The song "When You Were Young" by the Killers inspires this one. Lyrics can be found at http:// www. azlyrics. com/ lyrics/ killers/ whenyouwereyoung. html (without the spaces).

Pre-"Let Me Here Your Balalaikas Ringing Out"

When You Were Young

They were standing on the bridge. He was sheltering her body in his, and she could smell him. He smelled like old books, deodorant, and coffee. She breathed him in. "Rory." He breathed. "Oh, Rory—"

"Rory. Rory. Ace." A hand was shaking her awake. She blinked, brain fuzzy, trying to remember where she was. Logan sat next to her, grinning at her bed head. "Hey, sleepyhead, you gotta wake up."

She looked around her. "What time is it?"

"9:30. I would have waked you earlier, but you looked so happy." He shrugged. "You talk in your sleep, you know."

She panicked. "I do? What did I say?"

His grin turned into a full-fledge Cheshire-Cat grin. "Something about Ernest Hemmingway, some guy named Jess. I didn't really understand it."

"Oh. Are you leaving?"

"Trying to get rid of me?"

She smiled, batting her eyelashes at him. "Maybe. I'm expecting my other boyfriend soon, so you have to leave."

"Very funny, Ace." He sighed, and made his way to the door. "I'll be back later."

"See ya." She waved.

She had begun to locate clothes when there was a knock on the door. Figuring it was Logan who had left something behind, she through open the door.

"What'd you forget?"

It wasn't Logan, and her breath caught in her throat. He held out a cigarette. "Got a light?"

"Well, well." She said lightly. "I never took you for a Rent fan, Mariano."

He grimaced. "I blame Sam. His girlfriend watches that."

She nodded. "Ah. And Sam is…?"

"Friend from Philly."

"Okay, now that all the small talk is done with, why are you here?"

"Wanted to give you this." He held out a manuscript.

She glanced at it. "You came here to give me a book?"

He grinned, teeth flashing. "Not just a book."

She glanced at it more closely. It was one she hadn't read, of that much she was certain. "The Subsect. By—" She stopped short, speechless, and stared at Jess. "You wrote a book!"

"Yah, it's just something a friend of mine liked and decided to publish. It's no big thing—won't be making the Times Bestseller List anytime soon."

"It is a big thing." She briefly wondered why she never got this passionate about things Logan did, then hurriedly dismissed it. "You actually did it! No one thought you would, but you did! And then there's me, college-bound practically since I could walk, dropped out of Yale and living with my grandparents, not talking to my mother, doing community service because my boyfriend's dad caused me to steal a yacht." She paused. "That was probably the last few months of my life in one breath."

His brow furrowed. "Luke filled me in on most of that, but Rory, what's going on? Why did you drop out of Yale? And I don't know how you survive without talking to Lorelai."

She looked down, cheeks burning. "It's…complicated."

"Then why don't you dumb it down for me?" he questioned angrily.

"Fine. I found out that I'm "not cut out to be a journalist" from Mitchum Huntzberger." She spat bitterly.

His eyebrows knitted together. "Rory, that's ridiculous."

"Is that why you're here? Mom decided to send someone from my past to get me back into Yale?"

His eyebrows snapped apart in anger. "I'm here because I'm setting up a Hartford branch of the publishing company, and excuse me if I thought you might care even a little that I wrote a book." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" she called after him, desperately grasping for some reason—any reason—for him to stay. She was struck with an epiphany.

"Let me come with you." He stopped at her words.

"What?"

"Can I come? Help you set up the Hartford branch, we could live together." She looked at him, eyes begging. "Please?"

He stepped closer. "Some conditions."

Relief filled her, and without thinking she said, "Anything."

He moved even closer. "First, you go back to Yale."

She grinned. "I was planning on that, anyways."

"Second: Make up with Lorelai. I don't want Luke or Lorelai mad at me because they think I was keeping you from them, and I can tell that you miss her."

"You're right." she admitted.

"I usually am."

"Any more?"

"Any more what?"

"Anymore conditions?"

"Yes. You have to work to help pay for wherever we're going to live. Oh, and under no circumstances can you insult Hemmingway, or any of his books."

"Mean!"

"Yah, well, even I have my limit."

"Okay, so when can I leave?"

"When we find a place to go."

"I can call Paris." she offered.

"God help us now." he deadpanned.

She hit his arm, and he caught her hand on the recoil. There was a millisecond of pause as they looked at each other before their lips met.

Eventually, they had to pause for breath, and she smiled gently at him. "There are some things I need to take care of, but maybe I could meet you later?"

"Sure." he smiled, a full-on smile that he only smiled for her. "I wrote my phone number in the book." he gestured towards the novel in her hands. She smiled, then closed the door softly.

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When Logan came to the poolhouse, he found Rory seated at a table, perusing the real estate pages. "Hey, Ace? What are you doing? I thought we had plans."

She set the paper down. "Logan, we need to talk."

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Gah! I know, terrible and OOC.

Anyways, feel free to suggest songs. Next one will either be "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" by Panic! At the Disco or "Tear You Apart" by She Wants Revenge.