Title: Lovely Things

Author: Buffychick

Pairing: Rory/Jess (Literati)

Timeline: Two years after Rory graduates from college.

Disclaimer: Yeah, right.

A.N.: Basically, I started this, and if you like it, I'll keep going. If not...well, I may just keep going anyway, 'cause I can't get enough of Rory and Jess.

Feedback: Is delicious and keeps me writing (and more importantly, posting).

Jess swallowed hard as he put his key in the lock and turned the knob. The message had said "Come home." Come home to what was still a mystery. He hoped Rory had been sensible and realized that he was telling the truth. She wasn't stupid, and he wasn't a liar. So they had that going for them.

However, he was on the lookout for flying objects aimed at his head just in case.

He shut the door behind him and locked, it, habit of having lived in big cities most of his life. Walking down the hall he entered the living room to find Rory, legs crossed underneath her, sitting on the couch.

"Hey," he greeted her cautiously.

"Hey," she replied, giving him a small smile. "Where did you go?"

"Just walked." Then, "Are you okay?"

Rory swallowed and nodded after only the briefest hesitation. "I think so. Are you?"

He jerked a shoulder in a half-shrug. "Depends."

"On?"

His gaze was cool as he appraised her uncertainly. "What you say next."

She nodded and held out a hand. "Come sit with me."

He blew out a breath and tried to joke. "You gonna go all Basic Instinct on me?"

"I promise, no ice pick hidden in the cushions," she assured him.

Jess joined her on the new dark blue couch, looking as though he'd rather be doing anything than having this discussion. However… "Rory…I didn't cheat on you. I promise."

She didn't answer for the longest time, instead taking the deepest breath ever and blowing it out nervously. "I know," she admitted hesitantly, chewing her lip.

One of his dark eyebrows went up slowly. "You do?"

She nodded, meeting his eyes.

A tingle of relief crept inside him, but skepticism covered his face. "Um, how do you know?"

Rory shrugged, looking down at her hands and playing uncomfortably with her fingers. "Because I know you. And I trust you. And…I just know. It doesn't feel like something you'd really do. And because of Shane and Logan."

He blinked. "Who…what?"

His confusion caused the fleetest of smiles on her lips. "You wouldn't cheat on Shane, when Dean and I broke up. You didn't care about her at all, not like that anyway, but you were decent enough to tell her it was over before you and I did anything."

He remembered. "Ah. Okay, that I get. But you're going to have to clear up for me how Logan is at all involved in this at all."

Rory bit her lip again. It was adorable. "Because, um, when I came to Philly…"

Jess sighed, remembering. "Ah. That."

"Yeah, that," she murmured, still feeling shameful for using him in that way.

Jess kicked off his shoes and sat back on the couch, running a hand through dark hair. "We're kind of a case sometimes, you know that?" he asked her, smiling gently.

"A privately-funded study is definitely in our future."

Jess leaned in with only slight hesitation, taking her hand in his. "I really am sorry, Rory. I'll do whatever you need me to do to make us okay again."

Her voice broke. "I wish you would have told me, but I know why you didn't. I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it if that had happened to me."

He nodded again, coffee-colored eyes completely sincere. "It wasn't romantic. It wasn't a thing. As soon as that happened I told Erin it was time to go, and we went back to our very separate hotel rooms. I saw her in the morning at check-out, and I came home. I should have just driven home that night. You have no idea how much I wish I had."

"It's okay. Really," she promised, squeezing his hand in hers.

"You believe me?" he asked, double-checking.

"I do."

"Just like that?"

She shrugged sheepishly. "Well, not exactly, maybe not at first. But I had some reminders of who you are and that told me what I think I already knew. I was just in shock. I opened up that newspaper and…there you were. Kissing her."

He grimaced. "Let's not go over it."

Rory took his hands in hers. "I don't want this to be a thing between us. I don't want to dwell on it. I want us to just keep going forward."

"Good," he nodded, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin of her hand. "I'm here, Rory. I'm not anywhere else. I've never been anywhere else and I never will be."

She swallowed at the sudden rush of emotion that came into his eyes. "We're good, Jess. I promise."

He gazed at her with a hint of doubt and a heart bursting with hope. "Okay then."

Together they sat on the couch, unsure what to do next as the grandfather clock next to the fireplace struck.

"You want to get some dinner?" Jess asked a moment later.

"I guess so," Rory admitted. "It's almost nine."

"My treat."

Jess smiled. "Then it's a date," he told her as a thought filled with horror slammed into his head. "You didn't call your mom, did you?" he asked her sharply.

Rory laughed more at the expression on his face than the question. "No. Don't worry. You have nothing to fear from Lorelei."

He visibly relaxed. "Thank God."

"Paris, on the other hand…"

"Oh Christ. Are you serious?" he groaned.

"Unfortunately. But by the end of the conversation Lane had us both pretty convinced of your innocence."

"Is there anyone you didn't talk to? Was there some kind of all-cars alert? It's been like four hours."

"No, no. Just those two. No mass emails, no trashing you on my blog."

"Since when do you have a blog?"

"Well, never," she admitted. "But if I did…"

"My pristine reputation would be forever tarnished."

Rory squeezed his hand, then leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, her eyes closing as she breathed in his familiar, comforting scent.

He held her to him, enveloping her in his arms, taking as much from her as she was receiving from him. "I love you, Rory. I won't ever try to hurt you."

She sniffled as tears came suddenly to her eyes. "I love you, too, Jess."

They smiled gently at each other for a moment before she turned to walk to the bedroom and change her clothes but Jess didn't release the grip on her hand, tugging at her arm with light force until she was spun around and flattened against his chest.

Breath exploded from her as they connected. Before she could even question his actions, however, his lips were on hers crushing her mouth, tongue plunging. Her heart raced, blood shot through her body, her mind melted and for a moment she wasn't entirely sure she wasn't going to faint from the electricity shooting through her. "Oh, God," she murmured breathlessly when she was able to drag her mouth from his. Jess, however, didn't stop, continuing his assault on her by way of her neck, her collarbone, back up the other side to her ear…

"Jess…" she moaned huskily, and he instantly felt his erection amplify. Pressing himself to her hips she groaned, dragging his mouth back to hers.

"Now," he demanded, thrusting his hands into her hair, tugging at the brown locks until her head had been tilted back and he had full access to her throat.

Rory couldn't catch her breath, couldn't get her balance, which Jess took care of by pushing her roughly against the wall of the living room. I'm so glad we didn't put a plant stand here, she thought absently as his fingers found her t-shirt and whipped it over her head, exposing her bare chest. His mouth moved from her neck to her shoulders, then all but consumed her breasts, his hands kneading first one, then the other, causing her to quake against him.

She shuddered violently when his hands moved her arms over her head, holding them against the wall as he continued to kiss his way over the part of her body he could reach. Leaving one hand pressed against her arms, keeping her against the wall, he lifted her until her legs wrapped around him and aligned their hips to grind into her, his eyes crossing at the intense pressure between them. But not for long. Ripping wildly at her yoga pants, Jess had them off in a moment, allowing Rory's hands to be free, to reach down and unbutton his jeans, to shimmy them down his legs as he kicked to be released from the denim. With almost preternatural speed he shoved her back against the wall, raising her up to meet him perfectly, and plunged inside. She shouted, moaned as she melted against him.

His feet firmly planted on the floor, Jess thrust into her, eyes wild as he watched her, Rory's head thrown back, eyes closed, mouth working deliciously to verbalize the heat raging inside her. Together they moved, arms wrapped around each other, bodies slick with sweat.

"Fuck, Rory," Jess groaned a moment later, and Rory felt his body begin to move more quickly.

"Together," she urged, begged.

"Now," he pleaded, mind crazed.

She closed her eyes, pumping against him, concentrating, when not a moment later she felt that warmth build inside her, that tickle that grew into a frenzy. "Jess…" she moaned as she began to slide over.

"Now," he gasped out the order, and couldn't control himself as he watched her orgasm, pounding himself into her as her legs tightened around his waist.

Together they collapsed on the floor.

She didn't ask him, but he didn't need her to. Speaking frankly with Erin over the phone the next week, he'd requested to be assigned to someone else in the publishing house. Erin had been a little shocked, but swore she understood. Jess had been firm. It wasn't personal, she'd done a fine job while working with him. But the issue with Rory was worth more to him. In the end, Erin had assigned Jess to a newcomer in the firm, a man by the name of Cale. Telling her boss that Jess and his account were still small enough to give Cale the room he needed to adjust to the company without being overwhelmed had sufficed. And so that part of things was complete.

Only now and then did Rory seem to look at him differently. So infrequently in fact that Jess wondered if he saw it at all or only imagined it. In the weeks since the entire incident had gone down, not once had the topic come up, short of Jess telling Rory he'd been assigned to Cale. She had looked mildly surprised, but had said nothing, only nodding her head and giving him a hug.

But something was just not right. And it was bugging the hell out of him that he couldn't put his finger on it. She was the same Rory, happy, witty, intelligent, funny…but at the same time something was missing in her eyes.

Kate noticed it immediately when she came to visit them two weeks later. "What did you do?" she accused Jess.

"What are you talking about?" he asked her as they cleaned up dishes from dinner that night, while Rory finished up a story to email in.

She tugged her blond hair back into a ponytail before plunging her hands into the dishwater in the sink. "Something's...weird. Rory's acting like…I don't know. Were you guys fighting before I got here?"

He shook his head, eyes assessing Kate. "You see it too," he said blandly.

"Duh."

Jess quickly explained what had transpired over the past month, watching Kate's expression change from one of shock to one of sorrow. "Oh, that sucks."

"That sucks? That's all you can say?"

"Well, it does," she protested mildly. "Gimme a sec to digest all this. And why am I just now hearing about it?" she demanded.

"Not worth mentioning," he mumbled.

"Well, that part's probably true," she muttered, lowering her voice. "I think you just have to give her time, Jess. Which you're doing. She loves you. She knows nothing happened. But the shock of it all is still with her, I'm sure. I bet, no matter how hard she tries, she still sees that picture every time she closes her eyes."

"I know," he grumbled. "I just don't know what to do to make it better."

"I think you're doing it," she told him sadly, handing him a plate to dry.

"She knows I love her, and that the kiss was just a stupid…thing…that took place."

"Well," Kate pointed out, "she knows that in her head. But that doesn't always get conveyed to the heart real well. Or vice-versa."

"She knows I want her."

"I'm sure she does," Kate told him soothingly.

"I want to marry her."

Kate dropped the plate in her hands, and though the Corningware didn't break it made a huge racket as it settled onto the linoleum floor. "Oh God, shit. I'm so sorry. But, did you say you want to marry her? Jess, are you serious?" she whispered fervently as they bent to pick up the plate.

"Yeah I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you told me marriage was the last thing someone would rope you into. Wow. Good God. I knew it!"

"Knew what?" he asked, eyeing her.

Kate's excitement grew into a stage-whisper. "That you'd marry her. The minute I found out you guys weren't yet sleeping together I knew you were waiting because she was her. Rory. The One."

"Would you keep it down?" he whispered back. "What the hell does that mean, that we weren't sleeping together?"

"Oh, you know," she told him casually as she returned to the sink and pulled out a soapy salad bowl. "When you guys got together you didn't sleep together right away. That pretty much told me how special she was, if I hadn't already figured that out from your stories and lack of information on the great and powerful Rory Gilmore."

"You're completely insane."

"Probably," she agreed happily. "I can go with you to pick out a ring if you want, just give you my girl-opinion."

Jess shook his head. "That's okay."

"Aw, come on. It'll be fun."

"I don't need to go shopping."

Kate's eyes rolled mightily. "Oh come on. You're not going to be one of those guys who's all 'we don't need rings to show our love' are you? 'cause that's really just an excuse not to fork over the money."

Jess stared at her. "Did you smoke crack before you came over? I already have the ring."

Kate was completely surprised. "You do?"

Jess nodded, throwing a glance at the bedroom door, where Rory was working. "Yes, now shut up already."

Kate lowered her voice considerably. "When did you get it? Can I see it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Couple months ago. And maybe."

Another plate hit the floor. "Shit, Kate! Come on!" he swore, picking up the dish and setting it back in the soapy water.

"Shit, shit! I'm sorry! I'll be more careful. But…months? What the hell are you waiting for?!" she asked, eyes huge and round.

"For you to say something in my kitchen so loudly that Rory hears it from the other room," he snarled. "That's how I planned to propose to her, really romantic don't you think?"

"No, Jess…come on! Please?" she asked him sweetly. "I'll shut up, I promise. I'll stop doing your dishes before you don't have any left. Just…tell me."

"Tell you what?" he asked gruffly, putting plates in the cabinet.

"How you're going to do it. When you're going to do it."

"Couple weeks. Rory and I are going to New York for a weekend. I'm going to do it there."

"Where?" Kate asked, eyes shining happily.

"I was thinking of Central Park."

"Ohh…." she breathed. "That's…that's really wonderful, Jess." Leaning over, she gave him a one-armed hug around the shoulders. "You should get a horse and carriage and do it like that."

Jess shook his head with a grimace. "No horses, no carriages."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged. "I just…wow."

A small smile on his lips, Jess returned to the dishes in the sink.