherwise small frame. If anything, it added character. Sure, there was some roundness to her that there hadn't been years ago, but it was her through and through. He knew those curves so well.
Rory didn't really bother to wake fully, keeping her eyes shut, the reality blending into her dream, as she arched her back in approval, pressing her ass back up against him. It was the biggest turn on to feel him wanting her.
Logan was clearly way more awake than that, his head actually willing to raise off the pillow and kiss the side of her neck, after his fingers pushed away any strands of hair. He could smell she'd been to the hair stylist's, the smell of her hair being good but not hers, but the taste of her skin never really did change - it being the same since he'd first tasted her. As if to remind himself he placed a series of kisses on her skin, with a bit of tongue.
His hand caresses her breasts gently through her soft sporty maternity bra that she often slept with, knowing by morning her nipples were sensitive and a little achy, he simply grazed them. He could feel her start to grind against him, now clearly more awake than she was letting on. The hand trailed down her waist again and over her hip, teasingly down the outside of her thigh, then turning back along the inside of it. Moments away from making contact with the spot that craved most attention, they both heard the door move.
"Mommy, can I sleep with you?" the weak and sleepy voice said.
They both sighed internally at the loss of contact that followed, and it was then Rory turned and finally opened her eyes to see her husband and smiled up at him.
"Of course you can," Logan said, propping himself to his elbow.
An excited cheer followed, both Rory and Logan hoping the babies would sleep a while longer at least, and Logan pulled Finny up to their bed, between them. This was something he tended to do now that he knew how to get out of bed and walk across the hall to the master bedroom. As he'd described it to Rory one night, he didn't like Rory sleeping all alone either, which was almost too sweet for Rory to handle. Besides, usually, this also meant that Rory might get an extra half and hour of sleep if he decided to go back to sleep in her bed, the chances of this being roughly 50-50.
This time, instead of sleep though, Finny would simply want to play with Logan and talk to him, clearly having missed him painfully too, while Rory attempted to close her eyes again.
"I missed you," Logan said to Finny, knowing too well that he didn't really need to say that to Rory. "Now tell me everything - what have you been doing. I hope you've been a good boy to mommy, Maya and Cathy," he continued.
"And Gi too," Finny added.
"Oh really?" Logan asked, continuing along the conversation.
Rory liked this soundtrack in the mornings, even if she was going to have to wait a while longer to have Logan all to herself.
"So this is 18 and over, so I had to bend the rules a little to get you in. So your job is to not get drunk and stay out of trouble, okay?" Rory lectured G as they were just driving up to Gotham hall in their limo.
"Yes, fine," G grumbled, being almost too excited to get there areadly.
G was dressed in a not too extravagant mauve-colored pleated dress with spaghetti straps. It was simple, elegant but didn't scream inappropriate for a teenager, though she really didn't look like one anyways with her new hair color.
Logan hadn't really gotten a full explanation of what had been going on with G, nor why it had been so important to Rory to bring her along. What he saw was in fact the change of hair and a definitely shifted relationship between G and Rory and G and kids, as he saw her helping out a lot more around the house.
Logan also observed with caution as Owen and Charlotte sat in the same limo, seeing Owen being nervous while Charlotte seemed simply over the moon with the chance to wear the dress that she'd chosen. Her dress certainly wasn't modest, and he just hoped the yellow press wouldn't eat her alive. Even if he wasn't her biggest fan, he wanted her to like this process too. Because as they say - happy wife, happy life - even if it was a little corny.
Mitchum and Honor were taking a separate limo, having decided to stay at the hotel this time, this having given Honor some time to spend with her father as well.
Rory was already missing Celeste at these things, the two of them having had a certain sisterly courage in these events - being each-other's perfect excuses not to spend all of their time talking to people they didn't want to be talking to and so forth. But this time the focus was elsewhere, and Rory knew it. This time she actually needed to mingle, tell everybody how great Owen was, how they had full trust in him, once the announcement was made.
As the valet opened the door for them it was Logan, dressed in one of his finest tuxes, who stepped out first, getting momentarily blinded by the camera flashes, but as he'd expected that, it really wasn't much of an issue for him. He held out his hand for Rory, who stepped out of the car in her gorgeous gown that shed any attention from her own uncertainty about her body. She didn't quite feel like herself yet, it being the first time she was out like this after having the twins, but Logan's gaze on her made all the difference. He still looked at her the same way as he did years ago. As Rory waited, Logan held out his hand for G as well, who definitely caught everyone's attention and raised some questions on who she was. G looked gorgeous, definitely years older than she really was, the mauve dress hugging her curves beautifully.
Next Owen stepped out, causing another wave of curiosity among the press. They didn't know who he was yet, unless they worked for the New York Times or one of the other HPG publications that had already gotten the confidential press release. And the commotion didn't stop there, as Charlotte followed, clearly representing something very different than they'd been expecting - she was a burst of color, quite borderline between tasteful and not in that combination of tattoos and the dress. Rory was quick to give one of the familiar faces amongst the press the names, knowing by now that the whole point of this was to shine positive press on their family and the company. She still couldn't believe sometimes that her family was now the Huntzberger family.
The group headed up the steps, Rory noting G's broad smile. Neither Sherry, Christopher or Francine had suggested G have a coming out party - simply, the lifestyle all of them lived without Straub around had been very different to that the elder Gilmore's had lived when Rory was growing up. But frankly, as Rory really only recalled the tipsy 16-year olds, her grandparent's fight that evening, and Dean looking handsome as ever - she didn't really blame them. It was outdated and G had really shown no interest, but deep down Rory could tell G was just a young girl who wanted to look a like a princess and be admired for one night. After all - as far as she could tell, it was the flattery and approval that G craved.
"Everyone ready?" Logan asked the group as they stepped inside and handed over their coats. Inside there was no more regular press, just the assigned photographers and a few reporters of their own publications, but more importantly there were plenty of people all wanting a word, curious to what the night would entail.
AN: also in case you don't remember Bad Santa 2, the woman who looked familiar was Lauren Graham :)
And I also want to point out that I personally have nothing what-so-ever against tattoos (I have a bunch myself), but I guess I am a little unsure how they'd be percieved in a HPG-like setting - I just want to create some adaption-struggles for Owen/Charlotte in this case. I hope it doesn't seem too far fetched.