I know, I know - I have another fic to finish. And I'm finishing it! Work has been more chaotic than I'm used to (we are v short-staffed due to COVID exposures) and then the plot bunnies for this one would not let me rest.

This thing started off as a mere one shot, and sort of wound up spiraling away from me. I have so much of it written already, and could not wait to share it with you. It is another AU, though I do plan on writing more canon-compliant works soon. Hopefully you all enjoy the prologue ;)

As I said, I actually have a lot of this written already, so I plan on updates being pretty regular. Also cross-posted on AO3.

prologue.

Rory

Rory Gilmore does not sleep around. It is not in her nature, simply not something she does.

So when she finds herself at the mercy of a nameless stranger, in a sleek and expensively furnished apartment, it's a pretty big deal. An even bigger deal when she finds herself enjoying the things he does to her; the way his hands roam her body, greedy and hot to the touch, the exhilarating generosity of his tongue on her skin, even the simple way his form fits into hers.

It's not like her fingernails to break skin, or her back to slink into the mattress beneath her when this act seems to encourage her partner, eliciting sounds she'd never had a man make with her before. She barely even recognizes the sound of her own voice.

What does feel familiar, though, is what comes after.

The self-judgment that washes over her when she looks at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The aftertaste of a man whose name she doesn't know that she immediately rinses off of her tongue. The guilt that consumes her when she steps back into the bedroom to gather her things in the dark, avoiding eye contact and ignoring the invitation to spend the night, declining the offer to call her a cab.

She is hastily making her exit when she hears him ask for her name, which stops her in her tracks. She considers for a moment, of course, turning around to face him in the dark - this honey-eyed, smoky-voiced mystery - but doesn't allow herself to imagine what would happen if she did.

It wouldn't make a difference, she decides, and wordlessly slips out of his apartment, and back to her life.