A/N: So, The Literati Advent Calendar was such a success last year, I thought I might just do it again. I have to say brainstorming another 24 mini fics was not as easy this year as last year because I think I used up most of the good ideas already, so don't expect a 2019 addition! lol Anyway, I'm getting there now, so here we go, one tiny ficlet of Rory/Jess goodness for every day from 1st to 24th December 2018. For more info, please see the 2nd A/N at the end of this first story :)

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other folks who aren't me.

1. Christmas Shopping
'Verse: AU, in which Rory & Jess never met before
Timeline: post-series
Date: December 2008

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, buying Christmas gifts at the bookstore. After all, she loved to read and knew plenty of people who appreciated a good book, even if they weren't quite as obsessive about them as she herself might be. Unfortunately, when she actually got to the largest bookstore she had been in for a while, Rory got overwhelmed by all the choices and found herself completely stuck.

"Something I can help you find?" asked a voice.

"Oh, no, thanks," she said, barely turning around at first. "Actually, the problem isn't what I can't find, it's the fact that there's almost too much to find and... wow."

Words eluded her completely when she finally looked at the guy she was talking to. It was such a terrible assumption on her part to expect the helpful sales assistant to be either middle-aged with a traditional librarian vibe or some kid who was being forced to give assistance. This guy was probably around her own age, with dark eyes that stuck her to the spot and a smirk on his lips that was sexy as hell.

"You, er, look like you could use some help just moving these," he said, gesturing at the pile of books Rory had made on the nearest table. "Or deciding which ones to actually buy?"

"I may have gone a little overboard," she admitted, blushing terribly. "It's official, my name is Rory Gilmore and I'm a bookaholic," she joked, immediately wishing she hadn't - she felt so stupid right now.

"Well, don't feel bad, Rory," he told her, moving past her to inspect her hoard. "The truth is, I'm kind of a bookaholic too. Also, you have pretty good taste," he said, nodding approvingly at her choices.

"I really wasn't supposed to be buying things for me," she admitted. "I came looking for gifts for everybody else-"

"But why should they have all the fun?" he asked, eyes sparkling with mirth as he met her gaze once more.

Rory felt herself grinning and blushing all at once. He really was very good looking he seemed to know a lot about literature, and they were currently standing either side of a pile of really great books. Throw in some chocolate and Rory felt like she was pretty much living a dream right now.

"Um, there's no way I can buy all of these," she said, shaking herself out of a daze. "I'm sorry, you're probably going to get stuck reshelving at least half of them."

"No problem, it's part of what they pay me for." He shrugged, still moving through the pile on the table. "Here, these are the most important," he insisted, handing her a fraction of her original choices.

"You just decided for me?" she checked. "That's very forward of you... Jess," she added, finally reading his name tag.

"Just doing my job, ma'am," he told her, smirking once more and making something inside of Rory give way. "You still want help with your gift shopping too?"

"Uh, yes, please," she said, nodding her head. "You seem to be the expert in knowing what people want."

"The trick is to know what you want first," he told her, gesturing for her to go with him as he began to walk.

"Oh, I think I have that part figured out." Rory smiled as she followed Jess in amongst the shelves, knowing that wherever he went, she was definitely going too.

A/N2: Just a little explanation regarding the different stories that are going to feature in the Advent Calendar. They are all completely independent of each other - a collection of mini one-shots - save for those that belong to The Runaways 'verse (aka Our Little Corner of the World) which are all connected in that way.

Every fic will have info at the top, under the title, regarding what 'verse the story takes place in, be it canon, connected to a story, set in a world I created, etc. and also what year we're in, which ought to help you get your bearings. Every fic will also be tagged with a code on the title, so in the drop down for each 'chapter' they'll be easily identifiable too.

Tags are as follows: AUM = Alternate Universe meeting; AU2 = Sequel to an Alternative Universe meeting from the 2017 Advent Calendar; AUC = Alternate Universe-Canon Divergence; BDA = Baby Daddy; CAL = California Son; CAN = canon; HRE = Hard Reset; KID = The Kids 'verse; OUA = Once Upon A Gilmore; RUN = The Runaways 'verse/Our Little Corner of the World; SNA = Snapshots

And that gives you some clue as to the kind of stories coming up later too ;)