Author's Note: Thanks to Rebecca for beta-ing!


Wanting to Fall – A Little Bit of Girl Talk and Pre-arranged Dates

Rory woke up to the feeling that she was being watched. She sighed and rolled over, burying her head into her pillow. "God Huntzberger, can't you even let a girl sleep in peace?"

"Well we both know he can't do that, but I'm not Huntzberger. What were you dreaming about, hmm?"

Rory turned her head to the side and opened one eye. "Steph, what's up?" she asked the blonde who was stretched out alongside her in the bed.

"I waited to talk to you tonight but you were asleep already when I came to the room."

"Funny, I remember it as you passed out downstairs and I helped get you up here," Rory pointed out, rolling onto her side to face the other girl.

"Oh. Well, we're both up now, so can we talk?" She waited for Rory's nod and then smiled sheepishly. "We kissed yesterday."

"We did?"

"That I don't know, but I'm talking about Colin and I. He kissed me." Stephanie couldn't keep the smile off of her face and Rory couldn't help but smile back.

"You mean after all this time, that's the first time you and Colin kissed?" she asked.

"Oh no, we've kissed before, but this was the first time sober," Stephanie clarified.

"When?"

"After my fight with Louise, when we went for that walk. He was trying to calm me down, and of course it worked, and then we were just talking, and he leaned over and kissed me and it was wonderful, he definitely didn't disappoint."

"You thought he would?"

"I wasn't sure. I mean, you look forward to something for long enough, and eventually you convince yourself its going to be this huge explosive thing, and then it doesn't always turn out that way, and you're left disappointed." Stephanie moved so she was lying on her back and stared at the ceiling. "Know what I mean?"

"Oh yeah." Rory thought back to her own fleeting kiss the previous day. She shook her head to clear out the thoughts. "So, if he kissed you yesterday on that walk, Logan and I must have interrupted then, huh?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it." Stephanie giggled. "I understand completely."

"Understand what? What's there to understand?"

Stephanie giggled again. She was way too cheery for a girl that had probably drank her weight in alcohol the night before. "Logan didn't trust himself being around you alone so I understand that he brought you along for our little walk," she explained.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on Rory! You're the reporter here and you haven't figured it out?" She sighed at the blank look on Rory's face. "Think about it Rory, when is the last time you've seen any of us, let alone all of us, at one of your grandparents' events? You think we just all randomly ended up there and that we conveniently had a spot open for this weekend?"

"This was all planned," she said slowly. Stephanie nodded.

"Yes. And why do you think that is? I mean, of course we all have missed you Rory, but none more so than Logan."

She sighed. "So this is all an elaborate ruse just to get me back into Logan's bed? Gee, thanks Steph."

"Oh Rory." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm going to tell you something, but if you ever tell Logan I told you this, I'll deny it, okay?"

"Okay."

"All right, so I'll admit, I know almost everything that happened between you and Logan. I know you went to him and told him you couldn't do the no-strings thing, that you wanted something concrete, and he told you he couldn't do that."

"Thanks for the recap," she murmured,

"I'm going somewhere with this, trust me. You terrified Logan that day, Ror, he didn't want you to walk away, but he couldn't tell you not to either."

"Yes he could have."

"No, he couldn't have. I'm sure he told you about Hilary yesterday." Rory nodded. "Right, so since then Logan's been, well, you know, Logan. A different girl every day of the week if possible, and let's face it, with him it's possible." She saw the look on Rory's face and hurried on. "Well, after you left, he tried to get back into that… I mean you know that when you were around he wasn't actually seeing anyone else, right?"

"Yes he was."

"No, he wasn't. He may have gone on a few dates here or there, but he wasn't sleeping with any of them. But anyways, for about a month or two after you, he threw himself back into the trust fund playboy stereotype."

"Glad to hear I was so easy to get over." Rory still wasn't sure where Stephanie was going with this.

"Just let me say this okay Gilmore?" Stephanie rolled her eyes. "He was miserable those two months… and he'll tell you different, but I know the truth, and the truth is, Logan hasn't been with anyone in the last six months because he's still thinking about you."

"Yeah okay." Rory got out of bed and began to get dressed. "Thanks for the fairytale Steph, but come on."

"It's true." When Rory looked back at her, she saw no hint of amusement or anything but seriousness on Stephanie's face. "Why do you think you're here Rory? He's finally ready to make that commitment you wanted."

"And if I'm not?" Rory raised an eyebrow at her friend.

Stephanie shrugged. "Then you wouldn't have accepted the invite, would you have?" She winked at Rory. "Cheer up though, there's always a chance you were auctioned off to someone else for tonight anyways."

"Auctioned off?"

"Sorry boys." Colin grinned and placed his cards on the table. "I win again." He ignored the mutterings coming from the table of guys and happily collected his chips.

"I can't believe we're still playing," Logan grumbled, throwing his cards down. "We've been playing for nearly nine hours now."

"You're just sour you haven't won a hand in two hours," Finn said as he chucked a blue chip in his direction. "Or perhaps you're sour you haven't had a go with Gilmore yet."

"And where's your girl?" Logan asked. "Surely you didn't tire her out that much yesterday afternoon."

"Never underestimate Sir Finn," Finn shot back. "I'm sure Louise is either sleeping or set up camp in another chap's room, either way, she's not bothering me at the moment."

Before any more could be said they were interrupted by a shriek coming from upstairs.

Colin snickered. "Huntzberger, tell me you mentioned the New Years Eve auction to Rory when you invited her along."

"It may have slipped my mind," Logan confessed as he pushed his chair back. "Deal me out of this hand boys, looks like I have some explaining to do." He met Stephanie on his way up the staircase and she just shook her head at him.

"Tell me she was joking!" He was met at the top of the stairs by Rory and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Joking about what?" he asked innocently.

"You, and the rest of your offensive, disgusting, distasteful little playmates do not auction off the girls as dates for tonight, do you?"

Logan stared at her and couldn't help but think that while anger still worked for her, incensed made her quite possibly the most breathtaking girl in all of Connecticut. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her down the hall.

"No, what? Logan, answer me!" She protested as he dragged her through one of the doors and grinned at her. "What are we doing in here?"

He shrugged. "I thought maybe you'd like some coffee this morning," he offered, gesturing over to a table against the far wall. He smiled as her eyes lit up momentarily before she turned to face him.

"Why is there a coffee maker in a bedroom?" she asked warily.

"I figured it was the easiest way to get you into my room," he explained as he went and poured a cup. "So I moved it."

"This is your bedroom?" she looked around.

"Do you want the coffee or not?" he asked as he held it out to her. He hadn't finished the sentence before she grabbed the cup from his hand and held it to her lips. He watched, entranced, as she took her first drink and he swore her eyes rolled back into her head as she sighed happily.

"So good," she said, instantly relaxed some. She sat down on the corner of a bed. "So this auction thing? True or false?"

He sat down next to her. "True. But there's a perfectly good reason!" he hurried on as she opened her mouth in protest. "Really, there is."

"Let's hear it," she said resignedly.

"We've always tried to make it so that there's an even number of girls and guys on this weekend, simply because it's New Years Eve and this way, everyone has someone to kiss. Inevitably, there were always drunken fights over girls, and whatever property we were at would be destroyed. I don't know who made the rule, it was done before I was part of the LDB, but someone came up with the idea of an auction. And I know that's a terrible term to call it, but I don't know how else to explain it. This way, everyone is paired up for midnight, and the money raised is used for the expenses brought upon by the whole weekend." He grinned. "For instance, the Waterford crystal Steph shattered yesterday." He refilled Rory's now-empty mug. "But it's not as if the whole thing is set in stone, I mean, usually, everyone's paired up the way they want to be, but on the off chance that you're not, there's never any expectations for the stroke of midnight. We are, after all, gentlemen."

Rory burst out laughing at that. "Since when do gentlemen buy dates?"

"Oh we do it all the time," Logan assured her. "But seriously Ace, it's just following tradition, and it's all in good fun, and I promise you, you'll still have fun tonight."

"Well why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

"Would you have come along if you had known?"

Rory shrugged. "You never know." She took another sip of coffee. "So, who won my company for the night?"

Logan shrugged at her. "Now technically, I'm not supposed to tell you that, but I did just so happen to be in charge of keeping track of the bids, so I would have been able to, hmm, how do I say this?" He smiled. "Make sure things go in my favor."

Rory's eyes widened suddenly. "Logan, you never told me about tonight and I'm sure it's black tie as most of your little parties are and I didn't bring anything to—"

"All taken care of," he promised. "Have I ever let you down Ace? Wait, don't answer that." He stood up and walked over to a closet, where he pulled out a long garment bag. "I think you'll find this to your liking."

Rory took the bag hesitantly. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know. But I wanted to, so I did." He peered into her coffee cup. "Another refill?"

She shook her head. "I'm good, thanks." She smiled, surprised at how quickly she was over this whole auction thing. "So are you going to keep the coffee in your room for the rest of the weekend?"

"I might," he said readily. "Will it keep you coming into my room?"

She finished the last drops in her cup and shook her head. "I can sweet talk Colin into bringing me coffee," she decided.

"Colin doesn't know how to make coffee," Logan countered. "And besides, he's much too preoccupied to learn how."

"Ah yes." Rory smiled knowingly. "Him and Steph."

"Looks like you may be spending the night with me after all." Logan winked. "Can you handle it?" He took the bag back from her, telling her she could pick it up later that evening.

"Can you?" she shot back.

"Fair enough. So Ace, what do you want to do today?" He slung his arm around her shoulder as they left the room. "I'm still in the middle of a poker game down here, but if you want, we could go skiing this afternoon."

Rory made a face. "Me, go skiing? Come on, you know I'm not exactly graceful just walking I'd be a disaster on skis. Besides, I'm not athletic at all, and I would disappoint my mom if I changed now."

"Aww, we'd have fun though," Logan said. "Skiing is really easy and I promise, I won't let you fall."

"Yeah right," she muttered. Only she wasn't talking about skiing anymore.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. "I know!" she exclaimed as her lips curved up. "Think the guys would mind if you taught me how to play poker?"

"We're playing some pretty high stakes Ace, sure you can handle it?" He held out a chair for her at the poker table.

She shrugged as she slid into the seat. "You forget, I have an accessible bank account that rivals that of Finn's, I'm sure. Besides." She smiled teasingly. "Are you saying with you on my side, I'd actually lose?"

"It is a definite possibility," Colin mused from his own chair. "He hasn't won a hand in hours now."

"Don't listen to him," Logan said as he pulled his own chair closer to hers. He leaned in to her to look at her cards, throwing his arm across the back of her chair as he did so. "Don't worry Ace, you're safe with me," he said, pointing at which cards he wanted her to keep.

Safe. That was a pretty subjective word, Rory realized as she felt his fingers thread through her hair. Whether it was a conscious movement, or if he did it without knowing, she wasn't sure, but she was immediately taken to all the times he had played with her hair in the past. The volt of electricity that it sent through her was still the same now as it was then.

Was this really happening? Could it be that she be falling under the spell of Logan Huntzberger once again, and if so, why so willingly?

Safe. Sure, she felt safe with Logan, but was she really safe with him?


"Oh my God." Rory and Stephanie both stared down at the dress spread out over the bed.

"There is no way I'm wearing that!" Rory exclaimed, drawing her robe tighter around her. Stephanie laughed and fingered the hem of the dress.

"Not that you don't look great with your hair and make up done and dressed in that robe, but," Stephanie looked down at the dress again. "This dress is going to look amazing Rory. He definitely knows how to dress a girl, that's for sure."

"Only if he wants to undress her later." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and their eyes connected as they dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Go put it on!" Stephanie urged as she pressed the dress into Rory's hand and pushed her towards the bathroom. "The boys will be here any minute. Go!" No sooner than Rory closed the door behind her, there was knock at the other door. Stephanie crossed the room, minding not to trip over her own fuchsia evening gown.

"Pretty in pink!" Colin declared as she swung the door open. She rolled her eyes but knew she was smiling.

"Rory's almost ready," she said, looking at Logan. "She'll be out in a minute." She placed her hand on Colin's arm and led him towards the door. "We'll see you there." The heavy oak slammed behind her in her rush to get out of the room.

"Steph, do you have any—oh!" Rory halted in the doorway. "I didn't hear you come in."

Logan just stared. He had known putting Rory in this gown would be dangerous but standing there in the doorway she looked downright lethal. It was a simple black gown but on her, it was anything but. The dress had a basic bodice with straps that crisscrossed over her collarbone, tied behind her neck and fell to the floor. The floor-length skirt flowed seamlessly over her hips and he was stunned at just how high the front slit actually was. He had expected her to wear her hair up, but preferred that she decided to leave it down, curling loosely around her shoulders.

"Logan?" she repeated, a small smile on her lips. He looked amazing as usual, she noted, in his standard black suit and tie.

He blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said I didn't hear you come in." As she walked across the room to him he caught a glimpse of her strappy black sandal and the long slender leg it was attached too.

"Oh." He swallowed and offered her a smile. "Stephanie ushered Colin out of here pretty quickly, I just think she didn't want to walk over with Finn and Louise."

"Probably for the best." Rory frowned slightly. "I wish she would have waited though, I wanted to see if she had any earrings I could wear." She rolled her eyes as Logan held out a little velvet box to her. "This better not be a ring Huntzberger."

He laughed at her. "Just open it Ace." He watched her face light up as she lifted the lid and her eyes fell on a pair of diamond chandelier earrings.

"Oh no!" she said quickly, snapping the box shut. "Logan, I can't wear those." She tried to protest as he took the box from her hands and opened it again.

"They go perfectly with the dress, and really, you don't want to be the only girl tonight not dripping with diamonds." He grinned as he held them out to her. "Will it help if I don't tell you how many carats they are?"

"Don't even dare!" She took the earrings from his hand and hesitantly fastened them. "Good?" she asked, earrings in place.

Logan nodded quickly. "Good," he echoed. "Are you um, are you ready?"

"Yes." She smiled at him again and he knew she'd be the death of him tonight. She tucked her arm through his and they left the bedroom. "Are we meeting with Finn and Louise before we go over?"

"Unless you have a problem with that?"

Rory laughed. "I'm not the one who threw a glass at the girl!" she said, her eyes sparkling. "Of course I don't mind."

They found the other two waiting downstairs, Finn dressed similar to Logan, and Louise in a scarlet colored dress.

"So what was this place?" Rory asked as they followed the stone path from their house to what looked to be a clubhouse.

"It was sort of a private ski resort," Logan explained. "I think seven different families had it built."

"Yours included?"

"I'm afraid not. Colin's family was one of them though." He slowed their pace until they were a few steps behind the other two. Rory looked at him questioningly and he just smiled slightly.

"I just wanted to let you know you look beautiful," he said sincerely. "My previous statement of 'good' didn't quite cut it." He was pleased to see her cheeks flush in the moonlight.

"Thank you, I mean, this dress is amazing Logan."

He shook his head. "The dress is pretty. You're gorgeous."

"You're impossible," she countered with a shake of her head but she was still smiling. She looked at the doors in front of them. "So what should I expect in there?" she asked.

"Always with the questions." It was one of Logan's favorite things to say to her. "You should know by now to trust me on these things, I haven't let you down yet."

"No, you've only let me be auctioned to the highest bidder," she murmured as he led her up the steps and into what the LDB had transformed into a ballroom.

"But I had your best interests at heart the whole time," he replied, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"I'm sure." Her eyes traveled around the room, taking everything in. It was what she would have expected from the Life and Death Brigade, all very elegant and high society. As they made their way further into the room she counted not one, not two, but four bars set up in the four corners of the room and she was somehow certain Finn had a had a say in that.

"What are you drinking tonight Ace?" Logan asked, breaking her out of her trance.

"Oh," she said, tearing her eyes away from her surroundings to look at him. "Surprise me," she said.

"Will do." He left her in the company of their friends and made his way to the closest bar.

"Nice earrings," Stephanie murmured in her ear, coming up behind her. Rory just rolled her eyes and joined in the conversation with the boys while she waited for Logan to come back.

"Here you go," he said, pressing a drink into her hand. He winked at her before jumping into whatever argument Colin and Finn were having at the moment. She listened as Stephanie gossiped idly about some of the people in attendance, and joined in when the boys decided to rate the outfits of people who passed by them. Throughout all of this, she was intently aware of Logan's hand resting on the small of her back, just as it had the night at her grandparents' and countless times before that. It still felt right, she realized.

As the night went on Logan watched Rory. She seemed to be having a good time; she eased her way into conversations seamlessly, she managed to keep Stephanie and Louise from going at each other's throats, and she shamelessly kept up the flirting with Finn and Colin. And as he watched her dancing with Seth, he realized what he had known all along.

Rory Gilmore may claim otherwise, but she fit in here. She fit in with his friends, her friends, she fit in with this lifestyle, and she fit in with him.

He smiled as she walked off the dance floor and approached him. Her face was flushed from dancing and laughing and she smiled back as her eyes landed on him.

"I'd ask if you were having fun, but I already know the answer," he said when she was close enough and she nodded.

"Better than I expected," she admitted. She tilted her head as she looked at him. "What about you? Are you having fun?"

"How could I not? I've got the best date here." He knew he was being cheesy, but he loved watching the expressions roll from her face whenever he flattered her.

"I can't argue with you there," she said airily, looking around with fake disdain.

"I think that's the first time I've heard those words come out of your mouth," Logan joked as she fanned herself with her hand. "Do you need another drink?"

"Yes please," she returned with a smile. She watched as he pushed his way though the crowd before turning to Stephanie once again. She told her she was going to go get some fresh air and asked her to let Logan know where she was.

It was unseasonably warm for December, she realized as she stepped out onto the balcony and she was happy for that, considering she was barely covered as it was, but there was still a sharp chill to the air. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was having a wonderful time, but it was nice to steal away for a moment, away from everyone and collect her thoughts.

What she was doing, she wasn't exactly sure. She didn't know when she and Logan became friends again or how they had seamed into this flirtation they were engaging in. At least, it was still subtle flirting, and that was something she could still handle. When it became more, she wasn't sure how she would be able to handle that.

On cue, she heard footsteps behind her and she turned her head slightly to see Logan approaching.

"Hiding from me?" he asked, handing her a glass of champagne and joining her at the low wall.

She shook her head, taking a sip. How many glasses of champagne she had consumed in the last two days, she was unsure. "I just needed some air, it was warm in there," she said, nodding towards the doors.

"Well it's freezing out here," he pointed out.

"It's not so bad," she said. She sighed as an uncontrollable shiver ran through her and Logan smirked.

"Yeah, you look like you're really roasting away," he deadpanned as he shrugged his coat off of his arms. Rory couldn't help but notice how his dark green shirt brought out a little hint of hazel in his normally brown eyes. "Here, take this." He stepped behind her and draped the coat over her shoulders. His hands lingered on her arms and after a moment he pulled her against him and rested his head on her shoulder.

Rory's arms were crossed in front of her, her hands covering Logan's on her arms. So much for subtle. She closed her eyes as his fingers intertwined with hers. "Logan, what are we doing?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"So many questions Ace." He was trying to buy time, and they both knew it.

"Logan."

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"Well what do you know?"

He thought for a moment, trying to compose an answer that didn't make him look too much like an idiot. "I know that you switched coffee kiosks when Danny was located from the east campus one to the one down by the library because you don't trust anyone else with your coffee," he finally began. "I know you're struggling with Russian Lit, but only because Professor Hatzsilokis never lost her accent when she moved to the US. I know you fought with your mom back in October because she wanted you to do some play in Stars Hollow and you wouldn't cut class to be in it." He pulled her even closer, settling his arms around her waist. "I know you switched shampoo sometime in the last eight months and your hair doesn't smell like vanilla anymore, but watermelon."

Rory let out a shaky breath. "So you've been stalking me."

"Noticing you," he corrected. He released his grip on her and moved so he was standing next to her. He gripped the side of the wall and stared out at the mountains. "It's hard not to notice you," he admitted. "Impossible to forget you."

"Logan," she stated softly, reaching out to touch his arm.

He turned and smiled at her. "Don't play like you didn't know what this weekend was. I put you in a room with Stephanie for one reason, that reason being she can't ever keep her mouth shut." He laughed along with Rory before continuing on. "Don't worry Ace, I didn't set any expectations for this weekend, as long as the doors were opened again, that's all I wanted to happen."

"That's an uncharacteristic goal coming from you."

Logan winced. "And she still sees me as the trust fund playboy."

"No, Logan, that's not—I didn't mean—"

"Yes you did Ace. And that's okay. Like I said, the door's open, that's enough for me for now." He smiled at her again. "So have I answered all of your questions yet?"

"One more?" She waited for him to nod. "How much did you end up paying for tonight?"

He laughed again. "Not as much as I was prepared to. That's all an answer you're going to get."

"Fair enough." She turned his wrist to look at his watch. "It's almost midnight now."

"Getting nervous?" he teased.

"No."

"Well if you are, don't worry. I'm not expecting a kiss at midnight." He shrugged. "I may not even try to initiate one."

"Yeah, okay." She raised an eyebrow skeptically at him.

"I'm serious. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to kiss you again Ace, I almost did yesterday." He shook his head. "But if we're going to kiss again, it's not going to be because it's expected because of some cheesy holiday ritual, or for the fact that I in some poor manner, bought you for the night. I'm still holding on to some shred of chivalry."

"So you're not going to kiss me tonight?" Her voice was full of doubt. She watched as he took the glass from her hand and finished it off.

"Well now, that's not exactly what I said." He winked at her as he turned and went back inside, leaving her open-mouthed and alone on the balcony. After a moment she regained her composure and followed him.

A quick glance at the huge ornate clock in the corner told her it was eleven forty-five. All she had left was fifteen minutes to ensure that kiss would happen. It had to.

Considering that now, they both wanted it to.