Glimpses

Chapter 34

November 25th, 2021

Rory sighed in relief as she arrived in Hartford, seeing the familiar blue Volvo parked in front of her house and Logan leaning against the back of his car, his hands tucked into his pockets, as she pulled up. The moment reminded her of the time when Logan had flown all the way to Charlotte to apologize to her. He had nothing to apologize for this time, but still, the relief of seeing him was similar, even if that time, nearly fifteen years ago, it had been mixed with a certain amount of annoyment towards his cockyness. But right now it was something she welcomed with open arms.

She'd texted him before she'd headed off from Stars Hollow, so he'd roughly known what time she was coming. It hadn't really been a question for either of them that she wanted him to come and stay over, as if every child-free night was theirs to grab, having already missed out on so many.

"Hey," she sighed, as if having not seen him in ages, the second his hands wrapped around her.

He replied with a kiss, his beard feeling a little ticklish against her chin. It really seemed to be the case that the more time they spent together, the less they wanted to be apart, and it didn't seem to matter that she'd just left him in that same late morning with an equally intense, already then longing, kiss.

"Miss me?" Logan asked.

"Uh-uh," she hummed and kissed him again, her stomach already fluttering lightly.

"I should really give you a spare key, so you wouldn't have to wait outside like this," Rory said, pulling apart, and headed for the passenger door of her car, having two big bags of leftovers stashed away there for Logan, and a little more to herself as well. If not to have in the evening, the surely for breakfast.

"You don't have to do that," Logan replied and took one of the heavier bags from her to help out. "Not that I don't want to. It's just that this feels like your's and Em's place, it doesn't feel like just yours," he admitted. It felt different than having the key to any of Rory's places. He'd even had a key to her place in Brooklyn for a brief time and just like she'd had a spare key for his place in London. There hadn't ever been a question about that, knowing that neither was going to show up unannounced.

"It's not weird staying over, is it?" Rory asked with some concern, as she closed the car door behind her and locked the vehicle.

"Not weird, but the place definitely has an identity that's a little difficult to see myself in," Logan explained, and they walked towards the front door.

"Well, Em is infused in there pretty deep. She has a whole bunch of wall art in pink crayon behind the cabinet in the dining room, for one," she added. She got her keys from her coat pocket and turned one of the keys in the lock, then continued to punch in the security code after Logan had closed the door behind them. "And I bet the upstairs hallway floor still smells a little of sour milk because she dropped a full glass there when she was three," Rory gave another example.

"That is actually kind of cute, I really don't have an issue with that," Logan replied, not wanting her to make a whole big thing about what he'd said.

He was surprising himself how little he minded everything Em-related, same went for Honors kids and Colin's much younger daughter. Maybe that was what growing up was like? It had just taken him longer to do that than he'd expected, or rather having thought for years that being successful in his career and being married was what defined being all grown up.

Both took off their coats, and Rory shed her boots as well, wanting to rid herself of the heels.

"Then what?" Rory inquired, feeling genuinely curious, and a little humble of her place at the same time. She did on occasion wondered whether Logan had an issue with the house being this simple. After all even the apartment he was living in now was more upper-scale compared to this, when the bones were concerned, not to mention all of his previous places.