A/N: Happy Halloween and welcome to chapter 12! We get a little glimpse into Rory and Jess's weekend in Philadelphia in this chapter. Lot's of fluff and fun! Read, review, and have a great day!
Chapter 12
Rory awoke alone in bed the next morning, light streaming through the mostly closed blinds of the window above the bed, and she smiled as she smelled coffee and food from somewhere in the apartment. She pulled on Jess's t-shirt from the previous night and a pair of her own sweatpants and walked out to the kitchen where she found Jess making pancakes and coffee. Rory's smile grew in amusement as she observed Jess's bedhead and rumpled pajama pants. She could get used to waking up in the same place as him.
"Good morning. You can cook?" she asked as she leaned against the wall with her arms folded across her chest.
Jess startled slightly as Rory's voice pulled him out of his thoughts before smiling and stepping towards her to kiss her. "Good morning. And yeah, I worked in a diner for a few years, remember?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yes, I remember," she responded with an eyeroll. "But didn't you mostly wait tables?"
He shrugged. "I may have picked up on a few things in the kitchen. Coffee?" He handed her the mug he had just poured. She grasped at it hungrily and took a sip, breathing in its rich scent. Jess turned back to the stove to flip the pancakes that were cooking. "How'd you sleep?"
"Amazing. Sharing a bed was nice. You're cozy," she said with a smile.
"Don't let the guys hear you, I'll never hear the end of it," he mumbled through his teeth.
"Don't let us hear what?" Jess and Rory turned to see Matt walking into the kitchen and grabbing an apple off of the counter.
"Oh, um…" Rory faltered, trying and failing to find a cover story. "Just that Jess makes some of the best coffee I've ever had. Which is saying something, I was raised a coffee aficionado."
"O-kay." Matt eyed them suspiciously as he poured himself a cup and took a sip. "Nice shirt, Rory. Looks better than you than it does on Jess." He snorted as he left them alone in the kitchen once more. Rory looked down at her clothes and blushed, remembering her extremely casual state of dress.
"Watch it." Jess threatened to Matt as he pulled Rory close to him. "He's right though, my shirt looks great on you." He whispered in her ear. He couldn't help but smirk when he saw the pink rising in her cheeks. "Nice save with the coffee thing. Very convincing," he said sarcastically.
"Hey, give me a break! I'm not very quick-witted before I've had my coffee. And it's not like you couldn't have stepped in and helped."
"Well then drink up because I have another roommate to endure. That is, unless Chris went home with someone from the bar."
"He did!" Matt yelled from the living room.
"Oh good, only one jerk to deal with this morning."
"Shut up, you know you love us!"
Jess shook his head, chuckling as if to agree with Matt's statement as he grabbed two plates out of the cabinet above the counter. He plated the pancakes and some bacon he'd cooked previously. "Breakfast is served."
"Wow, what service!" Rory said excitedly, kissing Jess on the cheek as they went to the table. Kisses, even with morning breath, him making them breakfast, both wearing pajamas and messy hair and sleepy eyes, sitting down at the table together to share a meal and discuss their plans for the day. It all felt very domestic in the absolute best way possible, and it only made Rory's smile grow wider.
They sat down and Rory took a bite, eyes widening. "Jess! This is amazing! These pancakes are almost as good as Luke's!"
"Wow, now that's high praise. I know how much you like his pancakes. I've personally witnessed you and your mother trick him into cooking even when Caesar was manning the grill."
"Well, Caesar's pancakes suck," Rory said, mouth full of food.
Jess snorted. "Just because they aren't as good as Luke's doesn't mean they suck." Rory looked up at him almost glaring. "Okay, fine, they suck." He raised his hands in surrender. "So," he said, taking a sip of coffee, "what's on the agenda for the day?"
"What makes you think I have an agenda?" she asked innocently.
He gave her a look. "Rory, I know you. You make pro-con lists and detailed schedules for the simplest things, there's no way you don't have an agenda to find a new place to live."
"Hey, don't mock the pro-con lists and schedules!" she squawked defensively.
"Not mocking, I think they're very helpful! I just don't believe you don't have a plan for the next few days."
She grinned in embarrassment. "Fine, yes, I have an agenda." She paused to take a bite of her pancakes. "I brought some papers with me that I have yet to look through, so I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that someone, somewhere relatively close to Yale, needs a roommate. My plan is to focus mostly on going through those and turn to the internet if the papers fail me."
"Need any help?"
"Yes, please. It'll be nice to have company while I watch my likelihood of finding somewhere to live drift farther and farther away."
"Hey, you'll find something. Plus, isn't moving back to Stars Hollow always an option? It's not that long a drive."
Rory smiled as a memory flooded her mind. "Yeah, you would know, wouldn't you?" she teased. "How many miles was it between Stars Hollow and Yale again?"
Jess blushed a little before smiling softly. "22.8."
"22.8" she repeated almost dreamily.
"I did look it up, in case you were still wondering. I wasn't just bored."
"I always knew you did."
Jess shrugged. "It was important information, I needed to know exactly how far away I was going to be from the girl of my dreams once she went off to her fancy school."
Rory grinned and shook her head, taking another bite of pancakes. "Well, as much as 22.8 miles isn't far for a weekend visit, it's farther than I want to drive for class every day. Plus, gas gets expensive, and it's basically impossible to find parking on campus, and I'd have to get to school early, go to class, work at the paper, find a way to do homework, then drive all the way back home, only to do it all over again every day, and come in on weekends for paper stuff or study groups, and the library would be so far away... It would total throw off my schedule."
Jess chuckled. "Then we'd better get those papers find you a place to live that's closer to Yale in order to keep your fine-tuned schedule."
She smiled and finished her breakfast. "Thank you. But first, I need to shower, is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay," Jess said, beginning to clear their dishes. "Need any help with that?" He asked, smirking.
Rory smiled. "You'd be welcome company there, too."
Matt, who they had completely forgotten was in the same room as them, groaned from the couch behind them. "You guys are officially disgusting, I'm going downstairs."
Rory's eyes went wide and she clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Jess snorted just as he took a sip of coffee, choking and almost spraying it out of his nose.
"Sorry, Matt!" Rory yelled as the door closed loudly behind Chris and Jess continued to cough.
"Whoops," Rory said with an embarrassed smirk. "You okay there?"
"Just fine," Jess choked out as he cleared the dishes and cleared his throat. "Shower?"
Rory's smile grew wider. "Let's."
"Ugh!" Rory yelled in frustration, tossing her papers aside. "I'm never going to find somewhere to live!"
It was Saturday afternoon and Rory and Jess had spent the last day and a half scouring newspaper ads to try to find somewhere for Rory to live. Thus far, they were incredibly unsuccessful.
"Hey, here's one: 'Lonely. Looking for young, female college student to live in spare room. Doesn't need to pay rent, instead…' actually, never mind, this place is not an option." Jess shook his head in disgust as he silently finished reading the ad and put his own paper aside. He looked up at Rory who was scowling. "Hey! Is that the infamous withering stare?" She turned her scowl towards him and he recoiled. "Okay, point made. Jess: 0, withering stare: 1. Not in a joking mood."
"Ugh!" Rory yelled again, standing up to pace out her anger, her arms folded tightly across her chest. "Why is Paris so stubborn?
Jess suppressed a laugh. "Do you really want me to answer that?"
"She's just… so… ugh!" she stomped the floor in frustration with a yell.
"Okay, come on," Jess said, standing up and going to grab their coats. Rory had slipped into single words and guttural noises which told Jess she needed to step away from the situation.
"Jess, I really don't feel like going anywhere right now," she whined.
"Just a little walk down the street. Get some coffee, see a little more of Philadelphia than my apartment, clear your head. It'll be good."
Rory's scowl melted into a pout. "I do like coffee."
"I know you do," he said, wrapping her coat around her shoulders and kissing her forehead. "Get your shoes, let's go."
Thirty minutes later they returned from their walk, Rory feeling a little more rejuvenated but just as hopeless in her search for a new home. As they walked in the door of Jess's apartment, Rory's cellphone started ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hey Rory!"
"Doyle?" Rory sat down on the couch and Jess sat next to her, kissing her cheek.
"Yeah! Hey, listen, I have some good news."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Rory was caring less and less what Doyle had to say as Jess continued to plant tiny kisses on her face and neck. She suppressed a giggle as she tried her best to focus on Doyle's words.
"It took some convincing, a lot of convincing, really, and only some of it fun for me…"
"Ew, Doyle, please. What's your news?" She playfully pushed Jess away as he began to crawl over her, continuing to kiss her.
"Well… I got Paris to let you move back in!"
"What?!" Rory shot up, inadvertently shoving Jess to the other side of the couch.
"Yeah! I mean, you're probably on thin ice with her, but your room is still here, and I kept her from throwing your things into the hall again, so you're welcome to come back tomorrow!"
"Thank you, Doyle! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll see you tomorrow." Rory hung up her phone and squealed excitedly as she practically jumped onto Jess's chest to hug him.
"What the hell just happened?" he asked with a breathless chuckle, having had the air knocked out of him.
Rory sat up to look Jess in the eye. "Paris, thanks to Doyle, is letting me move back in!"
His jaw dropped. "You're kidding."
"Nope! He started to explain how he got her to agree, the details of which I will spare you…"
"Thank you."
"… and she's probably going to yell at me over every little thing, but I don't even care because I don't have to move!" Rory leaned down and kissed Jess.
Jess pulled away briefly. "Wow, tell Paris to kick you out more often. As long as I get to be the one to celebrate when she lets you back in."
Rory smiled and gave Jess another quick kiss before releasing him and gathering up the newspapers that were spread around the room and walking into the kitchen to throw them away. She heard her cellphone ringing in the living room. "Hey Jess," she called, "do you mind getting that?"
Jess picked up her phone and answered it without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Jess?"
Jess's stomach dropped. "Lorelai?"
"The one and only."
"Aren't there technically two of you?"
"Oh, true. Three at one point, if you count my grandma."
"Yep," Jess mumbled awkwardly. "Rory had to grab something in the other room, she'll be right back."
"Okay, that's fine." Lorelai's kindness sounded forced. "Um, while I have you here, I guess I should give you the 'don't you dare hurt Rory' talk."
"Oh?"
"Don't you dare hurt Rory. If you do, Luke and I will take turns hurting you," Lorelai said in the sternest voice she could muster.
"Understood."
"Don't get smart with me, Mariano."
Jess shook his head. "Not getting smart, I honestly believe you'd both hunt me down if anything happened to her. I hurt her before, we all know that. Back then, leaving… it was one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. I know I'm kind of public enemy number one because of it, and I don't blame anyone who thinks that. But there's no way in hell I could do that to her again. So even though I know you'll still worry, you don't need to. Promise."
Lorelai paused before responding. "Wow. I think that's the most I've ever heard you say in one sitting."
"It comes and goes."
"So I've heard."
"Yep."
"Well… Thanks, Jess."
"No problem."
At that moment, Rory returned the room with a cup of coffee in hand.
"Hey, it's your mom," Jess said, handing her the phone.
Rory hastily placed her coffee on the table and took the phone from Jess, mouthing an apology as she walked into the bedroom and shut the door. "Hey, mom!"
"Hey, you! How goes the apartment hunt?"
"Actually, the hunt is off!"
"Wait, you seriously found a place already?"
"Sort of – Doyle talked to Paris and convinced her to let me come back."
"No way!"
"Way!"
"Oh, Rory, that's awesome!"
"I know! And thank God. I mean, living with an angry Paris is going to be tough, but at least I don't have to move."
"Well, thank Doyle for keeping my baby off the streets."
"I think whatever he did to convince Paris was thanks enough."
"Huh?"
"Never mind, forget I said anything. So, besides wanting to talk to your daughter, why'd you call?"
"Ah, my news is less happy, more stress-y."
"Oh no, what did Taylor do this time? Is it on the same line as spikes on the telephone poles to ward off birds? Or, ooh! Is he opening an ice cream and candy shoppe sister store across town that sells frozen yogurt and sugar free candy? Like a slightly healthier version of the original."
Lorelai snorted. "I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that but no, nothing to do with Taylor."
"Oh. Did Kirk do something weird then?"
"Kirk doing something weird is not out of the ordinary."
Rory thought for a second and she felt her stomach drop. "Oh no, did something happen with you and Luke?"
"No! No, no, no, we're fine hon."
Rory let out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank god, you scared me. I'm out of ideas, what's the stress-y news?"
"Grandpa called."
"Oops."
"Luckily, I wasn't home, but he left a voicemail saying that there was something wrong with the payment for your tuition at Yale and that his check had bounced."
"Huh."
"There's nothing wrong with the payment for the tuition."
"Nope."
"Hon, one of these days you're going to have to let them know that Christopher is paying for school."
"I know." Rory groaned.
"And considering this development, it needs to be soon."
"Rats. And I was in such a good mood!" Her pout from before returned.
"Sorry, sweets."
"I'll figure something out and once I do, I'll let you know. Unless, perhaps, you wanted to…"
"Nope. This is your thing."
"Double rats!"
"I'll at least brainstorm ways to tell them, does that help?"
"Yes, it does. Thanks, mom. Bye."
Rory ended the call and returned to the living room, sitting next to Jess with a huff. Jess turned and looked at her with a concerned expression. "Hey, you were so happy a minute ago, what's with the face?"
"We're never answering the phone again," she grumbled.
Jess raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. Instead, he went back to the book in his hand, carefully watching Rory's furrowed brow relax as she curled up next to him with a book of her own. He smiled as Rory settled into his side and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, making her smile in return. He reached behind them and grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and put it over them. There they sat for the rest of the afternoon, mostly reading silently, sometimes sharing snippets of their books with the other person, until they drifted off. It was the kind of peaceful contentedness that almost made you sad because you know it had to end eventually. But, for now, as the rain fell on the windows and the blanket contained their mutual body heat, everything was perfect and time stood still.