A Long December

Chapter 1: Rain King

Author: Starcrossedsoulmates

Rating: PG-13, possibly R later

Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters or the song titles. Rest assured that if I did own the show or the characters, Season 6 and 7 would've gone a whole lot differently.

Summary: Literati. Post Season 6 – slightly AU, future fic. One month, a lifetime of changes. Maybe this year will be better than the last.

A/N: The title is based on "A Long December" by the Counting Crows. Each chapter will be a song title, but all of them may not be from Counting Crows.
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A long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
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Rory Gilmore threw money at the cab driver as she sprinted for shelter from the rain.

Feeling very much like a wet dog, she shook the water from her hair and clothes as she entered the nearest building. Looking around, she noticed that it appeared to be a small coffeeshop-type restaurant which was, luckily, fairly devoid of customers.

"Stupid rain, stupid me forgetting my umbrella. God, I hate the city when it rains," Rory muttered to herself.

"Table for one, miss?"

Rory looked up to see a waiter approach her with a menu. She graced him with a smile and responded, "Oh, well, I'm not really hungry. I just needed a dry place for a while."

"Sorry, ma'am, but we have a 'customers only' policy for being in here, so you either have to order something or head back out into the downpour."

"Well, do you have coffee?" Rory asked as she weighed her options of being dry and warm vs. soaked to the bone.

The waiter gave her a smirk as he led her to a table by the window. "That just happens to be our specialty. Any kind of flavor combination you can think of, we got."

Rory placed her order and looked out at all the people with their umbrellas and raincoats as they hurried about the city. Almost right on cue, as she was starting to lose herself in her thoughts, her phone rang and interrupted her. Without even looking at caller ID, she answered, "What is it now, Mom?"

"I was just watching the weather channel and saw all the bad weather you guys are having in New York. I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were safe and doing okay."

"Who are you and what have you done with Lorelai Gilmore? I have never, in all my years, known you to even be aware that the weather channel was a station on TV."

"Yeah, well, Luke was watching this show about stories of storm chasers, and I got hooked. It was only after the show was over that I realized what channel I was watching, but by then it was too late. They reel you in with the cheesy muzak, and there's always something on. They rarely have commercials about boring things, and it's hard to escape, and before you know it, you've watched the 'local weather on the 8's' for an entire hour."

Rory laughed at her mother, "Only you could find something like the weather channel fascinating. And in answer to your question, I'm fine. I'm actually sitting in a coffeeshop right now, waiting out the storm."

"And if there was any doubt that you are, in fact, my child, you completely did away with it with that statement."

"There's gotta be undeniable proof somewhere."

There was a pause in their conversation, and Lorelai cautiously approached a potentially uncomfortable subject.

"So, kid, how are you really?"

"Fine, Mom, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, have you told him yet?"

There was no answer from the other side for a few minutes.

"Rory?"

"Yeah, I'm still here."

"Well?"

Another few seconds and then Lorelai heard her daughter mumble something under her breath.

"You have to speak up, hon. Mommy's not getting any younger and neither is her hearing."

"I'm telling him tonight."

"Wow…not a moment too soon, huh? After all, the wedding is scheduled for New Year's Eve."

"I know…I just…I feel…so…I don't know…torn, I guess?"

"Rory, you don't love him."

"I know, but…"

"No 'buts'…remember what you told me over Thanksgiving a week ago? You don't love him. He doesn't deserve to be married to someone who doesn't love him, and you don't deserve to be married to someone you don't love. It's better to get out of it now than to go through the whole wedding and all the trouble of getting a divorce."

Once again, she was met with silence on the other end.

"Rory, you gotta start answering me, hon. I'm having to check my phone every couple of seconds to make sure I didn't lose the connection."

Rory sighed and took a deep breath, "I know, I know…you're right. I just don't like hurting people. He's a good guy, and he treats me like a princess, he's just…"

"Not the guy for you?"

"Yep, that's pretty much it exactly. Oh, Mom!!! I just thought about Grandma and Grandpa!! How upset are they going to be when I tell them I'm not going through with the wedding!! This was Grandma's dream wedding, and Grandpa was happy with me accepting Logan's proposal, and now they're going to be devastated! I'm a horrible person!! Not only am I hurting Logan, but I'm hurting Grandma and Grandpa, too!!"

"RORY!! Calm down! Take a breath. Neither Adolf nor Ava is marrying Logan. They might be a bit…upset, but you have to know that they love you. They love you more than they love their own daughter, and after they get over the initial freak out, eventually, they'll come to realize that you being happy is what's important. Not to mention that when you do find 'Mr. Right', Grandma can plan the perfect wedding for the two of you instead."

"I'm really not looking forward to this."

"I know, hon, I know. But you're not a horrible person. If you were, you wouldn't be freaking out like you just did over…"

"Over what? Breaking his heart? Hurting him and part of my family? Calling off a beautiful wedding a month before it's supposed to happen?"

"Yeah, I couldn't really find a good way to put that. I know it's going to suck, kid, but you just have to keep telling yourself you're doing the right thing."

Rory sighed again, "I know, Mom, I know. I think I'm going to go and think about what I'm going to say tonight, okay?"

"I understand, kid. Call me afterwards, okay?"

"I will. Bye, Mom."

Rory hung up with her mother and attempted to lose herself in people watching out the window once again. After a few minutes, all the umbrellas started to become a blur. She started thinking about how different the rain seemed in Stars Hollow. More peaceful, somehow. She remembered how she used to love the rain when she was growing up and how she would open her window when it rained at night for the sound and the smell outside. One rainy night, in particular, started to creep into the forefront of her memory.

It had been raining off and on that day in March. Rory had come straight home from school and had finished her homework so she could read and enjoy the rain. Lorelai was out of town with Alex. The two had gotten an early start to the weekend with Rory's assurance that she would handle Friday night dinner with the Gilmores solo.

Rory had lost herself completely in a few books that evening, hardly stopping to take a break when she finished one. She was almost finished with another when a hand appeared on her windowsill followed by the figure of Jess.

"Jesus!!"

"Almost, just lose the 'u'," he had smirked at her when she jumped.

"Not funny! You scared me! You should know better than to startle someone at their window at night when it's been raining!"

"Yeah, well, you should know better than to leave your window open at night when it's been raining. You can't blame the prowler lurking outside when you've practically provided him an open invitation."

Rory laughed, having calmed down by this point, "You're the only person in Stars Hollow who lurks. What are you doing here anyway? You must be soaked."

Jess just shrugged, "I was out for a walk, looking for a dry spot. Your room seemed as good a spot as any."

"What about Luke's? It's dry there, too."

"Yeah, but you weren't there."

"Aww…are you trying to tell me that you missed me, Jess?"

"Give me a break. It was a choice between you and Luke, who do you think I would pick to spend time with?"

"Such romance! Be still, my heart!"

"Sarcasm does not become you."

"It does, however, entertain me."

"So, can I come in out of the rain or what? I'm soaked to the bone out here."

"Yeah, meet me around back. It's easier to wipe up puddles from the kitchen floor than the carpet."

Rory went to let Jess in the back, and he immediately engulfed her in a wet hug, soaking her as much as he was.

"Jess! Stop! You're getting me all wet!!" Rory laughed as she tried to disentangle herself from his arms.

Jess held her still and smirked at her choice of words. Rory turned bright red when she realized what she'd said. She stopped her attempt to get away from Jess and focused her eyes anywhere else but at him.

When Jess spoke again, his voice seemed to have dropped an octave and had taken on a husky quality, "Huh. Most women wouldn't have a problem with that."

Rory immediately tried to back pedal, "I didn't mean…I…what I meant by that was…well, I…"

Jess decided to push a little further, "What you meant by that was what exactly?"

"I…You're making me flustered!"

Jess pulled her even closer and lifted her chin with his finger so he could meet her eyes. They were millimeters apart as he all but whispered, "You want me to stop?"

Rory swallowed hard and responded, "I…yes…I mean, no…I mean, I'm cold…I mean, do you want a towel?"

Jess loosened his hold on Rory as confusion at her rambling overtook his thinking.

"What?"

Rory took this opportunity to put some distance between them. "Towels, yes, towels are good. Cold rain, wet clothes, warm towels. Be right back!"

She was back in a few seconds with 2 oversized towels for both of them. As she handed one to Jess, their eyes met. She quickly looked away, and he reached out and turned her face back to look at him.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Rory looked at him and, for the first time, realized just how hot Jess looked when he was soaking wet. Rain droplets made his hair heavy, and it hung just slightly in his face over his eyes. Before she could stop herself, she leaned over and kissed him. What was meant to be a short kiss quickly turned into longer, more passionate kisses. Rory tangled her fingers in Jess' hair as he reached to pull her against him. At the feel of her body against his, Jess moaned her name into the kiss.

Suddenly, Rory broke from the kiss and stepped back from him. Jess appeared dazed, and it took him a moment to realize what had happened.

He looked at her questioningly, and she took a deep breath and tried to explain herself.

"It's just…us alone here, Mom's gone…too tempting, and I'm…I'm not…"

Her explanation trailed off as she became embarrassed at her actions.

Jess reached for her hand slowly as if he was approaching a small, scared animal.

"Rory, it's okay. I'm not going to push you into anything. You can trust me, okay?"

Rory nodded and gave him a small smile. It was at that point that both of them realized the rain had stopped. Jess quickly dried his hair and his clothes, as best he could, with the towel Rory had gotten for him.

Once he was drier, he looked at Rory and gave her a tiny smirk, "Sounds like the rain has stopped, so I think I'm just going to go, okay?"

Rory nodded again and walked with him to the front door. He kissed her good night and turned to leave. As he got to the bottom of the steps, he heard her call out to him.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

She met him at the bottom of the steps and pulled him to her. She kissed him as passionately as she knew how to and broke away. Jess' eyes were still closed as he heard her whisper, "It's not you I don't trust. It's me."

Before he could respond, she had gone back inside and shut the door.

That had been their initial descent into much more of a physical relationship, really the first one she'd ever had, soon after.

Smiling almost sadly at the memory, Rory checked her watch. When she realized that she'd been in the coffeeshop for almost 2 hours, and the rain had stopped, she decided to pay for her coffee and begin her dreaded walk to her and Logan's apartment.

She had only walked a few blocks, not really paying attention to her surroundings or the people who passed her by when a couple caught her eye. They had obviously been in the rain for some time as they were both completely soaked. Wet clothes clung to both of them. That wasn't what Rory noticed, though. The first thing she noticed, enviably, was how happy and in love the couple looked. The second was that the man was Jess.
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A/N: Review, please...