A/N: Alt. ending to Swan Song in Season 3. ONESHOT! I own nothing!
"Hey, I'm doing my best--if that means I'm being a jerk, then that's what I am." Jess spat out. "I didn't want to come."
"No one made you!"
"You made me." he snapped. Rory stood still, shellshocked at his harsh tone. Her eyes filled with tears and she backed away from Jess.
"What did I do wrong?" she whispered.
"Come here." Jess didn't answer the question right away, but stepped closer to her and drew her into his arms. "You assumed that I'm stupid and jealous enough to get into a fight with Dean." he said quietly, calmly.
"I'm sorry." she buried her face in his neck. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. You're forgiven." he told her, holding her tightly.
"So what really happened?" she asked. He stiffened. "Tell me?" she asked.
"You'll laugh." he said, releasing her from his embrace. She immediately felt less connected to him.
"I won't."
"Fine. You know that swan that hangs out by Larson's Dock?"
"Yeah..." Rory couldn't see where this was going.
"I was walking by and it came out of nowhere and attacked me." he admitted.
"What?" she stifled a laugh.
"It beaked me in the eye."
"Are you serious?" she tried to stop the laugh from coming, but it was useless.
"Yes." Jess said darkly, folding his arms across his chest. He looked stricken and humiliated. The laughter instantly died in Rory's throat.
"I'm sorry. I did say I wouldn't laugh."
"Yeah, you did. But sometimes you can't trust someone's word, right?" he reverted to the offensive, returning to their fight from not five minutes before his admission of how his eye was injured.
"I thought you forgave me."
"Do you even want to be in this relationship?" he asked, bluntly. "If not, maybe Dean will take you back. He's probably been pining for you for the past three months."
"Ouch." she gasped. "Look. I'm with you. I'm not with Dean. Sure, we see each other because we live in a tiny town and he works where I shop, but I'm not with him. I'm with you, and I'm sorry if you are suspicious of anything I said or did, because I would never want to hurt you." Rory stood there, looking at Jess. "And if you can't forgive me, I hope you know that I never tried to hurt you."
"Rory...." he breathed, slipping his arms around her again. "I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to accuse you of anything. I...I love you."
In the split second before she opened her mouth to reply, her mind flashed back to when Dean had told her that, and when she had told him. It was delayed, but not this time. "I love you, too." she whispered into his ear, feeling like it was the most natural response in the world. "I love you." she repeated as they returned to the dinner table, and all was right in her world.