Any Other Day
Disclaimer: Come on! You know I own everything. Jess is mine, all miiiiiine...fine. I own nothing. Happy now?
Summary: Like any other day they spend together. With a twist. Lit oneshot.
It was a glorious fall day that found the pair of them snuggling on a well-used picnic blanket, wrapped as usual in each others' arms and in their own private universe. As usual, they were bantering endlessly; the current topic of interest was Rory, and all the reasons she could never have married Logan.
He absently twirled a dark lock of her hair in his fingers. "I knew you wouldn't marry him." he said matter-of-factly.
Rory raised an eyebrow. "A bit presumptuous, aren't we?" she teased. "You're saying you knew you were going to sweep me off my feet?"
"Well, there was always that." he smirked, and wrapped his arms around her. "But the real reason is the name. Rory Huntzberger- it just doesn't work. It sounds terrible. A name like Rory just doesn't go with Huntzberger."
She giggled and looked up at him, her mouth a wide smile. "It does sound awful, doesn't it?"
"Mmm." he agreed, burying his face in her hair. He loved how she smelled, of coffee and oranges and cinnamon and something that was just her, something indefinably Rory. "I know a much better name for you."
"Oh?" she said playfully, guessing at what was coming.
"Rory Mariano." he grinned at her. Even in his twenties, Jess still retained a boyish charm. "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"Very." she concurred, and captured his lips in a kiss.
His hands automatically went to her waist, drawing her in closer as he deepened the kiss, and drowning yet again in the sensation of his girlfriend's mouth against his own. She smiled against his mouth; he tasted like coffee and the apple strudel they shared for lunch.
Gently, regretfully, he pushed her hands away, breaking the connection. His breathing was harsh and erratic. He looked at her intensely, as if he had never quite seen her before.
"Jess, what's wrong?" she asked in confusion. She suddenly felt very vulnerable in her disheveled, half-buttoned cardigan.
"It's just…" She had never seen him look so agitated before. "I have to tell you something."
"W-what is it?" she whispered, eyes downcast, expecting the worst. "Please just tell me."
"God, I have no idea how to say this." He swallowed audibly, and took her hand in his, fingers intertwined. "It's just that—"
"You want to leave me." she said flatly, withdrawing her hand. "Or you've found someone else. You realize you've made a mistake. You're moving back to New York. You don't—"
"Shut up, Gilmore." he said exasperatedly. "I love you, okay? Ha. There, I said it."
A stunned silence. Neither of them moved.
He looked at her defensively. "What? Are you just going to sit there and stare at me all day?"
"Of course not." She kissed him fiercely. "You idiot."
"Good." He smiled lazily at her, a familiar wicked grin that caused her heart to wobble. "But that wasn't what I meant to say. I meant it, though."
"Well, what did you mean to say?" she asked dreamily, while running her fingers through his hair.
"I was thinking that Rory Mariano really is quite a nice name." he said softly. "Too good of a name to pass up."
Rory's hands froze, mid-stroke. She suddenly found herself incapable of speech.
"Marry me, Gilmore?" he drawled, smirking at her reaction.
At a loss for words, she threw herself into his arms. He needed no other answer.
Some indiscernible time later, they watched the sky darken to indigo as stars appeared. A happy, contented silence lay between them. Like any other day they spent together.
Fin
A/N: Done! And feedback, although not required, is highly suggested. Jess is begging you to leave a review. ;-)