Running After Kansas by Oregano
People would suspect that maybe Jess Mariano was going to beat Luke Danes to senility for signing that contract, but it was complicated, and the common layman would never understand without having to take a peek into our signatory's inner workings.
Jess Mariano did not think like most common people, and perhaps it was part of his charm. Perhaps that was what made him both special to Rory and terribly infuriating to everyone else, but the complex thought that Jess possessed was not to be taken lightly. Like that strange saying about water and shallowness and crap, he was deeper than the shoreline or however way that stupid saying went.
Luke Danes was unfortunately not used to such odd thinking, and it had been twenty years since he had witnessed something as weird as this. (The last time he was privy to this, Jess was eighteen and lugging his army bag to Venice Beach without a word.) He awoke to Jess's loud snoring from the thick leather couch, the younger man's neck precariously close to experiencing a crick. Just as Luke was about to yell at him to get off the couch and go to a more comfortable spot for his neck's sake, he spotted the pile of papers on top of the coffee table.
He slowly picked it up, and when he did, noticed that "Jess Mariano" in his nephew's unsure handwriting was imprinted onto the paper three times, beside the three x's he had drawn the first time they met (once again).
Luke did not know that he had growled in anger until Jess's loud snort broke through. His nephew coughed awake and groggily turned his face to his elderly uncle.
Rory Gilmore felt like skipping. The cool breeze that touched her face reminded her of him. Her mind quickly rewound back to the night before, standing by a cluster of gnomes, and kissing the boy she had long ago forgotten.
But Jess Mariano was a difficult character to forget, really, and that's what made him such a special one. He entranced you. He left a mark. No matter how many years may pass, how many relationships you go through, a small image of Jess Mariano would always resurface once in a while.
Perhaps it was because Rory loved literature that this became a constant reminder of this boy. A musty smell of an old publication, the feel of leather-bound imagination, and the yellowed pages that played a canvas to the printed word—these all connected her with Jess Mariano.
The slight aroma of a cigarette that had previously rested on his lips, the texture of a crease on his black leather jacket, and the oddly natural soft skin that carried his dark features; all of these she smelled, felt and saw whenever the right book came into focus.
Hemmingway, Ginsberg, Rand…
With an impish grin, she adjusted her coat and headed for the diner. She suddenly felt like her mother, always to be found at Luke's both for the coffee and the company of its proprietor twenty years ago.
Jess Mariano refused to be the second coming of himself. He'd spent twenty years trying to change himself and as soon as he felt those same feelings that fluttered in his chest twenty years ago, he knew it was time to break through the sleepy Stars Hollow spell. Going back to all the drama again was something he was not willing to revisit.
He was tired of being the enemy, and once Rory and the gang found out that he had nothing to offer but lame excuses and a sketchy past, Jess was sure that he would be back to square one: hated and feared by Stars Hollow.
"I can't do this, Luke," he said solemnly as his eyes followed Luke's back-and-forth pacing. "The pancake and eggs, the verbose antagonism, the "Order's up!" He sighed. "The Goddamn Texan, Nicholai's delusional enthusiasm—it's insane and I can't take it!"
Luke snorted and crossed his arms. "So you're just going to give up. Is that it? You're going to desert me again just because of a blip? Is it even the same blip as the blip two decades ago?"
"Stop saying, 'blip'!"
A vein in under Luke's eye jumped. He slowly turned red and rigid. "You want me to stop saying, 'blip'? Okay, I'll say, 'Rory' instead! Is that better, Jess?"
A calmer response was what Luke received, but Jess's hands were balled into fists on his knees. "I did not leave because of Rory," he said evenly, though anger was quickly rising in him as well.
"Either way, Jess, you deserted her. You left without even explaining why. You threw yourself into this downward spiral and I'm still trying to find out why. You give off this, 'I'm so tough' persona, but really, you're just this big, honking pansy of a man who can't even face up to his fears!"
Finally, Jess could not take any more. Looking directly into Luke's eyes, he countered his uncle. "Oh, you're the one to talk, Mr. Bachelor for Life! You had all the opportunities in the world, but now it's too late, isn't it? You're old, she's old, and you're just content with what you have because you couldn't face up to your fears." He bitterly smiled to himself at that, and added, "And you still can't!"
Luke groaned and put his hands up in bitter defeat. "You know what? I am way too old to even care about any of this--,"
"Sure, Luke, pull the, 'I'm old!' card again. It's all you have. It's all you can offer because you and your hypocritical self have nothing else to look forward to but old age."
Luke's steady glare was enough to burn flesh, but Jess held his own.
"Get out, Jess."
With that, Jess gathered his jacket and strode angrily to the thin door. Over his shoulder, he said, "I guess denial and avoidance just runs in the family."
Luke's voice could have shattered glass. "Get the hell out!"
The people of Stars Hollow had previously learned of Rory and Jess's, er, shall we say, "action towards the path of reconciliation" due to the fact that they chose to do this said action in the very near vicinity of Babbette's home. And everyone knew that if something happened near those gnomes, even Kirk would know the next morning, and t-shirts would be made. (It was a tradition that neither Rory nor Jess had been thinking about when they kissed that night—silly them.)
And so, there everyone was at Luke's, antsy with anticipation and giddy with romantic glee. Sure they weren't very fond of Jess Mariano in the past, but he had somehow proved himself when he came back to open the diner and, of course, hire little Nicholai Stratt.
Rory Gilmore was the first of the two to enter the diner and when that door opened, all eyes were suddenly on her. She felt an odd wave of self-consciousness and glared at the people for being so nosy. Their gazes were not to be deterred, however, and they followed her slowly as she made her way to the counter.
"You people are horrible," she announced with a wrinkle of her nose.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps made their way down from behind the curious little curtain that led to Luke's apartment.
Everyone's faces whipped from Rory's to Jess's figure as he came down.
He came down, however, carrying a huge bag and a box of his things.
Faces whipped once more towards Rory's general direction, brows furrowed at the meaning of this.
Was he moving in with Rory?
(But it was so soon!)
Maybe he was just cleaning up.
(But why was he bringing all the crap downstairs?)
Is he…?
Nobody could understand it, but terror suddenly came upon the good people of Stars Hollow when the possibility of Jess departing from Rory once again was put on the table.
Perhaps they were starting to get used to seeing Jess Mariano's sour face everyday as well. Nobody would tell that to his face, of course, because nobody wanted to get decked by Jess Mariano, but the realisation hit them like a tidal wave. Suddenly, everyone in Luke's diner was lost in their own thoughts about this fact.
Jess froze when he saw Rory standing by the counter and gently put his belongings on the countertop. Her eyes shifted from the box of books and CDs to his sheepish face.
"Again?" she said disbelievingly. She shook her head. Rory Gilmore felt drunk, and the floor swayed from under her feet. She had to sit down.
Jess walked over to her, sliding his things on the counter as he did, and reached out to touch her hand. Rory violently withdrew and offered him a cold glare instead. "I hate you," she whispered.
"I--," Jess began, but noticed that their audience had recovered from their collective reverie and had started to enjoy the show once more. He grabbed Rory's arm and pulled her into the storage room.
Once inside, the people groaned and started to gossip amongst themselves. However, they again were forced silent when Nicholai Stratt came in for his shift. Instantly noticing the eerie atmosphere, his shouldered sagged and he let out a sigh, like a father sighing over his children's childish behaviour.
"What's the scoop now?" he asked disparagingly.
Kirk Gleason slowly held up a black t-shirt. "Rory and Jess are back together!"
"Are they?" he asked. Nicholai Stratt was suddenly excited for the news. Hell, he felt like buying one of those shirts.
Kirk's eyes shifted from one side to the other as he slowly brought the shirt back down into his giant box. Just as slowly, he shook his head.
Miss Patty was quick to fill Nicholai in. "Well, honey, that's what we all thought! But then Jess came down with all his things, they had an exchange, and now they're in the storage room doing God knows what!"
"I can think of something they're doing!" Babbette squealed with a wink and mischievous jab at Morey's ribs.
Nicholai made a face at that. "Oh, gross," he said to himself. People from Stars Hollow were eccentric in their own right and that's what he loved about the little town, but once in a while, they could just get downright nasty.