Everything appeared to be going perfectly. Rory stood at the corner of the room during her grandparents' vow renewal party, a champagne glass in hand, savoring this moment alone. It was her first wedding outside of Stars Hollow where she played a role—Richard's best man and her mother, Emily's Maid of Honor.
"Do you think they'll make it?" a voice beside her inquired, his lips brushing her cheek.
Her smile softened at the sound of his voice, finding comfort in it. "I believe they will," she replied softly. A faint sigh escaped her lips; despite her optimism, a lingering sense of foreboding gnawed at her. "I'm glad you're here... Are your parents here too?"
"Somewhere around here, making their presence felt. When are we going to have the talk?"
"The talk?" Rory asked, her heart rate quickening with anxiety at his question.
"When are we going to meet each other's parents? My mother is asking about you, as my sister mentioned to her hearing from Finn about you."
"You want to introduce me to your parents?" The question slipped from her lips, surprising him. He nodded in response. A smile spread across her face, and momentarily forgetting their surroundings, she leaned in and kissed him. "I think we need a moment alone. I know the perfect place."
Everything unraveled in an instant. That's the simplest way to put it. Her mother walked in on Rory unbuttoning Logan's shirt, leaving her in just a bra with her top discarded on the floor.
"Are you serious? Your grandparents are waiting for the family picture, and this is what you're doing!" Her mother's words shattered the silence in the room. Soon after, Luke Danes and Christopher Hayden entered, and that's when the shouting began. The shouting was at Rory and Logan. Rory blushed deeply as Logan picked up her shirt from the floor and handed the shirt to her. She mouthed an apology to him, and he silently reassured her that it was okay.
Rory struggled to remember what had transpired. Her mother had forcefully ushered Logan out of the room, with her father hurling insults after him. Rory had swiftly followed, seeking refuge in the nearest bathroom to compose herself for the family photo.
As she stood there, adjusting her appearance, she couldn't help but wonder where Logan had disappeared to. Her grandparents greeted her warmly, but her mother's sudden appearance caught her off guard. Rory noticed her mother leaning in to whisper something to her grandmother, who reacted with a visible shock when her mother pulled away.
From the moment she had left the bridal room, top in hand, until now, Rory felt like there was a missing piece to the puzzle.
She sat motionless on the bench, sensing the air shift as a precursor to the approaching rain, yet feeling strangely detached. The wedding had wrapped up about two hours earlier, and from the morning's beginning to its somber end, it seemed as though her world had been altered. Luke had departed the venue without her mother, her father avoided meeting her gaze, and her mother remained tight-lipped about what transpired after both Logan and Rory had left the room, but she could sense it had been tumultuous and how it affected both her mother and her grandfather.
"You are dressed way too nice to be hanging out the clock tower." She turns around to be greeted by a friendly voice, Finn. "Do I know you from somewhere?" The six worded question that was now a joke between the two of them.
Rory shook her head to signal she was okay, though a tear threatened to escape. "Tonight was a mess."
Finn sat down beside the woman who had captured his best friend's heart. "Someone get left at the altar?" he teased gently. She shook her head at the joke. "Well, then it couldn't have been that bad," he tried to reassure her. "Tell me..."
"My father's trying to worm his way back into my life, my mom and her boyfriend might have split tonight..." Rory hesitated, recalling how Luke had left the venue before her mother, signaling trouble. "And then my mom, her boyfriend, and my dad walked in on me and Logan— his shirt unbuttoned, and me just in my bra."
Finn raised an eyebrow at the revelation but refrained from making light of it, sensing Rory's mood. "Sounds like quite the night. But it seems like the only thing you can really fix right now is seeing Logan," he suggested gently. "You can't control your father's actions, or rewind time for that embarrassing moment. And your mom's relationship? That's on her to figure out, not on you."
Rory acknowledged Finn was right. With everything that had unfolded tonight, the only thing she could mend was seeing Logan and sorting out that embarrassing moment — or finishing what they had started. "Thank you," she whispered gratefully to Finn beside her.
Finn chuckled softly. "No need to thank me. That's what friends are for, and I hope we stay that way, regardless of what happens between you and Logan. Who knows, one day I might be feeling a bit down and need your advice." Finn meant every word; he valued their friendship and hoped it would endure. "Now, can I walk you somewhere? It's past midnight," he offered kindly.
Rory wanted to tell him that no matter what they would be friends for a lifetime, but that would be a conversation for another day. "Yes, I would like that. Thank you."
"Kiss me once 'cause you know I had a long night…"
She was furious with herself for misplacing her phone somewhere at her grandparents' venue they rented for the vow renewal. She could have called him, asked where she was, but instead, here she was sitting outside his dorm room, praying he'd return soon. She sat on the floor in Finn's borrowed jacket—he insisted, given the chilly weather—her eyes closed, head resting against the door. Footsteps approached, followed by his chuckle.
"Darling." She cherished how he still used the names they first exchanged in Boston. "I've been searching everywhere for you." He reached out a hand, lifting her up from where she sat.
No words were exchanged at first, but as he enveloped her in his arms, she suddenly felt at home.
"I'm sorry I disappeared and didn't come to find you. I'm sorry about my father, and I'm sorry about ev—"
Rory was interrupted as Logan's lips pressed against hers. "Don't apologize," he whispered, breaking the kiss. "Everyone has crazy families. It's not the way I wanted to meet yours, but it happened." His tone was matter-of-fact. "Now, are you coming inside? I was looking for you earlier and got some treats for us. It's been a rough night, hasn't it?"
They remain outside his door, neither of them moving. He was right—it had been a rough night, but his kiss made everything seem okay. She longed for that feeling again. "Kiss me again," Rory whispers.
"Kiss me twice 'cause it's gonna be alright."
Logan doesn't need to be asked twice; he leans in, pressing his lips against hers once more.
"Three times "cause I've waited my whole life."
She saw the alarm clock flashing near four am when she hears Logan searching for something at his doorway. Everything was dark, she gathers herself for a moment before she feels the bed dip down. "Did I wake you?" He whispers, though he doesn't know why as they were the only two in the room. She whispers a no. "Can I ask you a question?" He says softly, offering the water bottle he was looking for to her. "Do you believe in soulmates?"
"I think I do." The anweser is honest. "I didn't know what love to believen in growing up - but when you came up to me in Boston…." She trails off, this feels like an conversation that will end up being to honest.
She passed back the water bottle. When she heard it hit the nightstand, followed by the rustling of sheets and blankets, she laid her head on his bare chest.
He finished her thought, "...a spark. You touched my hand, and soon after, you kissed me. You make me feel things I never thought I would."
"You make me feel the same," she confessed, stifling a yawn. "Wouldn't want to change that." She closed her eyes, feeling them grow heavy, and didn't hear Logan whisper that he wanted all of her.