A.N: Hey readers! Just a little pre-story reading note for you all! This is a post-season 7 story! Also, as you can see on my profile I haven't written in awhile...so if this stinks I apologize! It's a one-shot for now, but I guess if there is enough of a response I could possibly continue it. I'm on Spring Break at the moment and just thought I'd try writing again. OK so enjoy and thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of the brilliant characters in it. All the thanks goes to ASP.

Our Time Now

Never in a million years, a billion years heck, even a trillion years did Rory Gilmore think she would find herself standing in front of Truncheon Publishing alone, wet, cold and looking for something; someone in particular. As the rain continued to dampen her pink blouse, Rory still had no idea why she was there but thought going in would be a better alternative to catching cold.

When she saw Philadelphia on the long list of stops on the Barack Obama campaign trail she was following, her heart jumped. Not for the liberty bell, the cheese steaks, or the mountain of steps Rocky ran up through movies I-V(and Balboa of course), but for a man. That one man who could always take her breath away with one glance, who matched her wit-for-wit, touch-for-touch, the one who was everything to her and nothing at the same time.

There he was. Just as Rory's hand reached for the doorknob, it already pulled away from her as his short but manly form stepped through the threshold. He examined her, all of her. From her water-filled black pumps to her pencil skirt, then up to the pieces of hair clinging to her pale freckled face. It was like he didn't believe she was there, but wanted to know it was real more than anything.

"Hi..." Rory started, not bothering to clear the bangs from in front of her eyes, she knew who it was.

"Hey. Looking a little drowned there Captain. Down with your ship?"

"Aye, aye Gilligan." Rory rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Ever hear of a thing called an umbrella?"

"Oh well the town just saved up and bought one. My turn is Thursday," He smirked.

"Too bad it probably won't be raining then, huh?"

"Too bad... So are you going to invite me in or should I just stay out here and continue to catch pneumonia?"

"Be my guest." Jess used one arm to usher her inside the store, closing the door behind him. "So what brings you to my neck of the woods?" He asked, leading her upstairs to his 'co-founders' apartment.

"Well, I've been getting around lately-"

"Dirty-" Rory rolled her eyes yet again and sat on the small couch in the living room area. She looked around the room and took in her surroundings. Across from her was a ottoman with a brown wooden coffee table in between. The room was covered from ceiling to floor with bookcases, completely filled. She smiled as she thought of how every novel there most likely had Jess' unmistakable scrawl inside, questioning ideas and taking thoughts straight from the authors brains and putting them into his own words. That's what Jess did best.

"-Uncalled for. I'm on the Obama Campaign trail working for an online publication and one of our last stops is, guess where?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Good ole' Philly. Yeah, Luke mentioned that you were working in politics. How goes it?" Jess said, he had gone and came from a small bathroom with a light blue towel under his arm. He gave her the towel and she nodded thankfully.

"Great! Wonderful actually, it's fast paced and energetic all the time, just how I like it. Sometimes it gets tiring, but I love it." These are the moments Jess enjoyed the most about her, when she talked about things she loved. The gleam and sparkle in her eye flamed and you could tell she truthfully was enthralled about what she was explaining. She had something not many people he knew had; passion. "The only tough part is being on the road constantly."

"Just let me know when you need me to drive at you screaming in a foreign language." She smiled.

"Will do."

They sat in an uncomfortable, but not tense, silence. Rory had finished draining the excess water from her hair, and was now playing with the frays of the towel not knowing what else to do with her hands. Jess had sat down in a chair across from the couch, staring at the bookcase on the other side of the room like it had three heads and was plotting it's revenge against the ottoman.

"So, uh, I've never been up here before." She looked around once again.

"Well considering you've only been here once, and that time didn't exactly blow over well, that makes sense." Jess spat back, knowing something needed to be said. He silently cursed himself soon after.

She was taken aback. "I know... about that-"

"Why did you come here?" He asked bluntly. Jess figured that avoiding the question was stupid, and he wanted answers. He was crushed the last time she had came, looking all alone like she does now. Everything wasn't fixed, he was still in the picture, Richie-Rich, and she lead him on. Jess couldn't take that kind of rejection again, not anymore.

"Jess, I'm sorry." She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I'm not sure why I'm here, but I do know that I had no intention of hurting you." He grunted.

"Sure didn't seem like it."

"It's true! Maybe I was wrong for coming, maybe it didn't look good that I was alone and I shouldn't have said everything was fixed when it wasn't! Everyone makes mistakes, Jess. I think I'm allowed one mistake in my life, God knows you should understand that." She looked up at him with remorse. "I didn't-"

"No, you're right! I made my mistakes Rory, and I think I damn-well made up for them. It was stupid of me to leave, stupid of me to come back and tell you I loved you, and even stupider to ask you to run away with me! But I apologized for that, and the thing is, I like where I am right now Rory, I'm in a good place. I don't need you coming to me, leading me on, and then crushing me back down to where I was 5 years ago!" Jess was screaming now, and by the surprised look on her face, he was guessing it was loud and harsh.

"I told you! That was not why I came that night Jess! I came because I was proud of you. Because I knew you could accomplish this one day and because I care about you. Yes, things with Logan and I weren't working out well. He had been cheating on me, and maybe a tiny part of me wanted him to feel like I was feeling. But I can assure you that was not the reason I was there. I think what you've done with yourself is amazing, and this place is amazing. Believe me, the last thing I want is to crush you, I know what it feels like."

At this point they are both standing, in between the couch and the chair, screaming into each others faces. Catharsis, this is what they both needed before they could ever move on. Unspoken feelings were shared, things both of them had never told anyone else about the other.

Rory couldn't help but get teary eyed over the remembrance of the pain she felt back then, the pain he caused. She had loved him, lying to him on the phone the day of her graduation only helped to make herself feel better, to prove to herself she hadn't. He wasn't the guy she was supposed to fall head-over-heels for, but he was. He was her Dodger, always.

Rory and Jess stood, red faced and panting. Neither knew what they were anymore: friends, exes, step-cousins, but they did know that they were not over. As much as they continue to hurt each other, as much as they say it's over, they will always have that feeling in their gut. The feeling you get when you see something new and exciting, the best feeling in the world. They had it and it wasn't going away.

Jess looked straight into her baby-blues, filled with rage and hurt and tears. He wiped at her cheek with his thumb.

"Don't cry over me, it's not worth it." He said curtly, Rory wiped the other side of her face with her arm.

"I can't help it, you've always been worth it to me." She responded softly, watching his face sadden. She smiled weakly and touched his face.

They stared deeply into each others eyes and knew what was coming next. What always did, the inevitable parting move.

Jess bent down, took the sides of her face in his hands, and kissed her. Not the soft kisses they shared years ago, this one was hard and full of passion, anger, hate, acknowledgment, and love.

He wrapped his arms around her, and hers around his neck as their bodies needed to be closer. Rory had never felt so invigorated before, so amazingly good that she felt as if there was nothing better in the world. Being here in his arms was it for her, as if leaving would tear her apart and rip her soul to shreds. That's how Jess Mariano made her feel.

They parted, lips still dangerously close, gasping for air. He leaned his forehead on hers, almost waiting for a harsh response that never came.

"Just to let you know, I didn't come here for this." She said giggling. His mouth turned up, and laughed deeply.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked, while placing small kisses on her forehead, nose, mouth, then neck. Savoring her like he couldn't get enough.

"Let's stop thinking."