Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, the characters, settings, etc.

A/N: Was in the mood to write a Lit drabble, so I did. Set somewhere after the series finale. Hope you like it!

Philadelphia's freezing kept running through Jess' head as he walked down the street. He wasn't just cold. He felt like little shards of ice were hitting his face as the wind hit him. Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, he continued down the sidewalk, beginning to walk faster in order to get to the coffee shop, and out of this freezing air.

He turned the corner and saw his destination, breathing a small sigh of relief. He had to force himself to not push anyone out of the way, as he got closer to the little café. The wind picked up slightly, blowing water drops off the shop awnings and onto him. Sighing, he put his head down, continuing to walk fast.

Finally making it to the café, he walked in and was immediately met by the warm air inside. Shutting the door quickly as to not let any cold air in, he made his way over to his table in the corner. He looked around and observed that there were a lot of people that had gathered inside to get away from the cold, and it was getting more and more cramped by the minute.

He ordered his regular and proceeded to pull a book out of his back pocket. All these years and he still kept a book in his pocket; just in case he needed it. He also believed that by doing this, it gave him more time to process the book, rather than just rushing through it. He went page by page, and that was how he liked it.

A good thirty minutes later, he was still in the coffee house, engrossed in his book, sipping his coffee, avoiding the fifteen-degree temperature outside. It was overwhelmingly loud in the café, and he was pretty sure a lot of people were just talking to keep themselves warm. Yet somehow, over all the noise, and somehow over his own mind as he read, he heard a word said repetitively in a way he hadn't heard in a long time.

"Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!"

He knew immediately that it was the youngest Gilmore; he would recognize her voice anywhere. He could still hear her telling him why it was of utter importance to her and her mother that he would agree to sit and watch Willy Wonka with them, while eating very large amounts of candy and cookies.

He slowly looked up from his book, not really sure how to prepare himself for seeing her for the first time in two years. He had, of course, planned on seeing her later this year, at Luke and Lorelai's wedding, but he certainly wasn't planning on seeing her before winter was even over. But the moment he laid eyes on her, every memory flooded back to him.

He picked up the phone, wondering who would be calling him this late. "Hello?"

"Hi."

"Hi."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing, you?"

"Nothing."

"Why'd you call?"

"I um…I wanted to…"

"I'm glad you called."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because maybe you can explain what the hell this crazy woman is talking about."

"Ah, the Fountainhead." He could tell she was holding back laughter.

"Yes, your fault, and you will pay." He smiled a bit to himself.

"I promise. Commit to it one more time, and if it's still awful for you, I'll make it up to you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I'm going to Europe tomorrow, and I'm going to Yale, and I'm moving on. I'm not going to pine. I hope you didn't think I was going to pine, okay? I think…I think I may have loved you, but I just need to let it go. So that's it, I guess. I hope you're good. I want you to be good. And, um…okay, so goodbye. That word sounds really lame and stupid right now, but there it is. Goodbye."

He frowned at the phone and hoped to God it wasn't really goodbye.

Dodger. New York. Bid-a-Basket. Their bridge.

Her chestnut brown hair was longer than he'd seen it in a while, but she had it placed tightly in a bun. She was wearing a pantsuit. Her skin was as creamy white as ever. Her eyes were still bluer than blue.

She caught his glance and seemingly panicked for a moment, before smiling lightly and waving at him, walking slowly to his table. "Jess. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"The feeling's mutual." He smirked, putting his book down on the table, gesturing for her to sit across from him.

"How have you been?" She asked politely, sitting down. He could tell she was nervous and completely thrown off guard that he was there.

"I've been good. Writing some here and there. What about you?" He asked.

"I've been good, too. I've actually been doing some great work as a reporter." She told him and began to explain what she had been doing the past year.

"That's amazing, Rory!" He told her. He had always known she would make it in the reporting field. She just had to give it time. He couldn't help but feeling extremely proud of her at the moment. They sat in silence for a while before he asked the question that had eaten at him for the past two years. "Still with blondie?"

Rory looked slightly taken aback that he would ask her that, but she replied, "Um, no, we broke up about a year ago." Her cheeks had turned slightly red as she looked down at the table.

"Why?" Jess asked, feeling slightly hopeful that something he had said had had some influence on them splitting up.

"He wanted to get married…I wasn't ready…he said all or nothing." Rory replied simply, as if she had already told the story a hundred times. Although, knowing Stars Hollow, he wouldn't be surprised if she had.

"Well he's a jerk. He should have waited…until you were ready." Jess told her, giving her that caring stare he had always had, the one she had never forgotten.

"What about you, are you seeing anyone?" Rory asked, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Jess smiled a little before replying,

"Nah…I've dated around…no one really stuck." He said, refraining from adding 'since you' to the end of that sentence. After another long moment of uncomfortable silence, he piped up,

"Rory?" She looked up expectantly, "I don't think I ever told you…but I am sorry I left back in high school."

Rory looked at him in shock, almost, but nodded slowly. "I…I know you are. I'm sorry too…" She bit her lip, "for leading you on all those times. I mean, when I was with Dean, and then Logan…"

"It's alright." He said, smiling a little.

Then suddenly, all the apologies came pouring out of both of them. He apologized for not calling enough. She apologized for putting most of the blame on him. He apologized for not ever telling her enough about himself. She even apologized about how Star's Hollow people had treated him. Within five minutes, every bad thing either of them had done to the other was forgotten, forgiven.

"Gilmore!" The cashier called suddenly, pulling the two out of their trance.

"Oh, I guess that's me…I have to go." She said, biting her lip again.

"Oh, well, goodbye Rory." Jess said, standing with her.

She then, in a very Rory-like manner, threw herself into his arms, burying her head in his chest. He was surprised, but hugged her back, just as tightly, holding her head in his hand, kissing her forehead. She slowly pulled away, smiling.

"Goodbye, Jess."

She began to walk away, but Jess called after her. "Rory?" She turned. "Can I call you?"

She smiled and nodded, and then she turned back to retrieve her coffee and leave. He sat back down, satisfied with himself, and tried not to laugh as he heard her complaining to the cashier that she was not actually asking for three coffees. Like mother, like daughter.

Well there it is! I always felt like Rory and Jess never really truly made up and it bothered me, so this was my version of what should have happened. Meant to be a one shot, but if enough people want me to, I can turn it into a full fanfic. Hope you liked it! Review!