Title: Additional Reporting By:
Chapter 3: Green Shirt
Summary: A chance meeting on an airplane puts two old
acquantainces in an awkward situation. But they are determined to make
the best of it. Plus, he charms her.
Pairing: Ramble On (Rory/Dave)
A/N: Sorry it's taken so damn long. I was finally bitten by the writing bug and this came out.
1.
They exit the building into the bustling of Rockefeller Square on a Saturday night. They smile awkwardly at each other, the easy banter of before abandoning them. They both feel as if they are on a first date, the worst kind when you have no clue what to say to each other.
"So," they both start at the same time, and then laugh. Rory gestures for Dave to go first, and he accepts with a nod.
"I was thinking, since it's after one on a Saturday night, our options are one, bar, or two, porn show," he says, ticking them off on his fingers. "Personally, I vote for bar, but one far away from here, because it'll be a little crowded."
"Or," Rory starts, feeling a little too bold, "we could go to my apartment."
He raises his eyebrows, a teasing smile playing at his lips. "I suppose that's a possibility as well."
As she thinks about it, she realizes that she will feel far more comfortable on her home turf, and she can sneak away for a few minutes and call Lane. It's perfect. She nods, now determined. "Let's go."
2.
After a tense train ride and a silent trek up the stairs, they awkwardly enter Rory's apartment and stand in the entryway. After a few minutes, Dave suddenly says, "Alcohol. We need alcohol."
"Yes. Fantastic idea," Rory says, heading through her living room towards her kitchen. When she reaches the doorway between the two, she stops, and turns around. "Um, why don't you stay here, make yourself at home, and I'll get...something. Wine, or hard liquor, or something."
Dave grins. "Do you have a stereo?"
Rory waves in a general area towards Dave's left and continues into her kitchen, slightly distracted. She pulls her cordless phone from the receiver and shuts the kitchen door tightly. She presses 3 on her speed dial and proceeds to check her kitchen for alcohol, the phone crooked between her ear and shoulder. She manages to pull out two wine glasses while the line is ringing.
"Hello?"
Startled by the actual voice on the other end of the line, a glass slips from Rory's hand.
"Shit!" she yells, dropping to her knees to pick up the larger pieces.
"Rory?" Lane asks over the phone.
"You okay?" Dave calls from the other room.
"I'm fine!" Rory yells back. "God, I'm sorry, Lane. Yeah, it's me."
"Hi. What happened?"
"I dropped a glass, that's all." Rory throws the larger pieces away and pulls her broom out.
"Was that a man's voice I heard in the background?" Lane asks, slightly teasing.
Rory chuckles nervously, her face reddening. "Yeah, that's actually why I called."
Lane lets out a gasp of delight. "Congratulations, Rory. I'm so excited you have a man over I'm not even going to get mad at you for calling me at two o'clock in the morning."
"You're a rock star, Lane. I never worry about waking you up in the middle of the night. Only the middle of the day."
"Ha, ha," Lane says sarcastically.
In the living room, Elvis Costello starts up, singing about a smart young woman coming into his house every night.
"Hey, are you listening to 'Green Shirt'?" Lane asks. "I love that song. That's actually the song that Dave," Lane laughs, "always liked to make out to. He once told me that he thought women thought Elvis Costello was very sexy." Lane laughs again, and Rory cringes.
"Actually, that's really why I called."
Lane's laughing peters out, and then she asks, "Wait, what?"
Rory pauses in her brooming and squeezes her eyes shut. "I met Dave on the plane ride back from LA."
"Oh, really?" Lane asks, sounding far away.
"And he invited me to SNL, because he was playing with the musical guest."
"Uh-huh."
"And I invited him back to my place and he's here right now."
Lane remains silent.
Rory tentatively opens her eyes. "Lane?" she asks. There is still no answer, so she checks the phone to make sure she's still connected. "Lane? Answer me, please. At least let me know you're still there."
Someone on the other end says Lane's name, and Lane answers. "I'll be right there."
"Lane, you're married to someone else. You broke up with Dave years ago. I just met him on the plane and he was nice and charming and he invited me to SNL and I decided to go but I felt so guilty about being there and not telling you. And we just barely got in, and I don't even know if we're going to get along that well because we've been staring at each other with nothing to say the entire way over here. But we were getting along really well on the plane, he was funny and charming and that's really why I decided to go with him. And to invite him here. Because he was charming."
"I think you like him more than you're letting on," Lane says after a short pause.
"What makes you say that?" Rory asks. She is so relieved that Lane is speaking to her that she continues sweeping.
"Because that was world-class rambling," Lane says, laughing a little.
Rory laughs, too. "I don't know how much I like him," she says truthfully. "When I was getting ready tonight I kept getting that fluttering feeling."
"Oh, I love that feeling," Lane says. "Hey, what song's playing now?"
Dave has turned the volume down, so Rory strains to hear. "I think it's 'I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea'."
"Another classic," Lane says appreciatively. "You should go. I give you my blessing."
Rory smiles. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Lane says. "Plus, I think he likes you a lot, too. I'm telling you, Elvis is his seducing music."
Rory laughs.
"I'm serious," Lane says, albeit through laughter. "If 'Alison' is next, you're in trouble."
"Well, I better go then," Rory says. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Don't let him get away."
"I won't." Rory smiles and hangs up. She finishes around the kitchen, sweeping up the rest of the glass and finally getting together the glasses and wine. She enters the living room as the beginning notes of 'Alison' ring out from the stereo.
3.
They drink too much and talk for far too long, and Dave ends up passing out on Rory's chaise lounge. Rory barely manages to stumble back to her bedroom before passing out herself. She does wake up before Dave does, and she manages to prop herself up at her dining room in the combination dining/living room with a cup of coffee by the time Dave snorts and sits up quickly.
"Oh, fuck," he mutters, pressing a hand to his head.
"Morning," Rory says.
Dave looks up at her and reddens slightly. "Oh, hey. Coffee?" he asks.
"Of course," she says, pointing towards her kitchen.
He gets up and stumbles into the kitchen, making horrible clattering noises and dropping a spoon twice. He eventually stumbles back out and collapses into the seat in front of Rory.
"Where's your coffee?" she asks after a second, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, it was too much trouble," Dave says, waving a hand. "I decided against it." He shoots her a quick grin, and she feels herself grin back.
"How can you be so chipper?" she asks.
"Practice," he says simply. "I'm a rock star. I've partied hearty, baby." He dances in his seat, but finishes with his head in his hands. "Oh, I'm kidding. I haven't had a hangover in about six years. I'm in hell."
She smiles against her will and reaches across the table to pat his hand. "Poor baby," she says mockingly. He nods, raising his eyebrows and trying his best to look pitiful. She laughs softly, and then walks into the kitchen. There is a minimal amount of clinking, and absolutely no dropping of spoons. She emerges fairly quickly, her cup refilled and a second cup of coffee in her hands. She sets the second cup of coffee in front of Dave and returns to her seat. He scrambles to get his cup, and takes a large sip.
"Just right," he says, smiling.
She smiles back. "I am the queen of coffee," she tells him. "Well, technically, my mother is the queen of coffee. So I'm the princess. But I'm still in the royal line."
He looks at her, thinking. After a second, he stands, leans across the table, and kisses her.