Thanks so much for reviewing the last chapter! In retrospect, it's more of a prelude, but I wanted to get it up because I could. And this…is hopefully what you've all been waiting for. Without giving too much away, there is M-ness in this. I've never written that, because it's so difficult to get right. I'm sorry if it is cringe-worthy and uncomfortable.

Disclaimer: I don't own GG

"I'm going to get another beer," Finn said, "Aubrey?"

"Seven and Seven?"

"My kind of a girl," Finn grinned. "Logan? Rory? More ice teas?"

They nodded and Finn headed off towards the bar. "You know Malaysians bathe their babies in beer?" Rory didn't know why, but she had a knack for offering tidbits of information at the most random moments.

"Really?" Logan's eyebrows shot up in amusement and Rory nodded quickly, "Oh yeah, they do it to protect their babies from disease."

"Huh." He leaned back contently and a lazy smile captured him, "He was a wise man who invented beer."

"So, you normally just go around quoting Plato?" she laughed and he shrugged, not at all surprised she knew that. Finn slid back into the booth. "Beer is proof that God loves and us and wants us to be happy."

"I didn't know you were religious," Logan joked, as Finn took a sip of his beer. "Patriotic, mate."

"You're Australian," Rory said, "And Benjamin Franklin said that."

He pointed at his pint, "It's a Foster's, love."

"Oh snap!" Logan pounded his fist on the table and made a mocking face at Rory. She rolled her eyes as Aubrey burst into a fit of giggles.

Finn smiled widely at Aubrey, who looked away a little shyly. "So, Miss Aubrey, may I ask you a question?"

She fiddled with her drink stirrer and nodded, suddenly nervous about what Finn would ask. He cleared his throat in a ceremonious manner, and spoke. "Tell me, love, who is your favorite celebrity couple?"

Logan and Rory shot each other a confused look, but Aubrey's lips curled into a smile. "Did you read that in this month's Cosmopolitan magazine? Conversation Boosters?"

Finn shrugged, "I like to be prepared. And besides, I'm partial to a good celebrity couple."

"Really?" Aubrey leaned in closer to him so that their foreheads were almost touching, "I know almost every celebrity baby name. Is that weird?"

"Depends," he shrugged, "Do you think Violet and Seraphina are the cutest celebrity kids ever?"

"Of course they are the cutest! Jen and Ben are such great parents."

"The best!" Finn nodded his head with vigor. Logan and Rory shared a laugh at the bizarre turn of conversation and Rory gave Logan a fake-apologetic look. "I don't know any celebrity babies. Just Apple."

"Apple?" Logan's eyes widened. " Poor kid."

"I know," Rory rolled her eyes, "I would never call my kid that."

At this revelation, his interest peaked. "You wouldn't?"

She'd meant it in a casual way – just something to say – but he was making it something more. "Nah, Vanilla Latte has a nicer ring to it."

He chuckled at her mediocre joke. "So, you want kids?"

"I don't know. Never really thought about it, I guess."

He gave her a disbelieving look. "You and not thinking?"

She squirmed a little in her seat under his intense look. He had meant it at as compliment. She over-analyzed, she was smart. But she let a hallow laugh. "Actually, I have long history of not thinking."

Logan's mouth popped open in surprise as he realized that she was right. The atmosphere between them turned a little awkward as he wondered if she was now offended by his sudden lack of tact.

"You?" she asked, "Wanting kids, I mean."

He let out a deep sigh (apparently, she wasn't offended – she was even smirking a little) and pointed to himself, "I have thought about it, and really, "no" is the only answer for me."

"Really?" she leaned in and tried to read the expression on his face, but the restaurant was too dimly lit. She'd always thought he'd make an excellent father. "Why?"

"You've met my father…."

She leaned back into the booth, "He likes me," she teased, "So, that can't be your argument."

"That's right," Logan laughed, "He does like you. How could he not?"

Rory rolled her eyes at this maybe-kind-of-compliment, but Logan didn't expand on his reasons not wanting to be a father. Instead, he let out another sigh. "It's not like I have a choice, I'm expected to father at least one legitimate child."

"No limit on the illegitimate ones?"

"Nope, as long as they remain dark family secrets."

"Oh, well, in that case…" she gestured vaguely, " as long you ensure a heir."

He ran his finger along the rim of his ice-tea glass. "Yep."

She took a sip of her drink. "Ugh. That's depressing."

"So, then, let's talk about something nice. Anything but celebrity couples, that is." And he winked and suddenly, she was so thirsty and had to take a very un-lady like gulp of tea, but her eyes remained on him as he thought of a suitable conversation topic.

They knew each other – they'd even lived together – so there was no point in covering the typical First Date Topics (even though, technically this wasn't a date. But, he didn't want to discuss heavier things. They would have enough time to discuss the various missteps in their complication relationship, and he really needed to steer clear of topics like babies (he could kick himself for turning celebrity babies into the possibility of 'their' babies!) Even a clichéd question in a clichéd movie-star voice like "what are your hopes and dreams?" was no good. Besides, he knew her hopes and dreams and he was pretty sure she knew his.

At last, he raised his index finger, much like he did when he was her professor standing in that classroom in London, "Tonight's movie. Matt Damon."

"Oh, a definite yay," Rory interjected with a flirtatious smile. "That hair, those eyes. That perfect Jason Bourne body. How could you not just melt?"

Logan let out a loud laugh. "Really, the perfect Jason Bourne body?"

"Actually," she said, her eyes going first to his perfect rustled coupe and then resting on his eyes, "the hair and the eyes. It's my thing."

A twisted grin formed on his face and he nodded approvingly. "But, really, Miss Gilmore, I was driving at the movie's theme: do we choose our fate or is it thrust upon us?"

At that moment, their server arrived with 4 plates topped with giant cheeseburgers and an enormous mound of French fries.

"Oh, wow!" Aubrey clapped excitedly, "now this is a burger!" And she watched curiously as the server put a bottle of Heinz vinegar in front of Finn.

"What's that?"

"Oh," Rory interjected before Finn could speak, "he puts vinegar on his fries."

"It's a British thing, Ace," Logan said, grabbing the bottle from Finn, "and besides, don't talk about weird French fry dippers, you put mayonnaise on your fries!"

She looked down at the 5 ramekins of Hellman's on her plate and took a fry and dipped it in, before popping it into her mouth. "It's delicious," she announced and then dipped in another fry and handed it to Logan. "Try it."

He scrunched up his nose in disgust, and she tired again, waving the mayo-fry in front of him. "Oh come on!"

This time, he relented, but instead of taking the fry, he leaned in – those flirtatious eyes testing her – and bit the mayonnaise covered fry right out of her hand.

The three of them looked at Logan while he chewed, and laughed when he concluded it was indeed delicious.

"You've never had vinegar on your fries, love?" Finn asked Aubrey. She shook her head. "Just ketchup. And sometimes brown gravy."

"Oh," Finn ran his tongue across his lips, "gravy and fries. Almost as good as vinegar and fries." And then he held up the bottle, "Do you want to try?"

She nodded and he delicately sprinkled some over her plate. After they had all commented on how good the burgers tasted, the conversation fell back into where it was.

"So," Rory said, between chews, "this burger has an excellent meat to veggie ratio."

"I'm glad," Logan grinned playfully, "I know you find these things important."

"Extremely," she agreed in mock-seriousness. "It must be fate."

"Ah, yes! Fate: do we choose our destiny or is it planned out?" he said, using a voice that sounded very much like a debate host.

Rory laughed, and took a vinegar-drenched fry from his plate, "I see school is back in session, Mr. Huntzberger."

"You were a good student."

"I suppose," she said, with a hint of regret in her voice. " I think…" she chewed her burger as she mulled over Logan's question and he waited patiently for her to answer. Somewhere, she heard Finn and Aubrey discussing the latest episode of Glee, but she honestly couldn't tell if they were next to her or tables away. Right now, it was like only she and Logan existed.

"I always used to think that it was a determined destiny. I was born into the Gilmore family, had certain responsibilities, had to live up to a certain name. Of course, I didn't – "

Logan wanted to interject, but he stopped himself.

"- and the things I did…I guess it was easy to think that I couldn't really be held accountable for them, you know? Things happened, because they were supposed to, so it wasn't my fault."

While Rory took a sip of her tea, he nodded that he understood. "But now, I don't know…I wasn't forced to do those things. But still. There must be some kind of plan, you know? Why did I run into you on that plane?"

"The private jets were booked, Ace," Logan said rationally, but Rory dismissed it with a wave. "And again at grandpa's funeral, and then at the HPG offices, and now, again, in New York."

Mitchum. It was all Mitchum, Logan thought and Rory caught the look in his eye. "Even if Mitchum orchestrated it all – it's still you."

"Me?"

"I can't get away from you."

Logan knew exactly where she was coming from (how many nights had his TV randomly gone to ANTM? How hard had it tried to view her through a sister-lens, how often did she come crashing through his mind at the most inopportune times? ) and then furrowed his brows. "Do you want to?"

"No," she said without thinking and then blushed wildly in embarrassment. Logan's lips curled into a sweet smile, and he casually took another fry off her plate – his hand accidently-on-purpose brushing over hers.

"So, what you're saying is that fate has things lined up, but we get to choose what we do with them?" he asked softly.

Rory thought about this for a second and then nodded – that's exactly what she was trying to say. How come he always knew what she was trying to say?

"Yeah."

It was an intense and heavy moment between them. It was like they had reached some silent understanding. He didn't mean to push her, to have such philosophical discussions with her in some non-descript restaurant in NYC, but she opened up to him voluntarily. It was kind of nice to see this softer, more fragile side of Rory Gilmore. She was definitely not the bug-eyed glasses wearing girl he'd met all those months ago.

Aubrey and Finn's laughter brought some release, and Rory and Logan joined in their conversation about Dance Dance Revolution. Apparently, Aubrey was some kind of superstar and Finn did not believe she had a score higher than his. A dance, dance duel would have to happen eventually.

On their way to the movie theatre, Logan's hand slipped into Rory's. She looked at him, and he was about to let go, thinking he'd maybe crossed a line, but she granted him a reassuring smile and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Oh, she was trying so hard not to get caught up, but how could she not? Everything was just so damn perfect.

At the movies, the girls were seated in the middle, with Finn next to Aubrey, and Logan next to Rory. The boys did all the things they were supposed to: buying giants tubs of buttered popcorn, liter-size soft drinks (Seven-Ups for Aubrey and Finn, an iced tea for Rory, and a Coke for Logan), and going back for more chocolate covered raisons and gummy bears.

Once the guys were gone, Rory turned to Aubrey. "Pep-talk?"

"I think he likes me," Aubrey confessed and a funny smile played at Rory's lips. "Of course he does."

"But, like, everything about me, all my shows, my music, he laughed at silly stories about Daddy, " Aubrey said seriously, "I even got ketchup on his shirt and he didn't mind."

Rory was confused. "When did the ketchup thing happen?"

"Um. At dinner," Aubrey gesticulated frantically, "You and Logan were really caught up in your talk you didn't even notice!"

Rory's eyes grew wide. "Oh."

"Yeah." Aubrey nodded, "but that's good, right? Really good." She couldn't help letting out a girlish squeal at all of tonight's excitement and Rory joined her. The two of them shared a laugh and shot the guys "don't-ask" looks upon their return.

She was pleased that everything seemed to be going well between Aubrey and Finn. Aubrey didn't need her to chaperone (let's face it, she'd been a pretty bad one up to now, anyway).

"I'm glad I came tonight," Rory said softly, but to no one in particularly. A moment later, Logan's arm was wrapped around her shoulder. She didn't need to look up to know he was beaming like her.

Half-way through the movie, Finn employed the classic 'yawn-to-shoulder-hug' move and Aubrey gingerly rested her head on Finn's chest.

As the credits rolled, the four of them exited the theatre and came to a halt in the lobby. It was a little awkward, because neither Finn, nor Logan had decided how to proceed beyond this moment. In fact, both of them were a little surprised they'd made it this far.

"Ice cream," Aubrey's voice broke the silence, "Do you guys want some ice cream?" It was clear that she was asking Finn, and Finn alone.

Rory grinned a little, proud of Aubrey for being so bold. "Actually, I could go for a coffee," she said and Aubrey gave her a meaningful, grateful look.

Of course, most ice cream parlors served coffee, but that wasn't the point. "Have you been to Joe Beans?" Logan asked.

"No," Rory shook her head and laughed a little, "You have? I thought you didn't like coffee?"

"They have an amazing selection of herbal tea," Logan replied in lighthearted tone, before tipping his head toward the door, in a let's-get-out-of-here move.

Aubrey and Finn were so distracted by their discussion about the construction of a perfect banana split, they barely managed to wave goodbye to Rory and Logan.

As the pair made their way out of the theater and onto the humid New York streets, the mood changed again. It was a little more tense before, and despite it not having rained, there was a glow on the pavement.

Her hand felt small in his, but it felt comfortable, trusted, as he lead her through the streets. She wished she'd worn heels so the clacking on the sidewalk would drown out the silence between them.

"This place claims to have the best coffee in town," Logan said finally, "I'm surprised you didn't know about it."

"I'm surprised you did! Considering you don't like the stuff," Rory teased.

"But I like you." Logan stopped and groaned a little. "That was really cheesy, wasn't it?"

Rory bit down on her lip and nodded. "It'll cost you points," she joked, but it wasn't mean-spirited. She liked that he seemed just a little less composed that he usually was.

He laughed happily and she looked up at the dark night sky, kind of wishing it would rain. It was unusually humid and warm for the time of night. Rory couldn't tell if the thin film of sweat on her palms were caused by the weather or Logan, but it was increasingly uncomfortable.

"You know," Logan started talking again, "Finn bought a new Nespresso machine. You could have some coffee at my place?"

Her left eyebrow shot up in surprise, "And have you miss out on the awesome selection of Joe Beans' herbal teas?"

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," he said and made a sharp left down the street. His pace quickened considerably and Rory really couldn't think. Her mind cautioned that this was maybe a bad idea, but even if he let go of her hand, she'd follow him.

Of course, he didn't let go of her hand, not during the 4-block walk, not during the elevator ride up to the penthouse, not even when he fished his keys out of his pocket. They didn't speak, neither could come up with a topic that would justify talking.

This New York apartment was much like his apartment in London; the same low-to-the-ground ergonomically designed furniture, the same bachelor pad mood. The kitchen was slightly smaller, but still had a breakfast bar and a spacious counter, on which a bright red espresso machine stood.

"Finn calls it The Beast," Logan said as he started making her coffee. He didn't have to ask how she liked it, he already knew. The sweet smell of coffee filled the room, and she found it incredibly sexy how he maneuvered around the kitchen; he boiled water for his tea, found a tea bag from the drawer on the left and took two mugs from the cupboard.

"It's impressive," Rory said after a while, and Logan gave her a vaguely confused look. "The Beast, I mean."

"Ah, right," he said, before handing her the cup of steaming coffee. He kept his eyes on her as she took a small sip, immediately followed by a larger gulp. Rory let out a satisfied sigh.

"Good?" he asked in a soft voice. He was very close to her now, she had to twist her head up to look at him. His hand moved to her lip, and he brushed some milk foam from the corner of her mouth.

"Oh," she said breathlessly, and she didn't speak when he took her half-empty cup and placed it on the counter, and she her heartbeat in her ears.

Logan's soft fingers brushed the long of her neck, before he laid his full palm against the back of it, gently pulling her up towards him. She responded immediately to his touch; her head cocked up in anticipation and she moistened her lips. His head bent forward to meet hers and she saw the tiniest hint of a smirk on his face before he kissed her long and slow.

That first kiss was really something. It wasn't shy, or sweet; too much had happened for them to pretend. There was no subtle blush, questioning glances, waiting for lips to part. It was almost familiar, like they had shared a million kisses between them before, and yet it was exciting and new. But most of all, it was lusty and needy. They had both been waiting for this moment for a long time and now that it was happening, the release was immense.

Her hands wrapped behind his neck, his cupped her ass, pushing her body against his. Logan was a good kisser, his soft, lush lips against hers was magic. She'd never tasted anything like it before. For a brief moment, she wondered if he'd like her cherry gloss or if he lips now tasted like coffee, but that thought left her as soon as it bubbled up.

Right now, all that mattered was that she was here, in Logan's kitchen, kissing him.

Eventually, they needed to catch their breath and Logan broke it off. "I've been meaning to do that for a while," he told her, his voice all raspy. Rory smacked her lips together a few times, savoring the taste, and couldn't quite meet his gaze as she spoke, "I've been waiting."

He playfully shook his head at her comment, before pulling her close again. "I thought you were the proactive type? Take the bull by the horns...?"

She looked up, smiling at his wicked grin, too distracted by his hot breath on her neck to come up with a witty comeback. Instead, she just nodded and kissed him again. This time, their session ended with her positioned on the kitchen counter, her legs wrapped around Logan's waist and her eyes locked to his. She silently challenged him to go on.

Rory was curious how far he would take it and he was curious to see how far he could go. She squeezed her legs around him, and nodded open-mouthed, letting him know it was okay.

Slowly, his hands dropped from her neck and he dragged them across her arms and her thighs, sending a wave of electricity through her body, before he ran his hands back up her thighs and stopped at the hem of her heather-gray T. He used just one finger to trace the hem, running it back and forth a couple of times.

Teasing her, yes, but also trying to consider the impact his would have. Because he wanted to do this right. Be a gentleman. Treat her right. With respect. This had to be different from all of the other times he had a girl propped up on his kitchen counter.

But it was no use.

She was here, in front of him. With those big, but not-so-innocent eyes. The ability to think rationally was gone. Logan could practically hear her begging - she wanted this as much as he did. Fuck it. He used both hands to lift her shirt and she raised her arms, so he could pull it off. It fell to the ground, next the bar stools that had somehow fell to the floor.

Rory couldn't help but laugh at Logan's expression. Since tonight wasn't supposed to be a date, she hadn't cared about wearing anything particularly sexy. It was just a simple white-lace triangle bra. There was no va-va-voom push-up, no sexy little things, no secrets.

"So, how many points?" His head dropped to his chest. Rory could kick herself for saying that, for ruining this moment by referring to something so crass as their little game. She didn't want him to think that's what this is to her. He looked up and gave her another one of those world-rocking looks.

"As many as you want, Ace." His eyes turned a darker shade of brown and he pulled her towards him once more. She tugged at the collar of his blue polo, and he laughed at her eagerness.

"That won't work out," he told her and he demonstrated by trying to pull his shirt over his head from the collar. "My head's too big."

She heard a potentially dirty comeback in there somewhere, but before she could speak, he removed his shirt, revealing his broad chest and muscled stomach for the first time.

"I see," Logan said casually, "that you like what you see."

"Remember what I said about Jason Bourne?"

"Yeah…?"

"Forget about it." A deep, appreciative laughter rumbled inside of him and Rory going to kiss him, but accidentally nipped his lip.

"You bit me!"

"No, I was going to kiss you!" she started, gesturing wildly, "but you started talking!"

"You were going to kiss me?" he repeated and she could see his breathing intensify.

She nodded coyly, "I was." Rory placed his hands on his hips, pulling him closer. "Right now."

As they kissed, she brushed her hands through his hair, and his hands roamed freely across her back. It was as if all of the warmth in his body and hers pooled together in the pit of her stomach. It was interesting and she'd never experienced something quite like it before.

"This must not be very comfortable for you?" Logan asked her after what seemed like a lifetime of making out. Honestly, it didn't matter. She would sit on that countertop forever, but he instructed her to put her arms around his neck, and he lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom.

He laid her down on the bed and as she gazed up from the soft comforter and sea of pillows, it was clear that the mood changed again. His eyes were now almost black, and she was sure that the lust in her eyes was clear.

He gently let himself fall on top of her and continued his kissing – lips, arms, chest, stomach, his lips had touched every inch of visible skin. The heat in her stomach was back and it seemed to radiate through her body, before returning to the pit of her stomach even stronger than it was before. She'd never felt this much before. It was almost too much; all of her nerve endings were on fire, tiny surges of electricity went through her at his touches.

In the short breaths of air between kissing, their eyes met, and they smiled lovingly at each other. All concept of time was gone. It was just the two of them, in some bedroom in some New York apartment. Just being. It was a kind of trance she couldn't ever achieve with alcohol and techno music.

This was so different from the hundreds of drunken nights she'd spent with guys. With them, alcohol aided the seduction and numbed everything else. Though nights were blurred together - it meant nothing. Tonight, every sense was heightened, she wanted to capture this feeling, and wanted it to last forever.

At one point, she caught his gaze and nodded. Logan wasted no time in undoing the button of those True Religion jeans and they wiggled off. His hand went to the elastic of her panties and her hips involuntarily bucked at his touch. Rory's eyes closed and she focused on the moment.

The odd feeling of a foreign familiarity came over her. Obviously, she'd lain with many men in this position, but this sensation was completely new.

The thump, thump, thump of her heart beat through her body and the heat burned inside of her and Logan's gorgeous eyes burned in her skull, until she couldn't take it anymore. Her breathing was ragged and shallow and all she needed to do was let go. And because it was him, she did. Completely.

She felt Logan's head on her chest, but Rory kept her eyes closed until her breathing evened out. Even with her bra and panties still on, she felt naked when he looked up at her. A deep blush flooded her face and she swallowed, a little unsure of what to say now.

"Um. That was nice," she whispered. "Really, really, nice."

A crooked little smile played at Logan's lips. "Yeah."

"So..." she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and he kissed her stomach, making her laugh. He stayed put, though, making it hard for her to move. "Logan," she ran a hand through his hair, "what are you doing?"

"Listening to your heartbeat…It's fast."

"Women's hearts beat faster than men's," she quipped, and then turned more serious. "It's your turn. " It was only right and, she had to admit, if he could do all of that with just his hand, she needed to find out more.

"Ah," he shot her a sheepish grin, "but I've had my turn."

She propped herself up on her elbows and gave him a curious look. "How? I didn't..."

"Apparently," he laughed, not at all embarrassed, "you did enough."

She gave him a blank stare, before she realized what he was implying. "Oooh. Um. Wow. I'm... sor-sorry?" A nervous giggle escaped her. This whole night, this whole situation was just so bizarre and Logan laughed, too. And it made her feel a whole lot better about how she reacted to his touch.

"No need to apologize, Ace. This was a year in the making...that's a long time for any guy. Frankly, I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did." And as he realized what he said, he gave her a pointed look, "Obviously, next time will be better. A lot better."

She grinned stupidly at his promise and the thought of next time. And then she threw her head back in outright laughter. "I'm sorry, Logan. It's just... " she waited for the laughs to subside, "why did we wait so long?"

Oh, there were reasons, plenty of them. But it didn't seem important any more. He shrugged, "We're crazy."

"Crazy," Rory agreed with a serious nod. Their eyes met again and the tension between them rose again. It was different, more intimate, less urgent and lusty; this was sweet, a couple-moment.

"I..." his voice wavered and he averted his gaze. "...am going to need to take a shower. By myself, before you get any funny ideas" he added with a grin.

"Well, I see," Rory smiled a devilish smile.

He pointed at his dresser. "You can take a t-shirt and some boxers from there, if you want. "And he handed her the remote for the TV, "and watch some Top Model or something?"

She nodded and smiled into his quick kiss. She politely turned away as he slid off the bed and walked into the shower. Rory waited until she heard the water running to get out of bed. She sauntered over to his dresser, noting how nice the plush carpet felt on her feet, before opening his drawer. It smelled like him, all musky and clean at the same time.

Rory selected a plain white T and a pair of checkered boxers. She changed and left her clothes - jeans still in a ball - in a pile on the floor, before she crawled into bed and turned on the TV and started to flip through the channels.

She really wanted to think. To understand how she went from giving him the cold shoulder, to having his mark on her shoulder, but she couldn't think. She was happy and relaxed, something she hadn't felt in a long time. Honestly, she didn't know how it could get better than this.

And? What did you think? That's basically all I want to know! I know it's maybe a little odd to have them so "together" now, with so much unresolved drama and I know I didn't spend too much time on Aubrey and Finn, but I kind of wanted this to be about Rory and Logan. They can be so comfortable and so awkward and so easy and so difficult at the same time, so I really hope I did this justice.

Next chapter is planned, and then we'll start tying up the loose ends.