Chapter 49

"How's that headache of yours?" Logan asked, walking casually across the campus by Rory's side. He'd been unusually attentive these past few days, having done specifically what Rory had tried very hard not to do - researched the cyst. She didn't even know which kind it was and was trying to do what the doctor had advise - not to worry - but Logan knew every worst case scenario by now and had been inquiring about her wellbeing multiple times a day - it was kind of adorable, but annoying as well.

"Subsiding a little," Rory replied. "The mac-n-cheese, biscuit gravy plate combo really helped a lot," she added. She hoped this could be a first-time-ever long-awaited PMS symptom, but just as well it could've been about having stared too long at her computer screen last night, having had a lot of homework to get through.

"I have to say - half the fun of being with you is the horrified looks on waiter's faces," Logan commented, laughingly.

"Please, I'm an amateur compared to my mother," Rory commented. It wasn't the first time it had been brought up, nor the way her physical wellbeing was often directly linked to her food consumption, whether it had to do with a hangover or not.

"So, what do you think - you up for a movie?" Logan asked, enjoying the day to the fullest, knowing Rory had submitted most of her homework that morning and would be able to play hooky with him that day. Coordinating their free time was a skill they'd by now gotten pretty good at.

"Oh, yeah, something really bad," Rory requested, hopefully.

"Absolutely, let's check the paper and see if Rob Schneider is still employable," Logan suggested, leading her back to his dorm. They were both now getting closer to making the decision on apartments and had actually plans to see one place later tonight. It still felt so unreal to Rory but she was a little hesitant, unsure if this was rushing things.

Once they got to his room, they were both caught by surprise, but it wasn't an entirely unpleasant one.

"Finally!" Honor exclaimed, standing up from the couch on which she'd been sitting on. Rory was a little confused how she'd gotten in here, and could just imagine all those times she could've technically have walked in on them mid-sex if she did have a key. Would that kind of arrangements be valid also when they got their own place?

"Honor!" Logan exclaimed and hugged his sister in greeting.

"Hi," she replied to the both of them.

"Hey, cool," Rory pitched in, glad to see her aga too.

"What are you doing here?" Logan inquired, sounding surprised.

"Apparently, begging for some affection!" Honor replied.

"Ah," Logan responded and just as the first time Rory had met Honor, it was evident the two really shared a bond.

"It is so good to see you again," Honor replied. "You have to tell me all about the dinner," she added, referring to the Gilmore-Hayden-Huntzberger dinner last weekend which she knew of.

"You too," Logan replied, but rolled his eyes at the second request, not really caring to get into it. "So, what's the occasion?" Logan asked.

"Well, I had to see you. And since you never check your e-mail I had to drag myself down and beg the super to let me in, so I could show you this!" Honor exclaimed, and propped upher hand with a very big and shiny ring on it.

"Holy!" Logan reacted, looking genuinely happy for her. He hugged his sister.

"Oh wow, congratulations," Rory added.

"It happened last night," Honor continued excitedly.

"Oh, Josh finally gave in, huh?" Logan teased laughingly.

"Oh, stop it," Honor rolled her eyes at him. "He's lucky I ever looked at him in the first place," she added confidently.

"Well, congratulations," Logan said.

"Listen, I need a favor," Honor requested, speaking urgently, and pulled Logan down to sit on the couch with her.

Rory felt a little left out but realized that this really wasn't about her, and took no offence.

"I'm going to tell them tomorrow night at dinner," Honor said, and by the look on Logan's face Rory could already tell he knew what that meant. "...and I need you there for support," Honor requested.

"Come on," Logan whined, showing his reluctance.

"Hey, I backed you up when you wanted to take a year off school and sail around the world. I wired you the money when you sunk the yacht, I helped pay off the Indonesian coast guard. And…," Honor began to lay down her arguments, not really needing to add that she'd also been there for him when he'd told his parents about having a girlfriend.

"Okay, okay, I give. I'll be there," Logan relented, having not needed a lot of convincing.

"Oh, thank you! I love you!" Honor exclaimed. Though it remained a little puzzling for Rory why this would be a big news to drop on their parents since she knew they'd been dating for a while, and as far as she knew their parents seemed fine with Josh. "Okay, now I can breathe and focus on you two," Honor exhaled and turned to include Rory in their conversation.

"Well… since Logan seems a little reluctant to speak, dinner on Friday was tolerable, I guess," Rory shared, answering her earlier question.

"Dad pretended like nothing was wrong while he is taking Rory away from me once-or-twice a week for her internship, probably thinking up some scheme how to tie her up in even more work along the way once he realizes how smart she is," Logan said.

"Your dad has been fine. It's more your mom that's making me nervous," Rory replied.

"Did she say anything?" Logan asked, this being the first he was hearing of this.

"Oh just… little double-talk filled comments, that's all. Grandma actually kind of picked up on them now too, so it feels good to know she has my back," Rory explained.

"Don't worry. Dad's the one who you need to win over if anyone, his word goes. And you've got me. Maybe I could even make you my bridesmaid?" Honor exclaimed, excitedly.

Rory could see Logan swallow, wondering whether that was his way of panicking a little inside. They were taking huge jumps as it was, nearly having jumped a mile with the pregnancy scare and were looking at apartments. Was he scared she might want to talk about marriage? She hoped he was not, as she was nowhere near that yet.

"Hey, maybe you could both join me tomorrow?" Honor suggested in a carefree manner.

"I don't know..," Logan replied, not wanting Rory to be put in harm's way again, knowing she had had a lot of stress this past week already.

"Honestly I would, it sounds like such a happy occasion, but I actually have plans tomorrow," Rory revealed, not even having to lie. She was going to cover an event for the Yale Daily News tomorrow and she didn't like to dissapoint.

"Oh, that's too bad," Honor replied. "Okay, I'll see you at seven, please don't be late," she added to Logan, rose and gave him a hug goodbye.

"Bye, Rory," she chimed cheerily, making Rory wonder how one little ring on her finger could indeed make her so jolly. Would she be like that if, when... that someday happened to her? She could hardly imagine what that'd be like.

"Bye," Rory replied.

After watching the somewhat predictable "Boogeyman" at the local movie theater, they grabbed a couple of tacos and Rory let Logan be in charge of making sure they made it to the spot where they were supposed to meet their realtor by the agreed upon time. It was so comfortable being with him like this - for these small outings she had the freedom to let her guard down and just let him take charge. She'd never really had that in her life, not with the kind of mother she'd had.

"I thought this place was on the other side of campus?" Rory inquired, seeing Logan stop next to the Taft Building. "And the other one was on Temple, wasn't it?" she added, sounding puzzled.

"This place just opened up, and because it was by the same realtor I thought why not just take a peek," Logan explained.

"I guess," Rory relented, seeing it in his face that he really wanted to go in there. "It looks way fancier than we had planned, though," Rory added.

"We probably will hate it anyway. It's a studio, which we weren't really looking for, I know," he added.

"Okay," Rory exhaled, took Logan's hand and followed him into the lobby where an excited-looking leggy realtor was waiting for them. What was the harm in looking?

The realization that they were headed to the top floor felt almost too much of a cliche to Rory, since this was exactly what they'd talked about avoiding. The hope that this was a studio gave her some hope, though. But that hope was shortlived.

"This is a studio?" Rory reflected, as she took in the vast at least a 1200 sq ft open-floor plan space, which only had a few bookcases separating the different zones. It was partially furnished with the trendiest, somewhat masculine looking, items. But it did look good, she had to admit.

"Yes, and it's one of a kind," the realtor commented and went on to talk about the exact parameters and the architectural history of the place, which Rory largely just let slip by.

"Come and check out this view," Logan invited her to join him by the window just by the kitchen several minutes later.

"Oh, wow. That's the old campus, right there," Rory commented, being genuinely impressed. The location was indeed impecable.

"I might even fit a pool table in here," Logan commented, as he turned around and looked around the place.

From where they were standing the kitchen was on their left, looking more modern in its dark tones and marble than she'd ever known, while the elevated platform for the bed, currently missing a bed, was located to their right, separated from them only by a bookshelf. The walk in wardrobe and bathroom were behind the bedroom zone. The bathroom was surprisingly small, but that most likely had to do with the limitations of the building's era. But at the same time, coming from the dorm room bathrooms, this hardly was anything to complain about. Rory was used to a lot less and it was not like they needed anything bigger with just the two of them.

"So what do you think?" Logan asked Rory after he'd shown evident interest in the place by his questions and already painting her a picture of the parties and movie nights they'd have in this place. The size of the bed was also a definite seller, thought it was too specific to this particular place.

"It's big and possibly very expensive," Rory pointed out in whisper.

"How much was this again?" Logan asked the realtor over his shoulder out loud.

The number was indeed more than they'd hoped to spend.

"As of right now it seems my dad's company is willing to pick up the check for this anyway. I mean, if he insists on flying me across the country every couple of weeks to learn the trade than he might just as well. You wouldn't need to spend a dime…. If you didn't want to," Logan explained, adding the latter after seeing the look on her face. For a moment he had considered what his father's disaproval would mean to his career, but from his father's side he really hadn't heard anything directly negative towards Rory. There was not even a baby to steer him off the destined path. It was as if he'd been looking for reasons to quit. But right now, until he figured out what he wanted and what his incentive was, he knew he might just as well enjoy the luxuries that came with it. Mostly he just wanted to live with Rory, wake up next to her every morning in a decent sized bed and not worry about roommates or campus dining times. It was a small step of independence.

"I guess I could probably cover the utilities or something," Rory shrugged. She did have the credit card she'd barely touched, but she knew her mother, who knew nothing of the card or the heritage she'd gotten through Richard, was bound to have either questions - or what was probably worse - judgment if she pretended to live with Logan and have him pay for everything.

"So you'd be okay with this? I know we thought about a separate bedroom, but I swear if we have parties or whatever, just say the word and I'll kick everyone out like that," Logan added, snapping his fingers to examplify.

"I would enjoy throwing parties too, you know?" Rory discussed quietly.

"So what's the issue?" Logan asked.

"I'm not sure if one space is ideal for studying...," Rory shrugged, looking around the space. Sometimes being around his was kind of distracting, but it didn't mean she didn't want to live together - she did.

"We could have two desks even, there's plenty of space. Those book cases will easily fit everything you own," he discussed, hopefully.

"I guess," Rory replied, but remained hesitant.

"If you don't like it you can say it. We could still see those other places," Logan added, unsure how to read her right now. He got excited easily about the prospect of living somewhere like this, and he really wanted her to feel to feel the same. But he didn't want her to just move in there with him just because he was covering the cost.

"Can we just think about it?" Rory asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I already have a few showings scheduled for tomorrow, so you'll need to think fast," the realtor pitched in, having overheard some of her hesitance.

"If you love it, just take it. It's looks fine… it's not like this is for forever. And honestly besides the cost, I can't really think of a lot of cons…," Rory said, loving to see him this excited. She loved him enough to just let him have this. It was not like they were going to have to think about potentially raising a child in here.

"I love you," Logan replied with appreciative smile, gave her a gentle kiss, and quickly said to the realtor - "We'll take it. But I expect the parking space to be included in the price," he added, firmly, not taking a 'no' for an answer.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," the realtor assured. Logan's name certainly had some pull when it came to things like this.

Thankfully, Logan's excitement was contageous and Rory too found herself smiling broadly at the prospect of living with him.