AN: Big thanks for all of your thoughts and reviews. I hope some of them are answered in this chapter. This chapter has not been edited, so I hope it's okay with just my pair of eyes.

Chapter 9

Logan had gone through the motions of his morning, feeling like he had something up his sleeve thanks to his morning encounter. Something good. Something he didn't want to share. And apparently it showed.

"What are you smiling about?" Honor teased, having observed his brother clean up the kitchen after the five kids had gone through it for breakfast. While they had services for this type of thing, Logan was eager to do the simple things himself, and show his kids some real life now that he had the time.

"Oh nothing. Just thinking about what to make for dinner," Logan chimed, knowing well how his sister could be.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to dip your toe in the water again," Honor said, waiting a second until Veronica, the last of the kids, had slipped out of the dining area to go play outside.

"What are you talking about?" Logan crooked his eyebrow.

"It's been a year, Logan," Honor commented, and both knew that it had been a little more than a whole year since Odette had permanently moved out.

"You know it's complicated," Logan replied.

"I just saw you with Lorelai… Rory… you know the other night when she was over here. I just like it when you're walking around smiling for a change," Honor explained, having in her head always thought of her neighbor as Lorelai from the piece of mail that she'd seen a while back. She was unaware of him having a much longer coffee with his neighbor the other day, but it didn't take a genius to realize that there had been further communication – at the very least casual greetings and such.

"Sure, she's great," Logan agreed, not planning on arguing with the fact. "I am just not sure I need a distraction. I should focus on the kids; they've been through a lot already. I dragged them out here, so they might just as well have my attention, right?" Logan explained, already knowing that technically his attention was already divided. But he was trying to do the right thing, even if it might've been too late for that.

"Oh, please. Have you seen your kids? They've been enjoying themselves here. They have their friends and Eléa went on and on about meeting some other girls their age in the town a few days ago," Honor replied.

Sure, they'd both hear the kids complain about moving away from a big city like London, leaving their friends behind. The disappointed objections when they'd learned they weren't going to Manhattan had lasted several days. But at least for now, they seemed to have accepted the situation. It was not like Liam had a lot to object, being the first on to go off to college in August. Logan's other kids were likely to complain no matter what, it was their age that was pretty much a guarantee of the fact.

"Yeah, well… I'd know that if she talked to me. But no, she talks to you rather than to me. Because I'm the bad guy who fights with her mom and was never around when it mattered," Logan replied.

"All I am saying is that while they are out doing their teenage stuff, you could just at the very least keep your options open. Trust me, I get that you're feeling guilty and feel like you owe them 150% of your time, keeping yourself in some suspended animation because of it is not the life lesson you want to be teaching them," Honor explained, giving Logan a momentary trip down memory lane into one of his favorite TV show episodes of all time - The Long Morrow. It was naive, childish, but still kind of romantic.

Logan just sighed, hearing her but not really wanting to accept it. In his mind, he hadn't really defined to himself what he was doing with Rory. He didn't have a plan, which was definitely a first. He was just doing what felt right in the moment, trying to look smooth while inside he had enough hesitations.

"Besides, we both know moving on is something you're not that great at. You just escape. You escape but you leave a lot of strings in place - you feed on that guilt; I know you. And while I think moving here as a sort of escape is way better than drowning yourself to your work to escape your life… It doesn't mean you need to escape striving for some personal happiness too. You haven't exactly had it easy with the women in your life," Honor continued.

"Well, I'm not feeling like pitying myself either," Logan replied, knowing well that Honor meant that ring on his finger. It was kind of a miracle really that he still wore it. It was a miracle that Odette had been fine with him wearing it, in fact. But maybe that should've been his first clue.

"Just don't forget about yourself. Hell - I'll be out of here in a couple of weeks and who will be here to remind you of that, eh?" Honor added.

"Yeah - yeah," Logan chimed, knowing that essentially, she was right. He just wasn't willing to fully accept the truth in her words yet.

Later that afternoon, Logan was sitting in the study, having been looking up some things to do with his kids, hoping to spend some quality time with them.

It was tricky to think up what all three would enjoy, something with a low threshold to talk them into doing but at the same time fun enough so it'd count as quality family time. Among the many things that he'd thought up to do - one of them included having Honor's boat be taken out of storage so they could take it out for little trips around the Archipelago.

But it was as he was finishing up his e-mail to the storage facility, hoping to have it delivered, when he could hear Rory's voice through his window, calling out to her daughter in their yard.

"Cor, you need anything from the market?" Rory asked.

Logan heard Corinne mumble something in response to Rory's question, but more than anything Logan realized that this was probably as much of a cue as he was going to get. While he had some doubts about what he wanted from this interesting person - at the same time, a part of him just wanted to prove his sister wrong too. He wasn't sure if that was the right reason for enjoying this little chase, but he took what he knew at the time. If nothing else this was some innocent, harmless, flirt. They were two adults who had the freedom of choice. And it was not like he was making big promises or was the only one chasing her. As far as he understood she was pretty interested as well and compared to the dozens of women who'd been after him over the years, he considered himself good enough of a judge of character to know Rory wasn't after his money or his name.

Logan got up from his seat as soon as he heard Rory's car start up, and with a quick round to the yard, where the kids were hanging out, to tell them that he was heading to town to grab something he'd forgotten for dinner, he made it to his car as well.

Rory had pulled over by the market Logan had anticipated her to. He also remembered Rory saying something about not being big on heavy cooking, and from the brief sight into her fridge, to get some milk for his coffee the other day, he'd noticed her being quite keen on their salads and dips.

Just like every other person that strolled into the store, Logan got himself a shopping cart, the sensibly sized version, and tried to glance around without drawing too much attention to himself. He realized that as a part of shopping he was also supposed to do just that, not wanting to appear completely desperate to get his "chance" meeting. Without paying much attention he threw a few staple items into his shopping cart - some kale and Mung Bean sprouts.

As he crossed the aisle, he saw Rory near the bread section.

Suddenly the moment became very clear to him - it was a lot harder to remain in limbo when they were meeting like this, both knowing it was entirely not random. Was he ready like his sister had suggested? Was that what she wanted?

But backing out now was ridiculous now just the same. Besides, he wasn't sure either that he wanted to escape once again like Honor had also said. God, he hated how well she knew him sometimes.

Maybe he could treat this as the test run? After all, the woman only spent her summers here, didn't she? So, in the worst-case scenario they'd only spent the next couple of months avoiding each-other. That was about 3-4 years less than he'd spent avoiding Odette, and Odette him. But he did realize that if he wanted to cut the awkwardness short, he was going to have to pace himself. This couldn't be just about enjoying a woman's attention or getting his rocks off, even though he'd already felt electric in her company and had been very close to making a move already. He really wasn't used to slow.

The next moment his internal pep-talk came to an end, as he saw Rory's eyes dart at him. And - God, that smile - it was just the most genuine smile. He wanted to see her smile, again and again.

"Well-well, we meet again," Rory chimed as he strolled towards her, getting those words out just a little sooner than would've sounded organic. Truthfully, she'd played those words over in her head ever since she'd gotten out of her car, trying to balance between hoping and not daring to hope that he would show.

"Well, it's clearly the best time of the day for some shopping," Logan replied, and grabbed a loaf of Unbread from the shelf.

"So…," Rory stretched the word, struggling a little to keep this casual.

"So, what are you planning on cooking?" Logan asked. Somehow it had been so much easier to flirt in the morning fog, when she'd looked like a magical fairy who'd just walked out of the fog or something.

"During the summer… um… we're not big on cooking to be honest. So mostly it's stuff that's easily prepped or thrown together. Snacks. Lots and lots of snacks," Rory elaborated, and her cart already showed it.

"Because you don't want to or…?" Logan inquired, already wondering if he could offer his cooking services to her sometime.

"That and I've just never really been big on cooking ever. My mom rarely cooked. Hell, she used the oven for storage or for drying things most of the time," Rory elaborated.

Logan chuckled for a second, trying to imagine the latter.

"She must've been important to you," Logan concluded from the times that she'd mentioned her.

"Yeah, she was. And I'm sorry - I don't want to sound morbid or like I have mommy-issues or anything like that," Rory said apologetically, feeling for a second more self-conscious than she had in years.

"Talk about her all you want, I won't think worse of you in any case," Logan said.

Rory smiled at that, feeling an unexpected sense of acceptance.

"Hey, I never actually asked you what you did?" Logan inquired.

"Well, clearly I'm not a journalist nor am I a real writer…," Rory chimed, the two having discussed her early days at the YDN when they'd last had coffee together.

"Hey - you've written stuff. You clearly still do. So that means you are a writer, doesn't matter if you write things for your eyes only or for the world to see," Logan tried to assure her.

Rory really wasn't ready to discuss her latest writing with him just yet.

"I'm a teacher. I work at Chilton Prep. Which really isn't very original since I went there myself… It's just a good school and I like the flexibility of it. I have some freedom in my curriculum, and on occasion when one of us is out sick it's kind of cool to explore other subjects that I used to like too," Rory explained, for some strange reason feeling like she needed to defend her choice of careers. She had never felt like it was a low-prestige career, she'd always looked up to her almost step-dad, Max Medina, for example, and her husband had been in the education line of work too. But after knowing a little more about Logan - and that he was one of those Huntzbergers, that definitely made her more conscious of the fact that maybe not everyone saw the job as such. What did that tell one, when one started to worry about impressing someone like this?

Logan nodded. "What subject?" he asked, finding it adorable how she rambled sometimes.

"Comparative Government and Politics, and civics essentially," Rory replied.

"That's quite a mouthful," Logan chimed, smilingly. "English lit would've been my first guess. But I think it's cool, I bet I would've loved to be in your class growing up," he added, for a second trying to picture that. Just the sight of her would've made him sit in place and pay attention, and at that thought he cast a flirty smile at her.

"Ha-ha. You know, I can be quite a strict teacher," Rory replied.

"Oh, I have no doubt about it," Logan commented in a low chuckle, as they continued to push their carts side by side towards the meat and deli section.

"I have a feeling I know your type, you know," Rory pointed out.

"Oh really? My type? What's my type then?" Logan teased.

"Alright. I'll tell you. But please, I hope you're not one to get easily offended. But I teach a lot of young men who, let's say, come from similar backgrounds as you," Rory said, knowing that even thinking about saying what she was about could backfire. But she wanted to get a glimpse as to what Logan was made of. And while she knew there was a side of this that could make her look like the biggest hypocrite, she also liked the men in her life to have a healthy dose of self-criticism and most importantly humor.

"Oh, trust me, I'm not," Logan chuckled, as Rory paused to get herself some roasted chicken. If anything, he found himself amused and challenged, which was invigorating.

"Well, I imagine during your Yale days, or I don't know - maybe a little sooner or later too - you were, an 'ass'?" Rory said, remaining tentative.

Logan's laughter eased her nervousness considerably, but she knew by now something like to be a very good test of character.

"Maybe the kind of guy that didn't remember the names of the staff that worked for you. Maybe you even behaved like they didn't matter much - threw money around and pretended like everyone was inferior to you. I am not even going to go into the parties and the girls," Rory said. "Am I warm?" she asked.

"More or less," Logan smiled.

"I remember I was thinking about doing a story for the paper about this secret society on campus. You know… very Skull and Bones type of thing. And I imagine you were probably in one of those, right?" Rory explained, forgetting to go into the reasons for never doing it.

"Well, if I was, I couldn't tell you now without having to kill you, you know," Logan teased.

"So, you probably did all sorts of crazy stunts, irrational death-defying stunts like jumping out of airplanes and rafting down mountain ravines without even having to carry your own gear," Rory continued. "And while I think your record looks pretty spotless now, you've actually had some trouble with the law for some stuff like that," she added.

Logan nodded, even though he had on a couple of occasions carried his own stuff. But he doubted that pointing that out would make much of a difference at this point.

"And all that is perfectly forgivable, because that was what you were raised to become. But I also know that you're clearly not stupid. So, you probably waltzed through college on connections and your natural smarts. You clearly don't run a Fortune Global 500 company without something sloshing around between those ears," Rory continued, having evened the playing ground by googling him as they'd agreed the last time to be only fair.

"I would hope not," Logan replied, cheekily.

"I wouldn't have liked you very much. And I would've said it," Rory said, not quite having expected this whole speech to come pouring out of her in the Deli aisle.

"And I wouldn't blame you based on everything you've just said," Logan said.

"So just so you know the reason why I am talking to you here… is that I expect time and experience to have shaped you. I hope for the better - but…," Rory said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, I guess you'll have to be the judge of that," Logan replied.

"I can try," Rory replied, stopping by the Deli to get herself a bunch of different options to stock up her fridge.

"I hope you do," Logan said.

Rory smiled back at him, and continued to deal with her groceries for a few minutes.

"So, how much of what I said was close to the truth and how many points do I lose in your eyes for saying them out loud?" Rory asked, after she returned from the counter. Logan had spent those couple of minutes picking up a few items for himself, not that he needed anything, but he didn't want to come off quite as desperate to have only come to talk to her.

"I'll admit, a lot of it hit pretty me close. But I do agree that it was not like I was exactly shown any better role models that did things any differently. It was either enjoying my college time to the fullest, having fun, or not… and knowing the rest of it really wasn't just fun and games, I don't regret most of the things I did," Logan replied.

"You didn't like… go off partying around Tijuana and accidentally set some small hotel on fire before fleeing the scene, did you? Because there's trouble with the law and then there's trouble with the law," Rory said, recalling a specific episode of Veronica Mars that she'd recently rewatched with nostalgia.

"No, and if you want to know I'll tell you," Logan offered.

"This is a test, isn't it?" Rory replied.

"A test of what?" Logan asked.

"Whether I trust you or not. And if I ask you to tell me then I'm the one who's not cool," Rory said.

"Fine… let's just say that there was this misfortunate situation of taking a boat out for a joyride that I wasn't supposed to. But in my defense, it was for a girl. My first wife, in fact," Logan shared, nearly biting his lip. One wasn't supposed to discuss exes, not at this stage.

There had been a few more incidents, naturally, but Logan didn't exactly consider his speeding tickets or reprimands on public drunkenness or nudity very noteworthy.

"Okay," Rory exhaled. "The plot thickens," she added, nodding her head.

Suddenly a man Logan knew noticed him and pulled him aside to catch up. Rory continued to stroll, feeling like they couldn't really be seen together, basically in the middle of some thrilling kind of foreplay. Rory had always loved to argue with someone who could keep up with her, and Logan - while this hadn't probably been the ideal example of it, had at the very last not given up or thrown a fit at everything that had poured out of her mouth.

She wondered - how many more wives there had been? Was there now? Rory truly wanted not to care; she wanted it not to matter. So far, she continued to pretend that it didn't, knowing how things in his circles usually worked. Many were married just for the sake of convenience, for example.

Rory had made her way to the cereal aisle when Logan caught up with her.

"So, based on what I know I pretty much assume you graduated with honors and spent spring break watching television?" Logan replied, using Rory's own weapon on her.

"Just high school. College was hard," Rory replied, realistically.

"Yale is supposed to be hard," Logan replied.

"And you're wrong about spring break," Rory said.

"Oh?" Logan teased.

"We went to Florida and all. We sat by the pool, watching cute guys try to hit each other with giant q-tips…," Rory began to explain.

"Giant q-tips?" Logan reflected, frowning, trying to picture what she meant.

"Well, I don't know what they're called, you know those things you hold like from the middle and use the ends to hit the other guy, while you're both sitting on someone's shoulders…?" Rory tried to explain and demonstrate with her hands.

"Right," Logan chuckled.

"Anyway… where was I?" Rory continued, in the meanwhile picking out two sweet cereals and two healthy ones to buy.

"Spring break," Logan aided her.

"We partied, danced, sat on a beach at night watching some drunk guy appear out of the waves, not knowing where he was,, we got drunk, threw up, flew home early… But I'll admit, that all that happened after hiding out in our room eating pizza and watching TV the first few nights," Rory confessed, smiling cutely.

"Ah-ha," Logan replied, casting a victorious smile.

"The crowd was just so overwhelming. I'm not a people person, believe me," Rory said, having taken her a lot of years to finally understand how she was much better off mentally when she had a chance to unwind alone somewhere.

"But you work at a school. How does that work?" Logan asked.

"I mean, I can work with people. I am good at what I do if I say so myself. But then I come home, order Chinese food and talk to hardly anyone but my daughter. Mostly I just bury myself in a good book or something," Rory explained.

"So, you go home and recharge," Logan reflected.

"Yeah. And coming here is kind of the same," Rory replied.

"I really must've ruined that peace and quiet for you in that case," Logan smirked.

"Trust me to tell you when I get sick of you," Rory promised.

Logan chuckled, having no doubt about it.

They continued to stroll down the aisles, talking casually, mostly going on to the topic of their children and how being around each-other was doing them good.

It was like all the big questions were left intentionally up in the air, neither wanting the learnings to ruin or on the contrary to make things too serious. Sure, in their age, one might've thought they were in a hurry to get somewhere with this, but in their mind their age was working in their favor. They were no in a hurry to make anything happen - there was no pressure to settle down, have kids or build a life together. They both had their lives, kids, and pasts already. There was, but there wasn't time. But mostly, right then, there seemed to be enough time.