Title- 1 A.M.
Author- Kàra
Summary- Matt and Chris return to Truncheon to an unexpectedly sweet scene. Sequel to Freefall. Short little oneshot.
"What the-? Who is that?" Matthew gaped at the scene before him before turning to stare inquisitively at Chris.
The taller man shrugged. "Hell if I know," he whispered back. Both young men looked back at what had greeted them upon returning to the Locust Street apartment.
Jess Mariano, their secretive, rather shy roommate, who had never, in the entire history of their acquaintance, shown even the slightest interest in any woman (and many approached him), was curled up on the sofa with a girl, fast asleep. His arms were around her protectively, and her arm was slung over his torso, her face buried in his chest. The television was on in the background, the end credits of High Fidelity playing at low volume.
"Is he smiling?" Matthew asked, stunned. "I don't know if I've seen him smile since we told him the release date of his book."
Jess was, in fact, smiling softly in his sleep. As they spoke, he shifted unconsciously, pulling the girl in his arms a little closer.
"C'mon," Chris said. "Let's let 'em sleep." He ushered the reluctant/awestruck Matthew out of the living room.
Once the sounds of the two men faded down the hallway, the pair on the couch stirred. Rory looked up at Jess. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"I didn't particularly want to answer their questions either," Jess responded, kissing her on the forehead. Then he reached for the remote, turning the TV off. "But getting some actual sleep isn't such a bad idea."
"Mm," she sighed. "Does that mean one of us has to get up?"
"Yes."
"Urgh. Mean."
"Not mean, practical. Sleeping sitting up on a couch is really unpleasant. Especially on this couch- it's tiny and it sucks."
"Can we at least share your bed?" she asked plaintively. At his dubious look, she continued, "We're both adults and... and I don't want to be away from you."
Jess looked at her for a long moment, then took her hand and helped her to her feet. Together they went to his room and got into his bed. As they curled up together, gravitating together even as Rory slipped quickly toward unconsciousness, he kissed her softly on the lips and whispered, "I don't want to be away from you either." It was a rare confession from him, and even half-asleep, Rory took notice.
"I love you," she mumbled, nuzzling his chest as she tried to press herself still closer to him.
"Love you too," he replied, planting a last kiss on her forehead. As she sighed a soft sigh of contentment, Jess marveled. He would never have dreamed, when he dropped that invitation in the mail a week ago, that tonight would end up like this. After what felt like far too many years, Rory Gilmore had finally told him she loved him, and now here she was, falling asleep in his arms. It had been a messy evening, full of tears and overflowing emotions good and bad, but the end result was so mind-numbingly perfect, Jess didn't really care what it had taken to get here.
This would work. He would make sure of it.
A/N2- So yeah, there are some cosmetic similarities to the ending of Then She Appeared, but I promise I'm not plagiarizing myself. At least, not intentionally LOL.