Disclaimer: We don't own Gilmore Girls.
Rory sighed as she looked around at the apartment. Her graduation from Yale was just a few days away, and she'd started the process of packing up her and Logan's New Haven apartment. She swallowed hard as she settled onto the couch with a cup of tea, tucking her legs underneath her.
For the past year and a half, she'd lived in this apartment, with Logan and without him when he went to London, and then when he'd come back to the States he'd lived briefly in an apartment in New York before moving back here with her after his failed business venture.
Rory tapped her thumb against the side of her mug, Logan had been in California for about a week, and he was due back that afternoon. She glanced at the clock, it was 4:30 now, they were expected to have dinner with her grandparents at 7. She had enough time to sit and enjoy her tea before she had to get ready for dinner. She picked up her book and had just opened to her bookmark when she heard Logan's key turning in the lock.
A moment later, the door opened and Logan himself entered the apartment. Rory closed her book and placed it back on the coffee table with her mug as she jumped up and hurried over to Logan. His face broke into a wide smile and only had enough time to set his laptop bag on the floor before Rory launched herself into his arms.
"Happy to see me, Ace?" he said as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and lifted her off the ground. Rory nodded against his shoulder as she breathed in the scent of his cologne.
"I'm very happy to see you, I missed you so much. How was California?" she asked. Logan set her down and kept one arm around her waist while he bent down to pick up his bag and set it on top of his roller suitcase.
"California was good, warm. It's beautiful in Palo Alto, there's a coffee shop on University Way, I went there in between meetings and they have great coffee. I did a little exploring and went to the ocean a few times. Gosh, Rory, you would not believe the smell of the ocean. It smells like sunshine and seawater and freedom all at once. It felt like all my worries just melted away as soon as I breathed it in. You've been busy I see," Logan said as the two of them walked into the living room and he looked around at the empty boxes stacked against the wall, at the boxes of books Rory had packed that afternoon.
"Yeah, I figured the more packing we do now, the less we have to do in a few days. I can't believe we only have a few days left in this place, it feels like the end of an era," Rory said. As she spoke, she felt the butterflies she'd been having for the last few days come to life. Whenever she thought about the future and what it would hold for her and Logan, she'd been overcome with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. She caught Logan's concerned look as he turned to look at her, and mentally shook herself before she plastered a smile on her face.
"We still have some time before we have to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner, are you hungry or thirsty? Did any of the jobs you applied for pan out?" she rambled. Logan raised an eyebrow, he knew something was bothering Rory, but he wasn't sure how to ask what was bothering her. As he looked at her closely, he noticed the slight puffiness and redness of her eyes. There were definite shadows under the beautiful blue eyes he loved so much.
"Logan?" Rory's voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked over to see her looking at him expectantly. It took him a second to recall the questions she'd asked.
"Oh, um, I had something on the plane, I think I'm okay until dinner. And yes, I was actually offered a position with an Internet company that's just starting up. I took it, Rory, I took the job!" Logan said excitedly. Rory's mouth dropped open in shock before she recovered herself and hugged Logan again.
"Logan, that's amazing! I'm so proud of you! So when do you move to Palo Alto?" Logan's heart sank, he'd been hoping Rory would say she wanted to come with him and make a new life in California.
"Uh, well, I've got a few more things to wrap up here, and I have to decide what I'm going to take with me and what I'm going to leave in storage. I'll probably be there within the next week or so. They want me to start as soon as possible. I'm going to shower and change for dinner. Do you want to use the bathroom first?" Rory shook her head.
"No, go ahead babe. I already showered today so I'll just do my makeup and get changed," she said. Logan nodded.
"Okay. Are you okay?" Logan asked her. Rory nodded quickly, trying to squash down her feelings of sadness and disappointment. Logan quickly kissed her cheek before heading to the bathroom. The moment she heard the bathroom door close behind him, Rory sank onto the couch and put her face in her hands. Logan was moving to Palo Alto, and she was graduating from Yale in two days, with no job prospects and no idea of what direction her life was going to take.
What was she going to do?
Author's Note: Welcome to a new story! As you might have guessed, this is the story I mentioned in 'Tell Me Not To.' I've been working on this with my best friend for the last several months. After seeing the mess of the end of the seventh season AND the revival, we decided to write this story and give Logan and Rory the happy ending they deserve. For all intents and purposes of this story, they are still in their New Haven apartment. We don't own Gilmore Girls and hope you enjoy the story as much as we enjoyed writing it :).
Till next time, xoxo.