To quote the verse of a much beloved song, oh what a night... a night of glorious firsts that somehow eschewed the stigma of newness. A night that burned bright with the flames of passion and then settled into warm glowing embers that warmed from the inside out. It was a night that slipped softly into the hazy realm of morning where they drifted in laconic relaxation unable to accomplish more than the motion it took to curl together in the center of the bed and sink under the heavenly weight of the down comforter.
The feel of warm slumber encumbered limbs curled around him and the soft sigh of contentment that whispered its melody against his chest were the last things that slithered through Logan's consciousness before he fell into weightless suspend animation with his lips quirked in a smile. A leap of faith had been taken in the flickering light of a half dreamed reality but in the aftermath still flying on wings of elation he felt peculiarly unafraid of tomorrow.
Minutes ticked into multiples before Rory rose slowly from the depths of dark and dreamless repose. It was on stealthy kitten paws that dappled sunlight crept towards her filtering through her eyelids and triggering an inner alarm clock announcing that another morning had broken through the barriers of night. Usually this was the point in the ritual of wakening where she blinked open reluctant eyes, squinted into that streaming light and stumbled out of the warm cocoon of bed into the reality of day. Normally she would stretch sleep lax muscles waking them inch by protesting inch and then after an attempt at scalding herself into vivification she would brave the common room hoping for a day where Paris was either still comatose, feeling benevolent or engrossed in the newspaper preferably sans her new bedmate who had a disturbing propensity for inappropriate sleep wear that was a tad past her comfort zone before coffee.
This morning felt novel and shiny as a new penny like all the world around had been washed clean and shone with the glimmering light of reflected radiance. This morning was different in more than just geography. Her eyes flickered open and took in the sea of midnight blue that she lay awash in, the unfamiliar tone of the light that fell through diaphanous curtains to be speckle the strange room. Her attention came around inexorably to the body she shared the bed with and she found it disconcerting that it felt so normal to wake up next to him hearing his even breathing like a rhythmic lullaby. She lay there completely immobile and soaked up the new sensations, the satin soft cotton that was tucked around her, the heart beat that thudded slowly against her back replacing the usual ticking of the clock.
The first time with Dean had felt awkward and clandestine, due to the rather complicated extenuating circumstances, but even still she had found herself disappointed, missing that second of repletion and happiness that she had expected in the aftermath of passion. More memorable was the weighty air that had seemed to choke her lungs and required speech to cut it, silence defined by the things that hovered just behind the tip of the tongue. She had needed to talk, to ramble on about music or silly inanities, anything but the fact that she had just slept with another girl's husband and it had been decidedly underwhelming for a life experience that you only got to do once. That time had been a comma where maybe there should have been a period, a dangling modifier that left the meaning nebulous and indistinct, a pause that required an end to the sentence, a thought left uncompleted and lacking in significance. Nothing but a postscript to a chapter in her life that had long since passed into the annals of her history.
This moment felt more like a semicolon, a joining of two independent clauses to make a complete and crystal clear meaning. An elucidating sentence that made sense and changed the course of the story. Set the stage for character development and unseen plot twists. The ramifications of this moment lay not in the past or even really in the present but rather in the blank pages ahead, unwritten and unknown.
There were no words needed, no thoughts struggling to be heard this time and it was exactly that lack of necessity to define, to evaluate and categorize that made this a prodigious anomaly in the existence of Rory Gilmore.
Relationships had never been a simple undertaking for her; they required a level of disorganization and fly by the seat of your pants freedom of spirit that she had never quite mastered. She was usually so busy trying to tread and keep her head above water that she couldn't just let herself sink, let herself float in the moment buoyant and without need of motion.
It was coming pretty easy this morning though. She liked the way Logan slept curled against her back with an arm slung over her hips to anchor her against him, his chin resting just below her shoulder blade so that the warmth of his breath shivered over the back of her ear, and the errant spikes of downy soft hair tickled her cheek.
She felt the warm slide of skin over hers and that arm pulled her closer. Down tighter into that cozy spot next to his chest. She snuggled and sighed in contentment. A thought floated across the empty expanse of her mind and she fell back into sleep with a smile on her face, maybe the Beatles were right; all you need is love.
They drifted for a while, time was a fluid thing in this state of satiation and neither cared to look at the clock or start the eternal ticking of seconds as they passed. Why bother when each minute would merely be a countdown to the next time they would exist in this timeless place together.
Reality intruded eventually, as was bound to happen if one did not exist in a hermetically sealed bubble or on an isolated Caribbean island. Although Logan thought the later might be a very viable option if he had his way. Sadly he had a nagging suspicion that Miss Future Suma Cum Laude Gilmore wouldn't take too kindly to the idea of running away to some South Seas hideaway. Pity really. That was the problem with those good girls.
She turned in his arms so that her face tucked in to the crook of his shoulder and her lips caressed his skin as she spoke, the words a mere murmur against his flesh "So, that's what all the fuss is about."
He heard enough of the comment to pull her closer and she felt the rumble of a laugh under her cheek and smiled a lazy sated smile. His fingers trailed through the silken strands of her hair where it spread on her shoulders and his voice was like a caress in itself. "Worth all the hype I'd say."
Her laughter on his skin made him shiver slightly as he pulled her closer and let his eyes flutter closed again not ready quite yet to set foot on solid land and leave behind this lovely immaterial existence.
She pushed herself up on her elbows and traced a soft finger down his cheek to his lips, when they curled upward at her touch she couldn't resist the urge to drop her lips to meet them and quickly felt that now familiar dive of her stomach as the heat rippled through her. His arms came up and stroked down her shoulder and back in a feather light caress that left a tingling trail in its wake.
She was in the process of kissing him senseless or maybe into sensing in this case when her stomach gave a loud protesting growl. She tried to hold the kiss for a moment longer but couldn't stifle the slight chuckle against his lips. She felt the answering rumble of his chest against her skin and broke away from him to smile as his warm mocha eyes blinked open to meet hers.
She sort of half shrugged and gave him a slightly sheepish look. "What can I say? Cuddling makes me hungry."
He wrapped his arms around tighter and pulled her flush against him rolling in their warm little cocoon of covers until she lay sprawled on top of him grinning down into his eyes "I'll eat my Sherlock Holmes hat the day we find an activity that does NOT make you hungry."
She plopped her forehead down on his and rubbed their noses together before she wrinkled hers in contemplation "Don't worry I think you're safe from wool induced indigestion. My stomach is rather demanding and it really hates to be ignored."
There was another gurgle as if the accused organ was answering in kind and they both laughed before she gave him a questioning look. "Any chance you've got anything besides coffee in these fancy digs of yours?"
"Well I might have something that could be toasted..."
"Tempting but I'm guessing that would require us to actually get out of bed since toasters and bed sheets don't usually work all that well as a team..." she pondered and abruptly snapped her fingers and the light of inspiration flashed in her eyes "Wait. I almost forgot..." she slid half her torso off him reaching over the side of the bed and clearly searching for something. Her wiggling as she attempted to grab her intended target without having to actually to leave the warmth of the bed was enough to have him groaning a little as his body awakened more fully and registered her soft warm skin rubbing against his. He was contemplating a good ravishment when she finally rose from her bent position victorious with a crow of delight and a bag of what looked like fortune cookies held aloft in her hand.
He just shook his head as she scooted back on top of him plopping the bag on his chest with a flourish. He raised an eyebrow at her "So the naughty fortune cookies weren't just a joke."
She shook her head solemnly her eyes widening "Gilmore's never joke about baked goods...its against the code. You know Hindu's have cows, we have cookies and pie and Danishes and scones and..."
He stopped her with a hand "I think I get the drift no need for an exhaustive list. So this is your proposed way to break the fast? Very romantic and sophisticated I might add."
"The breakfast of champions." She grinned as she pushed herself up and off him to a seated position wrapping the edge of the sheet around her exposed chest in the process in a sort of endearing hint of modesty before gaily starting to divvy up the cookies.
He put his hands behind his head and just gazed at her taking in the glory that was his Ace in the morning light. Her hair was a mess of flyaway strands that sort of floated around her shoulders with a life of their own, her cheeks were slightly flushed and still held the slight imprint of crumpled fabric on one side where her head had nestled into the pillow, her lips were a soft shell pink unadorned by anything but their natural blush of color and her eyes, those captivating azure pools sparkled like the most beautiful summer sun off a pristine mountain lake. Brilliant as diamonds, deeper in color than the finest sapphire, more rare than any gemstone one could buy. He'd taken plenty of girls to his bed but he had never woken up with this strange warm slide of desire mixed with such a tender catch in the vicinity of his heart. There was a moment where he wished that every day, every morning could be like this, like the first moment that he glimpsed her sleep softened features and wished for eternity.
He snapped out of his thoughts when Rory handed him a cookie with a playful grin. "So I say in the name of expediency and for the sake of my poor beleaguered stomach we should eat all the cookies first and then read the fortunes. "
"Isn't that sort of cheating?"
"I was unaware of a fortune cookie eating protocol. Besides this way I figure we can pick our own fortunes, my version of free will. I'm quite certain that I remember some ancient Chinese proverb to that effect, you know Confucius say eat cookie first or bad luck haunt you."
"Right because in 500 BC they had little slips of paper cooked into their horseshoe shaped, mass produced pastries." He raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.
She smiled quite officiously "Actually as with any good dessert there is story behind the fortunes. I read that they evolved from Moon cakes that the Chinese would give to one another on special occasions then during the 13th and 14th centuries China was occupied by Mongols. There was a group of rebels in Peking who came up with the idea of using the Moon cakes as a way to pass hidden messages between the rebel factions. The bits of paper in that situation were the instructions to co-ordinate the uprising that ultimately formed the basis of the Ming Dynasty. See you shouldn't knock fortune cookies; they have a long and illustrious tradition. You know your history education at Yale seems to be less than well rounded."
Logan rolled his eyes quite expressively "I don't know what was I thinking questioning a Gilmore girls' knowledge of the history of international baked goods?"
"Yours brain is probably weak from hunger so I'll forgive you the slanderous remarks." She stared pointedly at his hands "So, are you going to get on with the cookie breaking ritual or what?"
"I wasn't aware that this was a ribbon cutting ceremony...what are we christening exactly? My bed with crumbs? Although I guess a bottle of champagne over the headboard might be a tad bit messier. As the emcee should I have prepared a speech?" he smirked as she swatted at him playfully.
She sniffed with mock affront "You know you shouldn't be so funny when you have a hungry Gilmore and a bag of very crumbly cookies in bed with you...recipe for disaster." She waved an impatient hand at him "Just do the honors please."
"Right...so to commemorate this once in a life time occasion, the first official morning after breakfast between Lorelai Leigh Gilmore the third and Logan Marlow Huntzberger I hereby test the crumble quotient of this fortune cookie." He snapped the cookie in half and extracted the fortune laying it in front of her. "You may play the part of oracle and dispense the fortunes."
They happily munched on cookies for a short while before they looked thoughtfully at the scraps of paper collected in front of her. Logan was now propped up on one arm facing her and he waved with one hand at the plethora of fortunes. "So, what's the protocol here? Do we just read them all or do we take turns or do we pick them randomly?"
She pondered "I say we take turns but first... there is a little favor I have to ask you...it seems like something is missing from this whole ritual."
"Like what, a dust buster?"
She gave him a playful poke "You know you are awfully stuck on this whole crumb thing...secret hints of your Donna Reed alter ego or what?"
Logan shrugged "Hey, ridicule all you want I'm just saying...breakfast in bed is great until you have to sleep in the crumby sheets."
"You sound like you are speaking from experience." She gave him a slanted eye look that dared him to confirm her suspicions.
He held up one hand in a parody of the Boy Scout pledge "I swear on all that is holy this is the first time I have had naughty fortune cookies for breakfast in bed."
She cocked her head to one side "What is holy to a Huntzberger?"
His mind flashed immediately to his father. His tone turned slightly bitter and the words slipped out before he could stop them "All things with the right brand name...watches, suits, cars and people." His eyes met hers suddenly worried at what she would read in his tone but saw only understanding so he shrugged "And coffee...I suspect that was what you were getting at with the first comment anyway."
"You've got a gift and read my mind beautifully...any chance you can use those psychic powers to move the coffee machine over here with your mind? You know you could be Samantha and I could be Darrin and pretend that I didn't notice it when the coffee amazingly pours itself." She smiled winningly.
Logan rolled his eyes with great aplomb this time "And the insults just keep coming, first Donna Reed and then Samantha the witch, who's next June Cleaver, Jeannie, Lucy Ricardo?"
She gave him a generous smile "Well I was going to go with Ozzie Nelson or Dick Van Dyke but since you seem very in touch with your feminine side today you can have your pick. You might make a nice Ethel."
"I think I'll stick to the real world rather than TV land but thank you. So...you want that coffee or what?" He gave her a questioning look to which she looked quite appalled.
"When there is coffee involved there is no such thing as or what. I need it by the kiloton and like three hours ago. We've got a lot of lost time to make up for."
He just shook his head as he pushed back the covers and slid a foot out of the bed. "Your wish is my command master." He made a good attempt at nodding his head like the genie and escaped the room laughing as a pillow came flying towards him barely managing to snag a pair of boxer shorts on the way out the door.
When he returned moments later he found her sitting with a pile of fortunes in front of her. He handed her a rather large cup of espresso and then plopped back on the bed next to her to drink his own coffee. "First installment of one kiloton of coffee as ordered"
She took a heady sniff and then tipped it to her lips. When the first heavenly sip had slid it's way down her happy throat she smiled brilliantly at him "You, Logan Huntzberger, are a prince among men."
He resumed his former place on the bed now sitting propped against the backboard with a pleased smirk "I'm going to remind you that you said that... often."
"I don't mind as long as you keep the coffee coming. Now onto the discovery of our fates."
She made a show of closing her eyes and pulled a slip of paper from the pile opening her eyes with a flourish and reading the words there "Wise men say brevity is the soul of lingerie." she flushed a little but giggled as she looked up at him "I'll have remember that one."
"Words to live by. Although personally I'd say no lingerie at all is even better." He gave her a wicked smile before drawing his own paper from the pile and reading in a formal announcers voice "In bed it is good to begin well, better to end well."
She grinned, "I'll second that one. Okay, next...People find it difficult to resist your persuasive manner in bed. " She arched an eyebrow at him as if posing a question and he leaned over to plant a kiss on her smirking lips.
"That one is definitely true, you were very persuasive last night." He winked at her before grabbing another fortune from the pile. "Your abilities are unparalleled in bed." He puffed up his chest a bit at that one "tell me something I don't know.'
She rolled her eyes "One of these days your ego is going to so big it's going to suffocate you."
He smirked in her direction "Hopefully you'll be here to give me the kiss of life when it does."
She just shook her head at him and looked down at the next paper in her hand "Always yield to temptation, it may not pass your way again."
She looked up at him with a contemplative look for a moment and he cocked his head to one side looking at her. Then she surprised him lunging across the pile of fortunes and plastic wrappers to wrap her arms around him and kiss him soundly. When she pulled back it was with a slightly flustered but pleased smile "I'm just following the fortune cookie sages..."
"Oh really?" his heart was still beating a little on the rapid side.
She lowered her head slightly as if suddenly shy "Well, that and you look sort of toothsome sitting there. It was too much to resist.
He pulled her back for another deep kiss and whispered against her lips "You won't hear any complaints from me."
They fell into that giddy sort of kissing and caressing that comes with new exploration and were soon rolling amidst the pile of paper fortunes and deep into making their own.
Logan raised his head smiling down at her flushed cheeks and dancing eyes and then lowered his mouth to place tiny kisses down her neck causing her to arch her head back to allow him better access. She let out a little moan that had his blood racing and gave a little shudder that he found utterly captivating no matter how many times he saw it. He trailed his delicate searing kisses lower only to be stopped when the feel of paper met his lips. He raised his head slightly and saw the fortune where it stuck to her skin just below her left collarbone. He peeled it off and turned it over to read to himself. It said in small black letters "Stop searching forever, happiness is just next to you in bed."
As naughty fortunes went it wasn't all that original but the timing seemed impeccable and looking at her sprawled beneath him the words sent a little shiver of recognition through his blood and straight to his heart. Her head rose slightly to see what had caused him to still so suddenly and he met her eyes head on.
There was something in those dark depths that Rory felt all the way to her toes, a melting kind of warmth in his gaze that left her feeling like she had been wrapped in a warm blanket and held close and safe. She opened her mouth to ask him what the fortune read but was interrupted by the intrusion of the outside world.
Two things happened simultaneously, Rory's phone rang from the pocket of her coat and there was a rather jaunty rat a tat tat on the door to the room. Logan dropped his head down to her chest and gave her a little kiss before another knock and a ring called to them again. He sighed and pushed himself up from the bed "Well so much for hiding out, the real world appears to be knocking and calling...very persistent that whole bugbear of reality."
She smiled as she watched him shrug on a shirt and head for the door grabbing a pair of sweats on the way out and then reached for her coat to locate her phone.
Logan swung the door open with a sigh of resignation not having much doubt who would be standing on the other side. Finn, of course, the boy had some sort of built in sonar that allowed him to interrupt at perfectly timed inopportune moments. Sure enough there he stood in full bed head glory with his hair standing in spikes and a blood red robe tied loosely at his waist, not much out of the ordinary except his choice of footwear, a pair of bright blue leather cowboy boots complete with spurs that jingled when he walked. Logan just rolled his eyes and left that discussion for later.
He cocked his head to one side at the hand that was clapped tightly over Finn's eyes. This was a new and beguiling twist to be sure. Finn with even an attempt at modesty, his own or anyone else's was a practically unheard of phenomenon. Finn put a hand out in front of him and advanced through the open door as if feeling his way in the dark.
"Everyone decent?" he snickered a little "Indecent would be better, of course, but unwelcome guests can't be too choosy."
His hand hit Logan's shoulder and then worked its way rapidly down his chest before he said in a disgruntled voice "Damn, not Woodward and not naked, what kind of karma is that?"
Logan grabbed his wrist and forcibly removed the hand from his chest "Apropos actually as karma goes. Did you expect more?"
Finn dropped his hand from his eyes now and sighed dejectedly "According to Hindu teachings a good deed should cause good effects." He waved a hand at Logan's chest " I can't quite figure out how this is repayment for my righteousness."
Logan raised an eyebrow at him that implied complete disbelief "You've been reading about Hinduism? Did you get lost in the library drunk again? Wait let me guess you are screwing a theology major."
Finn sniffed with great dignity "Clearly you will not reach Moksha anytime in this lifetime with this derogatory attitude towards enlightenment. You're bound to come back lower on the wheel of life next time around for ridiculing the pious."
Logan laughed but then ended on a groan as a thought occurred to him "Oh wait, no... Please tell me that you're not taking that philosophy of religion class again."
Finn shrugged with a little huff of irritation "So what if I am? I happen to enjoy traveling beyond the mystic, exploring new realms of spiritual experience."
Logan crossed his arms across his chest "Oh really...because what I am recalling from the first three times that you took the class is that you enjoyed heckling the teacher and picking up new age chicks and converting them to the religion of Finn. Talk about a god complex."
"Where's the harm in that? A little intellectual discourse followed by a little physical intercourse... it's good for the body and the spirit. Besides the Kama Sutra is on the syllabus this year so how could I pass that opportunity up? It would have been against all the tenets of the Gospel of Finn."
Finn looked pleased with his argument but Logan just shook his head sadly "For some it seems that memory is a blessedly transient thing. Do I really need to remind you of the fallen nun or the right wing born again Christian with the shot gun toting father or the Wiccan priestess who put a hex on you and had you convinced that your hair was falling out?"
Finn looked thoughtful "Well...those were unfortunate incidents to be sure but I'm quite certain that I can avoid those pitfalls this time around... no girls in habits, I'll be sure to check for crosses and holy water and I'll definitely run if I see even a hint of eye of newt."
Logan sighed, "Some people really don't learn from their mistakes... I guess I'm a good example. One of these days I'm going to learn not to open the door when you come knocking."
Finn gave him an admonishing look "Your life would be the epitome of blandness without me to add some color."
There was a sharp rap on the half closed door just then that broke through Logan's reply. Both heads swiveled towards the door as it swung open and revealed a rather frightening countenance and there was a nearly audible swallowing in two sets of throats.
Rory finally located her cell phone in the front pocket of her coat and pulled it out just in time to catch the last ring but didn't quite get it open in time to catch it before it went to voicemail. She quickly dialed the number on the id back and waited until a voice came on the other end "You calling for an update on project Birthday Candle?"
There was an exaggerated sigh of relief on the other end "Oh, thank god you are still alive. I was having flashbacks of Invasion of the Body Snatchers there for a moment when you didn't answer. You really shouldn't scare mommy like that, it's not good for my heart at my advanced age."
Rory rolled her eyes despite the lack of a visual "You know if you are worried about your heart I'd say cheeseburgers and fries and coffee and ice cream aren't all that good for your longevity either...need I continue the list?"
"You need coffee and a reprogramming...you're grouchy and heretical this morning." Lorelai's tone was slightly petulant.
"Well... didn't it occur to you that there might be a good reason that I didn't get to the phone in time. Hint ...hint...earth to mother."
Lorelai's voice turned sly and speculative "Ooh...yeah, a good reason with a heartbeat and a hunky David Beckham the early years haircut...right, silly me. So...how was project Birthday candle?"
"Big success... I was on fire." Rory was grinning now as she thought of the night before.
"Not literally right? I mean there is kinky and then there is just downright dangerous."
"Mom..." Rory's tone was one of censure.
"You're blushing right now aren't you?" Rory heard a clap of glee from the other end of the line.
"Seventeen shades of scarlet okay, you win, can we please change the subject." Rory new from the flush of unintentional heat in her cheeks that it was true.
No such luck apparently "Like a maraschino cherry. How adorable, I bet Big Mac wants you right on top of his sundae." Lorelai chortled.
Now Rory's voice had turned towards mortified "Mom...please...there are some boundaries that I really think should be observed for the betterment of society."
Rory could all but picture her mom's falsely solemn features "Sure right. No more jokes about whip cream or chocolate, I pinky swear."
Rory replied with exasperation now "How can you pinky swear when I'm not even there?"
Lorelai answered gaily and Rory knew she had just been waiting for the opening "Wireless pinky swearing, it's the latest rage."
Rory decided against a rebuttal and simply went for a segue "So...what brought on this aforementioned thoughts of body snatchers?"
Lorelai did go slightly serious now "Paris called. She was looking for you. Didn't sound friendly, not that Paris ever sounds friendly but this was a whole new level of off with their heads...impressive even for Madame Gellar. She was muttering what I suspect were swear words in Portuguese and mumbling about dragons or dinosaurs and purple swords. It was a little muddles but I was worried. Afraid to turn on the television for fear that I would see stories on the news with headlines like Yale Student Loses Head and Decapitates Roommate."
Rory sighed; she should have known there was no use trying to disguise Finn's artistic indiscretion from the all seeing eye of Paris. "Oh, well, I guess I'll be on the lookout then, maybe buy a disguise, go into hiding...move to Tibet."
Lorelai pondered, "I'd go with the fake glasses and moustache, some big clown shoes, an Afro wig, a hard hat wouldn't hurt, maybe some overalls."
Rory laughed, "Am I trying out for the Village People or trying to be inconspicuous?"
"Well the Village People would only be a back up plan in case she hunts you down and you have to quite school to get away from her."
"Well, I think it's better to just face the music...you know que sera, sera."
"Hey Doris Day Reference...nice, you must be in a good mood."
"Yeah..." she trailed off as she heard a rather ominous sounding knock from the other room where she had heard Finn and Logan talking moments before.
She popped her head out of the bedroom door only to see Paris advancing across the room practically shooting sparks out her nostrils at Finn who was cowering behind Logan. "Uh, mom, I better go, it looks like Paris figured out where Logan lives."
Lorelai whined, "Oh, no wait, you're not going to give me a play by play?"
"Not at the moment no... Paris seems bent on making a rather messy example out of Finn and as crazy as he is I don't think even Finn deserves to have his hands actually chopped off at the wrist." Rory sighed and rubbed a hand over her eyes. So much for peace and quiet and romance the morning after.
Lorelai somewhat regretfully signed off "Bye kid...avoid flying objects, remove all sharp implements from the room and call me later with a recap."
"You got it."
She snapped the phone shut and advanced across the room towards Paris who spun quickly towards the bedroom door when she spotted Rory emerging.
Rory tried for a stern tone "Paris, what are you doing here?"
Paris as was her wont went with mendacious and did a good job selling her eminent murderous intent "What am I doing here? What am I DOING here?"
Rory braved the storm and stood strong "That was the question yes."
Paris put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes to mere slits "After discovering the picture of my bedroom wall complete plastered all over the Yale website I did a little reconnaissance and now I'm here to drag the marauders who painted our room to justice...I 'm guessing you are not here for the same goal."
"Uh..." Rory blushed crimson.
Paris grunted in undisguised disgust and put a hand in the air "Spare me the touching girly confession and lets keep our eyes on the ball here."
She turned back to the two slightly wide-eyed boys. Finn of course was the first to recover and he smoothly approached Paris with a winning smile. Rory did notice as she sidled towards Logan that Finn was wise enough to stay just out of strangling distance of his adversary.
Rory leaned towards Logan slightly and whispered, "What the hell is Finn wearing?"
Logan shrugged as if to wash all responsibility from his hands "I have no idea...we didn't get to the wardrobe discussion before Paris stormed in here on the war path."
Finn weighed the blonde's expression for a moment and then went with the least expected route of attack. He clasped his hands together under his chin and fluttered his eyelashes at her. "Hello Love, I see you've finally come to your senses and given in to the desire that rages between us. You've come to woo me and make me yours. My heart is all aflutter with the excitement."
Paris put her hands on her hips and stalked towards him "Sorry painter boy you're a little off on your motive. I came here to castrate you with a rusty pair of hedge pruners. Then I'm going to kill you nice and slow and string you up in the courtyard as a warning to all wannabe artists not to mess with Paris Gellar."
"And here I took you as a benefactor of the arts." He was proud to say he winced only slightly at the imagery created by her words and then cocked his head to one side as if considering the menacing scowl and the waves of hostility emanating from Paris more of an amusement than a threat of imminent harm "I do always so enjoy a good malevolent and inventive threat of bodily harm. Not the worst I've ever heard but definitely one of the more creative, I'll give you points for that."
Paris' voice dropped low and dangerous "Look fairy boy I don't know who you think you are dealing with here but you really shouldn't mess with me without a battle axe and a horde or your barbarian friends at your back."
Finn looked highly insulted "Fairy boy? Now poodle there's no need to resort to hostility just to mask you true feelings for me."
She gave him her best condescending you are the muck at the bottom of the evolutionary pool look and scanned him from head to toe "My true feelings? My true feelings would singe your dainty little ears and while we are on the topic what the hell are you supposed to be with that outfit on? Gary Glitter? The guy from the Scissor Sisters? Oh wait, I know, the artist formerly known as Finn. My best guess though...give you a feather boa and some platform shoes and I bet you could do a spot on rendition of Bennie and the Jets."
Finn clasped a hand to his chest in mock horror and started to sing in a mournful voice "Don't go breakin' my heart..."
She crossed her arms and tapped a foot in none to subtle irritation like a cat flicking it's tail just before it sinks its claws into you "You are an idiot with a capital I."
"Well every good story has to have a fool. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it otherwise life would be all sob stories and drama." He was silent for a moment as if in contemplation "It's funny you should mention Sir Elton actually, we share an astrological sign you know. I'm an Aries, the almighty Ram. Sort of fitting if I do say so myself."
Paris gave him her patented look of utter disgust "Yeah, very manly for a blatantly effeminate musician... I'm sure he's your hero."
Finn shook his head admonishingly "Hey don't knock the rams or we might knock you back. We've got some greats in our proud ranks, Houdini, Spencer Tracy, Pete Rose and William Holden to name only a few."
Paris almost chortled, "It's perfect actually, you fit right in to that line up, gamblers and drunkards and womanizers...wasn't Hitler an Aries as well? Rounds out the group nicely I'd say."
Finn narrowed his eyes sniffing a new game in the air "I bet I could guess your sign."
Paris gave him an over your dead body kind of look "Sorry to disappoint you but I have no intention of playing your version of the pick up game...this isn't Blind Date."
Finn smiled knowingly "You know for a culture snob you sure know a lot about pop references."
Paris shrugged now a little uncomfortably "What can I say I've lived with Gilmore for too long... it's like diffusion, I get it whether I want it or not."
"Leo..."
"What?"
Finn voice held calm assertion "Leo, I think you are a Leo; strong willed, ambitious and apt to consider the mere mortal as lunch. Plus Mussolini, Castro and Napoleon were all Leos...seems like a nice bit of synchronicity."
Paris gave him a look of total disbelief "Let me get this straight...at the moment when you should be begging me for mercy you are comparing me to three of the worlds most dictatorial leaders not to mention the guy with a total inferiority complex?"
Finn shrugged happily "Hey, if the complex fits."
Paris gave a snort that clearly lacked appreciation for his wisdom "Gee you're a regular astrological wonder boy, good thing you're wrong or I'd have to add it to your already lengthy list of sins. My birthday is November 1st."
Finn arched an eyebrow at this admission clearly considering it a victory "Ah, a scorpion...even more fitting, the powerful, obsessive compulsive perfectionist with a magnetic personality." He sidled over towards her and his voice dropped to a sexy purr of sound as he got barely within reaching distance "You know Scorpios are supposed to be quite passionate lovers."
"Yeah that'll be something to look forward to in your next lifetime which should be starting here shortly." She looked at her watch as if counting the seconds until his demise.
Finn circled to her right still careful to maintain a fairly safe distance "You know pussy cat a wise man once said that sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation; the other eight are unimportant. "
"How profound, maybe they will declare you a guru for the debaucherous, they'll build a shrine to you and form a cult, you can write a how to book and join the ranks of charlatans." Paris was back to the biting sarcasm.
Finn shrugged as if this discussion were of little consequence "It's a potential career path, I'm keeping my options open though." He apparently considered to subject changed and moved on "So about my apparel...since you were kind enough to notice. I was sort of going for a King of Rock and Roll thing...I've been working on my hip swivel and the southern accent, just have to bone up on my Hound Dog rendition and get myself some of those sequined bell bottoms and I'll be a blue suede shoe in for the King himself. I believe that there is a good chance that I actually was Elvis in another life...do you believe in reincarnation darling?"
Rory and Logan were actively stifling their laughter by now but Paris appeared utterly unmoved by the comedy routine. "I do, mostly because I think it would be lovely karmic justice if next time around you could come back as your true self...the king of cockroaches."
Finn looked inordinately pleased by this comment "How flattering, I had no idea you held me is such high esteem. Did you know that scientific studies show that if there were nuclear holocaust cockroaches would be the only ones to survive? Maybe they are the highest form of life and when we have shuffled off this mortal coil having reached true enlightenment we join the ranks of the immortal as members of the bug brigade."
Paris was clearly reaching the end of her admittedly short rope "Enough rambling. Do not start with the Shakespeare or the screwball Dave Barry philosophizing and don't think that you can distract me from the matter at hand. Some girls might fall for that smarmy wit of yours but I am not one of your legions of brainless blondes. I smell fresh paint and I'm going to get to the bottom of it. Please make my day and stand in my way, I've been reading up on medieval torture techniques and I would so love to tie you up and make you my first guinea pig."
Finn smiled lasciviously and gave a rather excited shiver "Oooh a girl who's in to bondage, my favorite kind."
Paris lunged but Finn was too quick for her quite smoothly stepping out of reach and surreptitious sidling behind Logan in one swift move. His tone was slightly admonishing. "Now my little minx if you continue in this vein of insults I'm going to start to think that you don't actually like me and then where would I be?"
"Heartbreak Hotel?" Rory piped in with a laugh before she could stop herself and then shot an apologetic look at Paris who was shooting visual daggers at her again. She shrugged slightly. "Sorry, I was taken over by the Lorelai gene, it won't happen again."
Paris seethed "Stay out of this Gilmore or this is going to become a witch hunt and you and lover boy will be first on my list."
She turned back to Finn with her hands crossed in very obvious tight control of her temper and narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Look Beau Brummel are you going to confess your guilt in the matter of the giant Barney on my bedroom wall and the subsequent cover-up campaign or am I going to have to pry it out of you by force?"
Finn let out a gasp "First of all it was NOT Barney and I am insulted by any inference of such horrifying likeness, I'm not claiming it was Guernica or anything but Barney? That's just petty and uncalled for. Secondly and I'm just wondering on this one, there wouldn't happen to be a mob family anywhere missing their enforcer would there? You know maybe Paris the Pariah or Gellar the Gorilla?"
"Watch your step Van Gogh you know the way those other tortured artists have gone...I'd say you're treading on thin ice.
Finn lifted a shoulder in a shrug "I have no fear of thin ice, I do not fancy myself a Kahlo or a Cassandre, I'm more of a Galileo...a man of many talents and many pursuits. I do what strikes my fancy not what some internal demons proclaim I should. I am but a mortal shell for some greater soul and follow the Jungian analysis of our dear departed Carl and quote his wise words when he said 'My life often seemed to me like a story that has no beginning and no end. I had the feeling that I was an historical fragment, an excerpt for which the preceding and succeeding text was missing. I could well imagine that I might have lived in former centuries and there encountered questions I was not yet able to answer; that I had been born again because I had not fulfilled the task given to me."
Paris rolled her eyes "Let me guess you have a 'creative sickness' as well. My personal favorite of the euphemistic terms for mental illness."
"I claim no such illness, although at times it might come in handy in occasions such as this they say 'Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.'
"Who are they? The voices in your head?" Paris gave him an exasperated look
"No sadly the only voice there is my own...gets rather dull actually I rather wish that it could be rerecorded like a voicemail greeting, I could get James Earl Jones or better yet Angelina Jolie to do it...then I wouldn't half mind hearing myself think."
Paris sighed as near defeat as she had ever been "You are the most infuriating person I have ever met."
Finn grinned "Why thank you...that's one of the nicest compliments you've ever given me pet." Finn put a hand to his heart "In that spirit of kindness and in the name of peace I will admit my culpability in the matter of the painting and the cover up and the internet posting of said painting. Now what is my punishment dear merciful accuser?"
Paris got an inch from his face and her voice ground out in an ominous snarl "Just stay the hell away from me and my room Morrison or next time I won't be so pleasant or so forgiving." She whirled with great effect and stormed to the door yanking it open just as Finn's anguished melodramatic voice reached her.
"And there it is...a death sentence when I had hoped for a reprieve, the harshest of punishments a life devoid of you my love." he winked at Rory who was all but dissolving in laughter but quickly pulled his face back to tragic and heartbroken.
Paris shot him a dirty look that would have dropped a lesser being in his spot but he remained steadfast and she slammed the door with a resounding crash.
The minute she was gone he turned to the two now laughing members of the audience and bowed slightly before brushing his hands together as if wiping crumbs from them. "Well now, I think my job here is done and I believe I've met my entertainment quotient for the day so I'll just be off to catch a little shut eye."
He headed for the door and paused only to give them a little head nod of approval "By the way you've got my vote."
Logan was the one who had regained enough semblance of control over his mirth to reply, "Vote for what?"
"Cutest sappy couple of course. I mean really Logan I never actually believed that oldwives tale about your face freezing in an expression but you proved me wrong...you've been smiling like a fool since I arrived and I can say that being the King of all fools." He tipped an imaginary hat to them. "Keep your legs and arms in and you seat belt buckled and enjoy the ride my friends." He strolled away with a little dance to his step singing about 'Blue Suede Shoes'.
Logan and Rory just watched the empty doorway for a long moment before Logan crossed the room to push it closed leaning against it with an exaggerated sigh of relief and then fixing a teasing smile on her "Well Ace, it appears that Elvis has left the building...now where were we?"
