Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. Thanks to everyone who made this story a wonderful ride through inspiring and following it.

'Can you get the veils?' Lorelai asked while trying to fish something from a big cardboard box full of cutlery.

'Okay, where are they?' Rory said, leaving a couple of plates on a small table.

They were in the Dragonfly inn's backyard, getting ready.

'Left shelf by the door, lower department. Oh, and take the scissors, too. And some safety pins. There must be some in the drawer by the sink.'

'Okay, let me just make a list.'

'You're a doctor, aren't you supposed to memorize random useless stuff?'

'Funny, mom.'

'I got sharp objects in my hand, you're supposed to adore my sense of humor. Oh boy,' Lorelai looked up, 'I just remembered the ribbons have to be somewhere in, too. Can you get them for mommy, sweetest, most precious fruit of my loin?'

A couple of minutes later Rory was trying to balance said things in both hands.

'I took the scissors from the kitchen, but if you want I can look for the bigger pair in the...'

Rory stopped as she saw her mother talk to a certain dark-haired young man.

'Hey dear, that young stud just came in looking for you,' Lorelai nodded at Jess who blinked stoically at the 'young stud' reference. 'I'm Lorelai, by the way,' she turned back to him. 'You're Sully, aren't you?'

Rory coughed diplomatically.

'Ehm, no, mom. This is Jess... I mean, Dr Jess Mariano. We,' she paused, meeting Jess' expectant look 'work together,' she finished, making him raise an eyebrow. 'Jess, this is my mom.'

'Nice to meet you, Elizabeth,' Jess shook Lorelai's hand. 'Wasn't this what doctor Quinn's mother was called?' he explained when he met her surprised gaze.

'Nice one, smart boy,' Lorelai smiled appreciatively. 'Okay,' she clapped her hands then, 'enough chit-chat, some of us have to get married! Rory, you and your boyfriend arrange the tables, me and Patty will get the veils. Chop-chop!'

With that, Lorelai took the veils from Rory's hands and went away, leaving her daughter open-mouthed with an unsaid 'not my boyfriend' on her lips.

'Hey,' she greeted somewhat awkwardly, realizing they were left alone with Jess and she was supposed to say something.

She was feeling like a dork, this practically being the first time they met out of work since they dated.

'Hey,' he greeted back, stuffing both hands in his pockets.

'Everything okay?' she asked. 'I mean, Paris and Josh allright?'

'Ehm, yeah. Yeah, I think so.'

'And everything... else... is okay, too?' she tried.

'The apocalypse was postponed indefinitely after 2012, so I think yeah.'

'Oh. Okay. I... I just didn't expect to see you here, I guess.'

'Well,' he looked around. 'I got the invitation, so...'

'Yeah. The invitation. Of course.'

'It had my name on it.'

'Yeah.'

'Spelled correctly.'

'Right.'

They stood for a while, as if each was lost for words, he slowly rocking on his heels while she was wiping her palms in her skirt. Then she came back to Earth, remembering her mom was getting married in less than two hours.

'Wanna come set some really heavily decorated wedding tables?' she asked, nodding towards the backyard of the inn.

'Eh... sure.'

'Okay then. But be warned, there is a lot of pink, and also tons of sparkling powder, so your eyes may hurt.'

'They upstairs?' a low male voice asked behind Jess' back.

He put the unlit cigarette he was playing with back in his pocket and turned to find a middle-aged man dressed in a suit and a checked tie.

'Both Lorelais, I mean,' the man explained.

'Yeah,' Jess answered, scratching the back of his head. 'Sneaking some junk before the official dinner while getting dressed, I think.'

'Sounds like them,' the man nodded knowingly.

Both kept silent, not sure of what else to say.

'Nice suit,' the man noted.

Jess rose an eyebrow.

'Nice tie,' he answered half mockingly.

The man made a face.

'Lorelai made me wear it. Said it expressed my personality. I think she was just messing with me, but it's kind of late to change it now, so...'

Another silence. Then the man spoke again.

'Okay,' he sighed, seemingly losing his patience. Jess stood a little straighter. 'I'm not good at this, so I'll move on to it. You're Rory's boyfriend, aren't you?'

'Excuse me?'

'Yeah, whatever,' the man waved his hand dismissively. 'Lorelai said that you'd probably deny. Look, I know it's a cheap line, but if you mess with her daughter, even I won't be able to get you away from Lorelai,' he explained.

'Is this...' Jess narrowed his eyes, 'Is this the 'you hurt her I kill you' speech?' he asked incredulously.

The man shrugged.

'Rather the 'you hurt her Lorelai kills you' speech. Just wanted to warn you what you're dealing with.'

'Good,' Jess nodded, a smirk making its way up his lips. 'I was beginning to think you were making small talk just to hit on me.'

'Huh,' the man let out a short laugh, more like a snort. 'I knew I should've brought my bat. So my intentions would be clear,' he added then.

Jess gave him a thoughtful nod.

'You're Luke, aren't you?' he asked knowingly.

'Yeah.'

Okay. Rory said that Luke guy was okay. This weird checked tie guy somehow fitted the idea of being okay, although in a rather unusual way.

'Good,' Jess let out a small smirk. 'You know where I can grab a beer around here?'

'I thought you'd never ask,' Luke relaxed visibly. 'If Lorelai asks, I've threatened you with my father's gun.'

'Huh. I bet she will.'

'Like you ever gave me a chance,' he said more to himself than to her, making a couple of steps back, rubbing his face with both hands in an attempt to cool down. He only realized he had voiced the words when she repeated them.

'Like I ever gave you a chance? What's this supposed to mean?'

They were in one of the Dragonfly inn's rooms. The wedding was over, dinner was over and they were in his room, grabbing a drink. However, a couple of sentences later, they were kissing, and then she was stopping him with the overused 'We can't' phrase.

'Jess?' she pressed.

Jess sighed and ran a hand through his hair, chewing on the inside of his lips. He didn't rush an answer. Instead, he sat down on the couch and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Rory had seen him do this when he had a case he was reflecting on. He stopped and thought. That's what he was doing now. He thought.

When he finally spoke, his voice was calm and steady.

'I meant that you are at a place where you aren't sure whether you want a boyfriend in your life.'

She gave him a look of surprise that quickly grew into anger.

'What are you talking about?'

'All this time, I could always tell you wanted me around,' he continued, 'I just don't know which way.'

She looked lost for the meaning of what he was saying, so he continued.

'We're good at being just friends, but we're awful at keeping it this way and you hesitate between keeping me as a lover or a friend. But I was never your boyfriend.'

Her expression hardened.

'This is not fair.'

'I'm not trying to place blame, Rory,' he sighed.

'You are. And it's not fair, especially coming from you. You're the one who keeps stuff to himself, who keeps everyone out.'

He looked up and his gaze held a strange kind of weary.

'Everyone but you.'

She takes a breath and lets it out sharply. She did not, did not keep him out... Right?

'Because I didn't give up until you let me in, until you showed me something worth sticking around for.'

'Do you want me to stick around?' he asked, his voice still calm, yet much quieter. 'Do you want me to press this further, because I honestly don't know. You keep hesitating between keeping me close and letting me go and I swear it's time you chose either one...'

She clenched her chin but it trembled nontheless, so she shook her head and turned away, refusing to hold his gaze. When she saw the open door to the balcony, she remembered how she handled losing a game when she was little. She used to stand for a while, trying to prove how she was above that - above winning or losing, and then she escaped. Because she wasn't. She wasn't above that.

The night air was cool, washing a wave of goosebumps over her skin.

Jess stepped out onto the balcony. He watched as she stood with her back to the door, arms wrapped self-consciously around her torso. He wondered at a simple fact - staying away from her required discipline. Discipline he never had.

'I applied for anaesthesiology,' her voice came, small and distant.

'What?'

'I did. I stood before the empty papers and I had no idea what to choose, and next thing I remember, I was writing anaesthesiology in the application form,' she shook her head, smiling bitterly.

Jess studied her, at a loss for why she brought this up now.

'At first I couldn't find any sense in that. In all my life I had never thought of that specialty, and then it occurred to me.'

She turned towards him and her eyes were sparkling. She looked both sad and angry and he wondered why the topic had upset her so much.

'Don't you see?' she asked.

'See what?'

'Anaesthesiology, Jess,' she repeated, as if the mere word contained the answer itself. 'That's as close to you as I'll ever get.'

She sighed and made a few steps to and fro on the balcony before she stopped again.

'Once I already did that,' she shook her head, 'I ruined myself through placing everything in the man that I...' she paused, 'cared about. And that proved to be disastrous. If I'm ready to base life changing decisions on you now, what will happen if we're actually together?' she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He studied her, trying to decide if she was trying to rationalize her retreat or if she was asking him for a reason to stay.

'I asked my mom once,' Jess spoke then, and Rory stood straighter, as if surprised he was saying anything at all, 'after what-was-his-name boyfriend number umpteen bruised her ribs, why she was putting herself through this. Her answer was that one had to sacrifice themselves for a relationship.'

Rory opened her mouth but he continued before she had time to speak.

'I grew up with the idea that I was never gonna let this happen,' he sighed. 'That whole dependence thing. It was a blast to learn that some people didn't take sacrifice to feel right with.'

Rory's eyes lit up with hope.

'You know,' she bit a lip, 'I think we might have done this backwards.'

He looked at her questioningly and she continued,

'We became lovers before we had time to really become friends.'

He thought about it for a while. Then he gave her a nod.

'Yeah. We probably did.'

'But...' she took a breath, trying to steady herself, 'maybe this time around...' she let the words hang, waiting for his decision.

He looked at her and she saw his lips move an inch up.

'Maybe this time around we have a better shot.'

He made a few steps until he was leaning on the rail next to her. They looked ahead at the dark ink sky. He smirked as he felt her hand slip into his.

'This is right,' she said quietly, more to herself than to him to hear.

Jess turned his head to look at her and there was quiet revelation in the way she looked ahead and smiled her small determined Rory smile. He thought he could fall asleep and wake next to that person for one night. And every other night after it.

Thanks for reading! :)