Disclaimer: These characters are so not mine. This particular scenario is though.
Thank you to my reviewers:
xh4z3L3y3sx – As much as I'd love to screw school, graduating will be nice too, lol. Here's another fluffy chapter…
petitos grasshoppertje – Thank you! I was going for that…
evangeline b – hehe. Him? Never…
LitGG1982 – Thank you so much for another great review. I try to make relationships/interactions as realistic as possible, so I'm glad it seems to be working!
gilmore15girl – I have a feeling you'll like this chapter, particularly the entire second half.
Tookie Clothespin – Thank you! BTW, I answer the whole crying thing in the AN below…
Luvablemilo – Thank you! I think my thing may be for Milo, too…
LorLukealways – I'm so happy the last part was as moving as I'd hoped it would be.
DevilPup9 – Thanks! Heh, the grandparents will ALWAYS cause tension, but that's okay since it makes for stories!
Amythestpony – Perhaps you will enjoy this chapter?
Gilmoreaddict – Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your praise means a lot to me.
Mirax Corran – Jess definitely has it in him. If ASP (and perhaps Milo) don't have time to develop it, than I'll take a stab at it!
Neurotic Newt – Thank you! I love drawing parallels in Gilmore Girls, because the show is jam-packed with them. Here's more!
RogueHoney – I hope I managed to strike a balance between exposition and dialogue with the wedding. I didn't want to lose the conversations, since they've been important thus far in the story.
Sanfrangiantsfan – Thank you! Now that Rory's got a backbone again, I figured she should show it.
IloveJoeL. – Thanks. I think you'll like this chapter.
Orangefish018 – Thank you. I'm trying to find a good balance with my words, but if I'm not careful I can get a little carried away! We'll see about the updates, I'm enjoying it right now, even if I have other things coming up…
Lunatic Lorenzio – Thank you so much!
AN: So much for updating before I went back to school. I apologize for that; I really had planned on getting this done earlier. Oh well, I made this chapter nice and fluffy, so hopefully you'll forgive me. I'll do my best to update again soon, but I can't promise exactly when until I get more into the rhythm of how this term is going to go. (I'm here for one month and the only thing I'm doing is working on my senior thesis, so yes, only one thing, but one big important thing.)
By the way, the part that brought tears to my eyes in the last chapter was the line "they could never go back to the way they were, two girls who were each other's entire world…" I think it was because as I wrote it (and I swear my fingers typed it without my knowledge), I had this image in my head of a young Lorelai and a toddler Rory, playing together in the potting shed. It struck me how lonely it would have been if they hadn't bonded so much. I don't know, it was really bittersweet or something…but enough of that, and on to a happy, fluffy chapter…
The Day of the Wedding
Rory's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright in bed. The sudden motion elicited a moan from Lorelai, who first tried to huddle further under the covers before she, too, sat up quickly. Both women turned to look at the other.
"It's your wedding day, mom!"
"Yes, it is!" Lorelai said with a big smile.
After a moment her face fell and she jumped out of bed.
"Oh my God, Oh my God! Rory! I'll never be ready in time! There's so much I have to do..."
By this point, Lorelai was up, and frantically dashing from place to place around their downstairs.
"Calm down, mom! We talked about this all week, remember? You have plenty of time to…"
Realizing that Lorelai was not listening to her, Rory took to chasing her mother down and trying to help her get ready. Soon enough, Sookie arrived to help, or more like hinder, the process. She certainly didn't have a calming effect on Lorelai, and Rory found herself trying to quiet both of them down. The whole morning went like that, with Rory's first chance for a break a short moment to brew coffee while Lorelai was in the shower and Sookie was upstairs. As she sat in the kitchen listening to the familiar sounds and smells of coffee percolating, her thoughts drifted back to the night before outside the restaurant, and Jess' breath on her neck.
"Damn, I wish we hadn't been interrupted…" Rory muttered under her breath
As much as she was lamenting the missed opportunity, part of her thought it might be a good thing she hadn't kissed Jess last night. She had a feeling that once she started, it was going to be pretty damn hard to stop. That thought brought a smirk to her face, but once again, she was interrupted, this time by the doorbell.
"I got it!" she yelled, although she was pretty sure her mother was still in the shower and Sookie was too distracted to care.
She ran to the door and opened it, surprised to find Jess standing there loaded down with bags. Neither one spoke for moment when they saw each other. Finally, Jess managed to find his voice.
"Hi."
"What's all this?"
"Luke wanted to make sure your mom ate something."
"Aww, that's sweet of him…I doubt she'll have anything but coffee, but…"
Rory trailed off as she found herself distracted by Jess' presence. That part of her from before who thought it might be a good thing she hadn't kissed him yet, now wanted her to tackle him, right then and there.
"Uhh Rory…could I maybe come in? This stuff is heavy."
Rory shook herself back to the present moment and stepped aside for him to pass.
"Oh! Sorry, yeah. Come on in."
Jess brushed past Rory in the entryway to place the food on the kitchen table. The shoulder that had touched her as he passed was practically burning with the sensation of being near her. When he turned around, she was standing in the doorway to the living room, watching him. Their eyes locked and they both froze for few seconds, holding each other's gaze. There was something in her eyes that made Jess want to take her right there, damn the fact he'd promised himself he wouldn't, damn the fact this was her mother's house, damn the fact it was her mother's wedding day, damn everything and anything that didn't tell them they should be together, right then.
"I smell coffee!" Lorelai yelled as she bounded down the stairs, her hair up in a towel, followed closely by an overly excited Sookie.
Now it was Jess' turn to shake himself back to reality.
"Oh, hi Jess," Lorelai greeted him, though she was a little confused to see him standing in the kitchen.
"Luke wanted to make sure you ate something," Jess explained as he desperately tried to keep his eyes off Rory.
Lorelai began digging through the bags of food.
"Oh, I couldn't possibly eat anything right now, I'm way too...ooo, is that French toast? Yummy. C'mon Rory, Sookie, let's eat."
Rory just stood rooted to the spot she was in because she wasn't sure how she was going to get by Jess and into the kitchen. His presence was palpable to her, and it seemed as if he was actually taking up the entire space of the doorway.
"Uhh…I'd better get back," Jess muttered to no one in particular as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders.
He walked back towards the front door, shooting Rory a sly smile as he passed her again. With that, he was gone, and Rory was left weak in the knees and wishing he was there to hold her up.
The rest of the morning passed by in a blur; somehow, everything that needed to get done had gotten done, everyone who needed to be at the church was there, and everything and everyone that needed to be ready was ready. Rory had vague memories of saying goodbye to her mom right before the ceremony, giving Luke a hug of encouragement, and of Kirk taking candid photos of all the preparations, but the first thing she was concretely aware of was Jess taking her arm and leading her down the aisle.
"I can't believe this is really happening," she whispered to him as they began walking, and he squeezed her hand in response.
Before she knew it, everyone was in their place and the crowd was standing, waiting for Lorelai's entrance. Rory's breath caught in her throat as she saw her mom enter, looking radiant and perfect in her dress. She couldn't help but turn to see Luke's face, whose eyes were trained on her mother in awe. This brought on a flashback of the daydream she'd had in the dress store, and her eyes unconsciously flickered over to Jess' face. He was actually smiling, and she saw him watching her out of the corner of his eye.
The minister began, "Friends, we are gathered here today…" and so on, but Rory barely heard him.
During the rehearsal Rory had been captivated by Luke and her mother standing on the alter together, but now that the actual ceremony was taking place, she found herself acutely aware of Jess' presence on the alter with her. She caught his eyes once, felt her cheeks flush, and glanced away quickly. She couldn't resist glancing back again, only to find him still watching her. Before long, she found herself staring directly at him, and he responded by staring back. At last, the culmination of the ceremony arrived, and as Luke and Lorelai said their 'I do's Rory lost herself in Jess' eyes.
The minister interrupted her reverie with, "…I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride."
Rory was snapped from her trance-like state in time to watch Luke pull Lorelai to him and kiss her with what seemed like his entire being. The joyous music began playing, and Luke took Lorelai's hand to walk her down the aisle. Jess stepped forward to escort Rory and when he touched her arm she felt as if she would melt and catch fire at the same instant. Everyone's eyes were still on them as they completed their walkup the aisle, so Rory tried her best to keep her composure. He leaned over to speak to her, and once more she could feel his breath tickling her neck.
"Later."
His voice was strained, and Rory had a passing query as to exactly how much trouble she would cause if she made 'later' 'right now' instead. Of course, there were too many things going on for that thought to last too long: there was a greeting line to stand in, pictures to take, friends and neighbors engage in polite small talk with, et cetera. By the time the business at the church was settled, it was time to head to Miss Patty's, which had been turned into a reception hall for the afternoon. Rory had hoped to steal a moment with Jess when they arrived, but Sookie instantly claimed her attention, and before she knew it, the reception was in full swing.
The entire night flew by in a whirlwind of music, dancing, laughter, and food. As much as Rory was looking to find a moment away from the crowd with Jess, she was hesitant to get herself into a repeat of the situation at her grandparents vow renewal. She settled on coercing Jess to dance, reveling in her success after the effort it took to get him to participate. After quite a few hours, people began to say their goodbyes, and Rory found a table to rest at.
"You look tired," Jess said as he sat down next to her.
"Exhausted! I cannot believe how long today has been."
He chuckled before responding in a teasing manner, "Dancing like you did to the the Chicken Dance, the Macarena, and Cotton Eye Joe…it's not surprising."
"It was fun. You're just a party pooper, insisting on sitting out on the sidelines."
"Hey. We agreed; I slow danced, so you don't get to bug me about the rest of that stuff."
"I'm just saying…"
"Yeah, yeah. It was more fun to watch you anyway," Jess said with a smirk.
Rory reached out to gently smack his arm, but he grabbed her hand before she got the chance.
"So…how long are we required to stay, actually?"
"Um, I don't know. I guess I don't want to leave until mom and Luke leave, which may not be too long from now since…"
Rory was interrupted at that moment by Lorelai and Luke joining them at the table.
"Hey hunny, I think Luke and I are going to leave now. Head back to the inn. Get started on the fun part of celebrating a wedding."
"…and that's why…eww, gross mom."
"Sorry, kid, facts of life."
Lorelai teased and shrugged her shoulders before everyone stood to say their goodbyes for the night.
As Rory and Jess watched Luke and Lorelai leave, Jess leaned over to Rory one more time.
"So…can I walk you home?" he asked hopefully.
Rory's heart fluttered for a moment before she could respond.
"Actually, I was going to ask if you could. You know, it's getting late and it's dark. You wouldn't want me braving the streets of Stars Hollow by myself, would you?" Rory said quickly, with a glint in her eye.
Jess just smirked and shook his head in response. He found their coats, and led Rory out the door onto the snowy sidewalks. The two walked in a comfortable silence all the way to the front door of her house.
"So…earlier…you promised me…a 'later'…" Rory suggested interestedly.
"So I did" Jess responded calmly, stopping to face her.
Rory had expected a bigger reaction from him, especially considering the tension that had hung between them since last night.
"Oh. Well. Okay…"
They both just stood on the porch facing each other for a few more seconds. Rory was confused that Jess wasn't trying to stand closer to her, or even touch her. Jess, however, was thoroughly enjoying watching Rory want him to make a move. He knew he shouldn't tease her like this, and it was nearly killing him to stay away from her, but he figured it was only for a minute, and the flush in her cheeks was well worth it. Finally, Rory, very confused, reached for the doorknob to go inside.
She was stopped by Jess suddenly pulling her back to him, and he smirked, saying "Oh, is it later already?"
Rory would have been slightly indignant, or possibly amused, at his teasing, but she didn't have time decide which; she was interrupted by his lips crashing down on hers. She quickly returned his kiss, deepening it by bringing her hands to the back of his head and pulling him down to her. One of his arms around her waist pulled their bodies close together, while the other flew to her face to caress her cheek. As the hunger in their kiss increased, Rory suddenly stepped back.
"Um…this here…probably not a good place. Babette may have had a lot to drink but…"
"Right…right."
Jess nodded, but stood still, unsure of what Rory was suggesting. She wasn't helping matters by staring at his shoulder, occasionally glancing up at Babette's house.
He ventured slowly, "So, you want me to…go?"
Despite the question, his body made no motion to accompany the verbal suggestion of leaving.
"No! I don't want you to go. Come in?" Rory asked nervously.
Jess raised his eyebrows and shot Rory an amused look.
"What?"
"Oh. Nothing."
"Jess, what's so funny?"
"Funny? Nothing's funny. I just…hmm…wasn't expecting to be invited in to your empty house, which you have to yourself all week, by the way…"
"Jess! We're not seventeen anymore."
Jess steadied himself before responding a bit more seriously, "No, we're not. I'm sorry. I would love to come in. It's cold out here."
"Then come in," Rory said as she opened the door and entered, waiting for him to get inside before closing the door behind them.
Once inside, they both took their coats off, but before having his hung up, Jess was caught off guard by Rory backing him up against the wall.
"You, mister, think you're funny teasing me like that outside?"
"A little, yes."
Rory was glaring at Jess, but he could see the playfulness she was trying to hide shining in her eyes.
"Well, I don't appreciate it very much, so don't do that again!" Rory stated definitively as she leaned in to kiss him.
Jess closed his eyes, but instead of feeling Rory's lips on him, he felt her fingers sneak under his shirt, where they quickly found his most vulnerable ticklish spot.
"Ahh! Rory, no," Jess pleaded through his laughter, "That's it! No more!"
When she didn't stop, Jess bent down a bit and threw his arms around Rory's hips, quickly standing and lifting her off the ground.
"Jess! No!"
Rory was laughing and hitting him playfully on the arms and shoulders, so he hitched her up further onto his shoulder.
Jess walked towards the couch where he was planning on dumping her unceremoniously, but Paul Anka was stretched out there, not looking as if he were planning on moving any time soon. That plan foiled, Jess turned around and headed to Rory's bedroom.
"Put me down!"
"As you wish," Jess replied calmly as he tossed her onto her bed.
What he wasn't expecting was for her to immediately grab his arm and pull him down on top of her. He caught himself with his body hovering just over her. As their eyes locked, the comedy of the moment was gone, and suddenly the tension that had been there in the morning was back. They both moved at the same time to kiss again. Too frenetic to be cautious, their teeth clashed together, kisses fell randomly, and limbs tangled into knots. After a few minutes, they both relaxed a little and began to take the time to enjoy what was happening. They lost track of how much time was spent reacquainting themselves with each other's bodies: how she liked it when he nibbled on her lip, and how she could conquer him easily with a well placed kiss just below his jaw line. New to him was her hands exploring his body in a more brazen manner than she would have allowed herself three years ago. Her hand on his belt buckle however, caused him to pull away gently, and attempt to catch his breath.
"Rory…"
"What?"
"We haven't…uh…I don't think we should…" he trailed off, trying to gauge her reaction.
"Oh…" she averted her eyes from his, and began to shift away from him slightly.
He pulled her close to him so that they were almost nose to nose.
"Hey now, remember that first conversation we had?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, I just…still don't want to do anything…rash. I think this…or that actually, would probably count as rash…"
Rory was still averting her eyes, so he maneuvered his head until he was able to meet her gaze.
"Remember what I said about wanting this to be different, on a different level…I still want…"
Rory smiled slightly, and interrupted him.
"No, Jess, you're right. We were right, when we said that…I just…"
"What?"
"Your belt buckle is kind of annoying."
Jess couldn't help but laugh and feel a little sheepish at the same time. They both buried their heads into each other's shoulders and laughed off the situation for a few seconds. Jess was the first to pull back.
"Okay then. So where were we..." he began as he leaned down to kiss Rory's neck.
"Actually…"
"What?"
"These clothes we're wearing? Great for weddings, not so great for this. Also, it's late and it's been a really long day and we should probably go to sleep at some point…"
"Ugh. I do have to help in the diner tomorrow…"
"Yeah…"
Jess began to peel himself away from Rory.
"So, I guess I should…"
"Stay," Rory said, half as a question, and half as a request.
"Stay?"
"Stay," she said, more firmly this time.
"I don't have any other clothes…"
"All of Luke's things are upstairs. He has pajamas, and I'm sure there's something you can put on in the morning until you get back to the diner."
"Okay then."
"Good."
"Good."
"Good."
"New word?"
"Go."
"I don't know where anything is, nor do I want to dig around in your mom's closets or dressers."
"Fine then, come with me."
Rory went upstairs and in short order had pajamas for Jess to wear for the night, and jeans and a T-shirt he could put on in the morning. Back downstairs, he took the clothes and turned to head to the bathroom, but Rory stopped him.
"Jess?"
"Yeah."
"Could you help me with this zipper before you go?"
Jess went back to where Rory stood with her back to him. She pulled her hair aside, and Jess couldn't help but place a kiss at the nape of her neck which sent shivers down her spine. He unhooked the dress and unzippered it slowly, letting his hand graze her back on the way down. When it was done, she looked over her shoulder just enough for him to see the color that had risen in her cheeks.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
She quickly went into her room and shut the door behind her while he stared after her for a moment.
"Well this certainly isn't going to be an easy night…" he muttered to himself before shaking his head and going to get changed.
When he opened the bathroom door she was standing on the other side.
"Toothbrush."
"What?"
"There's an extra toothbrush in the cabinet there. For you. And I need mine."
Soon enough, both Rory and Jess stood next to Rory's bed, both feeling a little awkward.
"So…do you have side?"
"Uh, not really, I'll just take this one," Rory replied.
"Okay…"
Jess shut out the light and they both climbed under the covers, taking a few seconds to settle in to a comfortable position on the tiny bed. Jess was spooned behind Rory with an arm wrapped tightly around her waist, and she had her feet nestled between his to help keep them warm. The slight awkwardness from earlier was gone now, and instead was replaced with a feeling of calm and warmth.
"Jess?"
"Hmm?"
"This is nice."
Jess inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her hair and the feel of her body in his arms. He cuddled up a bit closer before letting out the breath in a relaxed sigh.
"Yeah, it is."