A/N: Hello and welcome to chapter 8! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do. Not much of an author's note this time, simply to request you to read and review, and have a fantastic day!

Chapter 8

"So, guess who's going to be Luke's best man?"

Jess and Rory chatted on the phone as Rory finished packing her things for her move back to Yale, which would be happening in just under two weeks.

"Uhh, Steve Martin," Rory guessed.

"Nope."

"Viggo Mortensen."

"Wrong again."

"Elton John."

"You really think Luke would ask Elton John to be his best man?"

"Because Steve Martin and Viggo Mortensen are so much more likely."

"Either way, still wrong."

"Well, if it's not Elton John, then who could it possibly be?" Rory asked with feigned sarcasm. She could practically hear Jess's eyes roll. She gasped dramatically. "Why Jess, could it be you?"

"Ding, ding, ding, ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner," Jess said dryly.

"Wow, Jess! I didn't know you and Luke were so close!" Rory responded in mock surprise.

"Okay as much as I enjoy Sarcastic Rory, I'd like to have at least a halfway serious conversation."

"Sorry. Continue."

"Continue the nothing I've said so far?"

"Hey, you're the one that called me and then said you wanted to have a serious conversation! So, seriously converse."

"Ah, you've got I-had-way-too-much-sugar-and-coffee-this-morning-and-now-I'm-in-go-mode voice on. Maybe I should call you back later when you've come down from your high…"

Rory picked up on the stress in Jess's voice and toned it down.

"Sorry, Jess. Actually being serious now. You don't sound very happy to be his best man," she said with concern.

"I don't know…"

"Jess, you called me. You obviously want to get something off your chest. Say it or I'll drive to Philadelphia and force it out of you."

"Is that a promise?" She could hear the smirk in his voice.

Rory blushed, suddenly thankful for the fact that he couldn't see her. "More of a threat. But I do have other things I have to do today and driving to Philly and back would seriously put me behind schedule."

"Behind what schedule?" he asked innocently

"Jess, I've told you about a thousand times, I'm getting ready to move to school. Now stop changing the subject and tell me what's going on!"

There was silence on both sides of the line.

"Jess? Hello?"

"Still here."

"Talk."

"Hey, you're bossy. Stop it, I might cry." Jess's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Talk!"

"Fine! Jeez… I guess… I don't know, I'm not the best man type."

Rory had given up trying to pack and sat down on her bed. "And what is 'the best man type'?"

Jess cleared his throat. "Just… I don't know. I know a lot has changed, Luke tells me he's proud of me and crap, just…" His voice was almost a whisper. "I can't help but still feel like the screw-up he was forced to house, sometimes. And this whole best man thing, it just feels like a pity-invite."

"Oh, Jess…" Rory's heart ached for him. Jess was rarely this vulnerable or talkative and when he was, Rory knew it was serious. "Jess, all that is ancient history. First of all, Luke was not forced to take you in." She heard Jess start to object. "Okay, fine, maybe he wasn't pleased about it at first, but have you tried to force Luke to do anything? Not easy. He housed you willingly and he tore down walls for you, literally and figuratively. He loves you, Jess. He fought for you, he believed in you. Rightly, I might add, because you're a published author now and you have a real, grown-up job at a publishing house. You're successful, which is a lot more than most people our age can say, myself included. College dropout, party of one! Anyway… Jess, your life has been far from easy. I know I don't know details, but I do know that much. But you're so smart and you took that amazing brain of yours and grew up into this amazing person despite the crappy circumstances. I'm proud of you for that and you better believe that Luke is too. He didn't just ask you to be his best man because he felt sorry for you. He asked you because he wants you to be the person standing next to him on the best day of his life."

The line went quiet again as Jess took in one of Rory's famous rants, this time dedicated to convincing him he was worthy, something he wasn't exactly used to people doing.

"Did you hang up on me in the middle of my speech? Because I was pretty proud of that…"

Jess's voice was soft. "No, I'm still here."

"Good. Now, can you try to believe me?"

After a beat, he said, "fine, I'll try."

"Thank you."

The silence returned briefly before Jess spoke again, his voice low. "Y'know, I don't deserve you, Rory." The Jess-related butterflies that Rory had grown almost accustomed to returned with a vehemence as he spoke. "Thanks for… everything."

"You're welcome for… everything. Though, at this specific moment, I'm not exactly sure what 'everything' entails."

"You know… believing in me. When no one else did."

"Oh, Jess. Always. You're worth believing in. Always have been, always will be."

"You are, too, y'know," he said quietly.

"Thank you, Jess," she said, meaning in with everything in her.

"Just speaking the truth." Another halt occurred in their conversation. "Um, I've got some work to do, so I'm going to let you get back to packing."

"Oh, sure. Gotta stick to that schedule," she said with a weak chuckle.

"I'll be in town Stars Hollow this weekend. Coffee?"

"It's a date." Rory's eyes went wide as her hand flew to her mouth, immediately regretting her word choice and hoping he hadn't noticed.

"Cool, see you then," he said with a smirk before hanging up.

He had noticed.

On Saturday morning, Rory sat on the floor of her childhood bedroom, surrounded by carelessly strewn, previously packed clothing, feeling defeated. She had been overthinking her coffee "date" with Jess far too much and was officially overwhelmed with what should have been a simple cup of coffee with a friend. Lorelai walked in unaware of the chaos that had ensued since breakfast.

"Hey, Rory—Gah!" She tripped over a pile of shirts and stumbled over to Rory's bed, narrowly avoiding an open suitcase of unfolded clothes on the way. She looked around, mouth gaping. "Whoa. What happened in here?"

Rory pouted. "Outfit crisis. Help please."

"What do you need an outfit for?" She thought for a second. "Wait, is this for coffee with Jess? You talk to him every day. If phones had hips yours would be attached."

"Well, phones don't let us see each other either!"

"You didn't have an outfit crisis on Thanksgiving!"

"I wasn't thinking about dating Jess then!" She stood up and carefully walked over to her mother. "This is all your fault! You put the idea of dating Jess into my head!"

"Hey, not fair! You already had a crush on him, I just figured it out!"

"But then you encouraged the dating and the 'maybe you might possibly be kind of good for each other' and all that mushy crap!"

"Well…! I…! you…!" Lorelai fought hard for a retort. "Augh, fine! I yield. But I hold fast to the belief that you would have made it there on your own at some point."

"Hmph." Rory continued to pout. "Well, either way. Outfit crisis. Please work your magic, dearest, loveliest, most beautiful mother of mine," she gushed.

"Ah, flattery will get you anything my dear. Okay, let's do this." She stood up with an energy that announced that she was on a mission. She carefully and methodically picked through the piles of clothing as Rory watched, nervously chewing on her thumb. Before five minutes had passed, Lorelai had picked up a soft, cream-colored, scoop neck sweater and a pair of dark jeans that hugged Rory's hips flatteringly. Lorelai walked over to Rory's vanity and picked out a delicate gold necklace and matching earrings. "Understated, easily assumed that you just grabbed the first things you saw and threw them on. But, will also wow the boy speechless. Brush your hair, throw on some lip gloss and mascara, and you're set."

"I bow to the master!" Rory bowed playfully. "Thank you, mom. Momentary crisis now averted."

Lorelai patted Rory's head. "Always happy to use my powers for good."

"Hey, so why did you come in here originally?" Rory asked as she started to pack her clothes away for a second time.

"Oh, shoot! I came in to tell you I needed to go to the inn for a bit today, something that I am now late for, damn you and your fashion crisis. But I wanted to propose Al's and to finish our Cop Rock marathon tonight when I get home."

"Yes and yes, now go!"

"Yes, going! Bye, sweets!" Lorelai called as she sprinted out of the house, as fast as one could do in heels.

Rory finished repacking her clothes and went to take a shower. She took her time, making sure her legs were shaved smooth and her hair was deeply conditioned. Once she got out, she realized she had just shaved her legs for nothing, considering it was December in Connecticut and was currently snowing, so the only way anyone was seeing her legs was… Rory blushed. Today was definitely not going that direction. She shook away the thought and continued getting ready. Once her hair was blow dried, makeup applied, and outfit plus winter outerwear was on, she took a deep breath and did one final check in the mirror before leaving to meet Jess at Weston's Bakery.

The walk in the chilly air and lightly falling snow helped calm her nerves a bit, but it all came back when she stepped into the charming bakery and saw Jess sitting at a table, a paperback book in his hands, his cheeks and nose flushed pink from the winter air, his hair ruffled with the aftereffects of taking off a winter hat. She couldn't help but notice how cute he looked like that, all cozy and warm and ever focused on his reading choice of the day. Her stomach filled with those familiar nervous butterflies as she walked towards him.

"Jess, hey!"

Jess looked up and smiled. His gaze did nothing to help her nerves. She took off her coat and scarf, placing them on the back of her chair before sitting down.

"Hey," he responded, smiling tenderly.

Rory gestured to his book, trying to ignore how his warm, golden-brown eyes lit up when he looked at her. "What'cha reading today?"

"You look nice."

Rory blushed furiously. Man, her mom was good at the whole outfit for a non-date date thing. She did her best to feign nonchalance. "Oh, thanks." She chuckled nervously. "I just threw this on, really. Kind of running out of clothes, everything is in suitcases now. Well, not everything, obviously. But, of course, I could just take things back out of the suitcases. That would make life easier. I should probably do that soon. But then I'd have to put them back. Which isn't a problem. Just more complicated than a closet. But still accessible." Her nonchalance had been unsuccessful. Rory desperately wished she had a cup of coffee to sip and block the words from spilling out.

"You're rambling." Jess smirked.

"Very astute observation, Mr. Mariano," she said, avoiding eye contact.

He tilted his head, eyeing her curiously. "You're nervous."

"Again, very astute."

"Why're you nervous?" he asked softly.

"Honestly, I have no idea," she said, shaking her head and tucking her hair behind her ear.

"The moves coming up soon, isn't it? That's gotta be at least part of it."

"Move?"

Jess laughed out loud. "Your move. Back to Yale. Good grief, Rory, did you hit your head on the way over here or something?"

She blushed an even darker shade of red, if that were possible. She couldn't believe how much of a fool she was making of herself. Or how nervous he made her. Since when did Jess make her nervous? Since she realized she had feelings for him again, of course. She silently cursed her mother for helping her reach that realization. "Oh, no, ha, no. Um, just stressed and busy and probably not sleeping enough since I'm trying to finish getting everything together so I can focus on Christmas with my mom."

Jess's smirk grew, obviously not believing her thinly veiled lie. "Yeah, makes sense."

Rory was desperate to change the subject. "Have you ordered yet?"

"No, wanted to wait for you to get here."

"Oh, thanks! Ready now?"

"You're quite eager to order."

"Hi, have you met me? When am I not eager to have pie and coffee?" she teased.

Jess held up his hands in mock surrender. "You're right, proceed."

Rory and Jess each ordered coffee and a slice of pie. The longer they sat together and chatted, the easier it became, falling back into old habits.

"So," Rory began as they finished their pie and she started on her second cup of coffee, "how are you doing with the whole cousin thing?"

Jess shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine, really. I wasn't the one who had to make the major life adjustments, Luke was."

"Well, yes, but it affects you too. Is it nice to have a cousin?"

"I mean, I guess. Granted, she's a 12-year-old girl and I'm not especially experienced with kids. But she's a reader, so I guess you could say there's been some minimal bonding."

"Aw, that's sweet!"

"Have you spent much time with her yet? I mean, she's kind of going to be your stepsister. How weird is that?"

"Trust me, that concept will never not be strange. I was an only child until I was 18, now I'm 21 and I have a half-sister and a soon-to-be-step sister. But yeah, we've spent some time together. Mostly for wedding stuff, but like you said, she reads so we have plenty to talk about."

"Wait…" Jess drew out the word.

"What?" Rory asked, sipping her coffee.

Jess winced. "Does this mean we're… that we're going to be…"

Rory caught on, eyes widening. "Cousins…?"

Jess shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Well, step-cousins. That's not even a thing. Right?"

"Right, right…" They both looked away.

Rory broke the silence. "Can we promise to never speak of this again?"

"No objections here."

They shook on it, laughed, and got up to leave. They dawned their winter coats, braving the wintry outdoors and walking to the bridge, hands bumping into each other briefly and electricity buzzing between them.

"You looking forward to being back at school?"

"Yes and no. I'm glad to be going back, but I have a crazy heavy semester planned so I can start catching up after my lost days."

"Ah, you'll be fine." He waved dismissively, smiling.

"You say that now, but you'll be eating your words when they lock me up in the insane asylum after I've gone crazy from being overworked."

"You grew up here. If you haven't ended up in the insane asylum already, you'll be fine."

"Aw, Jess, don't tell me you still hate this loveable, quirky town!" she jested. They sat on the snowy bridge, their legs dangling over the edge.

"I may have softened to it a little since my days of and stealing gnomes and faking deaths, but I'm never going to truly enjoy Stars Hollow."

"Hey, that's progress! What made you change your mind?"

"You."

Rory spun her head to look at him. "W-what?"

"You changed my mind." His voice was low, his eyes doing that thing that sent shivers up her spine.

"How'd I do that?"

"You were here. That's all that was needed to make this town seem better."

Rory tried to joke away her nervousness, avoiding his gaze. "Don't let Taylor hear you, he might try to use me for some sort of Stars Hollow ad campaign."

"Rory."

"Sorry."

"I need Serious Rory here right now."

"She's here," she said, meeting his eyes.

"Am I the only one feeling… this?" He gestured in front of them vaguely.

She looked away, flustered, floundering with how to respond. This was the moment, and she was blowing it.

"Oh. Got it." His voice turned cold. He got up to leave. Rory reached out and quickly grabbed his hand.

"Wait, Jess, no! Don't go." She scrambled to get up from her spot on the bridge.

"I just made an idiot of myself, can you please leave me with some dignity?"

"No."

"What? Why not?!" Jess barked as anger began to mingle with humiliation.

She answered his question by gripping his coat in both hands and pulling him towards her, her lips meeting his in a kiss.

Jess initially pulled back at the shock then, realizing what was happening, sunk into the kiss. The air was electric, hair on their arms standing on end, heat coursing through their veins. Rory ran her hand through his hair, fingers tingling with nervous excitement, letting herself get lost in the moment and in the feel of him. Jess wrapped his arm around her waist, deepening the kiss and desiring to fuse his mouth to hers, his hand gently resting on her jaw. Neither could tell how long they remained in that place, simply craving to make the moment last forever, kisses spreading from lips to cheeks to necks. Finally, as they ran out of air, they paused to breathe. Standing mere inches away from each other, foreheads almost touching, gazing into each other's eyes and panting for oxygen, they attempted to process what had just happened and shared a nervous giggle. Jess gently brushed Rory's bangs out of her eyes as she blushed.

"Well, at least we know that part still works," Jess teased.

"So, when I accidentally said this was a date…"

"Huh. That was an accident?" he asked, head tilting to the side in jest, mischief dancing in his eyes.

"Well, yeah…" She looked away, embarrassed.

He used his finger to guide her face back in line with his, smiling. "Well, if you're asking me, this is definitely a date."

"Good," she said with a shy grin. "And if it wasn't obvious already, you're not the only one feeling this," she said, her tone serious.

"Good," he replied in a low voice.

Jess brushed her hair behind her ear as Rory's gaze danced back and forth between his eyes and his mouth, his hand coming to rest on the nape of her neck. He leaned in and kissed her again, deeply, passionately, both of them reliving memories and making plans to create new ones.