While waiting for reaction, Jess swiped his hands on his pant legs. This was one of the most nerve-wracking days of his life. It was a good nervousness, unlike the times where there was dire threat (those days were also upsetting, but because they were marred by tragedy). The only thing that could go wrong is that she told him no. Jess didn't want to think about that. They loved each other. Her kiss said so; he hoped his delivered the same message. "Any time," he replied as an answer to the thanks.
The short trip up the stairs to the second floor was the slowest two minutes of his life. He gripped the box of books the whole time. Fingers were even going numb with the pressure, but it was ignorable. Once inside, he sat the box of books by the door. When Rory's books slipped, he took them from her so that she could enjoy the space without having to juggling anything. "I think the lilies might've been a bit much," he mumbled. At least the scent hid the fading aroma of paint. They had their use, he guessed.
The youngest Gilmore had been so overwhelmed by the gesture that she had forgotten for a minute that her boyfriend was close to her, but in her defense few people could blame her for being distracted after such a lovely gift. If someone had told her back when she was sixteen that Jess Mariano would pull such a romantic gesture for her, that he would invest the time and effort that something like this took just because she could use an office, she would have been a touch skeptical. This was another of the thousand of proofs that confirmed what she had known for months now that Jess had changed. He had managed to maintain the details that had made her fall in love for him; his wit (Even if it sometimes came in the shape of sarcasm), his love for literature, and good music… and he had managed to correct a little some aspects of himself (he had flaws of course, but that's something that comes with being human). There was emotion in her blue eyes as she turned around "The lilies…you remembered that they are my favorite flowers didn't you? Just…Jess they are amazing."
Jess didn't take his eyes off Rory. When she stepped further into the airy space, he followed. However he gave her space to take it all in. "Do you like it? It's yours. This place, it's all for you," he whispered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the key. "And I have a confession. I didn't have to fix the door. I locked it. It was supposed to be a surprise."
Announcing he lied was not the best way to start a proposal. However, he didn't like lying to her. It had been important to him to keep this a secret and a surprise until it was ready so the fib seemed like the right action. Maybe it hadn't been. "You don't have to use the spot to work, if you don't want to. But there's a desk and I made sure you had a place to curl up and read if you wanted to," he rambled. His nerves were showing.
"It's lovely, but it must have taken you ages to do it all. When did you work on it? I hope that it wasn't very expensive," she was curious because her timetables meant that she coincided with Jess almost the whole afternoon and in the mornings they both entered quite early to their jobs. "I think that considering the big picture I can forgive you for that small lie," said the brunette with a small smile.
At the mention of time, he shrugged while offering a sheepish smile. "There's quite a few sleepless nights the last week or two to get it finished. I came and did the work after you went to bed. I'm surprised you didn't smell the fresh paint," he explained. "It didn't cost as much as it looks like it might. The most was the paint and it wasn't that much. The desk was pretty shabby when I got it. The lights were clearance."
The brunette approached him with a soft expression in her face, her fingertips brushing his arm gently "Relax, I told you that it's perfect. Although I have to admit that seeing you ramble is kind of cute." A chuckle escaped her lips as a memory passed through her mind. "Kind of reminds me to your reaction when I found out that Luke had not been the one to send that care package." Even if she had teased him about it, Rory had liked the gesture; it was Jess' thing in a way, gestures that reflected how well he knew her.
Back when they had meet, she had not been very sure about her feelings, she was unable to pinpoint when she started to fall for Jess; Rory only knew that it just happened, and a part of her wondered if she had stopped at all. Of course that she had loved Logan, but in the end is what Jess had said, it was what it was, it was them.
Jess took the box from Rory. He took one hand in hers. "I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. You then spoke and I was infatuated. I never had met anyone as brilliant as you. I still haven't. When we locked eyes, that was it for me. I was a goner," he admitted. "You were sixteen. I was seventeen. I had never been surer of anything in my life."
He played with her hand. He wove his fingers with hers and swung her arm a little. He felt quite shy and unsure, but he persisted. "I was screwed up. I was broken and lost. You became this beacon of light and of hope and of happiness. You were the best thing to every come into my periphery. It's why I left when I was lost in the dark. I couldn't bring you down. I think that might be why you said no. You were lost too."
He blinked. The paint fumes and lilies were getting to him (not). He took in a deep breath and continued. "Through it all I wanted to be the man you deserved. You made me realize I wasn't broken and that I could be that man if only I tried," he continued as he dipped down onto one knee and looked up into her eyes. "And with that I wanted you to be happy. You made…make…me happy. I wanted the same for you. I understood I might not have been that person then. But maybe now? Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?"
When she saw that he was still nervous she tried to calm him down rubbing her thumb against the side of his hand, listening to his speech quietly as each word touched her deeply in ways that she had not experienced before. His words stirred powerful emotions and before she could stop them it a couple of tears fell from the corner of her eyes when he asked the question that once had been pronounced by Logan's lips. But this time the answer would be different.
The problem was that after her boyfriend's display of emotions she felt kind of speechless, but she didn't need words to reply to his question. She just moved forwards pressing with lips against his with the same passion that she had many years ago, during Sookie's wedding, tiptoeing as she added every ounce of emotion in the gesture. "I think that we have a wedding to plan, Dodger," she muttered against his lips as the kiss broke.