Logan staggered out from the elevator unsteadily, leaning against the wall for support. While the bed seemed tempting, his grumbling stomach was making him stumble towards the kitchen - he always got hungry when he had a little too much to drink. And as much as he'd had that evening, he hadn't had in ages. Somewhere along the way he nearly tripped on Finny's toy car, the sound of it crashing into the wall making a loud noise, much louder that he planned for, freezing himself for the duration of that crash.
His hand reached into the fridge to grab a taco and dug into with urgency it without closing the fridge door, only the light from inside it illuminating the kitchen.
"Logan," Rory sighed, tilting her head sideways as she switched on the countertop light. She'd been just in the bathroom, for the second time that night, when she'd heard the crash of the toy car upstairs. She had just pulled on her short kimono robe, not bothering to close it properly, to venture upstairs. She wasn't truly surprised that he was drunk, but she'd expected he'd probably just crash with the guys at some hotel.
"Sorry, I woke you," he apologized, slamming the fridge shut with a little more force than he intended, making the glass bottles inside clink.
"It's fine, I wasn't really sleep anyways," she replied, walking up to him with a gentle stroke of his shoulder and began pouring him a glass of water.
"You're the most amazing wife ever, you know that?" Logan mumbled jollily, his mouth still full of taco, slipping his hand around the small of her back.
"Yes, I know, and you are a great husband if you drink this glass of water and please attempt to stay upright," she added, handing him the water, while feeling him lean on her just a bit more than she would've liked.
Logan groaned, the water really not having much appeal to him.
"Did you have fun at least?" Rory asked, wiping her corner of his mouth clean with a paper towel.
"Hm-hm," he mumbled as he swallowed.
Clearly the night had helped him get his mind off some things. He'd been a little more quiet than usual the past few days, opting to play with Finny a lot more, clearly seeing that as another type of distraction. But Rory hardly remembered him being this drunk, it was almost like a flashback to his early Yale days or his loss of millions a few years later. Clearly this was more than just a bachelor party, it was his old, not too efficient, method of processing. It was safe to say - she hoped he wouldn't make a habit of it.
"Any good strip-clubs?" she asked, half jokingly as if asking for recommendations. He knew the guys well enough that surely there must've been at least one of those fine establishments planned into their evening.
"No strip-clubs," he chuckled at her question, shaking his head. "But there may have been some burlesque," he admitted, squinting her eyes and squeezing her ass appreciatively, knowing she wouldn't make a big deal about something like that. She didn't. Looking was allowed - they'd even made the rules abundantly clear at one of their joint therapy sessions about two years ago when Rory had begun to go through her insecurities that related to Logan. She trusted him and she knew he would never do anything intentionally to hurt her again - he'd learned his lesson - but she also knew that he had a great ability to compartmentalize and self-medicate himself hedonistically if he needed to blow off steam - hence some rules were needed to avoid potential issues.
"Oh no, mister, don't you get any ideas," Rory scolded as his hand attempted to slip into her pyjama shorts. Rory was not really feeling like getting frisky with her drunk husband at that moment.
Logan made a sad groan of disappointment.
"Just drink your water," she insisted. "And take this," she added, handing him an Ibuprofen pill.
He swallowed the pill, washing it down with perhaps a quarter of the water before staggering onto the lounge couch, while tossing off his jacket, pulling one of it's sleeves inside out.
"Come, be my pillow," Logan pleaded, dragging her along by her forearm.
She was up anyways, hence she relented settling to sit on the couch besides him, his head finding a comfortable place on her thighs.
Rory just sat there for a while, gently running her fingers through his hair. His eyes fell shut much sooner than she'd expected, but instead rushing back downstairs to the bedroom, she just held him for a moment, hoping that he really was as okay as he showed.
"Darling, you seem to be getting more gorgeous by the month," Finn exclaimed at the sight of Rory in a pastel pink wrap dress with a floral viscose skirt, who had just arrived minutes earlier with Logan at the converted warehouse in West Chelsea historic district.
"How are you, Finn?" Rory greeted him with a warm hug, suddenly feeling very short next to him, realizing that most of the times she'd been around him she'd been wearing some sort of heels, now having finally relented to wearing her flats instead.
"Spectacular!" Finn replied sarcastically, clearly having a bit of a hangover himself that day.
"There you are," Logan said as he arrived too, having been over to the bar to grab a small water, his head still throbbing, placing his hand at the small of Rory's back, ready to take a seat next to Finn, who now stepped aside to let them pass to get to their seats.
Colin was the best man, dressed dark blue along with Robert, both nodding in the arrivals direction. The ceremony room had been kept quite simple, just using some red roses as decor here and there, but from having peeked quickly into the reception hall Rory knew a much dimmer and velvety glamorous mood awaited.
"Robert cleans up nice," Rory commented to Logan in whisper. She hadn't seen Robert with hair that short in a good fifteen years and out of the four he was usually the one least likely to wear ties - and here he was all ready to be tied up quite permanently, dressed up to the nines.
Logan simply chuckled in a low tone in response.
"They just grow up so fast, don't they," she added with endearment, so even Finn could hear. There was a running bet amongst the guys and her how long Finn would stay single, Rory still having hopes he just hadn't met the right girl. While she knew that Finn loved his independence, with everyone around him coupling up and procreating, she liked to think she saw Finn crave some of that too - and while maybe not the wife part, then definitely the kid part. Finn was too good with them not to have any, in her mind.
Rory had had a really good morning, having slept the rest of the night like a baby, a welcome change, and seeing Logan squirm in the morning saying how "he was too old for this" added a certain something. Sure she still worried about him, but seeing someone who'd nearly forgotten what a hangover felt like, experiencing it, was a little entertaining at the same time.
They'd been a little late and it wasn't long until the acoustic pop song, something along the lines of one of Johan Adams' songs, began and the petite dark haired woman in an off-white lace mermaid dress and a long weil walked down the aisle with three bridesmaids, dressed in purple, ahead of her. There was no doubt she was pretty, Rory just hoped that the girl wasn't just after Robert's money as she was significantly younger than him.
"Did I mention that Robert has got it bad," Logan chuckled to Rory's ear, referring to the uncharacteristic music.
"I can see that," Rory noted, unable to imagine Robert participating in planning any of this.
It was as the woman passed them Rory almost burst into laughter seeing a colorful parrot tattoo on her shoulder blade. "Looks like he got the parrot though," she commented quietly.
"I heard she actually has one at home," Logan corrected.
"Ah…," Rory replied quietly, smiling widely at the thought.
Either way the bride and groom looked their best for their momentous occasion and thankfully didn't take ages with their vows - Rory already shifting in her seat to get comfortable. Her thigh kept going asleep, hence she was relieved to get to stand among the first when it was over, leaning on to Logan's arm for support.
Rory excused herself to the bathroom, one of the girls using her bladder as a punching ball, leaving Logan fend for himself for a while. This unfortunately meant that several members of the older generation stopped by to say their condolences to him. While he tried to remind every one of them that this was Robert's and Felicity's day, it still seemed inappropriate to many not to say anything, leaving him conflicted whether to smile or not. He was happy for his friend, yet finding it difficult to fully show it.
As Rory returned, Logan just had to say it.
"I think we should go, there have just been too many condolences and now I can't possibly imagine how I can continue to enjoy this while worrying whether I look sad enough," Logan said. He had compartmentalized well, right then and there he wasn't sad at all, it was Robert's wedding and from the bottom of his heart he wanted to be there and celebrate. But with the constant nagging of what was appropriate on the back of his head, this wasn't truly going to work.
"Oh," Rory reacted, being surprised to hear it.
"Would you mind if we used you as an excuse, I don't really want to pull the death card," he asked.
"Sure, use me," Rory replied determinedly. If this was what he needed to do today, then so be it.
"Sorry guys, I think the party is over for us," Rory said apologetically to Colin and Finn hugging them goodbye.
"So soon! But the party's just starting! They haven't even opened the champagne yet," Finn complained, just as the tray of champagne passed them, making it convenient for Rory to roll her eyes.
"Yes, but who will I dance with!?" he continued to exclaim.
"Finn, I am sure the bridesmaids will be more than happy to dance with you once you throw a few of your best compliments in their way," Rory stated the obvious.
They found Robert and Felicity taking their photos and pulled them aside quickly between changing sets, apologizing for leaving, Robert understanding well enough the full reasoning behind all of this, and was very understanding, while Rory was pretty sure the bride was a tad more offended, hoping Robert would explain things to her a little later.
"Do you ever regret getting married in a haste like we did?" Logan asked as they were driving home, surprising Rory with the question.
"Logan…," she said, frowning her eyebrow.
"I don't mean the getting married part, just the way that we did it - sometimes I think maybe you should've deserved something like that?" he said referring to the event they'd just hopped out of.
"Drunk relatives, lots of nervous tension and big cake while spending a fortune on the venue, food and decor?" Rory asked confusedly.
"You know that's not what I meant. Just.. putting some planning into it, getting what you like - your big day?" he explained.
"I've had plenty of big days, Logan. Our wedding day, Finny's birth, one coming soon up, and if you really feel like we need another big day then we'll do a vow renewal or something when we feel like it, like Emily and Richard did," she suggested.
"We better guard the champagne a little better from the kids than they did though," Logan chuckled, kissing her then, recalling once again how lucky he'd gotten with her.
Rory smiled at him thoughtfully. Imagining herself growing old with him made her a little sentimental - her hormones be damned.
"Hallam, can you please take us to the Le Meridien instead," Rory said to the driver then, catching Logan slightly off guard, but he certainly wasn't going to argue. After all, no one would be expecting them back for hours.
Larissa Mendez had just been going over the details of Rory's thesis for almost an hour and a half by now as they sat in a small coffee shop by Rory's apartment building, talking about the importance of teaching the youth about critical thinking in the digital age, and among other things the shortcomings of the educational system in general.
Rory had guessed that these questions were coming, she just hadn't really expected the Time's journalist to really ask them so out right.
"So Rory, why are you really doing this? I mean as a Huntzberger you hardly had the need to do your Master's, let alone in something as irrelevant to the HPG as an educational degree," Larissa asked.
Rory took a moment to put together a well-worded reply, knowing that it would have almost been too easy to just start claiming that an educational science degree was in no way irrelevant if the company ever wanted to employ the next generation some day. That was given.
"I was brought up this way," she replied. "I was raised with the mentality that you need to work for what you want to achieve. Sure, I've had my share of support, but becoming a Huntzberger has always been independent from whatever else I've wanted to achieve. I've always wanted to make a difference in the world - my dreams may have started out by wanting to do that in journalism, but as I've seen this field change, I realized that there are other places that need to be changed first before journalism itself can transform," Rory specified.
"Spoken like a true visionary, " Larissa commented approvingly. "What does your husband think of you working so much while your young family is growing?" she asked.
"I am very fortunate to have his full support, naturally, but I don't really appreciate the assumption that a woman should have to have that in order to do what she wants to do. We're not in the 1950s anymore," she added.
"But clearly having children and doing all of this at the same time can be challenging," Larissa directed.
This was not what Rory had hoped to discuss.
"Absolutely," she replied. She couldn't deny that in any scenario. "And I guess in that sense I am very lucky to have the support system that I have. But at the same time it's vital to remember that the kids are only little for a short time. As much as I may want to get back into academia with the momentum I currently feel, there's no denying that being the mother of three under three will need to become a priority for some time," she explained.
She hadn't even spelled it out for herself this well until now - but it was what she believed even without saying it out loud before. No matter how much she wanted to get involved with her supervisors projects, maybe even do a Doctoral degree, motherhood needed to take priority. It didn't mean she could do nothing, but this was no longer just one kid - like it had been with Finny, with whom combining her studies and raising him had been almost easy - now there was going the be three, and she was hit with a new sense of panic all over again - much like the first time she'd found out - however now it was so much more tangible, with the little nudges from inside currently reminding her.
