by jcd1013
Summary: A collection of Literati drabbles.
Rating: PG at the most
Disclaimer: Not mine
The Truth
"Yeah."
An answer to a question. According to beauty magazines, the typical response to "will you call me?" Second only to "I had a nice time." Short. Inadequate. A lie. For him it was goodbye.
He did call. But he was already gone. And I had hardened my heart to his absence. I ignored the glimpses of laughter, of happiness and security, a future life together. I pictured instead incidents of neglect. Of bitter disappointments when he refused to be the person that I could see inside.
With him, I almost believed in soulmates. Now all I have is emptiness.
Unspoken
He didn't say goodbye.
He slouched on the seat and watched her get on the bus and notice him. He memorized her during the small talk, adored her in the silence, all the while regretting his decision. Once again, he had no choice.
The last time, he had left her in a hospital, hurt because of him. Luke had seen him to the bus station. Rory had followed him to New York in search of the closure.
So he closed his mouth and, with a promise to call, watched her depart.
He hoped that she would still demand a goodbye.
A Chance Encounter
She stepped off the bus, took the right turn without needing directions, passed the bookstore and hot dog stand and traced the crowded streets back to his sanctuary. Washington Square Park. It is early spring now and there's a bite to the air. In four years nothing has changed. Except his bench is empty.
New York is a big city but she still hopes for a pass-by in the streets, a shared movie theater, a meeting in a restaurant. It's never happened, but she still sees his face in strangers'.
So she sits on his bench and waits for destiny.
Parallel Decisions (AU)
At five a.m., Lorelai broke her shoe heel. A tragedy. She tried to rouse Dean, but he slept like the dead on the hard bleachers. In desperation, she asked the one person still awake, staring intently at the girl draped sleepily in her arms. He agreed and Rory, now wide awake, exchanged partners. They moved the feet in a slow shuffle, looking only into each other's eyes.
Dean awoke, livid at the sight. A fight ensued, with flying accusations. He stormed out and Rory cried in Jess's arms, then smiled in confirmation. Now, together, they continued to dance, content, and won.
Sea-Longing (interlude from Like Never Before, chapter 5)
Every night, I read to her. I told her about Tolkien and water. Water, archetype for change: A push in a river that gave me family. A sleigh ride in crystal snow, that started out just to annoy her boyfriend and ended in infatuation. Lunch on a bridge, where I lose myself in her company. A kiss by the pond, her kiss of passion and hope.
Rory is my river, my water. She changed me so I was a stranger in the city I called home and had no choice but to return. But concerning her boyfriend, she is stone.
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Non-Literati
Do You Believe in Magic (continuation of What a Wonderful World)
He came in the darkened room and nudged her awake. She giggled in agreement and he helped her put on her pink boots, new blue parka and matching scarf and hat. They trudged outside, her hand in his, and together they made snow angels and a miniature snowman family like her own. He told her how snow was tiny bits of frozen water, and when she asked how, he replied "with most snow, it's because it gets really cold, but the first snow is magic."
The office claimed her father, but Lorelai watched for the first snow and remembered magic.
A/N: Drabbles, for the uninitiated, are little ficlets of 100 words exactly, not including the title. No more, no less. They are surprisingly difficult to write—getting every word to be exactly the write word (and for me, trimming my verbose tendencies), can be headache inducing, but they are also a lot of fun. These ones were written after reading some really powerful LOTR ones, and it inspired me to put down some of the scenes that I've been playing with but couldn't create a whole story with). And since AvidTVFan demanded an update, I though I'd give her something to tide her over. :)
I had so much fun writing these (I don't know how well I succeeded) that I'm extending a challenge out to every one here too. I want to see yours! The challenge is open to anything, any character from Gilmore Girls, past present, future, any couples (yes you could write one about Kirk and his cat), any situation. Send them to me by email, jcd1013@yahoo.com, or post them in the reviews that you write of mine (hint, hint—since this is my first time writing these, I'd really love to know which lines worked well, which ones didn't), or if you're really daring, post them here at ff.net and let's see if we can get a whole new spawn of fics!