A/N: Good and bad news. Bad news first: this is a super short chapter unfortunately. Good news: full of fluff, and it's leading into a chapter I've been excited to get to write! As usual, I appreciate your reviews - and to be honest, I go through and I reread them. It means a lot to me that you guys are enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
"Let's go to the Vineyard this weekend," Logan suggested as she leaned over her books, preparing for her exam the next day. She glanced up, signaling for him to continue his thought and to convince her. "It's Valentine's weekend, and, as much fun as I had last time, we won't get interrupted. It'll be just you and me." She liked the idea, but she wasn't one hundred percent sure. She had two reporters quit because of Paris, had two exams the next week. "I know everything's crazy right now, but think about it, okay?" She just nodded, leaning back over her books.
She could hear him typing, as usual. Mitchum had him looking at the numbers for a majority of the papers. After saving HPG from a total loss by revamping their acquisition the month before, Logan was now the person in charge of overseeing any major or necessary changes. That didn't mean he had to go in. Instead, he would come up with a plan of action which Mitchum would then have the Editor In Chief of the paper carry out to a 't.' It took up so much of his time, and she was killing herself with her final semester. Maybe a weekend was what they needed.
"Let's go," she told him, setting down her highlighter and looking up. He stopped typing, swiveling in his chair to look at her with a smile. "We've both been crazy busy this past month and we've barely had any time for each other. So why not?" She smiled back, picking up her highlighter and tapping to a random rhythm.
"I'll email Mitchum tomorrow to let him know we'll be occupying the house. Hopefully he can get ahold of the groundskeeper to get it all set up." They both looked at each other, smiling for another minute before going back to their previous activities.
She had talked to Paris after her initial reaction. Even though Paris didn't care that she was blunt, she did care that Rory was hurting. She finally realized that as much as Rory wanted to step in and tell Logan he was crazy for choosing death, she couldn't. Not for her sake, but for Logan's. He needed as many people in his court as he could get, and one of the most important people was Rory.
The rest of the week went by in a blur. Her exam was taken, the paper was published, and finally, they laid in bed at the Vineyard, entranced with one another. "I missed you," he mumbled as he kissed her neck. She moaned in response, one of her hands in his hair, the other digging her nails into his shoulder. When he laid beside her again, she laid her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her.
"I missed you too," she finally said. His fingers twirled her hair, and she smiled. Even though they'd seen each other every day the past month, they never really were with each other like they were in that moment. It was go to school, come home and Logan's working so work on homework, have dinner and make small talk, watch the news, sleep, repeat. Friday night dinners were the most time they actually spent together, and even then they were surrounded by family and bombarded with Emily wanting them to reconsider a big wedding.
"I'm pretty sure if we tried really hard, we could stay in this bed the entire time. Didn't we learn anything from Mad Hot Ballroom?" he asked, kissing the top of her head. "One, two, cha cha cha." She smiled, but knew that attempt would be foiled sooner than later when she heard his stomach growl.
"Ah yes, but food as your body so wonderfully pointed out directly into my ear." His laugh reverberated. It still amazed her that when she laid her head on his chest, she could hear his heart and breath and voice and laugh. It was a way only she heard him, and to her, it made it seem even more special.
"Yes, food. We could go and get something, or I'm sure Mitchum made sure the kitchen was stocked, so I mean, there's probably cereal," he said, voice light as he tightened his arm around her shoulders, pulling her a little closer.
"Cereal sounds good." They stood up, her pulling on sweats and her discarded t-shirt and him pulling on his boxers and robe. She smiled as he ran his hand through his tousled hair and lead her into the kitchen. He pulled out the cereal boxes, lining them up for her choosing. She had a feeling he had more to do with the kitchen stocking than Mitchum did.
"Cocoa Puffs for sure," she said as he handed her a bowl and cereal. She grabbed the box, pouring herself a good amount of the chocolatey goodness. She saw him smile as he watched her eat, pouring himself Honey Nut Cheerios. It was a perfect moment, like they'd done this for years and there would be years to come. For once, her mind didn't go to the elephant in the room, it was focused on happiness.
When they finished their breakfast, they went back to the bedroom and turned on the news, but neither of them watched it. Rather, they watched each other, memorizing and relearning each other. They only ventured out a handful of times during their weekend for one reason or another. One time was to walk along the shore, another was to go to the bakery they loved so much. At one point, they went out just to walk around the island, and on that one occasion, they caught sight of elusive Stan, the raccoon.
This was their moment of happiness, of so many 'could-be's being crammed into two days. It was their glimpse at that happy future. If you looked close enough, you could see the kids running on the lawn, of them sitting on the porch old and grey together, of them sharing so many more memories on the sand and in the house. It was definitely a sight of hopes and 'could-be's.