A/N: New chapter :-) Enjoy!

Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies

Rory knew that marriage and love were two different things, but she had always hoped that they would coincide for her. All her life she had seen relatively happy marriages. Her mother loved Luke even more than coffee, and Jackson had given up growing cucumbers just because Sookie didn't like them. Even Rory's grandparents were happily married, both going through their frivolously wealthy life together with contentment.

This is precisely why Rory was unable to understand how she had gotten into a marriage marked with unhappiness. She had grown up around practical fairy tales and somehow she had ended up in the one that didn't have a happy ending.

She could hear the sound of Franz Ferdinand playing from her husband's room. The door was closed, of course, but she could hear every single word of the song. The door used to be open before things began to turn.

He had apologized about snapping at her after the party and she had decided to forgive him. She figured that she had held her first grudge long enough to cover the second as well. Besides, she didn't have the luxury of ignoring him anymore. They lived together, went to events together, and it was difficult to be passive aggressive when all of Hartford society is watching.

She felt her stomach turn with hunger and she pulled herself from the couch to make herself something to eat. While her culinary skills had not improved much since the marriage, she was able to make decent scrambled eggs. She heard the music stop as she opened the refrigerator.

"Let me guess, scrambled eggs?" Logan asked without a hint of a grin.

"Yup."

"What is this, the third time this week?"

She shrugged. "It's the only thing I'm good at. Do you want any?"

"I'm actually going out."

"Oh." She paused. "I thought we could have lunch together."

He shrugged. "Sorry, I have plans."

She watched him pull his coat on and then returned her attention to the eggs. She cracked three into a glass and then added milk. She didn't even look up when he left. Instead she began whisking, listening to the sound of metal against glass as she worked her wrist.

How had she gotten here?

They had been happy in the beginning. Sure, there were a few more pointed remarks from her than he would've liked, but generally they were content. They had always been a good match and she genuinely enjoyed the time she spent with him.

And then the party happened.

She had watched him dance with that Shandi and felt as if her entire chest was being ripped in two. While her accusation was a bit hasty (she readily admitted that), the sentiment behind it was not. She had forced Logan into a closed marriage and had realized, quite swiftly, that perhaps this was not something that Logan had entirely wanted. Sure, he had agreed to it, but he had also been desperate. Watching him with Shandi, Rory had realized what exactly she had done. Logan's hands were tied in their agreement, and while she did not mind the same treatment, she was beginning to think that Logan was feeling the strain.

The fact of the matter was that while she was sorting through conflicting feelings, Logan's were strictly business.

Suddenly, she could not wait for that one-year marker to come. She would give him the annulment papers as an anniversary gift.

The door opened and before she could compose herself Logan walked into the kitchen.

"I forgot my-" he stopped when he saw her. "Ace?"

She hadn't noticed that tears were streaming down her cheeks and she wiped them away sheepishly.

"Ace, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said.

"Was it something I said? Listen, I'm sorry. I've been-"

"I'm fine," she insisted, turning up the flame and gliding a stick of butter over the top. As the butter sizzled she poured the egg and milk mixture over it. He watched her intently, studying the way she turned the flame down and pushed the eggs back and forth so that they wouldn't burn. After a moment he took off his coat and said, "I'm staying."

"What? No, Logan, go out. Have fun."

"I want some of your famous scrambled eggs," he said with a small grin. "I'm not going to leave so don't even try to make me."

"You don't have to do this," she said softly.

"Of course I do. You're my wife."

"In name only," she retorted, her prior thoughts slipping out of her mouth.

She didn't look up from the pan but could feel him move closer. He gently touched her arm and murmured, "Ace, I will always be here for you. I know sometimes it doesn't seem like that. But I will always be here for you."

She took a deep breath and said, "Well, we only have until August."

"Excuse me?"

She scraped the eggs onto a plate and told him, "We'll have been married a year in August. We can get an annulment then."

"You want an annulment?"

She carefully answered, "Don't you?"

He took the eggs from her and stuttered, "I…I don't know. I mean, Ace, we haven't even been married half a year yet."

"You did this for strictly business reasons," she said in a low voice. "So, why would we not end it in the same manner? You don't need me after the first year."

His irritation spiked and before he could stop himself he blurted out, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I would want you after that first year?"

She was silent and he looked down at his food to avoid looking at her any longer. He had no control over his mouth when he was looking at her.

Her body coursed with adrenaline from his words. It almost sounded like-it seemed that-maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way that she felt. Just as she was going to allow herself to take in the fact that he may have feelings for her, he added, "You're my best friend, Ace. That doesn't just go away."

Her hopes fell quickly.

"I don't want to tie you down. I think we both deserve to find someone that we love."

She took his silence as an agreement.

"Well, the option is still there at one year."

She nodded.

"If we really feel like we are suffocating then we can separate."

She nodded again and it made the area behind her eyes hurt.

"You can go out," she told him. "I'm fine, really."

He smiled slightly and said, "I actually think I want to spend some time with my wife."

After catching her breath she asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, how does some Luke's coffee sound?"

RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL

"It's my baby!" Lorelai cried as she saw Rory enter Luke's Diner. She jumped from her seat and attacked her daughter with a crippling hug. As she saw Logan chuckle she warned, "Don't laugh, Blondie, you're next."

"It's always a pleasure, Lorelai," he said smoothly.

"Let me guess, you want coffee?" Luke asked with a grin.

"You know me so well," Rory answered, walking over to give her step-dad a hug.

"You can come behind the counter," he told her and she grinned wide, turning to her mother.

"Did you hear that, Mom? I get to go behind the counter."

"I know, babe. It's a perk of being part of the Danes family. If I would have known that before, I would have married him ages ago."

"Thanks Lorelai," Luke said dryly.

"Oh, this is so much better than I imagined," Rory enthused, stepping behind the counter.

"You imagined this?"

"We both did," Lorelai chirped. "That's what we would do on Friday nights when we were both spinsters."

"Thank God we saved them," Luke told Logan.

"Who else would?" He joked back.

"Hey, Stanley totally had a thing for me," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, and his wife was just thrilled."

"This is so cool," Rory trilled with a grin as she stood behind the counter. "I feel like an insider."

Logan watched Rory chat with her parents and began to fall in love with her even more. Here, in this diner, was where Logan had learned how special Rory Gilmore was. Watching her interact with her mother and all the locals had showed him how different she was from the rest of the society girls. Her perfect nose was never turned up, only stuck in a book or a cup of coffee. He noticed that she looked the most relaxed that she had in ages, and felt a creeping guilt for what he had witnessed earlier. He didn't know why she had been upset, but he inherently knew it was because of him.

"How's the coffee?" Logan asked to pull himself from his thoughts.

She took another sip and closed her eyes in a manner that made his throat go dry. He had seen that look before and it had nothing to do with coffee.

"It's better than I remembered," she answered with a grin.

"Luke has a new way of making it now," Lorelai told her. "You see, now I spit in the grounds before he brews a pot."

"No she doesn't," Luke interjected.

"That's why it tastes so fantastic. The secret ingredient is Lorelai Gilmore Danes spi-"

"Enough," Luke snapped. "She did not spit in the grounds. That is disgusting."

"I did it yesterday," she answered with a shrug.

"No you didn't."

She shrugged again.

"Okay, that's it. You are no longer allowed behind the counter."

"What?"

"This is better than television," Rory told Logan, moving around the counter to sit next to him.

"I would pay to see this."

"Thank you for taking me here," she said softly, laying her hand over his for a moment. "I really appreciate it."

He went to lay his other hand over hers but she moved it before he could.

"It's really good to see you, kid," Lorelai said, taking the seat beside Rory and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

"It's good to be back."

"You should do this more often," she hinted. "Between your galas and ribbon cutting ceremonies, of course."

"We've actually never been to a ribbon cutting," Rory admitted with a small grin.

Lorelai gasped. "Emily and Richard would be outraged."

"Here, take this with you for the ride back," Luke said, pushing a filled thermos towards her.

"Luke, you should know better," Lorelai said. "That won't get her past Route 95."

Rory grinned and took the thermos. "Thanks Luke."

"I, uh, figured you wouldn't mind having a little more Luke's coffee."

"I never do."

"Where's my thermos, huh?" Lorelai demanded as she poked at his chest.

"You live here," he pointed out.

"Oh yeah, you're right. Screw the thermos! I get all the coffee I want anyway!"

"Somehow I feel she is going to make this dirty," Logan whispered.

"Nah, not this time," Rory assured him. "She never makes coffee dirty. It's too sacred."

"Rory, do you think you have room for some pie?" Luke asked knowingly.

Rory grinned and answered, "Do you even need to ask?"

RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL

"Thank you for doing this," Rory told Logan on the way home. She didn't look at him as she said it, but the emotion behind her words was enough for Logan.

"I'll do anything to keep my wife happy," he teased.

"You're calling me that a lot lately," she noted.

"Well, that's what you are. Right?"

"I guess."

"Don't make me take out the marriage license," he warned lightly.

"Yes, I am your wife," she said with a soft smile.

"You are indeed, Mrs. Huntzberger."

She bit back a grin and reached her hand out to turn on the radio. She pressed the button firmly with her finger and a Beatles song began to play.

"I always liked the name Eleanor Rigby," Logan said. "In fact, when I was little I used to want to marry someone named Eleanor Rigby."

"Was this before or after your Alyssa Milano phase?"

He chuckled. "Before."

"Well, I'm sorry that my name is not Eleanor Rigby."

"It's okay. You know, your name would still fit in the song. Close enough."

She grinned.

"So, Ace, who did you want to marry when you were young?"

"To be honest, I always had a thing for Sonny from The Godfather. I liked how he took care of SISTER (Connie?). I always hoped that I would find someone who would take care of me like that."

"He was also a hot head," he reminded her. "And he was killed."

"Beside the point," she said.

"Well, seeing that I am neither Italian, a mobster, or even a brunette, I don't think you got what you wanted."

"It all turned out okay," she said softly.

"Really?"

"Sometimes you need to settle," she teased.

"Ouch."

They drove in a comfortable silence for a while, both of them caught up in their own thoughts. Logan was stealing sideway glances at Rory, taking in the way her hair curled gently at the nape of her neck. Rory was doing her best not to look at him at all because she knew once she started she would be unable to stop.

Finally Logan spoke.

"Look, Rory, I just want to apologize for anything I might have done to hurt you. After the party, I felt targeted, and you know how I get when I feel cornered."

"I know," she said. She thought of his cold demeanor and repeated, "I know."

"I really am grateful for what you have done for me."

She nodded.

"So, truce?"

"I didn't know there was a war," she said with a slight smile.

"I'll lower my defenses if you will."

She looked at him and sighed. "Alright, truce."

A/N: How long will that truce last? Well, you will just have to come back to find out. I promise you, though, the angst is not gone. It's too delicious to write :-)

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